There are plenty of celebrities who rarely switch up their signature hairstyle, but you better believe that's never going to be Selena Gomez. She's admitted that her most complicated relationship is with social media, but we think the one she has with her hair might come in at a close second. She's been long. She's been short. She's been brunette. She's been platinum blonde. Girl's got a serious case of restless hair syndrome, but it's hard to blame her when every style looks so damn good. Take, for example, her latest: a new, blunt bob that may be her shortest yet.
About a year ago, Gomez trolled us all with an Instagram post showing off an above-the-shoulder bob that turned out to be a wig; that doesn't seem to be the case this time. While hanging out at Nobu in L.A. earlier this week, paparazzi caught Gomez with her Bible and fresh haircut, and according to Nine Zero One hairstylist Marissa Marino 's Instagram stories, the singer did recently pay a visit to the salon to shed some split ends for a shorter look. "Choppy haircuts have been all the rage for the last few years and so I thought we could try something different," Marino tells Refinery29 of Gomez's new length. "It’s a sleek, clean look that adds structure."
But don't call it a break-up cut. Look at Gomez's entire hair evolution and you'll know that the 25-year-old has toggled between a lob and a bob for the past year — far before she reunited, then reportedly broke things off again, with Justin Bieber. Sure, this could be a therapeutic attempt to shed some emotional dead weight, or it could be as simple as knowing she skimped on her Olaplex treatments and wanting to ditch that post-blonde breakage sooner rather than later. All we really care about is whether or not there's an opening at our salon this weekend, because this wavy bob is too good not to copy ASAP.
The weekend is finally here. You can breathe out a sigh of relief— you've earned it. But haven't you also earned the ability to lounge around and watch Netflix in something other than the high school sports T-shirt you've been wearing for a decade?
Think about it: You've started to embrace adulting in so many other areas of your life — doing your dishes instead of letting them sit for five to seven days, doing your own taxes, etc. — so why should your pajamas fall to the wayside? You work like an adult, you deserve to relax like an adult too. And a nice set of silk pajamas is the perfect place to start.
Sure, they don't come cheap, but these pieces double as street-clothes too, so you're really getting double the wear for your money. And honestly, what's more grown-up than wearing fancy PJs to work? Click on to step into what adulthood really feels like. Hint: it's silky soft.
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Well, this is awkward. Just weeks after Kim Kardashian-West took to Instagram to insinuate that Saint Laurent’s fall 2018 runway show ripped off her husband’s floating stage set-up from his Saint Pablo tour, another brand is suing Kanye West over a his use of camouflage in his Yeezy Season 5 collection. But it’s not what or who you think.
Jordan Outdoor Enterprises, a Columbus, Georgia-based manufacturer and marketer of camo clothing has filed a lawsuit against West alleging the rapper used an unauthorized copy of its Realtree collection as the print on Yeezy Season 5’s hoodies, bomber jackets, shirts, cargo pants, and thigh-high boots. The case is made especially messy because, according to People, someone from Yeezy Season’s team reached out to Jordan Outdoor Enterprises in March 2016 to ask about the pattern, but communication stopped after the sporting company brought up licensing. Jordan Enterprises is also saying that West’s label removed trademarks from the original camo print.
At the time West presented his version in February 2017 during New York Fashion Week it was alongside the neutrals and earth tones we’ve come to expect from him as a designer and on Kardashian, his muse — a pretty big first for his label, which is in partnership with Adidas.
We've reached out to Yeezy and Jordan Outdoor Enterprises for comment and will update this post if/when we hear back.
"It feels like there’s a little demon inside me that’s wringing my insides and trying to crawl out," Jenny Oh, a Manhattan-based retail worker, says of her endometriosis pain. She’s not the only one to put it this way. Camellia Hartman, a musician living in Brooklyn, who also suffers from endometriosis, echoes, "I live in this sort of fear that the demon that chases me is going to finally catch up to me."
Despite affecting one in 10 people worldwide, endometriosis is an oft-misunderstood condition that’s only recently been brought into the public sphere thanks to celebrities like Lena Dunham, Julianne Hough, and Padma Lakshmi, who have opened up about their own personal suffering.
The condition occurs when tissue that normally lines the inside of the uterus grows on the outside instead. Said tissue acts as it normally would (breaking down and bleeding during every menstrual cycle), but it has no way to leave the body. This can cause severe pelvic pain (normally during one’s period but also during intercourse and ovulation), as well as a myriad of other symptoms like nausea, vomiting, and fatigue. For some, endometriosis can lead to difficulty with pregnancy. But the pain also operates on a spectrum — some people who have endometriosis feel very little pain and may not even know they have it.
Because it can be hard to diagnose, many endometriosis sufferers are frequently misdiagnosed or have their symptoms dismissed — even by medical professionals.
What’s spoken about even less is the fact that many women with endometriosis have chosen to fight back against the pain (and the doubt cast upon them) by empowering other women who suffer from the condition — many referring to fellow sufferers as their "endo sisters."
To find out more about what living with endometriosis really looks like, Refinery29 sat down with three women who have the condition, each of whom sees herself as an advocate for change when it comes to the way we speak about and understand endometriosis. In addition to opening up about their individual struggles, all three women showed us the unique objects that bring them a sense of comfort and empowerment.
Camellia Hartman, 23
Camellia is a New York native who lives in Brooklyn and works as a musician/freelancer.
Can you talk me through your history with endometriosis? "I got my period for the first time at age 13. A couple months later, I was having extremely violent reactions to it. My mom was like, 'Welcome to womanhood! This is what happens.' But I was experiencing extreme vomiting, and I’d never heard of any of my friends experiencing that, so I was suspicious early on. I sang in a choir at the time, and I’d have to leave because I was going to throw up. It was a major interruption in my life from the beginning."
When did you decide to go to a doctor? "Every time I went to my pediatrician, I’d mention the pain and was told do yoga or go on birth control. But I knew something was wrong. I got comfortable talking about my period at a young age because I’d ask everyone, 'What is your experience? Why is mine different?' All my friends knew that if I had cramps, shortly after I’d be over a toilet — it became my routine.
"One day, when I was 19, I went into a sort of delirium from the vomiting and nausea. At that point, I decided to do my own research. I read an article about conditions that cause painful periods, and PCOS [polycystic ovary syndrome] and endometriosis were listed; I sort of self-diagnosed my endo. After that, I went to my first gyno appointment and told her I thought I had it. She said, 'I have other patients who suffer much more than you do — I don’t think you have endometriosis,' without examining me or asking anything about what I had gone through. It was incredibly demoralizing and infuriating — especially after years of people telling me I was being overdramatic.
"After an extreme episode that led me to the ER, I made an appointment to see the lead endometriosis specialist in NYC. At that point, I finally felt like I was talking to someone who was listening to me. Technically you can’t make an official diagnosis until the tissue is cut out, but after one examination, he said, 'I’m 99% sure you have endometriosis.'"
What does the pain feel like? Is it different every time? "I have five-week cycles, basically. Sometimes they're 29 days, sometimes they're 37. I know it’s coming when I start to feel pain in my lower body — it feels like my hips and my legs are made of cement, or like that part of my body is rotting. That makes it a lot harder to move around, so I have fatigue, and often my immune system starts to weaken. I have two-week windows of PMS symptoms. When I get my 'cement hips,' it’s still usually another two weeks until I start menstruation.
"I get hot flashes, too, and the next phase is usually vomiting. When I start feeling queasy and hot, I try to go home as soon as possible. Since I’ve become so comfortable talking about endometriosis, there are very few people in my life that will question that.
"Several times in my late teens, before I knew what was going on, I really thought I was dying. And two of the times I’ve been hospitalized for it I really felt that way. That’s a really crazy thing to experience at a young age — the total loss of control of your body in a consistent way. Your whole life is on hold; it’s a cycle that really controls your life. I’m lucky as a musician and freelancer that I can create my own schedule most of the time. But I made those decisions in my career path because I knew that I have this thing attached to me and probably always will."
What items bring you a sense of comfort or in some way serve as a representation of your endo? "The mug with my name on it is emblematic of the safety and comfort I associate with home: the number one place I go when the pain strikes. And my Carnelian stone travels with me during times of endo-induced pain — it represents balance and vitality. Grabbing it in acute moments of cramping or anxiety helps ground me and reminds me that the moment will pass. Finally, I’ve been playing violin for almost twice as long as I’ve suffered from endometriosis, but they carry almost equivalent weight in my life. They share a body and a spirit, and both are so inextricably tied to my identity that it’s actually difficult to imagine life without either."
Do you think the growing discussion about endo — largely fueled by people in the public eye who are opening up about their own personal experiences — is going to bring some much-needed awareness to the condition? "It’s quite alarming how many people in my life have heard me talk about my experience and sort of acknowledged it but haven’t really validated it until reading the accounts of celebrities who have spoken out about it. And I don’t hold that against any of my friends at all. People always send me the articles as they come out, and when I see them, I start crying. It’s such a unique kind of pain, and I think it’s really important for people to feel a sense of community. I’m very lucky; I have two close friends who struggle with endometriosis, and we rely on each other so much — they’re my endo sisters."
What are some key things most people still don’t realize about endometriosis? "Probably the degree of pain that it can cause. There are women with intense periods that don’t have any conditions, and there are women who live with endo but don’t know until later in life because their symptoms are mild. I think for an outsider, it’s sort of hard to make sense of that spectrum. And it takes me saying, 'Yeah, I deliriously vomit over my toilet uncontrollably once a month,' for it to sort of sink in. Obviously that’s not information I want to be sharing, but I sort of figured out how to talk about it in a way that will make sense to other people.
"I feel like it’s partially my duty to help empower other women. I hope that my openness and comfort level of speaking about this will help other people get to that point themselves. Until I have a platform to do that on a larger scale, I do what I can in my immediate community."
What do you think is the overarching danger in dismissing young people’s pain or telling them they’re being "dramatic"? "Teenagers are so, so fragile in every way — their brains are evolving along with their bodies in ways they don’t understand. To be told that you’re 'crazy' at a time when everything is confusing and new can have very real, toxic, long-term effects. To make someone question their own understanding of their body at such a young age when they’re most likely already questioning it, to tell them their pain isn’t real or isn’t valid...it just seems glaringly obvious why this should be a serious concern in conversations surrounding physical and mental health.
"My adopted mantra is, 'Nobody knows your body better than yourself.' I always knew something was wrong inside of me. I never let go of that truth. My experience has made me a much more empathetic person in general. Endometriosis is known as an 'invisible illness,' and the invisibility of my own pain has helped me to see the pain in others."
