Welcome to our new feature, Your Shopping Cart, wherein we break out the top-five products that you, dear Strategist readers, are buying a lot of. We decided to do this for several reasons: It’s interesting (you all bought tons of facial razors!), just anthropologically, but also because we write about so many things, and this is a nice way to zoom in on some of the things that seem particularly noteworthy; think of this as the tl;dr of the Strategist. Plus, if your like-minded brethren are buying these items, maybe you’d like to, too. Now go back to shaving your beautiful faces.
1. The Best Facial-Hair Remover Is This Tiny Japanese Razor
According to the Cut’s beauty editor, Kathleen Hou, “They’re small enough to fit under your chin, with enough of an edge to remove peach fuzz, yet not so sharp that they’ll nick you. And the fear that shaving your chin hair will make it grow back with a vengeance is unfounded. Japanese celebrity makeup artist Munemi Imai claims it’s been a long-held beauty secret in her country. ‘In Japan, we do shave our face,’ she says. ‘It brightens it up and makes it much easier to apply makeup.’ If Imai hasn’t convinced you, the Real Housewives and Bachelor contestants swear by the technique, too.”
2. The Plastic Mushroom That’s Saved Me Thousands in Plumbing Fees
This little plastic doodad, says writer Alison Freer, “is not the sexiest product there ever was, but it does what it says: It allows water to drain while catching stray hairs in a (mercifully) out-of-sight place for easy disposal later. I can’t emphasize it enough. Nothing gets past this little guy — not my boyfriend’s tiny beard hairs (he shaves in the shower) nor the copious amounts of hair that comes off my husky when I bathe him at home. Most impressively, it also grabs the gunk that comes along with all that hair — otherwise known as dirt, body oil, and product buildup — before it has a chance to clog your pipes.”
3. This Turkish Glove Scrubbed Away Layers of Winter Skin
Writer Rachel Raczka’s friend brought one of these back for her from Turkey, and Raczka says that after using this, she’s “never had such an excellent palette of skin: perfectly smoothed for shaving, moisturizing, and even sunless-tanner distribution.” And that “it’s like those elimination diets that promote better skin from within, but instead of laying off dairy or wheat, you eliminate a layer of your epidermis.”
4. This Strange, Divoted Pillow Completely Cured My Neck Pain
After months of waking up with “searing” neck and back pain, Alison Freer writes that “this crazy little pillow with a triangle-shaped divot in the middle” did the trick. “The funnily named Tri-Core Petite Cervical Pillow (‘cervical’ also means ‘related to the neck’) stopped my neck and shoulder pain cold — and transformed my sleeping life. Turns out, the main culprit of my pain was the wrong pillow not providing enough neck support (too flat or too fluffy, both are bad), resulting in near-constant strain as I slept.”
5. The Smoothing Tank Top Oscar Winners Keep Stealing From Me
Freer explains: “As a Hollywood costume designer, I put them on every single actress I dress. Since this tank top has absolutely no seams, it doesn’t create extra lumps under thin garments, like a cashmere-blend sweater. It’s also a godsend for clothes with strange cutouts or open-weave sweaters that would otherwise expose your bra to the whole world. The shirt is a perfect length: not so long so that it hangs out beneath shirts, but not so short that your guts are left exposed (it comes in plus sizes, too).”
The Strategist is designed to surface the most useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. Some of our latest conquests include the best women’s jeans, rolling luggage, pillows for side sleepers, ultra-flattering pants, and bath towels. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change.
Every editorial product is independently selected. If you buy something through our links, New York may earn an affiliate commission.
