The shift in season from summer to autumn heralds the most joyous of wardrobe updates: new boots. Like new school shoes, there is nothing more satisfying than tucking in your jeans, crunching through the leaves and pulling out cosy knits to offset your chosen pair.

Ahead, we’ve picked our six favourite new boot trends to try, from animal prints in snakeskin and leopard to Western and hiking shapes, and an update on classic black and brown boots with the more daring colours of the season: red and white.

At London Fashion Week we had our eyes peeled for the boots to be seen in for the months ahead and there was inspiration aplenty, from Adwoa Aboah outside the Molly Goddard show in white boots paired with a yellow print dress and sunglasses, to Tiffany Hsu in a pair of eye-catching red thigh-highs and Kate Foley rocking her monochrome cowboy boots with aplomb. Here’s a rundown of the trends in detail and our favourite selects to see you through autumn in style.

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Dear Daniela,

I’m so confused about facials. Are they even worth it? Some of my friends never bother (and they have really good skin), but a beautician once told me that if you have a good facial, you don’t need to apply any skincare for a week after – it’s that good. Should I go for one? How do I pick a good one? Argh, please help!

Jenna, 28

To borrow an analogy from Maslow, your skin has a hierarchy of needs. The core building blocks are cleansing, exfoliating, sun protection, that sort of thing. That’s followed by things like antioxidants and peptides – repair ingredients. Right at the top of the pyramid is what I call 'add-ons' – fun things like masks and facial massage and sticking cucumber slices on your eyes. But determining where regular facials fit within that hierarchy is a little more difficult.

I called cosmetic physician, Dr Sarah Tonks to ask her opinion – firstly about the whole 'no skincare for a week post-facial' thing. "That’s the most bonkers thing I’ve ever heard," was her reply, after a moment’s pause. "I mean, you wouldn’t not brush your teeth for a week after going to the hygienist, would you?" (Dr Tonks would know! She used to be a dentist!)

She conceded that if you’ve had a really intense facial, maybe with microdermabrasion and laser, you might want to lay off the really active skincare for a while (such as retinol and acids) but yes, you still need to do your usual at-the-sink routine. In terms of how often you should go for a facial, Dr Tonks said there are no hard and fast rules. "If you’re going for an acne facial with extractions and a light peel and you have active acne, every six to eight weeks might be good. If your primary concern is melasma or pigmentation, every three months or so is fine." I’m aware that a lot of high street salons try and encourage you to block-book, and while there’s nothing wrong with that, don’t feel that you must have a set number to fulfil a need within your skin.

Then, as you noted Jenna, there are myriad treatments on the market at wildly different price points. Knowing where to start navigating the jargon and add-ons is basically a language in itself (consultant dermatologist Dr Anjali Mahto’s book, The Skincare Bible: Your No-Nonsense Guide To Great Skin, has some great explainers), but Dr Tonks and I agreed that facials can largely be broken down in a few categories. "You have your proper clinical facials," began Dr Tonks, "where you’ll be getting an extraction, maybe an LED mask, a professional-strength peel, maybe something like HydraFacial or some oxygen added on. That could be anywhere from £90-£140." Three digits is a lot, but Dr Tonks explained you’re paying for the cost of the machines (a salon-grade LED machine can cost up to £12,000), as well as for a highly trained therapist who might have some sort of medical background.

Then there’s your relaxing facials. Usually at a lower price point (though in a spa, that’s not always true), these facials are more about applying a few masks and having something of a mindful experience. "There’s a few more massage-type facials I enjoy having," added Dr Tonks. "They don’t necessarily make the most visible difference to my skin but they do force me to relax and not do anything for 40 minutes, and that is a beauty treatment in itself."

There are some places that sit between the two, price- and results-wise: national or regional chains of salons that offer facials at good prices, often with laser or microdermabrasion. Dr Tonks told me: "These places operate at a high volume, so it’s much safer to go to a chain like that for a laser treatment rather than a lesser-known independent clinic if price is an issue."

If you only have £50 to spend, personally, I’d put it towards some really good cosmeceutical-grade skincare. SkinCeuticals, Alumier MD and ZO Skin Health are all great brands, to name but a few. If your concern is acne, uneven skin tone, hyperpigmentation or even rosacea, you can make a pretty good dent in that at home using skincare – there’s no need to fork out for a facial there. At-home skincare is better than ever, so why pay to have people apply the same stuff you might have kicking around in your bathroom cabinet? High-end clinics will have some professional-grade products like peels, but on the whole, a mud mask is a mud mask. "If you want laser, radiofrequency or anything like that, I would encourage you to save up a little if you can and go to a reputable, pricier clinic," explained Dr Tonks. "You do see some horror stories from time to time of people being injured or scarred by botched facials, though it is rare. If someone is offering you a real bargain-basement price for a facial, you might end up paying in another way," she cautioned.

If you love getting facials and you find a spot you like that helps you chill out and you leave glowing? Brilliant! If you’d rather save and have maybe one splurge facial a year at a clinic, before a special event? That works too! Just keep up the skincare afterwards.

Daniela

Got a question for our resident beauty columnist Daniela Morosini? No problem, qualm or dilemma is too big, small or niche. Email deardaniela@refinery29.uk, including your name and age for a chance to have your question answered. All letters to ‘Dear Daniela’ become the property of Refinery29 and will be edited for length, clarity, and grammatical correctness.

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"There is no such thing as normal...defiance has no uniform."

Rebellion, insurrection and subversion was the theme of John Galliano’s SS19 Maison Margiela show in Paris. The voices of Hanne Gaby Odiele, Willow Smith, Teddy Quinlivan, Princess Nokia and Molly Bair echoed around the room, their definitions of mutiny soundtracking the models who stormed the catwalk.

And what were these mutineers sending up, exactly? The gender binary, for one. Unquestioned conformity, too. Galliano’s band of outsiders were rallying against anything that has ever restricted a person from being their true self. At a time when it seems trite or disingenuous to put a cause at the centre of your brand, Maison Margiela’s feels like a legitimate call to action.

In the past, when designers and brands have tried their hand at genderless collections, the result has often looked like boys with long hair in hyper-feminine dresses and nail polish, or women with shaved heads and severe features. Of course, gender nonconforming people are people with a multitude of personal styles, but dressing one gender up in the signifiers of the other falls flat, and feels like an opportunity missed.

Galliano succeeded with this collection, though, because he brought his punk sensibility to pieces that felt removed from any notion of societal restriction. Dismantled and dissected tailoring, sheer shirts and embellished skirts, feathers, high-shine leather and virtually no colour – bar some electric blue platform heels and a blush pink trench coat – made for a show teeming with rebellion.

Mutiny is also the name of the Parisian house’s new fragrance – the first Galliano has put out during his four years at the helm. Continuing the brand’s legacy of authenticity and deconstruction, Galliano chose six rebels to be the faces of the campaign. "Each represents their own expression of these multifaceted values: nonconformity, diversity and creativity," a brand statement reads.

One of the six mutineers, Belgian model Hanne Gaby Odiele, also walked in the show, so who better to talk to about the collection, the fragrance, and the incoming revolution?

Hi Hanne. How has fashion month been for you so far?

It’s been quite easy because I’ve been taking it slow. I’ve done one show in every city, and I’ve been loving it like that. It’s not the time for 50 shows a season anymore.

And how was walking for Maison Margiela?

The show was amazing. I cried a little bit! I didn’t know that they were going to put our voices [from the fragrance campaign videos] in the show, so when I heard the word 'intersex' that was a dream come true. As a young child I never got to see anything like this. It was something that I experienced alone and to see it being talked about and accepted, especially in a community like fashion... It’s refreshing.