Jenny Oh, 37
Jenny is an L.A.-born retail employee who lives in Downtown Manhattan and paints in her free time.
What does endometriosis pain feel like for you? "I’m one of those [endo sufferers] that thought what I was feeling was normal. I was diagnosed three years ago, at 34, though the pain began when I got my period at 13. Because it’s all inside, nothing is visible — even to me — so it’s very hard to explain the kind of pain that I experience.
"Sometimes the pain gets so severe I get brain fog, and I can’t speak so articulately. I’ve also fainted. I have a lot of anxiety because of the pain. It comes in waves, so sometimes I feel it coming and I know I’m screwed because I didn’t take any pain medication in advance. I usually go home at that point, or sometimes at work they’ll let me lie down under the desk. I had to change my career to something that I know I can manage without so much pain and stress."
When you first started feeling this, what made you decide to go to the doctor and figure out what it was? "I was experiencing pain for four days straight. I thought it was indigestion or gas. After four days of complete, utter pain and trying everything over-the-counter to appease it, I had to rush into urgent care. And that’s when they advised me to see an Ob/Gyn, who told me I had a 9-millimeter cyst that was tilting my uterus backwards, compromising my bladder, and all this pain and heaviness was not normal."
How do you allow yourself to feel comforted when you have severe pain? "I tend to isolate myself when the pain comes. I think it’s really hard to show that side of pain to anybody and to show that kind of vulnerability. I rescued a senior dog, and he brings me a lot of comfort and gives me another focus. But it’s really my art that I use to channel all my pain and worries and anxieties. I call it 'human awareness,' or 'body awareness.' It’s mostly sketches, watercolor, acrylic paint, even collages. Any way for me to express myself and what I’ve been going through and to become more aware of my body. This whole experience has really empowered me, even though I’m still going through so many rough patches of it.
"I try to keep a positive outlook, because that’s the person that everybody remembers me as and not this worrisome, pain-induced girl. I haven’t cut my hair since my diagnosis, and the thing is, I look fine on the outside; I get stopped by people that say, 'Your style is so cool,' but seriously, I’m faking it ‘til I can become it."
Do you meet with other women that have endometriosis? "I’ve met with this group in San Diego — they’re my endo sisters. I’ve also helped some of my coworkers notice the symptoms early on. I know I don’t want to be my disease, but I know that I have to be an advocate for it. That’s why I participate in focus groups and studies.
"I don’t care if other people say, 'You talk so much about this on your social media, your artwork is so depressing.' Because this is the way that I’m telling my story. If you don’t want to hear it, you can unfollow me. It’s not that big of a deal. I will always and forever be a voice for all the people that suffer from endo."
What do you hope the future looks like for people who suffer from endometriosis? "We still don’t think about others. We don’t think about others suffering. I hope that kids are able to go to the nurses' offices in their schools and be able to freely express their pain and for nurses and teachers — because it’s such a sensitive, personal subject — to be more empathetic. This condition affects one in 10 women. And nobody sees it. I pray every day that there will be an award-winning film role showing someone with endo. This is a human issue, just as much as lupus or any autoimmune disease or prostate cancer."
Alice Odhiambo, 29
Kenyan-born (now Brooklyn-based) Alice is a social-media specialist for a nondenominational church.
When were you diagnosed with endometriosis? "My journey is interesting. I got my period when I was 13, and it was never normal. One month, I’d bleed for like a week straight; the next month I’d bleed for two weeks. It got to the point where I’d have my period for full two months. It was heavy bleeding, too. And then it would completely go away for a few months. I started suffering from anemia, and one of the side effects of that is fatigue. I was playing a lot of sports at the time and was always passing out. One time after I passed out and went to the hospital, they started looking into my period and diagnosed me with endometriosis. By the time they realized that, I was 16. But I didn’t start having the major symptoms until 10 years later, at 26."
What did that pain feel like, when it came 10 years later? "The best way to describe it is it felt like there was a battle happening inside of me. It felt like getting stabbed from the inside with a blunt object. And it was constant. Even today, when I get the pain, it’s almost impossible to sit up — I have to curl myself into a ball and rock myself until pain medicine kicks in. You don’t have any warning that it’s going to come. In my case, every month is different. Sometimes I get the symptoms before my period, sometimes it’s when my period arrives, other times it’s after my period. Occasionally it’s all three. There are times when for a full month I’m just living in constant pain. It’s like living in a world of the unknown, and it’s mentally taxing, because you don’t really know how to prepare."
What brings you comfort when you’re in pain? "Tea helps me a lot, as do heating pads. There’s also a couple of mugs that I have in my office and home that I use all the time, and all of them have some form of scripture on them. That really helps, because scripture is something that has gotten me through a lot of things. And talking to my mom — even though she’s all the way in Kenya."
What have you learned about yourself in the process of dealing with endometriosis? "It doesn’t matter how strong you think you are, sometimes the pain will knock you off your feet. And as much as I want to be an independent, strong woman, when I do have an episode, I can’t always be that. I rely on friends, some coworkers, and my faith. I’m all about being empowered, but I think on top of empowerment you still sometimes need support. Even if it’s someone saying 'I’ll bring you a tea' — when you can’t move, that means so much."
Do you have any personal methods of staying empowered and not letting endo define you? "My favorite bible verse is Philippians 4:13, which says, 'I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me.' So when I do have an episode, it’s like, Okay, [endo] is something that I have, but it’s not me. Me having endometriosis is like me being a woman from Kenya or me having long hair — it does not define who I am. I refuse to let it be my crutch, and I will do everything I possibly can to get past it."
Are there things people still don’t realize — or understand — about endo? "Most people don’t know how bad the pain can be, how crippling it makes you feel, and that when that pain kicks in, it really feels like you cannot do anything. I wish [those of us with endo] didn’t have to use sick days and were just granted the opportunity to work at home [when we’re in pain]. You find ways to get your work done; even if I can’t sit up, I can still lie on my bed and work. I shouldn’t be penalized for that. Because if you’re using your sick days for the flu, and you still have endo, what happens?
"I also don’t want any of my employers to ever look at me and say, 'That’s the girl that has endometriosis.' I just want more people to know about this and be open to having a conversation about it. I bet there’s a lot of people who will read this and wonder how many of their family members or friends are silently suffering from this, because it’s not spoken about. And there’s so many women that probably have endometriosis and haven’t been diagnosed, too."
These interviews have been edited and condensed for clarity.
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The cover of Vogue 's April 2018 issue is currently being graced by Kylie Jenner and as part of the gig, the model participated in the filming of a short video. Since she's been on Vogue 's cover a few times before, the go-to "73 Questions" video format had already been done, so she went in a different direction. This time around, Jenner was shot in a video called "I, Kendall" in which she asks herself a series of "existential questions."
In the video, romantic piano music plays in Jenner's hotel suite as she performs various mundane tasks like brushing her teeth, eating breakfast, and applying makeup. While she does all those things, we hear the model think out various deep questions like "Am I awake?," "Where am I?," "Who invented modeling?," and more. While we don't have the answers to any of those — though, we're pretty sure Jenner was awake while filming the video — there were two questions she posed that we were able to find out the answers to.
About a minute into the clip, Jenner sits down to eat breakfast. After staring at herself in the back of her spoon for nearly 10 seconds, the camera finally pans out, and we see the Vogue cover girl pouring milk over her bowl of Cheerios. Then, as she spoons them into her mouth, she wonders to herself, "What happens to the holes in Cheerios? Do they just get thrown away? What a waste."
We have to admit, most of Jenner's other falsely philosophical questions were overshadowed by our own questions about the video like, why is she eating breakfast immediately after brushing her teeth? However, her query about how Cheerios get their shape did stick with us. It's an interesting one, and it's not unanswerable. We reached out to General Mills to unearth the truth.
Turns out Jenner's fear about Cheerio holes going to waste isn't something she needs to worry about. "Once the dough for Cheerios is mixed, it goes through a die cut where it comes out as the iconic looking O. The best part of this cooking process is that there is not any dough wasted," Mike Siemienas, a General Mills spokesman, told Refinery29. Though Siemienas didn't disclose any more details about the process, we're assuming this tidbit means the holes that are cut out are combined to make more Cheerios, and that is continued until all the dough is used. Someone please let Kendall Jenner know. We're sure she'll be relieved to have at least two fewer existential questions to ponder.
We applaud companies for taking these steps towards greater diversity and inclusion. However, it's rarer to come across a body positive campaign that doesn't indulge the male gaze — namely one that doesn't present women as objects of sexual pleasure and desire. Which is why Monki, one of the multinational Swedish brands owned by H&M, deserves praise for its unretouched imagery of women that consistently celebrates and showcases the female body from a female perspective.
Monki ss17Photo: Courtesy Of Monki
In 2016, the brand was forced to remove a campaign from social media in 2016 for promoting masturbation, namely, women taking charge of — and reveling in — their own sexuality. “It’s no secret that penetrative sex on its own doesn’t feel that good (a.k.a. good at all) for most girls, so masturbation with a partner can be the key to an orgasm during sex,” read the text on one of the images.
"It's so important to see editorial advertising engaging with the female gaze, it suggests that there are more women making key decisions in a male-dominated field," Kara Kia, at 24-year-old editorial intern at Refinery29 UK, says. "I'm proud of Monki for depicting women's bodies truthfully, as a norm, instead of a marketing novelty."
Louise Marguerite, a 25-year-old blogger and actress, describes the retailer's most recent swimwear campaign (featured above) as "the perfect definition of body confidence."
She says: "I don’t see why we photoshop our bodies in the first place. Every body is born with moles and birthmarks and develops wrinkles and stretch marks. What’s unnatural is concealing them with editing programs and creating ultra-perfect models. Good on Monki for celebrating our natural bodies and not shouting about it — a model's scars, stretch marks, or moles aren’t going to stop you buying a garment."
Twenty-three-year-old Rach Earnshaw, a postgraduate student, explains that it was reassuring to "see bodies that look like [hers] in swimwear campaigns," because "it makes me feel like I can wear something other than a black one-piece." While she believes Monki could do more to show models of different sizes, their under-the-radar celebration of the female body deserves praise. "It should be the norm, so I appreciate that they haven’t really shouted about it as much [as other brands might]."
Communications consultant, Becky Barnes, 38, agrees that while any brand that prioritizes representation and diversity gets "a major thumbs up" from her, she appreciated how Monki does it without making a song and dance.
"It’s great that Monki is just cracking on with using more diverse models," she says, "but if a brand wants to openly promote that fact, that’s okay too. Anything that furthers diversity is fantastic."
