EDITOR’S NOTE Happy Sunday. I don’t know about you, but this week’s competing online dramas caught me as off-guard as Emma Stone was while eating this chicken pot pie. To rebound, I’ll be enjoying a $45 martini. Actually, no, I’ll be enjoying some “floor time,” which is free and is apparently an expert-approved wellness hack. I’ll also be obsessing over what could be “the most lavish wedding of all time” (see: a performance by Rihanna) and the 2024 version of the “black or gold dress” debate. This time, it’s a drawing, and you either see a hot air balloon, a jellyfish, or…Snoop Dogg. Draw it like it’s hot, I guess. — Alex Carr / Editorial Director / New York, NY |
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Consider yourself lucky if you’ve made it to Sunday without encountering a conspiracy theory about Kate Middleton’s health. In the event you took this week to *unplug* (and good for you), the Princess of Wales has been MIA from her royal duties since Christmas and underwent “planned abdominal surgery” in January. It didn’t seem like that big of a deal — until Prince William pulled out of a royal engagement this week, citing a “personal matter.” That’s when internet sleuths started speculating that things are not all right. Depending on your online habits, you may have seen speculation that the royal couple is breaking up. Or, that Kate’s recovering from a BBL. Or, growing out her bangs. Or…more nefarious things we don’t need to list here. (Here’s a crowd-sourced timeline of events, for those curious.) What’s noteworthy about this “Where’s Kate” conversation is: It’s not just the royals-obsessed who are weighing in. Everyone from the Barstool crowd to Redditors have wondered about her whereabouts and have become “Kate Middleton truthers” in the process. This was maybe inevitable, given the royal family’s history of keeping quiet on pretty major health issues. On Thursday, the palace tried to quiet the noise, saying they’d been “very clear from the outset” about Princess Catherine’s timeline and that she is “doing well.” But just like your husband when you say ‘I’m fine,’ people are not convinced. Kate, we just hope you weren’t at that Willy Wonka experience in Scotland. |
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Who knows if anything will ever fill the ludicrously capacious void left by “Succession,” but “The Regime” is going to try. The sharp political satire — which premieres on HBO tonight — was created by “Succession” alum Will Tracy, so that’s a good start. And it stars Kate Winslet, attempting yet another accent. But this time, there’s less pressure to nail it, since she’s playing the chancellor of a fictional European country that’s beginning to unravel. Add to that: Hugh Grant as the leader of the opposition, Selina Meyer-esque verbal assault, plenty of moments that are either so dark it’s funny or so funny it’s dark — and it has our vote. |
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Let us set the scene: In January, a man canceled a reservation at a restaurant named Table because, according to his account, he went to the hospital. Still, he was on the hook for the whopping $250 cancellation fee, which he says was covered by his credit card’s travel insurance. He thought that’d be the end of it…until late last month, when the restaurant’s owner, Jen Royle, apparently found him on Instagram and laid into him via DM for “screwing over” her restaurant and staff. (Disputed credit card charges can reportedly lead to fines and other negative consequences for restaurants.) The would-be customer posted the honestly never-ending exchange on X — and surprise, surprise the saga went viral. The restaurant got review-bombed on Yelp, Royle deleted her social media accounts, and both parties say they’ve received death threats. Does anyone else hear a Netflix docudrama coming on? |
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Finishing Touch Flawless Women’s Painless Hair Remover Let’s face it, everyone has facial hair: peach fuzz, sideburns, chin and upper lip hair. This is the tool for getting rid of all that (if you want to). It looks like a lipstick — in case you like your chin hair tool stealth — it’s gentle, and it works. Also, there’s an LED light, which is not so stealth but helps you see what you’re doing, and it’s battery powered, so you have one less thing to charge. Shear genius. |
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As a general (OK, highly unscientific and subjective) rule, portmanteaus signal good things: Cronuts, Chrismukkah, Goldendoodles, and Traylor. If book sales are any indication, people feel very good about romantasy, which, as the name suggests, combines aspects of fantasy (worldbuilding, magic systems, fairies, dragons) and romance (enemies-to-lovers, soulmates, love triangles, spicy sex scenes). While not new — who could forget the “Twilight” series? — the genre is hotter than ever, thanks in part to the popularity of books like “The Fourth Wing” and Sarah J. Maas’s racy Crescent City series. Last year, romantasy sales reportedly increased by 42%, perhaps because of TikTok and BookTok, where videos with the hashtag #romantasy have more than 900 million views. Plus, the stories are often written by and focused on women, including women of color. Sounds like a happily ever after. |
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Trending products and brands our shopping team has been loving recently. 1. Nice things for your spring garden.Gardening season is right around the corner. Pick up this flower-garden-in-a-box if you're starting from scratch, an essential soil tiller, and an owl wind chime with "Secret Garden" vibes. 2. Clever storage solutions for your jewelry and accessories.This tiered stand will stop your necklaces from tangling into an impossible knot. And this weird-looking hanger keeps scarves neat and visible — no more digging through your drawers. 3. Problem-solving products under $50 that'll make your life easier.Including an unsexy-but-necessary filter for your shower drain and the extremely cute tool kit everyone needs. Cheap thrills FTW. | *PS: Want more product recs? Follow @skimmshopping on Instagram. |
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Have you tried Flipart yet? Everyone’s loving this new game — and we get why. It’s such a rush when all the pieces fall into place. See for yourself. |
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Skimm’d by: Melissa Goldberg, Alex Carr, Margaret Wheeler Johnson, and Niven McCall-Mazza | Photos by Samir Hussein/WireImage via Getty Images, Suzanne Kreiter/The Boston Globe via Getty Images, Miya Mizuno/HBO, Harper Voyager, Bloomsbury Publishing, Red Tower Books, Brand Partners Design by theSkimm *PS: This is a sponsored post. |
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