Modern Beauty Trends: In: Meghan Markle’s Suits

Friday, February 2, 2018

In: Meghan Markle’s Suits | Out: Ignoring the Super Bowl

Meghan Markle made her red carpet debut as a royal fiancée.
View this email in your browser

“I try to greet my friends with a drink in my hand, a warm smile on my face, and great music in the background, because that's what gets a dinner party off to a fun start.” —Ina Garte

Netflix’s Naked Cyborg Killer (Oh, and the Super Bowl)

Non-Sports Fans Looking for a Lot of Other Options

As you may have heard, there’s the traditional American concern of the Super Bowl this weekend, and few other entertainment entities bother to even compete. Hollywood gives us just one new major movie this weekend, in the Helen Mirren-starring Winchester, which is both a haunted house horror flick and a biopic of a wealthy rifle heiress. Reviews aren’t out yet, so consider that up in the air. There is a bit of new television to watch out for, though. HBO brings the podcast 2 Dope Queens, hosted by Daily Show alum Jessica Williams and comedian/writer Phoebe Robinson, to the visual medium with the first of four planned live specials premiering Friday at 11:30 p.m. Directed by Tig Notaro, you can expect a mix of storytelling, interviews, and sets from buzzworthy standups. Amazon Prime, meanwhile, gives us the American premiere of Absentia, which stars Castle alum Stana Katic as an FBI agent who is declared dead only to wake up six years later in a castle in the woods with no memory of who she is. Though, the flashiest premiere of the weekend belongs to Netflix, with sci-fi saga Altered Carbon. Set in the future where the human brain is digitized, the brain of a famed warrior is put into the hunky body of Joel Kinnaman and sets out to solve a murder. Though, our main takeaway from the trailer is that it involves a lot of casual sci-fi nudity. Appropriately, a good chunk of the directing crew has experience on either Doctor Who or Game of Thrones, which seems to make perfect sense.

Meghan Markle in Suits

Meghan Markle on Suits

The royal family is so rich with protocol and tradition that it can be exhausting to keep up with everything Meghan Markle does for the “first” time and every time she “breaks” tradition. We’re sure she can barely keep up herself. Last night’s instance of a Meghan and Harry first, however, was pretty major. Heading to the Endeavor Fund Awards, an extension of Prince Harry and Prince William’s charity foundation, the pair enjoyed their first official evening engagement together as a couple and walked the red carpet for the first time. Though, Markle had no use for a princess gown, and instead, chose a chic Alexander McQueen pantsuit, a sartorial statement that seems rare for a future duchess (Kate Middleton, for example, has only worn pants during daytime royal engagements). It caused a minor uproar among traditional royal watchers, but the majority of those commenting on the Internet were wowed. By the by, it was also Markle’s first red carpet since she attended an event to promote her former television show, Suits, last June. Markle has exited the show, but the American series continues. Indeed, producers have recruited none other than Emmy winner Katherine Heigl to fill the void for the upcoming eighth season.

Octavia Spencer, Honestly

Being Rude and Talentless

Hollywood can seem like a fickle place where people are rewarded with wealth and fame for spurious reasons, but if there is at least one sign the town actually has a heart, it may be the recent blossoming of Octavia Spencer’s career, a sign that the industry does sometimes reward someone for being an uber-talented, wonderful person. The actress is fresh is off her third Oscar nomination in six years, and by all accounts, everyone who has worked with her absolutely adores her. Yes, even she’s acknowledged that she all too often gets stuck in supporting roles in period films (all three of her nominations were for films set in the past). It’s only January, but so far in 2018, the actress has signed on to star in a Reese Witherspoon-produced drama series for Apple that explores the life of someone whose past is dug up, thanks to a true crime podcast and a holiday film, in which she’ll costar with The Help castmate Jessica Chastain. Now, she’ll reunite with The Help director Tate Taylor as the star of horror film Ma. Taylor notes it will allow the actress to stretch her abilities further than her usual roles. “Octavia is so damn likable that we usually see her in certain roles. But she’s such a good actress and this is such a complex character that if I do my job right, people in the audience are going to want to push pause and say, ‘Can we please take you out for coffee so you don’t do what you’re about to do,'” he told Variety. Meanwhile, Spencer has also announced that she’ll buy out entire theaters showing the upcoming Marvel flick Black Panther, a movie she isn’t even in, so that underprivileged youth can see the film on the big screen.

Duckie Thot

@DuckieOfficial

The Rihanna-led Grammys performance of “Wild Thoughts” was one of the best of the ceremony, and we’re still thinking about the serious looks worn by the backup dancers. What we weren’t aware of was that burgeoning supermodel Duckie Thot was among them—a fact we didn’t realize until she posted about it on Instagram.