Seeking Joy After Burnout, Tattoo Dilemmas and Are Men in Flip-Flops Ever Okay!? | SheerLuxe Podcast

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0:42Eligible students get a year of Microsoft 365 Premium and a year of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate with a custom color Xbox wireless controller. Learn more at windows.com slash student offer. While supplies last, ends June 30th. Terms at aka.ms slash college PC. On today's episode of the Sheer Laps podcast, we discuss our summer footwear icks. Some men in flip-flops is the most hideous thing ever. They don't look after their feet. The hair is like sticking out weird places. Yeah, yeah, I pretty agree with you. It's whoop. The fashion exhibition that you cannot miss. I'm going to see it. I'm so excited.

1:14You are going to love it. You need at least two hours. Okay. It is humongous. Plus, we dive into what you can do if you're starting to feel a little bit burned out. imagine you're like doing your last four breaths on earth like what do you want to breathe in and what do you want to let go of it's funny how small prompts like that can just change the way your whole life we share new episodes every friday so make sure you're following us wherever you get your podcast so you don't miss it

1:50taste of london is back and best than ever for 2026 Shearlark and SL Man are once again at the festival's official media partners taking over Regent's Park from the 17th to the 21st of June Here's everything you need to know It's five days of eating, drinking and wandering around some of London's best restaurants in the sunshine with plenty of rosé, live fire cooking and chef demos thrown in This year's line-up includes Sexy Fish, Daka Daka and Roti King alongside well-known favourites like Lost Mochis, Salé Pepe and Big Mama Group. There'll also be a number of chefs doing live cooking sessions across the week including Sally Ebay, Isda Belfridge and Imad Alarnab so it feels a bit like your favourite food people are all in one place.

2:38And the big new launch for 2026 is A Taste of the City which takes the festival beyond Regent's Park with one-off dining events happening across London all week. Honestly whether you're properly into food or just want a really fun summer day out with friends it looks set to be such a good atmosphere this year hello and welcome back to the sheer lux podcast i'm your host polly newman and today i am joined by luchia and josh we'll be getting into the latest beauty fashion celebrity news and all the pop culture moments everyone's talking about before we jump in please do hit the subscribe button it's the fastest way to stay up to date with everything that we post so should we talk about some outfits first because You're both looking glorious in this wave.

3:20I mean, it's a miracle I'm not here like naked because I'm dying in this heat wave. Yeah, that's what you're saying too. I'm loving it. Babe, it's too much to me. I can't take it. This English rose cannot take it. But I am wearing a little Reese silky number. I really love it. I love this. And these are some Primark trousers I found, which are like the dream fit. And I can believe it. They are so nice. And they're kind of like a crepe fabric. They are a really good buy. So that's what I'm wearing today. With little vests underneath. Yeah. And I love the Burks. I was going to say, don't leave out the Burks.

3:53The ventilation is key. Yeah, it is key. But have you ever tried running in a pair of those Burks? Because it's not cute. My ankle was basically broken. Wouldn't recommend, but they look cute. Safety first. I can imagine. Danger last. And tell us, Anne Boleyn, what are you wearing today? Josh has coined me Anne Boleyn today. He told me to get up onto the scaffolding. So that's nice. I can see it. But I am like dying. I've been so ready. half my wardrobe is just dresses because I'm Australian and obviously like 10 months of the year is summer there. This dress is Mato, an Australian label called Mato.

4:24It's so nice. It's just so easy. Do you know what I mean? It's like put together without the effort. Yeah, it's cute. Yeah, and then I've just got my Chanel ballet flats on. That's it. I feel like you've already come into your own now the weather's a bit warmer. I'm so ready. This week my outfit's sorted. She's been defrosted and she's wearing to go. She's going out. Frosted. It all looks very cute. I don't know if I've like really fully embraced the heat wave. I think totally you have. Totally I have, but like everyone's like, you know how hot in your trousers? And the truth is I am. Yeah, I said that to you.

4:59Some days you're not ready to get your legs out. Babe. Do you know what I mean? They're fabulous trousers, where are they from? They're from Arquette, as is my shirt actually. I just love Arquette. You look so chic. So good at the moment. Thank you, thank you. But then I just feel like as long as you've got like a summery shoe it sort of balances everything else out i don't know i struggle a bit sometimes with like heat wave and all my like summer clothes i wore over the weekend are in the wash so yeah i didn't know whether to get my dogs out this morning i don't know yeah have you never heard that getting your dogs out i get my dogs out too much i just didn't know what the vibes were with getting toes out in the office i do it all the time but i don't know if that's allowed i think I think it's fine if it's like this with like a little heel, but if you just walked in in a flip flop.

