T LOunge for August 15th, 2023

PinThe Roof Bar at The Barcelona Edition – Barcelona, Spain

Let’s spend the day on the roof, shall we? After all, it’s TUESDAY and the view is spectacular. Put on your best floppy hat and shades and spend the day in the open air with us, darlings.

Oprah, Jason Momoa, and Other Celebrities Help Hawaii Relief Efforts
Amidst the devastating wildfires in Maui, A-Listers are stepping up with tangible support.
Wildfires have decimated Maui, Hawaii, with the deadly natural disaster claiming 55 lives so far. In response, prominent celebrities associated with Hawaii—like Oprah Winfrey, a part-time resident of Maui, and Jason Momoa, a native of Honolulu—are stepping up to help relief efforts.
Oprah was spotted at an evacuation center, the War Memorial Stadium in Maui, helping hand out supplies. “It’s a little overwhelming, you know,” she told the BBC. “But I’m really so pleased to have so many people, you know, supporting, and people are just bringing what they can and doing what they can.”

Ariana Grande Is the Last Great Celebrity Perfumer
Why aren’t celebrities launching perfumes these days? Because no one’s doing it like Ariana.
Ariana Grande released her fourth studio album, Sweetener, in August of 2018. It was her first to feature a colorful album cover and to show the singer sporting a low ponytail—a seemingly small change, but significant for an artist like Grande whose previous work had presented such a meticulously crafted image (consider that she once was rumored to refuse to be photographed on her right side). A month later, Grande released her fifth fragrance, called Cloud. Housed in a clear blue bottle encased in a white plastic cloud, it was the first of her perfumes to deviate from the faceted spherical design of the four previous ones.

20 of our favourite sustainable jewellery brands
Build a jewellery box with a conscience
Of course, making smart, sustainable choices when it comes to shopping will always have benefits in the long run – for both the planet and your pocket. By investing in greener labels, we’re not only being much kinder to the planet (with some jewellery brands creating new pieces from recycled materials) but we’re also building up a forever wardrobe, as these pieces are built to last a lifetime and steer clear from passing trends. You can pass them down for generations to come, which is arguably one of the most eco-friendly ways to approach fashion; focusing on the longevity of our wardrobes and looking after our pieces so they stand the test of time.

The truth about wedding anxiety
In the tulle-clad, bubblegum fantasy land of wedding planning I was engrossed in for a year, not one person said to me: you may feel absolutely horrific
The night before my wedding, I cried myself to sleep. I’m fairly certain that is not what you are meant to do the night before your wedding. But what one is ‘meant’ to do for a wedding was undoubtedly part of the problem. The meant to, should do, must have imperatives around this one day were suffocating me. When I got engaged, my wedding felt like a fantasy date; a far-off day when I would be blissfully happy. But now it was real.

The autumn nail trends to know for 2023, according to the pros
Tipped off.
Who’s ready for a change of scenery? Us too. To get a kickstart on the autumn nail trends, we asked our favourite nail artists to spill the deets on their top trend predictions for the nail art and nail shades we’ll be wearing for the season ahead, whether you’re more of a mani minimalist, or you want something super statement.
So, if you want to swot up (and jump in) early, here’s the autumn nail trends to have on your radar…

I drank beetroot juice every day for a month and it gave me the biggest energy buzz I’ve ever experienced
Could this be my new flat white?
Suffice to say, since becoming pregnant and having to limit my caffeine allowance to 200mg a day (that’s around two single-shot coffees a day with a little extra room for some chocolate), I’ve been struggling. Pre-pregnancy, I also fuelled my day with nootropics, Diet Cokes and anything caffeine-infused to get me through the day. Now, with a toddler and job to contend with as well as self-diagnosed chronic fatigue, I’ve been desperately searching for a natural, caffeine-free energy boost.

Is the viral ‘wedding cake face smash’ just a prank or a chance for men to humiliate and physically assault their partner under the guise of playfulness?
Some are arguing it’s ‘just’ a prank and isn’t a serious issue, others disagree.
This week, a story about a bride’s decision to divorce her husband just a day after getting married because of the wedding cake prank he pulled has gone completely viral – and totally divided the internet.
“I read this article how a woman divorced her husband a day after their wedding because she told him her one rule was to not smash cake in her face since she’s claustrophobic from a car accident & guess what he did…he smashed her face into their wedding cake,” read the tweet.

39 Halloween makeup ideas to try in 2023, from Barbie to Wednesday
Witch, please.
Halloween may still be months away, but that hasn’t stopped TikTok from forward-planning costumes and Halloween makeup inspo in a major way. The hashtag #halloween2023 already has just shy of a billion views with users declaring which trends they’re getting behind and the key costumes they “better see this year.”
As for us? We’re invested. Because, for many beauty lovers, Halloween is the makeup highlight of the year.

How To Eat Your Way To Beautiful Skin
Who knew that the year’s most viral beauty inspirations would read like a café menu? Glazed doughnut skin. Tomato girl summer. Latte and strawberry make-up. Seriously, the PR pitches are making all of our staffers hungry — which got us thinking about how to really snack one’s way to better skin. Especially given there are more edible beauty options than ever, from morning shots of apple cider vinegar to Erewhon’s cultish beverage options (see: Hailey Bieber’s “skin glaze” smoothie or the store’s first-ever beauty branded juice, released in partnership with Origins) to It ingredients like sea moss and myriad mushrooms.
But what’s the easiest way to eat your beauty?