Spend a good portion of your free time cuddled up in front of Netflix? Hey, us too! You'd think all those minutes in front of the screen would translate into becoming a Netflix expert. But it turns out, there are some amazing secrets you might not know — even if you're 'flix-obsessed.
Since you’ve already devoted plenty of hours to culling your watch list and staying up until midnight taking in a new season of Jessica Jones, the next step in becoming a Netflix power user is committing to memory a few keys that will make your streaming experience better than ever. These will help ensure you always get the best quality video feed, and receive suggestions for movies and shows you'd actually want to watch.
Feel like you can never find movies to fulfill your “steamy thrillers” guilty pleasure? Wondering how to break free from the instant next-episode play that keeps you fixed to the couch? Read on to learn how to make the most of your many hours spent on Netflix.
This article was originally published on February 10, 2016.
Don't see what you're looking to watch? Put in a Netflix request. You can enter up to three titles at a time and, if Netflix does end up adding one or more, it will notify you via email.
Hide Activity From Your History Whether it’s because you promised your S.O. that you wouldn’t watch The Grown without them and later broke down in a moment of weakness, or you just don’t want a rogue film-viewing to disturb your carefully tuned recommendations algorithm, you can remove a title from your activity history.
Navigate to Netflix.com/WiViewingActivity to see a chronological list of every TV show episode or movie you’ve ever watched on your account. First, be impressed at your true dedication to the art of Netflixing. Then, click the “X” to the right of each title you'd like to wipe from history, and it’s like it never happened!
Photo: Courtesy Netflix.
Browse Endless Categories With Search Codes Back to that “steamy thrillers” movie category we mentioned. Yes, it is really a thing on Netflix, and you can find it — as well as dozens upon dozens of other categories that won't appear on your home screen — by using specific search codes in the URL field.
Just type in www.netflix.com/browse/genre/ and add the search code at the end of the link. The URL for steamy thrillers, for instance, would be www.netflix.com/browse/genre/972. For Disney movies, the code is 67673; for film noir, it's 7687, and for independent comedies, it's 4195. You can get the full list of categories at whatsonnetflix.com.
Photo: Courtesy Netflix.
Use Multiple Profiles Prevent your roommate’s taste in all things Disney from throwing off your science fiction-heavy recommendations by creating up to five viewing profiles within one account. Each profile will have movie and TV suggestions based on its Recently Watched list along with any ratings given to programs.
How we really love to use multiple profiles, though, is by creating fine-tuned recommendation lists for any sort of viewing mood. Set up a Back From the Bar profile as a place to indulge in silly comedies, or School of Life as an easy way to access the documentaries and mesmerizing nature shows you love but don’t necessarily want influencing your Netflix stats.
Photo: Courtesy Netflix.
Control Your Data Use An hour of streaming Netflix in HD can use up to 3 GB of your data plan. At that rate, expect to go through a monthly data allowance or bandwidth-capped home internet fast. Monthly budget blown!
Control your data usage by navigating to Your Account, My Profile, Playback Settings. Now choose from the Auto, Low (about 0.3 GB per hour), Medium (about 0.7 GB per hour), or High (about 3 GB per hour) data usage categories. While our screen grab is from a desktop, this is particularly important if you're streaming on your phone.
Photo: Courtesy Netflix.
Customize Subtitle Font If the usual yellow or white fonts used in foreign films cause your eyes to cross, customize subtitle appearance by changing the font type, color, size, shadow, and even background.
To tailor the font, click into Your Account, My Profile, and tap Subtitle Appearance. Now, concentrate on the plot instead of trying to figure out what the words blending into the screen say.
Photo: Courtesy Netflix.
Know Which Browsers Stream in 1080p Sorry, Firefox fans, Netflix only streams in 720p high-definition through Mozilla's browser. Now, if you’re watching on your laptop while laying in bed, 720p is probably fine, but when you plug your device into a high-def TV, you’ll want that 1080p stream for sure.
To get higher definition streaming, watch in Safari, Internet Explorer, Microsoft Edge, or Google Chrome (on Chrome OS, not Windows or Mac).
Photo: Courtesy Netflix.
Refuse Netflix’s Episode-Binge Enabling We’d like to believe that a weekend spent on the couch re-watching an entire season of Friends wouldn’t happen so regularly if Netflix's sneaky autoplay feature didn’t make it so damn easy. Should you want to claim back a few hours of freedom, or at least give yourself time to use the bathroom between episodes, disable this feature (called Post-Play) by heading to Your Account, Playback Settings, and unchecking Play Next Episode Automatically. Now you are the master of your Netflix domain.
Photo: Courtesy Netflix.
Stop The Buffering Just because your WiFi connection isn't the best doesn't mean you should have to sit through painful minutes of buffering. On Chrome, press Ctrl, Shift, and Alt/Opt+S at the same time to open the secret Stream Manager menu. This gives you buffering fixes you can choose from. You can also access this menu by pressing Shift and Opt (or Shift and Alt on a Windows PC) and left clicking.
Photo: Courtesy Netflix.
Know What The Critics Think You can supercharge your browser-based Netflix experience with the Chrome extension Enhancer. Once installed, this extension adds valuable information to Netflix listings. When you hover your pointer over a title, instead of just a synopsis and its star rating, you'll also get IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes ratings, and options to view the show's trailer.
Photo: Courtesy Netflix.
Get The Latest Recommendations From Netflix Lovers Still not sure what to watch? You can head to r/netflixbestof on Reddit to see what other Netflix diehards think about new titles, and long lost gems you've never heard of. Warning: This might help your indecision... Or open up an entirely new can of worms.
Photo: Courtesy Reddit.
Search Netflix With The Upflix App If you're watching Netflix on a set top box such as an Apple TV, searching through titles can be cumbersome. Instead, use the Upflix app (free on iOS and Android). With this app, you can sort movies by their IMDb, Flixster, or Rotten Tomatoes rating; more easily browse titles by genre; and even let fate decide what you're watching with a roulette feature. If you plan to watch on your phone, you can also tap in the app, and it'll take you straight to Netflix to watch your movie of choice.
Photo: Courtesy Netflix.
Check What's New (Or Leaving) Netflix That Month Netflix titles don't last forever, and the site has a rotating list of movies and TV shows that come and go. To keep track — and use that ever-changing list to better inform your viewing habits — you can check out everything that's new to Netflix, or leaving Netflix, right here on Refinery29.
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Fast Forward, Mouse Free You don't have to move your hands off the keyboard to fast forward or rewind if you're watching Netflix on your desktop. Just tap Shift and the Right Arrow if you want to fast forward, or Shift and the Left Arrow to rewind.
Photo: Courtesy Netflix.
Use Other Keyboard Shortcuts You can actually control a lot of your Netflix experience without ever touching a mouse or trackpad. Tap the letter M to mute what you're watching; F to go fullscreen, Esc to exit fullscreen; and tap the space bar to pause or play what's onscreen.
Photo: Courtesy Netflix.
Keep Your Netflix Experience Consistent Ever notice how sometimes, your main Netflix screen is arranged slightly different than other times? Chances are, you were involved in a small test or preview of a redesign or a new feature. Sometimes these changes are great, but other times they're befuddling. If you don't like these occasional changes, head to Your Account, and under Settings, select Test Participation. You can toggle that button from On, to Off.
Photo: Courtesy Netflix.
Never Press The 'Continue Watching' Button Again
If you just want to watch eight hours of Netflix in peace without moving a muscle, we hear you. You can do that with the Flix Assist Chrome extension. It automatically presses the Continue Watching button when you're having a binge-a-thon, and eliminates the tiresome countdown in between episodes of a series.
Photo: Courtesy Flix Assist.
Make Your Own Mixtape
The mixtapes of your childhood are making a comeback — kinda. Netflix's Flixtape is an online service that lets you create a playlist of sorts for TV. You start off by creating a name for your playlist, such as "Women In Charge." Then, Flixtape recommends different Netflix shows that may fit within that category. You can keep their suggested picks, or add your own, and then share the resulting playlist via Facebook or Twitter. You can even add your own "cover art" to make your mix feel complete.
Photo: Courtesy Netflix.
Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?
There’s a lot of talk about who earns the aim of a street style photographer’s lens during Fashion Month, and, often it seems, those people aren’t women of color. But this season, there was one particular image from Paris Fashion Week that made the rounds on multiple websites and on Instagram — and had major impact. The picture was of a Black woman, Melody Trend, wearing a black sweatshirt printed with the words “ghetto until proven fashionable;” she styled the top with a green fur coat, hunter green sweatpants, and extra-large hoop earrings. The photo went viral — even appearing in Phil Oh’s gallery for Vogue — and the item sold out immediately.
Twenty five-year-old Nareasha Willis, who created the sweatshirt, wrote on Instagram she was “literally in tears” at how well the item was received. “I just told my friend that I didn’t believe ‘Black Vogue’ [Willis’ “campaign to promote diversity on and off the runway] would ever be featured in @voguemagazine because it’s too controversial because of its name itself, and the message behind the brand,” she shared. “And, boom 💥 Black Vogue featured on a platform where I felt as though they didn’t give our culture enough credit.”
Though Willis always looked to Vogue growing up, she didn’t feel like the pages of the fashion publication recognized her beauty. “I didn’t really see a lot of women who looked like me,” she tells Refinery29. “We have our legends — Naomi Campbell, Iman, and Tyra Banks,” but their appearances within the magazine were so infrequent that Willis felt like she would never have a shot at the cover. So she set out to create images she wished to see. “For so long, I felt excluded from the fashion industry, so I decided to just create our own,” she adds. Enter: Black Vogue, a initiative meant “to reassure every Brown girl and boy that our culture is appropriate and influential in the fashion industry.” On her site, she writes: “As Black millennials, we have the power to generate trends and new platforms. From embracing dark skinned women to supporting Black-owned businesses, we are living in a time where a shift is commencing in the Black community.” Of course, the movement offers its own branded merchandise, including the sweatshirt that took Fashion Month by storm.
“I'm using fashion to make a social change,” Willis says. She notes that she isn’t fixated on celebrities wearing her pieces, that it’s more about the everyday people who have the power to shift the standards of beauty. And clothing is a good way to get the conversation going. “Sometimes when you just start off with activism, people ignore you or they get bored with it or feel like it's too aggressive,” she explains. But a sweatshirt? “It’s a fun way to gain awareness. You’re going to know I’m woke and I look bomb doing it.”
