“I’m An Off-Duty Icon”: Brenda Song On Her Fall Fashion Aesthetics & Moods
After an ultra-hot summer of barely-there dressing, we’re looking forward to the fall and all the outfit inspo that comes with it, from back-to-school season to NYFW street style. And style It-girl Brenda Song has been spotting all the early fall trends for us. Teaming up with Marshalls, Song’s perspective helped launch the Fall Fashion Field Guide, highlighting five distinct aesthetics to shop and style.
The guide focuses on The Belle of the Fall (think cozy layers and earthy palettes), The Vibe Curator (animal prints and statement footwear), The Polished Powerhouse (structured blazers and leather accents), The Mystical Muse (moody florals and lace trims), and The Off-Duty Icon (relaxed denim and chic sneakers).
“I feel like this might be a cheat of an answer, but I’m a little bit of all of them. And that’s how these personalities sort of came to be. I always say my style depends on what mood I’m in,” Song tells Refinery29. “But most of the time I’m probably an off-duty icon. I wouldn’t call myself an icon, but I’d like to dress like one!”
The actress elaborated that her fall outfit formula always starts with a staple like a T-shirt, jeans, or trousers before amping it up with accessories. “I think that’s where you can really have fun with your outfit. I love a great scarf. I love a fun purse, belt, jewelry,” Song says. “I have a gigantic accessories closet, so I feel like it’s a really easy way to update any outfit or dress up or dress down an outfit from day to night.”
Ahead, learn more about some of Song’s key fall trends, how to shop name-brand styles from Marshalls at any budget, and which of her TV and movie characters she thinks would wear each aesthetic.
The Off-Duty Icon
When it comes to back-to-school season with her children and the start of NBA season as an avid basketball fan, Song gravitates towards easy, preppy, and sporty pieces. “When I wake up and I’m running around with the kids, I’m definitely an off-duty icon. Comfort is key, but just cuz you’re comfortable doesn’t mean you can’t look cute,” Song explains.
As an NBA courtside staple, Song adds: “I feel like I’m basically a player off the field. I think it’s so fun to pair a jersey with baggy jeans or a fun satin bomber. It’s such a fun way to dress up and still be comfortable while watching a game because you still gotta look cute courtside.” She also said that despite her 5’2″ frame, she’s been very into flats, including sneakers.
And thinking back on which of her characters would most likely wear this aesthetic, she says: “I think Wendy Woo is an off duty icon. She takes casual to the nth degree. She knows how to work with an amazing tracksuit, an amazing satin bomber. She knows how to make effortless look cool.”
The Belle of the Fall
The Belle of the Fall aesthetic is quintessential nostalgic fall style, focusing on lots of layering, rich textures, deep colors, and bold accessories. And though we’re still getting hot days, Song says: “I’ve been dressing aspirationally hoping for the fall weather. I go full belle of the fall. Lots of scarves, lots of hats. Give me a big chunky scarf and a big sweater. I want to be cozy.” She also says she loves a knee-high boot as well as a short boot with a fun sock peeking out.
Wondering which of Song’s characters she thinks would wear this aesthetic? “It’d actually be very London Tipton because London loves an accessory. That’s the thing about a belle of the fall; it’s taking your staple pieces and making the outfit with the accessories. London loves a shawl. She loves a scarf. She loves putting it all together.”
The Vibe Curator
When asked about her date night outfits with her husband Macaulay Culkin, Song likes to set the mood with dressier pieces and leopard print (which she declares a neutral). “If it’s date night or dinner, it’s very vibe curator,” she says, adding: “I love a matching set, whether that be a flowy pant and a button up or I love a little satin midi skirt with a little camisole with a cute sweater or a leather jacket. I’m so ready to wear my leather jacket ’cause I feel like it just really makes any outfit instantly feel like that girl.”
You know who else is that girl? Her character Natasha. “One of my favorite characters of all time that I played was Natasha from Stuck in the Suburbs. I feel like she is a vibe curator. She can take one piece and go with it. She follows all the trends. She knows what’s coming, she knows what’s hot, what’s not. And she’s very unapologetic about how she dresses,” Song explains. “I was 16 on that movie set. I still regret not stealing so much of that wardrobe.”
The Mystical Muse
As we enter spooky season, we’ll be seeing more witchy styles from chunky stone jewelry to dark floral maxi dresses. And although it’s the most out of Song’s comfort zone, she finds the style aspirational. “I feel like in this phase of my life, I would want to be more of the mystical muse. But because I’m running around with my kids, it’s just harder to be able to dress that way,” adding: “I feel like in my 20s, I was very much the mystical muse. I loved a big caftan, layering, tons of jewelry, big scarves.”
