Today, the sun is moving into stable, dependable Taurus. The theme for this season is growth. And while the overall energy may be a big shift from what we experienced during fiery, impulsive Aries season, this month promises to be no less transformative. “The sun in Taurus is a time to become steady on our feet, get grounded, and turn our attention to more material concerns,” says Leslie Hale, psychic astrologer for Keen.com. “This represents the second sign of spring when the seed begins to grow, and our new beginnings from the previous month should start to show some growth.” This season will bring sensuality, creativity, and inflexibility to our lives, according to astrologer Lisa Stardust, the author of Saturn Return Survival Guide and The Astrology Deck — and good things are about to happen. “We will deal with matters in a more stubborn and inflexible way, which will help bring us towards our dreams,” Stardust says. “The upside to this transit is that we will not veer from our innate artistry and visions. This means that we’ll be more creative and driven towards what we want to give to the world on our terms.” Taurus is all about prioritizing what you want — so be a little selfish this month. The season of the Bull is all about taking action and being productive, which is a welcome vibe switch from impulsive and wildly creative Aries season. Madi Murphy, astrologer and founder of The Cosmic Revolution, says that now is all about enjoying the process. “During this time, we all have permission to take our time and bring a little bit more mindfulness to our magic,” she says. “Taurus also prefers quality over quantity, so it may be time to do some editing of any projects that don’t totally light you up. Strength and concentration are the superpowers available to you right now.” You heard her: As much as possible, de-prioritise all of the tasks on your to-do list that don’t speak to your soul or spark your creative fire. That way, you can focus on completing the things that really matter to you — and you’ll be more likely to knock those tasks out of the park too. While things will move along a bit more lackadaisically compared to when we’re in Aries season, this particular Taurus season is more charged up than usual. “This Taurus season is set to be a wild ride,” says Narayana Montúfar, senior astrologer for Astrology.com. “During this time, both the sun and Mercury will be forming intense connections with Uranus and Black Moon Lilith in Taurus, as well as Saturn in Aquarius, bringing surprises, obstacles, and endings.” Montúfar says that this intensity will be especially noticeable during the 26th April 26 Super Full Moon in Scorpio — so mark your calendars, because it “will bring an important situation to a climax,” she notes. The major thing to watch out for this month is stubbornness: Be aware of getting in your own way. “The shadow side of Taurus can keep us digging our heels into our comfort zones, old habits, or our opinions of the ‘right way’ to do things,” warns Murphy. “Releasing control over the small details is a tip that will go a long way when we are working with Taurean energy.” If you work on striking that balance, Taurus season will be yours for the taking. Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?Mercury Is In Taurus, So Take Things Really SlowCharge Your Vibrators: Venus Is In TaurusYour Horoscope This Week: 18th April 2021
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Last fall, Chrissy Teigen shared some devastating news with the world: the loss of her son, Jack, when she was 20 weeks pregnant. Since that day, Teigen and her family have begun to pick up the pieces that Jack left behind — and now, she wants to help others too. The model, author, TV host, and entrepreneur recently partnered with RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association and Ferring Pharmaceuticals to launch Fertility Out Loud, a new campaign designed to help anyone struggling to start or grow their family — a cause that’s near and dear to Teigen’s heart. Even before the loss of her pregnancy, she had spoken publicly about her own experiences with fertility and IVF, even joking about the process on Twitter. “I’ve been open about so much throughout my life, and so [infertility] didn’t seem like a crazy thing to talk about. But the more I spoke about it, the more I realized how taboo it was,” Teigen tells Refinery29 over the phone. “But quietly, I was getting DMs and letters — like handwritten letters — and emails. I realized that people didn’t think they could talk about it on an open forum, but they were happy to do it privately. I realized people don’t feel comfortable talking about this.” But not being open about, for example, what IVF feels like can make people going through feel alienated, and can leave them uninformed. Teigen herself regrets scheduling a fertility treatment to coincide with a Sports Illustrated cover shoot back in 2016, a decision that came in part from not understanding the process. “I genuinely thought that I would tell them when my period would be and we would go harvest eggs and just scrape them from my body and that would be it,” she says. “But the process of leading up to it, getting your body ready for it, it can be brutal. There are a lot of shoots I look back on now and I’m like, Oh man, I was extremely bloated for that. Or, you know, you’re bruised from all the shots that you’re doing. I naively thought that