5:42But I did. I was in a flip flop this morning. I just changed into these. Oh my God, the commuter shoe has gone from the trainer to the flip flop. But you can have a chic flip flop these days. Yeah. I hate a flip flop. I hate a flip flop. You hate them? Oh my God, I couldn't disagree with you more. I absolutely love flip flop. Just the way they cut off my fur, it's just not good for me. I actually get what you're saying. But also some men in flip flops is the most hideous thing ever. Oh my God. Because they don't look after their feet. The hair is like sticking out weird places. I completely agree with you.

6:10Some women. Yeah. It just gives me, it's like a phobia I have. Yeah. What's an acceptable male summer shoe, do we think? I think like basically. I think like a Burke. Yeah, a Burke. Yeah. It's really hard for men. A sneaker. Yeah, unfortunately. I can get a bit sweaty in there though, babe, at this time of year. Do you know what I mean? Yeah. I don't want athletes to hurt you. Yeah. Anyway. Poor men, basically. Ready to soundtrack your summer? With Red Bull Summer All Day Play, you choose a playlist that fits your summer vibe the best. Are you a festival fanatic, a deep end DJ, a road dog, or a trail mixer?

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7:28Shall we get into some things we're loving at the moment? Yes. Yes, what are you into? So I've come out on this podcast before as a history girly, and I'm going to come out again as a history girlie because I went to go see the Queen Elizabeth II fashion and style exhibition. I'm going to see it. Are you? I'm going to see it. I'm so excited. You are going to love it. You need at least two hours. It is humongous. So her collection of items from her wardrobe totals 4 ,000. She has 4 ,000 items in her archive. That doesn't surprise me though. Do you know what I mean? It's humongous because it goes all the way from And there's, I think, around 300 items in the exhibition.

8:05And it goes all the way from, like, her baby shoes right up to the last outfit she ever wore in public for her final balcony appearance. Okay, wow. And the dresses that she used to wear on the tours that she's gone around the Commonwealth in the 1950s are exceptional. And what's so crazy about it is she was so involved. So there was this designer she worked with all the time called Norman Hartnell, and he did the most beautiful sketches of all of her dresses that he proposed that she was going to wear on these tours and you can see all of her handwriting on it where she's been like okay we'll wear this to the canadian ball we'll wear this and it's just so interesting how she used dress as diplomacy so for instance when she went on the tour of canada she had maple leaves in um ingrained into the dress and oh my god her wedding dress is there the coronation dress and it's the most exceptional thing when you think it was all made by hand.

9:00It's so amazing. It's quite emotional, actually. Right. Because there's like all these dresses and no one to wear them anymore. It's quite sad. But nice that they're getting a bit of a second outing. Is it at Buckingham Palace? It's at the King's Gallery attached to Buckingham Palace. Okay, because I was excited to visit Buckingham Palace. Yeah. It's open for the summer, though. Is it? Yeah, they open it every summer. How do I not know that? So go. Try and do it at the same time. Great. I'm not really a royalist, but okay. No, but even if you're not a royalist, what's so great about this exhibition is you see the changes in fashion through that time.

9:33And even tiny things like, she was one of the first people to really modify her outfits for maternity. Okay. In really interesting ways. And also they have the christening gown that was basically passed down from Queen Victoria all the way down. And she had created a list of people who had all worn it on paper. You can see it. It's honestly the most amazing fashion exhibition. Okay. And I've been to a lot of fashion exhibitions. Really? I would say it's the top. One of the top best ones I've ever been to. Oh, wow. That's high praise. I'm excited. The Anne McQueen one, the Vivian Westwood one. Really?

10:04All those really amazing blockbusters. Was it hard to get tickets? It's so hard to get tickets. They've just extended for six months. You'll be fine. So nice. Okay, great. I think I'm influenced. What else have you got on your list? Oh, have you done Amanda Land yet, guys? I have been watching it. So I am hook, line, sinker obsessed with Amanda Land. And it's made me want to become a mum. Wow. Oh my God. Like is it a British thing? Have you been sleeping? Yeah. I mean, it's like a little bit. It's a British thing, isn't it? It is incredible. So did you ever hear about Motherland? No. So it was this show all about like Southwest London mums.

