What the Mashable staff bought over Prime Day

For the tech and shopping experts that make up the Mashable staff, Prime Day is An Event. For weeks, we track deals from Amazon and its competitors, meaning that once the big day(s) finally arrives, we’ve already seen more deals than the human brain should be able to reasonably process.

It also means we have our shopping lists ready.

So what does the team that turns out over 100 deals posts over Prime Day actually buy? We’re so glad you asked.

A tried and true face mask

Rather than use Prime Day to splurge on big-ticket items, I find the best deals to be on skincare products I want to restock or finally try out. I picked up an old favorite, the Mario Badescu Azulene Calming Mask. It’s a clay mask that comes in a gorgeous blue shade, that’s admittedly quite fun to wear, but it works wonders too. It’s far gentler than other clay masks, simultaneously clearing out my pores while toning down any redness. — Sam Mangino, Shopping Reporter

And a new hydrating face mask

The new skincare product I decided to try out thanks to Prime Day deals is the Biodance Bio-Collagen Real Deep Mask. Recommended by several beauty influencers I trust, this mask promises to hydrate, minimize pores, and firm skin. It’s loaded with ingredients my skin loves like hyaluronic acid and niacinamide, and I can’t wait to throw one on after a long day out in the sun when my skin is parched. — SM

A Blu-ray box set of an absolute classic

This box set includes all three seasons of Nickelodeon’s Avatar: The Last Airbender (books Water, Earth, and Fire), and all four seasons of Avatar: The Legend of Korra (books Air, Spirits, Change, and Balance). 

Sure, with the Netflix live-action remake, you may have recently revisited this fan-adored franchise from Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko. But with one buy, you’ll have these Blu-rays for any time the urge hits to revisit this sensational series. Or, hey, introduce it to the next generation, who will revel over the antics and adventures of Aang, Katara, Sokka, Toph, Zuko, Korra, Bolin, and many, many more. — Kristy Puchko, Film Editor

Upgraded travel gear

I bought this toiletry bag during Prime Day. I have some travel coming up later this year and instead of digging through all of the old, free bags I’ve gotten over the years (most of which are falling apart), I decided it was time to officially buy one. The bag has a double zipper that opens fully and has tons of compartments for organization. I’ve seen the BAGSMART brand all over TikTok and it has great reviews, so that definitely influenced me as well. It also helps that the bag was almost 50% off for Prime Day. I may not be having a European Summer, but getting new travel gear makes me feel like I am. — Lily Kartiganer, Senior Social Media Editor

The third in a line of Echo devices

I was slightly disappointed with this year’s Prime Day deals, honestly. I had two big-ticket items on my list going into the shopping holiday. One was a Kindle Paperwhite for my boyfriend, but the e-reader only dropped down $15 and he said he wanted to wait and see if the Black Friday deal would be better. The other was the new Echo Spot, which I did buy for myself.

I have an Echo Show 5 on my desk and love being able to check the time and weather at a glance and connect it to my Echo Show 10 to play music through my entire apartment. To complete my trifecta of Echos, I got the Spot to go on my nightstand and act as a bedside clock and additional speaker. I’ll probably stick with my iPhone as my alarm clock, though, because the Echo alarm sound is strikingly haunting. — Miller Kern, Deputy Shopping Editor

A restock of dog treats

Maybe not the most exciting purchase, but I always stock up on these Full Moon dog treats during Prime Day and Black Friday. They’re consistently 50% off (or more), so I just buy a bunch of bags to hold the dogs over until the next shopping holiday. This year I bought three 1.5 pound bags, which should last us until the next Prime Day rolls around in the fall. — Jae Thomas, Shopping Editor

A top-notch rice cooker

My best friend has been meaning to replace a lost rice cooker (tragic) for a couple of years now, and because she knew I’d be living and breathing deals over Prime Day, she asked me to give her a heads up if I saw any good ones on sale. Because she is my best friend and her birthday is just a couple of weeks, I decided to just buy her an early present when I spotted that this Cuckoo six-cup rice cooker got a nice $35 price cut.

I have another Cuckoo rice cooker in my apartment, but I got this model for my mom over Christmas and I now receive some version of the text “This is perfect rice” from her once or twice a month, so I feel confident that I’m giving my friend the gift of gloriously fluffy rice (and really, what better way to say I love you?). — Bethany Allard, Lead Shopping Reporter

An Apple Pencil replacement part

The Apple Pencil (1st gen) is the only model compatible with my 9th generation iPad, but unfortunately, its cap constantly falls off. I finally lost the cap during some recent travel (it was a long time coming), so during Prime Day I picked up this Jelanry pack of replacements that come with silicone holders. I’m hopeful these will make the cap of my Apple Pencil more secure, preventing future losses. — SM

A summertime essential for dogs and humans alike

I bought this Ryobi fan package during Home Depot’s Ryobi Days sale, which happened to line up with Prime Day. The bundle saved me like $60, and the fans are great for keeping my dogs cool in the car during the summer and for keeping me cool during hot summer camping trips. — JT

Some moving essentials

I also went the boring route and stocked up on moving supplies for my move in September. I’m going to need packing tape, Lysol wipes, and a mattress bag anyway, so I figured I’d buy them at a slight discount. — MK