• I tried instant mashed potatoes from Big Y, Bell's, and Idahoan in various flavors.
• Bell's instant potatoes were delicious but required extra effort.
• Idahoan nailed it with buttery, flavorful mashed potatoes that were perfectly light and creamy.

With a mountain of dishes to make for Thanksgiving, sometimes it's necessary to take a shortcut or two.

Despite usually swearing by homemade mashed potatoes, I decided to try out a variety of instant mashed-potato brands and flavors to determine the best option at the grocery store — and to see if any were good enough to earn a spot on my Thanksgiving table.

I tried five options. Here's how they compared, from my least favorite to my favorite.

I tried multiple mashed-potato varieties from three brands.

I tried potatoes from Big Y, Bell's, and Idahoan. The flavors included classic butter, roasted garlic, and sour cream and chive.

Since I first tried the products, one of the flavors — Bell's sour cream-and-chive flavor — appears to no longer be available, so my ranking only considers the remaining five options.

For the comparison, I followed the instructions on the packaging for each. Almost every kind of instant mashed potatoes I tried required only a microwave and water.

Ultimately, I was surprised to find that instant mashed potatoes were a decent alternative to homemade ones.

Idahoan's classic mashed potatoes and other flavors made slightly more servings than the other brands.

A 4-ounce bag of Idahoan instant mashed potatoes costs $1.79 and makes 4 ½ servings. Like the Big Y brand mashed potatoes, Idahoan instant potatoes require only a microwave and 2 cups of water.

I really appreciated the ease and not having to take up precious stove space, and I imagine I would appreciate that even more if I were actually cooking these for Thanksgiving.

The potatoes had a good, fluffy consistency.

Despite being made from a powder, they weren't grainy or thick. 

The classic version of Idahoan instant mashed potatoes looked and tasted like homemade mashed potatoes.

If someone had told me they had come from a packet, I probably wouldn't have believed them. The butter flavor was prominent, in a good way. My only criticism of the Idahoan classic mashed potatoes was that they were slightly salty for my liking.

I also tried Big Y's butter mashed potatoes.

The store-brand instant mashed potatoes cost $1.79 for a 4-ounce bag, which serves four people.

The Big Y butter mashed potatoes were super light and fluffy.

Giving the bowl a stir, I found the potatoes had a similar consistency to "real" mashed potatoes.

The flavor was satisfying overall.

The butter flavor was slightly stronger than that of the Idahoan brand, and it also tasted distinctly creamier. Big Y really came out on top, however, with its consistency — the potatoes were so light, they practically melted in your mouth.

However, I wondered how such a light mashed potato would hold up against thick gravy on top. You probably couldn't make mashed-potato volcanoes with this one.

I also tried Idahoan's sour cream-and-chive flavor.

A 4-ounce bag cost me $1.79 and contained 4 ½ servings.

Idahoan's sour cream-and-chive mashed potatoes had a light and fluffy texture.

I could also spot specks of chives mixed into the potatoes which gave them an authentic appearance.

The sour cream-and-chive flavor really came through.

I was again impressed by both the texture and flavor of Idahoan's mashed potatoes. Unlike the classic flavor, I didn't find this flavor too salty at all. Rather, they were creamy and seasoned perfectly.

Bell's classic mashed potatoes were the most complicated to make.

This brand of mashed potatoes required the use of a stove and additional ingredients. To make them, you will need 1 tablespoon of butter, ¾ cup of milk, 1 ½ cups of water, and a teaspoon of salt.

Making these instant potatoes felt a little bit more involved, but I thought they came out great.

The texture was a nice balance between fluffy and thick, and the milk added a wonderful creaminess I didn't get from the other brands.

These were my favorite classic mashed potatoes.

I appreciated knowing the amount of real butter used, and I thought these would be a good base for people looking to elevate their instant potatoes. 

However, despite tasting better than the other two classic butter instant potato brands, they created a little more mess. Part of the appeal of instant mashed potatoes is saving precious stove space, which is where this brand falls slightly short.

My favorite flavor of instant mashed potatoes was the Idahoan roasted-garlic mashed potatoes.

Just like the brand's other flavors, a 4-ounce bag cost me $1.79 and contained 4 ½ servings.

Right away after mixing, I could smell the garlic — I even saw flecks of it in the mashed potatoes.

The potatoes also had a light, fluffy texture while still holding their shape.

These mashed potatoes were buttery and extremely flavorful.

Even for someone who can be a little sensitive to garlic, the garlic flavor was strong but not overpowering. I thought this kind would pair well with gravy and other Thanksgiving foods.

Think garlic bread meets mashed potatoes — what more could you want on the holidays?

Editor's note: A version of this story was first published in November 2022. It was most recently updated in November 2025.

• Tired of seeing AI slop in your TikTok feed?
• TikTok is rolling out a new tool that lets you reduce the number of AI videos that show up.
• Generative AI fans can also turn up the dial and see more videos.

Sick of seeing AI slop on your For You Page?

