School’s out indefinitely, and entertaining my daughters (ages 1.5 and 3.5) between my own WFH schedule is at the top of my priority list. We don’t just need a few games for kids to play on a rainy day—we need solutions to help us practice social distancing for weeks. At this point, my family has run nearly every avenue dry. We’ve spent the last six days wreaking havoc on every room in the house and blasting through every toy, book, and activity that was part of our normal stock of entertainment.
As parents, many of us are juggling our fears regarding health, coupled with the logistics of how you spend all this time with your kids indoors, and (a lot of us) with no additional childcare to help. Schools support families in endless ways and provided a great schedule for mine to live our lives by. Right now, I’m doing my best to keep my girls’ routines in place—and also my sanity in check. So in an effort to make the next few weeks a little easier, here are some easy indoor games for kids to play, along with activity ideas that only need a product or two to do. Bonus: You may even have some of these supplies already handy to hold you over for the time being. Bring on the exhaustion.
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If you’ve ever worn hair extensions, you don’t need us to tell you how inconvenient and high-maintenance they can be. If it’s not clip-ins, which take forever to do yourself (and leave room for human error), then it’s sew-ins or bonded extensions, which require an afternoon in the salon.
So it’s no surprise that when Hidden Crown‘s hair extensions hit the scene, they blew up on Instagram for the sheer ease and accessibility of wearing extensions like a headband.
Instead of the tedious process of applying multiple clips, these hair extensions are shaped like an elastic headband with hair attached around the back. It takes the effort out of extensions; all you have to do is slip it over your head until it sits around the crown of your head (hence the name), layer your own hair around it, and proceed as usual. It’s so genius that these halo-shaped extensions are now favorites of Ashley Graham, Kim Kardashian, Khloe Kardashian, Olivia Culpo, and too many Real Housewives to count (among them Melissa Gorga, Erika Jayne, and Stephanie Hollman, to name a few).
Founder Shelley Goodstein had a pretty impressive resume before she added “founder and CEO” to the list. The Tucson, Arizona-based mom of three balanced her career as a pharmaceutical rep, modeling gigs with Ford Models, a blog called A Model’s Secrets, and a self-published book, a prescient, pre-social media guide to taking flattering photos.
Once she hit her 40s, she says her hairstylists started to put clip-in extensions on while she was modeling: “My hair would be fuller, and it’s the one thing you can’t Photoshop—fuller hair.” She loved the effect of the extensions so much that she once asked if she could keep them in for dinner with her husband afterwards. It was easier than doing it herself. “There had to be 25 clips—there was no way I could do that confidently,” she says.
When Goodstein began to search for other options (and thus found the fishing-line design), she also entered the Beauty Search contest for the since-folded More magazine, which celebrated women over 40. “I got to come to New York to do a photoshoot and won $10,000,” says Goodstein, who was 45 at the time. Her idea: Invest the winnings in a prototype of the halo-style hair extensions. “Once I had the extensions and perfected the design, I decided to test the market,” she says. Her best group of testers? Her blog readers.
Goodstein wrote a blog post in which she explained her new hair extensions, shared photos, and compared them to clip-ins. Readers sent in orders—and she sold out her first batch. “I doubled my money on day one, and then I never put another penny into my business,” she says. “I did all the shipping, I did all the service. I tried to figure out all the advertising.”
And while they’re an Instagram darling, Goodstein never sent them to influencers or celebrity reps to get coverage. The purpose of these halo-type hair extensions—which is to make extensions seem less overwhelming and easier to handle—is what made them stand out. That’s how celebrity hairstylist Justine Marjan discovered them.
“I’d seen Hidden Crown Hair Extensions all over Instagram for years and love how the headband-style makes extensions non-intimidating,” she says. “The clear string adjusts to your head shape and sits comfortably on your head, so you don’t have to worry about tracks showing or a clip coming undone.”
Bailey Marshall, a lifestyle blogger, learned about the extensions when a friend recommended them. “I didn’t even realize that Hidden Crown was even a thing until two months ago,” she tells Glamour. “You know the feeling when you leave your hair in a pony too long? That’s what I would get with clip-ins. Now that I have a Hidden Crown, I don’t know know why clip-ins are even a thing.”
One of the many things the Kardashian-Jenner family is famous for is their constant hair changes, whether that’s a dye job, wig, or $8,000 extensions. The latest sister to change her hair though drew some inspiration from close to home.
