T LOunge for August 21st, 2023

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PinLobby Lounge Bar at Sindhorn Kempinski Hotel Bangkok – Bangkok, Thailand

It’s MONDAY and we’re feeling a bit grandiose about it. Let’s all gather in a soaring space to sit in luxurious chairs and listen to our voices bouncing off of all that marble, concrete and glass. Let’s get loud. Let’s be just a little obnoxious. Come on, you know you want to. We’ll even pay for the drinks.

Was Roman Holiday inspired by Princess Margaret? Tatler investigates as Audrey Hepburn’s breakout film turns 70
The summer that Roman Holiday hit cinemas was the summer that the world was alight with rumours of a relationship between Princess Margaret and Captain Peter Townsend
A young woman zips through the streets of Rome on the back of a Vespa. Past the Colosseum, past the Altare della Patria. On black-and-white film her face looks fresh, and her vintage skirt is accented by a silk scarf that adorns her neck. Roman Holiday is the film that propelled Audrey Hepburn to super-stardom upon its release 70 years ago today.
She plays Princess Ann, who longs for respite from her royal duties and escapes into the Eternal City, meeting and falling in love with an American journalist. The film won Audrey Hepburn her first Oscar, but rumours have long swirled that it may in fact be a British royal we have to thank for the heaven-sent romance.
It’s a tale as old as time – the princess falls in love with a commoner – but when Roman Holiday was released, there was only one princess on people’s minds.

Cher Is Saving the Animals, One Elephant at a Time
She’s back in the studio, still writing that memoir, rethinking her biopic and, yes, starting a gelato empire — but, at 77, the world’s most recognizable mononym is primarily concerned with liberating Billy, a pachyderm at the L.A. Zoo.
In late November 2020, as another COVID-19 wave had U.S. hospitalizations approaching what would be their pandemic peak, Cher braved the trip from Los Angeles to Pakistan to ensure the safe relocation of Kaavan — an Asian elephant languishing in the decrepit Islamabad zoo. The culmination of a five-year effort largely maneuvered by Cher’s Free the Wild, a charity fund of the Entertainment Industry Foundation that seeks the release of captive animals, Kaavan was moved to a sanctuary in Cambodia.

The expert’s guide to skincare through the decades
A doctor explains why it’s important to evolve your skincare as you age – and how to do it
Over the years, your skin goes through many changes – a combination of natural ageing and environmental and lifestyle factors. Or, as cosmetic doctor Dr Wassim Taktouk puts it, intrinsic and extrinsic ageing. While no two people age in exactly the same way, everyone’s skin will gradually become “thinner, drier and less elastic”, he says, as it produces less collagen and elastin, and natural hyaluronic acid levels drop.
Which is why it’s important to adjust your skin routine accordingly at each stage, choosing products with ingredients designed to target these specific issues.

Inside The Atelier: Watch how Valentino Garavani’s Rockstud bag is made
Prepare to appreciate the craftsmanship of an iconic product
It is easy to take for granted the craftsmanship that goes into making some of the world’s most beautiful luxury products, which makes it all the more fascinating when you have the opportunity to see the process for yourself. For this reason, Valentino is shining a light on the hard work that takes place within its atelier, giving us all a chance to see how the beautiful Rockstud23 bag comes to life.

Why is everyone suddenly obsessed with Suits?
The recipe for streaming success? A procedural, a princess and a paucity of choice.
It’s all over your Netflix account. It’s filling up your TikTok For You page and your Instagram reels. It’s all your friends seem to want to talk about. And no, we’re not talking about Barbie or Succession or whatever the latest, freshest hit may be. We’re talking, bizarrely enough, about Suits. That’s right. Suits, the USA Network legal procedural that ran from 2011 to 2019. Or rather, Suits, that show that most of us are only vaguely aware of as that show that Meghan Markle was in before Prince Harry came along.

Is Fashion Finally Turning The Page On Cultural Appropriation?
One night a few months ago, I was scouring my usual list of secondhand websites – The RealReal, eBay, Grailed – when I spotted it: a vintage Jean Paul Gaultier top plastered with imagery of cowboys and Native Americans. Sigh. It’s certainly not the first time I’ve seen my Indigenous culture reduced to a kind of gimmick. Growing up Ojibwe on the Nipissing First Nation reservation in northern Ontario, only rarely did I see the beauty of our people and their designs authentically reflected in the fashion world; all too often, we were reduced to caricatures instead.

