Tag Archives: Life and style

Want to start lazymaxxing? Here are some low-effort ways to improve your life | Arwa Mahdawi | The Guardian

Lifestyle, , , ,

Keyword – Opinion
Trefwoorden – Life and style, Sleep, Science, Health & wellbeing, Parents and parenting
Title – Want to start lazymaxxing? Here are some low-effort ways to improve your life | Arwa Mahdawi | The Guardian
Author – https://www.theguardian.com/profile/arwa-mahdawi
Link – Want to start lazymaxxing? Here are some low-effort ways to improve your life | Arwa Mahdawi | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-09-09T10:00:06.000Z
Category – Opinion
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/sep/09/want-to-start-lazymaxxing-here-are-some-low-effort-ways-to-improve-your-life

T his evening I’m going to tuck my five-year-old into bed and read her a chapter from one of her princess books, followed by a summary of research recently presented at the annual congress of the European Society of Cardiology. Once upon a time, I’ll tell her, there was a scientist called Dr Nawon Lee who authored a study that found having a weekend lie-in may be very good for you and can protect against high blood pressure. Our accomplished protagonist Dr Lee said: “People should not feel lazy or guilty for sleeping a little longer on the weekend.” And the moral of this story, dear child, is that you should try not to wake your mothers up at 6am every day.

Unfortunately, I’m not sure that all the peer-reviewed science in the world will convince my early riser to have a weekend lie-in. Still, as a big fan of sleep and someone who has never once felt guilty for hitting the snooze button, I have to say I feel vindicated by this new study. CEOs can get up at 4am and run 10 miles before eating five foraged mushrooms if they want to, but I’m going to protect my heart health by sleeping in, any opportunity I can get, thank you very much.

The rich world is currently in thrall to tech-enabled self-optimisation. Or as some people (people you do not want to end up seated next to at a dinner party) call it: humanmaxxing . We’re told we should track our biomarkers and optimise every second of our days, often in complicated and joyless ways. If that works for you, great. But, personally, I’m a big fan of lazymaxxing and finding low-effort ways to improve my life. Weekend lie-ins are obviously one, drinking coffee is another. A 2025 study found that morning coffee drinkers were 16% less likely to die early of any cause. Swearing is also surprisingly good for you : uttering a profanity can decrease physical pain and increase focus. And while I can’t go so far as to say that bingeing Love is Blind has health-giving properties, I did unearth research concluding that enjoying trashy films is a sign you’re a well-educated cultural omnivore. I still haven’t found a study proving that lying on the couch, eating crisps, reading thrillers and ignoring your obligations is good for you, but I live in hope.

Sali Hughes on beauty: the hero products that kept me cool in the long hot summer of 2026 | Skincare | The Guardian

Lifestyle, , ,

Keyword – Fashion
Trefwoorden – Skincare, Beauty, Women, Life and style
Title – Sali Hughes on beauty: the hero products that kept me cool in the long hot summer of 2026 | Skincare | The Guardian
Author – https://www.theguardian.com/profile/sali-hughes
Link – Sali Hughes on beauty: the hero products that kept me cool in the long hot summer of 2026 | Skincare | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-09-09T09:00:05.000Z
Category – Lifestyle
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2026/sep/09/sali-hughes-beauty-hero-products-kept-me-cool-2026-long-hot-summer

Y ou’ll normally find me looking back on my favourite products of the past 12 months at year’s end. But this summer has been so freakishly hot and sweaty it has required its own toolkit and, by extension, its own list of exceptionally well-performing products that deserve rapturous commendation.

The first is Refy’s Skin Base (£30), a sheer face tint so thin and so lightweight it has been all I could bear to wear since July. It’s suitable for all skin types, but not at all appropriate for those who hate any hint of shine. While the texture is totally ungreasy, breathable and so comfortable as to be imperceptible, it does look unmistakably dewy, so avoid if you’re devoted to matte. Personally, I take the view that, in this heat, one might as well steer into the skid, but I am, admittedly, at an age when a juicier look works in my skin’s favour. Anyway, this is makeup that truly feels like absolutely nothing, and what it lacks in coverage can be made up with concealer where needed. Maximum points from me (I wear shade 140N).

Moisturiser is another step that humidity has forced me to downsize. The heat has made wearing heavy face cream as appealing as a 5km parkrun, so I’ve switched to lighter liquids to quench my skin’s thirst. The Prequel skincare line, which recently launched in the UK, is consistently good, but its Half & Half Fluid Moisturi zer (£28) has been a godsend. This very lightweight emulsion pours like semi-skimmed milk, satisfies like double cream and barely adds any weight to sweaty skin. The glycerin and ceramides keep everything supple until bedtime, and give a smooth, plump base for SPF and makeup. It’s the skincare equivalent of sleeping underneath a silk sheet instead of a 9-tog duvet.

St Tropez’s new Instant Glow Mousse (£25) has never been far from my reach. It’s a fast, mess-free and streakless way to make exposed legs golden until your next soapy shower. Stroke on with a mitt, wash off only when you’re ready. Absolutely no fussy prep required.