This is similar to Song’s Dollface character Madison. “It was all girls from California. So they had this sort of effortless, kind of boho vibe. I loved her wardrobe. It was one of my favorites.”
The Polished Powerhouse
Perhaps there’s no back-to-work season, but the fall certainly feels like it, and it calls for a professional wardrobe. “When I go to work or I feel like I need to look like an adult, I’m the polished powerhouse.” This looks like structured blazers, leather work bags, slingback heels, and chevron prints.
And a not-so-boring office siren is character Ali Lee from Song’s Netflix basketball comedy series Running Point. “That girl has amazing blazers and she knows how to make an outfit feel polished but still really fun. Our costume designer Allyson Fanger is incredible at being able to make things work-appropriate. We use a lot of the same pieces in different ways. And I think that’s what I love so much about my character — the way that we approach fashion is how real people re-wear pieces,” adding: “Ali has a jacket that she loves. She wore the same striped shirt three times last season.”
Shop the full Marshalls Fall Fashion Field Guide
Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?
Paige DeSorbo’s Sweetest Amazon Fall Finds
Katseye’s Stylist Talks Pinky Up Era & Aesthetic
Haley Baylee Talks Old Navy's Fall Denim Campaign
from Refinery29 https://ift.tt/7TL1MQG
via IFTTT
I Thought Eye Cream Was A Scam — Then I Tried This $16 One
A few years ago, a dermatologist gave me a piece of advice I didn’t quite know what to make of at the time, but that gradually changed the way I approached my skincare routine. Years of studying people’s faces and tracing what she saw back to their skincare products, not to mention a wealth of ingredient knowledge, had convinced her that eye cream wasn’t all that different from your moisturizer.
It makes sense. Skincare only works on the surface, while many of the concerns we associate with the eye area, like hollowness, puffiness, eye “bags,” and dark circles, are difficult (if not impossible) to treat using topical products alone. With that in mind, eye cream wasn’t something I ever used. Why would I shell out for some fancy eye cream? I thought.
Then I turned 33.
Almost overnight, my eyelids became parched and crepey, and before long, I’d welcomed a handful of new lines, particularly around the outer corners. My moisturizer simply wasn’t cutting it. While eye cream isn’t a miracle product, it can help with dryness, dehydration, and uneven skin texture. Even better when it contains plumping, skin-supporting ingredients such as hyaluronic acid, retinol, and one I consider to be among the very best: ceramides. As it happens, ceramides (more on these later) are the star ingredients in The Inkey List’s newest launch, the Bio-Ceramide Lifting + Firming Eye Cream — and it’s only $16.
The Inkey List Bio-Ceramide Lifting + Firming Eye Cream, $16
What is The Inkey List’s Bio-Ceramide Lifting + Firming Eye Cream and what are the benefits?
If you’re already a fan of The Inkey List, you might recognize the name of this new eye cream because the brand has a moisturizer with a similar moniker: Bio-Active Ceramide Repairing + Plumping Moisturizer. It’s hands down the best affordable moisturizer I’ve used. I waxed lyrical about its smoothing, plumping, glow-giving properties when it launched in 2024, and it turns out most of my beauty editor peers felt exactly the same way. One said it feels so luxurious that it’s comparable to far more expensive formulas she’s tried. I’ve lost count of how many tubs I’ve gone through over the years — it’s that good.
As you might expect, the small but mighty eye cream version boasts many of the same ingredients. First up, bio-active ceramides, which act like glue between skin cells, helping to keep the skin barrier — the outermost layer of skin that keeps good stuff in (think moisture) and “bad” stuff out (like bacteria) — soft, supple, and healthy. The “bio-active” part means the ingredients are biologically active, so they can interact with living tissue — in this case, the delicate skin around the eyes. In other words, they get to work as soon as they’re applied.
There’s also glycerin, which helps hydrate and moisturize the fragile under-eye area, which is particularly prone to dehydration, plus shea butter, which smooths the skin. One key benefit that’s missing from the OG moisturizer but takes center stage in the eye cream is an ingredient called Tetrapeptide-111, a peptide that helps support smoother, firmer-looking skin. Together, these ingredients moisturize and plump the under-eye area — a welcome pursuit since this delicate skin is particularly prone to showing signs of collagen loss as we age.
What makes The Inkey List’s Bio-Ceramide Lifting + Firming Eye Cream special?
This eye cream is something of a paradox. It feels rich and cocooning on the skin, yet absorbs in next to no time and never leaves behind a greasy film. Despite containing shea butter, it’s one of the few eye creams I’ve tried that doesn’t seem to contribute to breakouts or milia around my eyes. Instead, its abundance of moisturizing ingredients leaves behind a subtle gleam, as though I’ve just spent 10 minutes reaping the rewards of a luxurious under-eye patch.