harvesting was like, you just take a rake and you go in and you’d take them off. Nope. It wasn’t that at all.” Teigen believes in sharing about the good parts of her fertility journey, too, like the embryo transfer of her first child, Luna. “I remember John couldn’t be there and I remember having him on FaceTime,” she says. “I remember having an acupuncturist come in because our first embryo hadn’t taken and I had really regretted that I hadn’t done acupuncture for some reason. When they inserted her little egg, it just shot across like a little shooting star,” Teigen continues. “Seeing it, and then praying that it would stick and stay, and sure enough, she did. And now she’s about to be five years old.” And while Teigen has always had her share of detractors who’s criticised her openness, more often, her honesty is met with gratitude and compassion. That was the case when she spoken generously and openly about her experience with pregnancy loss. After losing her son Jack, Teigen posted on social media and wrote on Medium about the immense grief she and her husband, John Legend, felt. The response to her candor was overwhelmingly positive, especially from people who had gone through or were going through something similar. Teigen and her family are continuing to work to keep Jack’s spirit alive. “In the Thai culture, you’re very open about death and speaking about death and loss and when someone passes, they’re still very much a part of your life,” Teigen says. “I’ve kind of been bouncing back and forth between that Thai tradition of keeping your loved one close but also wanting to release him and wanting him to be a part of the Earth again — just spiritually wanting him to be a part of the universe again.” The mom of two and her husband have been toying with the idea of if — and where — to release Jack’s ashes, but until then, they’re going to continue to honor him in other ways, including music. “[John] has a song that, when it comes out, it’s just going to be… I think everyone will know which song I’m talking about when it does come out because it’s so beautiful. I’m so excited for the music to come out,” Teigen says. “It’s especially an emotional thing for me, because it takes me right back to that exact moment.” She compares it to Legend’s Wild music video, which was released in August 2020 to announce their pregnancy with Jack. “It’s hard to watch now because we filmed that in a time when we were so hopeful,” she says. “Music for us is so healing, and I think it’s going to be a really beautiful summer and year coming up, with being able to release grief and loss. It’s going to be really transformative and amazing.” Teigen has also grappled with the fact that she’s been told she shouldn’t try to get pregnant again. “It’s still hard for me,” she says. “I’m in therapy and something that I talk about often is, I just don’t understand how I can’t [carry children] because I have a really healthy uterus now,” Teigen says, noting that she was treated for endometriosis. “I think one lingering thing is that Jack was so healthy, and it was just something with my body that was not right at that time. In my mind, I’m like, I need to try again, though. I want to try again. I believe my body’s in a better place than it was. And it’s hard to be told that you shouldn’t when you genuinely believe that you could. It’s hard to come to terms with and something that I talk about, honestly, twice a week still.” Teigen is eager to continue to grow her family, whatever that looks like. “My mind is open to any way there is about having that child. I’m honestly not sure if I would ever stop having children,” she says. “They just bring light and life to our household and to the world. I love being a mom and I can’t imagine ever saying, ‘Well, I’m done, I’m good on kids.’ John will probably have to be the one to pipe up and say that [laughs]. But my IVF journey has not ended at all.” Teigen tells Refinery29 that she and Legend still have a couple of frozen embryos that are, “ready to go in — if it’s not me, somebody.” She’s even ready to harvest more eggs, despite calling the process “a bitch.” She remembers how she felt when she saw “that little shooting star” that was to become her daughter, how beautiful that was, and says again, “It’s not the end of my journey at all.” As she thinks about continuing to grow her family, Teigen reflects once more on the importance of community and having those around you who understand you — and who love you. “Honestly, to this day, I still am not exactly positive what it is between John and I that just doesn’t mesh well enough to make a baby naturally,” she says. “We’re happy that we’ve been able to find so many incredible people and doctors that have talked us through the process that resulted in two incredible little babies… I just wish there was a place where more conversation was created.” For now, she’s happy to be the one to have started the conversation. “There’s no one way to [become a parent] and there’s no straight road at all,” Teigen says. “I’ve seen the highest of highs and the lowest of lows with it. I encourage anyone to be open and honest as they’d like to be. And they’ll get the same from me.” Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?Chrissy Teigen Just Dyed Her Hair Pastel PinkSee Chrissy Teigen's "Midlife Crisis Hair"Chrissy Teigen's New Tattoo Looks Like Morse Code
Relieve redness, pain, blisters and inflammation at home.
