Latest news with #LourynStrampe
WIRED
4 days ago
- General
- WIRED
Remove Body Hair From Everywhere With the Fur 2-in-1 Trimmer
My relationship with my body hair remains, as it has always been, complicated. The first time I ever shaved was when I was 12, and since then, I've run the gamut from regular waxes every six weeks to going months without removing a single hair. I'm all for the full bush in a bikini movement, but each person has their own routines and feelings about their body hair, and getting rid of it can be downright painful. And time-consuming. And expensive! Anybody who's done maintenance in their nether regions knows what I'm talking about. I've used razors, sugaring, waxing, and tweezing, but I'm relatively new to using trimmers. I'm working on a buying guide of the best options, and so far, the Fur Trim System has made my whole-body grooming routine a breeze. The Fur Trim System includes the trimmer itself, an adjustable guide, a razor cartridge, a razor refill, a charging pedestal, and a USB-A to USB-C charging cable that plugs into the included pedestal stand. It doesn't come with a wall adapter. It takes four hours to fully charge, which will get you 60 minutes of use. Upon the little blinking light turning solid, indicating a full charge, I decided to test the waters. I used this on my toes, my legs, my underarms, and my bikini area, and I was thoroughly impressed with the results. Trimming the Hedges The Fur Trim System is ridiculously easy to use. The handle has grooves and ridges that make it effortless to get a good grip, even under running water. The device has a built-in LED spotlight—press the button once for the light, and again to turn on the motor. I really liked this feature, since it made it way easier to see what the heck I was doing (and to spot any spots or stray hairs I'd missed). You can choose to use the trimmer with the guide off, which results in hairs around 1 mm long. There's also a guide that has 2-mm or 3.5-mm lengths—simply pop it on top of the trimmer and slide it until it clicks once or twice to select your setting. If you want to shave completely bare, you can swap the trimmer head for the razor blade head. You can use the razor with the light and/or vibration, or leave those settings off. The device is water-resistant and pretty easy to clean—just pop off whatever attachment you've got on and rinse them both. One minor quirk is that the trimmer's scooped underside can lead to water splashing everywhere if you're not careful (I learned this the hard way). But pay attention and it'll be fine, and your bathroom countertops will remain nice and dry. The device might need frequent rinsing if you haven't groomed in a while, but that's the case with any hair-removal gadget. Photograph: Louryn Strampe When I tested this trimmer, I hadn't shaved in six months. (Don't judge me!) I tested all three modes—the razor head, the trimmer, and the trimmer with the guard. The trimmer made short work of my underarms and legs, and it was easy to use in my bikini area too. I was nervous at first, but despite intentionally trying to cut myself, I didn't manage to. (Don't say I don't thoroughly test my gear, either!) I did snag a couple of hairs and catch my skin once or twice, but nothing resulted in blood or pain. As a relative beginner to using gadgets like this, I was pleasantly surprised, and I'm sure anyone with more experience would find that it works smoothly as well. My shower didn't look like that scene from Carrie , a fear that was thankfully short-lived.
WIRED
24-05-2025
- WIRED
The Best Coffee Pod Machines for Hot and Cold Brew
Photograph: Louryn Strampe The Keurig K-Brew + Chill can handle both hot and iced coffee. It has two tanks—a main water pitcher that it'll automatically pull from for hot coffee and as needed, and a chill tank that constantly runs to keep the water supply cold. The fan starts and stops on its own, and I didn't find the noise disruptive—it reminded me of a fridge running. It does have a quiet mode that significantly reduces the noise, but note that the water takes longer to get cold if you use that setting. I filled mine with cold tap water, and it took about an hour to get fully chilled, though Keurig says room temperature water takes about six hours. In any case, this machine is great if you prefer iced coffee. Keurig has had iced coffee pods on the market for a while, but usually they're brewed with less-hot water. You still have to add ice, and it isn't immediately chilled like what you get with this brewer. There are a few different buttons—you can choose between hot or cold, choose your coffee size, and choose to make it stronger. I compared hot and cold coffees using the same K-Cups, and they were both equally strong. This brewer uses MultiStream technology, which basically means it saturates the grounds in the K-Cup evenly to ensure full flavor extraction. The machine can brew cold and hot cups back to back, but the cold brews will get less and less cold unless you give the tank time to cool down again. Indicator lights will let you know how charged the chill tank is. Cold brews came out at about 50 degrees Fahrenheit and rose up to around 65 degrees after five back-to-back brews. This machine does have some quirks. One minor detail that irked me is that the chilled-water tank can only be filled from the back side of the brewer, which means depending on your kitchen cabinet configurations, you might have to pull it away from the wall to refill it easily. It's not the biggest deal in the world, but it is something to note. This brewer would take