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Saying Goodbye to TikTok😭…

As a TikTok shutdown looms in less than a week, another Chinese app named Xiaohongshu, or RedNote in English, has gained sudden popularity in the United States as people continue to look for alternatives.

If ByteDance does not sell TikTok by Jan. 19, the app will be illegal for distribution through the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. The app will not suddenly disappear from your phone, but it will be blocked from any updates causing inevitable crashes. Internet service providers will also be required to make the app inaccessible to U.S. internet browsers.

Among all free iPhone apps, RedNote currently sits as the top social networking app on the Apple app store rankings.

Film and Fashion Stars of the Red Carpet✨

Red carpets are a godsend for high fashion. When else do we get to see the prettiest people in the world wear stunning, fresh off the runway pieces? Read on to discover which celebrities pulled ahead of the pack fashion-wise last year. 

1. Zendaya

Everyone knows she deserves a spot on this list. The dynamic duo of Zendaya and Law Roach made veritable fashion history this year with their back-to-back showstoppers for the Dune: Part Two and Challengers press tours. This Loewe look from her Challengers era — note the custom tennis ball heels! — is a personal favorite of mine.

2. Colman Domingo

Colman Domingo is on a one-man mission to revolutionize men’s fashion. The actor and 2025 Met Gala co-chair graced many carpets with his innovative, effortlessly cool takes on menswear last year. Case in point: his outfit for the 2024 Critics’ Choice Awards. The whole look is a masterclass in layering, texture, and color coordination. 

3. Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo 

These two unexpectedly flaunted some of the best red carpet looks of 2024. Grande and Erivo’s method dressing deftly combined high fashion with the personas of their respective characters. The above look is a great example. These ordinarily garish shades of pink and green only enhanced their chic, wonderfully Wicked outfits.

As awards season approaches, I am encouraged to reflect on the best things I read over the past year. Authors I discovered or rediscovered. Pages I pored over for the first time or the twenty-fifth. Roll out the red carpet and add these selections to your TBR lists, because here are a few of my favorites:

1. Foster: I. Love. Claire. Keegan. Her writing is like nothing else. She captures powerful things with such care. She, more than most others, is a writer who makes clear that “everything changes into something else, turns into some version of what it was before.”

2. The Safekeep: The novel of all novels (for me right now at least). I might be slightly biased (a friend of mine worked on its publication) but it was shortlisted for the 2024 Booker Prize, so I’m clearly on the right track. This line: “there isn’t a version of me that could’ve looked away from you.” That’s all. 

3. internet princess: I have followed Rayne Fisher-Quann for YEARS. Her Substack is one of my timeless favorites. Read it to be shocked, to be torn away from comfortable ways of seeing, and to reflect on womanhood in today’s society.

Hi everybody! Second semester doth approach…I can already foresee the horrors to come. But before that, happy spring rush to anybody who celebrates (me). In preparation for my sorority’s recruitment season, here’s a list of snacks I’m planning on buying for the next few days of conversation.🤑

1. GoGo Squeeze Applesauce Pouches: I absolutely refuse to look up the science behind this claim, but in high school my mom always recommended apple products for dry winters. Therefore, applesauce pouches are a must when your throat is dry from chatting all day.

2. Honey Vanilla Halls Cough Drops: I love these because they double as a sweet little snack and a medicine. I am NOT advocating for cold medicine abuse, but I am suggesting you try one of these the next time you feel a cough coming on.

3. Trader Joe’s Crunchy Curls: I’ve sung this snack’s praises before and I’ll do it again. Not only are they addicting, they also leave no trace on your lap or fingers when they’re gone. 

4. Guayaki Yerba Maté: My go-to source of caffeine when I’m not in the mood for coffee. It’s honestly perfect for rush season! I’ve found that yerba makes me unusually chatty, which is amazing for making new pals but not locking in at the library.

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It’s red carpet season. That means we all must rediscover our inner diva and dress to impress. Here are my favorite floor-length gowns from Lulus that you can either wear to the Oscars or to your best friend’s wedding. Either/or. Because they’re one and the same. Obviously. 🏆🎶

Timeless Poise Black Rhinestone Square Neck Backless Maxi Dress: $88

Stunning Splendor Black Bustier Tulip Maxi Dress: $88

Fabulous Fun Black Tulle Flutter Sleeve Mermaid Maxi Dress: $98

Truly Alluring Black and Gold Sequin Mermaid Maxi Dress: $118

Brilliant Allure Silver Metallic Lurex Pleated Maxi Dress: $98

Top Films to Watch Now on Mubi!🍿

The MUBI Top 1000 is the weekly updated list of the highest rated films of all time, as voted by the Mubi global community of film lovers. Mubi is proud to present a selection of some of the community’s most lauded movies.

Accept a 60 day FREE trial of MUBI at mubi.com/lesadore ⭐

1. BIRD with Barry Keoghan🐦

BIRD Marking her long-awaited return to fiction filmmaking, Andrea Arnold’s tender and surprising coming-of-age fable heralds an astounding debut from newcomer Nykiya Adams. Buoyed by spirited turns from Barry Keoghan and Franz Rogowski, Bird leaps from overlooked fringes of life toward sky-high dreams.

2. An Urban Allegory 🪄

Enchanted by a child’s curious gaze, An Urban Allegory is quintessential Alice Rohrwacher. Together with street artist JR, the supernal filmmaker assembles a kaleidoscopically playful vision of art, tracing how it moves through this stage of magical light and alluring shadow we call the world.

Mati Diop’s Dahomey🌍

Winner of the Golden Bear at the 2024 Berlinale, Mati Diop’s dynamic film brings a dazzling sense of imagination to vital issues of self-determination and restitution. Amplifying voices from beyond the walls of international museums, this spellbinding work redefines the spaces of culture and art.

🎶DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS📸

Last week Puerto Rican rapper and singer Bad Bunny released his sixth studio album “Debí Tirar Más Fotos.” You can listen to the critically acclaimed album below on Spotify. 

“There are certain truisms that are hard to resist when talking about an album like Debí Debí Tirar Más Fotos, Bad Bunny’s sixth. The most significant is that this is a collection of songs that pay homage to the history of Puerto Rico, the homeland of its architect, Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, who, after several years away, longs to return home. But as the album opens up, its narrative becomes even clearer: This is an expansive tribute to the archiving and safeguarding of cultures that has been—and continues to be—done not just in Puerto Rico, but in all corners of the planet. (Its title translate to “I Should Have Taken More Photos.”) As Bad Bunny comes home, so do we all.” (Via Vogue)

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_{See you next week!}