It seems that based on the latest Tik-Tok videos, memes, gifs and public call outs of a certain past president’s cultural faux pas (not Barack??😭!!) the Boomers tenuous grip on relevance has officially ended. In fact, everyone seems ready for them to just go away. It’s a cruel word, people. (and aren’t you the folks who coined the phrase “don’t trust anyone over 30?”). This one hurts.

If it’s good enough for your feet, is it good enough for your face? Birkenstock – the ugly sandal company that has been the footwear darling of the fashionista set is coming for your skin. Yup, we’ll let that sink in for a moment. Tapping into the magical properties of cork oak extract, the new line claims to improve elasticity, reduce wrinkles and super charge moisture production. Infused with all sorts of botanical extracts and produced with no harm to the trees that give it life, this new line may well find its way to all of the other shelves at home. Skin care with all kinds of soul!

There is a reason all of our screen savers take us to magical places replete with mountains and water; beautiful flowers and fauna – it might just be the only place we see the very vistas we as humans intrinsically long for! Our actual day to day treks outside are often experiences of extreme noise, heat and cold concrete. A local art student in Poland is looking to change that. Dominika Cebula has created walls replete with hundreds of dried flowers as an homage to the long tradition of flower selling in Dabrowskiego Square. Commuters move through a dreamscape of color and beauty , almost catching the rich scent of spring, if only for a New York minute. Let this idea bloom a thousand flowers everywhere…

From the TV show Six Feet Under, to numerous sight gags on other shows and movies, funeral parlors are not a place known for either warmth or high design. Enter a new concept, Exit Here, determined to make our final passage a bit warmer and more stylish. Created by the UK hospitality entrepreneur, Oliver Peyton, this new vision looks to shake up a whole sector that has gone untouched for seemingly centuries. Light, bright, warm and homey, his first such location in London offers a refreshing alternative to the dim trope we all know so well. (And one does hope that the chilly specter of death will sit a bit more easily on a mid-century modern couch. ) Paging Jonathan Adler…

Kesha is ready for her next act – and this one is a beauty! Inspired by her new take on life, post lawsuits and public pillories, the songstress – in addition to unleashing bold new pop tunes for her adoring public – is also launching a beauty line called Kesha Rose. Replete with bright and “insane rainbow and earth inspired colors”, Kesha believes her make up is all about reclaiming joy. She shares: “I don’t even really like using the word ‘beauty’ because it’s more about expressing yourself. It’s about redefining what beauty means to you. Beautiful is happiness and happiness is beautiful, so that’s what I am trying to encourage with the makeup line and with the (new) record.” Bold, brash and quirky, we predict a brilliant future for all.

So, Boomers might be persona non grata in the cult of cool today, but the poster child of Gen X, Kurt Cobain, is still king of hearts. This week, the cigarette-burned sweater he wore during Nirvana’s famous “Unplugged” concert sold at auction for $334,000. Considered the iconic cornerstone of the grunge movement, the tattered, olive-green button-up supposedly has never been washed since Cobain last wore it. There was heavy bidding for the item, perhaps speaking to our desire to honor authentic passion, and the humble audacity it takes to be strip down and let your voice alone be heard.

No – really. In their most recent report, the Unicode Consortium shared the two most popular emojis currently in use…

🥁 please…

…Are the laughing with happy tears and the heart emoji!

😂 ❤️

Despite all of the despair and darkness in the world today it seems we still are laughing and feeling heart-ful – and want to make that happen for the people we touch, even digitally, every day.

Even better news? New emojis are developed off of usage data. So it looks like we are in for more joy and love in the year to come!! Keep up the good work, people!

We all remember the legend of Cleopatra maintaining her youthful beauty through frequent milk baths, usually conducted at midnight, poured from gold cisterns carried by virgins…but we digress… However, we all might be having our milk-based beauty moment soon, thanks to a discovery by a farm worker in New Zealand. While attempting to make cheese from deer milk, (as one does…) she discovered that her hands had become soft and youthful during the course of her labors. After contacting a South Korean dermatology lab with this finding, a new skin line was born: Kotia. And for all of us who long for clean, pure resources, this soothing all natural line promises more youthful skin from a 100% pure and natural source. Now, about those lashes…

Uber is ready for your next eating adventure. Instead of delivering that burger at 2:00 am, Uber wants to take you for the ride of your gustatory life. Comparable to Air BnB Experiences, this new Uber experiment is called Uber Moments, and is offering to book and chauffeur you to culinary classes of every make and model. The goal, as stated by the company CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi, is to ultimately make the Uber app: “ The operating system for your daily life.” So far, this has been hinted to be grocery delivery – but the local experiences and special events now seem to be on tap. Let’s go!

This sweet and sad musical genre is the latest gift to come from that current hot ticket destination, Portugal. Recently popularized by Amalia Rodrigues (the queen of Fado), this new sound is sweeping the US. Its latest break through artist is Carminho, who will be making her LA Debut at The Broad Stage this November. With a platinum album under her belt, we predict huge success and name collaborations in the coming year.

Sometimes, we all need some bold thinking to nudge us into a whole new way to see our own little worlds. Bran and Desi are a team of Bulgarian designers who encourage their clients to look deep within and find a personal source to reflect their external spaces. Deeply philosophical, they use unique bright colors and strong geometry to create dream like spaces that allow us to live outside the usual boundaries of space.

This project, Pink Lake Breath, takes inspiration from lakes that are pink in color with white sand surrounding them, evoking a sense of Zen-like bliss despite the riotous hues. With color’s ability to enliven us, as well as create a calm mind, the space is bound to conjure up feelings of happiness and contentment. Gives a whole new construct to the idea of a ‘safe room’, doesn’t it?

Scandi-scary, cool colors and twisted thoughts – just in time for Halloween!