When I was 15 years old, my aunt told me to never dye my hair. "It'll never be the same again," she said. "You'll damage it beyond repair." Although her scare tactic wasn't entirely sound, there is some truth in it. Permanently dyeing your hair often involves harsh chemical components — like ammonia, peroxide, or paraphenylenediamine — that can make your hair weak and brittle, changing the structure of your strands in the process; it could even cause allergic reactions. The more you dye it, the more damage you create. This is just a necessary evil most of us who color our hair accept... but we might not have to.
A research team at Northwestern University recently discovered an alternative to the damaging dyes of yore, and it could mean a very bright future for hair color innovation. Materials scientist Jiaxing Huang and his research team recently published a study in the journal Chem hypothesizing that a naturally black carbon material, graphene, can be used as a successful hair dyeing agent. Their experiment included spritzing a platinum blond hair sample with a graphene and water-based solution, brushing it, then letting it dry (either by air or blowdryer). The result: natural-looking black hair.
Huang and his team found that the new color, which coats strands rather than penetrating them, can last up to 30 washes, which technically qualifies it as a permanent dye alternative. But what's even more intriguing is that this dyeing dupe is pretty magical for more than the one damage-free reason. This nontoxic substance is also anti-static, antibacterial — so you shouldn't have to wash your hair as often as you're used to — and can regulate heat on your head. And just as a very extra bonus: The carbon coating carries an electric current, which means that somewhere in the near future, you'll be able to wear color-changing hair accessories controlled by an LED source.
Of course, there's a catch and that is that at the moment, this graphene dye only works for dyeing your hair black or brown. Also, don't rush to your local Ulta to search for a box of this stuff already on the shelf. Huang told Co.Design that he's "optimistic" about the graphene solution eventually being sold in stores — but until then, we'll have to keep those standing six-week salon appointments intact. In the meantime, stock up on some Olaplex, do your research, and cross your fingers for this innovation to find its way to your scalp sooner rather than later.
Welcome to our new bi-weekly column, Insta-Bait, where we highlight the brands taking over our feeds right now — because Instagram isn't just a place where we DM memes to our friends and double-tap our style icons' most on-point outfits, it's where we discover new labels on the regular.
Ooooh, shinyyy. Any good sparkly, KiraKira+ moment typically catches our attention while scrolling through the usual Instagram sea of cityscapes and lattes. And that's exactly what happened with our latest swim obsession, Oséree Swimwear. Designed and made in Italy and available on sites like Farfetch and and Luisaviaroma, Oséree's shiny bathing suits make a statement without being too much. Of course, the suits have already been spotted on a handful of Instagram influencers, like Carola Bernard and Jelena Marija.
Though we're obsessed with pretty much everything on the brand's site, there are two styles in particular that made us double-tap — and quickly add to cart. First, a shiny metallic style that reflects the sun just so, and is available in both a bikini and one-piece variation. And while the lingerie-inspired style definitely caught our attention, it's the glittery suits that really make us want to hand over all our money. No KiraKira+ needed for this glimmering beach moment.
To see them in action, click ahead, and maybe don't hit follow...unless you're ready to spend your bonus on itty-bitty bikinis.
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Mix Sunset Boulevard and the life story of Howard Hughes up until it's a song, and I bet you'd get Halsey's new track. I love that her brand has become "international pop star who will disappoint you if you get to know her as a person." It's brilliant persona-building based on only one aspect of Halsey's personality. I can just tell you this: you'll never hear another pop song that makes becoming a pop star sound so unappealing. It's almost unfair that this track also makes it so damn danceable.
Arcade Fire "Money + Love"
After their disasterous and, frankly, agitating launch for this album, I have to admit that I wrote Arcade Fire off. But, they seem to have found the right medium (it was not speaking to the press) by making a short film based around the concepts this album wants to explore: selling out, corporations running everything, the state of the relationship between artist and patron. Probably best to leave their notions about fake news out of it. They got the wonderful Toni Collette to star as the face of the evil empire they imagineered, Everything Now, and I send them kudos for even daring to dream that a woman could leverage power in a multi-national corporation; that's already one step further than the real world is statistically likely to go. This hellish Vegas dream of a video pretty much nails it with condemnations for everything I hate. Perhaps some ideas are too big and textured to be described in sound bites, eh Arcade Fire?
Kash Doll Feat. Natasha Mosley "Serious"
I feel like I should just play this song for 98% of the dudes I go out with from Bumble. It's only the fragment of a song, from Kash Doll's new mixtape, but damn, it's true. It feels like she's building on that SZA vibe of talking about real life and relationships from the woman point of view. If you're looking for an argument that we need more space for women in rap, please direct your attention to this track.
Ruth Koleva "Didn't I"
I am a sucker for a piano ballad, and Ruth Koleva does it one better by layering trumpets over the thing. Oh, and then there's her voice! It's haunting and feminine. I'd like to sing along to this song, but I might as well not even learn the words because I cannot sing that high. Put this one on your taking a bubble bath and chilling playlist.
After my first job at MTV working as a music programmer, I can't stop trying to matchmake people with music they might like. So, I wrote a book calledRecord Collecting for Girlsand started interviewing musicians. The Music Concierge is a column where I share music I'm listening to that you might enjoy, with a little context. Follow me on Twitter or Facebook, or leave me a comment below and tell me what you're listening to this week.
There are plenty of reasons you might find yourself in Dallas. On a business trip, catching a football or basketball game, or whilst on a tour of the state's many must-hit cities. And while it's a bit more under-the-radar as a vacation destination than, say, its younger sister Austin, Dallas has just as much to offer by way of delicious food, rowdy nightlife, and Southern living. That's why this quick-hit video is exploding with top restaurant recommendations, intimate live music venues, and scenic locales for daytime activities (we're talking goat yoga, people). Oh, and not to mention, plenty of outfit inspo (read: lululemon's super comfy Align Pant, all day, every day). Read on for our ultimate vacation guide to Dallas, watch the video for travel-lust inspiration, and get on down to the state where everything's bigger (and, okay, yummier, too).
Restaurants
Rapscallion Biscuits, fried chicken with biscuits, grits... Do we have your attention yet? Good. Because for brunch, you can't miss Rapscallion, and we're here to spread the word.
Mudsmith A coffee spot you'll swing by for your morning brew and end up spending the day in, this welcoming old-school-cabin spot is comfortable and tasty to boot.
Pints & Quarts A local franchise with multiple locations (and a damn good burger, too), Pints & Quarts is a local must.
Boulevardier Boulevardier boasts one of the largest wine catalogs in town, yet it's small enough to feel like a neighborhood joint. That is, if your neighborhood joint had a raw oyster bar, crazy-good bouillabaisse, and gourmet steak offerings. Plus, some of the friendliest waitstaff we know.
Stirr This is a code-red cinnamon-roll alert. We repeat, we're at a code red. Yes, this might seem alarming, but this brunch slash dinner spot — boasting a large dining room and beautiful rooftop — has one of the largest and tastiest cinnamon buns we've ever seen. It can feed 10 people and still won't break the bank.
Lockhart Smokehouse Come for the ribs; stay for the spicy mac 'n' cheese. This down 'n' dirty BBQ joint has all you'd hope for when heading to Texas.
Saint Ann's Start with an old school, convert it into a restaurant, and the effect is an upscale environment perfect for happy hour or even the odd special-occasion dinner. There's an outdoor fire pit where you can sit on couches and even a large chess set for some friendly gaming over wine. Pro tip: Don't leave without trying the chocolate cake.
Neighborhood Services A cozy yet classy steak restaurant that leaves nothing to be desired. There's perfect homemade pasta, too-good tartare, and, of course, a shareable Delmonico steak the size of a plate. Plus, cocktails. Don't forget the cocktails.
Jalisco Norte While relatively new on the Dallas culinary scene, Jalisco Norte will have no trouble gaining local regulars. If the beautiful outdoor dining area (which feels like a lit-up treehouse) doesn't suit you — or, for some reason, the sleek and well designed bar isn't for you — cozy up in a back room where handcrafted masks line the walls.
Pecan Lodge When you close your eyes and picture Texas BBQ, what you're seeing is "The Trough" from Pecan Lodge. It's a dish — nay, a tray — of food that can feed seven hungry men. Plus, every bit from the pulled pork to the ribs lives up to the hype.
CBD Provisions In the bottom of the incredibly chic Joule Hotel, you'll find CBD with its gorgeous open kitchen and oh-so-good dishes to match. Find a seat at the elegant bar before ordering the octopus (or just about any other delectable dish). We promise it won't disappoint.
Commissary You might think this local sandwich and salad spot is a simple upscale deli. Well, think again. Downstairs there's so much more than meets the eye. A team of chefs bake homemade bread, craft delicious handmade pasta, and distribute aged meats to restaurants throughout the Dallas area. You can't go wrong with any order, so dive into a few sandwiches — and be sure to share.
Town Hearth A submarine, vintage car, and dozens upon dozens of chandeliers aren't compulsory ingredients for a fine dining experience. But in the case of Town Hearth, they sure as hell don't hurt either. This special-occasion restaurant is one where the food lives up to the decor.
Nightlife
Dot's Hop House & Cocktail Courtyard A beer hall, but make it fancy. Dot's is an indoor-outdoor taproom with a vastly extensive beer list and one of the largest patio chandeliers we've ever laid eyes on.
Adair's Saloon A come-as-you-are neighborhood waterhole that makes you feel like a neighbor, too, Adair's boasts live music, a casual vibe, and one of the best burgers in town.
The Bomb Factory The Bomb Factory is kind of like the Terminal 5 of Dallas and is notorious for some of the best shows in town. You can often find the same bands performing there.
Round-Up Saloon If karaoke, dance classes, and cheap drinks (and okay, Jell-O shots) aren't enough to get you to this famed gay (but for-all) club, well, I guess we just can't hang out. Because Round-Up is one of those spots we want to post up all. night. long.
Deep Ellum Brewing Company Take a tour of the gigantic and impressive Deep Ellum Brewing Company where you can get a BTS look at how its delicious brews are made. Then, hang around in the garden to play games and order a second (and third) round.
Midnight Rambler A speakeasy downstairs at The Joule Hotel, Midnight Rambler feels like stepping back in time to a jazzy era where cocktails are king.
Scout Ping pong, foosball, bowling, llamas. Yes, you read that correctly. Scout — the newly opened and expansive lobby bar at The Statler Hotel — has it all, plus some delicious beverage offerings at that. Make sure to wander downstairs where a gorgeously designed speakeasy can be accessed via phone booth, too.
Daytime Adventures
Dolly Python An aesthetically awesome vintage store that's split in two. There's loads of well cataloged clothing on one side, featuring threads from every decade, and stalls of knickknacks and antiques on the other side. We'd recommend spending at least an hour on each.
