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If you’re like us, you’ve probably wondered what everyday stuff famous people add to their carts — like hair spray or an electric toothbrush. We asked designer Suzie Kondi about the healthy hazelnut spread, “life-changing” shampoo and conditioner, and soap that’s taken over her bathroom that she can’t live without.
I spend a lot of time and money on what I call a “pseudo-healthy world,” but there’s still sugar in everything. Somehow if it’s vegan or something, I think I’m being much, much healthier. This tastes like a healthy Nutella. There are these crushed almonds and puffed-rice bubbles in the spread. It’s so delicious. I don’t put it on anything — I’ll just have a few spoons of it. A little sweet treat.
I grew up having tahini with sweets that my mother made. I love them paired together. The best combination is Seed + Mill’s tahini with Bautista’s Medjool dates. You take one of these dates, you dip it in the tahini, and it’s out of this world. The sweet with the tahini and the sesame seed is so wonderful, and the consistency of this tahini is fantastic.
I started drinking matcha over a decade ago. I had to fight long and hard against all the coffee drinkers in my life and say, “No, matcha’s fantastic.” I can’t remember what year that Cha Cha Matcha made its entrance in New York City, but it was there that I embraced matcha even more. I saw them using an electric whisk, and it was a moment of like, How brilliant is that? I was in line and asked them where they got it, and now I have the whisk everywhere. Then I discovered Kettl. I think it’s the finest matcha that we can get here in the States. I find it to be the most delicious, and I just have it with water.
Editor’s note: The electric matcha whisk is temporarily out of stock. But you can place an order, and Amazon will email you an estimated delivery date.
I feel like there’s a real lovely synergy between Lucy and I. She’s another Australian, and it’s nice when you lead these two different lives and you come back together and form these friendships outside of Australia. Anyway, her jewelry is really, really wonderful, and I am absolutely in love with this necklace. The different stones have different meanings, and there’s symbols on all the stones as well. I think there is this energy in what she does that comes through when you are wearing the pieces. I wear this with everything. Even when we’re shooting, I’ll put the necklace on our model and it really just complements what I do. It’s joyful and elegant in its way.
Editor’s note: Lucy Folk lists its prices in Australian dollars, so this is an approximation to U.S. dollars.
I have curly-wavy hair. I have a lot of it, and I rarely do anything to it. I probably wash every three days or so with this and leave it in, and off I go. I walk out of my house with my hair completely wet, and even in this humidity, my hair’s not frizzy. It’s weird how good this is. It does something to your hair. I try to take the bottles wherever I’m going. I can’t live without it — I really, really can’t, and my hair instantly is not what I want it to be if I use something else. I used to be that person in my teens that was trying to have “normal” hair, thinking, How can I flatten my hair? This feels good because my hair does its natural thing on its own without being unmanageable. It’s changed my life. It really has.
Macrene Alexiades is a fellow Greek. I call her the Face Whisperer. There are beautiful, natural, organic plants that go into her formulas. My skin has never been better since starting with her. Over the years, I’ve tried so many different things in the line. I’m just quickly like, Okay, I’ll get that, and this and that. But basically, my routine is the magic face cream and an eye cream that I usually forget to put on. I don’t change out my skin care between seasons, and this works year-round. It’s good when I’m in Australia — where it’s often humid — and it’s good when I’m in New York. My sisters are using it. My daughter, Steve, has started getting into it too. Her little teen skin has been improving. So it’s good for the incredibly old and incredibly young.
Officine Universelle Buly, I mean, what can I say? I went to the Parisian store for the first time in February. The minute you walk in, you’re transported. The girls are wearing these, like, school uniforms from the ’30s. Everything there is so beautiful, down to the calligraphy for personalizing anything you want. Even when you’re buying a bar of soap. The soap has taken over our bathroom. The minute it looks like I’ve only got two bars of soap left, I go into a panic. They ship really quickly, luckily. I feel bad for all the other soap in the world because it’s just not going to happen anymore. If somebody accidentally happens to buy Dove to replace a bar of soap, I’m just bummed out. You can’t go back. Buly has ruined me for sure.
Editor’s note: Officine Universelle Buly lists its prices in euros, so this is an approximation to dollars.
I think I bought my first one-piece from Eres when I was pregnant with my daughter. I still wear it. That’s the thing I love about Eres: the quality. I don’t know if there’s a better swimsuit. My dream would be to have an Eres collaboration. The bikini that I wear most now is the Mouna with the Malou briefs. It’s a classic string — you can wear the top as a halter. There are little loops on the side of the bottoms. I think I like just the simplicity of it. They’re worth the investment. That’s the truth. I’m so impressed with how I’ve had them for this long. They’re definitely something that my daughter has her eyes on to start nabbing out of my drawer, which is starting to happen.
Kassatly’s is a store in Palm Beach that’s been there for, gosh, probably over 50 years. They don’t have a website. They don’t have an Instagram. It’s these two brothers who couldn’t be lovelier. They have beautiful bed linens, hankies, things that you find in your grandmother’s attic. I saw these nightgowns there. All of a sudden, I was transported somewhere else — not that there’s anything wrong with Palm Beach. In my mind, I have a basket and I’m in my garden picking flowers. Or having a fantastic conversation as a little bird sits upon my hand. I’m in a fairy tale. Now when I go, I’ll always buy one. They’re very sheer. They’re sexy, but they’re not. They’re so soft.
Megalo in Greek means large. So the leg is large — it’s a palazzo pant. This is the first season we’ve done it in terry. The juxtaposition of where our silhouettes land with the unexpected fabric is where our brand exists. It’s fitted around the hips, and then it just flows out. They’re extremely flattering and lengthen everybody’s legs, which I always want to do to mine. It looks good with the Carpi Tee. Everything we make is designed to be able to wear everywhere you go — with the Megalo and Carpi, you put it on in the morning, do whatever you need to do, and then wear it out at night.
The Strategist is designed to surface useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. Every product is independently selected by our team of editors, whom you can read about here. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change.