You spoke out about being intersex for the first time in 2017, and have continued to be a fantastic role model and voice for the community. What do you wish people knew about being intersex?

I wish people knew about the surgery. Intersex genital surgery still happens today. Medical surgeries that are unnecessary and irreversible and have harmful consequences. I went through this myself. Little by little, with activism and making this stuff known via the media, it’s happening less, but there's still no protection for intersex children around the world. This is something that needs to end.

Why did you want to work with Maison Margiela on the Mutiny campaign?

I think a house like Maison Margiela – it’s Belgian like me! – is all about celebrating individuality, celebrating self-expression. As someone who didn't necessarily fit into a box as a young child, I feel like I used that as my mutiny, as my self-expression. I found my confidence that way. The people in the campaign, like Willow, Molly and Teddy, we all have our own character, our own individuality. The photos are actually of our backs, and I feel like it's not a sexualised image at all.

How would you define mutiny?

Mutiny is a rebel with a cause. Rebellion for a cause. Mutiny is about finding your own voice, what makes you special, how you can express yourself in the way you want to be viewed or your opinion on things. Mutiny, for me, is also not over-sexualising. That radical idea that being yourself is inherently enough, and there's a space for everyone to see themselves in it. Just be yourself – it takes a little bit of time but finding that is so worth it, I think.

Who is your ultimate mutineer?

There are so many: Marsha P. Johnson, RuPaul. Pidgeon Pagonis, who is another intersex activist. Everybody who speaks out.

And what do you rebel against?

Anybody who is against freedom. There are so many people in power who are able to take away our freedom – they should just all go away, take a break, go sit down.

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Is it possible for a church to gain celebrity status? Recently, Pentecostal Hillsong Church has curated the right amount of prestige, personality and controversy to entrance the world’s media. The church (which claims to draw 130,000 weekly attendants across 21 countries) was founded in 1983 but lately, it’s scored more headlines and social media buzz than ever before.

There are two reasons why this could be. Firstly, the church has had several scandals. In 2015, it was found that Hillsong cofounder Brian Houston had failed to report knowledge of his father’s paedophilic crimes. Also that year, Hillsong came under fire for its dubious stance on sexuality. Among other mixed messages, Houston stated that the church was "gay welcoming" but not gay affirming.

The second reason? Justin Bieber attends Hillsong. Quite frankly, we all want to know why Bieber's love for a church – which some detractors describe as a cult – allegedly made him quit his world tour. And why Hailey Baldwin, Selena Gomez, Kendall Jenner and Kourtney Kardashian have joined him at the pew. Interest in Hillsong, Bieber and Houston is at an all-time high – but what about its regular attendees? How has Hillsong gone down in the UK where there are now three branches (Bermondsey, Central London and North London). And what can a controversy-mired megachurch offer a female British millennial?

Here, three women who attend tell us about their experiences...

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What we know about Lily Allen has long been dictated by salacious headlines and fleeting glimpses of Twitter fallouts with other celebrities.

Sadly it wasn't all that surprising when, before her new book My Thoughts Exactly hit stores last Thursday, an extract that discusses a difficult period in which Lily used to sleep with female escorts was leaked on The Mail and the familiar cycle of drama that tend to link the singer-songwriter with one-sided tabloid conversations started once again.

In an exclusive interview for Refinery29 ahead of the book launch, she tells friend and writer Scarlett Curtis that she's stopped reading newspapers altogether. Reflecting on past events, particularly in the early stages of her music career, Lily identifies the way she's been treated by the press as having a significant effect on her relationships with other women. "At the beginning of my career I felt really scared of women, because a lot of the negative tabloid stuff that would be written about me would be written by the 3AM girls at The Mirror," she explains. "I had this feud with Cheryl Cole and the music industry loves to put women against each other so I did have this defensiveness around women, but I think that's all by design because when we do come together, we change things."

The attraction of Lily and her music has always been her fearless honesty about her life, and how she's feeling about it. Needless to say, My Thoughts Exactly fulfils the pop star's USP and more. Fans and followers are vaguely aware that it's been a rocky road for Lily, both in the press and in her personal life, but in this candid conversation with Scarlett, she gives further insight into just how much writing her new book helped in rediscovering her sense of self (and all the difficult realities she's had to face in the process).

They discuss Sheezus – Lily's last album, which she describes as "going so wrong" commercially, artistically and for her personally – and how that forced her to reevaluate what she wanted and to stop people-pleasing. They talk #MeToo, and how Lily doesn't see things changing in her industry any time soon. Lily also opens up about the seismic sexism that dictated her career for far too long.

Watch the full interview with Lily below...

My Thoughts Exactly by Lily Allen is published in hardback by Blink, out now.

Feminists Don't Wear Pink (And Other Lies), curated by Scarlett Curtis, is published in hardback by Penguin, priced £12.99, on 4th October

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The king of documentaries, Louis Theroux, is back with a new three-part series this autumn and we can't wait to see how many awkward situations he finds himself in while exploring the world of polyamory. Two other documentaries coming in November, titled Altered States, will see the acclaimed journalist and documentary maker investigate adoption and euthanasia, both in California.

Polyamory, or "ethical non-monogamy", is certainly a hot topic right now, with everyone from young Silicon Valley millennials to a British middle-aged, middle-class couple in the BBC drama Wanderlust apparently giving it a try, so it was only a matter of time before it received the Theroux treatment.

In Maximum Love, he travels to Portland, Oregon, known as the US polyamory capital and for its motto "Keep Portland Weird", to immerse himself in the movement. With nearly half of marriages in the US ending in divorce, 2018 seems like a fitting time to investigate those seeking to rewrite how we conduct intimate relationships and experience family life.

Theroux meets families who have opened up their relationships, whether by inviting others into existing relationships or by allowing partners to seek romance (not just sex) elsewhere. What he finds is a mixed bag: some people take to polyamory like ducks to water, while others are left consumed by jealousy, upset and broken-hearted.

Another episode, Take My Baby, sounds even more emotionally charged. Theroux visits the US adoption capital of California, where most adoptions are carried out privately as part of a multimillion dollar industry. Pregnant women can receive up to $50,000 for giving up their newborn to adoptive parents willing to pay the price, while agencies, facilitators and lawyers can earn thousands of dollars per baby.

In what's sure to make for sensitive viewing, Theroux meets birth mothers preparing to hand over their babies, some of whom have histories of poverty, addiction and abuse, which can push women down the adoption path. He also meets prospective parents, who are often left unsure as to whether the birth mother will actually give her child away once it's born.

The third episode, Choosing Death, will see Theroux explore euthanasia in California, one of the six US states that now offer the terminally ill the option of ending their life with a prescribed cocktail of drugs. He meets people who want control over the end of their life and uncovers some of the moral dilemmas involved when you have complete autonomy over your own death.

"I have always been interested in how people conduct the most intimate aspects of their lives," Theroux said in a statement. "For this series we looked at the new ways Americans are approaching some of humanity’s oldest dilemmas: pregnant mums who feel unequipped to keep their babies and so pick new parents for them; the world of polyamory aka 'ethical non-monogamy'; and people with debilitating conditions who opt to hasten their own deaths."

These stories all "have something a touch utopian about them, involving a kind of idealism and forward thinking that brings new opportunities but also new risks," Theroux continued. This year's miniseries follows on from last year's Dark States, in which Theroux investigated three "uniquely devastating challenges" facing the US: murder, sex trafficking, and opiate dependency.

