It seems that starting a lifestyle brand is the newest trend these days for celebrities (i.e. Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop, Reese Witherspoon’s Draper James, Ashley Tisdale’s Haute Mess, etc.). However, Blake Lively decided she would do the opposite, as she announced she will be shutting down her site, Preserve.
The actress started her lifestyle website a little over a year ago, but has decided to end operations as she no longer feels it is something she can be “proud of.” In an interview with Vogue magazine, Blake explained, “It’s very exciting and its also incredibly scary. I never thought I would have the bravery to actually do that, to take the site dark and to say, ‘You know what? I haven’t created something that is as true and impactful as I know it can be and will be. And I’m not going to continue to chase my tail and continue to put a product out there that we, as a team, are not proud of.”
Although Blake believes that the site was never able to successfully fulfil its mission – to connect customers with hard-working, talented artisans – she continues to believe in the concept. She went on to say, “we have an incredible team of people who do beautiful work, but we launched the site before it was ready, and it never caught up to its original mission: It’s not making a difference in people’s lives, whether superficially or in a meaningful way. And that’s the whole reason I started this company, not just to fluff myself, like, ‘I’m a celebrity! People will care what I have to say!’ It was so never meant to be that, and that kind of became the crutch because it was already up and already running, and it’s hard to build a brand when you’re running full steam ahead – how do you catch up?”
Although fans of the site will be disappointed by its unexpected shutdown, they can be excited about the massive sales the site will put up during its final days of operation. Blake intends to give her loyal customers great deals on various items she loves.
In terms of coping with her own disappointment, Blake said, “I’ve asked my assistant to play [Taylor Swift’s] ‘Shake It Off’ on a loop – it feels really good to listen to it on a loop!”
Both Justin Bieber and One Direction are known for their incredibly loyal – sometimes crazy – fan bases. Therefore, it quickly became a battle of the pop stars, when Bieber and One Direction announced their album release dates – which happened to both fall on November 13.
Justin took to Snapchat to make it clear that he intends on outselling the boy band. In a comedic clip, the young star was seen saying “the face you make when you come out with an album the same day as Justin Bieber,” and then continued by making a face showing obvious fear.
It is tough to say who will come out on top between the two musical acts. Justin Bieber has not put out a record for 3 years, and many are anticipating his return as he attempts to rebrand himself and rid his “bad boy” image. However, One Direction also has some hype building up around their next album, as it will not only be the first album they release without Zayn Malik, but it will also mark their last release of music before they take a hiatus in March 2016.
Nonetheless, we will have to wait till November 13 to see which pop sensation comes out on top.