T LOunge for August 14th, 2023

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PinNoura Marceau Brasserie – Paris, France

Good morning, darlings! We feel safe in using such a time-specific greeting because if you’re reading this at any time today, it’s still going to feel like morning to you. Why? Because it is MONDAY, the day where it’s 8 am all day. Lorenzo chose a bright, sunshiny sort of LOunge in which you can spend the entire day recharging to your heart’s content. Grab a seat. We want to show you a few things today.

Building the ‘Star Wars’ Universe on TV: Inside the Making of ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi,’ ‘Andor’ and ‘The Mandalorian’
Ever since 1977, Star Wars has been a franchise with recognizable aesthetics: The distinctive hum of a lightsaber. Rusty armor and billowing capes on the costumes. The iconic Millennium Falcon. George
Lucas created a visual legacy that filmmakers and craftspeople have continued to honor through the feature films, live-action series, video games and animated series, building completely new “lived-in and gritty” locations that entrench themselves in that ’70s sci-fi vibe. This year, “The Mandalorian,” “Andor” and “Obi-Wan Kenobi” are all vying for Emmys as they pay tribute to the beloved franchise while expanding on its world-building across various crafts.

Why Red, White & Royal Blue is the unmissable movie of the summer – as its stars grace Tatler’s September issue
The hot romance between a British prince and a president’s son in Red, White & Royal Blue had readers hooked. Now it’s tipped to be TV’s regal hit of the summer […] Will you be seduced?
If social media is any indicator, there’s a rapt audience ready for the novel’s adaptation. Since its release in 2019, Red, White & Royal Blue has remained one of BookTok’s biggest literary obsessions (#redwhiteandroyalblue had close to 400 million views at the time of writing). Plus Zakhar Perez, 31, and Galitzine, 28, are already bonafide streaming stars; they’ve each had, respectively, roles in Netflix romances The Kissing Booth and Purple Hearts, enrapturing millions of Gen Z boys and girls. They’re the toast of the fashion world, too: Galitzine is a Fendi poster boy, while Zakhar Perez spent his summer on the front rows of Givenchy and Prada.

Taylor Swift might be an anti-hero by her own admission, but food banks across the country love her
Taylor Swift has been donating huge amounts to food banks across the country as she tours.
Second Harvest in Silicon Valley was one recipient of the donations in late July.
According to their chief philanthropy officer, it will help feed 500,000 people this month.

38 undercut hairstyles to keep you feeling cool (quite literally)
Undercut hairstyles are a creative way to flex your personal aesthetic and keep things breezy amongst your lower layers. Depending on what your doing with the rest of your hair, they can make an edgy statement (the more visible they are, the higher the impact), or they can fly under the radar if teamed with longer strands on top. And, since the trend when stratospheric in the 2010s, when everyone from Selena Gomez to Rihanna jumped on board, we’d say they’ve become a little underrated. But, that doesn’t mean the renegades among us can’t rock one.

At 57, Cindy Crawford Is Still Serving Up The Very Best Beauty Looks
One of the original ’90s supermodels, Cindy Crawford’s face has graced countless magazine covers, campaigns and runways in her 30-plus years in the fashion industry. Her sun-kissed brunette mane, striking brows and beauty spot have long made her the kind of beauty on whom all manner of make-up and hair looks shine, although her signature is natural, fresh skin and a defined eye.
That said, bold red lipstick was her go-to for an evening out in her twenties and thirties, when she dabbled in full glamour – think voluminous blow dries, diamonds and a killer stare. She’s always been faithful to glowing, bronzed skin, but Crawford has upped the ante in the luminosity department in recent years, adding metallic eyeshadows and dewy base products into her beauty arsenal. Her daughter, Kaia Gerber, has inherited her easy, low-maintenance approach to beauty and the two are often compared, which is no surprise given that Kaia is the spitting image of her mother when she was younger.

Pastels are making a comeback, and lavender nails prove it
Our collective obsession with lavender nails isn’t waning any time soon—these ideas will inspire your next salon visit or DIY job
If you’re an avid Instagram and TikTok scroller, you’ll know that lavender nails are kind of a big deal among current nail trends. Digital Lavender was tipped as the colour of the year back in January by trend forecaster WGSN, who described it as inspiring “calmness and serenity”. And, despite its longstanding association with springtime (need we quote the Devil Wears Prada here?), the colour is still proving super popular this summer—alongside other key trends, such as French crème nails and jelly nails.

