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Refinery29
19 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Refinery29
Thieving, Reselling & Stalking: The Lengths We're Going To For Labubus
Labubus popped up seemingly overnight. Though not a new toy, their mainstream popularity has suddenly skyrocketed. Since a friend pointed them out to me, I've suddenly noticed them attached to several people's handbags on the Tube — both men and women — and even heard a story of a woman snatching and running away with a person's Labubu on a busy road in east London. It isn't easy to get your hands on one the legal way. Pop Mart, the Chinese toy company who sells the plush monsters designed by Kasing Lung, recently had to pull Labubu stock from its stores due to ' safety issues ' as people were fighting over them. Since being reintroduced to stores, I've heard anecdotally that any available stock disappears within 10 minutes of the store opening time. Although the toys are typically sold for 50 yuan in China (equivalent to just over $7), the scarcity of them has driven up prices through resellers. This month, a human-sized Labubu sold at auction for over $150,000, and a limited edition release went for over $31,000. Celebrities are getting their hands on the toys too, including actress Emma Roberts who posted an excitable unboxing video. Rihanna, Dua Lipa and Blackpink's Lisa also all own them. At a time when we're constantly talking about high living costs and a poor job market, have we all gone mad? This might be another case of the lipstick effect, in a fuzzy monster form, a theory that during times of financial hardship, people seek out small inexpensive pleasures (historically, lipstick). But the kicker is that Labubus don't feel so inexpensive anymore. The time, effort, and strategic planning to get your hands on one makes them costly in more ways than one. 'I'm honestly a little embarrassed to say this, but I've spent well over $500 on them,' says Ethan Melillo, 32, from Rhode Island. He's been collecting Labubus for a month, and now owns 26. 'I kept seeing them on TikTok and was honestly confused at first because I didn't even know what they were,' he says. 'They reminded me a lot of the Furby craze from the late '90s and early 2000s. As more content creators started showing them off, I figured I might as well get one too. My first was a Coca-Cola Labubu that I bought on Pop Mart. I think what draws people into the trend is the exclusivity because it's really based on luck when you're trying to get one from the Pop Mart website.' Melillo has never bought from a reseller, given the hiked up prices. He sticks to Pop Mart and TikTok Live events. 'It's taken a lot of effort to get the ones I want, especially since I'm not just competing with thousands of other collectors, but also with bots that snap them up just to resell.' So why go to all that hassle for a toy? For Melillo, it's about nostalgia. 'It reminds me of collecting Pokémon cards as a kid. It's also been a really fun thing for my wife and me to do together. We open them up as a little activity, and some of them now live on my bookshelf or pop up in my social media posts. A few are used as accessories on my wife's purse.' He thinks it's time to slow down on buying more, but he does have his eye on the 'secret' editions from sets. Secret ones, for those of us less acquainted with the ins and outs of the Labubu world, are rare collectables usually found in blind boxes. They're so rare, Melillo tells me, that you have a 1-in-72 chance of getting one. 'But I'm not about to buy hundreds of boxes just for a shot at one. I'll stick to the thrill of the hunt.' Some people have been onto Labubus since before the trend took off. Hannah Gumbley, 26, from London, started collecting the toys last year after going into a Pop Mart store near the city centre for the first time. 'I've always been a lover of trinkets and cute collectibles, collecting Sanrio and Sylvanian Families from a young age. Something about Labubus spoke to me. I think it was something about the fact they were kinda creepy and kinda cute that I loved,' Gumbley says. She couldn't buy one that day as they were sold out, so she went to eBay. 'Naively, I didn't realize at the time that even then there was a huge market of 'lafufus' [fake versions] and accidentally bought one. Since then I have learnt my lesson and only brought them from Pop Mart stores.' Now, her collection stands at 12, including some special editions. They hang from her bags, and she picks which one to use so it will match her outfit. It's about self-expression. In total, she's spent over £200 ($275) on them, avoiding reseller prices. 'When I first started collecting they were much easier to get a hold of but since the boom I haven't been able to get my hands on any, only getting the Big Into Energy series this week because my friend had won the raffle and we shared a box,' Gumbley says. She has more special editions and secret ones on her shopping list, including the Singapore exclusive Hide and Seek mermaid, the Mokoko Close to Sweet, and the Wacky Mart Tempura Prawn. 'A must!!,' she adds. 'I think my hunt to complete my Labubu collection will never be finalized.' For the beginner collector, there are plenty of lafufus to avoid. Emmeline Roane, 30, from Philadelphia, bought her first legit one in May, then a second in June. She already collected toys and when she saw the hype on social media around Labubus, she knew there had to be a new branch to her toy collection. The first one cost $60 (bought in a mall in San Francisco's Japantown) and the second was $45 (found on Facebook from a seller in Philadelphia). 