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Cardi B is taking Paris Fashion Week by storm. The "Bodak Yellow" rapper started the Spring Summer 19 show season in New York – sitting front row at Tom Ford and Jeremy Scott, and making headlines when she allegedly threw her shoe at Nicki Mina j at an afterparty – and she dropped in on Milan for a surprise performance at the Dolce & Gabbana show. But it is in Paris, the spiritual home of high fashion, that Cardi has taken things to a-whole-nother level.

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Wearing @christiancowan for @etam fashion show performance 😈

A post shared by CARDIVENOM (@iamcardib) on Sep 25, 2018 at 5:08pm PDT

On Wednesday, Cardi rocked up to the Mugler show already wearing a custom new season look from designer Casey Cadwallader’s debut collection for the house. The day before, she emerged – during daylight hours – in a dramatic floor-length gown, slashed up to the hip and down to the navel, with a custom matching hat from the Gitana collection by Michael Costello. It's like a rap world sequel to Celine Dion’s totally extra Paris couture moment last year.

But it was the Parma Violet-purple suit and matching hair situation she debuted on Tuesday night, for a performance at the Etam presentation, that flew around the internet. Cut low in front and worn with cascading diamond earrings, the slimline suit was wrapped in a dramatic, Showgirl-like spray of dyed purple ostrich feathers. The creation of young London designer Christian Cowan (who shows in New York now, but previously worked in London as Christian Cowan-Sanluis), the suit is an early preview of the controversial trend for feathers that looks set to run through party season.

With fur thankfully trending towards catwalk extinction – no designers using fur at London Fashion Week this season, and bans are in place at Gucci, Versace (and its new owner Michael Kors), Burberry, Armani, Stella McCartney, Vivienne Westwood and Tom Ford – animal rights are on a high they haven't seen since the '90s supers proclaimed they’d rather go naked than wear fur. But the ethics of using feathers in fashion are a little more complicated, and far less well known.

The ostrich feather trade used to be considered one of the more ethical examples of animal products used in fashion. In a report earlier this year, Fashionista managed to dig up an 1888 article from a magazine for nature-lovers, which explains that ostrich feathers "are taken without suffering to the bird, and form an important article of trade," and that "these, [as] with… feathers of all birds killed for useful purposes, may satisfy the natural desire to make our dress as pretty and artistic as possible." The method of removing feathers without killing the ostrich is still around today.

"We cut [ostrich feathers] like you cut your nails," Saag Jonker, a South African ostrich farmer, explains in the Fashionista report. "When they reach a certain stage of being ripe then it's like a fruit when it ripens then after a certain time and then it falls off the trees." Saag’s partner Hazel Jonker, a member of the Greens party in SA, likens the process to "wool, and sheep shorn for wool": "The feathers are harvested, the birds grow new feathers again." The Jonkers add that they abide by South Africa’s animal rights laws, and industry regulations. But that isn’t the whole picture.

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A post shared by AndyPetry (@iseewonderfulthings) on Sep 27, 2018 at 10:29am PDT

At least 70% of all the world’s ostriches live in South Africa, according to the National Department of Agriculture. The largest birds on earth, they are farmed for their meat, feathers and distinctive, pock-marked (from being plucked) skin, with 90% of these 'products' being exported out of the country. And not all farms are like the Jonkers'. A PETA US investigation in 2015 found that baby ostriches were removed at birth (in the wild, they stay for up to three years with their parents, who co-parent), repeatedly plucked alive, and slaughtered (in front of each other) at one year old. In the wild they can live to 40, and are considered to be very intelligent. In a PETA video, workers at the farms can be heard saying they supply to luxury brands including Prada and Hermès, carnival costume designers, feather boa and feather duster stockists, and more.

While small operators trading in moulted feathers only do exist, they can’t generate anywhere near as much 'product' as industrialised farms. And anyway, ostriches don’t moult. "Finding and collecting feathers that have fallen from birds in nature sounds nice – but it isn’t a viable business model to supply designers with the volume of feathers they demand," PETA’s Yvonne Taylor told the Guardian. "Peta has found that whenever parts of animals are used in the fashion industry, corners are cut and abuse is commonplace," she explains, noting that because all feathers look the same, "there’s simply no fail-safe way to ensure that ducks, geese, chickens, ostriches and emus haven’t suffered for feather items."

Feathers may look fun, but there’s nothing cool about fashion that’s cruel. Something to keep in mind while shopping for party looks this winter.

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The first time we see Lady Gaga as Ally, the female lead of A Star Is Born, she's standing in the bathroom stall at the catering company she works for, breaking up with someone over the phone.

It's the 2018 equivalent of Barbra Streisand singing in a dive bar clad in suspenders — a normal girl, who despite her talent, is very much like the rest of us. Of course, she's not. Like her A Star Is Born predecessors, Ally has that thing, that ineffable quality that makes her rise above the normals and into the stratosphere of stardom.

Bradley Cooper 's directorial debut certainly takes cues from its three previous namesakes (including his character's last name, a tribute to Norman Maine, the male lead in the original movie), but still feels distinctly like its own film.

Cooper plays Jackson Maine, a self-destructive, alcoholic country rock star who has seen better days. One night, drunk after a show, he stumbles into the first bar he can find to get a fix. It's a drag bar (a nice nod to the gay fandom that has developed around the franchise, and its icons), and there amid, fake bosoms and dramatic wigs, he discovers Ally, belting out a peculiarly seductive version of Edith Piaf's “La Vie en Rose." Instantly mesmerised, both by her and her talent, he asks her out. At this point, it would be fair to ask why she'd ever accept. Jackson can barely walk, slurs his words, and has already asked to remove one of her stick-on eyebrows. And yet, he's handsome, and weathered, and endearing in the way that damaged men are, until they aren't. She says yes, and so begins a love affair that paves the way for her success, and keeps his demons at bay — for a while, at least.

Cooper, who also co-wrote the script Eric Roth and Will Fetters, is a skilful director. He keeps scenes light when they need to be, and nails the meet-cute between Ally and Jackson (the two have crackling chemistry), which makes the first half of the film dance along with zest. But he also knows how to build intensity and tension to the near-breaking point, only to let it all crash down in a cathartic release. Case-in-point: That famous scene from the trailer in which Jackson drags Ally onstage for the first time. You may think you know that scene. You may have memorised that scene. But trust me, you haven't experienced that scene until you're on the edge of your seat with tears in your eyes as Gaga starts to belt out the chorus of “ The Shallow.” It's a magical moment when music and film merge to form some kind of transcendental, mesmerising synergy. The movie never quite gets that good again, but it doesn't matter. In that short burst, you've witnessed the birth of a supernova.

The female lead in A Star Is Born is a role that's particularly difficult to cast. She needs to be believable as a real person living in the world, waiting to be discovered and dreaming big. But she also needs to be larger than life, especially onstage. Denuded of her usual theatrical artifice, Gaga more than exceeds those expectations, delivering a performance that's raw and passionate, but also sweet. She's no pushover, however. Unlike the previous iterations of her character, Ally doesn't apologise for Jackson's drinking, or her success eclipsing his own. She challenges him on his behaviour, setting lines that he undoubtedly crosses, eventually culminating in a brutal confrontation that ends with him viciously calling her ugly, preying on what he knows to be her greatest insecurity.

Ally is specifically sensitive about her nose, a feature she's been told is too big and too bold to ever make it. But Jackson loves her nose, and Cooper makes that clear in the way he shoots her. The camera close ups on Ally are loving, gentle, and sensual, a gaze that's meant to highlight her talent and beauty in the most positive way possible. How dare agents diss her nose? It's perfect! She's perfect!