TikTok is testing a new feature that allows users to limit the amount of AI-generated content they see in their FYP feeds.

Users will soon be able to head over to the "manage topics" page in their settings and use a sliding bar to choose to see fewer AI-generated videos. The feature, set to roll out in the coming weeks, reduces rather than eliminates AI content. It also does not impact videos on content pages other than the FYP within TikTok, like the "following" feed.

For people who love AI videos and aren't getting enough of them on other dedicated AI apps like OpenAI's Sora or Meta's Vibes, they can also turn up the dial to boost the amount of AI they see on their TikTok FYP.

AI-generated content has become increasingly common on social apps like TikTok and YouTube, as it has become much easier for users to create videos using text prompts via tools like Google's Veo 3. About a third (35%) of US consumers said they engage with generative AI tools in social media and messaging apps, according to a June survey from Deloitte.

Some creators and social marketers are turning to the tech to streamline the process of creating, editing, and revising videos. Major brands, such as Coca-Cola, are also integrating AI into their advertising campaigns.

But some users are souring on AI content and looking for alternatives. A new video startup called DiVine is launching this week with the goal of focusing on human content rather than AI-created videos.

The task of eliminating AI-generated videos from the feed may become trickier as AI tools get more sophisticated.

While TikTok requires creators to disclose when a video contains realistic-looking AI content, some users upload their AI-generated videos without disclosure. TikTok said it's testing a new "invisible watermarking" feature that appears in a video's metadata to reduce instances where a video evades detection.

• Tesla, Waymo, and Uber are jostling to shape new robotaxi rules in California.
• Tesla pushed back on a Waymo proposal that could force it to reveal info about its ride-hailing service.
• Tesla also argued against a crackdown on "misleading" robotaxi marketing suggested by Uber.

Tesla is jostling with Waymo and Uber to shape California's robotaxi rules as it races to hit Elon Musk's ambitious year-end target.

In comments filed with a California regulator and published on Monday, Tesla pushed back against a proposal backed by Waymo that could require Musk's company to disclose more data about its ride-hailing service.

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) is drafting new rules governing robotaxi passenger services and has invited companies — including Tesla, Uber, and Waymo — to comment.

All three companies are racing to deploy autonomous vehicles in California, but are taking very different approaches.

Tesla launched a ride-hailing service in San Francisco in July, following the introduction of a driverless taxi service in Austin a month earlier.

The EV giant lacks the necessary permits to offer fully driverless rides in California, however, so its Bay Area vehicles have safety drivers who monitor Tesla's assisted driving system, called Full Self-Driving. Tesla also has human safety drivers sitting in the passenger seat for its Austin service.

Waymo, by contrast, offers fully driverless ride-hailing in San Francisco and Los Angeles, while Uber is planning to launch a robotaxi service with autonomous vehicle companies Nuro and Lucid in the city next year.

In its filing, Tesla disputed Waymo's suggestion that operators who offer ride-hailing services with advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) — which can handle some actions autonomously but require human supervision — should be required to submit quarterly reports detailing the number of miles traveled, passenger trip time, and information about collisions and other incidents.

Under current regulations, Tesla's ride-hailing service in California does not have to report this information, while robotaxi operators like Waymo do.

Tesla argued that vehicles equipped with driver-assist technology, such as its Full Self-Driving system, are "wholly distinct" from autonomous vehicles because they require human supervision, and that requiring additional reporting would overwhelm the regulator with data and confuse consumers.

Separately, Tesla hit back at comments filed by Uber with the regulator in October. The ride-hailer argued that the regulator should ensure that ADAS-equipped vehicles are not marketed as fully autonomous and avoid "misleading" phrases such as "self-driving" or "robotaxis."

In a follow-up filing published on Monday, Uber said that the regulator should not extend its autonomous vehicle rules to vehicles with driver-assist systems, arguing it would conflate different technologies and cause confusion.

An Uber spokesperson told Business Insider that the company's original comments emphasized that California's Department of Motor Vehicles should be responsible for determining what is and isn't an autonomous vehicle.

Tesla, Waymo, and the CPUC did not respond to a request for comment.

Robotaxi race heats up

Tesla has faced criticism in the past over its marketing of Full Self-Driving, with lawsuits accusing the manufacturer of misleading customers by portraying the system as fully autonomous.

The company's rollout of a ride-hailing service in San Francisco also sparked confusion. Musk has previously referred to Tesla's service in California as "self-driving" and "autonomous," and Reuters reported that regulators reached out to Tesla to clarify that it would not be a "robotaxi" service like the one the company operates in Austin.

Tesla argued that Uber's suggested tweaks were unnecessary, as misleading advertisements were covered by the existing rules. In a separate filing published on Monday, Waymo said there was "no reason" that existing regulations shouldn't be extended to ride-hailing services that use driver-assist systems like FSD.

Both Waymo and Uber have agreed in previous filings submitted this year that ride-hailers should be allowed to offer vehicles with driver-assist systems under the new rules, and Waymo joined Tesla in recommending that CPUC loosen rules barring unaccompanied minors from riding in driverless cars.

