When food and drink writer Joanne Gould set out to try more than 60 low- and no-alcohol drinks for us this month, we never could have expected that an alcohol-free tequila-style drink would be among her favourites – or that it would end up being one of your favourites too.
We also suspected that Valentine’s Day might be dead, crushed into irrelevance by out-of-season rose bouquets and late-night-garage teddy bears. But your response to our non-traditional Valentine’s gift ideas surprised us – and proved that romance is alive and well, even if in 2025 it looks like Uniqlo joggers and laser-engraved Spotify keyrings.
Romance or no romance, many of you have been bed-oriented this month, with pillows, mattresses and alarm clocks all making an appearance among your most loved items. Here are your February favourites.
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The gentle wake-up
Lumie Bodyclock Spark 100
£76.99 at Amazon
While some of us have been lucky enough to see a few days of sunshine this month (sorry, Northern Ireland), these dark winter wake-ups are no joke, interfering with our body’s natural circadian rhythms. Our group test of sunshine alarm clocks changed reviewer Pete Wise’s life – as he wrote about in a recent Filter newsletter – and this medically certified model from Lumie came out top. “I woke up feeling great,” he said. “The device is supposed to realistically imitate the lightening shades of a sunrise – and it does so more convincingly than any other sunrise alarm clock I’ve tested.” Its more basic, non-certified sibling is £49 at Amazon, too.
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The classic crew neck
Lamb’s wool unisex crew neck jumper
£34.90 at Uniqlo
Stylist and writer Peter Bevan proclaimed the crew neck jumper to be “the crowning jewel of the knitwear world” in his guide to the best men’s jumpers. And this affordable Uniqlo lamb’s wool crew neck was your favourite of the bunch. It’s unisex and available in nine colours – although, as Peter warned, “the best shades tend to sell out every season” and some sizes are already out of stock.
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The customisable pillow
Brightr Nox vegan down pillow
£79.91 for two at Brightr
“This pillow was lauded by side and back sleepers alike, due to its adjustability and squishy, down-like comfort,” said science writer Linda Geddes in our roundup of the best down-free pillows. Its unusual padded outer case can be filled with different combinations of inserts and microfibre padding, making it fully customisable to your own sleep needs. It also performed very well in Linda’s pillow fight test.
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The modern mix tape
Etsy Spotify keyring
From £9.49 at Etsy
The disappearance of mix tapes has been an unfortunate side-effect of the streaming age. But these cute personalised keyrings – featured in the Filter’s Lily Smith’s list of thoughtful Valentine’s gift ideas – are laser engraved with a link to any Spotify playlist, song or album, so you can bring a physical element to your carefully curated mixes. All without the pain of the tape running out halfway through a song.
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The beautiful yet affordable lingerie
Bluebella Camelia wired bra
£39 at Bluebella
“Do you know Bluebella? I feel like not enough women know about Bluebella,” said Jess Cartner-Morley in her February style essentials. This balconette Camelia bra looks much more expensive than it actually is, and “looks great under clothes, which is something a surprising number of underwear brands don’t think about”.
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The cosy loungewear
Kaws + Warhol joggers
£12.90 at Uniqlo
These comfy joggers from Japanese high-street giant Uniqlo are from a collection inspired by contemporary artist Kaws and the work of pop artist Andy Warhol. “They are super comfortable, perfect for evenings in together,” said Lily Smith in her Valentine’s gift guide. Readers must have been as reassured as I was to know that “you could absolutely get away with wearing them on emergency snack runs”.
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The French-style lips
Violette Fr Bisou Balm in Amour Fou
£30 at Violette Fr
“The secret of French beauty is ‘less makeup’, yes,” said Sali Hughes in her column, “but it’s also the impression that the wearer doesn’t much care about what little makeup is there. This isn’t wholly uncontrived.” Violette Fr’s “perpetually sold out” Bisou Balm gives the look of “bouche mordue” – lips that look “just bitten” after using a fingertip to dab on bold lipstick over balm and blotting it with a tissue – in just one step. Pair with Laura Mercier’s brown Fresco eyeshadow, another favourite from the column, for the full Gallic effect.
