9 Things That Delighted Us Last Week: A Brow Gel to End All Brow Gels

For her story “Steal My Eyes,” the latest installment of our series “In Situ,” writer Arielle Avila surveyed 30 makeup artists, DJs, models, and more on their routines. One product came up again and again: a clear, sculpting brow gel that survived model Soukeyna Diouf’s 100-degree Paris Fashion Week look. It also gave DJ Simone Henualt “fluffy brows that don’t move and keep shape” for the entirety of an eight-hour wedding set.

“No milestone life event — upgrading to a big-boy bed, going to college, getting your first apartment, having a baby, or doing a move of any type — is complete without making a trip to IKEA,” says senior writer Lauren Ro. So she rounded up the Strategist’s 100 most stood-behind Ikea items across storage, seating, lighting, and more. The list includes this plastic cantilevered chair, which ranks among our best dining chairs, per writer Erin Schwartz. It’s a wobble-free, “made to last,” and shockingly comfortable (plus versatile) pick recommended by both a Strategist contributor and a former writer.

Senior writer Liza Corsillo’s son has played with both the Toniebox and Toniebox 2 and has even tried the competition, listening to his Yoto Mini like a “toddler Walkman.” So he was the perfect test subject for the brand’s latest launch, the Toniebox Lite. It’s quickly become a new favorite. The Lite is cheaper and significantly more compact: about the size of a grapefruit and a pound lighter than previous versions. Its hard plastic exterior, as opposed to the regular Tonies’ cushioned foam, makes the audio even clearer. And it seamlessly integrates with all the Bluey, Bingo, and Muffin Tonies Corsillo’s son reaches for on repeat.

Senior writer Emma Wartzman is “a pot-on-the-stovetop kind of person.” Naturally, she was skeptical to hear about Muji’s multipurpose electric grill pot, a “squat rectangular vessel with a heating plate taking up almost the entire inside bottom and a deep nonstick rectangular pot that fits snugly within its walls.” It claims to be able to execute several cooking techniques, and Wartzman spent the next seven days simmering, frying, reheating, and stewing a variety of meals. To her surprise, it worked quite well, quickly heating to various levels, crisping potato wedges and chickpeas, and evenly thawing frozen chicken soup. She was even able to throw together a stir-fry as well as a tomato stew, making the all-in-one device a great space-saving option for the college student or traveler in a pinch.

Updates coordinator Najwa Jamal chatted with Ballerina Farm’s Hannah Neeleman about the Donni pants, Japanese toothbrushes, and glass Weck jars she uses for everything for this week’s “Celebrity Shopping” column. “I started using Weck jars when I started my sourdough journey. What I love about them is they have fewer rivets, so they’re just super-easy to clean,” she says.

In every one of the three homes deals writer Martha Tuber has lived in since moving to Los Angeles, she’s needed professionals to help unclog her shower drains. Standing “ankle deep in the runoff of whomever bathed before” has stopped being an issue since she started using this “affordable, universally functional, and (quite frankly) beautiful hair-catcher-drain-stopper hybrid.” It looks like it’s been professionally installed, when really you just drop it in your drain. Tuber cleans hers after every shower. “It’s not pretty, but it’s definitely proof that it’s working.”

Beauty writer Krista Bennett-DeMaio spoke to makeup artist Tim Quinn about his drugstore go-tos. Among them is this shave gel: “I’ve tried every expensive shave process in the world, and Gillette Fusion Ultra Sensitive is the best.” The no-frills formula is what he buys in bulk. And because he’s a swimmer, he uses it to shave his body head-to-toe, too.

October’s almost here. So is Halloween (not to mention Prime Day). Writer Kitty Guo compiled over three dozen of the best kid’s deals, including plenty of sales on stuff for spooky season. In this $5 “paint by sticker” book, kids can fill in images of witches, mummies, jack-o’-lanterns, and more.

It’s now commonplace to find “premium” tees with over-$100 price tags, says writer Bella Druckman, but what about the other end of that extreme? She put nine of Abercrombie and Fitch’s signature T-shirts — all under $30 — to the test, and the cheapest, 100 percent cotton one was among her top picks. “It’s not too tight but not too loose, soft without being silky soft, and hits at the hip, so you can wear it both tucked and untucked,” she says.