‘Love Island’ Men, Charli XCX Wedding & TV We Love | LuxeGen Podcast

0:00Hi everyone, welcome back to the LuxGen Group Chat. On this week's episode, we discuss the wedding of the summer. Charlie XCX got married! The queen got married. And it was the most like brat situation ever. Are toxic men essential for Love Island? Reality TV is like the study of like humans and the conditions and like how people interact and these type of people do exist on the outside. And the more that like you kind of try and hide away from it and bury it in the edit, it's like that's not what you watch reality TV for. And finally, this is the reality TV you need to watch. It's literally like a mix of X Factor mixed with Love is Blind.

0:33Oh, there's romance? Yes. It's a good one. Enjoy. Welcome back to Luxe Gen Group Chat. We have got Steph here today and a very special guest. Lewis is on the pod. Hello. Welcome to the group chat. Thanks for having me. Of course. Well, we start every episode with going through our outfits. So that's where we start. Talk us through what you want today. Okay, so this is like the most annoying thing anyone can say. And I promise I'm not gatekeeping. I don't know how to pronounce the brand name of this jacket. I want to say Swedish and it's like Han something but like it's one of those words which has like lots of symbols yes I feel like Britain as a language Britain as a language English as a language isn't interesting like we're so basic so I never know how to pronounce all the different and I would rather just not get it wrong but you can find it on Essence that's where I got it from and then my jeans and trainers are from acne but don't look at my trainers they're so dirty they're cool thank you I've had them for ages but they literally get worn every day hence the look of them I love definitely wearing I am wearing a cost t-shirt and then I've layered it with a little asymmetric Zara inspired by Sapna and then I've got little cargo trousers from Dance the Matter and then cost little ladylike shoes I would say no I like the little bit of lace a little bit of ballet flat but then like a cool cargo juxtaposition juxtaposition yeah I'm wearing an ASOS set which honestly three people have said to me oh you've got a few creases I'm like it's the vibe It's crinkle fabric.

1:56Why would, why, I just, you've left the house. Yeah. You can do that. Why would they say that to you? It's really cute. It's like a, for those listening, not watching, it's like a pink striped set. Lewis, what have you been up to? I feel like you've been absolutely everywhere. And when we, so we saw Lewis last week at the coach event that we did with Luxon and coach and Summer I Turn Pretty. And you were saying it's your first single summer in a while. Yeah. Well, yeah. I guess technically ever because. Ever. Yeah. I was with, like my ex was my first ever date oh my god so i've never had a single summer really technically before um it's been fun yeah i feel like the main thing is like when you're in a relationship for so long you get so comfortable and i live on my own and i work on my own and i just got towards the end of the relationship i just got a puppy so i was literally like sat in all the time but also i got all my social time from being with a partner like during the week and all that kind of stuff stuff so now that that's ended it's like forced me to go outside and make plans again and like deep down I am a party boy like my parents are like party animals like I am like that is me to my core and I feel like towards the end of the relationship like I stopped going out as much and then I was like wait a minute that actually what I thought I was like just growing up and maturing I was like no no no no wait wait wait this is like still in me I was just having a breeder i remember who i am and have you been like being single like have you been dating and seeing people or are you just having fun with friends oh what will not get me in trouble yeah sure we could say both yeah and what are your tips for anyone who has maybe just come out of a relationship and wants to get back out there and like it's kind of struggling with like you said that change of being with someone all the time and then like yeah having to socialize again i'll tell you what and i was and i like i feel like it's breakup season and everyone around me is breaking up and this is the best advice that I got and I've passed it on to everyone is that for the first month I was like down so bad and then I spoke to my friend who relationship of 11 years ended like last year and she said that people aren't your property or people aren't your like possessions especially I mean even still like if you're in a relationship they're not but more specifically if they're an ex like you can't control anything they do and if you go through a breakup they are like it's a definite decision that they are going to be following people on instagram and doing things like this that and the other and all that kind of thing and nothing that you can do in your power can control that and the only thing that you can control is how you spend your time and what you do so like as soon as i kind of like clicked that and got more into the mentality of like i don't own this person i can't control what they do but what i can control is how i'm spending my time and what i'm doing yeah it's not like an instant fix but once you like start to think more like that and wake up every morning thinking that I feel like that's when I started to move on into like the next chapter of my life and out of the like heartbreak stage that's such because that's actually something I feel like people say that a lot in like life as well like you can only control yourself you can only control your own actions you can't control others so you've got to just like whatever happens if someone annoys you someone says something it's like well I can only control myself and how I react to that situation or like how I'm gonna go forward so that's quite good as well for yeah and I even feel like you like you can control like how you spend your day and I remember when I first got broken up with everyone does the classic line of like yeah but you're gonna have a hot girl summer it's like I didn't want a hot girl summer like it's the worst thing to hear and everyone says so much but like my friend who gave me all this great advice she really should write a book or something um she was like you can't think to the summer because that's so far away it's not like a fathomable like aspect in your head like you just need to plan what you're gonna do next day and like what time you're gonna wake up if you're going out the house what you're gonna wear who you're gonna see in the evening like plan each day and don't think too far ahead because when you think far ahead it's not realistic and it's just it's all like basically imaginary yeah and then the next day turns into that weekend and then all that kind of stuff and before you know it's been time so yeah I don't know it's just it's the most annoying thing to hear but like time is that is that I was gonna say that's the thing that everyone always says when you first like in time like you'll literally look back and be like oh my heart's healed but it's that like first few moments of like the first few days like what do you physically it's so hard but it is like you said you just got to take it each day at a time yeah Steph have you ever been through a big breakup do you know what I actually haven't I actually haven't we were on a shoot the last day with Hodge and Hodge was like a breakup is the making of a person and I was like oh do I just break up with him or what like seriously I've just never been through one but yeah I do you think now looking back at the end of your relationship do you regret not carving out more time with your friends because you had this time where you were like really settled and you're like back into yeah i think like me and my ex were like one person so we shared the same friendship group and everything so i um but like i still saw all my friends and everything but i would just be the first one to go home at like off a night out or like something like that um but i don't think like i don't think so i feel like i actively try to not like stay in because it's quite cozy.

