• Jerry Bruckheimer hasn't even seen "Beverly Hills Cop III," says director Mark Molloy.
• Molloy, the director of Netflix's "Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F," told BI he focused on paying tribute to the first two movies.
• "I love the first two films, and I've grabbed onto them with both hands with a lot of love," Molloy said.

When director Mark Molloy signed on to direct "Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F," the fourth movie in the beloved action comedy franchise starring Eddie Murphy, he had to admit something to the franchise's producer Jerry Bruckheimer.

"I said to him, 'Jerry, I've never seen the third one,'" Molloy recalled to Business Insider, referring to 1994's "Beverly Hills Cop III." "Jerry told me, 'You don't need to watch that one. I didn't make the third one. I've never watched it.'"

The first movie, "Beverly Hills Cop," came out in 1984 and turned Murphy into one of the biggest box-office draws in the world. Three years later, the sequel, "Beverly Hills Cop II," was another hit, solidifying Bruckheimer and producing partner Dom Simpson's "high concept" style of moviemaking with its straightforward, easy-to-understand but exhilarating stories.

So the 1994 release of "Beverly Hills Cop III" was highly anticipated. The problem was that Bruckheimer and Simpson (who were also known for "Flashdance" and "Top Gun") had exited the franchise due to creative differences. Murphy went forward alongside new producers and director John Landis ("Animal House," Michael Jackson's "Thriller" music video).

The movie, which found Murphy's wise-cracking Detroit cop Axel Foley fighting crime at an amusement park and featured an out-of-left-field cameo by "Star Wars" creator George Lucas, was universally panned by critics and has since been criticized by Murphy himself.

The star described the movie as "atrocious" in a 2006 episode of "Inside the Actors Studio."

"The character was kind of banished for a while [from Hollywood]," Murphy said in the episode, referring to the reception of the third movie.

Now, Bruckheimer has returned to the franchise and has been working with everyone from Brett Ratner to new "Bad Boys" franchise directors Adil and Bilall to get a fourth movie just right.

With Netflix backing and Molloy at the helm, "Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F" will be released on the streaming giant on July 3. It marks Molloy's feature-directing debut after years of commercial work and brings the franchise back to its roots with thrilling action sequences and R-rated humor.

"Whatever has been said about the third one, I'm not going to say a word," Molloy said. "I love the first two films, and I've grabbed onto them with both hands with a lot of love."

• We asked interior designers to share their best decorating tips that didn't cost money to follow.
• To spruce up your space, try moving pillows from one room to another and color-coding bookshelves.
• Interior designers also suggested using leftover paint or branches from outside to decorate with.

First off, decluttering your space can make a huge difference.

Javier Fernandez, an interior designer at Transitional Designs, said decluttering can change the look and feel of any room.

"Look at your dining room," he said. "Is the dining table stocked high with mail and projects that you had planned to get to? Well, there's no time like the present to clear and organize it."

Give the carpets in your home a deep, thorough clean.

Washing your carpets is another free way to spruce up your space, Courtney Turk, the owner of and interior designer at Courtney Turk Interiors, told Business Insider. 

"Get your hands dirty and scrub your rugs," Turk said. "By giving your rugs a deep clean, it will refresh your home and also help to prolong the life of your carpet as well."

Rearrange some items you already have and turn them into decorative, or useful, accents.

Once you've decluttered, consider adding streamlined accents. These types of carefully curated accents can accentuate a room while keeping the space clean and uncluttered, according to Christina Nielsen, an interior designer at Christina Nielsen Design.

Nielsen suggested placing a bowl of fruit or a stack of lemons on top of some cookbooks in your kitchen or adding a small plant or floral arrangement in your entryway. These accents can be practical, too.

"If you have a console table in the foyer, make sure everything is easily accessible," she said. "Create a spot for your keys — I love leaving a little dish out for this."

Organize your bookshelves and try sorting them by color or separating them with pretty knickknacks.