It comes as Tesla races to hit Musk's ambitious goals for its robotaxi rollout.

The billionaire has said that Tesla plans to have its robotaxi service up and running in eight to 10 metropolitan areas by the end of the year. On Tuesday, the automaker received the green light to launch a ride-hailing service in Arizona.

• Tower Research has been using a twist on the hedge-fund SMA to recruit top quants.
• The firm first started signing external traders to "Software Vendor Agreements," or SVAs, in 2017.
• Profit-sharing, IP control, and access to Tower tech and resources are key components of the deals.

Tower Research Capital, one of the biggest names in quantitative trading, has quietly become a player in one of Wall Street's hottest talent races — backing external traders.

In the battle to attract top investment talent, hedge funds such as Millennium, Qube, and Schonfeld have increasingly pitched a tantalizing setup to prized candidates: Rather than joining another in-house investing or trading team, they can set up a separate vehicle to run the firm's capital under their own banner.

These arrangements, often structured as "separately managed accounts," or SMAs, have become a shortcut for launching a fund — without the burden of raising money or building infrastructure from scratch. Assets in SMA-style strategies at multistrategy hedge funds rose 27% last year to $315 billion, according to Goldman Sachs, more than double the 2019 level.

But hedge funds aren't the only ones cutting deals with independent portfolio managers.

New York-based Tower, founded in 1998 by former Credit Suisse trader Mark Gorton, began experimenting with a twist on the SMA years before the recent frenzy, and the practice has gained traction at the firm in recent years, Business Insider has learned.

Instead of an SMA, Tower offers select recruiting targets what it calls a "Software Vendor Agreement," or SVA, to quants that might otherwise set up their own trading firms. The deals vary by team, but the basic contours are the same, people familiar with the contracts said: External teams keep control of their intellectual property and brand while using Tower's technology, connections, and capital — and sharing any profits they generate.

Tower's embrace of external trading teams underscores how the line between hedge funds — which invest on behalf of clients — and prop-trading firms — which trade their own money — is increasingly blurring.

Tower isn't the only prop trading firm to have backed external quant PMs, according to several prop-trading insiders, but it is among the largest and most prolific. The firm signed its first external manager in 2017, according to people familiar with the matter, and Tower now works with more than 10 external trading teams under SVAs, one of the people said.

One recent example is Pierre Laffitte, a former Jump Trading quant who launched his London-based firm LQT Technologies last year under a Tower SVA, according to people familiar with the deal. (Laffitte did not respond to requests for comment.)

A Tower spokesperson declined to comment.

Hedge funds and prop trading firms converge

Top prop firms like Jane Street, Citadel Securities, and Hudson River Trading rose to prominence in the 2010s for their high-frequency trading and affinity for secrecy. But many firms reaped a windfall from pandemic-era volatility and have been in expansion mode since, edging into medium-frequency quant strategies long considered the dominion of hedge funds.

Those efforts have paid off: prop firms have notched record profits in 2025 amid renewed market turbulence.

At Tower, which has over 1,100 employees and 12 offices around the world, mid-frequency trading now accounts for 25% to 30% of the business and is growing, one person with knowledge of the matter said.

Tower has also gone further than its peers in crossing into hedge fund territory. The firm is preparing to launch Tower Research Asset Management, its first vehicle for outside investor capital, the Financial Times reported. The launch could come in 2026.

Internally, Tower already operates more like a multistrategy hedge fund than most of its peers, with distinct trading teams — including Latour Trading or Limestone — responsible for their own PNL.

Plug-and-play for quants

The upshot of a plug-and-play deal with Tower for a quant trader or researcher is straightforward. With Tower's capital and resources, including access to exchanges across the world, they can accelerate their timeline to turning a profit and potentially amplify their earnings.

One industry expert familiar with the arrangements, who asked to remain anonymous to protect business relationships, said even fairly simplistic quant strategies can cost tens of millions to get up and running, not to mention all the other aspects of building a company unrelated to developing profitable trading strategies.

An external agreement like an SVA allows the PM to maintain some operational independence and IP ownership but also to "de-risk by having all of the structural elements of the company set up for you day one so you can put your head down and focus on alpha generation."

The setup mirrors many of the benefits of an SMA, but the structures differ in key ways.

Prop firms face different regulatory oversight since they do not manage funds on behalf of clients. In an SMA, a PM is typically managing assets as an investment adviser and has a fiduciary responsibility to the client.

An SVA, by contrast, is a commercial technology or services deal. The external quant team licenses trading algorithms or strategies to Tower, people familiar with the structures said, which implements them with its own capital and shares a cut of the profits. Regulatory requirements can vary based on market jurisdiction and the assets being traded.

A quant team on an SVA doesn't necessarily trade Tower's money exclusively, but some do, a person familiar said.

For Tower, the SVA has become a helpful tool to lure more established quants who may already have IP or even profitable trading strategies, people close to the firm said.