up a lot of room if you've got limited counter space. And it runs a rinse cycle after every cold brew, which takes about a minute and a half and is quite noisy. The rinsewater drains into the drip tray and it takes five cold brews to fill the tray up. The tray has a little floating indicator to let you know when it's time to dump it out. This machine isn't going to be ideal for everyone, especially if you don't really love iced coffee. But if you like cold coffee that isn't diluted, it's definitely worth checking out. Photograph: Louryn Strampe I was really annoyed when I realized that Nespresso sent me this brewer in black. Champagne problems, I know—but this brewer comes in so many delightful colors, from deep red and orange to pastel lavender and pink. It looks cute on your countertop with its little rounded figure and relatively short stature. The Vertuo Pop+ can handle all Vertuo coffee pods. The pods are aluminum and can be recycled by ordering free recycling bags or taking them to a drop-off location. To brew, simply open the machine by twisting the lock on the lid, choose a capsule, and press the button. You can physically move the adjustable drip tray between two ladder-like rungs on the front of the machine. There's also a companion app that gives you maintenance alerts, video walk-throughs, and easy pod reordering. Closing and locking the machine, or pressing the coffee button while the machine is locked, will start a heating cycle that takes about 30 seconds. The machine automatically recognizes the capsule you insert, and it extracts brew size based on the capsule as well. For example, espresso capsules will brew 1.35 ounces, double espresso capsules brew 2.7 ounces, and coffee capsules brew 8 ounces. This is different from other machines where you select the capacity you want. In the app you can make minor tweaks, such as making espresso shots shorter or longer. You can press the coffee button to end brewing early (a very handy trick if you accidentally use a 6-ounce mug for an 8-ounce brew, which I may or may not have done.) The machine has a waste basket that'll automatically collect spent capsules. I'm not a huge fan of Nespresso's flavored coffee and espresso capsules, simply because I would rather make traditional coffee and then add any whimsical flavorings later to suit my tastes. But if you prefer your coffee with a side of caramel or gingerbread or almond or some other decadent altering, there are many flavored options for you. With plain old coffee and espresso capsules, I found myself pleasantly surprised by the body and mouthfeel of the drinks. Technically, these espresso pods are not making espresso. But it's a darn close espresso-like beverage, and you can get it without needing an entire separate machine with a tamping weight and a portafilter and a pressure gauge. And the coffee is on par or slightly better than other machines I've tried, with a nice acidic bite that isn't too watered down. If convenience is what you seek, this do-it-all machine is worth a look. I was sent the bundle that comes with an optional milk frother. I like having the option, but be aware that it will take up another wall outlet. But the Aeroccino was easy to use—pour in your milk of choice and press the button. It'll heat and froth your milk automatically—it takes about a minute and it's whisper-quiet. Every Nespresso capsule I've tried has featured a thick layer of crema, and having whipped, thick milk on top of it made my average cup of coffee a more elevated experience. Brew capacities 1-12 ounces Available colors 14 Dimensions 8.6"D x 14"W x 10.4"H Warranty 1 year Recycling information Capsules are recyclable
WIRED
30-04-2025
- Business
- WIRED
Factor Meals Have Gotten Much Better. Now to Ditch the Microwave
Factor's selling point over other ready-to-heat meal kits has always been twofold. One is that its meals are friendly to keto and other versions of high-protein and carb-conscious diets. The other is that its microwaveable meals have never been frozen, leaving open the possibility for actual texture in one's meal—a light crispness to the green beans, say. Or the grill char and soft give of a medium-rare filet mignon. But in past years, those two selling points seemed to interfere with each other. Factor, noted my colleague Louryn Strampe in her 2024 assessment (6/10, WIRED Review), fell prey far too often to the porridgy and cauliflower-heavy 'mush-on-mush' school of carb-avoidant fare. The food failed on texture, she wrote, in somewhat more colorful terms. But ever since HelloFresh bought Factor, the menu has been slowly evolving to heartier fare with more chew and snap. Starches now veer to potato wedges, coconut lime rice, or al dente forbidden rice. The green beans, too often overdone even at restaurants, had a surprising and welcome tautness. (One can see this evolution by looking at old menus through the magic lens of Wayback Machine.) Over time, Factor has evolved into the best ready-to-heat meal delivery service I've so far tasted. Mitigating Factors Photograph: Matthew Korfhage But this isn't to say Factor has solved the issues inherent to ready-made delivery meals. There's the cost, of course, more than most could afford as a full substitute for cooking: A full week of lunch and dinner for one would run about $170, with shipping. And pre-cooked meals will never quite be as good as fresh-prepared meals: It will always be a balancing act to avoid the twin terrors of sogginess and rubberiness in reheated food. And for every crisp green bean or air-fryer charred broccoli, there's a limp zoodle.
