12 Things That Delighted Us Last Week: From Mini Hydro Flasks to Flop Sofas

“I talk to people about furniture constantly, and I’ve noticed a vibe shift in the way prospective buyers talk about what they want from a couch,” writes our resident couch expert, Erin Schwartz, who spearheaded Couch Week on the site this week. A couch “should look nice, but it has to be comfortable,” they write. And so: the flop sofa,which is steadily replacing wood-framed daybeds and mid-century-modern sofas in the living rooms of tasteful people. Options go for as much as the $5,000 RH Cloud, but this Crate & Barrel sofa is simply inoffensive, relatively inexpensive, and positively floppable.

Also for Couch Week, we reached out to two-dozen folks with excellent taste to show us exactly how they live with their sectionals. The list wouldn’t be complete without an appearance from Roche Bobois’s Mah Jong sectional, which KNC Beauty founder Kristen Noel Crawley keeps in her loft (and home office). “You can stack it, lay it flat, and even raise the backrest on one of the pieces,” she says. “It’s a forever sofa and will work in any space if I need to move one day.”

If you’re not in the market for a new couch, you might just like to refresh yours with some throw pillows. Strategist senior writer Lauren Ro compiled “a kaleidoscopic collection of cushions in all sizes, shapes, and styles, including some altogether nontraditional (but deeply fun) options that challenge the very idea of what a ‘throw pillow’ can be.” Among the dozens of pillows is this heart-shaped number that’s adorned with embroidered dragonflies.

By now, the fact that Strategist writer Katherine Gillespie takes a dip in the Atlantic Ocean before work is well documented. This week, she shared some of the secrets to a successful solo beach trip, including using a waterproof phone case. “Call it phone addiction or call it an anxiety disorder, but my floating lanyard allows me to truly relax when I’m in the water,” she writes.

“Whenever I see someone carrying one of the pillars of America’s hydration cult — a 40-ounce Stanley Quencher, Owala Free Sip, or Yeti water bottle with a chug cap — I think about how heavy and annoying it looks,” says Strategist senior writer Liza Corsillo. Instead, she invites you to consider a mini 6.7-ounce water bottle and unburden yourself from the idea that you must carry an entire day’s water supply at all times. “It is the size of one glass of wine or one beach martini, and it’s an ideal amount of water or green juice or tea to have on hand for an average 35-minute subway ride,” she adds.

For actress Karen Gillan, who describes herself as a “Scottish pale person that’s like a vampire and stays out of the sun,” the perfect foundation must be light enough for her complexion while still providing enough coverage. “Out of all the brands, I think this was the only one that made one light enough,” she told us, adding that since “it goes on really nicely and gives you a good amount of coverage,” it’s one of the beauty products she can’t live without.

While algae has been having somewhat of a moment in recent years (having popped up in the form of cooking oil, body oil, cleansing oil, and more), we only just noticed the proliferation of microalgae, algae’s single-celled sister. To find out if it’s actually worth using on your skin,Strategist writer Brenley Goertzen queried multiple dermatologists, who told her that “microalgae are exceptionally good at protecting against environmental stress through their antioxidant benefits.” While the efficacy of microalgae is still being studied, there are a few microalgae-based products that we’re loving, including this cleansing oil. “It’s incredibly silky and always does an excellent job of removing my foundation, mascara, and sunscreen,” reports Goertzen.

In recent months, we’ve noticed everyone from model Irina Shayk to moms at drop-off wearing water shoes in lieu of regular shoes. Considering there’s a no-show-toe summer afoot (sorry), Strategist writer Ambar Pardilla scoured the internet for a variety of water shoes that you can wear, well, everywhere. This sleek pair that’s available in black, pink, and a rather chic khaki color, among others, “just might be the new Air Rifts from the Nike archives,” writes Pardilla.

“First, I bought a Lafufu for my cousin’s birthday because I thought it was a funny gag gift. Then my competitive shopper came out and I decided to see if I could score a Labubu,” says writer Dominique Pariso in this week’s installment of “Strategist Brain.” “Not to brag, but I managed to get one on my first try,” she says. (We’d expect nothing less from a Strategist writer.) Labubu secured, Pariso set her sights next on this blind-box creature called a Wakuku. “I need to be stopped,” she writes. (Perhaps if only to give the rest of us a fighting chance.)

Editor’s note: The Wakuku is currently out of stock, but you can still find it on resale sites (just beware of fakes).

This week’s installment of “Don’t Dillydally” saw the debut of a new crop of Jellycats, including a split pistachio, a sugar glider, and this baguette bag charm. “It would look cute next to a Labubu,” adds Strategist writer Tembe Denton-Hurst.

“I don’t have this unshakable, unbreakable morning routine and my entire world falls apart,” actor Chace Crawford told us. Still, he counts this Moleskine notebook, which he writes his morning pages in, among the items that he can’t live without. “What you do after you fill up the book is you burn it, or you shred it, or you toss it away, which is kind of a nice, cathartic thing,” he says. By now, he’s filled (and burned) 15 of them.