The Best Wedding Bouquets in Vogue
Oftentimes, the flowers within a bouquet are embedded with romantic symbolism—for her wedding to Prince Albert, for example, Queen Victoria carried her husband’s favorite flower of snowdrops. Fast forward a few royal generations, and Kate Middleton chose a bouquet of lilies (representing happiness), hyacinths (representing love), and ivy (representing friendship) for her wedding to Prince William. Both women also included a sprig of myrtle due to its long visual associations with matrimony.
Meanwhile, Jackie Kennedy opted for elegant white spray orchids—a symbol of elegance and pure love—accented with gardenias for her 1953 wedding to John F. Kennedy.

Starbucks Just Dropped 3 Summer Remix Drinks, But They’re Only Available for a Limited Time
Hurry, these drinks will likely disappear when the seasons change.
Pumpkin Spice Latte season may be right around the corner, but Starbucks is making sure we all savor summer just a little bit longer with the release of its Summer Remix Menu, which features three “twists” on its classic drinks.
Starting today, August 14, Starbucks customers can open the coffee chain’s app and find the three new drinks right on the homepage. However, if you want one, you better act fast, as these drinks are only available for a limited time. (Starbucks didn’t say when the drinks would disappear, but we assume it will be sometime before fall, which occurs on September 23.)

An American woman in Paris sparked a transatlantic debate for saying it’s ‘weird’ that French people butter their sandwiches, and now Europeans are clapping back
An American living in Paris sparked a transatlantic debate on TikTok about buttered sandwiches.
Amanda Rollins said many Americans think it’s “weird” that people in France butter sandwiches.
Rollins said she’s shocked Europeans are now calling out Americans for using mayo in sandwiches.

Jessica Chastain Proposes ‘The Help’ Sequel Centered Around Celia Foote & Octavia Spencer’s Minny Jackson
Jessica Chastain has an idea for a sequel to The Help that would include reprising her role of Celia Foote and Octavia Spencer’s role of Minny Jackson.
The 2011 film by Tate Taylor was based on the book by Kathryn Stockett about an aspiring young white journalist who writes a book from the point of view of two Black maids and the racism they experience working for white families.

The LED light revolution has only just begun
The heir to the incandescent bulb is just getting started.
After reigning for more than a century, the once-mighty incandescent light bulb was forced to relinquish its socket throne earlier this month.
The coup, more than 16 years in the making, took place on August 1, when the Biden administration finally implemented a long-delayed rule under the 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act. The rule effectively bans the sale of most (but not all) types of incandescent bulbs, the classic hot-air-balloon-shaped design that has illuminated so much of the planet since the days of Thomas Edison.

The new “science of reading” movement, explained
A huge shift in how kids are taught to read is underway. But the reading wars probably aren’t gone for good.
For over a century, a pendulum has swung back and forth on the best way to teach kids to read. On one side are advocates of phonics, an instructional approach focused on the relationships between sounds and letters; on the other, various methods, championed by educators, that emphasize word recognition and context clues.
This fight has occasionally grown so vicious it’s been dubbed the Reading Wars. But in the last five years, one camp has scored a victory that, if not permanent, is at least decisive.

What Happens When a Pop Star Isn’t That Popular?
Pop’s middle class enjoys loyal online fan bases. For these artists, pop stardom isn’t a commercial category, but a sound, an aesthetic and an attitude.
The streaming economy has essentially created a swath of pop stars who may never muster the virality or the major-label support required to reach the upper echelons of the charts or sell out stadiums, but nonetheless have devoted fan bases and consistent income from touring and licensing — essentially, the kind of model that indie musicians have relied upon for years. It may be miles away from the spectacle and flash usually associated with pop music, but it does provide a path toward something that, for decades, has proved elusive for a lot of aspirant pop stars: career sustainability.

Do Supermodels Age, or Just Get Airbrushed?
The cover of Vogue’s September issue has ignited a new debate about beauty standards.
Yet beneath the chorus of love is another, growing strain of commentary that is slightly less enthralled. One focused on calling out what many viewers see as egregious age erasing: the promotion of women age 58 (Linda Evangelista), 57 (Cindy Crawford), 54 (Christy Turlington) and 53 (Naomi Campbell) as paragons of mature beauty whose years have seemingly been smoothed from their faces. Who look so retouched that they seem more like A.I.-generated bots than actual people.

Using a Credit Card? At These Restaurants It’ll Cost You.
As inflation and high credit card fees continue to affect a restaurant’s bottom line, more owners are tacking on a new charge for using a credit card.
“No one’s using cash,” said John Horne, the owner of Café L’Europe and several locations of the Anna Maria Oyster Bar in Sarasota, Fla. He said he has paid about $279,000 in credit card fees this year among his six restaurants, and is thinking about adding a broader service fee. “It is increasing the cost of doing business in every industry. And the consumer doesn’t realize it.”

5 Items You Should Always Wash Separately From the Rest of Your Laundry
When sorting your clothes prior to washing, always make sure to pull these garments out.
While separating your laundry can feel time consuming, it’s worth it in the long run. If you’re not careful, certain materials can actually ruin the other items included in a wash cycle. Fortunately, there are some hard and fast laundry rules to follow in order to keep your garments safe in the washer. Here, we’re sharing which fabrics and garments that should always be washed separately from the rest of your clothes.

How to Clean and Maintain Butcher Block Countertops
A little soap and water is all it takes to clean this porous material.
Butcher block is a popular choice for countertops because it’s touted as something you can cut directly on, replacing the need for a cutting board. While this is true, doing so can degrade the porous material faster and make it more susceptible to stains. But knowing how to clean and maintain butcher block will keep your countertops in tip-top shape. While there are many products designed for restoring butcher block to its former glory, you can easily clean the material using a few common household supplies.

[Photo Credit: editionhotels.com]

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