Best Deals Under $25

CR writer Jodhaira Rodriguez sprang for a lick mat as a means of feeding her cat, Frank, his wet food, while making sure he doesn’t munch his meals away too quickly. For his dry food, she opted for this puzzle, which he loves. “It really slows him down and keeps him busy for a while,” she says.

The Analan Mini Pet Hair Remover is a triangle-shaped device that has three unique ridged sides, and it did very well in our evaluations. The rubber material created a static attraction with our velvet pillow so that it was able to pick up all of the cat hair we applied to the surface. But this was the only surface where it picked up hair. On the polyester-linen blend pillow, it bunched up the hair in easier-to-pick-up piles. Ditto for the carpet, where it did a great job of gathering up the hair in neat piles, but we did notice some redepositing of hair on subsequent swipes as it became stuck on the ridges. The hole in the center of the triangle allows for a comfortable grip. Because the ridged surfaces are so small, cleaning a large area, like a whole upholstered couch, takes a significant amount of time.

The Vet’s Best Toothbrush & Enzymatic Toothpaste Kit includes a triple-headed toothbrush with a unique design. Instead of brushing your dog’s teeth back and forth and from front to back, you insert their teeth into the brush head and brush up and down or side to side while three rows of bristles encapsulate the teeth to provide three-dimensional brushing. If you’re new to this design, it could take some getting used to (for both you and your dog). The toothbrush comes with its own toothpaste, which we didn’t evaluate.

The Gonicc Pet Nail Trimmer is basic and inexpensive, but it gets the job done. The clippers have a guard along the back to prevent you from clipping more than you intend to, which could cause your dogs’ paws to bleed. Because they’re manual, they’re quiet. (This is ideal for skittish dogs.) And they almost always cut the entire nail within one go, making for an efficient process. The only downside is that these clippers aren’t high-powered. If your dog has long, unmaintained nails, you may need to use a grinder first to get them down to baseline, then use the Gonicc for maintenance every few weeks.

Aside from serving as a stimulating activity for pets, puzzle treat dispensers can be a great way to encourage slow(ish) snacking. Nicky Besuden, CR’s associate director of new ventures, recommends this dynamic treat dispenser: “My dog loves all the treat puzzles.”

The Zulay Kitchen Rotary Cheese Grater, now $5 less than it was last month, is a versatile and user-friendly tool with five interchangeable blades that are perfect for grating cheese, though the brand says it can also be used on nuts and some veggies. Left-handed users can even easily turn the gadget for seamless operation. 

This was the only grater with extra surfaces and a handy container to store them. It is a bulky device overall—it stands at 11.25 inches tall, so it won’t fit into most drawers—and is meant to fit in a cabinet or sit on the counter. 

Most of the other colors are on sale for around $25, and although one of these isn’t listed as on sale, these two colorways are significantly less.

If you want a microwave popcorn maker, this BPA-free model was our favorite from our evaluations. It’s glass and dishwasher-safe. But note that it works only with microwaves with a turntable.

After testing six pairs of kitchen shears, all three of CR’s evaluators said the iBayam shears felt nice in their hands, were easy to use, and didn’t require them to grip too hard. Plus, you get two pairs of shears for this price, and our testers suggested designating one for cutting meat and one for other kitchen tasks. The one downside is that the shears don’t come apart for cleaning, but the price and the comfort level make them CR’s top choice.

The ThermoPro TP19H instant-read meat thermometer offers handheld temperature readings with a single stowable probe. There’s a built-in LED and rotation lock for the display, and a magnetic backing allows you to store it on your refrigerator between meals. Perfect for checking meats, this simple thermometer delivers reliably accurate readings within seconds.

This aesthetically pleasing pill organizer has a larger capacity than most other options we tested. It is a little bulky, making it less ideal for travel, and the caps are relatively easy to open, even with one hand. Each container has two compartments for morning and night, and these caps are numbered with 1 and 2, but testers reported the numbers are a bit hard to see.