6:52I want to have like chill. But I'm like, no, see the girls. These are the people. I think that's something I would prioritize. Yeah. Anyways, in general. And I think also as like great as having so many friends and everything, I think it's really important, especially if you're newly single, to have single friends. Because there's nothing worse than like wanting to go on a big night out and I'm like, I'm busy with my boyfriend. Oh, I'm on the way with my boyfriend this weekend. Like it's really important to have friends who also want to go out and go like chat to people in a bar and that kind of stuff.

7:21and like finding, I know it's so much easier said than done to like find single friends, but there are places like days, like you can still find friends in London. There's groups and all that kind of stuff. If anything, yeah, it pushes you to find new friends because, you know, if all your friends are in relationships, it's quite nice to then find other people. Yeah. How do you actually like find dating? I feel like we've spoken about this a lot at this age, like at this point in time in life, it's so hard. Like the apps are really a scary place. No, they are. How do you find them? I saw someone like speak on a podcast the other day and they were just basically speaking about how the rise of like apps has like completely cut any like yearning because there's just such an endless possibility like on your literal fingertips like but even like oh like like i forgot to reply to that person i'll just like go on the app and find a new person like it's completely cut out any sort of like we should not have that much access to people full stop i don't think we should have as much access as we have in general but especially in dating we should not have that much access to someone especially on top of that in the early stages because it just it's the mystery doesn't it yeah and it just takes away any of the it's why so many people like have like ghosting and fail situations right now is because it doesn't matter if like this person ghosts the person they went on a date one because there's tens hundreds of more people literally on the access to go on a date with the next day it's almost like they're not real it's like people yeah yeah oh whatever there's another one there's another one yeah which is scary that is scary it is no I always say I think the current dating landscape is great for those who want to date and not have a relationship the trench is for those who are dating for a relationship but they do always say that happens when you're like not looking for it like always fall in love with someone when you're not looking to fall in love with someone yeah

9:07so let's move on to the hot list this is where we talk about pop culture and the thing going on at the moment are you watching Love Island? Yes, and I'm loving it. Okay, I wasn't the last time we spoke, and I started just on a random episode. I think I'm like 10 episodes. No, I'm actually not that far behind now. Maybe five episodes behind. Okay. And I don't care if you spoil it, but what's going on right now? What are you guys thinking? What's the latest tea? I have found that Love Island, the last couple of years, I've been a bit like, oh, you know, it's gone off. It's a bit dead. This year, it's kept me entertained.

9:34Like, Kassa was ages ago, and I'm still like, what's going to happen tonight kind of vibe, which is, that's different. It's giving season five, except they're not maybe as iconic for season 5. But there's much happening. Do you get me? Because I only obviously started not that long ago. I basically started on an episode maybe three episodes after they came back from CASA so they've already recoupled and I watched maybe three episodes after that. And I watched Movie Night. Was that recent? Yeah, that was recent. So I'm like around that part. And yeah, considering that I wasn't watching it i got hooked really quick yeah it took half an episode for me to be like invested in people maybe that's because of the episodes that i watched that already a lot was going on they have been like that all the way through no literally yeah what do you think what this series has done really well is the casting yeah like they've not casted i don't want to say non-stereotypical because they are kind of stereotypical love island but i just think they've casted people who have a lot more strong opinions and i think in recent years based off like the history of the show they've cooled down on maybe casting people who are so i don't know volatile is the right word but like strong opinionated yeah just to kind of cool things down and not have such a complicated like yeah like a dynamic of everyone being like and i think you have seen it as well but i think the public opinion on the islanders this year has been way stronger than the past couple of years in terms of social media reaction just like more people People feel more entitled to say something like how it was back in like the early days.