TenOverSix L.A. natives will recognize this insanely curated store featuring up-and-coming designer threads and housewares. Yep, Dallas knows a thing or two about shopping.
Goat Yoga Richardson Goat Yoga is exactly what you think it's going to be but also so much more. Venture to the backyard studio, and get your stretch on with adorable baby goats. Be forewarned: Some of them wear pajamas, and it's debilitatingly adorable.
Klyde Warren Park A happy hub for families to picnic, watch impromptu dance performances, and kick back with a popsicle or two.
Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge Dallas' version of the Brooklyn Bridge can be found adjacent to Trinity Grove, a popular retail and restaurant hub. The bridge itself is the real wonder, though. Take your time strolling along on a sunny day for some fresh air and exercise.
Lucchese The ultimate destination for buying cowboy boots in Dallas, the Lucchese showroom is chock full of made-to-order options as well as out-of-the-box pieces to take home with you when you walk out the door.
Dallas Design District The Dallas Design District might feel a little sparse, but it's also home to some gigantic antique stores and art galleries that locals love. One such example? Cris Worley's gallery space where you can view and buy contemporary art.
Katy Trail & Katy Trail Ice House We have it on good authority that famous Dallas athletes frequent Katy Trail, an outdoor park with an extended path for running and biking. We recommend renting one of Dallas' many public bikes and making a day out of it. Treat yourself afterwards with a pit stop at the Katy Trail Ice House.
The Spa at The Joule Hotel Vacation often means a time to indulge, and boy can you unwind at this top-notch hotel spa. Book a massage and gain access to the sauna, steam room, heated pool, and ice bath.
Forty Five Ten If Dover Street Market and Bergdorf Goodman had a baby, it would be Dallas' very own department store, Forty Five Ten. It has all the glossy designer finds you'd lust after plus a little tequila tasting area, too. New Yorkers can look forward to the store's second location opening sometime this year.
Reunion Tower You can't miss this gleaming tower that, at night, looks like Times Square's New Year's Eve ball — all lit up and glittering. By day, it's a perfect viewpoint to see all the city has to offer.
Lilco Letterpress Keepsakes are a dime a dozen. Why not go home with a beautiful handmade print by a local Dallas artist? At artist Lily Smith's adorable studio, you can watch her make prints and hang out with her dogs and chickens. Win-win.
Dallas Arboretum & Garden You'll never regret wandering the grounds of an arboretum. It's a great way to add some wildlife to your big-city visit — and learn a thing or two about flowers along the way.
The Sixth Floor Museum Chilling, educational, and raw, the JFK museum is a must-do for all Dallas visitors. With a marked-off spot where the actual assassination occurred, this book depository turned memorial is for history buffs and newbies alike. Don't leave without reading through the guest log, where hundreds of guests have recounted their own memories of the incident.
Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?
Anyone who's familiar with natural hair products knows that there are plenty of drugstore and professional options out there, but most are packaged with "earthy" colors and boast tropical scents. Which is cool, I guess, but sometimes, individuals with coily hair want to splurge on the luxurious conditioner in the cool-looking bottle. Oribe comes to the rescue every single time, and Taraji P. Henson,Kerry Washington, and Yara Shahidi are all hip to it. Their stylists — along with countless pros that we've interviewed — all swear by the professional line for textured hair.
According to Davide Marinelli, an Oribe educator and owner of Davide Hair Studio, it's all in the product list: Natural hair and natural ingredients are made for each other. "Oribe products are formulated without silicones, yet include natural extracts to hydrate, volumize and tame naturally-curly or textured hair," he tells us. "All Oribe products include the OribeSignature Complex (which is watermelon, lychee, and edelweiss flower extracts) which defends hair from oxidative stress, photoaging and the deterioration of natural keratin, all while protecting from the drying, damaging, and color-depleting effects of the elements."
Just as one would change skin care products seasonally, Marinelli recommends changing hair products according to the weather in order to provide the best benefits for your hair. Because curly and textured hair tends to be drier than naturally straight and wavy hair, it’s important to maintain hydration when it's still cold out — which is what most of the products ahead are best for. Bonus: They're all awesome additions for that perfect wash day shelfie, too... and we're not mad at it.
The best Oribe products for natural textures, ahead.
Every wash day should begin with a little bit of Oribe's newest balm. "Gold Lust is perfect for protecting curly or textured hair from the damaging effects of water," Marinelli says. "The balm-to-oil formula is easy to apply to hair to protect against harsh aggressors such as washing, styling, and pollution. It’s formulated with a Bio-Restorative Complex which includes caffeine, biotin, and niacinamide to strengthen hair at the cuticle, coconut and macadamia oils to protect against damage and moisture loss, rice bran and rosemary leaf extract to provide deep hydration without weighing hair down, and more hydrating ingredients."
Most naturals know that lather can be the devil while shampooing. Thankfully, Oribe's Cleansing Créme is low on suds, but high on results. "It’s rich in purifying oils, citrus extracts, and refreshing water mint essence which remove buildup, dirt and impurities from the scalp without stripping moisture," Marinelli notes. "It also includes caffeine to stimulate scalp circulation and promote healthy oil production. Most importantly, it cleanses without foaming so it doesn't strip natural oils from the hair."
Your twist-outs will last all week long thanks to this formula, which Marinelli describes as a satin, creamy, rich crème without hold (but amazing memory), for shorter straight or curly hair. "It hydrates, molds, and softens. Plant oils add wet 'comb-ability' and prevents frizz," he says. "The geranium, lavender, and chamomile extracts hydrate the hair while the silicone-vitamin blend provides two levels of shine, instant and long-lasting, in a multi-layered gloss."
Celebrity stylist Kendall Dorsey, who works with Cardi B and Nicki Minaj, doesn't let any client leave his chair without a mist of this. "It smells so good," he says. "I like a luster and I like a shine. And it really is designed like skin care: the formula lifts, plumps, and hydrates."
"I discovered this product on accident, actually," Dorsey says. "The only reason I started using it is was when I was out of my normal conditioner, and now I can't get rid of it from my kit. Naturals should try the entire range: clarifying shampoo for once a month and, with the conditioner, you can use it as a treatment and as a styler. Rope a handful of the product through your curls, and then air-dry or diffuse. You end up getting something out of this world."
"Honestly, I use Oribe on all my clients," Nai'vasha Johnson, who works with Shahidi and Uzo Aduba says. "I use it because it has all the nutrients necessary to give my clients’ tresses a luxurious experience. A while ago, a colleague of mine had the products on his station — I was so obsessed with how beautiful the packaging was that I wanted to immediately try it. I’ve been hooked ever since." Johnson likes to diffuse this cream into Shahidi's curls for maximum moisture and hold. "She can go days with her curls still intact," she says.
Welcome toMoney Diaries, where we're tackling what might be the last taboo facing modern working women: money. We're asking millennials how they spend their hard-earned money during a seven-day period — and we're tracking every last dollar.
Today, as part ofYour Spending In Your State: a research technician working in biomedical research who makes $29,500 per year and spends part of her paycheck this week on floral-printed sneakers.
Occupation: Research Technician Industry: Biomedical Research Age: 23 Location: Saint Louis, MO Salary: $29,500 Paycheck (Biweekly): $826
Monthly Expenses Rent: $704, which includes monthly pet fee, water, garage parking, and renter's insurance. Student Loan Payment: $175 Health Insurance: ~$45, taken out of my paycheck pre-tax 403(b): $50, taken out of my paycheck pre-tax and matched by my employer Utilities: ~$30 Phone Bill: $35 Internet: $45 Netflix: $7.99 Amazon Prime: $11.99
Additional Expenses Car Insurance: $163, every three months
Day One
8 a.m. — After waking up and feeding the cat, I brew coffee and head to work. (I've been brewing at home more often lately in an attempt to avoid purchasing the overpriced coffee at the café in my building.) It's chilly out but nice enough to walk; the university I work at gives me a free yearly bus and Metro pass, but since it's less than a mile away, I usually travel on foot.
12:30 p.m. — Most days, I eat in the lunch room with my coworkers, but today, we have a presentation on women's reproductive health. A vulvovaginal dermatologist presents some of the diseases she specializes in treating; the subject matter might gross people out (especially while eating lunch) but I've been working with this lab for years and it doesn't faze me.
3 p.m. — Feeling the late-afternoon slump hard, I take a short break and grab a granola bar from the vending machine, as well as a cup of free hot chocolate from the department's stock. Most of my actual lab work is done for the day, so I take the treats back to my desk and catch up on documentation for the few projects I'm working on. $1.25
7 p.m. — After a long day in the lab, I walk home. For dinner, I haphazardly throw together a meal of frozen veggies and boxed mac and cheese before I visit my parents. They live about 20 minutes away from me, so I try to make an effort to visit them at least once a week, if not more. I'm in the process of applying to graduate programs and I know that if I get in, I'll move across the country and won't be able to see them as often, so I'm trying to make the most of living in the same town as them for now. (Plus, they let me do laundry at their house for free!)
Daily Total: $1.25
Day Two
8:30 a.m. — It's Friday! I wake up a bit earlier today and head out for a jog. (I've been slacking on running lately because it's been below freezing most days.) Then I make a quick breakfast of scrambled eggs and toast along with some coffee. Our lab doesn't have a dress code because we're wearing lab coats most of the day (besides long pants and closed-toe shoes for safety reasons), but on Fridays, I tend to wear leggings and a hoodie, which is far more casual than what I wear the rest of the week. It saves me time in the morning and is a lot more comfortable. I pack my bag, walk to work, and begin the day.
12 p.m. — Our department has regular lunch seminars where labs can present what they've been working on lately. They always provide free pizza (which is pretty much my main motivation to go to these things). I get two slices of cheese and a cup of coffee. The seminar today is about tuberculosis and it's pretty interesting.
4 p.m. — After a long day working on isolating DNA from samples and culturing plates of bacteria for future experiments, I finally get a chance to sit down and catch up on documentation. I try to write in my lab notebook every day, and if I do something different than normal, I note that. I grab a hot tea and get to work.
