16 Most Popular Items Our Readers Are Buying Right Now
Personal care essentials are a hit, as well as home goods like bedding, kitchen staples, and more
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We test and evaluate more than our fair share of products here at CR. And more often than not, a few pop up on our radar because of their popularity with our readers.
Unlike fad purchases, these particular items have merit. They’ve either been rigorously tested and approved in our labs or thoroughly vetted in our editors’ homes, where they’ve gone through the rough and tumble of real life.
Here are the standout favorites, based on what our readers are buying.
Kitchen Essentials
Duralex Le Gigogne Tumbler, Set of 6
When outfitting his latest eatery, Mike Fadem, chef and owner of the New York City-based pizza spot Ops, sought glassware that could withstand the intensity of commercial use. His search led him to this Duralex glass. “To us, one of these is the only glass you need at home. Perfect for a cocktail, great for wine, beer, water,” he says. “They are super-versatile and enjoyable to drink out of. And such a timeless design.”
As seen in: Best Drinking Glasses for a Summer of Entertaining
Caraway 45L Rectangular Step Trash Can
Caraway’s trash can was the standout in our evaluations. Unlike other fancy trash cans (like models from Brabantia and Simplehuman), the Caraway doesn’t recommend or require its own branded trash bags. This trash can has an analog foot pedal to open—the lid opens slowly and quietly and has a silent close. The only downside to this product, other than the price, is the closing function: If you open this can all the way, you need to step on the pedal or press the lid to close it again. It’s easy to clean, and we found that it had great odor control as well.
As seen in: Best Kitchen Trash Cans
Original Gorilla Grip Cutting Board, Set of 3
These Gorilla Grip boards do everything a cutting board should, without fuss: They were among the most stable on wood counters and rarely slipped while our evaluator was prepping. They also felt great beneath the knife, providing a bit of grip and good feedback. The Gorilla Grip boards are reversible, and the second side has no groove. Best of all, they’re dishwasher-safe, which makes them super-easy to clean and sanitize.
Arctic Zone High Performance Ice Packs
This two-pack of ice packs by Arctic Zone is our favorite for one simple reason: It kept food cold the longest in our tests. In fact, it was the only ice pack that remained cold enough to contain visible ice at the end of our tests. This is a soft square ice pack, and even though it’s soft, keep in mind it isn’t flexible when it’s frozen. It only comes in one size, and one drawback is that it took 5.5 hours to fully freeze this pack—the longest of all—and it develops a hump when it’s frozen. Plan accordingly by placing it in your freezer overnight.
As seen in: The 4 Coldest Ice Packs of 2026, Tested and Reviewed
Household Basics
The petite Blueair Mini Restful does a fantastic job at removing dust, pollen, and smoke at both the highest and lowest settings. It doesn’t offer nice-to-have features like a remote control or an auto-sensor that can kick the fan into higher gear when particulate matter spikes. However, our testers say it’s particularly easy to use and portable, weighing just about 3 pounds.
It also checks the box on price: This model has a reasonable up-front cost and lower-than-average operation costs at $53 per year. According to a survey of CR members, Blueair air purifiers earn excellent predicted reliability and owner satisfaction scores.
As seen in: Best Air Purifiers of the Year
Vornado Flippi V6 Personal Air Circulator
If you’re looking for a small fan that rests on top of your desk or table and delivers a personal gust of cool air, the Vornado Flippi V6 Personal Air Circulator came out on top in our tests in this category. The Vornado delivered modest wind speeds ranging between 2.7 and 3.7 meters per second. It has two speed settings, but keep in mind that you will be sitting close to it, so these numbers should be judged in that context. It consumed the lowest amount of energy of the fans tested. The Vornado’s head can pivot 180 degrees on the vertical plane, and you can easily adjust this by hand.
As seen in: Best Cooling Products
The Shark PowerDetect AZ4002 offers strong cleaning performance and convenient features. It’s stellar at cleaning bare floors, making it ideal for kitchens, bathrooms, and hardwood floors. It also earns near-top-level scores in our carpet-cleaning tests and automatically adjusts the brush-roll speed based on the floor type. This vacuum can sense dirt and boost its power to pick up more debris. And unlike some vacuums that can only clean when you move them forward, this one picks up debris moving both forward and backward. Another plus: Shark uprights earn very good ratings in predicted reliability and owner satisfaction, based on our member surveys.
As seen in: Best Vacuums
Outdoor Staples
This flexible ⅝-inch black vinyl hose did nearly as well in our tests as our Top Pick, and is less than half the price. It’s strong, flexible, and resistant to kinking, making it a great option for people whose hoses need to snake around building corners or patio furniture. At 4.2 pounds, it’s somewhat easier to cart around a yard if necessary. It has aluminum connectors with brass inserts and doesn’t come with a nozzle. It is claimed to be lead-safe for drinking water and comes with a five-year warranty.