11:09Okay. Which is obviously why they probably like the producers stepped back in terms of casting such strong minded people. Because it takes a lot of, it gets people more invested and have stronger opinions if someone's fighting every episode. But saying that, it has been the best series since like. So good, right? Best series since COVID. Who do you want to win? I have two winners. Okay. So Yasmin. I don't care about a single man who will ever step foot on that show ever I don't even know who Yasmin is she's the tall with the amazing posture long black hair like people call her chat GPT I've heard about this one but I don't remember seeing her where you are she kind of like is a bit lost in the edit because she kind of like coupled up in Kasa and was like smooth sailing after that whereas before Kasa she was kind of the main character she is like my top 10 contestants who have ever been on the show just because she is so the antithesis to what like a typical Love Island contestant is and I think she is so someone who I bet the producers put on and expect to be like dumped off for a couple days and she's turned into like this like underdog fan favorite and I just I just love that um she's one of my winners but in terms of like a storyline someone like going from like A to B I would love a Shakira win oh yeah I think she's I really like her she speaks her mind either of those two I'd be happy with yeah I feel like I would have vouched for Toni but it got a bit messy there yeah I oh yes I love her she's funny she's good she's when i first started i was like oh there's an american and then like after five minutes i was like i love this girl like she's so funny yeah so good yeah i think she took a while for me to warm up to her just because i don't know if it's just because it was like an american in the context of a bunch of british people and obviously the people they cast in love island are so stereotypically british like it's like so almost jarring the contrast and I felt like it was a bit scripted and rehearsed to begin with what she kind of did and the more of like she's kind of settled in and I've gotten used to her I do like her now more but I think yeah Shakira and Yars are my two picks yeah love how about guys who do we like oh I don't care about a single man who ever goes on the show what about Cash he's cute sorry when Cash cried I cried he cried oh shame I did think and this is because I just don't trust any man who gets casted on Love Island is not a type of man I A, want to have a conversation with, or B, will ever trust.

13:23So when he did his whole, like, oh, like, I'm sad thing, I was like, really? Is this if Tony doesn't like him anymore? I haven't got there, but I can assume. Yeah, so I was like, to begin with, I was like, you have read the textbook. You've studied the... Do you think so? I don't think so anymore. Yeah. I genuinely do believe it now. Yeah, he's cute. He's kept it up. I feel like usually when guys try and pull that card, you know, like, how Dr. Alex, everyone felt sorry for him, and then it kind of got unmasked. Like, he's kept going with this. Yeah. So he's either a brilliant actor and needs to get casted in something after this, or he's genuinely like this.

13:56And either way, I'll take both of those. I do like him. He's definitely my favorite. And I like Yaz's partner, Jamie. Yeah, sweet. She pulled him up on something, and he straight away was like, yeah, fine, I want to do that again. And I was like, ooh. Who's that walking red flag? The guy who's... Oh, that could be many people. Yes, Harry. It's Harry. Harry is insane. The guy who looks exactly like Tom from last year. Yes, Harry. Yeah, I only have seen about like 30 seconds of him, but God, he's not. The one thing I will say about Harry is he is extremely toxic, but I like that he doesn't throw the girls under the bus.

14:27So like in kind of like the earlier on in the series, Yaz, that girl I was talking about, kissed him in the hideaway. And they came out and all the girls were trying to like get on top of her in the game, like being like, he doesn't even like you, doesn't even that. And he actually stuck up and he was like, oh, we did actually kiss in the hideaway. there's another guy called Dijon who will do what Harry does but will blame the girl and be like I never even wanted you anyway you're just making this up when it's not we've watched you do it whereas Harry at least will he's messy and not great in terms of a boyfriend but I don't think he's necessarily as bad in terms of like a person if that makes sense but as a boyfriend oh my god scary he was just sitting across from the girl he's with and there was another girl there and he looks there and he goes are you wearing underwear?

15:09I don't think you're wearing underwear and then there was like this bit of a flirt and this was just after he was trying to go a little bit more exclusive with this girl I'm like you are wild that's my thing that's what I've like noticed about him on the episode that I'm on is he's just like all over the place but he's quite like almost front on about it he's not doing it or maybe he's not well no he is sneaky with it but what I will also say is these have it's like I don't know if you saw like Women's Aid did a statement about the men on this series and stuff and I'm not when I say like these type of people on these shows are necessary evils I don't like the word necessary sounds horrible because it's not nice to watch but reality TV is like the study of like humans and the conditions and like how people interact and these type of people do exist on the outside and the more that like you kind of try and hide away from it and bury it in the edit it's like that's not what you watch reality TV for you want the volatility you want the drama and you want people who are and it's like as horrible as it is to watch like these people exist outside of our screens and in our real life as well and highlighting the behavior like it's great that people have been able to come forward and write about it and be like this kind of behavior is awful and hopefully like these men when they come off the show can sit and watch the actions back and like work on it like you you get it in every series like these men and we're gonna have them in every series because they're kind of necessary for the whole plot of the show because it's like a study on like modern day dating yeah these men are the antithesis of modern day dating but if anything it's kind of good because if you're watching it and you recognize that and you recognize the girls on the show talking about you like people on social media talking about and calling it out then i guess for people who maybe like are sort of allowing people to treat them that way they it's almost like recognizing like these people are totally you're seeing like boundaries exactly in front i mean yeah parents have often sat down with their kids and watched it and been like what do you think about that like that's not a great way to have dealt with that situation and then like what you said didn't luca who was on before he came out he watched his edit and he was like oh my god yeah looked himself in the mirror and said i mean it's an extreme way to reflect yeah it is really good like it is a good way to like start conversations yeah and it's great to be great to be it is great to be it really is what i also saw this weekend which i'm sure you guys saw as well which we've been talking about literally since the weekend is the whole coldplay concert ceo that's what the hell cheating situation i feel by the time this goes live this weekend, everyone's going to be like, bored to death talking about it.