'It's a bit of a challenge to find real ones. Resellers buy them up and resell them for more via Facebook Marketplace or some stores in Chinatown [in Philadelphia] sell them,' Roane says. Despite that, it's still fun for her. 'I love that when I wear them out, people have so many questions about them and say it makes them feel more inclined to accessorize with funky toys.' However, Roane won't be buying any more. Two is enough as she tends to collect one to three of a toy type. Her advice for people wanting to avoid fakes is to pay attention to whether they're being sold out of the box. 'But sometimes they're made to look like real ones in the box, too. It's a gamble if you don't know how to authenticate them. I check by using my Pop Mart app and scanning the QR code on the box.' Not everyone is out to collect them for keeps, though. Kelly, 32, from Macao, has been reselling Labubus since the start of this year. Inspiration struck after she waited in a long queue for them at a pop-up store with friends. 'I realized that I need to queue for that stuff! So I guess, if I already queued for my friend, why don't I get more and sell to others who didn't come and queue? One of my friends was doing this already, so we established a 'partnership'. She is the one to get customers online, and I'm the one who queues and gets the Labubus.' The duo resell them on Rednote, Xianyu (a secondhand platform in China) and Carousel (in Hong Kong). For the latest Labubu series, people are willing to pay more than double their cost, she says, and because she sells them in a boxset, people have a chance at getting a 'secret' one, which is more expensive. This means she can up the price on her boxsets. In terms of pounds, she can often make as much as $140 in profit from one sale, especially if it's a rare edition. It's getting hard for her to continue selling so much because of how difficult it is now, compared with the start of the year, to buy them. 'It's time-consuming, and most of the time when I get to the store, there is already a long queue or products are sold out.' Kelly has resorted to Pop Mart's 'online lucky draw'. She has 10 accounts to maximize her chances of winning. How long we'll care about Labubus for remains to be seen, but for now, the craze is full-throttle. Guess what: After starting this piece thinking the whole thing was ridiculous, I now kind of want one, too.
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Rampant street crime. One alleged rape every hour. Homeless beggars. And demographic changes that have made the city unrecognisable. With a heavy heart, MATT GOODWIN says London is OVER
When I fired off a tweet about my day trip to London last week, I didn't expect it to be read by 12 million people around the world. But that's exactly what happened when I shared a few observations about our once-great capital under Labour Mayor Sadiq Khan. 'All these things happened to me in London today,' I wrote. 'I paid nearly £30 for a train ticket to take me into London from a town just 30 miles away – on a Saturday. 'The first person I sat next to decided to have a FaceTime conversation with his friend on speakerphone, so we all had to listen to it. 'The train was late by 40 minutes due to unexplained 'signalling issues'. It was also filthy. I paid nearly £8 for a pint. I offered a woman my seat on the Tube without realising she was with a man – who intervened and said: 'No man.' He was not from the UK. I think he took my gesture as an insult. 'I was asked for money by homeless people three times in one day. 'I noticed that several people who are paid to give information to taxpayers and tourists over the Tannoy on the Tube cannot speak English properly. 'A cabbie told me: 'London is dead most nights.' Restaurants are struggling and hideously overpriced. I was constantly aware I should not get my phone out on the street – as more than 70,000 were stolen last year. I also discovered there were 90,000 shoplifting offences in London last year, up 54 per cent.' Behind all these observations lies a deeper point that has gradually become unavoidable. London is over. It's so over. It's morphed into a city that is unrecognisable from years ago and is now in manifest and rapid decline, with deteriorating standards and no real sense of identity or belonging. While my tweet predictably irritated London liberals, it clearly struck a chord with a much larger audience. Millions have watched as a toxic cocktail of accelerated demographic change, mass immigration and economic stagnation have ripped the heart and soul out of our capital. Another person who has noticed this is respected British writer Professor David Goodhart, who last week pointed to many of the same concerns. A quarter-century ago, he wrote, London was a booming metropolitan centre: a beacon of openness and opportunity for the rest of the country and, indeed, the world. But no more. When a recent report suggested that white Britons with no immigrant parents look set to become a minority in the UK by the year 2063, Goodhart pointed out: 'I heard nobody saying, 'rapid demographic change is nothing to worry about – just look at London'.' He has a point. London has been irreversibly transformed. White Britons, the indigenous population for centuries, now represent one-third of the