The fashion industry is one of the greatest global polluters, according to OneGreenPlanet, and while structural changes are crucial in solving this problem (we're talking legislative changes here), little old you can do your part too. The Instagram account 1 million women reported that if everyone in the UK didn't buy new clothes 'for one day, the emissions saved would be equivalent to driving a car around the world 8,640 times'. Be it a wedding guest dress, a Christmas party ensemble, a holiday-perfect wardrobe or a fashion-week ready handbag, some items or events feel like they are not worth investing in, and thats where dress hire comes in.
He sent me an Alice in Wonderland GIF on Tinder on 28th February 2020. I remember because it was my last normal weekend before COVID hit South Africa, where I live. I went to a birthday party that night, got outrageously drunk, and replied to his Tinder message the following day. Within five messages, I discovered that I had a lot in common with this Tinder match, who I’ll call Max. We studied at the same university, even completing the same degree (though he finished two years before me). We were both writers, with similar views about the world in general. Not even a week after matching, we were exchanging our writing. Instead of focusing on an upcoming work deadline, I stayed up late reading the first few chapters of his sci-fi novel. Before long, Max and I were sending about 100 texts a day. My screen time showed me that I was spending five hours on WhatsApp alone. If I was last to reply before going to bed, I would wake up to read his response in the middle of the night. Max and I lived an hour apart, but about a week after we matched, my grandparents invited me to spend a weekend with them at a beach flat they were renting, which was near where Max lived. He and I planned to meet up then. A few days beforehand, however, the first COVID case was confirmed in South Africa. And on the day of our date, I woke up with a headache, mild fever, and swollen glands. I had to cancel. Max was understanding and supportive. I spent most of that day sleeping through my fever and whenever I woke up, I had multiple messages from him checking in on me. He suggested that we go on a virtual date, and we arranged to watch Marriage Story “together.” Throughout the movie, we texted about the size of Adam Driver’s nose, the awkward acting, and how absurd it was that Adam Driver’s character’s favorite meal is a salad. (Come on, who doesn’t like carbs?) Soon after our cancelled date, South Africa entered a hard lockdown. No one other than essential workers could leave their homes, except to purchase food. Max and I had no idea when we would meet. We voiced fantasies of quarantining together in the woods or going on dates in Hazmat suits. “As soon as this is done we’re going for drinks and I’m gonna kiss you and hold your hand and we’re gonna be gross and take lots of pictures together, okay?” Max texted me. He and I joked that we had bewitched each other. I couldn’t work out how I could be so invested in someone I never met. I wasn’t new to the Tinder world when I connected with Max, and, typically, I’d had more luck dating people I knew in real life. With dating app matches, I tended to get bored of the superficial conversations quickly. I’d forget to respond, and the match would fizzle out before we made it to an in-person date. I likened my strong interest in Max to finally meeting The One. That said, when he started calling me “baby” and “my love,” I knew this was odd since we’d only been talking for a few weeks. But, I was obsessed with him, and clearly, this meant he was obsessed with me too, right? At this point, I viewed the lockdown as little more than a minor setback to my relationship with Max. Instead of feeling anxious or hyper-fixated on the pandemic and its consequences, I fantasised about our future relationship. Despite the onslaught of bad news, my dopamine levels were higher than ever. This changed about a month after Max and I started texting. His messages turned from hot to cold. I assumed that it was just a bad day and that his change of tone was unrelated to me — his “baby,” his “love.” But soon enough, he texted, “I’m sorry if I’ve been off-ish lately. I really enjoy talking to you and I care about you a lot, I just don’t know if we got a bit ahead of ourselves here.” I was floored. Max had initiated everything, so up until he sent these messages, I was 100% certain that everything I felt, he was feeling too. I told him this and questioned what his doubts meant for us. “I’m second-guessing everything. Maybe it’s best we take a break,” he texted back. I felt numb and betrayed. How