Girl World #25: Female Friendships, Selena + Benny, Not Getting Married, Morning Routines, Camo, Remi Bader + Influencers, Solar Eclipse, and Train Travel

It’s the late edition this week—we were distracted by the nice weather today and a project that we can’t discuss yet! But, we’re here delivering you all things happening in Girl World this week.

Let’s be friends: The blonde trio of friends on White Lotus has spawned countless media articles and Tiktoks discussing the dynamics of female friendships. Is it smart to go on a three-person girls trip? Can a trio friendship ever work? Why do women in groups of three often pair off with one left out? Week after week audiences are watching these three women go through the ebbs and flows of toxic friendship. The conversation centering around it is often “we know someone just like this” or “we’ve all been there.” Which begs the question, who are the offenders?

Just like in White Lotus, it depends on the situation. Oftentimes, the dynamics of a female friendship trio change from day to day, or trip to trip. Some of this is basic psychology: humans like symmetry. For example, two people can sit up front in a car and one has to sit in the backseat.

But, the larger discourse is around female friendships, the problems we face, and how too many friendships are unfulfilling and sometimes even toxic. As we get lonelier and more isolated as a species (according to all the research), we need to spend more time exploring what’s working in our friendships and what’s not. It starts with questioning our own roles, objectives, and habits in our friendships. Strong, healthy friendships require intentionality, trust, and vulnerability. We’re all busy adults, which makes intentionality crucial. Without trust and vulnerability though, we’re unable to forge deeper relationships and live in community.

Carrie Coon (Laurie!) discusses how they built the trio relationship, why it’s triggering, and it’s oh so relatable.

A little optional Girl World homework: read one or two of these articles this weekend and pause to examine your friendships. What’s working? What’s missing? And, what are you willing to do to improve or expand them?

1. Kim Cattrall (aka Samatha from SATC) is the new face of a Charlotte Tilbury campaign and her insightful interview is a great read. We love learning from women who have journeyed down the path ahead! One piece of advice stood out to us: “A lot of women, especially from my generation, felt that to be strong, they had to cut themselves off from their vulnerability. It wasn’t until I was in my late 30s, early 40s, that I realized by being vulnerable how powerful I was, instead of hiding it or blocking it.”

2. Michelle Williams’s interview about her upcoming series, Dying for Sex, is incredibly thought-provoking. If you tuned into the podcast it’s based on, then you already know the general story. But, it took several years for the project to come together in the right way. Michelle discusses the journey she went through alongside her character and we’re looking forward to it’s April 4 premiere!

3. You never know what’s happening behind the scenes. Remi Bader details her weight loss journey and the experience of one of the worst years in her life. While she was open about her health and struggle with weight, she stopped talking about it despite building a following and community around body positivity. Some in the community were upset, but ultimately, she chose herself.

4. More and more women are opting to stay single. Many women aren’t even dating and have taken marriage off the table. While the desire to find a partner hasn’t gone away for women, they’re not lowering their standards, and men, generally speaking, aren’t measuring up. With more economic power and rights, women have the power to say no, thank you. And, being a single woman is no longer something to be ashamed of. Oftentimes, it’s a power symbol. This WSJ article has started a real conversation about the divide—and we’ll see where the dominos fall.

5. The internet is talking about that Selena Gomez & Benny Blanco podcast episode. It’s this week’s “Roman Empire.” If you haven’t watched the full interview, it’s worth it! The power of being emotionally intelligent in relationships is in full display for both Selena and Benny!

6. Cynthia Erivo is sharing what it’s like to play five different characters in one project. Spoiler: it’s not that easy.

Ceremonia’s Founder Babba Rivera is paving the way for Latinx founders with her growing beauty brand. She’s recently been named a Well+Good Changemaker and is on a mission to bring Latinx beauty into the zeitgeist. Her hustle has helped her stand out—from launching Uber in Sweden and being named to Forbes’ 30 Under 30 by 25 to working with cult brands like Glossier and Bumble through her marketing company.

But, it was her hair, which is so personal to most women, that ultimately placed her in the biggest spotlight of her life. She spent much of her youth trying to blend in and meet the beauty standard without many Latina examples to follow. She spent years researching and repairing her hair, and eventually launched her company to bring Latinx beauty rituals and products to the world.

Lessons: What makes you stand out from the crowd is often your secret sauce. Trying to fit in ruined Babba’s hair. By embracing her culture and learning how to care for hair, she has built a beauty brand influencing beauty standards and became one of 58 Latina founders to raise $1M in venture funding in the process.

On a side note, let’s give “hustling” a shoutout. Hustle has become a taboo concept in recent years. But, it takes hustle to bring new things into the world. Any one who says its easy probably has a trust fund or isn’t being fully transparent. Just remember to sleep and see your friends, too.

Morning Routines: Do you have one? Why are we so obsessed with morning routines? Influencers, creators, business leaders, celebrities, and even Benjamin Franklin have all shared their morning routines throughout the years. It’s a topic that never gets old. We’re waking up at 5:00 a.m. We’re shedding layers of beauty treatments. We’re sitting in cold baths and working out and having an entire day before we, well, start the day.

Whether you strategically have a morning routine or prefer the roll out of bed, get dressed and head out the door approach, we all have a routine. When you’ve lived through enough trends, you realize that the best one is the one that works for you. Having an intentional routine is good for you. It can ease stress, increase your energy, and improve productivity. But, if your morning routine is 3, 4 or 5 hours long, how productive is the rest of your day going to be? It depends.

These are the morning routine foundations that are highly recommended across the board:

• Moving your body in the morning has been proven to give you more energy. While it feels like a pyramid scheme (you have to create energy to have it?), sometimes having a routine and pushing through is exactly what you need to have the energy to tackle your day.

• Stretching: consider adding a few stretches to your morning routine to get your body moving after a night of restful sleep

• Eat breakfast within the first hour of waking up. Research and body needs vary—but the consensus is that making room for breakfast is a smart choice.

Everything else you add to your morning routine is completely dependent on your goals and the time you have to dedicate to a routine. From meditation and reading to working on your side hustle and gratitude journaling, create a routine that works for you. And, don’t be afraid to experiment.

Weekly Hits: 11 realistic meditation tips for our ADHD girlies, endometriosis stole my life, should you consider adding a deload week to your strength routine?, and ovaries could hold the key to aging.

16 vanilla perfumes that don’t make you smell like a bakery

10 minutes at home with Este Haim—Silver Lake perfection

Should we all go to the Alo Moves luxury retreat in Los Cabos? We’re sold.

2025’s first solar eclipse is happening this weekend

The it bags for 2025. We love our accessories!

Camo is trending again—did it ever go away though?

Let’s nerd out together over the growing fragrance trends—hair perfume + body mist

We’re so into luxury train travel—and it’s a 2025 trend

Is there any truth to the concept: “right person, wrong time?”

All of Gracie Abrams’s makeup tips in one place

Going Out: Is there such a thing as “brunch season?” Because we’re back on our brunch game this weekend. We’re also heading to a woman-owned local bookstore to buy books, in-person like its 2005 again.

Watching: Survival of the Thickest, season 2

Listening: Is marriage worth it? Women say no.

Reading: Propaganda Girls: The Secret War of the Women in the OSS

In the Kitchen: We’re making our own sushi this weekend!

Moving our Bodies: We’re heading to a kickboxing x pilates mash-up class this weekend, along with our typical yoga and strength training routines.

💋 Jamie | Late August Media Founder

Girl World is a Late August Media publication.