17:32But I feel like we can't not. Like, like what the actual fuck? The statement alone. Yeah. The lyrics at the end of the statement. Wait, I haven't seen a statement. Oh my gosh. I haven't seen the statement. He releases a statement and it's like a shit statement. He blames Chris Martin, partly. He blames like the concert. And then at the end, he's like, as my good friend once said, lights will guide you. Shut up. No, sorry, just for a bit of context, anyone who maybe is living under rock and hasn't seen this basically there was a cold play concert and they did like a kiss cam kind of thing like the jumbotron going around the audience and then they landed on this couple who kind of hands around the way situation and then as soon as they realize the camera's on they're like oh my god and they like turn around and hide themselves basically which was the problem number one which is if they just let it happen no one would have looked into it it wouldn't have blown up on social it wouldn't even gotten on social anyway they obviously like reacted really weirdly and so everyone was like detectives in the comments and found out that he was obviously cheating on his wife and this was an affair happening and everyone's found out who they are he's been fired like it's a whole thing now crazy though how social media and also i just love that like we i feel like we miss this sometimes with like one really big thing happens and it's the only thing like the whole jet to like yeah holiday thing that was like i mean it's still on my for you page every single day but like when a really big thing happens and it just takes over yeah speaking about the whole jet two holiday thing have you guys seen that jess glenn and then i think her name's zoe something lister zoe lister so the lady who does the the sounds the jet they've got together on capsule and they've recreated it together there's a festival in scotland called transmit festival and the lady who does the jet yeah like she came out on one of the dj sets and did it like the crowd went like absolutely and i was like i've never seen something more british it's just next level like absolutely love it so good people coming together I know it's funny because it was like it's a thing whatever you've got the sound but it's like now it's just all you hear is the sound so how are they going to take you to the next and that is a funny way to do it also this weekend Charlie XCX got married the queen got married and it was the most like brat situation ever did you see all the videos of her just running through London in her wedding dress and just standing outside with George smoking as a bus went by and I'm like oh it's so rich line bikes in the back love it and she did the trend end of the aisle, so confusing, where she did the walk and then you turn around and do the, she did like me if George doesn't cry when I walk down the aisle and turning back around and walking back.

19:55So good. And the caption was, don't worry, he cried. Love it. So funny. I feel like it's funny. I love how it was a really simple wedding as well. I feel like with weddings, Jeff Bezos, et cetera, it's gotten extortionate. And I'm quite intrigued if there's going to be like a turn in the tide of like quite simple. But she's doing a big one in Sicily. Is she? Oh, so was this like the civil? This was like the official. So she's doing a big one in Sicily, I think, end of August, I read. Oh, my God, I can't wait. I'll get my address ready for that one. Because obviously Charlie is at the peak of who she is and the peak of her, I guess, quote, unquote, coolness.

20:30Like, right now, some of my friends were a bit like, oh, like a city town hall wedding and a Vivienne Westwood dress in London. Like, it's been a bit done. I just thought she would have done something a bit cooler. And I was like, actually, the most cool thing someone can do is take something that people deem as uncool and just do it. Like, I'm doing it anyway. it's so like it's so her coded like yeah i was just i was like she's so cool that she doesn't have to care about coming across uncool and that's the epitome of cool she clearly doesn't care yeah i love it and it was like just her family it didn't seem to be like any celebs there yeah yeah i do think it's now making like weddings or celebs who make like a really big deal of their weddings or their engagements a bit uncool like the whole like even Dua Lipa like not saying that she's engaged until like six months later that was so chic the very top novel feeling.

21:15Like, it's the whole understated, like, you can figure it out for yourselves. Yeah, I got married, what about it? But I would hate that if I was a celebrity and I got engaged, I'd be like, I'm going to put it everywhere. Everyone has to give a shit about this. I'm so excited to see the guest list for the Sicily wedding. Oh my gosh. She is like the most well-connected person ever. It's going to be like that. Who do you think? Well, Gabriette's going to be there. Yeah, of course. Oh, Troy Sivan? Yeah. I'm sure we'll get Addison. Lord? Probably. Yeah, Billy? yeah oh my god it's gonna be good okay we'll have to keep let's all camp out I spotted George in the airport he was so like he was just on his own he was so low key he had a backpack I was like a backpack just really like chill I obviously didn't speak to him that's quite good that you recognised him he's quite right he's tall AF he's very like you just you would yeah you recognise him another thing is Harry Jowsey and Sia have been spotted do we think it's real?