I’ve relied heavily on zingy, fresh, enlivening scents to keep me in good spirits. The summer 2026 perfume playlist I’ve had on repeat is Dedcool’s Xtra Milk (from £24) – a dreadful name, but a very gentle, happy and wearable fragrance – and Penhaligon’s Luna (from £32), all wet roses, zesty citrus and airy green forests. Like a cold compress for the senses.

Infantino’s rebrand and long haul games: five takeaways from World Cup opener | World Cup 2026 | The Guardian

Lifestyle, , , ,

Keyword – Football
Trefwoorden – World Cup 2026, Mexico, South Africa football team, Fifa, World Cup, Football politics, Football, Sport, Shakira, Gianni Infantino
Title – Infantino’s rebrand and long haul games: five takeaways from World Cup opener | World Cup 2026 | The Guardian
Author – https://www.theguardian.com/profile/matthughes
Link – Infantino’s rebrand and long haul games: five takeaways from World Cup opener | World Cup 2026 | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-11T22:08:28.000Z
Category – Sport
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/jun/11/infantino-rebrand-long-haul-games-five-takeaways-from-world-cup-opener

World Cup fever

Mexicans have waited 40 years to witness a World Cup in their own country and the pride felt from becoming the first nation to stage three tournaments has been easy to sense in the city all week. Those fortunate enough to have secured tickets were not going to miss out. Despite road closures and multiple protests from striking teachers and families of the country’s 130,000 disappeared making travel challenging, all 83,000 seats at the Azteca were filled 90 minutes before kick-off, with Fifa’s fears of being forced to delay proceedings proving unfounded.

Many fans endured a fairly arduous journey, walking several miles along the side of closed motorways from 8am to ensure they were in place long before kick-off. The sight of tens of thousands of sombreros being thrown in the air just before kick-off was a stirring spectacle, while the embryonic Mexican Wave that rippled around this vast bowl for the first time in the 17th minute was enough for even the biggest World Cup sceptic to momentarily park their doubts.

Shakira returns

More than £7m raised from the proceeds of the 2010 hit Waka Waka that was supposed to go to charity remains unaccounted for, but Shakira clearly has no hard feelings. The Colombian pop star returned to headline another World Cup opening ceremony and stole the show from fellow performers Burna Boy, J Balvin and Danny Ocean with her rendition of the official tournament song, Dai Dai, although the new tune is unlikely to surpass her original contribution to football culture.

As well as being remembered as an iconic World Cup anthem, Waka Waka seared itself into the wider global consciousness, reaching No 1 in 15 different countries and attracting more than 4.4bn views on YouTube and more than 1bn Spotify downloads. Fittingly, this game was the reverse fixture of the opening match in 2010, when South Africa hosted Mexico in a 1-1 draw at Soccer City, Johannesburg, although mercifully few of the travelling fans had dusted down their vuvuzelas from that tournament. Just before kick-off here, Andrea Bocelli performed the World Cup anthem, DNA, although it was the length of time it took the 48 flag bearers to walk on to the pitch that made the biggest impression, reinforcing the fact that some endurance will be required to get through this serious marathon of a World Cup.

Humble Gianni

On the eve of the Qatar World Cup four years ago, Gianni Infantino cast himself as an almost messianic representative of the underrepresented and oppressed, while even at the draw in Washington six months ago he revelled in Donald Trump’s description of him as the “King of Football”. But the Fifa president has projected a very different image at this tournament.

Coming up against the political and administrative requirements of the US government in particular has been a sobering experience for Fifa , with Infantino at pains to say it is just a sports organisation with little influence over important matters such as immigration and security policy. From a man hubristic enough to set up an lternative to the Nobel peace prize last year, it has been quite a change of tone.

Hungry hosts

Mexico may have been fortunate to kick off against a sloppy South Africa side, who gifted them a goal after only nine minutes with some careless passing and poor goalkeeping, but the hosts took full advantage and could make a real impact on the tournament. Unlike the other nations here, most of Javier Aguirre’s side have benefited from an extended period of preparation, with the Liga MX players called to a mandatory five-week training camp last month, and they looked sharp from the outset.

Wingers Roberto Alvarado and goalscorer Julián Quiñones, in particular, looked threatening, and the hosts should have added to their lead during a dominant first half. While South Korea and Czechia should present more of a challenge in their remaining fixtures, Mexico’s encouraging start reinforced the impression they would be no pushovers for England if they meet in the last 16, as they will if both win their respective groups.

Long haul

Even in relatively temperate conditions, and with few stoppages in play, the World Cup’s opening game still felt like a slog, which is likely to have set the tone for the tournament. With Fifa’s mandatory three-minute hydration breaks taken despite temperatures of just 22 degrees, the Brazilian referee, Wilton Sampaoi, did not blow his half-time whistle until 55 minutes after kick-off, even though just four minutes of added time had been played.

It seems almost inevitable that all matches in this competition will stretch over two hours and niggly contests with multiple stoppages played in hot conditions could end up lasting far longer.