Since using it morning and night to maximize the results, I no longer wake up with dry, flaky eyelids, and I could swear it’s helping to protect my fragile under-eye skin from my high-strength retinol serum, because I no longer experience any sensitivity. Beyond that, the deeper lines I’d noticed recently appear a little more ironed out, which I’m putting down to the hydrating ingredients and skin-supporting peptides. I notice the difference most when applying concealer, as it no longer settles quite as heavily into my skin texture.
What to know about The Inkey List’s Bio-Ceramide Lifting + Firming Eye Cream
• Bio-active ceramides act like glue between skin cells, helping to keep the skin barrier healthy, strong, and soft.
• Features a tetrapeptide complex — a blend of four skin-supporting peptides — to minimize the appearance of lines and help firm delicate under-eye skin.
• Can be used morning and night, and layers well under sunscreen and makeup.
How do you use The Inkey List’s Bio-Ceramide Lifting + Firming Eye Cream?
In the morning, after cleansing, I apply a light layer of moisturizer, followed by half a pea-sized amount of the eye cream, paying close attention to my under-eyes and tapping any excess onto my eyelids. Once it’s absorbed, I follow with a high-factor, broad-spectrum sunscreen. In the evening, I double cleanse and repeat the same routine, minus the sunscreen. On retinol nights, however, I apply the eye cream first to act as a buffer between my skin and the high concentration of potentially irritating ingredients.
Final thoughts
This feels just as luxe — if not more so — than some high-end versions I’ve tried, and, just like the OG moisturizer, the results are undeniable. I think it might just be the product that finally convinces me to use eye cream consistently — and at $16, it’s an easy yes.
Where can you get The Inkey List’s Bio-Ceramide Lifting + Firming Eye Cream?
The Bio-Ceramide Lifting + Firming Eye Cream retails for $16 and is available at Sephora.com.
Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?
The Ordinary's New $9 Serum Revived My Tired Skin
The Best Acne Products Of 2026 That Actually Work
I Went To A Medicube Masterclass & Learned What It
from Refinery29 https://ift.tt/6FES9LI
via IFTTT
14 Nail Art Trends That Feel Like Fall Is Already Here
Pumpkin spice is back on the menu, Halloween decorations are slowly infiltrating stores, and we could swear there’s a slight chill in the air. Okay, that might be wishful thinking, but if Instagram’s nail artists are anything to go by, fall is right around the corner.
In the past few weeks, it seems butter yellow has been usurped by soft chestnut, while metallic and chrome finishes are replacing the delicate cat-eye and pastel shades we’ve been obsessed with all summer. And you know what? We’re welcoming the change.
Ahead, find the 12 fall nail art trends we predict will be huge this year. There’s something for everyone, whether you like your nails short or you’re a seasoned BIAB devotee.
Micro French Tips
The deep French reigned supreme this summer, but with overall nail trends leaning toward shorter shapes, it’s the micro French’s time to shine. Bonus points for choosing a more brooding shade, like burgundy or forest green.
Mixed Neutrals
No one does a mix-and-match set quite like @chummy.nails. Using what she calls “romantic neutrals,” this set combines walnut blooming gel, muted gray tones, and gold chrome accents, finished with a smattering of falling leaves.
Seasonal Stripes
We can’t get enough of striped tips, but this fall, deeper shades like burgundy and pumpkin-inspired orange are replacing the pastel pinks and sky blues of summer. Take cue from this set by J.Eve.
Pony Print
Nail artist Citre drew inspiration from Chanel’s pony-print bag for this luxe set, layering caramel and amber tones in scattered polka dots over a custardy base.
Jelly Gems
Citre layered jelly polish over a cat-eye base, creating the effect of jewels set in a crown — even more beautiful when they catch the light.
Autumnal Polka Dots
Polka dots are going nowhere this fall, but the color palette is changing. Olivia Hoath’s butter-yellow and maple-brown set, complete with contrasting French tips, is understated yet guaranteed to earn compliments.
Blue Suede
We identified blue suede — nail art featuring a mix of blue and brown — as a key color combination last fall, and it looks like it’s having a second run. This set by Ash combines double French tips, color blocking, and tartan print, and we’re obsessed.
Frosted Ombré
Ombré gets a chilly update with these light-blue tips and a veil of chrome layered over the top, giving this set by Bryony Howell a mesmerizing, frosted effect.
Blonde Tortoiseshell
Blonde tortoiseshell? It’s totally a thing, according to nail artist Stacey Machin. These neutral-toned tips ooze fall vibes.
