The 29 Items That Helped Us Make It Through March

Shopping at its worst is a trivial luxury. But we're product optimists, so we like to view it at its best: a personal means for taking action and adding value. Purchasing a useful item, no matter how big and pricey or small and cheap, can help us feel grounded when life gets rocky. And in honor of making it through one unusually shaky month, we're bridging the social distance with a virtual gathering inside March's most wanted shopping cart — filled with the items we all found some comfort in over the past 30 days.

Using anonymous audience data sourced from R29 stories, we built out the bestselling product guide ahead. Although there were, admittedly, many (M-A-N-Y!) a hand sanitizer sold, the most wanted spoils were not all disinfectant-themed. Instead, these 29 top-bought goods paint more compelling pictures of self-love, mindfulness, DIY creativity.

we’re here to help you navigate this overwhelming world of stuff. All of our market picks are independently selected and curated by the editorial team.

Etsy Hand Sanitizer

Let's just get this out of the way with our first slide. With so many top-bought (and sold-out) hand sanitizers to choose from over the last 30 days, Etsy sellers clocked in as a clear winner for being able to keep the stuff actually in stock.

Surprisingly, the site boasts a plethora of sellers offering the now coveted good as party favor material.

Shop Etsy

TupeloPoint Hand Sanitizer, $, available at Etsy

Thorn & Raised Plant Shop

One small but valuable purchase we (and our readers) turned to over the past 30 days: plants. The top-shopped virtual greenhouse was Etsy seller Thorn & Raised — offering a stacked selection of currently on-sale cacti to succulents and houseplants aplenty.

Shop Thorn & Raised

ThornAndRaised String of Pearls Hanging Succulent, $, available at Etsy

R29 Piera Crop Pajama Top

ICYMI: R29 recently launched a loungewear collection at Nordstrom. Although we are biased to love every single piece, this pretty polka-dot cropped PJ top was our readers' most wanted buy from the line — and we'd have to agree that it effortlessly walks the line between sleep shirt and Zoom-ready blouse.

Shop R29

R29 Piera Crop Pajama Top, $, available at Nordstrom

Richer Poorer Fleece Sweatpant & Sweatshirt

If the month of March could be summed up in one outfit, then our shopping data (and our closets) point to the matching sweatsuit being it. It's the WFH version of the office power suit if you will.

This blue, fleece-lined set from the brand behind those stylish essentials you keep seeing everywhere, aka Richer Poorer, was the winner-winner-chicken-dinner from our matching sweatsuit roundup.

Second place? This super-value Hanes EcoComfort sweatpant that rings in at $9 on sale.

Visit Richer Poorer

Richer Poorer Women's Fleece Sweatpant, $, available at Richer Poorer

Richer Poorer Women's Fleece Sweatshirt, $, available at Richer Poorer

Missguided Plus Size Gray Tag Detail Sweatsuit

Another top contender for the title of most wanted March sweatsuit is a plus-size number from Missguided — and although the original set has since sold out, this matching grey sweatsuit equally delivers on the affordable and comfy-chic front.

Shop Missguided

Missguided plus size gray msgd tag detail joggers, $, available at Misguided

Misguided plus size gray msgd tag detail sweatshirt, $, available at Missguided

Union Rustic Goncalo Desk

This simple but stylish small-space desk was the top-bought item featured in our guide on how to streamline your WFH setup. The tip connected with this particular product? Create a dedicated workspace.

Shop Union Rustic

Union Rustic Goncalo Desk, $, available at Wayfair

Everlasting Comfort Memory Foam Footrest

Another WFH hack that our readers added to the tops of their March carts? This ergonomic, memory-foam footrest for better supporting their bodies.

Shop Everlasting Comfort

Everlasting Comfort Under-Desk Memory Foam Footrest, $, available at Amazon

Pyrex 18-Piece Glass Food Container Set

Featured as a top steal in one of our Sunday newsletters, readers quickly carted up this 34%-off Pyrex set as a sustainable storage answer to all their newfound leftovers (for around $3.30 a pop).

Shop Pyrex

Pyrex Glass Rectangular & Round Food Container Set, 18-Piece, $, available at Amazon

All In Favor Knit Maxi Dress

While we may not be able to physically go on vacation, we can still suit up in our breezy resort-wear at home — and this 25%-off bestselling maxi from Nordstrom's ongoing site-wide sale makes for some major comfy-chic house dress material.

Shop Nordstrom

All In Favor Knit Maxi Dress, $, available at Nordstrom

Saturday/Sunday Ruthie Leggings

Another WFH outfit essential? Leggings — specifically this top-rated and shopped pair featured in our best of Anthropologie's sale coverage. Although the comfy yet subtly elevated style is no longer on sale, it still clocks in as an under-$50 must-have for wearing during your upcoming Zoom calls.

Shop Saturday/Sunday

Saturday/Sunday Ruthie Leggings, $, available at Anthropologie

Olive & June The K.I.T. Kit

Our hair isn't the only thing we've been DIYing: readers opened their own at-home salons in March with this top-carted set featured in our roundup of best manicure kits.

This essential nail package features a topcoat, cuticle serum, and file — aka everything you need to keep your WFH fingers looking fresh.

Shop Olive & June

Olive & June The K.I.T. Kit, $, available at Olive & June

Who What Wear Puff 3/4 Sleeve Button-Down Dress

Readers found shopping solace in our Meghan Markle-dedicated style roundup, where this under-$40 Target frock became a fast add-to-cart March favorite — a spring essential piece that channels Markle's love for a crisp white button-down dress.