Turk said that if you have shelves filled with books, you should try displaying them in a more unconventional way.

"Stack them on top of one another, and add in a few favorite pictures or vases you may have stored away to create some depth and character on the shelf," she told BI.

You can also place books of similar colors together and try to create variations to display them.

Go "shopping" in your home to find items you may not be using or could be displaying somewhere else.

Sometimes the best "shopping" is quite literally done in your own home, Fernandez said.

"Check the attic, storage room, and closets. You'll likely find something you put away a while ago," he told BI. "Now, with fresh eyes, you can see how it might work in one of your rooms."

For example, he said, a den or a living room can be easily transformed if you hang up different curtains or change the wattage on your light bulbs to create mood lighting.

 

 

Try angling your furniture differently or positioning it in a new way.

Rearranging your accent pieces and furniture is one of the quickest and easiest ways to change the look of a room, according to Fernandez. 

"Adjust the lines of your room by angling your sofa and chairs differently, making sure natural light is the highlight here to enhance the spatiality of a room," Nielsen added. 

Use leftover paint to breathe new life into a room.

"Just about everyone I know has some leftover paint sitting in storage," Fernandez said. "In my opinion, there's nothing like a fresh coat of paint."

If you don't have enough paint to freshen an entire room, you can just paint one wall as an accent. Or, he added, you can use painter's tape and a bit of precision to create a pattern on the ceiling.

Use branches and wildflowers from outside to add natural decor into your home.

Flowers can help brighten up a space and bring nature indoors, Fernandez said. 

"Gather some branches and florals [from] outdoors for a seamless and cost-effective way to update your home instantly," Nielsen told BI. "In the spring, a large array of cherry blossoms are my favorite."

Try adding accents and new touches to pieces you already own.

If you want to get crafty, try using some of the leftover fabrics, buttons, and lace you may have found while decluttering.

These adornments can be used to revamp curtains, throw pillows, or blankets, Fernandez said. 

"Taking a simple ribbon and adding it as trim to your existing curtains will immediately change the look of them," Fernandez told BI. "Go through the bag of spare buttons, take out the colorful one, and go to town applying them to that old throw pillow."

 

Rearrange your pillows or move them to a different spot.

Moving your pillows from one room to another is also a way to update your home's look, Nielsen said.

"Rearrange them on your sofa, swap in a pillow from another room, eliminate some pillows to create a sleeker space, or stack pillows on top of your bedding — preferably all white — for a crisp effect," she told BI.  

 

Find a new way to hide your wires and cables to create a neater space.

Another great way to neaten up your space is to hide the unsightly cables and wires that may be sticking out of your television or internet router.

"By doing so, it immediately upgrades the space from feeling disheveled and incomplete to put-together and high-end," Turk said.

Numerous hacks exist to hide them from sight, such as pushing them behind furniture, tucking them into a drawer, or using cord covers.

Swap out the photos in your frames.

Another great way to update your space is to swap out photos in your picture frames with newly printed ones or old ones that you've stored away. 

If you have wall space, you can also create a gallery wall of your favorite photos, Fernandez added.

This story was originally published on April 6, 2020, and most recently updated on June 25, 2024.

• Star real estate broker Tal Alexander takes leave from brokerage firm after rape allegation.
• A woman accused Tal and his brother Alon of raping her in 2012 while another brother Oren watched.
• Oren also recently stepped down from brokerage firm Official Partners amid rape accusations.

Tal Alexander, a real estate agent whose star-studded résumé includes the sale of America's priciest ever home, is stepping away from the brokerage firm he helped found after a woman alleged in a civil lawsuit that he raped her more than a decade ago.

In a statement provided to Business Insider, an attorney for Alexander said he would "take a leave from" the real estate sales firm Official Partners "to focus fully on clearing his name."

Alexander's lawyer, Deanna Paul, is also seeking to move the case against him from New York state civil court to federal court.

"Tal is eager for the case to be heard in federal court as soon as possible and rejoin the Official team in short order," Paul said in the statement.

