Consumer Diaries: Aliens, RHONY & Summer Reading

Weekly Wrap

Brush up on the week’s top news stories for talking points at the Water Cooler on Monday.

Aliens Are Here: A former intelligence officer from the Pentagon testified on Wednesday’s House Oversight subcommittee hearing on how the U.S. government is sheltering an alien spacecraft. During the bizarre hearing, the former officer testified to having recovered “non-human biologics” at the crash site. The strangest part of the story is that nobody can be bothered to care—after the Covid pandemic, facing a potential recession, and entering our “global boiling” era—we have “living through historical events” fatigue. Aliens or not, we all have to pay rent on August 1st and that’s a bigger priority.

Glitch McConnell: After freezing mid-speech for 23 seconds during a press briefing, people are calling into question the age and health of Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. Seeing as the majority of our elected politicians are octogenarians, our government is overrun with power-hungry geriatric men. This is raising a non-partisan question about whether there should be age limits on politicians.

Sinead O’Connor:On Thursday, it was announced that beloved Irish singer Sinead O’Connor had died at age 56. Known best for her rendition of Prince’s “Nothing Compares 2 U” and infamously tearing up a photo of the Pope on SNL, O’Connor was a punk and a trailblazer. While the Pope incident blew up her career, in retrospect, her protest of the sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Church was ahead of its time.

Record-Breaking Barbie Weekend: In its first seven days at the box office, Barbie broke the record for the biggest opening weekend for a female director and the biggest domestic opening ever for a non-superhero film or sequel. After one week, Greta Gerwig’s Barbie has grossed over $500 million. Given its hot pink anti-capitalist themes, the irony is obvious, but hey, who really cares? Let’s all see it twice.

Consumer Diaries

From podcasts to shopping to media, we asked Coveteur staff to send in their top recommendations of what they consumed this past week.

Products

Aesop Cythera Aromatique Room Spray: With notes of geranium, incense, patchouli, and myrrh, this woody blend adds a dulcet aroma to any living space. “I live for this and my apartment is doused in it (kidding – reasonably spritzed).”— Greg Brossia (Chief Digital Officer)

Vans OG Check-Pattern Slip-On Sneakers: Honey, they’re a classic for a reason. “Farfetch is having a sale, so whatever.” —Greg Brossia (Chief Digital Officer)

ReVive’s Enzyme Essence: “ReVives' Enzyme Essence is the perfect summer treat for your skin! Renewal Peptides, in tandem with papaya, pineapple and cranberry, work to exfoliate and renew skin. Shake to activate and your skin will glow and thank you!” —Patricia Foster (Executive Beauty Director)

LED LipWare Pro: “Dr. Gross has done it again—a fabulous FDA-cleared LED lip treatment device that targets the 360 lip area to boost collagen, smooth fine lines and wrinkles, and firm skin. Use only three minutes daily and watch your lips instantaneously become smoother and more natural! This is a must-have in your beauty device arsenal.” —Patricia Foster (Executive Beauty Director)

Kindred Black The Priestess Perfume Oil: "Chic bottle. Sexy scent. It is undeniably more masculine than I anticipated with a name like ‘The Priestess’–so, it deserves 7 stars for its gender nonconformity alone.”— Leya Kaufman (Head of Brand)

SkinMedica TNS Advanced Serum: “I tried the viral yet controversial SkinMedica TNS Advanced face serum. I don't want to know what's in it = but two weeks in, and I swear I look two years younger. I'll report back in three months on the full effects but for now, I'm sold.” — Leya Kaufman (Head of Brand)

Yamamotoyama, Jasmine Tea: "I’ve been cutting down on alcohol and sugary drinks for the past month, but with summer in full blast, I needed a refreshing drink in hand! These are perfect hot or iced, but I prefer to cold brew these tea bags in a pitcher overnight for the next day. Tip: throw in some fruit for a bit of sweetness—lately I’ve been adding in some dried mangoes!” — Katie Mok (Content Management Coordinator)