Yesterday, Kylie ripped some sort of hole in the Jenner time-space continuum when she FaceTimed her mom wearing, a wig that looks exactly like Kris’s iconic pixie. She shared the whole thing to her Instagram Story with the caption, “obsessed with you @krisjenner.” On anyone else, a lookalike wig and the word “obsessed” could ring a little too Fatal Attraction. But it’s just another day in the Jenner universe. And you’ve got to admit, the two do look alike.
It’s not even just the hair—from the round cheeks to the studded earrings to those sly “I’m a billionaire” smiles, the resemblance is uncanny. Of course, that makes sense, since they are mother and daughter. Now we’re just waiting for Kris to get her Kylie-inspired revenge and show up on Instagram in waist-length pink or blue hair.
PHOTO: kyliejenner/Instagram Stories
PHOTO: kyliejenner/Instagram Stories
Knowing how much Kylie loves to switch up her look, she may be just a few snips away from going full Kris. At least now we know she’d look just as good as a momager as she already does as a mom.
After seeing Crazy Rich Asians with her daughter (Luna) and husband (John Legend) over the weekend, Chrissy Teigen took to Instagram and explained why the movie was so important for her family.
“You never know how much you miss being represented on screen until you actually see what it’s like to be represented,” she wrote in the caption, picking out specific moments of resonance, like seeing Luna call Constance Wu’s character’s mom “yāy,” or ‘grandma’ in Thai, because she looked like her own yāy. The model also wrote about how great it was to see that representation manifest with a wide range of different characters and themes, from sacrifice and hardships in the table scene to over-the-top spectacle in the party and wedding scenes, “just like any other great movie.”
Also included were cute photos of Luna and Teigen looking up at the poster, Luna and Legend watching the movie, and a video of the dad/daughter pair dancing over the closing credits at the end.
The importance of representation in Crazy Rich Asians has been pretty much woven into the movie from the start. Kevin Kwan, the author of the original novel, optioned the movie rights for $1 so that Hollywood wouldn’t whitewash it. And earlier this month, Constance Wu published a statement on Twitter about how significant it is that Crazy Rich Asians is a romantic comedy that “not only centers [on] an Asian-American story,” but fills it with a “talented, dynamic, unique all-Asian cast.” Its impact has already been felt at the box office: In just four days, it made $34 million and became the top-grossing film on its opening weekend.
You can read Teigen’s full caption below:
What can I really say about this movie that hasn’t been said byabsolutely everyone who has seen it. I’ve been excited to see thissince production was announced but I could have never imagined howwonderful it would be. I planned on seeing it, making a few jokesabout how it checked all the boxes for me (CRAZY ☑️ RICH ☑️ ASIAN ☑️)but the feeling I got during the credits, watching John dance with mylittle black asian mashup baby bear luna tunes, was a feeling Ihaven’t had at the end of any other movies.
Luna, aside from being blown away by the general movie-goingexperience (yep she’s 13 now, time flies) looked up at @constancewu’smother and yelled “yāy!” (“Grandma” in thai) because she saw someonewho looked like her yāy. Someone beautiful and aspirational. It wassomething that simple that made my heart just…warm. That made mehappy. It made me happy to see this over the top story done from somany angles, some I could totally understand because of my ownconfusing Asian American upbringing. I loved it all, from the quietermoments of talking around the table of sacrifice and past hardships tothe spectacle of the bachelor party. Finding that I could cry watchingthe most over the top aisle walk on the planet.
You never know how much you miss being represented on screen untilyou actually see what it’s like to be represented. And represented byall different types of characters with all different types ofpersonalities, just like any other great movie.
Also aside from all that, it’s just colorful, fun and big as f*ck.
God I love a rom com. God I loved it all. Thank you guys for makingthis movie.
If you came out of Crazy Rich Asians with quite a few pieces of wedding inspo, you can at least partially thank Michelle Yeoh. Turns out, the second (gorgeous, emerald) ring that Nick (Henry Golding) proposes to Rachel (Constance Wu) with, which comes from his mom, Yeoh’s character Eleanor, actually belongs to the actress in real life. Director Jon M. Chu spilled the beans to Vulture in a piece published on Thursday (August 24).
“We had a ring designed already, and our mock-up looked so sh*tty that Michelle [Yeoh] was like, ‘That cannot be the ring I wear,’” Chu told Vulture. “I’m like, ‘I know, I know. I’m so embarrassed by it, but we don’t have the money.’ She’s like, ‘I have a better ring than that.’”
As Chu told Vulture, Yeoh then had her assistant fetch her jewelry box, whereupon she revealed a gorgeous emerald-and-diamond number she’d originally bought as a gift to herself (!). “She pulls it out, and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, that’s our ring,’” Chu said in the interview.
