Luce Ends: May 8th
Welcome to Luce Ends — the Friday round up of loose ends, unfinished thoughts, feelings and rants that I’m trying (usually unsuccessfully) to tie up before the weekend!
Hello new subscribers!
After my last red carpet round up, I’ve experienced an influx of new followers so this felt like the perfect time to reintroduce myself to those of you who wandered over here and don’t know what you’ve gotten yourself into.
A few things about me:
My name is Lucy, hence the “Luce” Ends name of this weekly post…I did initially think my own nickname should be spelled “Luc” but have since been scolded/corrected it
I have two kids, two cats, a fish and a husband—right now the fish, Kyle Cooke, is my favorite person in this house
I currently live in Chicago but give it about six weeks and you’ll get to follow me back to my hometown in Kansas City (I’m acting very nonchalant about the whole thing but I suspect I’ll spiral soon)
Most of the time you can find me ranting about pop culture/ reality TV/ celeb gossip over on the gram but here I touch on whatever I want — wherever the wind takes me!! And I’m extra long-winded
I feel like that’s enough general stuff right now (notice I did not mention my age—I’m in denial about an upcoming birthday, so stay tuned there.) All in all, I’m still figuring out what my online sharing cadence is and what this Substack is supposed to be. I often get in my head about it—the question of if you care about the personal stuff or just want a bunch of fashion polls and Bravo hot takes—and with an influx of new followers, I’m in my head more than ever. C’est la vie!
So, before I redesign the whole thing (again) let’s get on with this week’s Luce Ends.
This week’s Luce Ends includes….
My favorite (and mostly least favorite) Met Gala looks
Why we all need to take our Summer House hot takes down to a low simmer
My new podcast obsession
A long wish list of birthday gifts and some staples that are on sale
Met Gala Madness
I love doing red carpet polls. It’s something I've done for years on my IG Stories and have recently started doing over here on Substack. And it’s always a wild ride when my recap finds it finds its way into the hands of people who don’t follow me/hate red carpets!!
The people who hated my Met coverage (which is understandable—a Hunger Games level ceremony this year!), I don’t think they’re part of the 200 new subscribers practically overnight—so welcome to you all!! I’m very grateful to be back to #25 on the Rising Humor list after the hours it took to make that post and hope you stick around long enough to find something else to like about me. But no promises!
Now that that’s out of the way….I never shared MY favorite and least favorite nominees.
I do expect people to hate that I let Kendall in here when the best part of her dress came INSIDE the Met, but I’m going to stand by it. And she’s not my BEST dressed…no, that’s reserved for Emma Chamberlain who came first and somehow stayed on the list (A FEAT!!!) and Anok who, if you zoomed in, did some of the most incredible makeup ever. And Heidi deserves to be acknowledged because, for once, her obsession with Halloween paid off.
This line up could be controversial but I am most offended by every blonde who decided they were hot enough they could get away with doing the least. There were probably worst dressed people (I honestly didn’t love this carpet as much as I would have liked), but at least some people committed!!!
In the end, Gigi’s panties, Blake’s HIDEOUS DRESS with yet another long train (at least she let someone else do her hair) and Margot’s weird metallic number pissed me off the most. Congrats, ladies!!
*Editor’s note: Y’all seem to love the polls and I know we all miss Fashion Police…I wonder if there’s a monthly segment we should bring back here to vote on the looks of the month while we have zero red carpets to look forward to….we have Cannes soon so maybe start there and see where it goes??
Summer House Discourse
I just have to say…and yes, by saying something, I am also sharing an opinion and inviting discussion…but the way people are biting each other’s heads off when it comes to this Summer House West and Amanda timeline discussion is INSANE.
Let me remind you all…we don’t know when it started!! So when I, maybe incorrectly and naively, say “I still don’t think it was physical last summer”, you don’t have to yell at me??? You can disagree, share your own theory even, but the fact remains WE DON’T KNOW THE TRUTH. Most of you enjoy debating back in a normal way, but someone always comes at me with a “YOU’RE SO WRONG, THEY CLEARLY WERE HOOKING UP, STOP BEING AN AMANDA APOLOGIST” to which I say….does this sound like someone who thinks Amanda is in any way in the right???