Deep Checked Tips
There’s something inherently bucolic about green and brown together, and these tartan tips by Chummy Nails prove they’re a match made in… nature.
Dipped Chrome
The fall iteration of “pillbox” nails is getting a chrome upgrade. Catya‘s sky-blue tips pay homage to summer, while the metallic base gives the look a frosty finish. Plus, keeping the tips glossy means your nails are less prone to chipping — a major bonus when chrome polish can be notoriously tricky to keep pristine.
Color-Blocking
Nail artist Stephanie Holland makes a case for muted tones with this teal, chestnut, and butter-yellow set, complete with mix-and-match French tips. The sharp, square shape is a departure from the trending almond shape, but we love it.
Mirrored French
Nail artist Cindy Paola hits three trends in one with this short set: monochrome, micro French tips, and filling in the half-moon of the nail, aka the lunula. There’s something beautifully retro about it.
Lava Lamp
Laura Jane’s stunning cat-eye set is like staring into a lava lamp, with sparkles that shift in the light. So good, we’ve had it bookmarked since July.
Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?
Nuance Nails Are Replacing The Clean Girl Manicure
Sardine Nails Are Reeling Everyone In This Summer
Everything You Need To Know About BIAB Nails
from Refinery29 https://ift.tt/yfpYeTH
via IFTTT
Your Horoscope This Week: August 23 To 29
Cosmic beings, this first full week of Virgo Season is also the final eclipse week of 2026, so grounding yourself in what matters most is the assignment. With the moon in Capricorn as the week begins and Mercury entering Virgo on August 25th, the energy is practical, discerning, and much less interested in distractions that drain your time. Simplify your schedule, protect your energy, tighten your boundaries, and focus on the habits that actually support the life you’re trying to build. Virgo energy helps us separate what’s urgent from what’s important, and that distinction will matter as the emotional intensity of the week begins to rise.
The main event arrives on Friday, August 28th, with the Full Moon partial lunar eclipse at four degrees Pisces, closing out the eclipse cycle we’ve been moving through all month. Lunar eclipses reveal what’s been hidden and tend to move along endings we may have held onto longer than necessary, so expect emotions, intuition, and long-buried truths to rise to the surface. Feel what comes up without letting it paralyze you or make every decision for you. Water can be especially cleansing now: take a long shower, spend time near the ocean, stay hydrated, and imagine yourself releasing stress, grief, fear, and emotional weight that was never yours to carry. More tears may come, but they can bring the clarity you’ve been missing. Since this is the final Pisces eclipse in the Pisces-Virgo axis, the closing chapter may feel significant, and the person you are at the end of August could feel very different from who you were at the beginning. Lead with self-compassion, trust the process, and remember that Pisces knows how to flow toward what’s next even before the full path is visible.
Read your horoscopes for your Sun and Rising signs for the most in-depth forecast.
Aries Sun & Rising:
Aries, the final eclipse of 2026 has arrived, and it may close a chapter you’ve been carrying far longer than anyone realizes. Before it peaks, the first full week of Virgo Season and Mercury’s entrance into Virgo on August 25th help you create structure around your work, wellness, and daily habits. This is your chance to reduce unnecessary commitments, get back on top of practical responsibilities, and build a routine that gives your emotions somewhere safe to land. The more organized your outer life feels, the less likely you are to become overwhelmed by everything stirring beneath the surface.
On August 28th, the final Pisces eclipse until 2034 lands in your spirituality, solitude, self-undoing, and closure sector. This can be emotionally intense, bringing a hidden fear, grief, attachment, or self-sabotaging cycle into full awareness so you can finally release it. You may need more sleep, privacy, therapy, or time away from people who expect you to perform strength on demand. A spiritual awakening is possible, though it may first arrive as exhaustion with an old way of living. Let yourself grieve what is ending without assuming the ending means you have failed. Some chapters close because your spirit can no longer survive inside them.
Taurus Sun & Rising:
Taurus, the final eclipse of 2026 may reveal which friendships belong in your future and which ones have already reached their expiration date. The first full week of Virgo Season, followed by Mercury entering Virgo on August 25th, activates your creativity, joy, romance, and inner child realm, helping you reconnect with yourself before emotions rise. Make time for the activities that remind you who you are outside of everyone else’s expectations. Create, date, play, and return to something that makes you feel alive, because being rooted in your own joy will help you navigate whatever comes up socially.
The final Pisces eclipse until 2034 lands in your friendship, community, and social network sector on August 28th, closing a two-year cycle around belonging. A friendship breakup, reconciliation, group revelation, or major shift in your online community could occur, and Chiron retrograde in your sign may make the experience feel especially personal. Pause before deciding that someone’s choice defines your worth. Ask whether the relationship still supports who you are becoming, and become a better friend to yourself by refusing to chase spaces where you continually feel unseen. The people meant for your next chapter will make reciprocity easier to recognize.