Dior’s Golden L’Or De J’Adore Is A Cult Scent In The Making
In the time-honoured tradition of being appointed to an important role within a hallowed design house, Francis Kurkdjian has been reading a lot of books. Before being announced as perfume creation director at Parfums Christian Dior in 2021, he set off for Grasse with a suitcase full of coffee-table tomes and Post-its. Back in Paris, he headed to the archives to dig out old recordings of Christian Dior talking. He was looking for “commonalities between what he said and me”. Was he at all anxious? Kurkdijan recalls a bon mot of Karl Lagerfeld’s. “He said, ‘If you’re not meant for it, don’t do it. You have to be made for it.’”

At 54, Christy Turlington Only Gets More Beautiful
From her high cheekbones to that unmistakable wide smile, it’s easy to see why Christy Turlington (and her fellow supers, Linda Evangelista, Naomi Campbell and Cindy Crawford, all of whom star on the cover of Vogue’s September issue ), could refuse to get out of bed for less than $10,000 in her modelling heyday. In her decades spent owning the catwalks, we saw Turlington assume all manner of guises, from sultry bombshell to free-spirited beach babe. Nowadays, she is much more the latter, with a keen interest in wellbeing – she loves yoga, running and meditation – and at 54, looks as radiant and healthy as ever. Below, Vogue takes a look at some of her best beauty moments, from theatrical runway make-up to off-duty model looks.

The Best Hotels In Marrakech, From Intimate Riads To Palatial Resorts
It’s a cliché, of course, but there’s truly nowhere quite like Marrakech. Sitting at a historic crossroads between Europe, Africa and the Arab world, the city’s blend of cultures remains as complex and dazzling as one of the spice blends you’ll find stacked into pyramids within its labyrinthine souks. And whether you’re there to wander through the dusty brick corridors of its mosques and palaces or sip on gunpowder mint tea – or simply to browse the stalls of those aforementioned souks and pick up a pair of colourful leather babouches – it offers a bombardment of the senses like no other.

Heartstopper Captures The Heartbreaking Hidden Loneliness Of Male Eating Disorders
The new season of Netflix smash hit Heartstopper finds Charlie secretly struggling with an eating disorder. For writer Micheál Costello, whose own battle with atypical anorexia began in 2018, mainstream visibility for how eating disorders affect men and boys is long overdue.
In many ways Heartstopper season two delivers the expected: it’s a comforting and pithy coming-of-age series that places teenage friendships on the same level as teenage romance, with the underlying message that everyone, regardless of gender or sexuality, has a right to love and be loved. What I didn’t expect was how, from the very first episode, the playful doodles dancing through each scene are juxtaposed with the visceral sting of its portrayal of eating disorders.

The Postpartum Depression Pill Won’t Save Us From Our Maternal Health Crisis
Medication can’t solve the systemic issues crushing mothers.
Last week the Food and Drug Administration approved the first pill to treat postpartum depression, zuranolone. I applaud the potential this could have for women and birthing people across the country, the lives it will save. But it won’t cure the conditions that make American motherhood so difficult and dangerous in the first place. And I wish the same “fast tracking” and investment was put into other common-sense interventions that would save mothers’ mental and physical health.

Can You Drink Your Way to Wellness?
Functional sodas and seltzers claim to heal the gut, relax the mind, and boost energy. But do they actually work?
Some visit Los Angeles to see the Hollywood sign, but I flew from New York to experience the culty health-food store Erewhon. I came for the Hailey Bieber strawberry smoothie, but it was an array of colorful canned beverages that caught my eye. As I leaned in closer, I didn’t recognize any alcoholic drinks or familiar sodas—just buzzwords I had seen only in my daily supplements, like ashwagandha and vitamin D.
Other drinks boasted ingredients I often eat in salads, like apple-cider vinegar and mushrooms. I suddenly felt out of the loop.