Everything you need to know about vitamin C
A powerhouse ingredient for dark spots and dull skin
By now, the beauty benefits of vitamin C have been widely extolled: this powerhouse antioxidant has the ability to brighten skin, neutralise free radicals and fade pigmentation like no other. Consequently, it’s safe to say many of us can benefit from incorporating one of the best vitamin C serums, creams or targeted treatments into our daily routines.
And the universal appeal of beauty’s biggest buzzword has not gone unnoticed, with myriad new vitamin-powered products hitting the shelves at a remarkable rate.

Britney Spears breaks her silence about divorce from Sam Asghari
“I couldn’t take the pain anymore…”
Since news broke that Britney Spears and Sam Asghari were parting ways after just 14 months of marriage, it seemed we heard from everyone but Britney. Since August 16, tabloids like TMZ and Page Six have published countless reports, Sam Asghari’s reps spoke out, and even Octavia Spencer got involved before we got a statement from Asghari himself.
“After six years of love and commitment to each other, my wife and I have decided to end our journey together,” the 29-year-old fitness trainer wrote on August 17. “We will hold onto the love and respect we have for each other and I wish her the best always. Shit happens.”

Linda Evangelista: Venus de Meisel
The supermodel is the subject of a new book titled Linda Evangelista Photographed by Steven Meisel that chronicles an artist-muse relationship that dates back to 1987.
No model has given more of herself in service of the perfect picture, and no photographer has played a bigger role in her reinventions than Steven Meisel. He is the Josef von Sternberg to her Marlene Dietrich, the Jean-Luc Godard to her Anna Karina, and this month they come together once more for a magnum opus, a book titled Linda Evangelista Photographed by Steven Meisel that chronicles a collaboration that dates back to 1987.

Happy Birthday, Robert Redford! His 14 Most Memorable Leading Ladies, in Pictures
The archetypal leading man, Redford has appeared in political thrillers, crime capers, and romantic dramas over his 60-year career; in films about baseball, skiing, sailing, the rodeo, and several about journalism. And buttressing many of those performances are some wonderful leading ladies, from an adolescent Scarlett Johansson to the likes of Jane Fonda, Natalie Wood, and Meryl Streep—each of whom Redford worked with on multiple occasions.
Across the board, his costars have praised his integrity, his kindness, and his remarkable good looks, making the convincing case for Redford as a once-in-a-lifetime star. Here, we look back at some of the movies—and the women—that have helped shape his iconic filmography.

16 Grand Historic Homes You Can Book on Airbnb, From Castles to Manors
Cultural tourism accounts for 40% of tourism worldwide, and Airbnb has also seen an uptick in users booking culturally significant homes. The “historic homes” category on Airbnb which debuted last summer, currently has over 45,000 heritage homes available in 26 countries around the world. Most listings are in Europe–including castles in Germany, villas in Italy, and former monasteries in the United Kingdom. (The company is even offering a train journey to select guests who are interested in visiting several historic properties in one Eurotrip.)

The World’s First Chocolate Barrel Smoked Rum Is Here, But If You Want a Bottle You Better Act Fast
It smells and tastes like cinnamon-dusted hot chocolate.
Rum makers are quite fond of using oak barrels to age their sugar-derived spirit. It typically imparts a mellow, caramel-laden complexity upon the finished liquid. There’s nothing novel about the methodology. In fact, it’s been a popular approach since at least the late 1700s.
And yet now Brugal has found a way to do it like it’s never been done before. This month, the revered Dominican distillery introduced its Colección Visionaria, an ongoing series dedicated to innovation. The first release relies on casks toasted with Caribbean cacao to craft something unique. Here’s how it came to be — and how you can get your hands on a bottle.

Please Don’t Hover While I’m Figuring Out the Tip
Handheld credit card machines may speed up the process, but they stress me out.
There are moments during every restaurant meal when we want some private time to reflect. It might be when we give thanks before consuming the bounty that has been placed before us. Maybe it’s as we savor the last bite of dessert because we know that something good is coming to an end. For me, that need for personal time comes after the check has been delivered.

A groom-to-be says his dog ate his passport days before he was due to fly to Italy for his dream wedding
A Boston couple is due to get married in Italy on August 31.
But their plans have been derailed after their pet dog ate the groom-to-be’s passport.
The couple is now asking lawmakers to help them get a passport in time for the wedding, per reports.

Why you should divide your life into semesters, even when you’re not in school
The academic calendar can help you with goal-setting, time management, and motivation.
The great expanse of time that is a life consists of many days, weeks, and months waiting to be filled. Our earliest years are marked by formal education and structure imposed by parents and other caretakers, not to mention a dedicated break in the form of summer vacation. By early adulthood — and beyond — we’re largely accountable for our time. What to do with this time can prove confounding, as anyone who’s been on the receiving end of “Where do you see yourself in five years?” can attest. When it comes to setting goals and organizing time in adulthood, we’re left to our own devices.