Gemini Sun & Rising:
Gemini, the final eclipse of 2026 could bring a professional turning point that feels larger than anything you could have strategically planned. Before that wave arrives, Virgo Season and Mercury’s entrance into Virgo on August 25th draw your attention toward home, family, and your emotional foundation. Ground yourself through a calmer space, clearer household expectations, and time with the people who help you remember who you are beyond your work. Pisces energy can feel disorienting for you, so a stable private life will make it easier to process whatever changes publicly.
On August 28th, the final Pisces eclipse until 2034 lands in your career, reputation, and legacy sector, bringing a two-year professional story toward completion. You could be released from a role, recognized for your work, offered a dream opportunity, or shown that a goal you once chased no longer fits. Avoid forcing a radical decision simply to feel in control, but take seriously the shifts that are already happening around you. The waves are clearing what cannot support your next chapter and carrying forward what can. Let your career reveal its new direction before you rush to label the change as good or bad.
Cancer Sun & Rising:
Cancer, the final eclipse of 2026 may confirm that you’ve outgrown a world that once felt large enough for you. The first full week of Virgo Season and Mercury entering Virgo on August 25th activate your communication, learning, and mindset sector, giving you a practical container for everything you’re sensing. Write down your thoughts, research your options, ask direct questions, and turn a vague dream into a list of possible next steps. You are ruled by the moon and will feel this eclipse strongly, so clear language and grounded information can keep intuition from becoming anxiety.
The final Pisces eclipse until 2034 lands in your expansion, travel, higher education, publishing, and spiritual vision sector on August 28th. Because Pisces harmonizes with your water energy, this eclipse may feel like a powerful invitation to spread your wings, even when leaving the familiar brings tears. A relocation, trip, course, belief system, business vision, or dream of sharing your work more widely could reach a defining moment. The longer you remain in an environment you’ve outgrown, the smaller and more constrained you may feel. Trust the leap that keeps returning to your heart, and give yourself permission to grow beyond the version of life that once kept you safe.
Leo Sun & Rising:
Leo, the final eclipse of 2026 takes you far beneath the surface, asking you to confront what confidence and charisma alone cannot resolve. Virgo Season is now activating your money, security, and self-worth sector, and Mercury’s entrance into Virgo on August 25th helps you look closely at the practical details. Review your accounts, shared expenses, debts, subscriptions, and financial agreements before the eclipse heightens emotions. Knowing your numbers gives you a stronger foundation for navigating questions of trust, support, and vulnerability.
On August 28th, the final Pisces eclipse until 2034 lands in your intimacy, transformation, death, merging, and outside-resources sector, closing a two-year chapter around what you share with others. A debt, investment, sexual bond, emotional attachment, inheritance matter, or financial dependency could reach a culmination. You may discover where you’ve been giving away too much power or resisting support because receiving requires trust. Let the revelation change the terms of the agreement. Release entanglements that leave you depleted, and allow reciprocal support to feel like strength rather than loss of control.
Virgo Sun & Rising:
Virgo, the final eclipse of 2026 arrives directly across from you, making relationships the mirror through which you’ll see how much you’ve changed. Before it peaks, the first full week of your season and Mercury’s entrance into your sign on August 25th bring your attention back to your own voice, identity, body, and priorities. Clarify what you need, decide how you want to move through this next personal year, and stop waiting for other people’s reactions before choosing yourself. The stronger your connection to your own truth becomes, the easier it’ll be to recognize which relationships can genuinely meet you there.
On August 28th, the final Pisces eclipse until 2034 lands in your partnership sector, completing a two-year cycle around love, commitment, friendship, collaboration, and the people standing closest to you. A relationship may deepen, dissolve, reveal its true nature, or require a level of honesty that changes everything. This eclipse can feel emotional because Pisces asks you to surrender the fantasy and see the full human being in front of you, including yourself. Give people room to show you who they are through their actions. The bonds that remain after this eclipse should offer compassion, reciprocity, and enough freedom for both people to keep evolving.
Libra Sun & Rising:
Libra, the final eclipse of 2026 may reveal where your daily life has become too draining to keep calling it normal. The first full week of Virgo Season and Mercury’s entrance into Virgo on August 25th activate your spirituality, healing, and solitude realm, helping you clear mental and emotional clutter before the eclipse peaks. Reduce your social obligations, protect your sleep, and make room to hear what your body and intuition have been saying beneath the noise. This quieter preparation matters because the Pisces eclipse will ask you to make honest changes to the routines that shape your well-being.