As seen in: Best Garden Hoses
Flux Phenom Upgraded Magnetic Screen Door
This screen door earned the top spot in our evaluations for a few reasons. It had the smallest mesh size, increasing the chances for a more successful barrier against bugs. The results from our strength tests showed that it was one of just two models that did not rip when our tester applied the maximum possible force, about 39 pounds.
It’s also easy to install. Instead of applying the adhesive hook and loop strips along all of the sides of the screen, the instructions required just one long strip along the top and a few 4- to 5-inch strips on both sides. During removal, no paint was lifted from the doorframe to which it was applied. The magnets secured the two halves of the screen door together, with no gaps except at the very bottom where the screen meets the ground. Two straps on either side can be used to keep the screen door open.
As seen in: Best Magnetic Screen Doors
Tech and Electronics
The 55-inch LG OLED55C5PUA is the company’s midtier 4K OLED TV for 2025, and, as in past years, it strikes a nice balance between price and performance. The TV delivers top-notch overall picture quality, great sound, and a stellar high dynamic range (HDR) experience. This year’s set has a brightness booster, making it a bit brighter than last year’s C4-series sets, and it includes LG’s AI Concierge feature, which provides tips and recommendations for the app or source you’re using. It has numerous gaming features, including support for variable refresh rates up to 144Hz.
The Eufy Video Doorbell (Wired) S330 has two cameras, one pointed straight out to spot visitors (or intruders), and one pointed down to keep an eye on package deliveries. In our lab tests, it receives strong scores for nighttime video quality and data security, and midlevel scores for daytime video quality, response time, data privacy, and its smart features.
In addition to its two cameras, this Eufy features high dynamic range (HDR) for more vivid video, compatibility with Amazon Alexa and Google Home, activity zones, 3-second video previews (to show what happened before the camera detected motion), facial recognition, person detection, and package detection.
This doorbell features 8 gigabytes of built-in memory to store footage, but the company also offers cloud video storage subscriptions. As its name suggests, the Eufy Video Doorbell (Wired) S330 requires low-voltage doorbell wiring for power and can ring your home’s existing chime. It also comes with a wireless plug-in chime.
As seen in: 9 Best Video Doorbell Cameras Without a Subscription, Lab-Tested and Reviewed
Bedding
The Coop Sleep Goods The Original pillow is made of shredded memory foam and excels in our tests for support, no matter your size or sleep position. It’s quite versatile, too. The pillow comes with extra foam, allowing you to adjust the filling to your preferred level of comfort. It also keeps its shape well, showing little or no change in height or fluffiness in our resilience tests. Our panel of testers was also impressed by its look and feel. The only area where this pillow falls a bit short is its ability to circulate air effectively; it sleeps slightly warm. The Coop is the only pillow in this roundup that is completely machine-washable.
As seen in: Best Deals on Pillows, Duvets, and More Sleep Essentials
Out of all the synthetic and blended sheets we test, the Bare Home Poly Satin set is the only one to excel in our strength, fit, and shrinkage tests. It’s also among the softest. Plus, this is one of the least expensive sets we’ve tested. These sheets receive a middling score in our wrinkling assessment, however, and they are a bit shiny.
As seen in: Best Gift Ideas for Your Wedding Registry, Based on CR’s Tests and Evaluations
Health and Personal Care
For experienced retinol users looking to level up, this treatment delivers a high-strength 1 percent retinol formula alongside antioxidants and skin-soothing ingredients. This product has relatively high potency and may be better tolerated by people with less sensitive skin or those with experience using retinoids. While it’s designed to improve wrinkles, discoloration, and sun damage, introduce it slowly to avoid irritation.
As seen in: The Most Effective Anti-Aging Skin Care, Explained
Bexeen Extra-Large Pill Organizer
Our evaluators found the hinged snap-closure lids on this pill organizer to be a cinch to open and close. The double-sided organizer features seven compartments on one side with black days-of-the-week and “AM” labels on a blue background, and seven compartments on the other side (with “PM” labeling). Bonus points for the label font being big and easy to read. Thanks to this organizer’s generous size, the lids can be opened with one hand without tipping the organizer. We were able to store six fish oils, five turmerics, eight Vitamin B’s, and eight zincs in the morning compartment, and the same amount in the evening compartment. It’s not the most travel-friendly; our evaluators recommend taping it closed if you do, and it’s quite bulky as well.
As seen in: Best Pill Organizers
Amika Blowout Babe Thermal Brush Tool
After evaluating over 70 products for CR, shopping editor Mary Beth Quirk amassed an array of favorites, one of them being this Amika thermal styling brush. Quirk uses the tool to replicate a salon blowout look and finds that it works well with her straight, fine hair. For those with extra-long, wavy, or curly hair, you may want to read what other evaluators had to say about the tool.
As seen in: I Tried It, I Loved It, and Now I Own It: CR Shopping Editor’s Favorite Products