I’m often tempted to ask for people’s behavioral analysis credentials with the confidence they correct me with. Some may have them! Here’s the thing—I love the discussion of it all. I love when I post West saying Amanda is “already complaining” and think that means he couldn’t have been into her yet, other people suggest that maybe that shows how deeply aware of her feelings he was!! I love that we all are conducting an anthology study and referring back to our Psychology 101 syllabi to try and understand these two….but this isn’t a courtroom?? We don’t need to prove our cases to each other, because the fact remains we all have the same evidence and none of it is concrete.
And then there’s the Kyle of it all. I bought a sweatshirt when this all went down. I might be willing to try a LoverBoy again (if forced), but I can admit that that man saying “fuck you” to his wife wasn’t okay. No matter how annoying her face was, no matter how many discussions she’s had in this house. Two things can be true—Amanda hates him and is only in this marriage for paycheck purposes and he was not a good husband! I wish him well DJing, I think they both must be happier apart because clearly they were not happy together.
Thank you for coming to my TED Talk, everyone needs to calm down!
Colton UnderwoodClayton Echard Podcast
First off, I will never not refer to this man as Colton Underwood. I’d say I’m sorry to Colton, but after listening to a few episodes of this podcast, I feel like Clayton is the one who doesn’t deserve any more misplaced press (which is exactly what being mixed up with Colton is—sorry Clayton!)
Now for the actual pod—several people have been recommending this podcast to me for weeks and, as someone who knows the gist of the story, I felt like a twelve part podcast was unnecessary.
I am only three episodes in, but there is SO MUCH to this story I didn’t know and find absolutely baffling and bingable. AND, based on the DMs I’ve received, I don’t have any fears about it living up to the hype I’m creating in my own head!!
Again, I’m only three episodes in but I’m going to go ahead and recommend it and I will report back once finished!!
My birthday’s coming up. You wouldn’t know this because my first born came a week late and put me through thirty hours of labor to hijack my special day, but this year I am going to get myself something nice….while also keeping in mind that I got myself a house and can’t really spend a lot of money.
I also have a girls’ trip immediately following my birthday to visit one of my closest and chicest friends (those of you who were here during my bachelorette know her as the girl who’s took her steak to-go in her purse after a drag brunch) so I want some cute things to really feel festive for my trip.
So this Luce Ends Recommends is really just a wish list….enjoy!
I love this Tuckernuck dress and am torn between those short version and the long version
I have an Anthro code (LUCY20 for 20% off orders $100 or more) through the weekend and it’s the perfect time to get the viral Tobie dress!!! I LOVE THIS DRESS! I also love….
My new bucket hat (I plan on becoming a Gardner in my new house and it feels very Meryl Streep in It’s Complicated)
These cute towels I got for the girls’ bathroom (I also got these a few weeks ago for the guest bath)
This sleeveless version of the Tobie
This beaded bag that I will definitely be taking on my girls trip because I won’t need space for any kids stuff
This blue La Vie Style House dress that is on sale (but still way more than I’d spend on a dress so I’m very very torn)
I just got my Nespresso x Hotel Lobby candle….delicious doesn’t begin to cover it. I want to take a bite out of it (FYI also if you want you use my LUCY20 Anthro code for other Hotel Lobby scents you can!)
I mention this last week but this Merit Beauty starter pack is still on sale and a great way to restock or try this brand (which I love)
In other news Abercrombie is doing a 25-40% off sale and there’s a stackable code (SHOPMYAF) for an additional 15% off.
Grace Atwood shared her creator toolkit and it’s a great resource for anyone looking to dive into their own analytics!
My Eby Bras code is still live for 15% off (code LUCY-15)
The Skylight Calendar and Picture frame are on sale!!! (perfect for Mother’s Day!)
Vulture’s first ever Reality TV Masterminds were released (some I agree with and some I think are extremely random….)
Code “LUCY20” gives you 20% off my favorite CBD Cann’s
Coco is getting a big girl bed in the new house and we went with this one by Leesa
I’ve really been enjoying Conversations with Cam’s podcast and this snippet about burnout was really interesting
The viral pillows are 30% off
Ruggable is doing a 20% off End of Summer sale and you know I love my Ruggables — (they also have a LOT of cute new Summer rugs including this cute doormat I got for the new house)
Happy on Purpose listed 101 Hobbies to make you happier/healthier/sharper (but we have to stop scrolling to do it!!!)
Laundry Sauce is on sale at Target!!
Bauble Bar is having a summer sale!