6 p.m. — After work, I head home and pack. I'm driving to see my boyfriend for the weekend. He lives an hour and a half away in the town we both went to college in, so we try to see each other every weekend or at least every other weekend. I fill my tank for less than $20 (love those Midwest gas prices!), grab a snack from the gas station, and hit the road. I recently got my first credit card, and I've been using it to pay for gas because I earn 5% back on gas station purchases during this quarter. I'm still new to the whole credit card thing, so I try to be cautious with how much I use it. So far it's been working out. I have a pretty decent credit score already because I make my student loan payments on time, but I know I need to build it up more. $23
9 p.m. — My partner isn't much of a cook, but he attempts to make grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup for dinner. It's not too bad, and we're all about saving money by cooking at home as often as possible. We spend the evening catching up and watching Amazon's new show, Electric Dream. We're both pretty big sci-fi nerds, so a series based on the stories of Philip K. Dick is right up our alley!
Daily Total: $23
Day Three
10:30 a.m. — Thankful to be able to sleep in this morning. After I wake up, I go for a quick jog, shower, and do my skincare routine. My partner has to work from 12 to 5 today, so I've called up a few of my old college friends to see if anyone wants to hang out. One friend is free and we decide to walk to a coffee shop. I get a dirty iced chai tea latte, my favorite! It's pricey, but I know the owners of the shop and I'm happy to support a local business. $5.30
2 p.m. — My friend has Kohl's Cash that he wants to spend, so we go to the local shopping center. It's a small town so having Kohl's is a big deal. We spend a bit of time browsing, and I find a blue button-up top that actually fits over my bust (!) and is on sale! I find a cute pair of shoes on sale, too. I have a shoe problem, I'll admit, but these sneakers have a pretty embroidered floral design and they'll be great for spring. $45
5 p.m. — When my boyfriend gets off work, my friend and I pick him up and we all go out to dinner. Shakes and burgers for them and chili for me. We each pay for our own meals and spend a few hours chatting before we drop off my friend. I text my brother, who is watching my cat while I'm away. She's pretty independent and does fine on her own for a day or two, but he lets me know he's been over to feed her. $10.88
8:30 p.m. — My friend and I decide to meet for beers at our local craft brewery. I've been trying to do Dry January and it has been going well so far, but I really miss the local beer, so I get one and pay for one of hers, too. I have cash, which I use instead of my card. She buys us a charcuterie platter and we talk the night away. $12
11 p.m. — After my friend goes home, my boyfriend and I head to a local dive bar to catch up with other old friends and play pool. I'm not drinking the rest of the night, so he buys me a Sprite and I agree to be the designated driver. We close out the bar and head home around 1 a.m.
Daily Total: $73.18
Day Four
11 a.m. — Ugh. I didn't drink a lot last night, but I've overslept enough that I get that icky, groggy feeling of too much sleep and not enough water. I do some yoga to try and shake it before making coffee. Boyfriend's mom is coming over for lunch today, so we go to the grocery store for ingredients. He pays.
1 p.m. — We whip up spaghetti with homemade tomato sauce, brussels sprouts, garlic bread, and red wine. His mom and younger brother come over with their dog, and we have a nice time catching up. After lunch, we walk to the park and play catch with the dog. It's brisk out but not as cold as it's been lately, which is nice.
7 p.m. — Boyfriend packs me leftovers to take home. It'll make a nice lunch tomorrow. I say my goodbyes, fill up my tank and hit the road. $22
10 p.m. — I like to take long, hot baths on Sunday evenings and then cozy up with a book and a cup of tea. Before going to bed, I program the coffee maker to brew in the morning.
Daily Total: $22
Day Five
8 a.m. — I wake up, after snoozing my alarm twice, to my cat pawing at my face. My apartment is freezing. The temperature dropped at least 20 degrees overnight and it's near torture to drag myself out from under my heated blanket. I feed the cat breakfast and pour myself coffee. I consider going for a jog this morning, but I really hate running in freezing temps because I don't have the proper gear. I do some light stretching instead. Today is cold, but I don't feel like waiting for the bus, so I just walk.
12 p.m. — One of my coworkers presents a paper she's working on and hoping to submit soon. We give feedback on her work, and after the meeting is over, it's back to the lab. I eat the leftover spaghetti I brought and an apple.
6 p.m. — After I get home from work, I take a look in my fridge and realize it's time to go grocery shopping. I grab my reusable bags and head to the Trader Joe's about 20 minutes away. I usually go to Schnucks (a local supermarket chain) but I specifically want a few Trader Joe's items. I pick up plenty of fresh veggies, a loaf of bread, cheese, beans, rice, almond butter, hummus, coffee, oranges, chickpeas, granola bars, a bottle of merlot, a few tins of cat food, and other odds and ends. This will last me about two weeks. I have a system: eat all the produce and perishables first, then subsist on beans and rice for the last week until I get paid and can go shopping again. $90.15
8 p.m. — When I get home, I listen to Sango while I cook dal with rice for my dinner. I've come to really love cooking in the past year. There's something romantic and beautiful about filling my tiny kitchen with the aroma of garlic, ginger, and onions, and then creating a dish out of individual ingredients. A coworker gifted me a box of garam masala seasoning, which brings the dal to a whole new level. I put aside enough for my lunch tomorrow before digging in.
11 p.m. — I try out a new face mask that makes my skin so bright and clear! Then I play with my cat for a little bit before crawling into bed. She plays by herself for a while, but around midnight she usually crawls on top of my feet and sleeps there for the rest of the night. Cats are so weird.
Daily Total: $90.15
Day Six
7:30 a.m. — It's so cold in my apartment, once again. Luckily a hot cup of coffee is a good incentive to get out of bed. I drink a cup, then shower, drink another, have a piece of toast, pack up my stuff, and head out. My impatience gets the best of me, and I walk in the cold rather than wait for the bus.
12:30 p.m. — A few of my coworkers also brought lunch from home today, so we all hang out and eat. We end up sitting and chatting for a while before going back to the lab. I've been working on getting samples ready for sequencing for about a week now, so I'm really excited to finally get it done.
6 p.m. — With the samples submitted, I finish up some documentation and walk home. I spend my evening Skyping with a long-distance friend while snacking on red peppers and hummus. After we say our goodbyes, I relax in a hot bubble bath and make it through a chunk of the book I checked out from the library.
11 p.m. — Bedtime! I set my alarm, prep the coffee machine, and browse Reddit for a little while before falling asleep.
Daily Total: $0
Day Seven
8 a.m. — I follow my usual morning routine. The weather is a little nicer today, so I go for a quick run. Then, it's shower and skincare, pack my lunch, and out the door!
1 p.m. — Over lunch (red peppers, hummus, a granola bar, and an apple, I text with the mom of a potential tutoring client. (I tutor on and off during the semesters. It's a nice way to make a bit of extra cash when I have the time.) I usually tutor high-school students because I'm more familiar with their math level; it's been a while since I worked with any elementary schoolers, but how hard can it be, right? We set up a time to meet. I charge $30 per hour, but the first consultation is free.
3 p.m. — My student loan bill is on auto-pay, and I get a notification that this month's transaction was successful. Yay! Chipping away at that debt piece by piece. Around this same time, I start to get a migraine aura. I suffer from migraines a few times a month. They happen less in the winter, but I think this one was triggered by the big temperature jump today. For me, aura includes scintillating scotoma, which basically looks like an oscillating, shimmering fractal pattern disturbing my normal vision in one eye. Luckily, my job offers really great paid sick time (and my boss is very understanding about migraines), so I am able to go home early and take my medication. Then it's just a matter of laying in my room in the dark and waiting for it to go away.
8 p.m. — Migraines always throw off the rest of my day a little bit. Once this one subsides enough, I force myself to eat toast and drink plenty of water. The medication gives me side effects (brain fog, exhaustion, and a decreased appetite), but they usually wear off in a few hours. I read more of my book, play with my cat, and browse the Internet for a bit before heading to bed.
Daily Total: $0
Money Diaries are meant to reflect individual women's experiences and do not necessarily reflect Refinery29's point of view. Refinery29 in no way encourages illegal activity or harmful behavior.
The first step to getting your financial life in order is tracking what you spend — to try on your own, check out our guide to managing your money every day. For more money diaries, click here.
Have a Money Diary you'd like to share? Right now, in addition to our ongoing diaries, we're looking for potential diarists along the following theme:
Your Spending In Your State:We want to run one Money Diary from a different state each week. Want to rep your state? Submithere!
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There's a man out there who just turned 105 and swears it's because he adds a shot of whiskey to his tea every morning. Which sounds fun and all, if only my track record with Jack Daniels didn't always end with me FaceTiming my mom at 3 AM before subsequently waking up to a hangover and a puffy face.
Tea, on the other hand, I believe in. Not only does drinking it work like magic whenever I'm stressed, sick, or tired, but I've also been known to place chilled, leftover sachets on my undereye area to reduce swelling. More recently, and because cleaning up drippy tea bags can be pretty messy, I've started applying another form of caffeine to my face: Juara's botanically-based, antioxidant-packed, tea-infused eye cream.
My undereye bags after two weeks of using this eye cream.
Housed inside the little brown pump, teas of the green, chamomile, and fermented black variety (the latter of which anyone with an Equinox membership would call "Kombucha") work hard to quell inflammation and protect against UV-induced damage. I know I need all the help I can get, given my tendency to squint any time I step outside, so I've been using the formula twice a day for two weeks to promising results.
Kombucha's special talent? Scavenging for cell-damaging free radicals to destroy. "Black tea contains a large amount of antioxidants, and even more caffeine than green tea," says Dr. Alan J. Parks, MD, dermatologist and founder of DermWarehouse. "Both can help fight the signs of aging. Kombucha itself is hydrating and can improve skin elasticity." Can your whiskey do that?
Juara Miracle Tea Complete Eye Creme, $53, available at Juara Skincare.
Whether it's his eponymous beauty brand or fashion house you're speaking of, Tom Ford makes the absolute best of everything. His reintroduction to the world of womenswear back in 2010 was featured on the likes of Lauren Hutton, Julianne Moore, and Beyoncé; his directorial feature-film debut, A Single Man, opened to international critical acclaim. So when you're invited to have a makeover at the new Tom Ford beauty outpost in Covent Garden, you know you're not about to sit under some harsh, unflattering strip lights and have tragic contour dabbed on while the local radio plays tinnily in the background.
Rather, you’re led beneath the main shop floor to an impossibly plush lounge, bedecked with velvet furnishings and oversized bottles of Ford's iconic fragrances. The only sound is his soft bass vocals intoning over the speakers discussing his inspirations, kind of like a fashion Mufasa appearing in the sky to talk to Simba. There’s a fully functioning men’s barber chair at one end for wet-shave appointments, and a dedicated fragrance lounge in the middle, but where the magic really happens is in the makeup lounge. The mirrors, unassuming as they look, are fitted with something called MemoMi technology, meaning they can record your entire makeover as you go, then email you a perfectly edited video for you to dissect at home.
