Eight things we wrote about last week on the Strategist that delighted us, including Peter Som’s favorite furikake, Away’s suitcase upgrades, and Troye Sivan’s actually good perfume line.

It’s October Prime Day (or Prime Big Deal Days) and a great time to buy gifts for the upcoming holiday season; find early deals on Bose headphones, LEGO sets, Breville kitchen appliances, beauty products, luggage, and more that are already on sale.

Our writers came up with the best pop-culture Halloween-costume ideas for 2026, including ‘The Odyssey,’ Ms. Rachel, Knicks in 5, and more.

Our sleep writer slept on the Chilipad 2.0 for two months to see if it is worth the higher price, compared to the previous Chilipad and similar products. Her favorite feature is the phone-free bedside remote control; she also liked the modular cover.

October Prime Days are October 6 and 7, but you can start saving now with early deals, including beauty sales from Laura Gellar, RoC, Shark Beauty, and more.

The North Face’s thermal, which is temperature regulating and has elastic cuffs, is 45 percent off right now.

Prime Day typically brings great discounts on brands like LEGO, Green Toys, Magna-Tiles, Play-Doh, Melissa & Dog, and Crayola, and many of those discounts are already live.

Our writer asked cool people about the sweater-vests they are wearing this fall, including options from J.Crew, Sézane, & Other Stories, Nikki Chasin, Suzie Kondi, and Dries Van Noten.

Contributor Martin Cizmar writes about Hell Hands, Big Green Egg’s grilling gloves, which offer extreme heat protection while also leaving enough dexterity to do most things you’d need to do while prepping a meal on a grill.

We asked actress Halle Berry about her favorite things, including Grüns Adults Superfoods Greens Gummies, Resore Body Towel, Our Place Always Pan, and Mau Pets Torii Cat Scratcher.

Our deals editor found the best early Amazon October Prime Day sales, including Crest teeth-whitening strips, a Shark vacuum, LEGOs, and more.

Our writer found all of the best fashion and jewelry Advent calendars from brands like Happy Socks, Pink, Altar’d State, Beautiful Earth, and more.

Our writer tested nine pairs of shoes to find a less-expensive alternative to Lemaire’s Anatomic slip-on, including options from Camper, Cruda, and Miista.

In September 2026, Strategist readers bought Prequel’s Gleanser, Anthropologie’s The 24 Days of Beauty Advent Calendar, and Everlane’s Luxe Fleece Barrel Sweatpant.

Our deals writer scoped out 70-plus costumes, toys, games, and decorations for Halloween, from ghosts to witches to bats.

For our ‘Beauty Aisle’ column, hair-care founder Janell Stephens shares his favorite things from the drugstore, including Noxzema Cleansing Clean and Kiss My Lashes But Better.

Writer Bella Druckman tried on all the mock-neck sweatshirts she could find. She found several cozy, warm ones that are affordable, too.

The Loeffler Randall Dina Travel Tote, the ‘tote bag to end all tote bags,’ is 20 percent off as an early October Prime Day fashion deal.

Our kitchen and dining writer rounded up the best edible advent calendars, including Williams Sonoma Popcorn Advent Calendar, Williams Sonoma Spice Advent Calendar, Dandelion Chocolate 2026 Advent Calendar, and Best of Harry & David Advent Calendar.

We rounded up a range of newly released products we’re particularly excited about, including a five-in-one play table from Lovevery, soft and slouchy totes from Dagne Dover, and a mini e-reader that’s smaller than a smartphone.

Briefcases aren’t only for when you’re wearing a suit to the office. Our tech writer tested bags that can work for casual or formal, commute or travel, and found great options from Stuart and Lau, Waterfield Designs, Topo Designs, and Tom Bihn

We asked veterinarians and pet owners to recommend the best automatic feeders for dogs, featuring picks from Petlibro, Whisker, and Pawsync.

Advent calendars arrived extra-early this year, and our deals editor rounded up all the best ones that are on sale.

The Inkey List’s Caffeine Eye Cream, which we named our best drugstore option for puffiness, is on sale for $9.80, down from $14.

Our senior fashion writer rounded up the best early October Prime Day fashion deals, including Levi’s Ribcage jeans, Leset T-shirts, UGG slippers, and more.