22:08no no it can't be This is a man who has literally been rumoured with everything in the line. Also, they are the most obvious paparazzi. It literally looks like a Love Islander who's like walking up to a white fox. And like, there is no obstruction. There's no blur. There's no zoom. It's they're about the distance from me and you taking these pictures in like a car park. I just fall for everything. In the middle of the day. I honestly love it though. I fall for everything these days. I kind of, if it was real, I kind of be like, that's kind of cute. I'm intrigued to know what Sia's getting out of it.

22:36Well, to be fair, every time I've heard her actually singing live, this sounds horrible as well but it's not been great considering she has a great voice yeah like she's kind of there's a lot of celebrities or a lot of people who like should be huge still like they had a peak and then just fell off like rita aura same thing it's like she had a peak in like what 2012 true 13 like all the club songs all the like whatever and then now it's like what are you doing hun i'm still a big fan of rita aura i think she's a cool celebrity I think no Not a celebrity A cool person But you like Go to lots of parties And like celeb things Have you seen her?

23:09Have you met her? I actually don't know If I have But actually On that Because you go to Quite a few parties Who are some cool celebs You've met Or like filmed with Or like Want to know some stories What's the tea? The coolest party I've ever done We went to New York During the Met Gala And we went to The Mark Hotel Wait did you go? Not to the Met Gala To the Mark Hotel We went to the penthouse At the Mark Hotel Which is like The hotel that All the celebrities Get ready in And we watched Like the arrivals from the penthouse when it ended we all went down to the lobby and it was like all these celebrities were coming through like Anne Hathaway was coming through like Doja Cat was coming through and they were all going through this door but we were getting screamed at by the security because it was such like a backlog because of the traffic and the roads being shut like they couldn't funnel us out in time and the security was screaming about being like get these normies out of here and the door kept opening and I turned to this guy next to me who's like this like scouse guy who like he was one of the other few like British people I was like when that door next opens like grab my hand we're gonna like go for it together and the door opened and we jumped through next thing we know we're in the queue for the step and repeat for the after party oh my god i was like i was like don't react like just do this any gay couple could be here like we could be anyone right now and we did it we walked through and he kept like turning around i was like look forward don't blow this cover i went in and it was so cool like kim was there tayana taylor was at the bar like ordering people shots and like i did the shots with tiana taylor i stuck out like a sore thumb i was literally like like waiting with a baited breath to like get chucked out but i was there yeah that was the coolest part i've ever done what did you like if i was going to that i'd be like what am i gonna genuinely wear well because i obviously didn't plan on going i was in like a suit but like it was short so it was like a suit jacket with like a white shirt and a white tie and shorts and big black boots so it's fine it was like yeah um but that was the step and repeat like is there pictures of you no god no i'm okay I didn't tell that story for ages.

25:01I think I said it on another podcast recently because I was so scared of getting in trouble. I was like, it's over two years ago now. They're not going to catch me. That is so good. And then I'll always say the nicest celebrity who I ever, ever, ever, ever met was Sabrina Carpenter. Oh my God, I'm so jealous of that. But I met her in like 2019 when she was quite small. And I used to present on like the chart show on CBBC. So we'd have like loads of celebrities coming through and usually it was back-to-back press days and they would be so rightfully stuck. Like, I just hope, no offense, trust me, but like jet-lagged, tired from the schedule.

25:35Like they're on their promo cycle. Like it's the last thing they want to do is sit and pretend to like play with slime with me for children on CD. Like, I get it, girl. You don't want to be here either. She came in, she asked everyone's names. Did she? She like, if I messed up a line, she'd be like, it's okay, it's okay. We can go again, we can go again. And like, and afterwards she like tweeted like a clip from the show being like, this was the most fun I had all press day. And I was just like, so nice and like professional nice as well. Like, you know, when sometimes like, I feel like I'm just like, I just like got like gob off.

26:06I'm like, it's like, okay, like, we're actually here to work. Like she was like, just nice, but professional. Oh, that's so nice. So I'm like, now she's blown up. I'm like, oh, I love when that happens to someone nice. Yeah. Because you're rooting for someone that you know is genuinely really doing very well. Yeah. Oh, that's so nice. Have you got any like horror stories with anyone? I'm sure you have so many. I probably, yeah, I have like some. None you can share. But I did the funniest that I always used to get was I used to wear like full faces of makeup and the comments would just be like crazy.

26:35Like I'd be like, one time I was on like, again, on CBBC with like this quite big boy band. Oh, and they go, one of them, like they're like sort of line was like, like people on the show would be asked, like just say one line, like in terms of to riff off so I can carry on like with the link. And their line was something like, well, why don't we ask him? And the boy band member turns and goes, well, why don't we just ask her? And the other boy band member goes, who's her? And he looks at me and looks at the boy band member and goes, him. And I was like, the whole room burst out laughing. And I was like, it's fine.

