Weekly Pickups: Renter-friendly shower head, multitasking skincare, and more...
Ft. Helen Reavey, founder of Act+Acre
Welcome back to Weekly Pickups!
Before we start, be sure to check out our latest interview with Ayeshah from Mason Dixie Foods, who went from running out of biscuits daily at her tiny DC food stall to building a frozen food empire—all because she started freezing leftover biscuits in 'cute little IOU bags' for disappointed customers, which caught the attention of a Whole Foods exec and changed everything.
And now, onto our weekly pickups… →
Nate’s Pickups
Sproos! Shower System
I've been meaning to upgrade my shower situation for a while, and Sproos delivered. This bright yellow shower system is now the happiest part of my apartment, and I'm not even being dramatic. The three spray settings (Monsoon, Jet, and Cloudburst) are all top-notch. But my favorite piece? Phone mount. I need to watch my shows!
Quick Facts: Renter-friendly modular shower system with removable showerhead and optional shelf, anti-fog mirror, and filter. It’s even shower-beer ready with a cup holder! Founded by a 15-year plumbing veteran and a product designer who actually understand what renters need.
Reasons to love:
Color that sparks joy. I went with the yellow and it's like having a burst of sunshine in my bathroom every morning. After years of boring chrome fixtures, this feels revolutionary. The fact that they developed their own PCR (post-consumer recycled) plastic to get these vibrant colors while being sustainable? Chef's kiss.
Actually designed well. I love that it's designed for renters, everything is damage-free and removable. I actually messed up my first install (didn't leave enough room between the wall and the optional shelf 😬), but their moving kit made it stupidly easy to take down and reinstall.
Founders who get it. Ben brings 15+ years from companies like GROHE, while Greg's the design brain. They're not just slapping their name on generic products either, they engineered their own sustainable plastic, included all the tools you need, and their customer service actually works on weekends (because that's when normal people do DIY projects).
Where to buy: sproos.co - and use their bundles to save!
Chobani Coffee Creamer - Confetti Birthday Cake
I got it at the UES Fairway, my wife was skeptical but I was adamant. Because I love me some birthday cake flavored things. And this thing was damn good. It tasted exactly how you wanted it to, like almost all of Chobani's creamers. It's actually incredible how good these are.
Quick Facts: Dairy coffee creamer made with real cream, real milk, cane sugar, and natural flavors. Clean and simple ingredients—no artificial anything.
Reasons to love:
They nail the flavor every time. This one and across the board. The birthday cake flavor hits that perfect nostalgic sweet spot without being too artificial. It's like someone liquified actual birthday cake and made it coffee-appropriate. Chobani has somehow cracked the code on making flavored creamers that taste like the real thing.
Chobani is a company worth supporting. Hamdi Ulukaya gave 10% of the company to employees, hires refugees (~30% of their workforce), and committed to The Giving Pledge. They've donated millions through their Community Impact Fund to fight food insecurity. This is a company that actually puts good out into the world.
Simple ingredients that work. Just real cream, milk, cane sugar, and natural flavors. No gums, no weird stabilizers, no artificial sweeteners.
Where to buy: Available at most grocery stores (I found mine at Fairway on the UES)
Jenna’s Pickup
Geologie - Micro Exfoliator & 3 Minute Clay Mask
This is one of my favorite products of 2025 …and it comes from an unexpected place: a mostly male-targeted skincare brand.
Quick facts: An exfoliator that works as a scrub, mask, AND body treatment (love a multitasking queen). This vegan, derm-approved product feels like bringing the spa to your home—with the glowing skin results to match.
Reasons to love:
The texture: As someone who grew up in the St. Ives Apricot Scrub era (and is still haunted by this product in my boyfriend’s shower…), I’ve been afraid to touch an exfoliating product for years. Exfoliating products have always felt too gritty and abrasive, leaving my skin feeling sandpapered rather than nourished. Geologie’s texture is the exception—lightly grainy and noticeably smoothing without sloughing.
The ~experience~: It has a lovely, warming (and cooling?), tingly sensation that just feels like it’s working, which is one of my favorite qualities in a skincare item. Plus, the Kaolin + Bentonite clay base means it goes on smooth and rinses clean—no weird residue or that tight, over-stripped feeling.
The results: My skin looks noticeably better (more radiant, smoother, clearer), thanks to the combo of lactic and glycolic acid—potent AHAs that penetrate the pores, stimulate collagen renewal, and gently exfoliate on a chemical level (as opposed to just a physical exfoliant).
No-frills. I love how this brand isn’t trying to sell a whole lifestyle or convince me that I’ll have the skin of a pre-pubescent child after one use. Its packaging and online presence are simple and to-the-point—attributes intended to attract a male audience, but I find refreshingly gender-neutral. I’d love to see this approach from more skincare brands!
Where to buy: Online!
✨ Special Guest ✨ Helen Reavey, Founder of Act+Acre
We're excited to welcome Helen Reavey to this week's Weekly Pickups! Helen is a celebrity hairstylist and certified trichologist obsessed with scalp health—the impetus for founding her scalp care brand Act+Acre. Beyond her immense expertise in all things hair (just check out her Substack, Between Washes), Helen has her finger on the pulse across wellness, beauty, and lifestyle. We couldn’t wait to hear about what she’s been loving this week!
Let’s dive in! →
What was your favorite pickup this week? Salud Electrolytes in the Horchata flavor. It’s hands down the best-tasting electrolyte I’ve tried—and trust me, my husband Colm and I are self-proclaimed electrolyte lovers. We’ve tried seemingly every brand out there—and this one is the standout. The Horchata flavor feels unexpected, tastes incredible, and actually makes hydration something we want to do.
What about this product intrigued you? The flavor, 100%. Most electrolyte powders taste the same, or have the same flavor offerings—this one doesn’t. Horchata isn’t something you see often in wellness products, and I loved that they leaned into something so culturally specific and comforting. The MandarÃn flavor is another amazing flavor, along with the Hibiscus. The branding also didn’t feel overly serious or sterile—it felt fun. And once I saw the full flavor lineup, I had to know more. I ended up reading about the founders, Josh and Tyler, and loved how the brand was rooted in culture and built out of genuine passion. It just felt real.
Where did you purchase it, and why that channel? I ordered it directly from their website after seeing a few people rave about it on Instagram.
Why do you love it? It’s the one thing I look forward to in the afternoon slump—when I’m debating another matcha, this gives me the boost without the crash. It also travels well, mixes easily, and doesn’t have that overly salty aftertaste some powders do.
If you want to share a brand you’re loving for us to review, or if you have the perfect special guest in mind, email us: nate@expresscheckout.co and jenna@expresscheckout.co :)
Those electrolytes are so intriguing 👀