Weekend Mode: Light & Easy
Featherweight sneakers, ice cream inspired lip mask and marmalade scented deodorant, a couple of thrillers, and the most gentle moisturizer imaginable
Hello, Gorgeous!
Oh, you General Hospital fans. You had a field day with yesterday’s post. Also, it’s interesting how many of you never thought of trying grey eyeliner before. Please do and then report back.
I’m not sure about you, but I could really use a weekend right around now. Which is incredibly convenient since it’s Friday Jr. This weekend’s roundup is about everything easy or sweet.
Well, let’s get to it!
Strong and supportive
While this sounds like the man (or bra) of my dreams, I’m actually talking about a pair of lightweight sneakers from Altra. Ego Max are designed to support your back and feet, so you don’t have to give up comfort for, well, support. My favorite part about these running shoes (aside from the great color combos and light as air styling) is the fact that there is a wide toebox and mesh upper. I have a love/hate relationship with sneakers during the summer. Knowing there’s loads of room for my toes and feet to breathe make these my go-to for random weekend outings. I know they’re designed for running, but the most I end up doing on the weekend is running errands. Oh! And there’s zero drop so your feet won’t end up at odd angles. I love Altra in general, but I think this is one of their best designs yet ($ 160, altrarunning.com).
Sweet pairings
I love a good collabo. Here are two that are more silly than necessary, but equally fun nonetheless.
Wild x Paddington Bear. Wild recently launched a refillable deodorant case decorated with Paddington Bear imagery. It also comes with an Orange Marmalade scented deodorant refill. Wild describes the scent as being “sweet, bright and refreshingly citrusy, with irresistible zingy notes.” All true, but probably better for their lip balm than deodorant.
Along those lines
Laneige x Baskin-Robbins. Laneige’s first ever marbled edition Lip Sleeping Mask is a delightful (and very silly) swirl of orange, pineapple & raspberry scents. They also recently launched a partnership with lollipop company Chupa. It feels like Laneige is moving toward tween territory and into the hallowed halls of Lip Smackers ($25, us.laneige.com).
Moisturizer gentle enough for babies
Had enough of sweetly scented products? K-Beauty brand Illiyoon’s Ceramide Ato Concentrate is made for dry and sensitive skin, is vegan and creates a light moisture barrier repair. While I haven’t tested or challenged the product’s 100-hour moisture retention window, I’m pretty impressed with the unscented multi-ceramide product, which is enriching but not goopy ($25, Amazon).
Thrillers from across the pond
[Here be spoilers. Consider yourself warned]
A six-part suspensful series: Hulu recently premiered the six-part popular British series Red Eye, and it’s perfect for weekend bingeing. Well, perfect if you enjoy murder mysteries that take part in confined settings. Will you see the true bad guys a mile away? Maybe. But as the bodies pile up (while in-flight), you’ll have a new appreciation for the easy chemistry between Richard Armitage (who stars as a British doctor accused of murder and being sent back to Beijing) and Jing Lusi who stars as DC Hana Li who’s assigned to accompany him back. It’s claustrophobic. It’s entertaining. There’s humor to cut the suspense. I think it’s worth a watch. Now streaming on Hulu.
A dark and disturbing novel: It seems as if most fiction book pitches I receive lately feature an interspecies romantasy (I swear I’m not making this up), or cold cases about missing girls. The Cleaner by Mary Watson is neither of those things. It’s dark and twisty and involves a cast of characters I don’t much care about. So what makes it so incredibly interesting? The woodsy Irish locations are extremely compelling. It’s also easy to imagine peeking over the shoulder of protagonist Esmie as she spends her days as a house cleaner for three related families. They also share another connection — someone in their group may be responsible for Esmie’s brother Nico’s fall from grace (into a coma, no less). While I haven’t finished the book yet (the weekend beckons), I can tell you that it has a little bit of everything and a whole lot of twists. I’ll add that my mom is a voracious reader and a comp lit major who doesn’t love the current crop of fiction. She inhaled this book and told me that she couldn’t keep up with the twists ($18, Amazon).
And that’s it for July 2025! How’s your summer been going so far? Let’s meet in the comment section to discuss!
Rachel, Your beauty concierge 💋
Good stuff!