I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s ever had their makeup professionally done, been amazed with the bold colors chosen and the benefit of a fresh pair of eyes, vowed to try it at home, and drawn a complete blank when it’s time to get ready to go out. Fear of getting it wrong, not remembering what products were used — or, indeed, how they were used — often turns us back to our tried and tested routines, with little room for experimentation. MemoMi and Tom Ford are hoping to put an end to all that by giving you a bespoke beauty "vlog," with you in the starring role, tailored to your every need.
Finally in the hot seat, my artist runs me through the process. Would I prefer the filming starts once I have foundation on? "Some ladies prefer not to go bare-faced, even for themselves," she explains. However, I’ve been familiar with my makeup-free face for 24 years, so I give her the go ahead to start right away. The mirror, when in filming mode, has a couple of touch-screen buttons that remind me of an iPad, which my artist taps to stop and start the recording to ask me if I think the shade of the foundation is right, or if I want more concealer. It also splits the film into parts — base, contour, eyes, lips, and blush — and gives the artist the power to edit out sections if you change your mind about a particular hue.
I look into the camera as we apply an essence, primer, eye cream, foundation, and concealer. Then, my artist pauses the recording and heads to a different page with a list of products and selects everything she’s used (which will form a regimen, also to be emailed) before we move on to eyes. I’m nervous about the vivid orange of the "Infrared" shadow she wants to use, but she assuages any doubt by applying it sparingly to the center of my lids. I was ready to politely tolerate it... but, actually, I really like it. Same goes for eyeliner — I usually prefer a dark brown pencil but she persuades me to try black and she’s right; it doesn’t look too harsh.
Emboldened, I let her go to town with the contour and blush, two areas where I usually keep it very soft. But again, I’m pleasantly surprised — the elegant textures melt beautifully onto my skin without any muddiness.
Watching the video back at home is funny. There’s no music, for one. I’m not saying it would add much value; I’m just used to some jaunty ukulele in the background of beauty videos. Also, most of it is just my own face peering up at me. Once I get over how strange it is to essentially watch surveillance footage of yourself (is this how it feels to be a Kardashian?), I pick up on a few things.
I usually swear by a Beautyblender-and-fingers combo for my base, but the brush she’s using leaves a wonderfully natural finish. I carefully study the placement and blending of that pop of color, and bravely dip my brush into the untouched brights of my palette. She’s right: Orange somehow works brilliantly on my eyes — which I never would have guessed — and black is a better evening option for me. I’ve also long been curious to try Tom Ford's bestselling Shade & Illuminate Contour Duo, but been thrown by the creamy texture. Now I can see exactly how much to apply, and how deftly to buff it for maximum impact.
I’m pretty confident with makeup, but the service would be great for anyone looking to brush up on their skills, too. Whatever you want to master, whether it’s a "no-makeup" makeup look, a daytime smoky eye, or just a general overhaul, this allows you to have a professional in your pocket, ready to show you the ropes whenever you want to watch. It’s the next best thing to your own glam squad.
His comments were reportedly spurred on by the press appearances of two of the survivors-turned-activists, Emma González and David Hogg. In response to a post by The Hill about how González has more Twitter followers than the NRA, Gibson vitriolically responded, calling her a “skinhead lesbian” before questioning whether she was actually a survivor.
According to The Portland Press Herald, Gibson’s tweets came in response to Hogg’s appearance on CNN during which he accused NRA spokeswoman Dana Loesch of manipulating government officials for the organization’s gains. “She owns these congressmen. She can get them to do things. She doesn’t care about these children’s lives,” said Hogg.
Rather than engaging with Gibson directly, Hogg took a far more effective approach. He used Twitter as a platform for change. “Who wants to run against this hate loving politician he's is running UNOPPOSED RUN AGAINST HIM I don't care what party JUST DO IT,” he tweeted. In response to Gibson’s remarks, first time politician Eryn Gilchrist joined the race, citing his comments as the driving force behind her decision to run. While González did not make a statement, she retweeted a Refinery29 story thanking Gilchrist for throwing her hat in the ring.
In a later tweet, Gibson apologized: "I would like to extend to you my most sincere apology for how I addressed you. It was wrong and unacceptable. You are doing work that is important to you. I would like to extend my hand in friendship and understanding to you.”
This isn’t the first time Gibson used social media as a platform to express his controversial opinions on the Parkland, FL school shooting. Last month, the politician wrote a post on Facebook claiming that there has been “a lot of misinformation, and flat out lies” perpetuated by “the liberal media and leftist anti-Second Amendment groups” about the shooting which took 17 lives last month.
Congrats, you're going to Coachella! You've already spent $500 for general admission and a shuttle pass, $75 for those cut-off Levi's shorts, maybe another two hundo on a Loveshackfancy dress, god-knows-what on your Airbnb and flight, then there's food and drink... but, what the hell, it's totally worth it! (It is worth it, right? Right?!)
At this point, what's another $18 to $165 for a festival-inspired fragrance that'll help to etch all the best moments of the weekend into your mind forever? Whether you're into classic rock guitar solos, neon body paint, or just looking to make it into a major magazine's street style roundup, there's something for you, ahead.
We understand the impulse to admire this fragrance on the shelf for its funky font, then walk by without sniffing it because of the dirty bong water color. But that'd be a mistake, because though all evidence points to the contrary, this actually isn't your weird Phish-loving uncle's cologne. It's an homage to patchouli, but a restrained one, balanced by a pretty violet note. It smells like walking into an overpriced SoHo boutique with high wooden beams, leather chairs, and softly burning sage — not a New Paltz gift shop.
If you have a deep-rooted fear of the dentist, this scent might trigger something in you: It smells a lot like a hit of amyl nitrate or laughing gas mixed with dry, grainy mint toothpaste — but in a strangely good way? (Confusingly, there's no mint in it — just spices, purple flowers, vanilla, and some wood notes.) Basically, we don't know what neon would be like bottled, but it's not not this.
For better or for worse, the summer of '18 isn't going to be anything like the one of '69; you can't go back to a time before unicorn frequency wave stickers and marijuana laced with dangerous shit. If you're an old soul, all you can control now is your fragrance — and this warm blend of cannabis, patchouli, and leather will take you straight back to Woodstock, when you didn't have to worry about your boss watching you make out with a roadie on Insta Stories.
Maison Margiela Replica: Music Festival, $126, available at Sephora.
You can't beat an all-natural fragrance free of all the bad stuff (synthetic oils, parabens, phthalates, colorants, dyes, preservatives, and sulfates) that smells like refreshing, fruity cactus water, tropical coconut, and just the right amount of sweet agave syrup... for less than the cost of two beers at the festival.
Hyper Naturals Electric Paradise, $18, available at Urban Outfitters.
This fruity floral with notes of lychee, pomelo, and musk is for the Revolve House influencer who wouldn't be caught dead in patchouli. She's just making a pit stop at the festival to get a shot of this bottle and one of her on a cute animal pool raft before heading to the Parker Palm Springs.
Philosophy Endless Summer, $49, available at Sephora.
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Welcome toMoney Diaries, where we're tackling what might be the last taboo facing modern working women: money. We're asking millennials how they spend their hard-earned money during a seven-day period — and we're tracking every last dollar.
Today: a leasing administrator working in real estate who makes $45,000 per year. This week, she spends some of her money on makeup.
Occupation: Leasing Administrator Industry: Real Estate Age: 23 Location: New York, NY Salary: $45,000 Paycheck (Semi-monthly): ~$1,600. (I'm contract-based, so it varies depending on my hours logged.)
Monthly Expenses Rent: $1,150. (I rent a room in a three-bedroom, two-bathroom condo with two roommates.) Student Loan Payment: $0. (I received several scholarships and then my parents paid for the rest of my tuition.) Gas & Electric: $30 Health Insurance: $181 for my single plan Renter's Insurance: $5 Cell Phone: $0. (My parents agreed to pay for my cell phone until I'm fully “on my feet.”) Internet: $30. Transportation: $121 for my unlimited MetroCard Gym: $30 Savings: $200, automatically deducted from my checking account. (I also throw in whatever I have left at the end of the month. I waitressed part-time for about eight months after graduating while living at home, and I saved the majority of my earnings. I have about $13,000 saved.)
Day One
10 a.m. — I have the day off, so I roll out of bed slowly. Even though I tend to get very cranky at work, I often feel like I have no purpose on my days off. I decide to spend the day exploring places in NYC that I've neglected since I moved here six months ago. I squeeze in a quick yoga video, scarf down some cereal, get dressed, and am out the door.
12 p.m. — First stop: Glossier! I feel slightly ashamed calling myself a millennial and not owning any Glossier products. I have an anxiety-triggered shopping problem, so I've been trying to rein in my personal care purchases. I feel proud of my single purchase and walk out with a tube of Boy Brow. $16
1 p.m. — I continue to window shop around SoHo and have a mental battle over whether to stop for coffee and treats. I've been trying to cut down on all non-essential spending, so I pull out my emergency snack bag full of nuts, cereal, and miscellaneous items and nibble while I walk around.
4 p.m. — I'm not a fan of football but my sister invited me over for the Super Bowl — and she is a fabulous cook. I buy a bus ticket and make the hour-long trek to Hoboken. $3.50
4:30 p.m. — I make a quick pitstop for wine. My brother joins us as and he kindly brings me a bag of Trader Joe's groceries that my mom paid for! $6
5 p.m. — My sister does not disappoint: I arrive to find a spread of cheeses, berries, homemade wings, taco bowls, chicken parmesan bites, garlic bread, and meatballs. I stuff myself until I can barely breathe.
9:30 p.m. — Sister pays for my $34 Uber home because it's raining cats and dogs outside. She is the most generous person I know.
11 p.m. — I do an abbreviated version of my skincare routine because wine always has a way of making me feel lazy AF. I snuggle in bed with my meditation book and doze off into dreamland.
Daily Total: $25.50
Day Two
8 a.m. — Back to the grind! I wake up and do my makeup while listening to one of my favorite podcasts, 10% Happier. It really sets the tone for my day. I head to work and try to spend the majority of my time on the subway meditating; it keeps me from getting ticked off at the MTA system.
10 a.m. — Start my day with quinoa hot cereal from Trader Joe's. I throw in nuts and honey for excitement because it tastes like hot, grainy cardboard by itself.
11 a.m. — The phone in my office is ringing off the hook today, making it difficult to get my work done. I do deep breathing and get back in the game. I am the first point of contact for clients and I like speaking with new people all day, but it can be hard to jump from interacting with clients back to creating reports and spreadsheets.
