I will never be ashamed of the propaganda I've fallen for. As I write this, there is a Labubu glaring at me from across my living room. If that's not a receipt, I don't know what is. Living in a world with options to spark joy is not something I take for granted. I'm not talking about everlasting love and inner peace—I mean the thrill of popping into Sephora on the walk home from work and treating yourself to a cream blush you read about via Ilana Torbiner’s Substack, or ordering an Eliou bag charm at the end of a long day.
At the same time, options can be exhausting. You spend your entire adolescence wanting to do things your way, but—I speak for myself—from the minute I reached adulthood, all I've ever wanted is for someone to tell me exactly what to do when it comes to getting hotter, richer, and smarter. I can't guarantee I'll listen, but a roadmap is always appreciated.
What I do know is that if something sounds fun, I'm always down to give it a try. Back in the day, there was a cocktail at The Nomad Hotel called the Koala Pear—just placing my order made me feel like I was snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef (I had never and still have yet to set foot on the continent). But whatever, the best people, places, and things can transport you. A cup of coffee while recapping your night with your best friend can take you from a slightly hungover Raya user to Carrie Bradshaw.
Here are a few things floating around the internet that sound as good as they look…
Back Of The Cab
It was August in New York, and the city should have been dead, but her phone had not stopped blowing up. She somehow scored a six-person table at Polo Bar. A handful of martinis and a few burgers later, nobody was ready to go home.
"Jack just texted me, he's at Chez Margaux," her friend Nicole said, referring to Jack, the guy she'd been on approximately 2.5 dates with, like they had been married for years and she was already sick of him. "I heard it's whatever," Selena, the hater of the group, chimed in, "but we should go, we look hot."
Packed into the back of a Chevy Suburban like Fishwife sardines, "Jungle" by Fred Again blasts through the aux. "Do I look okay?" she whispers to her friend Jillian. "You look unreal. Hold on, let me touch you up," she says, pulling out her mascara as Fifth Avenue blurs through the window.
**Inspired by Back Of The Cab by Sarah Creal
Ciao Ciao
A spritz here, some limoncello there, a boat ride to lunch, all with the backdrop of the most crystal clear sea. Capri is everything! "I'm never leaving," she whispers to her husband as they make their way down Via Camerelle. "Ciao bella! Ciao amore!" The most handsome man she has ever seen in her life greets her walking into Bottega. "We're just looking," she replies with a smile. An hour later they leave the store dripping in parakeet green shopping bags—just a few pieces to make sure she'll never forget Capri.
**Inspired by the Bottega Ciao Ciao
Paris at 7PM
Being an expat was a weird thing. The second your visa is good to go, you're immediately supposed to be obsessed with your new surroundings, text your entire phone book "I'm never coming back," and add the flag of whatever country you've landed in to your Instagram bio. This was not Paris for her—it took a year and a half, a lot of awkward friend dates, some even stranger real dates, but after 18 months she had finally found her people. As she rushed through the Marais in the golden hour light, she watched tourists walking around starry-eyed, ready to make the most of their time. "I can't believe I get to live here," she thought to herself. Looking at her phone, a text from her friend Manelle: "Let's have a drink tonight, I need to get out." Thank God she let herself take a chance on this city.
**Inspired by Paris at 7PM by Madame Gabriella Beauty
Chocolate Cosmos
"I can't have an espresso martini, I won't be able to sleep for a week," she protests to the bartender at Raoul's, who, whether he wanted to or not, now knows every trial and tribulation going on in her and her two best friends Isabel and Cleo's lives. "OK, let me make you a Chocolate Cosmo... I promise you're going to love it." The clock on her iPhone reads 12:13 AM—the exact time she used to leave the apartment a decade ago. "OK, fine, we'll take three."
**Inspired by Chocolate Cosmos by SSONE
The Snatching Sauce
Three weeks in Europe was a dream. Pani câ meusa in Palermo, Txakoli in Biarritz, and unlimited Gildas in San Sebastián. Finally back home in LA, there's no amount of Erewhon that can cure her FOMO, but she's happy to have some resemblance of a routine and a good night's sleep in her own bed. She slips into her pajamas, lathers on the snatching sauce, and dozes off to The Gilded Age blasting in the background—dreaming of La Concha. There's no place like home!
**Inspired by The Beauty Sandwich Snatching Sauce
Need the entire back of the cab outfit on my body immediately. 💅🏻
I’m pretty sure I went on a Hinge date with the bartender from Raoul’s