This emphasis on natural beauty and authentic talent is ultimately the movie's driving narrative. Jackson isn't jealous of Ally's success — he wants her to be great at what she does. What irks him is the way the music industry commercialises her, changing her to fit the mould rather than adapting to her specific energy. And so he watches as she dyes her hair, changes her clothes, adopts long, claw-like nails, and appears on Saturday Night Live to sing an ode to hot male asses. This is actually where the film loses steam. The commentary on how we force famous women to conform and manufacture a palatable persona is a valid one. But the problem is that we only know how Jackson feels about it. And yes, he hates it, in the way that so-called "authentic" men do — especially since they're more often afforded the opportunity to remain true to their pre-frame selves. But without knowing how Ally perceives this shift, and whether she's at all had a say in it, it all comes off as mansplain-y — yet another man declaring that he’s going to tell us about art.

Ultimately though, A Star Is Born is a resounding success. The concert scenes are particularly impressive, shot in a style that recalls the Maysles Brothers' Gimme Shelter. The camera is on stage, behind the performers, looking out at the crowd — and then it zooms in on their movements, their gestures. It's intimate, and sweaty, and loud. This is a movie about people, but it's also a movie about music, and that's made evident by the wall of sound that washes over you as you watch Ally and Jackson bearing their hearts and souls for an audience.

The attention to detail is apparent, from the brilliant casting of Andrew Dice Clay as Ally's livery driver father who has always pushed her towards the spotlight, and Sam Elliott as Jackson's older brother and manager, with dashed dreams of fame of his own (in fact, Jackson's voice is based off Elliott’s, a fact that gets alluded to in a meta moment where he accuses his little brother of stealing his voice), to the blue and red lighting hues that recall the 1954 George Cukor musical.

Cooper and Gaga had a high bar to clear, and their film soars.

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The first season of Serial was like the Fifty Shades of Greyof the podcasting world — not because of the subject matter, but because for a while there, everyone was talking about it. Producer Sarah Koenig tracked her process uncovering the details of 1999 murder of Baltimore teenager Hae Min Lee in real time. Every surprise breakthrough, every dead end — we were privy to it all. The second season looked at another epic case: The trial of the soldier Bowe Berghdal, who was held captive by the Taliban for five years after deserting his post.

Given the established pattern, you'd likely assume that season 3 of Serial, which premiered September 20, would focus on a similarly extraordinary case — but you would be wrong. In this ambitious, sprawling season, Koenig examines the entire criminal justice system through the lens of the city of Cleveland.

Why Cleveland, of all cities? The reason is simple: Whereas other cities have strenuous obstacles to recording in place, Cleveland courts allowed Koenig and her fellow producer, Ohio native Emmanuel Dzotsi, to record all courtroom proceedings, ranging from small cases (bar fights) to big ones (armed robberies). By doing so, Serial producers hope to illuminate the inner workings of the courts in a more realistic way than any episode of Law & Order ever could.

Despite having produced two seasons of Serial, Koenig was surprised by her journey into nitty gritty of the criminal justice system. But maybe that surprise is to be expected. After all, season 1 of Serial focused on a very extraordinary crime: Adnan Syed, the teenager accused of murdering Hae Min Lee, had no prior criminal record and had access to a very expensive lawyer. This season, on the other hand, is all about the ordinary.

“Every case Emmanuel and I followed, there came a point where we thought: ‘No, this can’t be how it works.' People who work in the system, or have been through the system, they know this. But millions more people do not. And for the past year I’ve had this urgent feeling of wanting to kind of hold open the courthouse door and wave people inside. Because things are happening — shocking things, fascinating things — in plain sight,” Koenig says at the start of episode 1, "A Bar Fight Walks Into The Justice Center."

Think of season 3 as a book of interconnected short stories, each originating in Cleveland's criminal justice complex, which Koenig describes as "hideous, but practical." All the crucial buildings to any case are located in the same compact geographic location: "The city and county courts, the county jail, the prosecutor’s offices, the Sheriff’s office, and headquarters for the Cleveland police." Koenig expertly creates a sense of place. In the hallways, she captures the idiosyncratic phone conversation manner of a renowned public defender. In the courts, she captures the candidness of women arrested for accidentally striking a police officer.

The first episode is a preview for how the rest of the season will proceed. Koenig follows a crime that, at first glance, seems too minor to be representative of the entire court system's injustices. But just within the handling of one bar altercation are enough injustices and inefficiencies to make any rational person incensed.

The bar's surveillance cameras capture the incident entirely. A woman who Koenig calls "Anna" is standing with her friend at the bar when some men begin to slap their asses. Anna, who in interviews comes off as frank and no-nonsense, fights back, inciting a bit of a brawl. After the police arrive, a flailing Anna accidentally strikes an officer. She's immediately charged with felony assault on a police officer, arrested, and held in jail for four days on $5,000 bond. Anna is the only individual to be arrested. "You guys are arresting me for no reason," Anna says while in the back of the cop car the evening of the fight. Then, for an hour, she issues an invective of slurs against the cops — which she admits to Koenig she was able to do because of her status as a white woman.

In following this case, Koenig highlights a cacophony of voices connected to the incident. She interviews Anna, of course, who seems bewildered this is even happening. She captures the anger in Anna's angry defence attorney Russ's voice after the prosecutor refuses to drop the case. She then pivots to the prosecutor, Jennifer, who is bitter at Russ's supposedly patronising tone. Finally, Koenig speaks to an officer who admits that his colleagues sided with the men at the bar, not with Anna.

What ensues is a powerful story that touches on the intersection of sex, race, and power, and how the "reputation" of an individual, whether a lawyer or a defendant, often clouds fair proceedings. Thanks to Koenig's organisation, this one story proceeds with the same momentum that we've seen in the past seasons' grand cases. Season 3 proves the existence of Serial 's secret ingredient. It's not just the stories. It's Koenig herself, our trusty guide through murky waters. Her skeptical delivery, her well-worded rhetorical questions — these are the ingredients of a host that makes us think and keep us enraptured at the same time.

New episodes of season 3 of Serial will drop on Thursdays.

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Ivanka's schedule has not been made public, so each week, we will do our best to cover the public events and forums she attends, the meetings she has with lawmakers and government officials, and her social media presence.

Monday, September 24

• Ivanka had a busy week in New York at the United Nations General Assembly. In between talking #jobs and #womensempowerment at the Concordia Summit, she posted many vanity shots behind-the-scene photos on her Instagram stories.

• At the summit, Ivanka explained how she stays out of the daily drama that engulfs the White House. "It’s been a work in progress, but I’m getting better at ignoring the noise," she said. "I tend not to respond, I tend not to debunk criticism or say when things are inaccurate." The presidential adviser added: "Getting too engaged in the daily chaos is distracting; I don’t pay too much attention because it would be unhealthy." Perhaps she can give her dad some tips?

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This week at #UNGA 2018, I had the honor of joining global leaders for impactful discussions on the importance of women’s economic empowerment in furtherance of the President’s National Security Strategy, as we strive for peace, prosperity and stability both at home and abroad 🌎

A post shared by Ivanka Trump (@ivankatrump) on Sep 26, 2018 at 11:05am PDT

• Ivanka met with the Foreign Minister of South Korea, Kang Kyung-wha.

Tuesday, September 25

• Ivanka sat on a panel with Queen Máxima of the Netherlands, Her Excellency Reem Ebrahim Al Hashimi, and World Bank President Jim Young Kim to talk the global economic empowerment of women.