The announcement caps a dizzying fall from the pinnacle of the residential real estate business for both Tal and his brokerage partner and brother Oren Alexander amid sordid allegations.

Tal and Oren spent more than a decade at the brokerage firm Douglas Elliman, establishing themselves as big-name sellers of ultra-pricey homes. Among the notable deals they helped negotiate was the 2019 sale of a four floor penthouse at 220 Central Park South in Manhattan to the hedge fund billionaire Ken Griffin for a record $240 million.

In 2022, the pair broke off from Elliman and cofounded Official Partners, a firm that focuses exclusively on the uppermost tier of the residential sales market.

Earlier this month, however, The Real Deal, a real estate-focused publication, reported that two women had filed civil lawsuits separately in New York State civil court in March that accuse Oren and another brother, Alon Alexander, of raping them in 2012. Oren and Alon have denied the allegations.

In the days after the allegations came to light, Oren announced via a post on social media that he would take a "pause" from Official Partners "as I shift my focus towards fighting these baseless civil claims."

Soon after, the company clarified his remarks, stating that he was being removed permanently from the business.

Nicole Oge, a top executive and cofounder of Official Parters, said in a statement that the firm's "values were deeply violated when the disturbing allegations against our former partner Oren Alexander were uncovered."

Oge said that Oren's brokerage licenses had been separated from the company "and the process of removing him from ownership is well underway."

Last week, a woman named Angelica Parker filed a lawsuit in New York state court that accuses Tal of raping her in 2012 in his Manhattan apartment with Alon as Oren watched.

Tal's attorney, in her statement, said the allegation was "false" but said the claim had become a "distraction to" Official and its clients. She also said that the decision to step aside was mutually made by Tal and Official.

"Given the salacious nature of this false allegation and impact on Official, Tal and his partners have decided he will take a leave from the company," Deanna Paul, the attorney, said.

In a statement, Official said, "We are committed to safeguarding and growing the business, and in the coming days, Official will be announcing details about how the company will be reconfigured and fortified for the future."

• Pamela Druckerman wrote "Bringing Up Bébé" arguing that parenting in France is superior to the US.
• The 2012 book caused a sensation because it said Americans could learn from French moms and dads.
• Druckerman's kids are now teens and she largely believes similar lessons apply today.

When Pamela Druckerman published her ground-breaking book, "Bringing Up Bébé," in 2012, her daughter was 5, and her twin sons were just 2.

It caused a stir because the author compared the parenting style of the French with that of the US. Druckerman, a transplant to Paris from Miami, concluded that, unlike in America, moms and dads in France called the shots in the family, not the kids.

The book's title in the UK was "French Children Don't Throw Food," summing up her observation that they were better behaved because of the less angsty approach.

Now Druckerman's kids are 18 and 15, she has returned to her theory. She told Business Insider that while a few US parenting styles had begun to cross the Atlantic, most French parents raise their older children differently.

She said they shared some concerns with their American counterparts — particularly over the influence of social media — but highlighted three common attitudes from which US parents might learn.

Most French parents don't track their teens' location

In "Bringing Up Bébé," Druckerman noted that so-called Helicopter Parenting — when parents hover over their kids and cater to their whims — was an alien concept to many French people.

She said that, as is often the case in America, they don't follow them around the playground.

Instead, adults can have interrupted conversations while their children are left alone to play independently and manage their own interactions.

She said the same "hands-off" approach extends to the teenage years when parents rarely interfere in their relationships with friends.

"In America, I've met plenty of parents who monitor their teenagers quite closely, feeling entitled to read their private text messages," Druckerman said.

She said it was unusual for French parents to track their adolescents' location using the GPS on their phones.

"I don't see that happening," she added. "Parents expect them to have a private life."

They respect their privacy in terms of sex after the age of consent of 15

Druckerman said the age at which kids in France have sex for the first time is around 17. She said the average American loses their virginity at a similar age.