could Max change his mind about me so quickly? I also felt like I was losing my own mind. I had let myself believe that we had something special. Had I made up the whole thing in my head? For days after Max ended things, I couldn’t eat or sleep. I was working at a fraction of my normal pace and I had to ask my clients to push back deadlines. I stalked his Twitter account, looking for a reason for his sudden change of heart. Why didn’t he want to talk to me anymore? Was he still in love with his ex? Was I just an experiment? Or worse, a game? I didn’t have an answer from him, and I couldn’t stop myself from searching for one in his cryptic tweets. What I deduced from his tweets was that Max was still hurting from a recent heartbreak. What we “had” was probably his attempt to project a relationship onto me. When that didn’t work, he decided to end things. But this understanding of what had happened didn’t make it any easier to move on. In the week that followed Max’s break-up text, I relied on (virtual) support from friends, who never questioned the sincerity of my heartbreak over someone I had never really met. They validated my feelings and told me that my response was normal and that things would get easier. After a week or so, though, my friends stopped asking the post-split, “How are you coping?” questions. I understood why. I assumed they were having the same thoughts I was: that I had never even met the dude. That we’d only been talking for a month. That if I hadn’t already forgotten about him, I would soon. People were going through real breakups, I told myself. And whatever Max and I had, it hadn’t been real. How could it have been, if we’d only communicated via text? Around then, I started dating again. I went on Zoom dates and, when the COVID-19 case numbers dropped in South Africa, real dates. For the first time in my life, I was dating intentionally. I felt a newfound confidence. My dating life was fun. But even though the people I met were intelligent, interesting, and charming, none of them went past the third date, when it became clear to them, or me, or both of us that I had no feelings. In all honesty, I wasn’t over Max. Months down the line, whenever I was in his city, I’d find myself secretly hoping that we would bump into each other. If I could just see him, then maybe I could get some kind of closure. Or maybe there would be a spark. All I knew is that I needed something. And after a while, this need began to baffle me. Previous heartbreaks from people I dated in “real -life” didn’t last this long. Why did I find it so hard to move on from Max? Over the past year, I’ve had lots of little moments of clarity that helped me answer that question. One is recognising that Max love-bombed me. He led me to believe that I was the most beautiful and intelligent person he had ever met. The level of affirmation and attention he gave me in such a small space of time created a dopamine high that I struggled to forget. Max fed into every rom-com fantasy I thought I’d outgrown. He affirmed me, complimented me, and paid close attention to everything I said. He was able to talk candidly about mental health, therapy, and personal issues. He was the perfect man. But — and this was my second moment of clarity — I only ever saw part of him. In early relationships, we often project fantasies onto our partners. Usually, along the way, we realize that they are flawed and complex individuals. I never got the chance to learn about Max’s flaws or what I might have perceived as negative qualities. Instead, he became a representation of an intense fantasy of mine. Of course it’s harder to let go of someone who seemed so perfect. But I was trying to get over someone who never really existed — and understanding that helped me move on. It’s been almost a year since I last had contact with Max. Thankfully, I no longer crave the closure or contact that I thought I needed for so many months. I’ve also learned to stop judging myself for taking so long to move on from someone I never met. I feel confident that I will meet someone that makes me feel the way Max made me feel. But it will be better — because they will be real. DashDividers_1_500x100 Welcome to The Single Files. Each installment of Refinery29’s bi-monthly column will feature a personal essay that explores the unique joys and challenges of being single right now. Have your own idea you’d like to submit? Email single.files@vice.com. Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?My Chronic Illness Can Make Singledom Feel ScaryHow COVID-19 Changed My Definition Of "The One"I'm Single & That Doesn't Mean I'm 'Too Picky'
Fed up of tired eyes, and under eye bags? Us too.