Media

Like a Virgin Podcast: “Rose Dommu and Fran Tirado host the Like A Virgin Podcast. I just listened to “Which Chain Restaurants Made You Trans” episode. They are funny AF, but also very in touch with pop culture, the GenZ LGBTQAI+ experience, and sex positivity. They are outrageous, smart, informed, and witty.” — Greg Brossia (Chief Digital Officer)

Boygenius: Boygenius is an American indie group made up of Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers, and Lucy Dacus. Their latest record, the record, came out at the end of March to the rabid excitement of every queer across the nation. “I can’t stop listening to them. The end.” —Greg Brossia (Chief Digital Officer)

‘Chasing Wonder’ by Greg Lewis: “Written by Emmy Award-winning author Greg Lewis, 'Chasing Wonder' is a book of poetry that appears to be geared towards children at first glance. But, read through adult eyes, it showcases beautiful human truths while offering readers a task: Chase and find wonder in your life. Bonus points for featuring a poem about my favorite fish, and perhaps, a fish with a name that may be the hardest to rhyme: humuhumunukunukuapua’a.” — Marc Duron (Head of Innovation, Great Bowery)

RHONY 'The Apple Doesn't Fall Far From the Cheese' E1: “Described by NY Mag's The Cut as ‘Did Bravo just 'new phone, who dis?' us? They just went straight in with lube…’ The episode was lackluster, underwhelming, and thoroughly enjoyable. The best part? The fact that the new cast is fighting about some cheese plate that the (unlikable) influencer Sai dissed (that we never saw because it happened before the first episode aired), and Jenna Lyons decided to use her BDE to dickslap them all in the face with her superior taste and style. She invited all of the ladies over to her epic NYC apartment for... A CHEESE PARTY. That, in its magnificence, basically screamed ‘YOU WANT CHEESE? I'LL GIVE YOU CHEESE, PEASANTS!’” — Marc Duron (Head of Innovation)

Love Island, UK (Hulu): “As someone who doesn't normally enjoy reality TV, Love IslandUK, is definitely the exception. With episodes out every day, it's a fun way to get my mind off a busy work day. Add in some pizza and wine and you will not want to leave the house.” —Samantha Wu (Marketing Coordinator)

Hijack (Apple TV+): “It's the run-of-the-mill hijacked plane plot with Idris Elba being the genius main lead who's plotting to take back control of the plane. (This man can do no wrong, truly.) The show started off super strong, but took a wrong turn during the latest episode, with one plot hole after another. But I’m already this far along so I’m committed until the end.” — Katie Mok (Content Management Coordinator)

Celebrity Book Club: “Every week, hosts and childhood friends Steven Phillips-Horst and Lily Marotta read a celebrity book—memoirs, celeb cookbooks, even the Bible—and review the book with dishy and incisive critiques. In honor of the late, great Sinead, I listened to their episode ‘Sinead ‘Fuck Ireland’ O’Connor’—about her memoir Rememberings. The story of O’Connor going to Prince’s house to eat soup had me on the edge of my seat.” — Andie Eisen (Culture Editor)

The Guest by Emma Cline: “A modern-day grifter tale from the POV of a morally mutable call girl drifting among the wealthy patrons of the East End of Long Island. A juicy little novel that reminded me of John Cheever’s The Swimmer, but the ending left a bit to be desired.” — Andie Eisen (Culture Editor)

Documental on Amazon: “An unhinged Japanese game show where they gather ten comedians in a room, each bringing 1 million yen to the table, and they have 6 hours to try to make each other laugh for a chance to win all the money. Whoever breaks (i.e., laughs or smiles) is eliminated. Probably the ugliest set design in history and the contestants get naked pretty quickly, but nothing beats seeing ten comedians trying not to laugh for 6 hours.” — Andie Eisen (Culture Editor)

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