• She also met with the Women's Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative Leadership Champions.

• The lost Trump sister Tiffany Trump was spotted with Ivanka and the rest of her family during their dad's speech at the UN (where he was laughed at by other world leaders).

Tiffany Trump Looks Chic In Black Jumpsuit & Orange Blazer To Support Dad During UN Speech https://t.co/1gtUAp68eW pic.twitter.com/1iomyM5F6o

— M.dal (@MedDall) September 26, 2018

Wednesday, September 26

• Ivanka tweeted praise to U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley, who she has been spending a lot of time with this week at the UNGA.

Congratulations to our great US Ambassador to the United Nations @NikkiHaley on a successful Security Council Presidency and productive meetings at #UNGA2018. pic.twitter.com/rq5yibuf5O

— Ivanka Trump (@IvankaTrump) September 27, 2018

Thursday, September 27

• Ivanka, who had been posting constantly on Instagram and Twitter all week, was unusually silent on Thursday, when Dr. Christine Blasey Ford and Brett Kavanaugh, Trump's Supreme Court nominee, testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Ford alleges Kavanaugh attempted to rape her when they were both in high school. Kavanaugh, who has been accused by two other women of sexual misconduct, denies the allegations.

• Last week, it was reported that Ivanka told her father to drop Kavanaugh.

Friday, September 28

There's no news to report at the time of publication.

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With more companies vying for our attention than ever before, it's been argued time and again that young people are less loyal to particular brands and more likely to flick between whichever ones take their fancy (or are the "coolest") at a particular moment.

But how true is this really? YouGov BrandIndex’s Word of Mouth metric recently asked millennial respondents: "Which of the following brands have you talked about with friends and family in the past two weeks (whether in person, online, or through social media)?" and it's clear that actually, 18-34 year olds still have their favourites.

From an initial list containing 1,350 brands, the research deduced the 10 most popular from various industries and there was a very clear winner. Netflix is the most highly spoken about brand in 2018 for the second year in a row, scoring 77%. It's not all that surprising given all its gripping original content this year (how much of this is down to Queer Eye alone?), and the power of word-of-mouth recommendations among younger viewers.

Hot on its heels is another tech giant, Spotify (73%), followed by the low cost clothing and retail brand Primark, next came Apple, then Facebook and McDonalds.

The rest of the most popular brands span the gaming, travel and tech industries and include PlayStation and iPhone, as well as the famously "affordable" Airbnb and Ikea. (See the full list below.)

Certain brands improved their standing among millennials more than others over the last year: most dramatically the cinema company Vue, which is 11% more popular this year than in 2017, followed by comparethemarket.com (8.6%), Visa (8.5%) and the Google Pixel phone (6.9%).

1. Netflix (76.5%)
2. Spotify (72.9%)
3. Primark (71.2%)
4. Apple (70.7%)
5. Facebook (69.9%)
6. McDonalds (69.5%)
7. PlayStation (69.2%)
8. iPhone (69%)
9. Airbnb (68.8%)
10. Ikea (67.5%)

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On a beautiful autumn day, the queen bee of a reality TV show holds the baptism of her son on her husband’s family’s lavish estate. Everything is going well until her brother-in-law, a fellow cast member and the baptism boy’s godfather, starts hitting the tequila too hard. By the end of the sprawling, carnival-themed bash, the godfather is drunkenly hopping into a bull ring to fight a live bull — and he does. For a very long time, much to everyone’s concern.

The Real Housewives could never.

Netflix’s brand-new docuseries Made In Mexico, however, very much does. The moment the series, premiering Friday, September 28, was announced, it proved to be as polarising as star Robby Checa’s soused-up baptism antics. On one hand, the show, about Mexico City’s wealthiest, most glamorous pack of friends, stood as the streaming service’s first-ever Mexican reality show — making it an instant trailblazer. As the series’ first two episodes prove, it’s a lot more fun than an episode of Made in Chelsea.

On the other hand, the series, which leads with its Latinx cred, was immediately accused of whitewashing. After looking at the cast, which is peppered with blondes and American expats, it’s easy to see why. Thanks to Netflix’s dominance in 190 countries, these many lighter-skinned, lighter-haired individuals are poised to become the global face for success in Mexico, a Latinx country with a 43% poverty rate where lighter skin colour already has a proven, staggeringly high, correlation with higher education rates and wealth. As a Vanderbilt University study shows, there’s a 45% gap in Mexico when it comes to the schooling years of the nation’s darker-skinned citizens and its lightest; when it comes to monthly income, darker-skinned individuals are making 41.5% less on average.

The racial politics of the series is a knotty issue that speaks to which kinds of Latinx people are usually given a spotlight and opportunities. But, when you talk to the people involved in Made In Mexico, you realise the series was so excited to show an alternate view of Mexico, a country accused of sending “bad hombres,” “rapists,” and “drugs” to America by the president of the United States, it tripped right over the root of colourism on the way to Netflix.

While chatting over the phone with cast members Hanna Jaff, Columba Díaz, and Chantal Trujillo, all three women noted the opportunity to show “another side” of Mexico — one divorced from the drugs, violence, and poverty that usually dominates the country’s pop cultural discourse — is what drew them to the series.

Jaff, a Mexican-Kurdish philanthropist who has lived in America, Europe, and the Middle East, admits she is oftentimes hit with “negativity” when she identifies herself has Mexican throughout her travels. Trujillo, who went to high school in San Diego with Jaff, has also experienced “backlash and confusion” when telling people how much she loves living in Mexico. These negative reactions are so extreme that new acquaintances have been surprised to see Jaff’s personal photos of a bustling Mexico City, a place brimming with culture, that the 30-year-old has called home for six years.

And, things have only gotten worse. “Over last two years, we have been very insulted, and we’ve been getting a lot of hate and discrimination because of those negative comments. This [show] is sort of like, ‘Well, that’s not who were are,’” Jaff explained, referencing how Donald Trump’s rhetoric has inflamed the negativity she has long experienced. “It’s not that the whole country is a ‘bad hombre ’ or violent or criminal or all of these negative things that have been said about Mexicans. [With the show,] we’re going to be able to prove that wrong.”

Made In Mexico works hard towards that goal, with the first few episodes involving a trip to an art gallery, a massive charity event, and a look at the inner workings of Jaff’s own immigrant and refugee-focused NGO, The Jaff Foundation. Eventually, season 1 will give us an exploration of Mexican holiday Dia De Los Muertos, which Trujillo hopes will change viewers’ perspectives of the well-know but little understood celebration.

The creation of Made In Mexico has already expanded at least one person’s outlook on its titular country: co-executive producer Lauren Volonakis. Volonakis, who formerly produced both The Real Housewives Of New York and The Real Housewives Of New Jersey, is a Long Island native who had never visited Mexico City prior to filming, just beach towns like Cancun.

“Mexico and Mexico City don’t get a fair appearance in the media, from TV shows and also in politics,” Volonakis told Refinery29, pointing out that in reality there’s a “museum on every corner” in her series’ city. “It was really easy to show another really cool, really aspirational side of Mexico City because it actually is amazing. I didn’t expect it to be what it was — and it was awesome.”

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A post shared by Kitzia Mitre Jimenez-O'farrill (@kitziamitre) on Sep 6, 2018 at 1:41pm PDT

Made In Mexico ’s eye-opening ability for someone like Volonakis speaks to why Trujillo, one of the blonde, blue-eyed, American members of the cast, claims talking about “skin colour” in regards to her Netflix show is the most “shallow” conversation around the series.

