The Strategist Haul: What the Editors Bought in May

I already own a Furminator at home, but now that I’m staying with my in-laws during the pandemic, I ordered another one, because my long-ish hair cat has been shedding all over their house. The Furminator (which we’ve written about before, here) is a fine-toothed metal comb with a little button you push that releases all the hair that collects on the comb. Fortunately, my cat enjoys being brushed so we’ve already had a few sessions, and it’s truly shocking how much hair comes off each time. Her hair is looking glossy, and we’re hopefully keeping the house a little cleaner.

Once it became clear that we would not be returning to an office anytime soon, I decided I needed some Levi’s jean shorts for this WFH summer. Although I was tempted by the Ribcage and Wedgie fits, I ultimately went with the classic (and less constricting) 501s. I sized up so they’d be extra comfy and actually bought the knee-length version so I could cut them to my length of preference (a 1-inch inseam is not my thing).

I have a really nasty habit of picking the breakouts I sometimes get on my chin, but if I put a pimple patch on it, I don’t pick it, and the zit goes away faster. Basically, it’s a win-win situation. I’ve tried a lot of the pimple patches out there, and have favorites (including the Peach and Lily ones) but I’ve heard great things about Starface. I gave them a shot, and I definitely would rebuy. They’re much more expensive than say, Peach and Lily, but they worked very quickly. The only downside is that they’re kind of small, and I wish they came in larger sizes for when you get those really monstrous zits.

I honestly never fully understood the purpose of a bralette. If I want something supportive, I’ll wear a bra, and if I don’t want to wear a bra, I won’t wear one. Seems simple, right? But after being in quarantine, I finally understood. I feel like it’s extremely weird to technically be “at work” without a bra on. I’ve been wearing the one I previously owned from Lively every day, so I decided it might be a good idea to get more. They’re soft and comfortable, and as someone with a larger cup size but small band size, bralettes never fit very well, yet somehow, these are perfect. And I even saved about $10 buying their bundle.

Unsurprisingly, I bought even more books this month. One title I’m really excited about is Catherine House, a suspense-filled debut by Elisabeth Thomas. Set in rural Pennsylvania, this story about students of an elite school requires that those lucky enough to attend to be cordoned off from the outside world. Then, obviously, chaos ensues. It’s definitely different from what I usually read — I’m a big fan of literary fiction with a character-driven plot — but this feels like perfect remedy to an impending quaran-summer, where the only place I’ll be going is to my couch and back again.

Buying a little desk situation has been at the top of my to-do list, and as someone who doesn’t mind getting work done from the comfort of my bed, I opted for a lap desk that also doubles as a tray. I picked this one up at the recommendation of my friend who previously purchased two, and it’s become one of my favorite purchases of quarantine thus far. It comes fully assembled (an underrated luxury in my opinion), is big enough to fit a 17-inch laptop, and has a convenient shelf that makes FaceTiming much easier, especially if I’d like to multi-task in the process. This has been a dream for creating a setup that feels a little more official, and I believe it will serve me well in the (likely) many days to come.

Back in early March, I bought a bunch of Emergen-C so I could take it daily to help to prime my immune system for these times. Being a brand name, though, Emergen-C became harder to find. A friend who also started taking it regularly at that time gave me my first box of these Trace Minerals supplements — which are more or less the same idea as Emergen-C, but I actually think taste slightly better? They also, at least so far, have been in more plentiful supply, with no need to wait for restocking. I’ve bought two boxes since receiving my first from that friend, and am hoping they’ll be just as easy to get when the time comes to re-up again.

Let it be known that I don’t like shorts, don’t really wear shorts, and definitely don’t wear shorts outside of the house, so there is no real reason I need $50 house shorts. But these came to me in an Instagram ad I couldn’t ignore. I loved the color-blocking, and all reviews mentioned how roomy they were, so I figured they would be the perfect addition to my WFH summer wardrobe. I’ve also been contemplating buying non-athletic, “cool” sneakers for the first time (whatever that means) so if I go through with that, I’ll now have something to pair them with.