On August 28th, the final Pisces eclipse until 2034 lands in your health, work, and daily routine sector, closing a two-year chapter around your body, schedule, employment, and relationship with productivity. A job, habit, health pattern, or work arrangement may reach a culmination, and what is revealed could make it impossible to continue operating on autopilot. Listen closely to physical and emotional exhaustion instead of treating it like an inconvenience. The goal is to leave August with a daily life that supports you rather than one that constantly requires recovery.
Scorpio Sun & Rising:
Scorpio, the final eclipse of 2026 may bring a love story, creative dream, or deeply personal desire to its emotional turning point. Before then, the first full week of Virgo Season and Mercury entering Virgo on August 25th bring greater clarity to your friendships, community, and future plans. Lean on people who can help you think practically, talk through what you’re feeling, and keep perspective when emotions become intense. The right community can provide the container that allows you to follow your heart without losing yourself inside the experience.
The final Pisces eclipse until 2034 lands in your fate, romance, creativity, fertility, and inner child realm on August 28th, completing a two-year cycle around joy and being fully seen. A relationship may deepen or end, a creative project may reach a major milestone, or you may finally admit what you truly want after trying to manage your feelings from a distance. Because Pisces harmonizes with your water energy, the emotion can be powerful and revealing. Let yourself feel the love, disappointment, grief, or pride that comes up, then choose the path that brings you closer to aliveness rather than the one that merely feels familiar.
Sagittarius Sun & Rising:
Sag, the final eclipse of 2026 brings the story home, possibly more literally than you expect. Virgo Season is now moving through your career and public image realm, and Mercury entering Virgo on August 25th helps you organize your professional responsibilities before the emotional tide rises. Handle deadlines, clarify expectations, and separate your public ambitions from whatever is unfolding privately. The more structure you create around work, the more space you will have to process the family, housing, or emotional matters that need your full attention.
On August 28th, the final Pisces eclipse until 2034 lands in your home, family, roots, and emotional foundation sector, closing a two-year chapter around where and with whom you feel you belong. A move, family revelation, living arrangement, childhood pattern, or relationship with a parent may reach a defining conclusion. You may feel caught between expanding outward and tending to what is happening behind closed doors. Let the eclipse show you what home needs to mean now, and release the belief that staying loyal to your past requires remaining in an environment you have already outgrown.
Capricorn Sun & Rising:
Capricorn, the final eclipse of 2026 may deliver a message that changes how you understand the past two years. The first full week of Virgo Season and Mercury’s entrance into Virgo on August 25th activate your expansion, education, travel, and belief sector, helping you step back and look at the larger story. Research, study, seek expert guidance, or speak with people who can offer a wider perspective before drawing conclusions. Virgo energy helps you distinguish intuition from assumption, which will be especially useful as the eclipse heightens your sensitivity to words, information, and conversations.
The final Pisces eclipse until 2034 lands in your communication, learning, sibling, and local community sector on August 28th, bringing a two-year chapter around your voice or mindset to completion. A conversation, contract, writing project, course, or relationship with a sibling could reach a turning point, and information that was previously unclear may finally surface. Avoid rushing to control the narrative the moment the truth arrives. Listen carefully, ask precise questions, and let what is revealed reshape the way you think, speak, and move forward.
Aquarius Sun & Rising:
Aquarius, the final eclipse of 2026 brings your attention to the difference between having resources and actually feeling secure. Virgo Season and Mercury’s entrance into Virgo on August 25th activate your intimacy, shared-resources, and transformation realm, helping you organize the practical side of what you share with others. Review debts, repayment plans, subscriptions, investments, or financial agreements, and have the honest conversation before emotion takes over. This preparation creates a clearer container for the eclipse’s deeper questions around self-worth and independence.
On August 28th, the final Pisces eclipse until 2034 lands in your money, income, values, and security sector, closing a two-year financial and confidence cycle. An income stream may end or expand, a payment may arrive, or you may finally recognize that a certain way of earning no longer reflects your value. This eclipse can also expose emotional spending or scarcity fears that have been shaping your choices. Let the numbers tell you the truth without letting them define you, and use what’s revealed to build a more sustainable relationship with money and your own worth.
Pisces Sun & Rising:
Pisces, the final eclipse of 2026 takes place in your sign, making this one of the most personal turning points of your year. Before it arrives, the first full week of Virgo Season and Mercury’s entrance into Virgo on August 25th place your closest relationships under a practical lens. Clarify commitments, ask direct questions, and pay attention to whether the people around you are offering consistency as well as compassion. This relational grounding will help you stay connected to reality while your identity, emotions, and sense of direction undergo a much larger shift.