“We should be talking about a show actually talking about anything that’s not Narcos or involved with drugs about Mexico,” the blogger and former House Of DVF contestant, who has a Mexican father and Spanish mother, said. “It’s crazy to me that people are so closed-minded and so judgemental about skin colour or attributes … It’s really an eye-opener more than anything to have a cast of nine people who are maybe a little bit more light-skinned than what you would imagine for ‘A Mexican,’ and I want people to look at the show and be like, ‘Wow, all of these people live in Mexico City?’”

While Trujillo’s side steps why so many are hurt by how Eurocentric the Made In Mexico cast appears — for a show about Latinx representation set in the self-described “diverse” country of Mexico, it’s sorely lacking people of colour — the reason for her frustration is obvious: she is tired of people not believing she’s Latinx. “I’m blonde and blue-eyed and I definitely identity towards Mexican and Spanish more than I do American because neither one of my parents [are from there]. Having that question [around my identity] my whole life was kind of insulting,” Trujillo said, adding the rhetorical question, “Do I question your background because you have brown eyes and brown hair?”

Trujillo’s Mexico co-star Columba Díaz, a model and It-girl sure to be season 1’s breakout star, does have brown hair (and green eyes) and still feels the need to asset her Latinx bona fides. “People are saying everybody is white, but I’m sorry — I’m more Latina than anything, and I cannot be anything else. It’s in my blood,” the 24-year-old fashionista stressed. “I am Mexican. I was born in here, my parents are Mexican, and that’s it.”

Yes, Díaz and Trujillo are Mexican, and we can only hope their genuinely fun Housewives -ish romp will net another season. Not only will that mean another delightful television trip to Mexico City, but it will give Made In Mexico the chance to add cast members from the other side of the Latinx spectrum — it’s not like they’re not there.

When asked if Mexico City’s high society simply isn’t letting darker skinned individuals into its ranks, Hanna Jaff was aghast. After all, if these people aren’t allowed to exist, you can’t add them to your reality show, right? “No, of course [we do]. It’s not like that at all,” Jaff replied, pointing out she is half-Kurdish, and a part of aforementioned baptism bad boy Robby Checa’s family hails from Lebanon. Checa’s brother, Pedro Checa, is also married to Mexico ’s leading lady Kitzia Mitre.

“We’re a very diverse country,” Jaff added. “Of course we have darker skinned friends, family, relatives. It’s not one or the other. We’re all combined.”

Tackling topics like colourism and representation might not be what the Mexico cast expected at this point in their series’ infancy. They seem to simply be happy to be starting conversations about the city they love and the Latinx identity they all claim. As the series’ coolest member, Colu Díaz, said, “At the end of the day when you’re talking about the show, and if you’re talking about the show, it’s good.”

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Hearing “covfefe” in the Gossip Girl voice was just what we needed today.

Kristen Bell said she was “honoured” to read President Donald Trump's tweets Wednesday on Late Night with Seth Meyers. Bell took on several of the “most gossipy” Trump tweets, insulting Seth Meyers and Hillary Clinton in the iconic Gossip Girl voice.

Some of the tweets were only an “xoxo" away from fitting right in with the script. “They do sound like things that were written on the show,” she said. Bell's recitation was hilarious — and more than a little disturbing. With plenty of excess punctuation and phrases like "so unfair," Trump's tweets seem more like the work of a petulant teen than a president.

Bell’s voiceovers brought the titular character of Gossip Girl to life for six seasons. She appeared in person on the show only once, during the final episode in 2012. Her voice will forever be associated with the inner lives of Manhattan's elite (which Donald Trump thinks he is).

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Celine, sans accent aigu. A new dawn is upon us — and it's dark, in all senses of the word.

In December, it was revealed that Phoebe Philo would be stepping down from Céline, and in January, creative director Hedi Slimane of Saint Laurent, would take over. Philophiles, as the creative director's fans were known, were distraught by the news. They were even further thrown when Slimane's first order of business was changing the house's logo. And with the French photographer and creative director's official mens- and womenswear debut in the books, we have a feeling they're in full panic mode.

Slimane's spring 2019 collection could have been gleaned from the obvious — given the recent and rare interview he gave to Le Figaro last week, it was clear the designer would be starting a new chapter at the French fashion house. But, at a time when hope in the real world seems to be at an all-time low, Slimane’s arrival felt more like a crash landing than anything. Was completely foregoing the point of view of a woman whose legacy is defined by designs that were drawn for powerful women the sound, on-trend thing to do?

As guests entered Place Vauban, they were greeted with coupes of Celine-branded champagne and a rare Karl Lagerfeld sighting (as well as a more obvious fashion show groupie Lady Gaga, who was among the two women to debut one of Slimane's first handbags for Celine, alongside Angelina Jolie). It was already more spectacle for a Celine show than Philo would have ever entertained. Within the first few looks, which featured leather jackets, skinny jeans, and sequins, it was evident the 80's-era, Saint Laurent stronghold that's captivated Slimane's attention for the past decade or so hasn't loosened at all. And that's a shame.

The clothes themselves didn't allow any growth for the brand. But the designer did make good on his promise to write (sharply commence) Celine’s next chapter. It's just that ultra-short, asymmetrical, glittery cocktail dresses and Western-style ankle boots, compared to the meditative, almost conservativeness of Philo's revolutionary Celine, feels like a completely different book. Even bipartisan fans, those of both Slimane and Philo, can agree that this was not Celine — it was Zadig & Voltaire, Sandro; it may fly off racks, but it will not be revered in history.

The pressure on designers to drive revenue, however — and this goes for visionaries, even — is too high to surmount. When Slimane departed Saint Laurent in 2016, sales had hit $1.39 billion, up more than 150% when he joined the house four years prior. The objective with Hedi, as LVMH chairman and chief executive Bernard Arnault stated in January, is to reach "at least $2.3 billion to $3.4 billion, and perhaps more, within five years." That will surpass what Philo did for Celine during her 10 years at its helm, as sales hit $828 million. So, why wouldn't Slimane stick to what he knows and crank up his greatest hits? Even if that means at the cost of a net zero connection to the house's legacy?

If it were worth your time to pay attention to fashion at all right now, what with Eastern and Western nations in crisis, we'd continue to list what Slimane showed for his debut. But it's best to look at the evidence yourself and form your own opinion. Because, like half of the audience at Friday's show, you'll either applaud Slimane's vision or you won't — especially if not clapping is some form of silent protest against Slimane's use of six black models for a 96-look runway show that's supposed to reflect the future of fashion and style. Or if what unfolded simply hit you where it hurts.

The biggest problem with the new Celine, though, is this: At a time when the industry feels as divided as the world around it, and designers forget that doing the next indicated thing (increasing size runs, putting editors back in the front row, producing their clothes ethically and sustainably) will eventually lead them to the answers of life's bigger questions, the quench for newness is ever pertinent. And yes, Slimane's beginning at Celine was new for the house and those loyal fans who feel so emotionally connected to it — but arguably, it couldn't have been a head-scratcher for the man himself to pull off. Though we were gunning to be proved otherwise, Slimane's first collection for Celine was just too steeped in the past. The '90s are alive and well, but even if a qualified governing body can fail to vote on doing the right thing, it may, too, be time to put nostalgia to rest and move on.

So, perhaps it takes a woman at the helm of a fashion house like Celine to understand that, at least right now, women need Celine more than ever. Its DNA and impact during the #MeToo and Time's Up movements, and the most recent Kavanaugh hearing, couldn't be clearer; it makes Slimane's debut a missed opportunity — a start on the wrong foot during what should be Celine's most historic period, if we could even imagine such.