People forgot how to act in public
Why concertgoers keep throwing things at celebrities and no one can shut up at the movies.
Some people shouldn’t be out in public right now.
Movie theaters have become a lawless land where some moviegoers have no reservations about using their phones after films have started. Sometimes it’s not just a glance at the time, but full-on social media scrolls and posting. In New York City, Broadway audiences are drunk, rowdy, and apparently leaving feces in the aisles of theaters. This summer at various concerts, Albanian pop star Bebe Rexha was beaned in the face, fellow pop princess Ava Max was slapped by a stage rusher, aerial-enthusiast Pink was handed someone’s mother’s ashes, fans interrupted country singer Miranda Lambert’s intimate show with an impromptu photo shoot, and a “fan” threw water on rapper Cardi B. (Cardi responded by chucking her microphone at her water-flinger.)
Large-scale, in-person events are down bad.

There’s No Such Thing as a Bad Movie Accent
Even the over-the-top ones, like Uma Thurman’s Southern drawl in “Red, White & Royal Blue,” can be awfully fun.
“Red, White & Royal Blue” waits just seven and a half minutes to get to the good stuff, and by that I’m not referring to the movie’s big romance, between a hot British prince and the hot son of the American president, but to its even bigger accent, a syrupy Southern drawl from Uma Thurman that may be this season’s most audacious special effect.

‘Only Murders in the Building’: How Alfred Hitchcock Inspired Mabel’s Season 2 Look
Anatomy of a Character: Mabel was created through color palette and unique hairstyles.
Subtle details in costume design, hairstyling and even production design showed the growth and progression of Selena Gomez’s Mabel in Hulu’s “Only Murders in the Building.” Season 2 begins where the first left off — Mabel is the prime suspect after being found by the side of the dead body of Bunny, who lives in the same building as Mabel, Oliver (Martin Short) and Charles (Steve Martin).

8 Fruits and Vegetables You Didn’t Know You Could Freeze
Save food and speed up meal prep by freezing these fruits and vegetables.
The freezer is a crucial tool for any home cook, whether you’re trying to reduce food waste or get ahead with meal prep. It prevents the growth of harmful microbes, allowing you to preserve food for a long time—and ultimately, keep it safe for a later date. Freezing is especially helpful for extending the shelf-life of fruits and vegetables, which are highly perishable.

Our Guide to Spicy Pork Sausages, From Andouille to Hot Italian
Not sure what makes each type of spicy sausage different? A pro butcher helps us find the missing link.
Affordable, quick-cooking, and fast to thaw from the freezer, sausage is a great protein to keep on hand for speedy weeknight meals. If you’re someone who likes their links on the spicy side, then keep reading to learn more about which varieties to look out for. To help us understand the subtleties between some common spicy sausages made with pork, we talked to Melissa Khoury, proprietor of the Cleveland-based butcher shop Saucisson, for insight and cooking tips.

12 Mopping Mistakes That Might Actually Be Damaging Your Floors
From using too much water (or soap!) to storing your mop incorrectly, these errors could render this task ineffective—or worse, harmful.
…cleaning experts agree that it’s important to pull out a mop on a regular basis to rid floors of things like dust, dirt, food, and pet hair before they build up and lead to other concerns like allergies and pests. They’re also in agreement that mopping is more tiring and strenuous when you’re using the wrong tools and techniques—which is why we asked some top cleaning professionals to share their solutions to the most common mopping mistakes so you can get the job done with less aggravation.

The 21 Best U.S. Cities for Fall Travel — for Oktoberfest, Seasonal Feasts, and More
Consider these U.S. cities for fall travel once the leaves start to turn.
While the end of summer can often seem bittersweet, the fun doesn’t need to stop when you’re in a big city. As the temperatures drop and the trees turn shades of bright yellow, burnt orange, and brilliant red, you’ll want to spend as much time as you can outside before hunkering down for winter. Of course, there’s nothing like a country drive to admire the gorgeous fall foliage, but urban areas have their own autumnal charm. Imagine leaf-crunching your way through New York’s Central Park, or sipping bourbon with a chill in the air on Louisville’s Urban Bourbon Trail.
From Savannah with its Halloween ghost tours to Santa Fe with its chili harvest, here are the best American cities to visit in the fall.

[Photo Credit: kempinski.com]

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