10:36Yeah. And then one of the mums is called Amanda. And I'm going to create this spin off called Amanda Land. And she's like this desperate dog of an influencer, basically, who wants to, who thinks she's the biggest influence on the planet. And she's got like 10, 10 followers max. And it follows her story and her friends. It's the funniest thing. Oh, I love that. I think you like it. That would be on my alley. Where can I watch it? You can watch it on BBC iPlayer. Get it now. You can watch the whole thing. There's two seasons. It is 10 out of 10 funny. Can I watch it without watching Motherland? Yeah, for sure.

11:06Oh, yeah, absolutely. And then you can go back and watch Motherland. But it's mainly like, I've just realized that my calling in life is to be one of those mums at the school gates. I can see if you. I can so see that. I'd be so invested in all the drama. Yeah, I feel like. You'd still have the thought of it. I'll start the part of it. I'll be in all the groups, all the PTA groups. The WhatsApp Mums groups. The WhatsApp Mums groups. So I feel like this is a chapter of my life that I'm ready to embrace in a couple of years. I'm excited. Sign me up. Yeah, I can see it. And maybe I'll move to Soha.

11:37That's what she calls South Halston. I actually got sent a tote that said that I love Soha from Amanda. I saw the PR seeding and I was just like, I need to get on that list. And they sent a note from Amanda, which said, it was so iconic. it said josh huge fan except i gave great chat to ann and now she's become too bolshy aside from that i think you're fabulous i was like oh my god i love the personalized the idea so good the idea of her buying my great chapbook is just a dream and also it's so nice to watch a show that takes no brain power and you just watch it and just laugh yeah it's quite nice silly like silly escapism yeah lucia what have you been loving i was actually going to recommend this is off the back of our conversation before, but a pair of flip-flops from Zara.

12:23I feel like everything that I own right now is either like a ballet flat or a sneaker or a loa-fi. Like I just wanted something to like throw on. And these, I think they look a little bit similar to the row ones. They have a pop of red over the strap and they just look quite chic. Yeah, nice. And I feel like they're actually, like Zara is kind of driving it home at the moment with the quality. Yeah. I feel like Josh is like unconvinced by this flip-flop. Unconvinced, yeah. No, I'm just like, I zoned out as soon as you said buy a flip flop. And then also to tie into my Anne Boleyn vibe at the moment, I'm going very like, I don't know what it is.

12:58Getting a big rough collar. Bring back ruffs. A headdress. I'm loving Cezanne, this beautiful basket bag that they have. And I tried it on in store. Didn't quite have enough money to pull the trigger yet. Because it's like around 150 pounds, which is a lot. It's a lot for a bit of woven. But it's a beautiful quality and the straps are long enough that you can like sit it comfortably on your shoulders. And it's actually, it's big, but it's not too big. It's like the perfect size, like roomy enough to throw everything in, but then not too like bulky. I feel like it'd be good for work and it would go in like with this.

13:34Yeah, really going with this maiden. Yeah, you're ecstatic. I don't know why. Dams in distress look.

13:44Where did that sound effect come from? I'm obsessed. You know what? Sometimes they just come to me. They come to me and I felt that one coming on. They fight it. You literally killed me. Moving on. What else? Okay, should I marry a murderer? I'm loving should I marry a murderer. I'm obsessed with that show. It is so good. Henry and I rarely, like we struggle to find a show that we both like enjoy watching. And this, I was gripped the whole time. It is 10 out of 10. So basically the concept of it is, right? is that a woman gets into a relationship via, I think it's Bumble. Yeah, it's one of the apps.

14:19Is it Bumble or Tinder? One of the apps. Yeah. And then she has a whirlwind romance with him, gets engaged. Yeah. And then she goes, is there anything you should tell me? And he actually goes, whoa. Yeah, there is. Actually, I'd forgotten about this one big thing. I murdered someone. Yeah. And the story is insane. But I feel like it twists and turns. Twists, turns. Yeah. But we don't want to spoil it too much when anyone's not seen it, but it gets more and more unhinged, doesn't it? But she is so great in it because she's very vulnerable and she really opens up about her experience in it and admits some of her faults in the whole process.

14:58And I really took my hat off to the way she told that story because it was really emotional. She was such a good storyteller. I agree. And she had so many Snapchats, didn't she? Yeah, we were saying this before. We were like - She was off the filter, didn't she? Oh my gosh, the puppy filter was being used every day. It was at such inappropriate times as well. It was at such inappropriate times. Really intense, sad music in the background. And it's just her like... With the tongue out. With the puppy filter on. I was like, this is so inappropriate. But Netflix would be eating that up. That's how she dealt with her trauma, I think, with the puppy filter.