On August 28th, the final Pisces eclipse until 2034 takes place in your sign, closing a two-year cycle around your identity, body, appearance, personal goals, and the person you have been becoming. You may feel unusually emotional, tired, exposed, or ready to release a version of yourself that once helped you survive but no longer represents you. A personal decision or truth may become impossible to postpone. Give yourself room to grieve, rest, and change your mind without rushing to explain the transformation to everyone else. You’re completing a major era, Pisces, and the person emerging from it deserves time to meet themselves.
Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?
Your Horoscope This Week: August 16 To 22
The Total Solar Eclipse in Leo Is Here
from Refinery29 https://ift.tt/xhv7aPc
via IFTTT
Spa Weekend Is “Mom Porn,” According To Its Hilarious Star-Studded Cast
Friendship isn’t always convenient. If you’ve been friends with someone for long enough, you know this. Chances are you’ve seen each other through breakups, bad decisions, career crises, and phases you’d both rather forget. You’ve also probably had to help them move, babysat their kids, pick them up from the airport or deal with the highs and lows of adulting. In an era of hyper individualism, the inconvenience that can come with community is used as an excuse to end friendships. The new slapstick comedy Spa Weekend is a true, raunchy, ensemble buddy movie, complete with outrageous gags and off-the-wall humor, but it also digs into the messy, complicated dynamics of a long-running friendship. And when it throws its four leads into a luxury wellness retreat where everything that can go wrong, does, it continues to ask the question: can you accept a friend for all their flaws, even when they impede your fun? Spa Weekend is naturally getting a lot of comparisons to The Hangover (the writers also directed and wrote this movie) but it’s more of a sociological exploration of female friendships, and a playful breakdown of the “one friend in the group no one likes” trope.
The friend group is made up of four of the funniest women in Hollywood. Anna Faris plays Sophie, a gloriously goofy PA working for a douchebag billionaire. Leslie Mann is Jane, an ambitious lawyer who loves her work and has made zero room in her life for romance. Michelle Buteau is Coco, an outspoken mom of two girls who is decidedly not thrilled that her ex-husband has moved on with an older woman. And there’s Isla Fisher’s Mel, the group’s chaotic wild card, whose aggressively unfiltered approach to life has the other three on edge. But as annoying as she can be, Mel’s blunt, life-affirming honesty starts cracking open the emotional baggage they’ve all been carrying around in their daily lives.
And, of course, there’s an extremely hot, uber sensitive yoga instructor in the form of Kai (Adam Demos), essentially a perfect straight male fantasy insert, who sets his sights on Jane. But while the movie has plenty of room for romance — and the kind of comedy that comes from throwing four very different women into increasingly riotous situations — Spa Weekend refuses to make a man (or motherhood) its center. The real love story here is the friendship itself. And even when you can tell the movie was written and directed by two men who decided to rest on the natural comedic talents of their cast instead of writing a compelling script, it’s still a particularly refreshing focus. And together, Faris, Mann, Buteau and Fisher are delightful, elevating what they’re given with grace and gumption as they clearly have a ball onscreen.
In conversation with Refinery29 in Las Vegas earlier this month, the powerhouse cast gets candid about the film’s friendship chaos, reexamining ambition, how the Hemsworths are connected to their group chat, and why Spa Weekend might just be the ultimate piece of “mom porn.”
Refinery29: These women end up doing things that on paper you’re not supposed to do — like get back together with an ex or date the hot vacation guy. Should we, as women, be advocating to make more mistakes, and do the thing we’re not supposed to do?
Isla Fisher: Yes, absolutely! We should all try on whatever sides of ourselves fit on a spa weekend [laughs].
It seems like so many people now choose comfort over community – Like if anyone inconveniences them at all, they are cut off. What I loved about this story is it’s about accepting your friends — flaws and all, and even when it’s maybe not convenient. Why is that message so important?
Michelle Buteau: It’s really easy to cut people off and avoid that conversation and confrontation, but your friends aren’t disposable. They were your friends for a reason. You can take a break, but come back to it and have a conversation. You know, even if it feels like you don’t have anything in common anymore, there’s a reason why you guys knew each other at that time in your life, right? No one’s going to know you like that friend from 30 years ago, right? And so that’s okay to not have everything in common, but get back to it. I think we need more conversations because there’s too much scrolling. We’ve got to have more of this [mimes kissing] in person.
There’s a lot of topless men in the movie, which I feel like we’re really brushing over… Don’t worry. We didn’t give them any dialogue.
isla fisher
Anna Faris: You need friends to help remind you of your own potential. I think it’s easy to get to a place in life where it’s hard to even figure out the time to grow. And if you have a great, solid friend base who’s known you for so long [it’s important]. All of our characters change for the better or make a decision that empowers them through, because of the friendship that we portray and that we have in real life. And [to Michelle] you’ve changed and helped me a lot.
