Testing products for the Guardian’s Filter newsletter has handed its contributors a string of unplanned benefits, from free ice-cream to a reprieve on pre-holiday beauty appointments.
The newsletter has reached its second birthday, and its writers were asked to look back on a year spent working through everything from beauty products to video doorbells. Writing for Filter, Lily Smith reported that the contributors found some unexpected wins along the way.
Chores skipped and money saved
Several testers said the work trimmed their personal to-do lists. Lise Smith recounted that after half a year of trying out IPL devices and epilators, she was able to skip her usual summer wax before the beach. Rachel Ogden, who put toasters through their paces, said the experience left her confident that her smoke alarm “works just fine”.
Caramel Quin’s household gained a different kind of benefit while she assessed irons. Her teenagers, she said, had their clothes pressed for them. Quin noted that she has ironed thousands of pieces of school uniform over the years, but that her children now handle their own laundry — “except when mum’s testing!”
Others drew conclusions about what shoppers get for their money. Sarah Matthews said testing a wide range of products had reinforced her view that price is not always a reliable measure of quality. Sabine Wiesel, assessing the best eye creams, was struck by a Beauty of Joseon eye serum that cost a fraction of some rival products and left her eye area looking “brighter and rejuvenated”.
Camping, cooking and a new trail
Outdoor gear brought its own rewards. Matt Collins, trying equipment for camping with children, came across the South Downs Way at Holden Farm in Hampshire, which he called “glorious”, adding that the ancient route took him and his son beneath veteran oaks and through spring meadows at sunrise.
Sian Lewis said testing the best camping stoves sharpened her cooking. Normally a fan of instant noodles, she now describes herself as a dab hand on a small gas flame, having recently made cornbread and egg muffin breakfast sandwiches in the middle of the wild.
Jane Hoskyn found a silver lining after deliberately staining a once-white towel to test eco-friendly laundry detergents. The towel became such a mess that she dyed it a deep forest green — an outcome she rated as prettier and more eye-catching than before the stain test, and better at hiding dirt.
Doorbells and board games
Video doorbells gave Andy Shaw more peaceful nights. He explained that if he wakes wondering whether one of his adult children has got home from the pub, he can simply check the doorbell notifications on his phone, and that they are so accustomed to the surveillance that they wave at the camera on their way in.
For Danielle Amato, hunting for the best ice-cream makers meant hosting tasting sessions with friends, which she summed up as more quality time together plus free ice-cream — “a win-win”.
Zoë Phillimore, testing toys and games for a guide to the best gifts for six-year-olds, said the work had seeded a family tradition: she, her husband and their children sit around the kitchen table for board games each Saturday night. She called it hardly groundbreaking, but easily her favourite part of the week.
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