Shay Mitchell's controversial skincare line, the government shutdown rages on, and layoffs are way up
Also: I launched a drinkware line, and it's full of perfect holiday gifts!
Flights are getting cancelled left and right, I went to a 49ers game with my dad, and I have some genius spreadsheet hacks for holiday gift-giving. Let’s get into it.
Pretty little failed idea
Shay Mitchell (who you know from Pretty Little Liars) launched Rini, a skincare line for…wait for it…small children. Rini sells sheet masks aimed at consumers who seem to be, like, six years old? Mitchell claims the products are safe for young skin, but the comments section of the launch video is full of parents saying the ingredients aren’t safe for young skin, we should “let kids be kids,” and “no child that age should have the burden of a beauty routine.” We’ll see what happens with this brand, but if the comments section is any indicator, I don’t expect it to last past 2025!
The shutdown is still going, and flights are suffering
Hopefully this is resolved before Thanksgiving travel: the FAA says it’s cutting air traffic by 10%, which means about 1,800 of 44,000 daily flights will be grounded. LaGuardia, JFK, Miami, Denver, and O’Hare are just some of the airports reducing flights (you can see the whole list here). If you’re flying, definitely keep an eye on your flight status. And if you’re not, flexing on your knowledge of aviation stats around the water cooler is always an option.
October was the worst month for layoffs in over 2 decades
October was really tough for layoffs: over 150,000 employees were laid off, which is the most in over 20 years. Surprisingly, the biggest proportion of these layoffs were at warehouses, which seems surprising leading up to the holidays? Part of this is thanks to automation and robots, which are making warehouses rely decreasingly on actual humans. One caveat on all this: the jobs report isn’t out for the second month in a row due to the government shutdown, so this isn’t a perfect picture of the reality of the job market. Maybe it will still come out in November? Time will tell!
Wait, another weekend in SF? Must be a record. I went to a 49ers game with my dad — how cute is he, all decked out in his gear? The 49ers got smoked, but I didn’t even notice, because I got quality time with my dad and ate enough popcorn to satiate me for the entire holiday season. And both of those are huge wins in my book!
Oh, you need a perfect gift for your hard-to-please sister-in-law or boss or…just yourself? Great timing, because I just launched a drinkware line, which includes this glass tortoise bottle (which, yes, goes perfectly with this all-brown power suit) and a few other cute, corporate drinkware vessels. Am I now a make-coffee-at-home-girl? Shocked to say: yes!!! If you’re looking to uplevel your coffee habit and/or mix in a water between those back-to-back iced coffees, you’re going to need at least one of these. The full collection is here! Great for yourself, great for everyone on your gift list.
Holiday shopping is coming up, but forget making a list and checking it twice. I hardly have time to check anything once (and I know you’re in the same boat). Here are some easy hacks to make your shopping more thoughtful, more efficient, and less craze-inducing.
In Google Sheets, use =SUMIF to track total spend per person automatically. Example: =SUMIF(B:B,"Mom",C:C) where column B is “recipient” and C is “price.” You’ll instantly see who’s been spoiled and who’s neglected.
Create a “deals” folder in your inbox. Anytime you see a sale email from a brand you might buy from, tag it. When Black Friday hits, you’ll have all your deals in one place.
Add wish list tabs in Chrome. Open tabs for gifts you already have in mind, then group them. When sales start, you can just “refresh” instead of “search.”
Sooo many brands give out discount codes to influencers. Before you hit “purchase,” try a few common combos. Think: common names for 20- and 30-something women, plus 10 or 15. Whenever I don’t have a code, I always try EMILY10 or OLIVIA15. I will of course share with you when I DO have codes for hot holiday gifts!
Thanks for reading!