WIRED
17-04-2025
- WIRED
Bruvi's BV-01 Coffee Brewer and Biodegradable Pods Have Replaced My Pour-Over
The machine works quickly. It takes five seconds to heat water and brews cups back-to-back in about one minute per cup. After spending many a Christmas morning groggily standing at my mom's Keurig waiting for it to heat up so we can all get our coffee fix, the ability to brew cups in quick succession with the Bruvi is one blessing that I won't take for granted. And finally, because of course, there's a smartphone app. It's pretty simple, with a brew history, descaling alerts, and the ability to quickly order B-Pods. But I liked that you can use the app to schedule or start brewing up to 36 hours in advance. The app mimics the touchscreen on the brewer itself—you can choose from the same settings—and you can schedule it to brew up a cup at a chosen time. I don't find myself using it often since it takes less than two minutes to make myself a cup of coffee, but it's a nice feature that some folks might like. Photograph: Louryn Strampe One thing to note is that once the Bruvi needs to be descaled, you will eventually have to descale it in order to use it. After about 220 B-Pods have been used, the Americano and 1-ounce buttons on the touchscreen will blink. That means you need to descale the machine soon. You can override the alert and brew about 5 more liters (or 20 B-Pods), but afterward the brewer will no longer work until you complete a descaling cycle. That makes sense considering how descaling preserves the machine (and makes your coffee taste better), but if it'll annoy you and you want to run your coffee machine of choice into the ground as is your god-given right, this brewer isn't for you. Another thing to factor in is the price of B-Pods. They can be cheaper with subscriptions or if you buy in bulk, but even on sale, most of the best-selling pods I found factored out to be around a dollar per pod. That's less than the pods for higher-end machines like the xBloom (7/10, WIRED Review) but more expensive than Keurig's K-Cups. But to me, the trade-off for biodegradable pods is worthwhile, and so is the pure speed of this brewing method. The only other annoyance I found is that the drip tray fills up quickly. That's because the Bruvi BV-01 spurts a little bit of water out once you dispose of a B-Pod into the waste bin (which I do after every brew). Of course, the reason for this is to ensure that the needle is clean and that your coffee tastes good, so I can't really be angry about it. All in all, the Bruvi BV-01 is a precise, great-looking brewer that makes a good, strong cup of coffee in under a minute and a half. If you, like me, sometimes just want your caffeine fix without needing to deal with a kettle and a coffee grinder and a coffee filter and goodness knows what else, this is the machine you're looking for. (But you can't have mine because it's staying on my counter. Sorry, Instant Pot, but you've been demoted.)
WIRED
27-03-2025
- WIRED
The Manta Sound Helps Me Sleep Through Anything
The Bluetooth headphones, too, are nothing to sneeze at. They're easy to pair with your phone and while they don't have mind-blowing quality or active noise cancellation, they do get loud enough to drown out any environment. There are 30 steps of volume control, so you can dial in the audio precisely. I've used the Manta Sound to fall asleep in a tent at many music festivals, both in the dead of summer and on 30-degree Fahrenheit nights. Even with world-renowned bass being sound-checked at 10 am and my neighbors starting their pregame at the crack of dawn, I slept like a baby, the sounds of a box fan being piped directly into my ears. Or in a hotel room, while my friends chatted, watched TV, and played music on a speaker, I was blissfully unaware and fully asleep. This would be impossible for me without the Manta Sound (believe me when I say I have tried other methods). The battery lasts for 20 hours and charges via USB-C, and I've never had the headphones disconnect from my phone on their own. The battery automatically shuts off after 30 minutes of no audio streaming. The mask also has a built-in microphone to take phone calls, but I've never used that feature. My phone only rings while on 'Do Not Disturb' for a very few number of people, in which case I pop the mask off and answer normally. The flip side of this immersion is that I sometimes find myself sleeping too soundly. I frequently wake up disoriented after using the Manta Sound, wondering what year it is once I wake up. And it freaks me out a bit to be so far removed from the world. With my eyes and ears completely covered, I have no idea what's going on around me. If I went to festivals solo, for example, I might not use this mask, since I'd be completely unaware of any weather events or people walking through my campsite. But that immersion is ideal in some instances—I would've killed for this mask when I worked third shift and was frequently woken up by birds, lawnmowers, or the godforsaken sun. The Manta Sound is like blackout curtains for your brain. Hear No Evil I've tried other sleep solutions before, to varying degrees of effectiveness. Ear plugs and sleep headphones tend to not jibe with my preferred sleeping style, also known as 'spinning around like a rotisserie chicken until I find exactly the right spot.' And even other eye masks have been historically difficult to get adjusted so they sit correctly without pulling my hair or pressing awkwardly on my head. This mask eliminates those issues. There's nothing jammed in or falling out of my ear canal, and there's no pressure squashing my eyes or nose. And though those other solutions might be cheaper, depending on what you use, I think it's worth the extra price to get a product that helps you sleep without disrupting or disturbing you. The Manta Sound just works. Photograph: Louryn Strampe