As the Only Single Person in My Friend Group, Seema Patel Has Become My New Heroine
It’s been decades since I had a romantic partner. It’s not that there have been no love interests during that time—there have been—and I too have succumbed to the all-consuming power of a new obsession. But I’ve had no great loves or long-term partners… and lots of experiences of being a third wheel. I remember when the members of my friendship group all got coupled up. As we texted each other to make plans for trips, meals, and birthdays, one friend would inevitably ask: “Are we bringing the boys?” And the others would reply in the affirmative. I would feel preemptively alienated—I didn’t always want to share my friends with their partners, as much as I liked them.

It’s Time to Start Pickling at Home
Pickle vegetables and fruit when they are in season, and enjoy them all year round.
Whether you are a successful gardener, an overly ambitious farmers market shopper, or simply someone who loves a little tangy zing on their tacos, burgers, barbecue, grain bowls, sandwiches, and salads, you need pickles in your pantry and refrigerator. The good news is that pickles are simple to make at home — it’s easier than you think to add a tart pop of flavor to your cooking. Here’s how to start pickling at home.

42 Unforgettable Hip-Hop Fashion Moments, From Run-DMC to Cardi B
Fashion and hip-hop are intrinsically linked, and participate in a feedback loop with one another—rappers influence fashion brands with their personal style often inspired by subcultures and underground movements; and labels count on hip-hop musicians to market their wears in songs. Of course, it wasn’t always this way—the fashion industry didn’t welcome rappers with open arms at first. But once high-end labels realized these fashion vanguards were blazing trails that ended up creating pop culture, they got on board. For 50 years, hip-hop artists have been turning out truly iconic looks on red carpets, in magazines, and in their everyday lives. Below, we’ve compiled 42 of the most unforgettable fashion moments ever seen in rap. Which ones did we miss?

“Functionality Is Never a Factor”: ‘Selling Sunset’ Stars Dish on Their Over-the-Top Outfits
From the belt that served as a skirt to a Barbie-esque suit, Chelsea Lazkani, Emma Hernan and Amanza Smith talk about the impractical fashions that help the Emmy-nominated show go viral.
Since first airing in 2019, Netflix’s real estate reality series Selling Sunset has increasingly been a showcase for fashion as much as it is about peeping into lavish L.A. homes. In recent seasons, the over-the-top looks seen on the show, which can verge on the impractical, have become memes on social media. Exhibit A: that Diesel skirt, which looks like a belt, worn by castmember Chelsea Lazkani, who was unable to sit while wearing it.

How to (actually) talk to kids
It’s not dissimilar from talking to other adults, but even the most well-meaning grown-ups can forget that.
Somehow, despite our best efforts, it still happens to even the most self-assured adult. You’re at a birthday party or a family dinner or a picnic in the park, and suddenly, you find yourself face to face with a kid. You introduce yourselves, there’s a slight pause, and then, even though you know better, you hear the boring question coming out of your mouth: “So how’s school?”

What’s going on with your lightbulbs?
No, incandescent lightbulbs aren’t banned.
The roots of the modern incandescent bulb can be traced back to the 1800s and, by the 1920s, most American homes in urban areas were illuminated with them. But, given incandescents emit light by heating a wire filament until it glows, the average bulb converts around 90 percent of the electricity it consumes into heat, not light — meaning they’re not very efficient.

A Field Guide to the Great Hot Dogs of America
From New York’s kosher classic to Alaska’s reindeer-driven rendition, here are 15 supremely local versions that flaunt the bounty to be found on a bun.
Summer is high season for the hot dog, from backyard grills to ballparks to the finest roadside joints. Across the United States, hot dogs exhibit a striking diversity that reflects the microclimates in which they’ve evolved ever since the 1860s, when an entrepreneurial immigrant introduced the species from Germany. Here we take a wide-ranging, but admittedly inexhaustive, look at some of the varieties you may encounter in the wild.

10 Common Painting Mistakes to Avoid During Your Next Project
Avoid these everyday painting pitfalls to ensure you love the final look.
A fresh coat of paint is an affordable way to elevate the overall look of your home, whether you’re coating your walls or adding color to an outdoor deck. But what’s meant to breathe life into your space can quickly have the opposite effect if it’s done incorrectly. From minor mistakes, like not cleaning your walls before you get started, to bigger errors, like choosing the wrong paint color, we’re sharing the most common painting mistakes to avoid during your next project.

[Photo Credit:  lauragonzalez.fr, noura.com]

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