PHOTO: ANGELA WEISS/Getty Images
PHOTO: Sanja Bucko/Warner Bros.
As for other details you can steal for your own wedding, the stunning pastel blue gown that Rachel wears to Colin (Chris Pang) and Araminta’s (Sonoya Mizuno) wedding is made by Marchesa. Meanwhile, the wedding dress itself was actually a Mary Vogt–designed jumpsuit that came complete with a 10-foot train, “thousands” of Swarovski crystals, and “waterproof material.”
And for the part where Araminta walked on water as she came down the aisle, production designer Nelson Coates says he used a “flower-lined water aisle, constructed in truck-able segments, and somehow waterproofed during the fast installation.” Here are a few more details, in case you don’t have a crazy rich budget and want to do it yourself: Coates told Brides that he laminated the waterproofed marine plywood aisle with a reflective fabric, lined it with orchids, bromeliads, and ferns, and hid water jets among the plants to adjust the volume and direction of water. Happy crafting!
Back in December 2016, director Jon M. Chu and Warner Bros. put out a worldwide casting call for a little movie you may have heard of: Crazy Rich Asians. Hopefuls were asked to upload two-minute audition videos to Facebook, YouTube, or Twitter using the hashtag #CrazyRichAsiansCasting for a chance to be considered for an acting or creative role.
Naturally, the casting call went viral across the world, and thousands swarmed social media with their audition tapes. Though the lead roles ultimately went to stars with more clout and credits—including Constance Wu and Awkwafina—a few spots were given to Asian and Asian American actors and artists who applied. One of them was Cheryl Koh, a student at University of Southern California at the time.
Known as Cheryl K on YouTube, Koh made an impression with her audition, a belting rendition of Jessie J’s “Mamma Knows Best.” “I almost was going to take it down,” Koh says of her audition tape. “But I thought, whatever happens, happens.”
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A year after uploading the tape, she was chosen to sing “Money (That’s What I Want)” for the opening and ending credits of Crazy Rich Asians. Chu asked Koh to put a spin on the song, which was originally recorded by Barrett Strong and famously covered by The Beatles, by singing both Mandarin and English verses.
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Of course, the rest is history: The film’s number one at the box office, and a sequel is already in the works. Now, Koh’s looking for an agent, publicist, and record label to keep up with the demand for her work. Here, she tell us more.
So, what made you decide to upload an audition tape? And what led to you being chosen?
Cheryl Koh: When I heard about the casting, I thought this would be a really good chance for me. I didn’t have anything to lose. And when I read the script, I felt like being in Los Angeles and being Malaysian would give me a chance. I thought, Maybe they won’t have to fly me to LA for the audition, so that will help! The acting part took up most of the time; I only had 15 seconds to do a “hidden talent.” I memorized the script and then chose a song to reflect my soulful singing type.
When did you hear back?
CK: I didn’t hear back for an entire year; I got an email from Warner Bros. this January. It was [director] Jon M. Chu who saw my audition and asked them to contact me. Of course, I was jumping up and down. I recorded the song they wanted me to sing—“Money”—in my room. I learned it and recorded it on the same day. Jon called me and said, “Cheryl, I have good news for you.” And I replied, “Am I going to cry?”
PHOTO: Courtesy of Cheryl Koh
You met the cast. How was that?
CK: I just loved how friendly they all were to me despite being big celebrities. Gemma Chan was so elegant. Constance Wu was approachable and professional. Ken Jeong even went up to me first and introduced himself. When I got home, I saw that he had followed me on Instagram. It was so cool. I took selfies at the premiere with most of the cast, and they recognized me too.
Now that the movie’s out, what’s the response been like?
CK: I am very grateful for the support I’ve been getting from friends, family, and even random strangers who message me and tell me they like my song. It’s very encouraging for someone like me, coming all the way from Malaysia to Los Angeles and never expecting something like this would happen.
What are your thoughts on how well Crazy Rich Asians is doing at the box office?
CK: For a movie like this to come out is already an achievement. For a movie like this to come out and break all these records is another achievement in itself. This is the best thing we could ever hope for, and I couldn’t be more proud.
Have you been getting a lot of offers since Crazy Rich Asians?
CK: Warner Bros. invited me back to work on a few projects with them. I studied music industry in college, so I was able to negotiate the CRA contract by myself. But now I need to find an agent, a publicist, a record label since I’m going to be doing more things. I spend most days replying to emails, calls, and doing interviews now. It’s tiring, but I love it.
