The Golden Globes is basically like the pre-game to the Oscars. You’ll see a lot of familiar faces at both ceremonies, but while the former celebrates acclaimed performances in both TV and film, the latter is the career-defining big leagues — Varsity versus JV. But both enable the same amount of pageantry and Sunday night popcorn entertainment in addition to an opportunity for stars to flex their style game. During last night’s award show, the talent experimented with various takes on the tuxedo, experimenting with color, shape, and in Ansel Elgort’s case, a little bit of body glitter. Take a look at some of the best looks from the 2020 Golden Globes below.
As true believers of the work hard, play hard mantra, we present you with It’s Been a Long Week, a weekly column aimed at awarding some liquid appreciation to you for just being yourself, dammit. Make a glass or two on us, you deserve it.
WHAT
D’USSE’s Angel’s Shoulder Mix Jay-Z’s D’USSE with a bit of sour citrus and fragrant rosemary for a cocktail as fresh as spring.
HOW
Ingredients:
1 1/2 oz. D’USSE
3/4 oz. lemon juice
1/2 oz. rosemary simple
1/4 oz. Amaretto
1/4 oz. Combier Crème de Pêche
1/4 oz. Bénédictine
Côtes du Rhône
Image: Essential Homme, Côtes du Rhône, Bénédictine, Combier Crème de Pêche, D’USSE, Amaretto.
THEN
Combine all and served in a rocks glass with one large ice cube.
In the Washroom is a series of short interviews with interesting men in the fashion industry about everything appearance-wise except clothes. From shaving processes to eaus of choice, we sat down with Michael Maccari of Perry Ellis, Matte Fields of DOPE, and Thomas Steinbrueck of Porsche Design to get a little insight into what goes into each man’s grooming routine.
Image: Perry Ellis.
Michael Maccari has a pretty hefty job on his shoulders. The FIT grad showed his first collection this past September for Perry Ellis, steering the classically-American brand as it made its return back to the runway (we went backstage). Taking his bow afterward with a well-groomed beard fully intact (the designer’s signature), Maccari—who has logged time everywhere from J.Crew, Calvin Klein, Giorgio Armani, and Polo Ralph Lauren, Maccari—hit a pretty clean start to his new tenure.
Essential Homme: What’s your shaving routine? What are your tools for facial hair maintenance?
Michael Maccari: While my beard is pretty substantial, I keep it well-groomed. To keep it in tip-top shape I use the Murdock Beard Moisturizer, which leaves my beard soft and healthy. For light trimming my go-to tool is the Philips Norelco beardtrimmer. It tames the beast.
EH: With the fall season at its prime, what’s your remedy for dry skin?
MM: I prefer the Resurrection Aromatique Hand Balm by Aesop for dry and cracked hands. I also use Malin + Goetz’s SPF 30 Face Moisturizer 365 days a year. My dermatologist told me years ago to use moisturizer with SPF and his word is Gospel.
Image: Aesop.
EH: During a hectic month like this past September, or what we call fashion month, how do you stay in shape?
MM: I take the stairs as an alternative [to the elevator] and walk to and from work. It helps me clear my head and prepare and unwind from my day. Plus a workout two-three times per week with kettle bells and Pilates-based movement
EH: *ESSENTIAL PRODUCT* If you could only wear one fragrance all fall what would it be?
MM: Grey Flannel eau de toilette by Geoffrey Beene is a classic and has been my go-to fragrance.
Image: Porsche Design.
Porsche is clearly more than just a label for fancy cars. Having just recently launched two new watches, the fashion sector of the brand, Porsche Design, has begun its trajectory to soon encompass the entire luxury sphere. And for their ready-to-wear, the house has looked to Thomas Steinbrueck since 2011 for their sleek, confident styles.
Essential Homme: What’s your shaving routine? What are your tools for facial hair maintenance?
Thomas Steinbrueck: I don’t shave. I go to my favorite barber shop once a week to get a traditional shave.
EH: With the fall season at its prime, what’s your remedy for dry skin?
TS: Drink lots of water and have a hydrating mask from time to time.
EH: During a hectic month like this past September, or what we call fashion month, how do you stay in shape?
TS: I stay in shape with a personal trainer and work out three times a week with a mixture of Cross Gym and Cross Body.
Image: Porsche Design.
EH: *ESSENTIAL PRODUCT* If you could only wear one fragrance all fall what would it be? Titan from Porsche Design: a fresh, yet distinguished essence for a unique masculine personality
Image: DOPE.
Matte Fields has been growing his upscale streetwear brand since 2008. Hocking wares that have been sported by everyone form Jay-Z, Wale, and Kendrick Lamar, the LA-based designer certainly knows how to cultivate an image.