In addition to LQT Technologies — which had 10 employees and planned to start trading in September, according to a LinkedIn post by Laffitte — other Tower-linked teams include:

• Ansatz Capital, founded by Albert Shieh, Charles Chen, Hyun Soo Kim, and Shiyang Cao.
• Differential Research, run by John Williams and Martin Thanh Pham Vu.
• EquiLibre Technologies, based in Prague and led by Martin Schmid, Matej Moravcik, and Rudolf Kadlec.

"It's a mechanism to bring in people they otherwise wouldn't have access to hire," one person close to the firm said.

• Nearly 20 years ago, we left Canada and moved to Texas because my husband had a work opportunity.
• Moving wasn't easy, and it was hard to adjust at first, though I mostly enjoyed the warm weather.
• Texas has been home for many years now, but we still miss our big family in Canada.

Nineteen years ago, on a freezing January night, my husband proposed we move to Dallas for a work opportunity.

I jumped at the offer, eager for a new life in a warm climate. After all, we'd been living in Alberta, Canada, for 50 years, and I've always hated the cold.

So, we got ready to move south with our 13-year-old daughter and a big dog. At the same time, our oldest child went east to a Canadian university, over 1,700 miles from Dallas.

As we sold, donated, and packed most of our possessions, our family grew eager for new beginnings. We didn't fully understand what or who we were leaving behind.

We celebrated Canada Day on July 1, and on July 4, 2006, we moved to Texas.

Moving and stepping into a new life has come with many challenges

The summer heat made our move even more challenging, as we had most of our belongings transported from Canada to Texas in a large container.

We chose not to upgrade to a climate-controlled storage unit because it was quite expensive. So, I spent hours worrying about my artwork melting in Dallas' triple-digit temperatures.

Thankfully, that didn't happen. However, the heat also meant it was too dangerous to transport our dog in a crate by plane.

We checked temperatures every day in both Calgary and Dallas until conditions were safe enough for her to fly to the US. It took about three months for us to be reunited.

The early days of living in Texas weren't easy. We'd built up a community and network of go-to places and pros in Canada, but here, we were starting from scratch.

We had so much to figure out, from finding a good dry cleaner and a reliable local bakery to sourcing medical providers who'd take our new insurance.

Navigating US healthcare has been a challenge, especially coming from Canada's taxpayer-funded universal system. We had to get used to dealing with a privatized system and more out-of-pocket expenses.

Our youngest daughter also had a hard time adjusting after the move. Even though she was able to keep up her grades, she missed her friends and big sister. Plus, being a teenager is tough no matter where you are.

We all eventually made friends — our daughter through orchestra and school, us through local book clubs and our neighborhood wine group — but we still miss our big family of cousins and our community in Canada.

Our relationships with loved ones have changed, and it's been hard to miss special occasions. When you live far away, births, funerals, and weddings don't feel the same, even with the best technology.

These days, we mostly use our vacation time and travel budget to go back and visit family.

As expats, there's a lot of living in-between and not belonging anywhere. We get the best of both worlds by being a curious outsider in a new country, and the worst by missing our original one.

All in all, moving to the US has shifted the course of our lives and my perspective

Fortunately, moving to the US has come with advantages. For one, we've all had great work opportunities.

My husband expanded his client base, and I started a decade of work in healthcare in Texas. Our daughter developed an interest in US presidential campaigns, which shaped her educational path and helped her build a career in public affairs.

We love the vibrant offerings of Dallas, from the hot weather and many wonderful pool days that come with it to neighborhood gatherings over delicious Tex-Mex cuisine and local educational dance programs.

Our older daughter even fell in love with a Texan boy and married him. We now have two American granddaughters with dual citizenship.

Ultimately, moving has helped me love the world more deeply and expand my concern for humanity.

Living in Texas has awakened and challenged my values about civil rights, education, healthcare, and gun control — things I took for granted and didn't think much about when we lived in Canada.

It turns out that you can leave a home you love, and create another one wherever you are. It takes time, it won't be the same, but it's worth it to discover what really matters.

• AOC says we could be in the midst of a "massive" bubble driven by AI companies.
• She also said that if a bubble were to pop, the federal government should not bail out AI companies.
• She's among the first members of Congress to publicly raise concerns about the issue.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is worried about an AI bubble.

The New York Democrat sounded the alarm about the issue at a House hearing on AI chatbots on Tuesday, wading into a debate that's been raging in the tech world for months.

Pointing to the fact that AI companies like Microsoft, Google, Amazon, and Meta have been driving a disproportionate amount of growth in the stock market and the economy, Ocasio-Cortez said that "the exposure of this industry and this investment, I fear, has reached broad levels, potentially, of the American economy."

"We're talking about a massive economic bubble," Ocasio-Cortez said. "Depending on the exposure of that bubble, we could see 2008-style threats to economic stability."

She also said that if such a bubble were to pop at some point in the future, there should be no federal bailout of AI companies.