Our evaluators universally loved this creamy, lightly scented body wash. One evaluator said, “Dove’s Sensitive Body Wash is the platonic ideal of what a body wash should feel like on your body.”

The Gillette Venus was a clear winner in our evaluations of the best razors. The silver handle is pleasantly weighted, and it has a grippy spot for your thumb that makes it easier to hold in the shower, and the razor head has a large lubricating strip. Since the head is so bulky, you may need to angle it carefully while shaving difficult areas, such as the hollow of an underarm or an ankle. 

If you’re looking for soft curls, this lightweight foam could be worth a look. This mousse tells you how many pumps of product you should apply to each section of hair because it provides a guide for varying hair lengths. Because the foam is so lightweight and watery, it spread through our testers’ hair evenly and didn’t leave any clumps of sticky, stiff hair strands. We found it worked best for our testers who had finer hair, so if you’ve got thicker hair, it’s probably a skip.

This lightly scented micellar water from a popular French brand landed in the middle of every evaluator’s ranking. “It gets the job done,” said one evaluator. Another said it required a few swipes with a cotton pad to remove tubing mascara, “but nothing too strenuous.”

Although the company claims its product is designed for sensitive skin, the inclusion of fragrance may mean it isn’t right for everyone.

Swisspers came through in our tests with above-average strength and respectable durability and functionality. Their texture was what truly won us over, with a few of our testers lauding the exfoliating properties of the textured side. Though one of the testers didn’t like that quality about them. Each wipe is noticeably smaller than those from our other top picks, but that trade-off allows for the most compact, easy-to-store packaging of the bunch. The box features a lid that tucks neatly inside to create a secure closure, and the wipes dispense from an opening at the top.

The Guohaoi Cooling Blanket was the second most cooling blanket we tested. When wearing it for an hour, the evaluator reported it felt very cool and didn’t retain heat. The front of this blanket is constructed with nylon and polyester and feels like smooth, cool, swimsuit material. The back is made from Oeko-Tex Standard 100 certified cotton. The stitching isn’t the neatest and feels a little inexpensive, and the two layers aren’t attached, but you can often expect some shortcomings for lower-priced items, and the important thing is that this blanket has a cooling effect as advertised.

If you’re a fan of features, this lamp is for you. It’s got four different brightness settings and different color choices, and you can set three timer shut-offs for 2, 4, and 8 hours. The lamp height is adjustable, but our tester found the base to be a bit unwieldy, so it may not fit every candle. Its metal material also made spilled wax a little annoying to clean.

The Lerekam Solar Spot Lights are among the priciest outdoor ones, but you get unrivaled performance. In our tests, they earned top marks for light duration and ease of use. They can be angled, installed with ground spikes (included), or screwed to other surfaces. They have an on/off button and can be recharged with a USB cable (also included). Each of the lights in the six-pack has 40 LEDs, resulting in intense white light that shines wide over an area, not unlike a flashlight. That makes them ideal as spotlights. They’d be great for drawing attention to a water feature or an ornamental tree, but they can also be pointed down to illuminate a path or walkway.

Although hard to close, these are very sturdy bags, and make a great option for parents with toddlers who have a penchant for throwing their snacks.

This classic, bright, concentrated cleaner can be used on most home surfaces. In our tests, it was especially good at lifting dirt from floors. It’s strongly scented, but if you’re looking for a bargain, it’s a solid buy, especially at 17 percent off.

The long-lasting suds produced by this dish soap left all our dishes clean with little effort. It’s mildly scented, easy to dispense, and doesn’t leave dishes smelling like the dish soap post-wash. The formula left our hands feeling a little bit dry.

This was one of the most expensive—and effective—stainless steel cleaners in our tests, so snatching up a can or two at 28 percent off seems well-advised. It cleans remarkably well and doesn’t leave a sudsy film after use.