15:29It's a 10 out of 10 documentary. No, there were moments where you lost her. Like at the beginning, I really felt for her. And then you sort of lose her and then you come back around to her as well. I think, but that's where it's enjoyable is that you kind of never can really predict what she's going to do. Oh, you never know what she's going to do next. Yeah. And it's quite amazing because now she's so much more together than she was during that process. But that, I feel like in the middle, when you do lose her, that was a by-product of everything she was going through. Like finding out that information literally destroyed her.

16:02Yeah. And you can put yourself in her shoes. Oh my God, 100%. I would lose my mind. Yeah. Cause I, Henry was watching it and he was going, oh she, what a weirdo. Like why would she go back to him? Kind of like what you were saying where you lost her a bit. And I was like, well in that situation, you don't know how you would act. Yeah. And like, it just goes to show how like loopy, like love makes you. Makes you. Because we've all been there. We have all been there. Where we've lost our lives. Literally in the first two years. I mean, I haven't quite got told that my partner merged with someone and I decided to stick with them for a bit.

16:30No, but like when you're like in the early stages of relationship, like what she was, you're like, cannot stop talking about them. Like you are obsessed in a way that is quite, actually quite weird, isn't it? Or like they could literally do anything and you would still stay with them. Oh yeah. And that's like the perfect example. Yeah. So actually he told her that at the worst possible time for her, I think, because she was in that lovesick moment. Or like the best possible time for him, worst possible time for her. Yeah. Maybe he knew what he was doing. Yeah. Well, I think he was a lot more manipulative than they let on.

17:04It sounds like. Yes. Because they were kind of like, oh, he's a bit stupid. Well, I was kind of thinking, yeah, I did kill someone. Yeah, I was like, are we meant to feel sorry for him? It was a very weird tone. But nevertheless, very good watching, isn't it? So babe, what have you been loving? Oh, so I went to Cornwall at the weekend and it was just heaven. Like, do you guys ever go? I've never been to Cornwall. I was going to say, you're such a Cornwall girl. Yeah. My husband's from Cornwall. So we go like quite regularly to like see his family and stuff. but we try and like see, for me, new bits of Cornwall every time.

17:38And we went to this place called the Ganel Estuary, which is like, it separates Newquay and Crantock, and it's like a tidal, like lagoon basically. Oh wow. And like, it's so stunning. Like, I, I, We're like the perfect audience. We're like, wow. We're lapping my stories up, please keep going. I guess the weather really helped, but it was just like the most perfect place to go this weekend in the UK and I was just like, this is as beautiful as Europe. Like, oh, I was looking at your stories going, I wish I was in the UK. Yeah, it was really, really nice. And like a great place I think to take kids because it's quite shallow.

18:15You can do paddle boarding. There's a little boat that takes you over side to side. And because it's tidal, it kind of like comes and goes, which is kind of cute. Oh my God, I love that. We went to a really nice restaurant called The Hidden Hut, which is actually on a different beach called Porto Kernik. And I think they're quite well known. So I know Cornish people get quite like upset when you share places in Cornwall that are like secret, but this is not a secret. So yeah, but if you've not been, it's a really great spot to go and get like a gorgie lunch on a sunny day. I want to go. I'm really into this whole staycation vibe now.

18:46Yeah, I'm into it as well. I went to Henley at the weekend. I did a boat trip along the river with a group of my friends. And honestly, the house is there. A, I felt like I was in the Hamptons. I was like, put that on the manifesting board, put that on the manifesting board, put that on the manifesting board. But it was just so idyllic. and it's only an hour outside of London. Yeah. Like, prioritise. You could have been, like, in Europe. You could have been in America. You could have been anywhere. Like, it was so fun. Yeah. I feel like that as someone who's not British. Like, I went to Richmond the other day and I was literally thinking, England is so, like, you can get so many different pockets and, like, areas.

19:20Yeah. I do think, like, when the weather's good in the UK, there's nothing better. Oh, it's 10 out of 10. I mean, I don't know about you guys, but I'm missing the bank holiday already. I need a four-day week. every week. I so agree. It makes you realize how like restorative having a long break or any kind of break is to be honest with you. You know what I've been loving though? And this is kind of random. This is actually very topical because we have these here. But Steph and I and a few other girls in the office have been taking afternoon breaks, doing like Mick Vittys biscuit breaks. Cute. Oh my god, I love that.