EH: With the fall season at its prime, what’s your remedy for dry skin?
MF: I use Kiehl’s Creme de Corps because I like the consistency and it seems to do the job. Occasionally I take cold showers outside of my normal routine.
EH: During a hectic month like this past September, or what we call fashion month, how do you stay in shape?
MF: I focus on eating clean—it’s the only healthy thing I do during trade shows.
EH: *ESSENTIAL PRODUCT* If you could only wear one fragrance all fall what would it be?
MF: Escentric Molecules 02. It’s a clean scent that I can wear all year.
Sean Carter, aka Beyonce’s husband Jay-Z, opened the superstar couple’s On the Run tour in Miami this past week wearing the quintessential shoe brand of hip-hop: Timberland. The 40-year-old boot makers, who rose to fashion popularity in the 90’s, has famously been a mainstay of Jay and Bey’s closets. The duo even recently added it to daughter Blue Ivy’s collection so that even the littlest Carter can be on trend. Jay debuted several looks on stage, including his favorite Rodarte women’s-turned-men’s-jersey proving that guys can rock women’s wear as long as it’s coupled with some sensible man-jewelry and a fresh pair of black Timbs.
Every year about an hour outside of Nashville, Tennessee in the United States, a crowd of just under 100,000 people pack onto a 700-acre farm in the reliably-sweltering heat of the South for Bonnaroo Art And Music Festival. For four days these loyal fans congregate around stages—whose names range from the “What Stage,” to the “Which Stage,” the “This Tent,” and, of course, the “That Tent— to see high-profile music acts like Elton John, Kanye West, and Lauryn Hill perform live on a farm in the middle of nowhere. Years past have seen luminaries take the stage such as Bob Dylan, Patti Smith, Pearl Jam, Beastie Boys, Stevie Wonder, Bruce Springsteen, Jay-Z, and The Beach Boys.
Appearing at the 2014 edition of Bonnaroo this past weekend was a relative newcomer of just 22 named Sam Smith. The singer-songwritter performed a 12-song set at the “Other Tent,” just two hours into the second day of the festival that included his hit singles “Money on My Mind” and “Stay With Me.” With his album In the Lonely Hour now officiallyout this week in the US—fueled by the momentum of a guest appearance on Disclosure’s breakout hit “Latch” and a performance on SNL—Smith’s debut has him coming out the gate at a breakneck speed. Maestro Dobel Tequila, the world’s first crystal-clear aged tequila, set up an interactive piano/cocktail bar backstage where we snagged a bottle wrapped inside in a miniature guitar case and made our way over to Smith to chat and give him his first post-performance gift.
Essential Homme: Congratulations on today. How was your first Bonnaroo?
Sam Smith: An absolutely magical moment. It’s my first festival and I didn’t think anybody was going to be here. There was a real connection between me and the fans. I feel the love.
EH: You posted a picture this week on Instagram of the cover of The Alchemist. What made you crack that cover?
SS: As things are happening, I’m looking for some sort of explanation. I’m getting all deep at the moment about stuff, so I want to read something that’s a bit deep.
EH: How far into it are you?
SS: Three pages, [I] literally got it last night. There’s a story about a guy who kneels beside a lake to admire his reflection only to become so infatuated with his own beauty that he falls in and drowns. I thought it was beautiful.
EH: In this search for some kind of explanation, how do you rationalize the surge of acclaim for your work spreading throughout the world?
SS: It’s really hard. My senses are heightened. I’m a bit more paranoid than normal, and it’s just a lot to get used to. I like the idea that I don’t want to put on a brave face all of the time. I want to be real and honest and say that this is really weird. There’s a lot to get used to, but I’m enjoying it. I’m having some of the happiest moments of my life—and some really horrible moments, too, where I’m lonely and by myself—but I think that’s all part of it. When something mad happens to you, in any way in your life, it’s going to be a bit weird.
EH: What was it like having the album already out in the UK and seeing the reviews, hearing feedback, and then dropping the album in the States just this week?
SS: My whole experience with America has been very weird. I’m so used to watching UK artists come over and have to work very hard after their album is released. Whereas it’s gone better in America than anywhere else in the world for me since SNL. I love being here and I love the audiences more than anything.
EH: What’s one song from the album that you don’t anticipate ever leaving your set list?
SS: “Stay With Me.” If it didn’t do well it would have been a disaster [for] me, because it’s made for people to sing. I made and wrote it so it would be an anthemic song. People seem to be singing along and I’ll never be sick of that.
EH: How did you get out of the dark place that inspired so much of the conception and creation of the album?
