OCT 2, 2026

INSIDE: Bathhouse Culture, Retinoid Opinions, and Romanticizing Fall.

TODAY I WILL:

Let my confidence come from keeping promises to myself.

Is everyone else just sending Backpack content on every possible platform?

• Backpack, we love you. 

• Well, this isn’t what you want to hear after investing $500 in a toothbrush…

• The hot chef archetype is working on us. 

• Tell your boy best friend that layering is so back. 

• Zara’s inventory is getting the Galliano treatment.

Meet You at the Bathhouse?

Bathhouses—complete with saunas, steam rooms, cold plunges, and pools—are having a serious moment in the U.S. And it makes sense, as we search for ways to find community, because unlike the whisper-only spa days we’re used to, the new generation of spa days actually wants you to socialize.

As you may know, the bathhouse concept is super old. Cultures around the world have long gathered in places like Finnish saunas, Turkish hammams, Japanese onsens, and Russian banyas. But America’s latest interpretation is giving the centuries-old ritual a decidedly modern makeover. One report even suggests that new bathhouses are combining traditional hot-and-cold experiences with everything from guided sauna sessions to sober nights, comedy shows, and social spaces designed for lingering. Plus, the concept has huge backing. The U.S. sauna market generated an estimated $250.8 million in 2024, with further growth projected through 2030. 

According to culture experts, bathhouses are simply another chapter in our ongoing search for the elusive “third space”—somewhere that isn’t home or work where we can actually spend time around other people. Plus, we love that there may be health benefits to sauna bathing, too. Research has associated regular sauna use with cardiovascular benefits and lower risks of high blood pressure, while other studies have explored potential links to stress reduction and cognitive health.

The takeaway? While it’s not for everyone, the sauna renaissance shows no signs of slowing down. It’s wellness without necessarily doing it alone, socializing without necessarily drinking, and an excuse to be unreachable for an hour without announcing a digital detox.

Yesterday, we asked you: What’s your retinoid experience level?

The results were a pretty even split between the some seasoned pros and the total newcomers! Thirty-seven percent of you are dedicated nightly users and have been for as long as you can remember, while 36% have never touched the stuff. Meanwhile, 23% are just getting started and excited to see progress, and 4% described your retinoid relationship as on-again, off-again. Overall, we’d say it looks like retinoids have made it into a lot of medicine cabinets, but everyone is on their own journey.

POV: It’s 55 degrees, the leaves are changing, you have nowhere to be, and your coffee is still hot. Consider this your sign to romanticize fall. We’re talking crunchy leaves, oversized sweaters, tiny bookstores, and the completely irrational belief that moving to a small New England town would solve all our problems. These are the movies to put on when you want autumn to feel like a personality trait.

When Harry Met Sally: Basically the fall rom-com blueprint. Harry and Sally walking through a foliage-filled Central Park might be responsible for approximately 75% of our unrealistic expectations for fall in New York. Add chunky sweaters, bookstores, and Meg Ryan, and we’re sold.

Good Will Hunting: If your autumn fantasy always needs some back-to-school energy, this one involves Harvard courtyards, Boston foliage, dive bars, and wearing enough layers to survive a New England winter. Touching and heartwarming. 

Dead Poets Society: And if you really need back-to-school, enter the prep-school blazers! Few movies make going back to school look this aesthetically appealing. Suddenly, we’d also like to spend fall reading Whitman on a picturesque New England campus.

Sweet November: Keanu Reeves, Charlize Theron, San Francisco, and a romance with an expiration date built right into the title. The cozy coats and autumnal city backdrop will pull you in; the emotional damage will make sure you remember it. Consider tissues part of the dress code.

Mystic Pizza: Before Julia Roberts was the Julia Roberts, she was slinging pizza in a tiny Connecticut town alongside Annabeth Gish and Lili Taylor. Come for the messy romances and female friendship, stay for the coastal New England scenery that will have you Zillow-ing houses in Mystic before the credits roll.

EYEING:  This beauty peptide complex, a scalp detox shampoo, and these chic (and size-inclusive) wide leg trousers.