27:12Like, don't worry, boys. And they were literally like profusely apologizing. I was like, guys, honestly, it's fine. Don't stress about it. But I used to just like, stuff like that would always like, but that was more funny than really yeah that is his eyes popped out of his head was like who's her wait is it did it become like a meme like did it no no it didn't go wait off camera who wasn't no oh my god they were really sweet boys as well but i don't want like it to be taken out of context that they were like trying to like yeah you know what i mean like stuff like that could be sensitive we will not include who was because the tea i love that's so much god i'm sweating we also we're going to talk about like we love talking about marketing things and cool things that brands are doing and we always talk about refi because they just do it better than everyone else they are really big into their community they did this whole thing obviously last year where they took all their community on a trip and that was just like the first of its kind i feel like and what they just did recently was this thing called like refi valet and they basically took a car and took product and they delivered them to their customers and it was all obviously documented and stuff really cool but like i just love that they're doing that not just for influencers and talent yeah yeah yeah i always say with like the rise of tiktok influences as like a job title in terms of like people who like sell you product influencers are so much less untouchable yeah because like you can literally sell like tens of thousands of pounds on tiktok shop and have like 2 000 followers like it's so like you don't need a big sort of person now to sell products of anything i feel like people take more like recommendations from smaller creators and all that kind of stuff and i just see all the backlash and the repeating of the same people i'm like i don't understand i do get the point of like a lot of people i see a lot of people complain about influencers going to concerts for free and stuff like that and like why do brands take them like they can't possibly make the money back and it's not like they're not taking the influencers expecting to make the money back on the night it's like to build a relationship and hope that the influencers will go home and like speak about them organically because like all that kind of stuff like it's not as black and white as why are you taking them you're not making that money back it's all it's to like have people who are going to be maybe speaking about the brand organically experience the brand and understand the brand like firsthand so i feel like there's that part of it that a lot of people don't see they think it's just someone's being paid to go somewhere and talk about a product but it's not always as straightforward like you say but like i also don't understand why like if if i was looking at it i'd be trying to find like a middle ground of how can we incorporate sort of like this big influencer but also not like alienate people sat at home yeah and whether that's like you pick someone who's got got a big following and you give the box just solely to them but be like run a giveaway to fill the box with people like at home or something like that it just might like i just i think there's a sort of turning and tide that's happening online of people being like getting a bit sick of being shoved in their face all the time yeah i agree it's such like a a tricky middle ground because there's sort of the brands and the campaigns that are like huge huge celebrities still ambassadors whatever and And like you see those shoots and things.

30:11Like I saw today Topshop has released, obviously they're having a bit of a comeback. It's not what everyone thinks, but they're having a bit of a comeback and they've just shot something with Cara Delevingne, which feels very like nostalgic in a way. I don't know why. I think she did a bit of work with them. But like, you know, big, big celebrities. And then there's like this middle ground of like huge influences, but no one really wants that anymore. Because do they trust that that person isn't just getting a fat deal from that? Like actually the micro creators and people who don't have as many followers, maybe that's like you said the people who are more genuine about yeah but i also feel like with someone like car delvin like that traditional celebrity that is still untouchable to everyone because their their life is private whereas how much social media has like taken over everyone's life to do the job of an influencer if you want to do the whole buy into my life and buy into what i buy and buy into what i do like you have to be so open yeah and that kind of takes away from that whole kind of celebrity yeah that's the thing there's like this kind of gap in the middle of a couple of people do fall into that like they're huge celebrities but i think they're realizing that to i guess they have to be on that level of like opening up my life and like like olivia jade i feel like she's kind of getting into that like obviously her family she's never baby obviously she's like celebrity level but actually she does tiktoks and does her makeup and it's quite like open yeah it's not like middle yeah where you kind of a little bit of both i don't know who probably help her career in some ways but people have said that for example madison beer yeah is too tiktokery influencery and is doing her music career yeah taking her seriously or finding mysterious enough so it's a middle ground it depends i suppose which way you want your career to go for sure well then it's also like sabrina carpenter who is like obviously huge huge celeb and you're not going to see her do it come with me to backstage at my concert like she's not going to do that but she will do like a fun sound and she will like play into trends sometimes to still be like yeah I know what's going on and like I'll do whatever else is doing but it's not too like giving everything away so much I think that's what keeps them at that level in comparison to like someone you think of as a creator or an influencer I feel like it's quite interesting what you're saying about the refi though back to it like I feel like community is so important I feel like that's what people are buying into they're not necessarily because there's new blushes all the time it's to have the whole like similar road that whole like aesthetic that is what I acquired to that whole ethos of the brand that is me so I'm gonna buy the new blush because I know I'm gonna like it because I like Rify it's that like I feel like that community is quite important to a brand and they have just really hit it on the head especially like you said especially because it's so saturated oversaturated there's so many products and so like the only way you're loyal to brands is if you believe in their messaging and like the people who are like I guess the faces of it as well yeah it is hard but I feel like they're really doing it really well there's a few brands doing it very well let's move on to the things we're loving this is where we talk about tv products trends people we're following just the things we're loving steph anything do you know what i was just putting on my lip liner before we came on here and stephan was like what is that it's the huda beauty stain liner i've seen a lot of influencers use them i've seen them they're really really good they do dry out so you have to turn them upside down that's the only thing it's a bit of an issue but they're so good and they last so long I'm really getting into my stains we had Lipotle yes did you try it I haven't tried it yet so you know Wonderskin the one where it's like purple yeah yeah yeah they've done a collab with Chipotle and it's called Lipotle think okay because we were like why are we getting Chipotle but it's like smudge proof burrito proof oh okay I thought it was because it's spicy no it's burrito proof I read the back I was like why is this called Lipotle no wait my mind went to like because when you eat spicy It gives you like a little tint It gives you like a ring And that was like The lip liner look It was giving you And I was like I don't want that I mean maybe It's actually really good though Gorgeous colour Lipo lay So clearly into my lip stains What about you Lewis?