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Instagram may be just seven years old, but it’s near impossible to remember how we got on without it. For beauty lovers, the social media site has given us a steady stream of new celebrity cuts, product leaks, and a surge of of-the-moment hair colour trends. But the app has also made for an influx of homogeneous beauty looks, because we all get bombarded with the same well-liked posts. Feathered brows, Kardashians - you know the ones.

Because the Instagram algorithm is clearly biased, sussing out micro, localised trends feels tougher than ever. Which is why we went analog to nail down the coolest haircuts and styles worn around the world. We asked beauty insiders with major stamps on their passports to key us in to the brightest hair trends hiding beneath the surge of likes. What we found was anything but redundant.

From Seoul to Sydney, Berlin to Toronto, these are the haircuts and styles that are getting real-life likes in international salons.

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As the weather becomes more autumnal – by which we mean colder and rainier, obviously – the good folks at Netflix have our backs.

This month, the streaming giant is adding some fantastic films, including the iconic British rom-com Four Weddings and a Funeral starring Hugh Grant and Andie MacDowell, and all-time feminist classic Thelma & Louise, which features devastating performances from Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis.

There are also brand new episodes of The Good Place and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, plus season four of Line of Duty, the BBC police drama created by Bodyguard 's Jed Mercurio which features sterling work from the excellent Thandie Newton.

Click through to see the key new titles – and their release dates – on Netflix this October.

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Fast fashion and Instagram make a dangerous combination. First, we are seduced to buy into capitalism's cycle of excess and pollution, then the 'gram makes it a criminal offence to be photographed in the same outfit twice. And let's not discount the added pressure to present an online image well beyond the means of our bank balance.

Social media has put conspicuous consumption into overdrive. But it is also shifting the industry's focus from quantity to cost per use. While platforms like Instagram have made designer fashion more visible, access to it remained exclusive – until now. Fashion-for-hire is an industry step towards a more collaborative, circular economy. "Whether it's somewhere to stay (Airbnb) or a car (Uber) – and now designer clothing – the 'access economy' is drastically changing the way we live," says Anna Bance, cofounder of Girl Meets Dress.

Think of the pricey outfits you've bought for a wedding, job interview or special date – enjoying a single outing, only to be pushed to the back of your closet and never worn again. "Everyone in the world should own only a capsule wardrobe and rent the rest," says Zoe Partridge, founder of Wear The Walk. The concept of rental fashion brings new meaning to the idea of the investment piece, where it is no longer a splurge item that lacks longevity but you hope will increase in value, but an investment in a wardrobe staple that becomes the lasting core of your style.

Clothing rentals introduce sustainability to aspirational fashion, while giving access to designer pieces for those of us on high street budgets. Click through the slides to discover the best places to hire high-end fashion – each one founded by inspirational British women.

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At the age of just 20, makeup artist Mata Marielle ’s work can be spotted in British Vogue, Paper and The Guardian to name a few big publications. On her very first beauty shoot, she realised that the industry’s lack of diversity behind the scenes was problematic. Mata was expected to create nude, glowy looks on black models for a commercial campaign but when the brand provided her with makeup shades in pink and beige, she was perplexed – and she spoke out.

"I said, I can't create nude looks on black models using this product because pink isn't our nude," Mata told Refinery29. "It's going to look super ashy. You would think people would know by now that pink isn't a nude for everyone. So, I went back to my kit. I had a clear tube of gloss from a black hair shop and foundations in all the models' skin tones. I mixed clear gloss with foundation to make a lip gloss in their nude, put them on the models and they looked amazing. Then I was like, cool, I want glowy skin now. I found a gold shadow and scraped a bit of it off. I mixed this in with Vaseline and gloss and then I started dabbing it on the models' faces, focussing on their high points, and they looked incredible. Everyone was very impressed and when they asked what I used, I simply said, 'Just a little something I made'."

The lack of nude makeup for people of colour led to the creation of Mata Labs. Launching this week and stationed at WAH London, alongside Keash Braids and BAMBROWS, it's a cruelty-free unisex makeup line of glosses, highlighter and pigments suited to darker skin tones. We got in touch with Mata to find out what we can expect from her debut brand and exactly how she plans to change the game for people of colour.

How did you go from mixing glosses on set to launching Mata Labs?

I was so determined to make the brand mine. It's all well and good mixing products but they were never really mine, so I did some research into how to make makeup. I tested it on myself, friends and clients, and when people started asking where it was from, that’s when I knew I was doing something right. The first products I made were the nude glosses in three shades. They span from a very dark brown to medium and light – they're called Mother's Trio. The one thing I can't stand is sticky gloss, so they are made with a lot of shea butter and oils.

The Rouge Crème is a cream blush that you can apply to your cheeks, lips and eyes. I mixed the red with a darker pigment so it doesn't look too harsh on dark skin. I’m also launching the Skin Glow Highlight, which is a liquid highlighter that you dab onto your skin, and the final product is the Viscosity Tar collection inspired by Grace Jones. This consists of three creams in glittery, navy blue, a jet black and a gold that you can use on your cheeks, lips and eyes.

Your makeup range spans genders, why is this important to you?

It's very important for me to create something where everyone is included and accepted, where everyone is allowed to utilise the products and look the way they want to. I have amazing drag friends in London and my friend Sussi is so good at painting his own face. Everyone loves to do their face. I love doing my face. Men also appreciate makeup. I like that they're not afraid of what anyone else thinks. I feature a man in my campaign wearing the highlighter and he looks absolutely incredible. He's masculine, but he loves the highlight because it makes him look poppin'! Guys want to look poppin' too, let them glow, let them look cute, let them have their time to shine!

Where do you get your inspiration from?

I've been quite artsy for most of my life but when it comes to makeup, I would say the only person that really inspires me is Pat McGrath. I absolutely adore the way she works. She has honestly paved the way and everything that she creates is iconic. We've both had a very similar upbringing, so I feel like the fact that she's so creative now comes from the fact that she wasn't back then, if that makes sense. She's just able to fashion the craziest looks ever and completely smash it.

As a young black woman in the beauty industry, what are some of the challenges you've encountered?

I’ve learned that I have to go into most situations with complete confidence. I have to own my shit. I’ve been on shoots where I'm literally the only black person there and I'm the youngest person, too. Once, I remember being on set and everyone was talking about age. When I told them I was 20, the mood in the room completely changed. Some people are very threatened that I'm doing so much at such a young age, while others praise it. But as women of colour, there's always someone trying to tell us about ourselves. People will assume that I'm angry or antisocial, when that's not me. I love having conversations with people, I love meeting people because it's literally my entire job.

As soon as I walk on a shoot, I look at the models and they look so relieved. They come up to me and say, "We're so glad that you're here," and I'm like, "Don't worry because I've got you." It's so sad that these models, these young girls, have their confidence knocked so easily when a hairstylist or a makeup artist doesn't know how to work with black skin or black hair. They end up thinking something is wrong with them, when it's actually the makeup artist or the hairstylist that needs to be able to work across all skin tones and all hair types. A lot has changed in the industry but I find it hard to appreciate these changes because it's happening too slowly.

What changes would you like to see in the industry?

There should be a lot more opportunity at school for kids to pursue things in creative industries. There need to be more workshops and more internships, more opportunities for people of colour. In this industry, white people are privileged. They're able to get into places like Vogue because they know people. I am literally the only creative person in my family and the only way I was able to get to where I am was by going out every single day, trekking along to all these events, meeting people who were often very rude to me, trying to network. I'm not after any sympathy because at the end of the day I'm very happy – I'm able to work really hard and show results. I don't need to depend on anyone else. I believe that as black people, we have to work really hard at such a young age in order to just get to a good position.

