The 27 Best Things Strategist Staffers Bought in February

When Beauty of Joseon announced it would no longer be selling itssunscreenin the United States, I stocked up on tubes of the stuff. I just finished my last one at the beginning of the month and went in search of a replacement. I remembered senior writerLauren Romentioning a while back that she actually preferred this sunscreen from Then I Met You over Beauty of Joseon, so I decided to give it a try. It’s more expensive than BoJ, but I was able to get it 20 percent off from Soko Glam. So far I am liking it. It does initially feel more “sunscreen-y” on my skin than the BoJ one did, but after it absorbs in, it feels quite nice.

I’ve been a coffee drinker since I was 15, and while I certainly don’t plan on giving it up any time soon, I have been trying to cut back on how much coffee I drink. When I need an afternoon pick-me-up, I’ve been reaching for black tea instead — the lower caffeine content and acidity levels are both positives for me. I just bought another box of my favorite, the Pisgah Breakfast from Asheville Tea Company, named for nearby Pisgah Forest. It tastes earthy and cozy, especially with a splash of milk. It’s somewhat unique, as it’s a blend of black tea and yaupon, a native North American plant that produces caffeine. I also appreciate that the tea bags are plastic-free and compostable.

When I was skiing in Colorado earlier this month, temperatures were so high that I had to ditch my coat and, by extension, the pockets I usually use to carry essentials. I picked up one of Columbia’s fleecehip packsto make up for the lost pocket space and plan to use it going forward no matter the temperature; it’s easier to access than my pockets and can hold everything from my phone to a granola bar.

Asour friends at The Cut noted this week, we’ve never had as many activewear brands to choose from as we do now. This month, my social-media feeds were inundated with content about yet another budding activewear maker:Liaison the Label. The company’s Valentine’s Day drop — which was full of polka-dotted sports bras and striped leggings — was enough to convince me to give the brand a try. My double-layer (!) polka-dot (!)sports braonly arrived this week, but it’s already proven to be a supportive-yet-cute option to wear while working out on the StairMaster and the treadmill.

[Editor’s note: The polka-dot bra is currently out of stock, so we linked a similar solid-colored option.]

A few weeks ago, I asked in our team chat if anyone had a pair of socks that they like wearing withloafers.LaurenandNajwaboth recommended these, and soon after I bought them at the Flatiron store. They were completely right: These socks are fantastic. They’re super warm and soft, stay up when worn with boots, and do fit nicely inside a pair of loafers. The buy-three, get-three-free deal doesn’t hurt either.

I have fingeredglovesfor when it’s truly freezing and I’m doing something like carrying groceries home. But when I can help it, I like fingerless better (you have to take them off much less and therefore are less likely to lose them). My mom sent me these a few weeks ago, and I’m obsessed. (She had bought a pair herself a couple of years ago at some small shop in Maine.) They are made of lambswool and are supremely soft, cozy, thick, and (despite the opening) warm. Mine are simple, but I think the contrast thumb is adorable, and there are tons of great designs in different colors and patterns.

[Editor’s note: Katie Mawson lists all prices in pounds, so the price shown is an approximate conversion to U.S. dollars.]

I wanted a silver, thick-but-small hoop to go in my second piercing in one ear — to match but not overly match another silver hoop pair I’ve been wearing in my lobes a lot recently. It’s still on the way, but I’m optimistic!

I bought these for a recent trip to Jamaica. There are wedge sandals aplenty, but I like these because the straps look like flip-flops and the heel is slightly tapered. It’s a bit more architectural than the other versions of this I’ve seen around, and after wearing them around the resort, I was pleasantly surprised by how comfortable they were on foot.

I also bought thisbikinifrom Goldie swimwear. It’s incredibly cheeky and revealing, but it’s a vibe if that’s the look you’re going for (it’s what I was going for).

I’d already had braisers on my mind when I readEmma Wartzman’s latest “Strategist Brain” in which she praised this pan shape for its one-pot cooking prowess. I’ve also been on a real hunter-green kick as of late, which started with the latest round of Gap sweats I tested for my winter update tomen’s sweatpants. As if reading my mind, Le Creuset’s first new color of the year is a matte hunter green called “Forêt.” So I decided to pull the trigger on a braiser of my own and have been loving it for making curries and finishing pastas. The signature cream-colored interior makes it easy to monitor how things are cooking, and the precisely fitting lid keeps flavors and aromas in the pan while everything’s simmering.

In other hunter-green news, I’ve been enjoying wearing this organic-cotton Taylor Stitch rugby shirt, which has a slightly cozier, almost sweatshirtlike interior texture than others I’ve had in the past. It’s almost as warm as a hoodie, but I feel a lot more put-together when wearing it. I sized up to a large for a more relaxed fit, but it looks good true to size as well.

I saw this game at the Toy Fair and had to order it for my almost-3-year-old, partly because of the name and partly because it seemed like a sillier, more antic, maybe slightly naughtier version ofMonkey Around, which is a favorite in my household. Turns out the 10-year-old likes playing this too. (We have theSpanish version, but I’ll probably get the English one too.)