Shop Who What Wear

Target x Who What Wear Puff 3/4 Sleeve Button-Down DressPuff 3/4 Sleeve Button, $, available at Target

Fety High-Waisted Leggings With Pockets

Readers relied on this pair of Amazon Unicorn (i.e. product with a near 5-out-of-5-star rating) leggings for a little March comfort — we're guessing that's due in part to its high-waisted style, convenient set of built-in pockets, and under-$20 price tag.

Shop Fety

Fety High-Waisted Leggings With Pockets, $, available at Amazon

Cultical Beeswax Food Wraps

Another most wanted Amazon Unicorn showed our readers taking a mindful step towards more sustainable packaging with this set of 100% organic beeswax food storage wraps.

Shop Cultical

Cultical Beeswax Food Wrap 6-Pack, $, available at Amazon

Theragun Liv

March was a big month for optimizing an at-home wellness routine — and one good that stood out in our readers' carts was Theragun's percussive therapy device (aka one premium handheld massager for treating your tired WFH muscles).

It wasn't just the brand's up-to-$150-off sale that drove shopping incentive, it was, more importantly, its Feeding America initiative — where portions of all proceeds were donated to benefit families facing food scarcity amidst the pandemic.

Shop Theragun

Theragun Liv, $, available at Theragun

Vitabrid C12 Dual Drop Serum

Aside from our pets (and our sex lives), the biggest benefactor from all our recent time spent at home is our skin — and this vitamin C serum, featured in a branded explainer on its multifaceted and powerhouse benefits, was the top-bought treatment.

Shop Vitabrid

Vitabrid C12 Dual Drop Serum, $, available at Vitabrid

Everlane Straight Leg Crop Pant

Everlane tops our most wanted charts just about every month — but this particular pair of pants rose to top-bought fame as part of one of the brand's weekly promotions offered throughout March in response to store closures.

Lucky for us, these straight-legged and cropped black beauties are still on sale — so we can nab the top-shopped wardrobe classic for just $54.

Shop Everlane

Everlane The Straight Leg Crop - Black, $, available at Everlane

Amazon Nail Brush Cleaners

As part of our COVID-19 coverage, we covered tactics for keeping our hands clean beyond sanitizing — and one top-shopped solution was this trio of nail brushes intended to help to keep underneath the fingernails clean.

Shop Amazon

Superio Nail Brush Cleaner With Handle, (3-Pack), $, available at Amazon

Augustinus Bader The Cream

It may no longer be a part of Violet Gey's major Spring Cleaning Beauty Sale, but R29 readers' passionate carting of this iconic moisturizer still makes one strong evergreen shopping case — especially when our overwashed skin could use a premium drink of moisturizing cellular renewal right about now...

Shop Augustinus Bader

Augustinus Bader The Rich Cream, $, available at Violet Grey

CeraVe Therapeutic Hand Cream

Another (more affordable) reader solution to soothing their sanitized skin in march was this $10 top-rated tube of therapeutic hand cream.

Shop CeraVe

CeraVe Therapeutic Hand Cream for Dry Cracked Hands, $, available at Amazon

Knickey High-Rise Brief

A consistent cart topper from our best cotton underwear roundup: Knickey's high-rise briefs feature French-cut leg openings and are crafted from a breathable blend of GOTS-certified organic cotton with just a touch of elastane for that stretchy movement.

Shop Knickey

Knickey High-Rise Brief, $, available at Knickey

Scotch-Brite Non-Scratch Dishwand

This pure utility buy earned its spot on our most wanted March list due to its status as a spring-cleaning expert's go-to for scrubbing down bathtubs and tiles.

Shop Scotch-Brite

Scotch-Brite Non-Scratch Dishwand, $, available at Amazon

Urban Outfitters Noodle Set

Sometimes it's the little things — like this top carted, previously on sale (but still affordable) UO noodle set — that make us feel the most comforted during rocky times.

Shop Urban Outfitters


Urban Outfitters Noodle Set, $, available at Urban Outfitters

 

Maude Body Oil

This time the most wanted Maude product isn't the all-mighty Shine Organic lubricant we've come to know so well — it's the brand's new unscented body oil crafted from a blend of organic jojoba, MCT (medium-chain triglyceride), argan, and castor oils.

Aside from sensual stuff, our Beauty & Wellness Writer (who tried the good firsthand) recommends massaging it, "into cuticles to prevent scraggles (not the scientific term, no), mixed with foundation for a DIY tinted face oil, and on the ends of damp hair to make strands soft, shiny, and frizz-free."

Shop Maude

Maude oil, $, available at Maude

Everlane The Court Sneaker

Even if spring hasn't quite sprung in the traditional sense of the season, readers still shopped a top essential for the transitional time: white sneakers. Everlane's 100% full-grain leather Court Sneaker was the most wanted winner from our roundup of the best pairs.

Shop Everlane

Everlane The Court Sneaker, $, available at Everlane

Dyson Corrale Straightener

If we can't go to the salon, we'll bring the salon to us. Readers took charge of their at-home hair game by shopping this timely March product drop by Dyson: a flatiron with increased durability, advanced heat conduction, and flexible plates made from manganese copper alloy.

Shop Dyson

Dyson Corrale Straightener, $, available at Nordstrom

Onyx Professional Hard As Hoof Nail Strengthening Cream

The under-$10 nail strengthening cream that just won't quit — first an Amazon hidden gem, then a featured spot in our best strengtheners roundup, and now a top-shopped buy for keeping R29 readers' nails strong and breakage-free all March long.

Shop Onyx Professional

Onyx Professional Hard As Hoof Nail Strengthening Cream, $, available at Amazon

from refinery29