Black girl magic: from Meghan Markle to Rihanna
Well this was a week of real highs and lows, now wasn't it? I'm not going to talk about the lows, they're all over the news, but we all know the high point: MEGHAN AND HARRY ANNOUNCED THEIR ENGAGEMENT. I've been waiting for this for months, and predicted to multiple friends weeks ago it would come Monday morning, and Monday morning it indeed came. I woke up to go to the bathroom at 3 am, checked Twitter to see if there was a tweet from Clarence House, and well, I did not go back to sleep until I managed a nap at 5 pm. If you missed any of their photo call on Monday or their first official engagement today (an event for World AIDS Day), don't worry, the Fug Girls have you covered. And guys, if you haven't, you have to watch their interview, which was SO ADORABLE OMG. When Harry does the little dance when the interviewer says "husband"! The way Harry kept referring to "our cottage" when he's been living there for years and she moved in like two weeks ago! When Harry says "Her [black] mum's amazing!" Look, this year has been a trashfire every day where the news is concerned, it's a gift to have headlines about this, as I said in this piece for Elle this week.
When Meghan came out in her perfect makeup with her perfect nude lipstick I tweeted something about maybe Meghan can convert me to nude lipsticks, but I realized before I even finished typing that that won't happen, or at least not completely. Because you see, I ordered the new Fenty Beauty lip paint from my phone at the Thanksgiving dinner table (it only because available on Thanksgiving, and thank goodness Nicole Cliffe texted me to tell me it was, because I'd been so busy with cooking that I'd forgotten to order it). It arrived on Monday afternoon and I've worn it every day this week (rare for me for a lipstick since I have...a lot). It's a great true red on me, very close to the color of the Sephora cream lip stain in Always Red that I'm a big fan of, but I like the way this feels more, because it's less drying. It transfers more than other long wearing lip colors I've used, but weirdly stays on and stays looking good much longer for me than others do; most others I've tried wear away from the center after a few hours, but yesterday I wore the Fenty for well over 8 hours without reapplying and it still looked great in the evening. To be fair, I only ate small stuff and with a fork (today's breakfast burrito wiped like 80% of it off), but that's way better than most lipsticks do for me. Thanks, Rihanna!
OBVIOUSLY now you're all in the mood to read royalty related romances, right? You have likely seen many people this week recommending THE ROYAL WE, and if you haven't yet read it, please run out and buy it immediately so you can dive in over the weekend. One of the things that I really love about the book (other than the fantastic, heartfelt, emotional romance) is all of the interesting logistical stuff about royalty that they really dive into. I love all behind the scenes kinds of stories with all of those kinds of procedural details, and the authors (the above mentioned Fug Girls!) did a ton of research on all of that, and it shows in a great way. I am also DYING to read Alyssa Cole's book A PRINCESS IN THEORY -- it comes out in February, but you can preorder it!
Do you need a nice, happy, warming you from the inside out drink for these trying times? Good news: no matter if you drink alcohol or not, I've got you covered. Last winter, I made a ton of this ginger syrup, and I would store it in mason jars in the fridge (it keeps for a few weeks) and would make it into a hot drink at night, sometimes with, sometimes without, bourbon. Your ginger syrup (get it?) is spicy and sweet, and then you add some good American bourbon and/or good American citrus fruit, pour either boiling water on top (for the winter) or sparkling water/tonic water on top (for the summer) and you get a cocktail fit for a princess.
The Meghan and Harry
For the Ginger Syrup
8 ounces (225 grams) fresh ginger*
4 cups water
2 cups (400 grams) sugar
A pinch of salt
Slice the fresh ginger, then chop it all up into chocolate chip or so sized chunks (it can be a little bigger). Put the ginger, water, sugar, and salt all in a big saucepan and bring to a boil, and then reduce the heat and let simmer for about an hour. Let it all cool, then strain the syrup and store in the fridge.
*if you don't have a kitchen scale, weigh the ginger at the store; you don't need to peel it for this, so however much you buy is how much you use.
For the cocktail
1 ounce ginger syrup
1 ounce bourbon
and/or
the juice of half an orange or a quarter of a lemon (or more, depending on your taste)
Optional: a dash of cayenne pepper, a cinnamon stick, a sprig of mint, the zest of your citrus
Put all ingredients in a mug or glass. For a hot drink, pour boiling water over it all. For a cold drink, add ice and pour sparkling water or tonic water over it all. Enjoy!
Have a great weekend!
Jasmine
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