10 Things That Delighted Us Last Week: The Quietest ACs and Walkable Mules
We write about hundreds of products each week. Here, in our version of the Sunday circular, we’ve plucked some of our recent favorites: expert-recommended essentials, life-changing stuff you didn’t know you needed, newly launched gizmos, and very good deals we uncovered while trawling through the vast online-shopping universe — including Margaux mules that won’t destroy your feet, a perfectly curved high V-neck tee from Kotn, and chef and author Eddie Haung’s favorite sauce spoon.
A very good early Prime Day deal: Van Gogh LEGOs
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Prime Day is just days away, from June 23 to June 26, but we’ve already found dozens of worth-it early deals. Senior writer (and Strategist toy expert) Liza Corsillo unearthed several sets of LEGOs on sale. Among them is this Van Gogh Starry Night re-creation, which even features a miniature figurine of the artist painting the masterpiece on an easel.
Mules you can actually walk — even when it’s raining
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Margaux The Clara
Updates coordinator Najwa Jamal has been literally scarred by mules since two pairs left her feet in pain (and covered in blisters) back in March. But she couldn’t kick the craving for a pair of ballerina mules — “shoes that combine the slip-on ease I love about flip-flops with the elegance and formality of ballet flats,” she says. So she spent the past two months in seven different pairs (and plenty of Band-Aids) to find ones she could wear through “an eight-hour, 20,000-step day, ideally with no breaking in, bandage reinforcement, or emergency change needed.” Margaux’s Claras were one of her favorites and the most substantial pair she tried. Their high vamp and buttery leather didn’t cause any blisters, and she could comfortably wear them for six miles of speed-walking without any slippage — even in light spring showers.
A black T-shirt with a perfectly curved V-neck
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Contributor MacKinley Lutes-Aldoch’s been yearning for the perfect black V-neck ever since she spotted an old photo of supermodel Christy Turlington doing yoga in one last year. “The round V elegantly framing her chest was a far cry from the 2010s deep V” associated with obnoxious hipsters she says. So she searched for one like it: an unfussy V-neck made of a natural fabric that doesn’t bunch around her hips or leave her midriff exposed. Kotn’s high-neck, 100 percent cotton tee came the closest to perfect. “With the proper swap of bottoms, this tee is as well-suited for a Michelin-starred dinner as it is for hot yoga with Christy,” she says, and at under $50, she can buy multiple colors.
A “magical” color-changing bath-time toy
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Corsillo talked to fellow parents at the Strategist about the kids’ birthday gifts they love giving year in and year out. Lead editor Lauren Levy has given a belt bag crafting kit on three separate occasions; senior editor Winnie Yang gives a Chirri & Chirra book to any parent to a soon-to-be 1-one year-old; and Corsillo loves giving Mudpuppy’s bathtime coloring books to 1-year-olds. They’re “often amazed by the magic that happens when the pages get wet and love thumbing through the puffy books by themselves,” she says.
We tried all of Left of Friday’s swimsuits
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Left on Friday’s swimsuits have come highly recommended to us by actresses, writers, consultants, and our own staffers. So for the latest Strategist Swimsuit Project report, Corsillo and writer Bella Druckman tested 16 of the brand’s suits in a variety of styles. One of Druckman’s favorites was the Sunday, which she’d been lusting over for a year and found completely worth the wait.. “Despite the skinny straps, the suit never felt like it was going to budge when I was doing a breaststroke or backstroke,” she says. Corsillo, meanwhile, especially liked the Streamline. “I love the square neckline and wide straps that make it look dressy and expensive. And I really like the amount of coverage in the back booty area.”
The spoon that’s like Thor’s hammer
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Senior writer Lauren Ro recently caught up with author and chef Eddie Huang, whom we last spoke with in 2021. Among the many things he can’t live without is this the Kunz sauce spoon. “This spoon is perfect,” he says. “When you hold this spoon, it is like Thor’s hammer. This spoon is so heavy that I think it awakens something subconscious in this human mind, body, and spirit.” It’s longer than your average spoon, with a wider surface area, perfect for sauce taste testing. Huang loves it so much, he’s started measuring ingredients out in Kunz instead of grams. “When the cooks are on the line, I will say in our pickup guides, ‘whole Kunz spoon,’ ‘half Kunz spoon,’ because you are not measuring with the scale when you’re cooking on the line. This spoon is the measure I base everything off of.”