MB: Come on, sis!
Isla: But I do feel like friendships nowadays, people are like, “oh, we have different politics, we can’t be friends.” Why be so divided? Let’s just come together and just have a good time.
Anna: It’s true that people are thirsty for comedy and it feels really good to be able to deliver them a movie that satisfies. I know people will leave the theater really happy.
Just the joy of it!
Isla: Also, there’s a lot of topless men in the movie, which I feel like we’re really brushing over. We’re really focused on the goats. But what I’d like to say to women at home…
Leslie Man: Mom porn!
Isla: Don’t worry. We didn’t give them any dialogue. They won’t make you laugh, but my god, you’re gonna enjoy them. You’re welcome by the way.
Thank you for your service.
[Cast laughs]
Isla, your character is so refreshing because she’s unapologetically a mess. And we rarely get to see women like her onscreen without a PSA at the end of the movie about how you shouldn’t be like that. She gets to stay messy!
Isla: She doesn’t change. That’s my favorite thing about comedy characters. They start the movie a certain way, they end a certain way. They don’t learn anything, they don’t grow. Everybody else bends to them, and that is the dream role. It’s a classic fish out of water, and I got to play her, and I was really into it.
Anna: And you’re brilliant at it.
I love this rapport. It’s clear you all built a beautiful friendship off camera too. What’s the group chat name?
Cast in unison: Spa Beauties!
Which one of you is the most active?
Isla: Intermittently, I feel like I’m a double texter but then I go offline for ages.
Michelle: Yeah, because there’s so many different time zones.
Isla: [whispers] Also what happen is we’ve got another chat with the producers and I go on the wrong f*cking chat! I’m like, I didn’t mean to invite everyone! I just wanted us! [laughs]
Leslie: Wait, why is the picture on the group chat a picture of Chris Hemsworth or is it his little brother?
Isla: I know, I’m so confused.
Michelle: Maybe because they’re Australian and we were in Australia. I don’t know if there was like an inside joke.
Anna: I don’t remember either.
So your profile picture in your group chat is one of the Hemsworths?
Isla: Yes.
Michelle: LOL. I forgot about that. LOL. LOL. LOL.
Get him shirtless. One of them! For your next movie, maybe?
Michelle: Done. Done.
Isla: Don’t worry. Every night it happens for me. I get him shirtless in my mind.
But you don’t know which one? [laughs]
Isla: No, exactly. They’re interchangeable.
Our characters change for the better or make a decision that empowers them through, because of the friendship that we portray and that we have in real life.
anna faris
As much as this movie is a comedy about friendship, it’s also about women juggling work and their careers and the rest of their lives. Right now, we’re in an anti-ambition era where women are rejecting some of the career pressures that have been so engrained in us. Are you thinking about ambition differently as your careers have gone on?
Anna: I love that question.
Michelle: Me too.
Isla: What a great question.
Michelle: I feel like ambition is like protecting your peace sometimes in this industry. But I also love that there’s a generation of…
Isla: Did you say protecting your penis?
Michelle: Your peace. What is happening? [laughs]
Isla: Oh my goodness. I’m so sorry. I’m jet lagged.
Michelle: You have to protect your penis at all costs.
[Leslie and Anna laugh]
Isla: I was like, what do you mean?
Michelle: Peace. Same thing if you really think about it.
Isla: [laughs]
Michelle: But I do love that there’s a generation of people who are ambitious to retire early. You know, just to have a soft life.
Leslie: It’s so nice!
Michelle: And it’s so not what I’ve been taught. And so I’m like, I could do that! You know?
Isla: We might have to do that. [laughs] Depending how the goat scene goes over!
Leslie: I do feel like I’m giving myself more of a break lately and allowing myself to do less. And I never let myself do that before. I was always working as hard as I could and doing as much as I could. young people, I think that they’re so much smarter to give themselves that break because they think it’s so important. And why do you have to run yourself into the ground?
Michelle: You don’t. You just gotta run to the theaters and see Spa Weekend.
Isla: Come along and see her penis! [laughs]
Spa Weekend is in theaters now.
This interview has been edited for clarity.
Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?
Jennifer Garner’s New Show Is An Ode to Friendship
Annette Bening Brings Bite to 'Lucky' on Apple TV
Gillian Anderson Wants More Queer Stories To Be To
from Refinery29 https://ift.tt/UF3kj1x
via IFTTT
Follow Us
Were this world an endless plain, and by sailing eastward we could for ever reach new distances