"We should not entertain a bailout of these corporations, as healthcare is being denied to everyday Americans, as SNAP and food assistance is being denied to everyday Americans, precipitating some of the very mental crises that people are turning to AI chatbots to try to resolve in themselves," she said.

It comes after OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar suggested that a federal "backstop" may be needed to support the company as it embarks on an infrastructure buildout. She later walked back those comments, and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said that the company isn't seeking any guarantees from the government.

Ocasio-Cortez is one of the first members of Congress to publicly weigh in on whether there's an AI bubble.

Fears of an AI bubble are generally driven by circular spending in the tech industry, along with questions about whether Big Tech's increasing levels of spending on AI infrastructure will ultimately be offset by eventual profits. Others have pushed back on the idea that we're in a bubble, pointing to high demand for AI products and compute. Wall Street will be looking for any signs of industry weakness when leading AI chipmaker Nvidia reports earnings on Wednesday after the closing bell.

Ocasio-Cortez said on Tuesday that the pressure to generate profit is driving companies to develop exploitative AI chatbots.

"People's deepest fears, secrets, emotional content, relationships can all be mined for this empty promise that we're getting from these companies to turn a profit," Ocasio-Cortez said.

• Three perfume industry professionals shared their best tips for finding a signature scent.
• They recommended training your nose to learn what types of scents you gravitate toward.
• It's important to test fragrances on both paper and skin, they said.

Earlier this year, the Business of Fashion reported fragrance was among the fastest-growing sectors of the beauty industry in 2024, despite being one of the smallest.

There are many online recommendations and tempting new launches available, but it can be difficult to decide which fragrance to purchase and really make your own.

So, Business Insider asked fragrance brand founders and developers for their best advice on finding your perfect signature scent.

Train your nose

Before entering any fragrance shop, it's important to train your nose and determine what scents you naturally gravitate toward, Brianna Arps, founder, CEO, and designer at Moodeaux, told BI.

Note the fragrance categories you enjoy — like gourmands, florals, or citrus — then narrow it down to specific notes, like line items in a recipe, Arps said.

"As you become more familiar with what certain things smell like, you're able to quickly weed out things that wouldn't work for you," she added.

Understand the feeling and intention behind your scent

Scent tells stories through layers of notes, Carlos Huber, a fragrance developer and founder of Arquiste Parfumeur, told BI.

He said it's important that people ask themselves how a scent makes them feel and where it takes them. For example, certain notes can make you feel energized or relaxed when wearing them.

"We associate our life experiences with the stuff we put on us, whether it's fashion or a perfume. Figure out your intention for that," Huber said.

Try to test fragrances on both paper and skin

Romano Ricci, founder and artistic director of Juliette Has a Gun, advised testing fragrances on both paper and skin when shopping.

Paper can offer a more neutral palette, but since everyone's bodies react differently to scents, it's important to test a fragrance on your skin to see how it will really sit.

Beware of olfactory fatigue

Olfactory fatigue can make it harder to describe a scent's notes, Ricci said.

To avoid this, he suggested limiting your testing to three to four scents and spreading your sniffs out by about 10 minutes. That way, their middle notes (also known as heart notes) have time to come out.

Some fragrance shops also offer cups of coffee beans for customers to smell between perfumes to "reset" their olfactory sense, but Arps said this might do more harm than good by clouding your nose's judgment.

Instead, she recommended smelling clean skin on the inside of your arm or the back of your hand between fragrances.

Give your test fragrance time to settle

Whether you spray a fragrance on paper or your skin, Arps recommended letting it settle to draw out the complexities of the top, middle, and bottom notes.

For example, some scents that you may initially adore could unfurl into something you don't actually enjoy.

"You're gonna live with it, and it's gonna live with you for a little bit. You may like something immediately, but then if you don't like it within an hour, then it's not meant to be your signature scent," Huber told BI.

Take note of the positive or negative feedback you get while wearing a new fragrance

Sometimes, testing a fragrance once is enough, especially if you receive positive feedback.

While wearing a fragrance, see if anyone offers a compliment or reaction to the scent, like how someone might mention a flattering new lip color or hairstyle.

"It's the same way as your makeup or your outfit. It's a way of expression," Ricci said.

Look into a fragrance discovery kit before purchasing a full-sized bottle

Before you dive into a full-size, or even travel-size, bottle of fragrance, Arps suggested trying a discovery kit of multiple scents in even smaller quantities.

Ricci recommended using a platform like Nose, which uses your past fragrance preferences to build a kit of new scents you might like.

Keep a log of fragrances you try

Arps also recommended keeping a list of the scents you try as a concrete way to analyze common scent notes that you're drawn to.

This can help point you in the right direction for a fragrance you'll love.

Consider alternative methods for finding a new fragrance

Although your first thought when looking for a new signature scent may be to run to a department store, Arps told BI that swap meets are becoming more popular among fragrance fans.

While there, people swap perfumes (including partially used ones) with one another.