Nobody said learning to ski would be easy. Myself included. Which is why, for years, I resisted the lure of powder-white slopes in favour of powder-white beaches. Why would I want to lie face-down in cold, wet snow when I could be lying on an exotic stretch of sand? Then there were all the questions that popped up in my head every time I thought about it. What would I wear? Surely investing in special clothing like a waterproof jacket and salopettes would cost a lot? Then there was unimaginable stuff like helmet, goggles... even the skis. Where would I get hold of them? More experienced friends threatened to teach me, and talked about “steeps” and loving powder snow, or even going over jumps, all of which sounded pretty scary. I just imagined sliding down a slope out of control. Skiing just wasn’t my thing. But then a serious case of FOMO kicked when the same friends came back from skiing holidays saying they’d never felt so alive, and this was something I just had to do. And they convinced me that ski resorts for beginners do exist. Which is how I ended up, in my mid-40s, discovering that Crystal Ski could arrange the whole thing – holiday, lessons, renting skis and a helmet. I borrowed ski clothes from my friends, and headed to the Austrian resort of Zell Am See, ready to embark on a three-day beginners’ skiing course. Here’s what I learnt: 1. Looking the part is an endurance test in itself After slipping on thermals, fleece, salopettes and ski jacket, comes the first challenge: putting on the ski boots. Rock solid, intractable and weighing a ton, I couldn’t even get my feet through the neck of them. The trick, I discovered, was to push the tongue of the boot 120 degrees forward, then push my foot in, really hard. It worked. And I was exhausted. But not as exhausted as I was after carrying the skis out of the hire shop. And there was the pressing matter of what to do with my long hair. To avoid the dreaded dishevelled “helmet hair” look I opted for pigtails. 2. Gondolas aren’t exclusive to Venice On being informed that I’d be taking the gondola to my first lesson, I pictured myself gliding gracefully along the town’s beautiful Lake Zell in an ornate rowing boat. What a gorgeous way to start the day. This image was shattered when I was told that a gondola is the name for a ski lift on a cable, with cabins that each carry several skiers up the mountain. After jumping into the swish CityXpress gondola – a bit stressful because the cabins keep moving along while you get in – up and up we went on Zell am See’s Schmittenhohe Mountain, to nearly 1,328m, where I’d be having my first lesson on the nursery slopes.
A decision could be taken any time in the first two weeks of May
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This is horribly convincing
If the early modelling on the Government’s ‘green’ list is to be believed, plenty of British travellers this summer are going to find themselves out in the cold. Literally. The US, New Zealand, Australia, Israel, Malta, Iceland, Ireland and Gibraltar are to be the Accessible Eight, set to reopen to UK visitors when international travel resumes on May 17, without the need for quarantine on return. But with just three of those countries in the top 20 nations typically preferred by Britons, 2021 will be the year of the Holiday Homeless, scouring the internet for the best resorts in countries they had never given a second thought to visiting. If you discount the US (one of the three; the fourth most popular), Australia and New Zealand on account of the fact that Britons are most likely to look closer to home this summer for their first post-pandemic beach flop, that leaves just Ireland and Malta of our favourite destinations open for business. In 2019, Ireland and Malta accounted for 5.63 million of the 58.7 million trips made abroad by Britons, barely 10 per cent. That means that 56.3 million holidays will be either a) unfulfilled or b) crammed onto Irish or Maltese soil. We are creatures of habit when it comes to holidays. Spain has long been the most popular destination for Britons, with France second. In 2019, Spain, France and Italy accounted for more than half of all UK outbound tourism (33.5 million trips).
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