Red lipstick (me and Taylor’s version)

These two shades are the real MVPs.

Welcome to Quality Sheet, a weekly assortment of outside-the-box news, events, trends and offbeat oddities to indulge your curiosity. Subscribe for a midweek treat each Wednesday that'll make you hummm with intrigue and amusement.

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Maybe I am a Swiftie after all. This week I learned that Taylor and I are kindred spirits when it comes to red lipstick and share the same two favourite shades—Nars ‘Dragon Girl’ and Pat McGrath ‘Elson’. Forget what I said earlier.

Welcome to Quality Sheet! If you plan to elope on Valentine’s Day, read on.

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I don’t: Are you searching for inspiration for a last-minute Valentine’s Day wedding? Consider getting hitched in Times Square. The district’s management association is running its annual ‘Love in Times Square’ event this year and you can sign up for a chance to propose, tie the knot or renew your vows for all of New York to see. If you’re feeling brave, you could do all three on the same day. Why not! You’d already be marking your special day in the most chaotic space possible.

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Margiela is the name on everyone’s porcelain-glossed lips of late. The haute couture show’s looks, set and mystifying makeup melded to create a collection that will go down in fashion history, Cathy Horyn writes in The Cut. “Galliano is a master at finding beauty in the misbegotten and the disreputable. He is himself a disreputable figure or was.”

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Journalist Poorna Bell lets us into the restful houses of women who live alone and the mindsets and motivations of those who like their space all to themselves. “There was a sense of calmness they radiated, a centre of gravity they possessed, some immoveable sense of safety about them. That no matter what happens, they could handle it. And these are women who live alone but they aren’t alone. They have community, hobbies, friends, a sense of purpose, maybe a lover, maybe not,” Bell writes.

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Writer Rhys Thomas walked into a bookshop last November and uncovered a £3 book about stoicism that introduced him to the Serenity Prayer. Despite being an atheist, the call—God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference—unlocked a new, more positive outlook on life for him. “The prayer acts like a reassuring boost that life is full of ups and downs, and that eventually, if I keep on doing my best, I will come out on top,” says Thomas.

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The ideological gap between young men and women is widening in countries on every continent, according to data gathered by the Financial Times’ John Burn-Murdoch. Figures show women aged 18 to 29 are markedly more progressive than increasingly conservative men in the same age group, a shift that has “far-reaching implications.”

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Londoners are spoilt for choice in February when it comes to high-quality art exhibitions—here are a dozen must-see shows recommended by Time Out. Related: Beyond London, discover these shows in cities around the world and online in this great list curated by Shade Podcast founder Lou Mensah.

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Issa Rae talks to author Otegha Uwagba for Porter magazine about her business and philanthropic ambitions, where her brilliant sense of humour comes from and the shrinking landscape for Black television shows that tell complex stories about its characters. Rae tells Uwagba: “It’s already happening…you’re seeing so many Black shows get cancelled, you’re seeing so many executives – especially on the DEI side – get canned. You’re seeing very clearly now that our stories are less of a priority.”

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Leaders running the world’s biggest social media platforms are “leading an antidemocratic, illiberal movement,” argues Adrienne LaFrance in the Atlantic: “The behavior of these companies and the people who run them is often hypocritical, greedy, and status-obsessed. But underlying these venalities is something more dangerous, a clear and coherent ideology that is seldom called out for what it is: authoritarian technocracy.”

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To finish: With February 14th coming up, click here and thank Refinery29 later.

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Thank you for reading. Share to sweeten someone’s day—and have a lovely rest of your week!

Isabel :)

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