"It's another way to help find a scent that you truly love, because just as a fragrance evolves, we as people evolve," she said. "These types of events allow people to honor growth and find things that speak to them now."

Determine the kind of longevity you want to have

A fragrance's longevity depends on its oil concentration: the lower the concentration, the less time the scent will last.

A pure parfum, for example, should last the longest — up to eight hours — because it has an oil concentration between 20 and 30%.

After parfum comes an eau de parfum, followed by an eau de toilette, an eau de cologne, and an eau fraiche, which has the lowest oil concentration.

However, don't worry if you fall in love with a scent that doesn't last. Longevity can be a little overrated, Huber said, as you can always reapply a fragrance.

Remember to keep your budget in mind

The price of a fragrance can depend on various factors, including scent longevity, ingredients, and brand name. The popular fragrance brand Le Labo, for example, has bottles that retail for over $1,100.

Although it's probably the least fun part of finding a signature scent, Arps recommended keeping a realistic budget in mind when deciding which fragrances to add to your collection.

Have fun searching for your signature scent

There's no right or wrong way to find your signature scent or "olfactory personality," Ricci said.

His best advice: Visualize your fragrance as an "invisible dress and not as a composition of ingredients," and reflect on what you want to express through your scent.

This story was originally published on April 29, 2025, and most recently updated on November 19, 2025.

• I tried Walmart's Thanksgiving meal, which costs $40 and serves 10, making it a $4 per person menu.
• I found the value to be excellent, and I was especially impressed by the mac and cheese.
• I suggest buying a few extras, like another dessert and ingredients for a flavorful cranberry sauce.

My husband and I spent our first Thanksgiving as newlyweds eating turkey plates at a Denny's in Niagara Falls — a hard lesson in what happens when you honeymoon somewhere that largely shuts down for the holiday.

Since then, I've mostly been a guest at other people's tables, contributing a side or two but never taking on the full spread. This year, with no Thanksgiving travel plans and only a small family gathering on the calendar, that finally changed.

With the rising cost of groceries and a small guest list, I struggled to decide on a perfect menu until I came across Walmart's Thanksgiving dinner, which is supposed to feed 10 people for just $40.

I set out to test the deal, and although the value and convenience were undeniable, I also came up with a few ways to upgrade my meal.

I used Walmart's app to order my haul with just a few taps.

Walmart's 2025 Thanksgiving meal comes with 15 items, including store-brand, Great Value products like three boxes of mac and cheese, three cans of corn, brown gravy mix, and pie crusts.

Ingredients from other brands are included, too, like Campbell's cream of mushroom soup and Stove Top stuffing mix.

Using the store's app, I was able to automatically load everything included in the $4-a-person deal into my cart. From there, I could adjust quantities as needed.

The only thing I changed was the amount of corn — I'm not a huge fan, and I couldn't imagine what I'd do with three full cans of it.

Every item in the meal was in stock at my local store and ready for pickup within a few hours. The entire haul cost me just under $43, including tax.

Some recipes were straightforward, but I bought a few extra ingredients to make the turkey and cranberries.

I picked up all 15 ingredients that evening.

Notably, Walmart's list doesn't include certain essential cooking basics and pantry staples I ended up using — namely, sugar, milk, butter, eggs, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

Thankfully, I already had these in my kitchen. If you don't have them on hand, though, I'd suggest adding them to your cart so you can make the full meal, including the pumpkin pie.

Later on, I also bought a few extra items to flavor the turkey with, including cooking wine, sage, and parsley — plus oranges to use when cooking my cranberries.

Altogether, I spent an extra $10 on these additions, but I had a feeling the splurge would pay off in terms of flavor.

Several dishes on the list were pretty self-explanatory.

The stuffing, gravy, dinner rolls, and mac and cheese were the easiest parts of the meal, and didn't necessitate any ingredients beyond butter.

I appreciated how effortless it was to prepare the Great Value gravy and Stove Top stuffing. Both of these came together in minutes and shaved a huge chunk of prep time off my usual family recipes.

Mac and cheese isn't something we normally serve at Thanksgiving, but this Great Value version was fast and easy to cook.

My haul came with everything I needed to make green-bean casserole.

I was excited to realize I had everything I needed to make green-bean casserole, one of my all-time favorite Thanksgiving sides.

Using green beans, the cream of mushroom soup can, and Kinder's fried onions, I was easily able to follow my go-to recipe.

I made the cranberry relish first so that it could sit overnight.

Since I wasn't sure what to do with the cranberries, I made a family-favorite relish recipe from my husband's great-grandma.

Ever since I started bringing it to the holidays, my parents and siblings have adopted it into their own Thanksgiving and Christmas spreads, too.

Though the recipe's simple, it does need time to sit. I started by combining the cranberries with two whole oranges in a blender until all the fruit was chopped.

Then, I poured the mixture into a container with an airtight lid, stirred in sugar, and allowed it to build flavor overnight.

The pumpkin pie came together easily, but it did require a few spices I already had at home.