33:59Well you just complimented My fragrance when I came in Yeah it's so nice And I feel like it's People are speaking about it But I've not yet met anyone else Who has Ever complimented me And said oh yeah I've got that Or said oh yeah Like I've got I want to try that That kind of thing It's Troye Savant's fragrance brand which I'm not even going to try and pronounce but it's like TSU something. Yeah. We're thinking it's like Zoom. Yeah. Google's like Troye Savant Fragrance brand. It's top result. Wait, you haven't shown it? Yeah. Oh wait, it's my box. Which is actually a very good time for me to segue that we film all of our podcasts as well.

34:28So if you're listening but want to see what we're wearing and also see this fragrance and what it looks like head over to YouTube because you can see what we're showing there. So this one's called By Your Side. They're all unisex and they're all I wouldn't say any of them are like really too heavy or deep. Like some of the, this is the most, I think, wearable. The other ones I smelled were a bit more like grassy and like one was a bit more like earthy. But yeah. Made in Australia. And I think it sticks well. And I've got, I do get a lot of compliments. I find fragrances don't stick, some don't stick to me that well.

35:02And sometimes I'm like, I put a lot on and no one's complimented me. So whenever I get a compliment, I always remember which ones I get compliments on. And that's one. TV, I watch a lot of TV. For my reality TV girls. You were telling Daisy and I about that show. Yes, that's what I was going to say. But I did binge watch all yesterday that new Netflix one, Building the Band. Oh, yes. I was talking about that last week. Oh, my God. Yes. That's the one that Liam Payne's in. Yes. Obviously, it's filmed before. So I was talking about it on the podcast last week, but I hadn't watched it yet. Having now binged it, what's it like?

35:32Do you recommend? It's very me. Like, if you... It's literally like a mix of X Factor mixed with Lovers Blind. Oh. There's romance? Yes. Oh. Okay, now I'm going to watch it. It's like edited in those like typical like Netflix reality, like Lovers Blind, Selling Sunset, The Ultimatum. Like it's that kind of like tempo and pace and all the bands move in together in an apartment. So the first four episodes, basically the premise is like they have to build bands without just, with just hearing the voices. So you don't know what, so it's not based on looks or anything. And they have to basically decide, like they all sing and they have to decide between them.

36:07Like it's not someone sat. It's not judges. Yeah, yeah, yeah. so there's kind of like politics in the pods like it's like the lovers buying people to being like well I only want a three-piece band but this girl's like I want a four-piece band I want this person in it this sounds unreal yeah and you can only make there's only spaces for six bands so every time a band is made like there's 50 of them but there's only like absolute maximum space for 25 people to be in a band so it's kind of like almost like it's almost like the American version of Big Brother like it's kind of like politic-y like yeah yeah yeah and then once the bands are formed they then all move into apartments and start like rehearsing there's like some interband romance and then they start like the performances and then that's the kind of like x factor side of it and then that's when the judges come yes yeah it's liam payne nicole and kelly roland that's great that sounds good what i was saying to you at the event there's two shows on bravo right now which is the ones that do all the housewives but i i do like housewives i just find it a bit repetitive and out of touch to watch like loads of them just because i don't know um but these two shows so there's uh like more younger cast there's like housewives format but younger people so the first one's next gen nyc and it's like gossip girl as a reality show so it's like i think the age range is like 21 to 28 who all live in new york half the cast are real housewives children so there's like candy and kim from atlanta's daughters meredith marx's kids theresa judas's kids like they're all in it and then the other half are like rich influences socialites that kind of thing yeah and it's just like their friend group going out and then it's like i paid fifteen thousand dollars for a table at the box last night you're not even going to pay me back um and then the other one on bravo is called the valley again it's like half the cast is like vanderpump rules stars and it's about um it's quite interesting i don't think there's any other reality show that focuses on this age group it's about like couples in their 30s who have moved out of LA to the Valley to start families.