city. Only 22 per cent of children in Greater London's schools are White British – and in one school, Kobi Nazrul Primary in Whitechapel, not a single child speaks English as their first language. Four in ten people currently living in London were born overseas. Close to one in seven are Muslim. And nearly one-quarter of Londoners do not speak English as their main language. While London's liberal set may respond to this by repeating, in robotic fashion, 'diversity is our strength', Goodhart asks a more troubling question. Yes, immigration has long been a feature of London. But is all this demographic change actually improving the quality of life in the city? Or is it making it far worse? Compare the capital to the rest of the country. Shoplifting is up 15 per cent in England – but has soared by 54 per cent in the capital. Theft is down 14 per cent in England – but has rocketed by 41 per cent in London. Home ownership in London is down 20 per cent since the early 1990s – while rents are up 85 per cent on the past 15 years, and earnings are up just 21 per cent. And even in some prime areas of central London, half of all social housing includes people who were not born in Britain. Another thing that has collapsed in recent years is London's fertility rate, which has slumped 30 per cent in the past decade, making it the lowest of all UK regions. When people no longer want children, it's a pretty good sign of how they feel about their surroundings. There are other things I could add. Like the fact there is an alleged rape every hour in London. In just five years, reported sexual offences against women and girls rose 14 per cent while homelessness and rough sleeping climbed 26 per cent in one year. Does this look like a thriving city to you? Knife crime, gang violence, robberies, pickpocketing and so-called 'moped-enabled crimes' have also become everyday features of London life. And 30,000 millionaires left London in the past decade according to research from Henley & Partners, a firm that helps high net-worth clients move countries. Meanwhile, according to a recent Thames Water study, up to 600,000 illegal migrants may be living in London, flouting our laws and taking taxpayers for a ride. While these findings have been subject to debate, if correct, how can you possibly sustain the social contract in a major city when it's possible that one in every 13 people is an illegal immigrant? Or when nearly one-quarter of the people in London do not speak English as their main language –while 320,000 cannot speak English at all? If London really is so vibrant and wonderful, why, according to one survey from Opinium, do one in four Londoners say they feel unsafe in their own neighbourhood? The truth is, London's famed diversity has changed in profound and negative ways since the 1990s. The European bankers, asset managers and Polish plumbers who came two decades ago have now largely been replaced by low-wage, low-skill migrant workers from across the Middle East and Northern Africa – a situation that worsened hugely during the last Tory government, which opened the floodgates to migrants from the developing world. This more recent wave of immigration, as studies by the Office for Budget Responsibility and elsewhere have made clear, is taking more from the economy than it's putting in, exacerbating not just the housing crisis but our glaring lack of growth. To be clear, this is not to criticise the migrants themselves. It's merely to accept reality. Like much of the rest of the country, London's energy, productivity and prosperity are being drained by a model of low-skill, low-wage, non-European immigration that makes no economic sense. Take one iconic example: London's famous black cabs with a driver who possesses a deep and historic knowledge of our capital. Increasingly, he is being replaced by an Uber driver from Somalia or Afghanistan who drives you around while relying on Google Maps. Rather than build a dynamic, integrated and unified capital city with a clear sense of history and identity, these forces are inexorably pushing us towards the ongoing 'Yookayfication' of our capital city and, indeed, our country. Increasingly, the label 'Yookay' has caught on to refer to the jarring aesthetic quality of the country today – a mix of cultures, languages and identities spreading across the landscape. Examples include the proliferation of Palestinian flags and obvious signs of sectarianism in migrant communities, the spread of multicultural 'English' with its global slang, the mainstreaming of gang culture in everything from fashion to advertising, the constant smell of weed, the American candy store next to the kebab shop, the Deliveroo riders scrolling through their phone and so on. All have become symbols of a new, migration-fuelled and sagging economy. As Lord Frost pointed out recently, as these demographic changes take effect, the 'Yookay' risks gradually becoming a permanent new country: a successor state to Great Britain, with a new identity, character, culture, values and way of life. Nowhere are these changes more profound than in our capital. As David Goodhart asks: 'What happens when London's white British population falls below 20 per cent in ten years? Is there some minimum number of natives that a capital requires before it ceases to be the capital?' While I'm not sure of the answer, I am certain that unless there is a radical change of direction, London will look increasingly unlike the city I once knew.