She said what's different is that the French tend to acknowledge it, while Americans prefer to shy away from the fact.

"There is a lot of discussion here about adolescent sexuality — an expectation that teens will be having sex," the author said, adding that they're afforded their privacy. "In the US, I get the impression that parents pretend it's not happening when, of course, it is," she told BI.

French pharmacies dispense free condoms to young people under the age of 26, and girls have easy access to birth control and morning-after pills funded by the public health system.

"There are no questions asked, and parents aren't consulted," Druckerman said.

Most French moms and dads ensure their children know they have a life outside parenting

Druckerman cited research by the Financial Times showing that parents in most developed countries, including the UK, Spain, and Canada, spend more time with their children than in the past.

The study found that, in 2020, Americans spent three hours a day practicing "hands-on" parenting, such as helping with homework or playing with their kids, up from two hours in 1965.

In contrast, French parents spent almost an hour less "together time" with their kids in 2020 than they did 55 years earlier.

"It had gone up dramatically in almost every single country that they tracked except for France, where the number of hours parents spend per day with their kids has declined," Druckerman said.

The mom added that French parents ensure that they are not defined as such. "They have their own lives to lead," she said. "Children are raised to see them as individuals who need time and space for themselves."

Do you have an interesting story highlighting the differences between parenting in the US and other countries? If you'd like to share it with Business Insider, please send details to jridley@businessinsider.com.

• Researchers have found 230 million tons of precious minerals off a remote island over 1,200 miles from Tokyo.
• The motherlode contains enough cobalt and nickel to supply Japan for over a decade.
• Both materials are crucial in building EV batteries, with a global race underway to find new supplies.

The world is scrambling to secure precious metals to build EV batteries — and Japan may have just hit the jackpot.

Researchers have found a motherlode of around 230 million metric tons of minerals crucial to making electric car batteries on the seabed off a remote island around 1,200 miles from Tokyo.

The cache of manganese nodules lying 5,000 meters below the ocean surface contains enough cobalt to supply Japan for around 75 years.

It also contains more than a decade's worth of the country's annual nickel consumption, according to a press release provided by The Nippon Foundation, which conducted the survey in collaboration with the University of Tokyo.

Both minerals are crucial components of electric vehicle batteries, and the transition to EVs has sparked a global race to secure sources of the precious metals. Nikkei first reported on the discovery.

Researchers told Nikkei that the seabed around Minami-Torishima island contains around 610,000 metric tons of cobalt and 740,000 metric tons of nickel.

They scoured the area earlier this year with mining equipment and remote-controlled underwater vehicles and plan to begin extracting the first minerals in 2025.

Despite being an automotive powerhouse, Japan has lagged behind many of its global rivals in the race to build electric vehicles.

Just 2.2% of new passenger cars sold in Japan in 2023 were electric, according to data from industry bodies, compared to 25% in EV pace-setter China.

The discovery of vast nickel, cobalt, and manganese reserves will raise hopes that will soon change.

Harvesting the materials on a commercial scale, which is expected to begin in 2026, will not be without challenges. Deep sea mining is costly, technically difficult, and often controversial, with Norway facing opposition from environmentalists over its own deep sea mining proposals.

The reward will likely be worth it, however. Demand for nickel and cobalt is expected to skyrocket in the coming decades, with a White House paper estimating that demand will rise 400 to 600% as battery-powered technology replaces oil and gas.

For other materials used in EV batteries, such as lithium and graphite, that rise could be as much as 4,000%, according to US government figures.

Many of those metals are currently sourced from countries including Indonesia and the Democratic Republic of Congo, where reports have suggested some workers face abuse, low wages, and a high risk of accidents.

• I flew 22+ hours in Turkish Airlines' business class and stopped at its Istanbul airport lounge.
• The food on my flights and in the airport lounge really blew me away.
• I had a great experience and found my seats to be comfortable, too. 

I love flying in business class, but I don't often buy my seats outright because they can cost four figures.