What goes in to creating a beauty brand from scratch?

I failed science at school so this was very hard for me. I had no idea what all the words meant. I didn't know why brands put this and that inside lipstick – I had no idea. So I had to do my own research and then figure out what's good, what goes into what and how to mix certain ingredients. I basically had to teach myself and I was so determined to make it mine. The formulas changed quite a few times. As I went along, I tried them on myself and my friends – Mata Labs is cruelty-free! Yes, there were a few hiccups when I first started, but for someone who failed chemistry, I've done pretty well. I've nailed this formula. When people started to pick up on the products, they kept asking, "What is that? How do I use that? Where do I get that from?" That's when I knew I was doing something right.

How does it feel being stationed at WAH, alongside Sharmadean, Keash and BAMBROWS?

It's so inspiring working alongside them because they are such incredible women. They're also so funny. It's motivating being around so many women who are doing so much good. This is how it's supposed to be. These women have businesses and they're able to come together and literally transform people with their skills. That's amazing, I'm like, yes, you do your thing with your talented self. You go make this person look amazing. They absolutely adore my work, too, so I'm happy to be able to work with them.

After the launch, do you have plans to expand the line even further?

Absolutely. My thing is skincare. Foundation is on the cards somewhere, but that's not my priority, because at the end of the day everyone always brings out foundation and they bring out 50 colours and only give three colours to black people. What I'm going to bring out next is skincare for everyone. I'm making a formula but I'm not trying to cure your skin and get rid of your acne. It's all about healthy skin. I love makeup but I really feel we need to look after our skin, so the makeup that we apply looks great, too.

Catch Mata alongside Keash and BAMBROWS at the Mata Labs pop-up, hosted at WAH Nails every Saturday until 13th October.

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September isn't even over yet, but already fans of fancy dress are planning their Halloween 2018 costumes. While some of us are still content to do a last minute scramble at home for some red lipstick to use as fake blood, more and more people in the UK are starting to take Halloween as seriously as Americans, going all out on costumes, hosting parties and decorating their homes.

In 2016, Mintel calculated that we spent a combined £310 million on Halloween and with the holiday growing in popularity and companies keen to cash in, Halloween 2018 will be the most commercialised yet. Based on searches on Pinterest, the top trending ideas for costumes this year will be heavily inspired by big TV shows and films. Here are the costumes they predict you'll be seeing a lot of in October... does anyone miss the day when a black rubbish bag with holes cut out for arms was good enough?

Solo Costumes (and the increase in searches for them by %)

Tonya Harding (+720%)

Riverdale (+316%)

90s Icons (+110%)

Black Panther (+504%)

Flamingo (+77%)

Edna Mode (+669%)

Mamma Mia (+1636%)

Astrology inspired (+33%)

Frida Kahlo (+55%)

Cow (+680%)

Costumes for couples

Dessert (like ice cream and candy floss) (+118%)

Royal wedding: Harry and Meghan (+733%)

Hollywood characters (+128%)

Bandits (+245%)

GLOW (Liberty Belle and Zoya the Destroya) (+186%)

Group costumes

Avocado toast (+245%)

The Incredibles (+392%)

Dinosaur family (+803%)

Neverland (+250%)

Carnival (+188%)

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Like it or not, we live in an era where our mugs are more than just something to hold hot liquid— they’re a fashion statement, a status symbol, and — wait for it — a lifestyle. Gone are the days when you could just roll into work with a leaky paper cup from the place round the corner. We want that mug to compliment our brands, our identities, and our regrettably large collection of basket bags. After all, what’s the point of drinking coffee, if you can’t Instagram your mug?

Yes, mugs are practically a movement these days. And, what does that say about our culture? In the year 3045, when archeologists dig up the long forgotten ruins of your open-plan office and find your colleagues £28 Etsy mug, what will it say about the human race? It’s likely future anthropologists will (correctly) assume that we were WAY TOO LIT ABOUT MUGS.

Then again, those judgy future scientists don’t know what it’s like to deal with your day-to-day office politics. And are you really just gonna sit there and drink from a Starbucks cup, when Heather in Accounting is sipping her fair trade coffee from an uber-chic, hand-painted, mug-sterpiece? You’re gonna go out and find a fierce mug that matches your soul and your outfit.

But how to know what mug expresses your true, inner essence? To help out, here’s a round-up of seven types of mugs (and mug owners) that you’ve probably seen sipping around your workplace. Which one are you?

The Woker-Than-Thou Boob Mug

You are extremely woke. But you know this already. Your coffee mug is your most prized possession, and it features a beautiful pair of naked breasts. You are a feminist, you are fearless, and you are smashing the patriarchy one sip of breast-delivered, ethically grown Venezuelan coffee at a time. Yas queen... Bring those ceramic areolas into your 9 a.m. budget meeting!

The Jaded Betch Mug

You are overrrrr it. You’ve been counting down the days until you can FINALLY quit this prison of a day job and launch, at long last, your placenta-themed jewelry shop on Etsy. As a result, you’ve chosen an extremely passive aggressive mug that broadcasts JUST how jaded you are. Why tell everyone to just f*ck off, when your mug can do it for you?

The Aggressively Artisanal Mug

You are aggressively artisanal. If it’s not handcrafted, you are NOT interested. You worship at the altar of Gwyneth Paltrow and spend approximately £2,536 a month on Goop treasures. In your free time, you enjoy taking long walks through the farmers market and Instagramming photogenic baskets of organic, rain-dappled tomatoes. Your mug was fired in an ancient kiln by the finest craftsmen, and it currently contains loose-leaf turmeric tea that you made YOURSELF.

The Met Gala Mug

You like things. You found Carrie Bradshaw’s shoe budget to be laughably restrained. You are willing to spend £200 on the gaudiest coffee mug in the history of coffee mugs, simply because it’s Versace. Anna Wintour would approve, and don’t be surprised if you spot this hot new accessory on the red carpet at the Met Gala (last season crowns, this season….Mugs!).

The Motivational Mantra Mug

You are here to get shit done! You’re a team player! You love exclamation points! And you ADORE coffee mugs that tell everyone JUST HOW ENTHUSIASTIC YOU ARE. You probably shouldn’t have any more coffee, but YOU JUST CAN’T HELP YOURSELF. You are just SO PUMPED ABOUT WORK #GoalDigger #EyesOnThePrize #TodayIsTheFirstDayOfTheRestOfYourLife

The “I’m-Still-Not-Over-The-US-Election” Obama Campaign Mug

Your life ended on November 8, 2016. The horrific actions of our current US administration give you literal nightmares on a daily basis, and the only things keeping you awake at work, are the gallons of coffee you drink out of your treasured Obama campaign mug — a vessel you cling to as desperately as your memories of a pre-Trump America.

The “Mom Humor” Mug

You are a mother who genuinely adores humour about wine, coffee, chocolate and shopping. Diane Keaton is your spirit guide. You saw Book Club eight times in and will not rest until EVERY LAST PERSON IN YOUR OFFICE HAS SEEN IT AS WELL.

The Hi-Tech Mug

You are obsessed with gadgets. Okay, you probably work at a startup. And, the only thing you love more than your miraculous self-heating mug, is lecturing everyone about why it represents the cutting edge of coffee-warming technology. There’s no doubt about it: You’re a total mug-splainer.

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