Walmart's Thanksgiving meal included three ingredients I needed to make a pie: crust, condensed milk, and a Great Value can of pure pumpkin.

There was a simple pumpkin-pie recipe on the can, which I followed closely. It was easy to follow, but I did have to use a few items I already had on hand, including sugar, eggs, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

I wasn't sure what to do with the carrots, so I made a simple glaze with easy ingredients.

The Great Value baby carrots took more thought, since the meal didn't come with any particular instructions on how to cook them.

I decided to toss them in a simple glaze made with butter and honey, two pantry staples I already had on hand.

I'm glad I used a few additional herbs and ingredients to make a more flavorful turkey.

Then, I made more dishes, including the turkey.

I'm loyal to Martha Stewart's cheesecloth method, which consistently produces the moistest, most flavorful turkey. After trying it once, I never went back.

All I did was melt several sticks of butter with white wine, soak a layer of cheesecloth in the mixture, and drape it over the turkey before putting it in the oven. I basted every 30 minutes.

When the bird was done, the cheesecloth peeled off effortlessly, leaving perfectly browned, tender meat underneath.

If you're making Walmart's $40 Thanksgiving, I'd recommend buying a few more dessert options.

One thing that stuck out to me was that no beverages were included in Walmart's meal. If you're hosting, it might be worth buying some sparkling water, apple cider, or wine.

Also, the only dessert I was able to make using Walmart's preset list of ingredients was pumpkin pie. If I were to make this meal again, I'd plan a few more Thanksgiving desserts — or have friends and family bring some to share.

The meal was delicious, and I was especially impressed by the mac and cheese.

Overall, I was impressed by the meal's quality. I didn't love the texture of the turkey stuffing, but stuffing usually isn't one of my favorite Thanksgiving dishes anyway.

The mac and cheese really surpassed my expectations; it tasted far more elevated than boxed versions I've tried in the past. I firmly believe no one would guess it came from a box unless I told them.

All in all, Walmart's Thanksgiving dinner had undeniable value.

In the end, I used every ingredient, except the one can of corn I'd added to my cart.

After making this meal myself, I definitely think it could feed 10 people. My husband and I ate leftovers for nearly five days, and we still had plenty of turkey left after that.

In total, I spent around $50 on the meal and a few extra ingredients — and I would have had to spend a bit more on eggs and milk, if I hadn't already had those essentials in our kitchen.

And, by buying a few extras and adding herbs and fresh citrus to my turkey and cranberries, I was able to make my menu feel truly homemade.

All in all, I found that Walmart's Thanksgiving dinner delivered exactly what it promised: an easy, affordable holiday meal that still tasted like the real deal.

• Today, Thanksgiving tables typically feature side dishes like mashed potatoes and mac and cheese.
• Once-popular options like Jell-O salads and hot Dr Pepper are no longer part of the celebrations.
• However, some people still like to make dishes like ambrosia salad for nostalgia's sake.

No festive Thanksgiving gathering would be complete without a table heaped with steaming dishes. These days, the most popular side dishes include mashed potatoes, rolls, stuffing, and cranberry sauce.

Thanksgiving spreads haven't always looked this way. There was a time when Jell-O creations and canned products reigned supreme.

These vintage food trends were often driven by economic factors, involving ingredients that were inexpensive or readily available in past decades.

Gelatin, for example, became a popular foundation for meals during the 1930s after the Great Depression because it was an inexpensive source of protein. According to The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America, close to a third of all cookbook recipes from this time period were gelatin-based.

Here are seven unique Thanksgiving menu items that have mostly fallen out of vogue.

Turkey leftovers were turned into aspic.

One dish that used gelatin was aspic, a savory jelly made from stock that firms up when chilled. It would hold meat, fish, or vegetables.

In 2015, YouTuber and vintage recipe enthusiast ThisMidlifeMillennial tried a vintage Thanksgiving leftover Jell-O recipe from a 1975 cookbook called "Carefree Cooking with Aluminum Foil." The recipe called for turkey, frozen vegetables, cream of celery soup, and ranch dressing mixed with gelatin.

"I probably would not eat this again, but it's not the worst thing I've ever had," she said.

Savory Jell-O salads made for festive centerpieces.

Jell-O salads were popular in the 1950s and 1960s.

A Jell-O dish with radishes, scallions, and a few tablespoons of vinegar wouldn't have been out of the ordinary at a festive meal. Some people continue to serve them up on Thanksgiving just because.

"Modern American palates have changed to dislike savory gelatin, but that was not always the case," food historian Sarah Wassberg Johnson previously told Business Insider. "Probably until the 1960s, savory gelatinous dishes were a thing."

A "spring basket dessert" consisted of fruity Jell-O with chunks of fruit inside.

Gelatin was also popular in sweeter desserts. One example is the "spring basket dessert," which was advertised in The Ladies Home Journal in 1948.

The molded-gelatin dessert usually contained fruit juice and chunks of fruit. The gelatinous dish is no longer the dessert of choice at most holiday gatherings.