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The comfortable mattress
Otty Original Hybrid mattress
From £499.99 (single) to £874.99 (emperor) at Otty
Jane Hoskyn’s guide to the best mattresses had been months in the making, involving turning her living room into a trial lab, enlisting her nearest and dearest as guinea pigs and, yes, sleeping. But mattresses are a huge investment, and ones that will be with you for many years, so they’re well worth the time we put in to testing them. Jane’s overall favourite was this Otty mattress, which she slept on for two months before recommending: “[It’s] a firm but cosy and supremely comfortable mattress that helped me sleep fantastically from the first night of testing,” she says.
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The surprisingly good alcohol-free ‘tequila’
Almave Blanco blue agave spirit <0.5%
£24 at Amazon
This zero-proof agave drink was an “unexpected hit” in Joanne Gould’s humungous taste test of more than 60 low- and no-alcohol drinks – and it was an unexpected hit with you as well. Whether you’re zebra striping or maintaining your good habits after Dry January, this Lewis Hamilton-founded non-alcoholic spirit will keep the margaritas flowing. “It has an immediately distinctive agave aroma, smelling and tasting extremely convincing,” says Joanne. “It’s genuinely nice even for sipping straight, but when made into a spicy margarita or mixed with grapefruit in a paloma, it’s fantastic.”
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The return of the scarf coat
Anyday scarf coat
£48 at John Lewis
Another surprise this month was to see this jacket back in the bestsellers list. Jess Cartner-Morley first wrote about this “genuinely new style” of coat back in September, and readers have been loving it ever since – in fact, it was one of the bestselling Filter items of 2024. But with it now reduced to clear at John Lewis – and after an appearance in Lily Smith’s winter wardrobe essentials – it’s emerged as a reader favourite once again.
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The window cleaner
Kärcher Window Vac WV2
£48.99 at Amazon
The beginnings of spring bring the first sun rays of the year through the window – and, for many of you, an obsession with keeping those windows sparkling clean. They’re not magic – “you can’t wave one across your windows and watch the dirt leap in,” says Andy Shaw in his roundup of the best window vacuums – but they make it much easier to achieve a streak-free shine, and are particularly handy if your house is prone to condensation. This Kärcher model was Andy’s favourite, wiping across glass surfaces cleanly, and making for a more versatile cleaning tool thanks to its ability to be used on horizontal surfaces.
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This week’s picks
Cappuccino nails, boho blouses and pilates pumps: Jess Cartner-Morley’s March style essentials
Want to avoid forever chemicals? Here are nine of the best PFAS-free frying pans
From Scandi brands to plastic-free fabrics: 10 women’s raincoats to style out drizzly days
‘My house filled with stuff while my bank account drained’: how I stopped impulse buying
‘It honks a bit’: Rachel Roddy tests the best (and worst) supermarket pesto
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Editor’s pick
The explosion in sex toys and sexual wellness products in recent years has been great for bringing these once niche, almost shameful products out of the shadows and into the mainstream. But less great for consumers who don’t know their rabbit from their bullet – or indeed, where to start.
So we commissioned Alix Fox, a multi-award-winning sexual wellbeing and culture writer, broadcaster and educator with more than two decades of experience, to demystify them for us. She put an impressive 53 vibrators to the test and rated her best 16 for us (you’ve all been loving the Hera Flex Rabbit). Consider it public service journalism – as Fox writes: “There is a significant correlation between intimate toy ownership and greater life satisfaction.”
Hannah Booth
Editor, the Filter
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In case you missed it …
Maybe you recently invested in one of the Filter’s favourite mattresses or pillows, or maybe you just want to give your bedding a spring freshen-up. We spoke to bedding, textile and beauty experts to find out everything you need to know about buying bedding – and found out which brands interior designers like to use on their own beds.
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Get involved
What everyday item or new habit has helped you cut down on plastic? Whether it’s switching to refills or taking a Thermos to work, investing in a tea strainer to use loose-leaf tea or ditching single-use razors, we want to hear from you.
Let us know by emailing us at thefilter@theguardian.com.