1 p.m. — I pull out my salad and devour it. I'm very grateful my family buys me groceries from time to time.
5:30 p.m. — The late afternoon crash hits me. I decide to make hot chocolate instead of my typical coffee, and I pair it with SkinnyPop and prepare to leave for the day. My parents ordered a new mattress for my birthday (my first full-sized mattress!) and I can't wait to get home and set up my first adult bed.
6:30 p.m. — Get home and sadness ensues: the mattress has not arrived yet. I throw together snacks for dinner and pack a change of clothes for my workout tomorrow. Generous sister is taking me to my first barre class after work!
8:30 p.m. — Full-on skincare routine is in play tonight. I cleanse and then apply facial mist, exfoliating serum, and a moisturizing facial oil.
10 p.m. — The mattress finally arrives and I am too excited to not open it immediately. I sweat profusely while setting it up and make a mental note to do more physical activity. Then I open a bag of gummies, intending to have just one, and end up inhaling half the bag.
10:30 p.m. — I FaceTime my long-distance boyfriend and he unloads his work stress onto me. We plan a hotel night for the upcoming weekend and say goodnight. We usually split everything evenly between us, but he just got a raise and a bonus so he pays for the hotel.
Daily Total: $0
Day Three
8:30 a.m. — The subway is super crowded today, so I can't sit down and meditate. Bummer. I've been trying to be more flexible when things don't work out perfectly, but it's a struggle for my type-A personality. Instead, I practice deep breathing on my walk from the subway to the office, but it doesn't last long because I get lightheaded.
9:30 a.m. — I avoid a specific walking route that passes by my guilty pleasure coffee spot, La Colombe. I recently read that relying on willpower alone is often ineffective when trying to break habits, so I try to outsmart my brain. Mission fails as I pass by another enticing coffee shop and succumb to the soy latte devil. Tomorrow is another day. $4.50
12:30 p.m. — It's been pretty slow in my office now that it's so cold out and people aren't shopping for new apartments as aggressively, so I peruse job listings my friend sent me while nibbling on Cheerios for breakfast. Sadly, I am vastly under-qualified for all of these jobs.
3 p.m. — Munch on my TJ's salad and wish it was anything other than a salad. Somehow, I end up on Glossier's website. I peek at a few items that interested me in the store a few days ago and search for a gift for my sister's upcoming birthday. Just like that, I have fallen down the online shopping rabbit hole once again. I buy a lip gloss, two bottles of the Solution, and a highlighter. $85
4:30 p.m. — I text my mom about a ballet performance I'm interested in seeing on Thursday. She's intrigued as well, so we each buy our own tickets. $29
6 p.m. — Sister can't find a barre class that I can make it to in time, so we reschedule. I stop at a grocery store for ranch and tomato sauce, frozen veggies, and echinacea tea to (hopefully) help boost my immunity. Flu season is too real. $29
8:30 p.m. — I heat up zucchini noodles with spicy tomato sauce. It's shockingly tasty.
9:30 p.m. — I watch an episode of Shameless, do body scan meditation, and dive into my book for a bit before passing out.
Daily Total: $147.50
Day Four
9:15 a.m. — I get ready for work today and try leaving my apartment a few minutes later so that I won't have enough time to buy coffee. My plan fails again and I somehow arrive at my stop earlier than I ever have...and I stop for a coffee. Instead of my usual latte, I compromise with a plain coffee. $3
11 a.m. — They've added some new protocols at our office and everyone moans and groans about it. I do the same but secretly am excited to have more things to do! I've been having somewhat of an existential crisis for the past six months or so. This is only my first full-time job since graduating, but I feel like I'm not developing any of my skills here and haven't had any luck finding something else yet.
1:30 p.m. — I don't feel like eating the salad I brought with me today, so I order a Mediterranean platter. I am hoping I can squeeze two meals out of this so I don't feel so guilty ordering out. $16
3 p.m. — I'm heading to a seminar this evening hosted by Yael Shy, the fabulous lady who wrote the meditation book I'm reading, What Now?. The book has seriously helped me navigate this rocky transition I'm experiencing post-graduation. I'm jumping out of my chair thinking about meeting her tonight!
5:30 p.m. — I attempt to place an order on Forever21.com for shirt options to wear on my birthday, but the page keeps freezing. I take it as a sign that I shouldn't spend money on clothes I'll only wear once.
6:30 p.m. — I Uber to the seminar but arrive quite early, so I pop into CVS intending only to browse but end up buying a lipstick I've had my eye on. $8.50
8:30 p.m. — The seminar is very intimate, which I love. Yael begins with a guided meditation that includes Buddhist-style singing bowls. The rest of the time is spent talking about loneliness and how we can become comfortable with the feeling rather than fighting it. She signs my book and I chat with her for a bit but then I get really flustered and bolt out of the room!
9:30 p.m. — Grab the subway home and nosh on leftover sad French fries from my lunch. I rinse off quickly so I can snuggle in bed and watch another episode of Shameless before falling asleep.
Daily Total: $27.50
Day Five
8:30 a.m. — I wake up feeling surprisingly anxious, considering I spent the majority of last night meditating and self-reflecting. I grab a coffee on my way to work. Normally, I only buy coffee about once a week because my office has a Keurig, but we ran out of K-Cups and I'm cutting myself a break this week. $1.86
3:30 p.m. — I eat the salad that I neglected yesterday and I really regret it because the cheese has melted together and the lettuce has wilted. I nibble on the tortilla strips it came with and make a cup of hot chocolate to hold me over until dinner.
5:45 p.m. — I leave work a few minutes early to see the ballet I got tickets for with my mom and sister.
8 p.m. — The show has a fantastic live jazz band accompanying the dancing and exceeds all our expectations. Afterward, we Uber to an Indian restaurant for a feast. My sister pays for the Uber and my mom pays for the food. I not-so-subtly try to convince my sister to write a Money Diary because she makes bank and I really want to know more about her financial management. My mom and sister send me home with the leftovers.
9 p.m. — I walk home and literally collapse into my bed after a lovely evening.
Daily Total: $1.86
Day Six
1 a.m. — I do my usual morning routine and head to work, stopping for a hazelnut oat milk latte along the way. $5
11:30 a.m. — A friend of mine recently passed away, so I read over some of our old text conversations until I'm on the verge of crying and realize this is inappropriate to do at work.
12:30 p.m. — I reflect on the fact that I really need a change in my life, and decide to send a friend my résumé for the job I feel under-qualified for. Fingers crossed!
2:30 p.m. — I eat leftover chicken tikka masala and naan for lunch. I got my period this morning and am dying for some comfort food, so this is perfect.
6:30 p.m. — Leave the office to catch a bus back to my parents' house for the night. My parents are both retired, so I go home a lot to spend time with them and my older brother, who lives at home as well. Plus, I get to see my puppy and kitty; I miss them like crazy. $8
8:30 p.m. — My mom picks me up from the bus stop and we go home for a night of relaxing and snuggling with my pets.
Daily Total: $13
Day Seven
11 a.m. — I mosey out of bed and my wonderful mother cooks cheese blintzes for breakfast.
1 p.m. — I shower and get on the road to meet my boyfriend upstate for our hotel night.
2 p.m. — We both arrive, get in a solid snuggle, and head downtown to walk around the adorable shops. I stop at an art supply store and pick up a few small craft items as souvenirs. $3.50
3:30 p.m. — We stop at a boutique coffee shop and I get a soy latte to sip on while my boyfriend eats lunch. We sit next to people who are practicing speaking French. I know a decent amount of French, so I try to follow along with them, but then realize I know a lot less than I thought I did. Sigh. $5
5 p.m. — There's a vegan café here that I am dying to try, so I drag my boyfriend in and order a green juice. $7
7:30 p.m. — Boyfriend and I go to a German gastropub for dinner and order pork belly street tacos, garlic parmesan fries, and chili-rubbed wings. It's so refreshing to go out for a nice meal that doesn't cost an arm and a leg like everything in NYC does. Boyfriend pays and I Venmo him for my portion. $22.50
10 p.m. — Boyfriend and I watch Olympic figure skating for a bit and then I read him some of my meditation book before we both call it a night.
Daily Total: $38
Money Diaries are meant to reflect individual women's experiences and do not necessarily reflect Refinery29's point of view. Refinery29 in no way encourages illegal activity or harmful behavior.
The first step to getting your financial life in order is tracking what you spend — to try on your own, check out our guide to managing your money every day. For more money diaries, click here.
Have a Money Diary you'd like to share? Right now, in addition to our ongoing diaries, we're looking for potential diarists along the following theme:
Your Spending In Your State:We want to run one Money Diary from a different state each week. Want to rep your state? Submithere!
Have questions about how to submit or our publishing process? Read our Money Diaries FAQ doc here:r29.co/mdfaqs
Related Video:
Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?
When the students of Miami area’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School take to the streets of Washington, D.C. Sat., March 24, we already know they will have plenty of supporters. The March for Our Lives got sizable donations from the likes of Oprah Winfrey and George Clooney early on in its planning. Now the organizers say they'll have star power by their sides, too, as Miley Cyrus, Ariana Grande, Demi Lovato, and Jennifer Hudson now plan to join the march.
"We're gonna have four major independent women that are standing with us and walking beside us, and those are Ariana Grande, Jennifer Hudson, Miley Cyrus, and Demi Lovato," David Hogg, one of the survivors of the shooting in Parkland, FL, told CNN this week.
"I am completely inspired by the students and communities standing up for the future safety of everyone and to honor those we’ve lost from senseless acts of gun violence. I stand with you and raise my voice with yours. #ENOUGH," Hudson tweeted on Wednesday, when students across the country walked out of school.
Last November, Cyrus posted two lengthy statements against gun violence after a man shot and killed 26 people at a church in Sutherland Springs, TX. "Mortified by our country & its shitty system , (sic) lack of control/laws!" Cyrus wrote. "This does NOT HAVE or NEED to happen!"
Lovato brought Stoneman Douglas students Julius Castillo, Mackenzie Marie Chapman, Samantha Megan Deitsch, Maia Hebron, Eden Hebron, and Sarah Stricker onstage at the first stop of her Tell Me You Love Me world tour in San Diego last month.
"It was such an honor to meet them and hear their courageous stories," Lovato said in a press release, per Billboard.
Cyrus and other celebs are doing their part to promote another aspect of the students' activism. Many have posted links to the song “Shine,” which Stoneman Douglas survivors Andrea Pena and Sawyer Garrity wrote shortly after the shooting. Perhaps one or all four of these pop stars might collaborate in a live performance at the march? Just a suggestion.