SS: I forced myself to be happy. I’m not the type of person that dwells on being sad. My album was about that moment where I was dwelling on being sad, for quite a while, so I’ve had to get out of that. [Now] I have as much fun as I can and also try to meet people. During that period I would deliberately stay at home and not go on dates and stuff, so now I’m forcing myself to do that.
EH: Is dating hard now that you’ve become such an instantly recognizable face?
SS: I’ve never been in a relationship before, so I don’t know any different.
EH: Do you think you’d be able to have a normal relationship?
SS: I think I would be able to. I don’t think of myself as famous; I just think my music is well known. I’m a normal person and I hope to lead a normal love life.
EH: We heard that you’re quite immune to some of the horrible things that people say about you. How do you deal with it?
SS: I deal with it by saying in interviews that I’m okay. And I am okay. When it comes to name calling—I had that a bit as a kid—I really am immune to it. I can’t explain why. If someone says something about sexuality or appearance it doesn’t get to me. If someone says to me, “You’re not a very nice person,” that’s what really upsets me, because I try every day to be nice and I feel like I have a good heart. Two years ago I was working at a bar cleaning toilets and right now I’m in America and I’m doing this amazing interview so I should pull it together because life could be worse. Nobody prepares you for what to do when you get what you want in life. You want for it so bad and when you start to get it, it’s actually quite scary.
EH: If you were a tree, what kind would you be?
SS: A willow tree.
EH: Why?
SS: Because I believe I have a little bit of wisdom in me.
EH: We believe so as well.
Images courtesy of Filmmagic, Capital Records, and Dobel Tequila.
Beyoncé Knowles, follower of no one on Instagram, dropper of surprise visual albums, wife, mother, mezzo-soprano, vegan, blazer obsessor, star of MTV’s Carmen: A Hip Hopera, and sometimes Walmart crooner, has been getting a lot of attention this week. You noticed that too?
While many stars in the midst of crisis management opt for a low-key aftermath and generally choose to remain mum, Beyoncé is not leaving the throne unattended. First she stepped out on Monday with her husband in tow to attend a Nets-Heat game. Then the former Destiny’s Child front woman thought it was the most appropriate time to extend her much-hyped On the Run summer concert tour (again, with her husband).
And now, in a move that some might speculate as defiance from Jay (add to that the recent removal of her Jay Z tattoo on her wedding finger), others could see as unifying bond of sisterhood, and the rest will see as borderline attention whoring, Beyoncé has posted not one, but four Instagram pictures of herself with sister, Solange. The latter of whom, as uncovered earlier, did not in fact remove all signs of Bey from her own Instagram, as had been previously and widely reported.
And here’s what: though this will end some murmurs of a family rift, it only serves to add to the overwrought rumor mill that seems on course to blow.
Because one #girlsnight selfie is never enough — we’re talking about the gram featuring friends Chelsea Handler, Gwyneth Paltrow, Naomi Watts, Gwen Stefani, Stella McCartney, and Sam Taylor-Wood, of course — boho-chictress and one-time Paris Hilton best friend, Nicole Richie decided to go in once more, this time re-upping the line-up. Getting a little “wild for the night,” Richie along with her prevailing purple-hair-don’t-care mane, linked up with another group of super-famous buddies including Hayden Panettiere, Zoë Kravitz, Riley Keough, Zooey Deschanel, and fashion it girl/bad girl/friend of bad gal Cara Delevingne.
Stella McCartney, a member of the original #girlsnight but not included in Nicole’s “wild for the night” moment, decided to stage a moment of her very own, recruiting, Reese Witherspoon, Kate Bosworth, Rihanna, and the photo-gluttonous Delevingne.
Delevingne, not one to be left out, than hopped over for a photo-op with Givenchy’s Riccardo Tisci (“SOMEONE CAN STEP ON YOUR SHOES. NO ONE CAN STEP ON YOUR MEMORIES. I’M HAVING A WONDERFUL TIME RIGHT NOW,” Tisci Tweeted), along with the creative director’s date for the evening, Ms. Naomi Campbell, plus more Kate Bosworth, and everyone’s favorite/a lot of people’s least favorite Kim Kardashian (who, herself, had quite the night on Instagram).
Then of course their was Bey (herself having a very active night on Instagram) who in a rare moment away from hubby Jay-Z, snapped the above photo with her sister Solange, Lupita Nyong’o, and the Supreme, herself, Sarah Paulson.
Images courtesy of Instagram and Paramount Pictures.