Ambrosia salad is still popular in the South, but many have left it behind.

Ambrosia recipes began appearing in publications towards the end of the 19th century, Serious Eats reported. It remains a holiday classic in some Southern homes, but is rarely seen elsewhere.

Ambrosia usually includes some kind of canned fruit with mini marshmallows, with variations that include Cool Whip, cottage cheese, and Jell-O.

Canned foods were once all the rage, including creamed corn.

A 1948 ad in the Ladies Home Journal advertised creamed corn in a can as "something to try — smooth, creamy, with plenty of tender-skinned kernels to round out the good eating."

However, in the past few decades, canned products have gone out of style in favor of fresh food. With that, creamed corn from a can has become less popular at the table, too. 

Served on special occasions, Hot Dr Pepper consisted of warm soda over lemon slices.

In a 1968 advertisement, Dr Pepper recommended serving "steaming hot" soda over lemon slices. It definitely is "something different" to offer Thanksgiving guests.

Per Serious Eats, the drink was concocted by Dr Pepper in the 1960s "to keep profits strong during the holiday season, when sales of cold pop plummet." It was apparently pretty huge in the South but has since faded in popularity. 

Hellmann's mayonnaise shared a recipe for a Thanksgiving-themed "Cranberry Surprise."

In 2013, Hellmann's mayonnaise released a compilation of vintage advertisements and recipes to celebrate its 100th year.

One of the delicacies in the collection was the "Cranberry Surprise," a holiday side dish that "blends the tartness of cranberries with the delicate creaminess of Hellman's Real Mayonnaise" with an extra dollop of mayonnaise on top to provide "the final distinctive flavor garnish."

This story was originally published in 2018. It was updated in 2025.

• As someone who loves easy breakfast recipes, I always thought a French omelette sounded too complex.
• Then, I tried making one myself — and the technique was much easier than I thought it would be.
• The result was delicious, and I felt like I was eating a fancy room-service breakfast.

About a month ago, if you had asked me whether a French omelette would ever find a place in my breakfast rotation, I would have said, "Heck no."

I love trying new recipes, but French omelettes have always sounded difficult and a little too technical for me, especially since I'm always bleary-eyed in the morning.

Then, I stumbled upon Julia Child's tutorial video. She said that, when done correctly, her French omelette recipe takes under 30 seconds to prepare. Needless to say, I was intrigued.

After giving her recipe a try, I can confirm: French omelettes are surprisingly easy to make. Now, they're one of my favorite versatile breakfast staples.

First, I made sure I had a few simple ingredients.

To make a French omelette, all you need are two or three eggs, butter, salt and pepper, and fresh herbs of your choice.

I went with basil and chives for my first attempt, but a variety of combinations should work. Child suggests tarragon and chervil, and since falling in love with her recipe, I've also tried parsley, which adds a nice bitter bite.

Although Child recommends about a tablespoon of fresh herbs, I love a burst of herby flavor in my eggs, so I decided to add more.

I chopped the herbs and put a non-stick pan on medium heat.

A non-stick pan is ideal because it makes the omelette easier to shape and fold.

I put my pan on the stovetop, and then chopped up the herbs as I waited for it to heat up.

After that, I cracked three eggs into a mixing bowl and added salt, pepper, and my chopped herbs. I gave them a good mix with a fork — Child recommends about 30 strokes.

Once my egg mixture was prepped, it was time to grease the pan.

At this point, the pan was ready to be greased. I added a tablespoon of butter and waited to add the eggs.

Child's trick for knowing when to put the eggs in is to watch how the butter bubbles up. Wait until the butter foams, then subsides; that's when it's time to add the eggs. Be careful not to let the butter brown.

Then, it was time to make the omelette.

Next came the fun — and technical — part.

I added the egg mixture to the pan, then shook the pan quickly back and forth while simultaneously stirring the eggs rapidly with the fork. This allowed the eggs to curdle and become creamy, but also helped the mixture not stick to the pan.

I did this for about 10 seconds, and Child was right: It came together surprisingly fast.

Once the outer edges formed and the mixture in the middle curdled, I started to gently fold and form my omelette. I tucked the ends into the omelette to make them look even fluffier.

As soon as the omelette was nearly formed with just one more fold left, I took the pan to the edge of my plate and carefully rolled the omelette onto it. I used the fork to help maintain its shape and fold it once more.

This technique was quick and easy, and my omelette felt much fancier to eat than it did to make.

My first French omelette tasted like something I'd ordered via room service at a luxury hotel, not a dish that came together in under five minutes.

The flavors were delicious: I loved basil's freshness coupled with the chives' garlicky taste, all wrapped up in a fluffy egg. The great thing about this recipe, too, is knowing I can always try out different combinations of flavors and fillings.

I learned from Child that the French actually eat these omelettes for lunch or as a light dinner. Although I personally love having them for breakfast, I'll have to try a lunch omelette next — maybe with a filling like bacon, tomatoes, or cheese.