The Irish Sun
2 days ago
- Lifestyle
- The Irish Sun
Stinky Britain is in the grips of a B.O crisis and I know why – there are 6 reasons you might be whiffy & easy solutions
BEAUTY editor Jo Hoare has had enough of Britain's summer stink. But are natural deodorants really to blame? Soap-dodgers beware, as she investigates what's really making the nation so whiffy. 4 Body odour seems to have made a big comeback for 2025 due to natural deodorants Credit: Getty 4 Working from home has made some of us forget basic hygiene rules Credit: Getty 4 If your morning journey requires any kind of exertion such as cycling, please factor in time for a pre-work shower Credit: Getty YOU know what I didn't expect to make a comeback in 2025? Body odour. Sure, some of these Nineties trends (disc belts, I'm looking at you) are a little questionable, but I never imagined I'd be reliving the stink of my sixth form common room, which was full of sweaty teens using only Impulse and Lynx to dull their hormonal armpits. We all smell sometimes, but anyone who has been on a train or bus, or to a shop or supermarket, during the recent heatwave can't fail to have noticed one thing: It's got so bad that I've seriously considered messaging BBC Breakfast weather presenter Carol Kirkwood to ask if she'll include an 'odour-ometer' alongside her pollen count, just so I know whether to dig out my old Covid masks and a vial of smelling salts to make my morning commute more bearable. I'm not alone, either, as last month a poll revealed that almost half of Brits (47 per cent) live in fear of developing sweaty smells. But what's causing this current B.O bonanza? Two words: natural deodorant. Once the mainstay of hippy shops and those weird catalogues that fall out of gardening magazines, we've moved away from gunky pots that looked like you'd find them at the back of the fridge, or strange rocks you were supposed to rub into your pits. Now, natural deo is a thing of beauty, with designer scents, instagrammable packaging and – shockingly – zero change from £20 vibes. But there's one problem. It often doesn't work. On a chilly day, where temperatures don't reach double digits and you're doing nothing more strenuous than making a cuppa, you might just be OK. I don't wear deodorant - I put another solution on my armpits instead, I can even do gym sessions without sweating But chuck in sunshine, any form of physical activity, or the merest hint of a haywire hormone and you're done for. Even the rich and famous aren't immune. Made In Chelsea's Melissa Tattam admitted on her Wednesdays podcast with So why are we doing it to ourselves? I get it. I've dabbled in the natural stuff, too, driven by a desire for sustainability, curiosity and wanting to have a product on my dressing table that didn't scream 'stops you stinking for 72 hours you filthy pig'. (Sidenote: who actually needs their deodorant to work for three days? Have a shower.) I wanted to be a believer in natural deodorant, I really did. But I also wanted to be able to lift my arm to hold the rail of the Tube without my fellow passengers collapsing. So what is it about some natural deodorants that makes us more prone to ponging? 'Most natural deodorants don't contain aluminium salts, the key ingredient in traditional antiperspirants that physically blocks sweat glands and reduces perspiration,' explains GP and women's health specialist Dr Deepali Misra-Sharp. 'Instead, natural formulations usually rely on ingredients like baking soda, arrowroot powder, or magnesium hydroxide to neutralise odour rather than prevent sweating. 4 Make sure to wear socks in your trainers to avoid unwanted odours Credit: Getty 'In high temperatures, or when you're hormonally prone to sweating more – as with perimenopause, menstruation, or pregnancy – or exercising heavily, this can be a losing battle. 'There's also limited peer-reviewed evidence for the efficacy of many 'natural' deodorant ingredients and many products also need frequent reapplication to stay effective, which isn't always practical.' So far, so stinky. But it's not entirely the fault of natural deo – some people seem to actively encourage unwanted whiffs with their bad habits. Here's my rundown of the worst offenders: The smug cyclist We get it, you're saving the planet – and a fortune in train fares. What you're not saving is our noses. If your morning journey requires any kind of exertion, then please factor in time for a pre-work shower. The fast fashionista Man-made fabrics might mean you can have a different outfit every day of the summer for less than the price of a meal deal, but you might be costing yourself friends. Polyester, nylon and acrylics trap moisture, heat and odour creating a toxic B.O timebomb. The sock dodger Gen Z have done us a favour with their crew sock obsession. Admittedly, they can end up looking like those compression socks people wear to combat DVT, but at least they don't have stinky feet. Even trainer socks lead to cheesy trotters, slipping down just enough to allow foul foot odours to infiltrate your footwear. Night-time showerers I like an extra ten minutes in bed as much as the next person, but skipping a morning shower when the nighttime temps haven't dropped below 20 is a bad idea. Yes, it's nice to get into bed feeling fresh, but right now, showering first thing is a B.O-busting no-brainer. The WFH brigade Working from home has its perks, but it's made some of us forget basic hygiene rules. Wearing the same shirt all week is fine if your only co-worker is a houseplant, but once you rejoin