38:04And like their kids are like kind of all under the age of four. And there's like Jax and Brittany and Kristen from Vanderpump Rules and Sheena Shea and Lala make appearances like as like friends. Okay. But it is so, that one's quite dark and deep. Like the storylines are like drug abuse and addiction and going to rehab and sexual assault allegations. This is literally like season one of Beverly Hills. Yeah, it's like intense and dark, but they're all such horrible people that it kind of is okay to watch. Okay, you're like both. You kind of lack, I don't want to say lack sympathy because it sounds darker than what it is.

38:40Yeah. But they're all just so ridiculous and like horrible, rotted people that it's like one of them is a split up couple who are accusing each other of being prostitutes. And it's like. What? Yeah, but I'm a reality TV girl. Actually, I did watch recently on the BBC. There's this show that just came out called How It Feels to Be a Girl. And it's like a British drama. And it follows this, I want to say he's like a 15-year-old gay guy who like lives with his dad. And he's like a really like macho dad. And he kind of, he doesn't run away, but he goes out and like finds like a queer group based off Paris Lee's memoir, who's like a trans activist.

39:15And it's all about the main character kind of like goes on like a gender discovery journey. And it's really, I think like we get a lot of LGBTQ plus shows now. like I'm thinking in the UK there's like Heartstopper and Big Boys I love Heartstopper they are like it's important and like especially at Heartstopper I think it's so fun to watch a British class of like LGBTQ plus actors kind of like take over Hollywood I feel like I've never seen that before and also it'd be quite like a positive thing yeah and that's nice and everything but how it feels to be a girl is like a lot more gritty and it tackles like topics that I don't think I've ever seen on TV before like it tackles like a lot about sort of like trans sex work and sort of like the exploitation of like teenage young underage like gay kids because they don't have safe spaces and like being taken advantage of adults and like the drug abuse like issues in the queer scene like stuff that I haven't seen as storylines on tv and the acting's phenomenal and all kind of like new up-and-coming actors and actresses it's it's really heavy but it's got really funny and heartwarming moments as well and it's like the best thing I've watched in ages like in terms of scripted it feels a bit like um an adolescence kind of thing like um on netflix yeah like it's like hard hitting but it's one of those things that like you want kids to watch you want everyone to just watch yeah you know and it's but it's yeah it does have moments like hard but there are really like heartwarming and special moments and like i cried like in three of the episodes and i just think it's really important that when shows like that get given a platform and like we we gave heartstopper a platform and it was able to like catapult so many up and coming like young actors and actresses into like new heights and I just think like when big sort of people like BBC and ITV take risks and do these kind of shows it's really important to support them because then we want them to do more yeah and otherwise like we're just gonna get another like six part crime drama starring Sheridan Smith like come on give us something different but yeah that is on the BBC it's really good and I think everyone should watch it that's like my number one watch that's definitely on my list that sounds amazing I am loving this new cookie dough.

41:20I basically always have like a cookie dough thing in my freezer because I'm like obsessed with cookies. And I just got sent a new one called Baker's Cookie Dough. It comes in like a big like pouch like this and you get so many like balls of dough and they are like the flavors are so good. So I've got brown butter chocolate chip and I've got double chocolate, but it's like kind of like got like a bit of an espresso taste to it. They are honestly so good, so easy. You just pop them in the oven for like 10 minutes. Love that. but I just like an easy snack after dinner it's not healthy I'm not gonna say like 10 calories it's a normal fucking cookie but it's really freaking good something else which is like kind of random but I've honestly been taking it every single day for like maybe two months or so it's the Diome sleep supplements have you heard of these no so I've always been like I don't take like sleeping tablets I haven't really taken like melatonin anything the last few months I've been really struggling to sleep so i start i got recommended diet which is like these natural sleep tablets and it basically the whole thing is not about like making you fall asleep it's making you have more restful sleep and it's not like oh you take one and then like on one night when you really need to sleep you're meant to take them every night and it makes you generally like wake up feeling more rested it's called rested so it makes you feel more rested when you wake up and also makes you have like a better deeper sleep like every night and genuinely i have never felt like so much of a difference in my sleep yeah oh my gosh like it makes me fall asleep like i'm the kind of person my brain doesn't switch off especially before bed and this is like maybe like half an hour before i know i might go to bed i'll take one or sometimes on the weekend i'll take two because then even deeper sleep um you can take up up to four depending on like your vibes um and four four every night um and literally it just like sends me off to sleep really like softly and then i like stay asleep like properly and then when i wake up i feel really rested if you do struggle with sleep I would a bit of lavender on your pillow yeah love pop one of these you're done goodnight thank you so much thanks for having me guys such a good yap and we will see you guys very soon a reminder to actually I'm going to make you do it because every time we have a guest on we ask them to please look down the camera you can look in that one okay and tell them to please subscribe make sure you subscribe to the LuxGen channel for more podcasts yes and make sure you check us out on ACAST as well we're on every basically everywhere you can listen to podcasts we are there we are everywhere we're everywhere and then you can watch on YouTube so make sure you subscribe so you can see what we've got coming up thank you so much for watching we'll see you very soon bye

44:05Thank you.