My mom is a Strategist stan with heat-damaged hair, so a couple of months ago when we said that Oribe products are among the best for growing out your hair, she doubled down and bought the brand’s shampoo and conditioner. For Mother’s Day I got her some styling product from the same brand, aimed at enhancing her now voluminous and well below shoulder length hair.

Inspired by my colleague Lauren Ro, I ordered a pair of Crocs in this jaunty shade of “grass green.” In addition to being extremely comfortable, and just delightful to look at, they’ve become particularly practical now that my son’s new favorite activity is playing with a garden hose and getting me soaking wet.

Okay, I will admit that I saw this in the background of one of Chrissy Teigen’s Instagram Stories documenting her son Miles’s second birthday. My eye zoomed in on this doo-dad and I immediately Googled “toy buckle zippers” and landed on this wondrous thing that is made by a company aptly called Buckle Toys. My 20-month-old is obsessed with anything involving a buckle (his stroller buckle, his carseat buckle, his high chair buckle), so I immediately ordered it. The “Busy Board” is still in transit, so will keep you all posted on whether it’s a hit.

Also in transit: a pair of $10 Soffe shorts, as recommended by former Strategist editor Simone Kitchens. I went with her advice and got them in navy. I think they’ll look fun paired with my Crocs!

I’m currently reading poet Cathy Park Hong’s book of essays about her experience as an Asian-American, and there’s a lot that I’m learning, even though we have similar backgrounds (we’re both Korean-Americans who grew up in Los Angeles). I’ve had trouble reading during the pandemic, but I’ve been tearing through Minor Feelings, which is quite readable for a book that tackles difficult subject matter (race, identity, and feelings of shame around those two things). I must admit that I don’t always relate to some of the “minor feelings” that Hong describes (a generation separates our respective experiences), but I’m grateful for her unflinching writing, which challenges me to wrestle with aspects of both my Asian and American identities that are not always pleasant to think about. I can’t wait to finish it.

I also bought these running shorts, which pretty much have not left my body since they arrived in the mail. They’re more substantial than Soffe shorts, making them better for going on long walks, and pair well with going-out tops for going nowhere.

Almost three months into social distancing, and I still refuse to betray my barber, so I haven’t tried to cut my hair and I wouldn’t trust myself to do it properly anyway. I’ve decided to dedicate my time to finding a baseball cap instead. I picked up the MoMa New York Yankee fitted cap, because, as Jay-Z once said, “I made the Yankees hat more famous than a Yankee can.” Just make sure you get the right size; there’s nothing worse than seeing someone’s head swimming in an oversize cap.

And in the highly likely case we turned out to be terrible at tie-dying, I bought her a pair of already-tie-dyed French terry sweatshorts from Los Angeles–based company Big Bud.

I have been meaning to buy this donut cuddler dog bed for almost a year. While writing about dog beds for work, I had heard a ton of good things about its cushy orthopedic support and bolster edges designed for pups who like a place to rest their chin. And several of my fellow Strategist dog owners (I am the fourth to own this bed) described how their dogs refuse to leave it for hours on end. I got the smallest size for my dog Uli, which on the brand’s site is shown with a cat, and it’s a perfect fit. My review so far is ten out of ten, as Uli uses it both as a bed and a toy she tries to kill and drags from room to room. Plus the bed is self-warming, something I recently discovered when I inadvertently placed my hand on its center after Uli got up from a long snooze.

SkinCeuticals Phloretin CF has long been my secret weapon in an ongoing battle against hyperpigmentation. Unfortunately, I used up my bottle to the last drop and didn’t feel like splurging on a new one. Fortunately, I had this BeautyStat Universal C Skin Refiner on hand that had been collecting dust in my bag since the brand sent me a bottle to try. And I am happy to report that it is a serious dupe contender. Just like SkinCeuticals, it hasn’t caused any breakouts, and, after applying it every morning for two weeks, my skin looks brighter and more even. And it’s got SkinCeuticals beat when it comes to packaging: The container is both airtight and opaque, which protects the precious ascorbic acid inside from oxygen and light, which can degrade it over time. I’ve also found that the gel-cream texture sinks in immediately, and layers under my other products seamlessly. Plus, at 80 bucks a bottle, it’s half the price of SkinCeuticals.