the human race , it's time to reacquaint yourself with the washing machine. Beat B.O with these high street saviours: Luna Daily The Everywhere Spray-to-Wipe, £12, Boots Spritz some of this on a tissue and you've got your own all-over cleansing wipe – perfect for freshening up pits and bits. Deofresh Insoles, £2.99, Superdrug Not just for pongy trainers, these are perfect for that other Nineties stink magnet, the ballet flat. Pop them in every pair, pronto. Dettol Antibacterial Soap, £2 for two, Boots Glamorous it ain't, but if you have strong-smelling pits or feet, then you might want to switch your shower gel out for an antibac body wash or soap. It will help get rid of the B.O-causing bacteria on your skin. Avoid your delicate bits and use with a sponge or shower puff for a good lather. Sure Women Whole Body Deodorant Cream, £2.62 (reduced from £5.25), Boots Because it's not just pits that sweat, the deo market has realised that we might need help in, erm, 'other areas'. This is the best of the bunch and great for anyone who suffers from a clammy cleavage or thigh chafing. The Ordinary Glycolic Acid Exfoliating Toner, £7.70, Don't want to fork out on anything new? You might already have the secret to sweet pits in your bathroom cabinet. If you find you're still a bit whiffy, even after a shower, then soak a cotton pad with a glycolic toner and sweep over underarms. It won't stop future sweating, but it will help get rid of bacteria from old sweat.
Metro
2 days ago
- Metro
Three men knifed in fight outside west London tube station
Three men have been taken to hospital after a stabbing outside a Tube station. Two 21-year-old men and a 20-year-old man were left with stab injuries following the knife attacks on Station Parade outside Willesden Green Underground Station in northwest London. Biohazard officers descended on the scene after reports of a corrosive substance. However the specialist CBRN (Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear) responders confirmed it was not a chemical incident. No arrests have been made and the severity of the victim's injuries are unclear. The knifings took place close to the Central Masjid of Brent mosque, but Scotland Yard have ruled out any religious motivation behind the stabbing. Two of the men were taken to a major trauma centre and the other to a local hospital. A 20-year-old woman reported breathing difficulties at the scene but declined medical help. More Trending A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said they 'await an update' on the condition of the stabbed men. The force added: 'There are no concerns about any impact to the wider community.' A spokesperson for London Ambulance Service said: 'We were called at 9.02pm today to reports of a stabbing on Walm Lane, NW2. 'We treated four people in total – two were taken to major trauma centres, one to another local hospital, and one declined further treatment.' Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: John Hunt reveals he 'still chats to his wife and daughters' every day MORE: Water gun fight amid heatwave escalates to real gunfire killing teen MORE: 'Wanted gunman ambushes police officer' near popular California mall
Daily Mirror
2 days ago
- Daily Mirror
Three young men rushed to hospital after horror stabbing outside Tube station
Three young men have been rushed to hospital following a stabbing outside a Tube station. Police are investigating the horror, which happened on Station Parade outside Willesden Green Underground Station in Willesden, northwest London, but no one has been arrested. The nature and severity of the injuries are not yet clear, but police and paramedics descended on the suburban street quickly last night. The incident happened near the Central Masjid of Brent. However, police have ruled out any direct connection to the mosque or any religious motivation behind the incident. A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said: "Two 21-year-old men and a 20-year-old man were taken to hospital with stab injuries. We await an update on their condition." A 20-year-old woman who reported breathing difficulties declined medical treatment at the scene, the force added. Although no arrests have yet been made, the spokesperson continued: "There are no concerns about any impact to the wider community." Reports on social media initially suggested a corrosive substance had been thrown at people on Station Parade at around 9.00pm, but police have clarified this was not the case. They were, though, called to multiple reports of a stabbing on the street, which runs adjacent to the London Underground station that serves the Jubilee Line. The street connects the area with residential communities near Gladstone Park. Station Parade meets Walm Lane at the other end, by the station, which is where the commotion reportedly first started. A spokesperson for London Ambulance Service said: "We were called at 9.02pm today to reports of a stabbing on Walm Lane, NW2. We treated four people in total – two were taken to major trauma centres, one to another local hospital, and one declined further treatment." The road was cordoned off for several hours while forensic officers gathered evidence at the scene. Specialist CBRN (Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear) responders were deployed but were later stood down after it was confirmed not to be a chemical incident. The Met Police is urging the public to come forward with any information. Call 101 quoting CAD 8601/22Jun, or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