Our tech writer has replaced his phone addiction with a stationery addiction. He’s been obsessing over finding pocketable fountain pens, beautiful planners, the perfect brown ink — and he’s eyeing Boox’s tiny new e-reader and JBL’s lava-lamp speaker.

We asked Strategist editors and writers what they bought in September 2026. Their purchases include Fly By Jing noodles, Gap CashSoft sweaters, and Alex Mill totes.

Our beauty writer tested seven new lip plumpers to find one that works for her sensitive lips, including ones from Kosas, Tower28, Dr. Dennis Gross, and more.

A beauty dupe used to be a happy discovery — a lower-priced product that performs similarly to an expensive one. But now we’re seeing all-out copies from brands like MCo Beauty and E.l.f. Is it legal? Ethical? Our beauty team investigates.

Use the Strategist’s “product save” tool to bookmark one of these 50 products — from beauty to home to fashion — and be notified when they go on sale.

Hydrogel patches are popular for under-eyes, face, pimples, and lips — and now they exist for your nails. Our beauty writer tried them out.

Our beauty writer reviews Tsu Lange Yor, Troye Sivan’s fragrance brand. The brand offers six perfumes: TLY 5755, Luca, Sala, Pool, By Your Side, and Sage’s Rose, as well as the Garden Set, which contains Fig, Orange Grove, and Tomato.

Our deals writer scoped out 30-some great autumn coats, including leather jackets, barn coats, trench coats, and more, that are currently on sale.

Away’s entire core collection has been redesigned and relaunched. The new Series 3 suitcases have smoother wheels, better organization, and brakes (finally), plus the soft bags get better layouts, easier access, and nicer, more comfortable straps.

Teva’s Voya Infinity sandals are on sale on Amazon starting at $23 for the classic black colorway, plus discounts on other colors.

Teva’s Voya Infinity sandals are on sale on Amazon starting at $23 for the classic black colorway, plus discounts on other colors.

The latest New York Classifieds Closet Drop is from jewelry designer Presley Oldham, who’s selling a slinky Agnès B. polo, tropical Bermuda shorts, and a milky glass lamp pendant.

Our deals editor found the best beauty items on sale this week, including value-size hair care at Sephora and Baby Foot’s exfoliating peel.

Our deals editor found October Prime Day deals that you can save now and shop later, because she’s pretty positive they’ll be on sale.

We found all of the best Advent calendars for kids of all ages from brands like Magna-Tiles, LEGO, American Girl, Funko, Hasbro, and more.

We rounded up the best Halloween gift ideas for boo baskets, including specialty candy, toys, games, activities, crafts, stickers, and more.

Peter Som tells us about the items he can’t cook without, including JFC Nori Kom Fumi-Furikake, Burlap & Barrel Smoked Woodland Honey, Peanut Butter & Co. Crunch Time, Fishwife Sardines with Preserved Lemon, and Kewpie Organic Mayonnaise.

The brand’s stretchy Salutation Stash leggings are currently 40 percent off, bringing the price down to $65 in most colors and $35 if you’re a fan of pink. These are sleek, leggings with Lululemon-level compression and generously-sized pockets.

There’s lots of very good kids’ stuff on sale this week, including a sitewide sale at Primary, Magna-Tiles sets, Tubby Todd bubble bath, NumNum baby spoons, West Elm Halloween Felt Monster Candy Bowls, and Gap Kids Chelsea Boots.

Writer Brenley Goertzen tried six MZ Wallace bags for work and reviewed each, sharing which ones were her favorites.

Writer Arielle Avila chatted with dermatologist and Macrene Actives founder Dr. Macrene Alexiades about the drugstore products she loves, including products from L’Oréal, La Roche-Posay, and more.

Contributor Diksha Basu went on a hunt for pants she and her husband could both wear. Among their favorites were pants from Free People, Banana Republic, and Madewell.

Menswear writer Leon Hedgepeth went in search of his ideal navy polo: made of piqué knit, ideally cotton, a collar that keeps its shape, and close-fitting through the torso.

Caraway has just released their first appliance: a ten-cup coffee maker that is entirely plastic-free. Our senior kitchen and dining writer found the mechanisms to be simple and the coffee to be delicious.

Nine things we wrote about last week on the Strategist that delighted us, including a new, more compact Toniebox, makeup artist Tim Quinn’s favorite shaving gel, and one writer’s favorite under-$30 Abercrombie tee.