I’d been thinking about gettingEarlywood’s spatulafor years, andEmma finally convinced meit was time. Besides a set of those, I also got a pair oftongsand this beautiful deep-bowled ladle.

I decided to buy this game after becoming addicted to it during one of the many deep-freeze weekends we’ve endured this winter, then technically received it as a gift from my dear friend and fellow addict Liam. It’s a fun one for anybody, from trueboard-gamenerds to people who “hate playing cards.” Official rules say maximum four players, but I’ve successfully played with eight. It’s very easy to add your own rules and rituals as a group,UNOstyle, as well.

Middle-Marchis right around the corner, and I’m diving in. Virginia Woolf famously called this book “one of the few English novels written for grown-up people.” Not sure I qualify, but let’s go.

We bought this ice scraper after the first huge snowstorm of the year left most of the perimeter of our house covered in ice (like the rest of the city). This thing has an all-steel construction and is actually quite heavy-duty (also made in the U.S.). We’ve used it to break up sheets of ice in our driveway, on our patio, and out on the sidewalk when a snow shovel just wouldn’t cut it.

StumpCraft sent me anotherpuzzle— thissoothing 537-piece mountain scenewith a difficulty level of four out of five — and for a few days I neglected all my responsibilities to work on it. Realizing that I couldn’t sit around puzzling all day, I ordered this tray to clear the partially completed puzzle off the dining table and make it more portable (to bring to the TV room upstairs, for instance). It’s made of gorgeous solid wood and is a good size (I got the medium) for puzzles with a higher piece count. Now I’m itching to get yet another wooden puzzle. I should probably just sign up forElms’ rental program.

Something to know about me is that I like to put things in things — like cotton balls in another container. (I don’t need to see the original packaging.) I’m using this canister for that exact purpose. I have never felt so happy reaching for a cotton ball! Maybe it has something to do with the pantomime-ystripes…

I’ve gotten no greater joy from a piece of headwear than thisbonnet. It’s delightful, right? Bode would sell it for, like, $280.

This year I’m going all in onstationery. I have aHobonichi Techoplanner for all my tasks and appointments and separate notebooks for brainstorming, reading quotes, and journaling. On the recommendation of friend and Strategist contributorVeronica Caldwell, I got this neat tool that doubles as a box cutter and a pair of tiny scissors. I unpack multiple packages every week for work and cut lots of tags off bags I’m testing, so this reduces the number of tools I need to keep handy. I wish the plastic it’s made of felt a bit nicer, but it’s still better looking than traditional box cutters.

I’m on a constant hunt for nice-looking products that celebrate the color orange. I’ve also been looking for a tiny pen I can carry in my pocket to accompany my trusty Field Notes notebook. During a recent visit toOblation Pressin Portland, Oregon, I found this small orange pen that ticks both boxes. It comes in a vibrant orange, and when not in use, it’s so small I forget it’s in my pocket. Plus it only costs $10, so I won’t sweat losing it.

I went to my friend’s wedding in Hawaii this month, and I didn’t think my cotton or wool-blend suits would be great for the humidity and the outdoor venue, so I opted for a linen one. While this suit from Sunspel was ideal for the conditions, which included light drizzling and a brief shower (the suit dried very quickly afterward), the main highlight is how well it fit me off the rack. With most other suit jackets I’ve worn off the rack (Buck Mason’s Graduate and Madewell’s Roebling), I needed a few alterations to the shoulder, back, and sleeves. But Sunspel’s draped neatly over my shoulders and hit that sweet spot between a slim look and slightly more relaxed, which fit both the dress code for this wedding as well as my personal preference for how a suit should fit. I’m looking to find more excuses to wear this suit as the weather warms up.

[Editor’s note: Jeremy’s tan suit is currently out of stock, so we linked to a navy version that’s still available.]

I’ve long been a fan of my lightweight lugged Weejuns, but I have never worn the brand’s classic Larson Weejuns. After wearing them for a few days, I can see why they’re a versatile staple — they can be worn with more formal outfits (as I did with the Sunspel suit above), or they can be dressed down and worn with jeans and a sweater. They are a bit stiff, and I still need to break them in fully, but I can see them soon becoming part of my regular shoe rotation.

I bought this on a whim at the drugstore before our trip to Anguilla this month, and wow, it was a huge hit. I haven’t tried the other fragrances, but the Whipped Coconut scent is divine, almost vanilla-y. It applies completely clear and is super lightweight, not sticky or greasy. By day two or three, we had gone through the entire bottle (I’m an intense sunscreen reapplier) and spent the rest of the trip looking for more on the island.

A less interesting purchase, but we’ve reached that point of winter where I’m just over the salty/mucky/gritty/slushy sidewalks. I can’t remember the last time our porch lookeddry. It seemed like l was vacuuming and mopping our front entrance every couple of days, so I decided to switch to these WaterHog mats, which I originally saw at L.L. Bean. I bought two of them and I’m so glad I did because they have kept our floors protected and seem to trap any dirt or debris brought inside on our shoes (and our basset hound’s paws).