19:53That's a cute idea. That's such a good idea because actually taking that time out with your colleagues to just connect is so good, right? I actually feel like sometimes you get the most out of people when you just take little office breaks, have a little bit of a skip treat, and you get quite deep. You need an afternoon treat. Yeah. I've been having so many of these in the afternoon. But I need it. Like the 3 p.m. pick me up is so needed. And it's also just nice to be able to chat, go through things, not take everything so seriously. These are the, they're called the McVitties Digestives, the light one.

20:30I haven't actually tried one. Can I go for one? I've got tea so I can dunk it in. Yeah, I've also got a tea. Here, wait, take one off here. I'll take one off your plate. Yeah. Literally. I'll tell you what though. I honestly think we never prioritize making time for each other. Do we? I agree, yeah. And actually just trading a time like you do. Yeah. 3 p.m. every single day. Sit down, have that chat. Get what's in your mind. We've made a bit of a ritual out of it, which is quite nice. I find like the nicest thing now is just having a little bit of a biscuit break. Yeah. Not having any caffeine.

20:58Yeah. Having a meaningful connection, it's so much better and recharges me so much more than having a tea and coffee ever would. Well, I completely agree. You can never underrate how powerful small talk can be. The small talk leads to big talk and that's what creates meaningful connections, especially when you're doing something like having a biscuit and you're not necessarily thinking about what your agenda for the conversation would be as well. You're just like dialed in to having a great time and then that's when the connection happens. what would you be your like top tips for you know someone might be going through a tough time but you don't want to just come out and ask it outright how do you tee that up yeah any top tips well i'm always like instead of asking someone how they are always say how are you really because that always cuts through because you usually always get the surface level answer if you say how are you but you say how are you really it kind of digs a bit deeper or just say to someone like if I saw I just came into the office and saw you and I was like oh babe you seem a bit like less high energy than usual like what's been going on has been something concerning you like ask specific questions like that because also people want to feel like they've been noticed yeah and I think so many times that people struggle in silence right and actually if you say oh I've noticed a little bit of a change in you is everything okay then it shows you care and it shows that you are willing and able to listen to what they're going to say and also let people talk talk yeah i think sometimes i so agree with that so much of the time we interrupt people and we go in the middle of what they're saying but actually giving space and time for people and listening to them and being an active listener makes such a huge difference also listen to the silence right so if i said how are you really and you were like i wouldn't interrupt interesting i would let you go okay because then ultimately you're going to fill the silence with the truth yeah that's such a good tip i feel like i like hate awkward silences i'm not that good at just like letting like silence linger but you're so right sometimes just letting people open up in their own time is really important so and the perfect time to do that is on the biscuit break absolutely

23:09um we're a group of fashion girlies so should we quickly go around and say what we've been loving fashion and beauty do you know what i love a show and tell yay so i'm gonna do a show and tell Do you know what I've been really struggling to sleep recently and I discovered this new brand called Dream Distillery. Have you heard of it? No. Guys? All is. Do you struggle to sleep? Yes, occasionally. Maybe one day I might. I never struggled to sleep until about a month ago and it really hit me really hard because I couldn't cope with not being able to get my eight hours in. And even in the heat wave, I've been using this and sleeping the whole night through.

23:43So it's called Dream Melt and it's magnesium butter and you put it on the soles of your feet, love them up and you will literally go straight to sleep and you'll sleep the whole night through I haven't even used to wake up for a wee like that's how deep the sleep has been it's so good and it smells fabulous as well because I am like all over my sleep it's so good oh wow it's got a lot of magnesium in it yes okay great so you just pop it on the soles of your feet and you go to sleep I swear I'm asleep within five minutes every night and even in the heat wave yeah you don't sleep as well do you and I didn't I didn't put it on because I had a bit of a heavy night, shall we say, a couple of nights ago.

24:21And my sleep was so bad. And I really noticed the difference. So this is magic. Okay. Lucia, what are you loving? Sorry, I know that flip flops are getting a lot of airtime today, but the Javianas and Isabel Morant collab. It is good. I'm obsessed. So cool, actually. Have you seen it? No, I haven't seen it. Oh my God, they're so chic. I did not, like, I would not have dreamt up this collab. But essentially, they've got, like, a thicker strap and they've got the little metal studs on them. And they are so cool. They're just like a slight level up from a classic flip flop. And I feel like they'd be really comfortable.