A truth about Beyoncé that has long been accepted — but continually affirmed — is that she is one red hot mama. Strip away the makeup and take her out of the city: what your left with is still pure, unfiltered gorgeousness. Luckily for all of us not-Beyoncé’s, she’s got an expertly curated Tumblr which includes some recent shots of her family vacation in Dominican Republic. Having just wrapped the European leg of The Mrs. Carter Show World Tour and her six year anniversary to hip-hop royalty, Bey decided to grab the hubz, baby Blue, and left the make-up at home.
If you’ve ever dipped into the wormhole that is Beyoncé’s Tumblr, you’ve likely noted that her behind-the-scenes escapades rival even her most-expertly crafted performances (minus this!). So it’s no surprise—albeit certainly a delight—that Beyoncé has shared with us some vacation photos from her recent trip to Jamaica. Good news for us all: She wore a lot of bathing suits. Better news: Someone (Jay? Is Blue old enough to even hold a camera?) snapped some bikini-clad photos of the Blow songbird. Her cherry red bikini is ***flawless, as is everything else that hugs her body. But that white leopard bikini is sure to erect (pause) conversations on the message boards. Let’s not delay this any longer and get to the good-goods:
We were a little shocked when we first realized media mogul and king-of-the-franchise Jay Z had never released a men’s fragrance. It didn’t occur to us that there were still superlatives left on Hova’s bucket list, or marketing-oppertunities left unclaimed. But alas here we are, and appropriately here finally is the rapper’s first men’s eau de toilette, GOLD JAY Z. Created by Beyoncé’s beau and Firmenich perfumer Ilias Ermenidis, the white fougere fragrance bottles the following in its pure white matte flask:
Top Notes: layered blend of yellow ginger, white cardamom, and grapefruit with a hint of blueberry
Middle Notes: violet leaf, cypress, lavender, and luxurious vetiver with a thread of pink pepper
Base Notes: golden amber, patchouli, teak, and bourbon vanilla
“I was impressed with Jay Z’s style and confidence and was drawn to the ease with which he carries himself and all of his success,” says Ilias Ermenidis. “He has a natural cool that people want a piece of. In developing GOLD JAY Z, I wanted to capture both the vibrant ambitious part of Jay Z’s charismatic persona and his effortless style that he naturally embodies through a fusion of notes chosen by Jay Z.”
Want to smell like something Queen B wants to cozy up to nightly? Prices range from $70 for a 90 ml/3.0 oz Eau de Toilette to $39 for a 30 ml/1.0 oz. Get a bottle here.
Hard Nearly impossible to believe that it’s been only ten days since the world first embraced the robust masterpiece that is Beyoncé’s Beyoncé. And while the international superstar supreme has done little by way of promotion, thinking honestly/correctly, ‘why bother?’, she has been tinkering on her Instagram account to flawless avail. But it’s her recent post, grabbing a line from Jay-Z’s recent track Tom Ford, that gave the world its first glimpse of Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter: Anti-drug crusader. The caption for the photo reads “I don’t pop molly…” a lyrical bite from the track off Jay’s most recent effort Magna Carta… Holy Grailwhich continues, “… I rock Tom Ford.” And oh, she certainly does.
Some other highlights, include:
What should be hung at every entrance to her hubz Jay-Z’s beloved BK:
That time she stepped into a Walmart in Tewksbury, MA and bought a copy of her CD, a babydoll for Blue Ivy, then quivered her gorgeousness across the loud speaker offering to pay the first $50 of the 750+ shoppers:
And why not one more GIF?
Photos courtesy of Instagram; GIFs courtesy of MTV Buzzworthy.
Erase any “Best of” round-ups from your recent memory.
Q-tip’s out. Get those ear drums pristine.
By now, we’re in the aftermath.
It’s been a little over ten hours and although the something-more-royal-than dust has settled, Queen B is still sitting atop her thrown in full freeze; the stare: icy. So, yes, Beyoncé went and pulled the stuntiest of stunt moves, dropping an entire “visual album” out of thin air after a year of will she/won’t she.
The not-at-all-highly-anticipated-out-of-lack-of-knowing-it-existed album is out today, exclusively on iTunes, and is comprised of 14 songs and 17 videos. Collabs with Jay-Z, Drake, Frank Ocean, and Blue Ivy are spread across the album with a slew of somebody producers including Justin Timberlake, Timbaland, Sia, Pharrell, Miguel, Ryan Tedder, The-Dream, Hit-Boy, etc (and we mean etcetera).
In a statement: “Now people only listen to a few seconds of song on the iPods and they don’t really invest in the whole experience. It’s all about the single, and the hype. It’s so much that gets between the music and the art and the fans. I felt like, I don’t want anybody to get the message, when my record is coming out. I just want this to come out when it’s ready and from me to my fans.”
On track to decimate, 80,000 copies of the album were sold in the first 3 hours of sale ALONE.