The quietest window unit AC
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Senior writer Michael Zhao is always on the lookout for the best new window unit air conditioners. Of the 11 he’s mounted in his home thus far, Windmill’s WhisperTech is the quietest. “The Windmill rattled less during the initial cooling period compared to comparable models from Friedrich,” Zhao says. “The cylindrical fan design is noticeably quieter than LG’s, and since its fixed vents stay fully open when it’s off, the blades are less prone to mildew because they can fully dry out between uses.” And as a bonus, Windmill has the most responsive customer service team of all the AC makers Zhao’s interacted with.
The battle of the Gen-X and Gen-Z highlighting drops
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Lately, it seems like every Gen Alpha and grand millennial is on a mission to look as glowy, sun-kissed and hydrated as possible. Meanwhile, Gen-Xers and millennials are practically terrified of the sun. So when Druckman and beauty writer Krista Bennett DeMaio noticed two popular brands — Jones Road (a favorite of Gen X) and Rhode (Gen Z’s favorite) — both released bronzy, glow-enhancing drops, they decided to put them head to head. Jones Road’s drops came out on top. DeMaio says they gave her skin a real glow (as compared to Rhode’s shine). Druckman “values acne-compatability above all else, and the lack of comedogenic ingredients in the Jones Road formula gives me much needed peace of mind,” she says.
The stuff we saved our newsletter readers
Illustrator Joana Avillez shared her most-recent purchases forthe Secret Strategist
Illustrator Joana Avillez shared with us the things she can’t live without (original French jelly sandals, ume plum vinegar) earlier this week. For the Secret Strategist, she told us about her 9 most recent purchases. “Unfortunately for my family, I love to shop,” says Avillez.
Want more? Sign up for Secret Strategist here.
Najwa Jamal shared the jeans a reader asked about in the Strategist’s daily newsletter
Earlier this week, we shared updates coordinator Najwa Jamal’s hunt for mules she can actually walk in. Readers not only loved it — they also sent in a lot of questions about the white jeans she’s wearing in a few try-on photos. She talked about the jeans in question in the daily newsletter, but we’re sharing a preview below. “I’m something of a year-round white-jeans and pants fanatic,” she says. “DL1961’s pair came to my attention back in April mainly for their 13 percent linen blend and have remained in my weekly rotation since. I find the design details, like minimal silver hardware, tonal stitching, and long pockets, especially handsome for a pair that feels and fits more like a linen pull-on pant.”
Want more?Sign up for the Strategist’s daily newsletter here.
Sari Botton shared gray hair tips for The Strategist Beauty Brief
After contributor Sari Botton’s story about flattering swimsuits for 60-somethings, we noticed a lot of comments complimenting her hair. We reached out to her for gray-hair-maintenance recommendations, plus a little insight on her graying-hair journey, in this week’s Strategist Beauty Brief.
Want more?Sign up for the Strategist Beauty Brief here.
The Strategist Kids’ Department shared their favorite new launches this week
In this week’s Strategist Kids’ Department, senior editor Jen Trolio rounded up some of this week’s best new releases. One highlight: “I feel like I’m constantly bugging my two daughters about sunscreen, so I’m intrigued by Barrière’s latest launch: UV sensor stickers that you put on kids’ skin to keep track of when it’s time to reapply. The stickers start out clear; once they start to look like mini temporary tattoos with cute pictures of seahorses and starfish, it’s time to slather on more SPF. (Conveniently, there’s an adult version too.)”
Want more? Sign up for The Strategist Kids’ Department here.
This week’s top saved items
It’s very easy to save products we’ve written about, so you can refer back to them later or be notified when they go on sale. (Find a step-by-step here.) This week, readers were curious about tees of all types, including contributor MacKinley Lutes-Aldoch’s favorite black V-necks and a softer-than-Everlane tee by ARQ. Many also saved the $14 laptop de-gunking kit Oset Babür-Winter raved about and a bunch more early Prime Day beauty and home deals.
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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.