I like upgrading to business class by booking flights using frequent-flyer miles and credit-card points. If that's not your thing, good news: Some data suggests flying business class is slightly cheaper than it was a few years ago (even though economy airfare costs are rising).

Recently, I used points to book a business-class flight with Turkish Airlines from the Maldives to Los Angeles. If I'd booked with cash, the one-layover flight would've cost me over $4,690.

Here's what it was like spending over 22 hours traveling in business class with Turkish Airlines.

The check-in process was extra fast because I was flying business class.

The hotel I stayed at in the Maldives had a representative at the Velana International Airport who helped me walk through security.

This was a huge bonus, and even better, business-class passengers had their own line for security.

The check-in and customs process went quickly for me, though I passed economy travelers waiting in a long check-in line.

After making it through security, I had access to an airport lounge.

The Turkish Airlines lounge in the Maldives had plenty of items available for breakfast, from pastries to sandwiches.

I didn't eat anything because I knew Turkish Airlines would have delicious food on the flight, and I always overeat when flying business class.

My seat was located in the front row of the business-class section.

This leg of the flight was on an older Boeing 777-300, with seats in a two-three-two configuration.

I was excited to get the business-class amenity kit.

Turkish Airlines partnered with luxury fashion house Ferragamo for its business-class toiletry bag filled with products like recycled plastic earplugs, an eye mask, Ferragamo toiletries, and a wheat-straw toothbrush.

I also received comfy socks and slippers. During the flight, many passengers, including me, removed their shoes and put on the provided slippers.

After settling into my seat, a flight attendant came by with a selection of juices and lemonade.

My first meal was a solid selection of appetizers.

I enjoyed the set appetizer plate I got that featured local delicacies like smoked beef, cheeses, olives, fruit salad, a raspberry smoothie bowl, homemade apricot jam, and butter.

I chose a Turkish specialty for the main course, and it did not disappoint.

The main course was the homemade Turkish-style börek, a layered pastry with spinach and potato. It was nicely flaked and savory with creamy potato.

So far, the flight has been eight hours and 15 minutes. I went to sleep right after my meal.

About two hours before landing, the lights came on and I got another meal.

This time, I got a selection of Turkish meze. For my main, I chose the grilled-chicken brochettes with bulgur, tomato, and peppers. The chicken was smoky and tender.

For dessert, I had a mascarpone and passion-fruit tart.

Then, I had a 16-hour layover at the Istanbul Airport.

I had the option of leaving the airport and staying at a hotel provided by Turkish Airlines. Instead, I headed to the private Turkish Airlines airport lounge.

I quickly saw why the lounge has a prestigious reputation.

This Turkish Airlines business-class lounge is often listed as one of the world's best airline lounges, and it was easy for me to see why.

It's a sprawling space measuring 60,000 square feet with ample seating, eateries with chefs, resting rooms with beds, and even shower facilities.

The lounge was easy to enter and leave.

To get in and out of the lounge, I just scanned my boarding pass.

This eliminated the annoying wait I sometimes encounter at check-in counters when there's a rush of customers at airport lounges.

Even the baggage storage area of the Turkish Airlines lounge looked stunning.

The area for baggage storage was eye-catching, stylish, and smart.

The transparent storage containers seemed to make it even easier to find your bag if you forget your locker number.

The bathrooms were incredibly spacious, too.

The lounge bathrooms were large, with tons of hand-washing stations. They were never crowded, and I rarely saw anyone inside other than an attendant.

Well-lit vanity areas with seating were also nice additions to the bathrooms. They seemed like a good place to reapply makeup or fix hair.

During my long layover, I even took a shower.

Showers are available on a first-come, first-served basis in the lounge.

I didn't wait in line when I showered at about 5:30 a.m. It was refreshing to shower in the airport after a long day of traveling.

Above all, the food options in the lounge blew my mind.

The wildest part of the layover was the food: I'd never seen anything like it at an airport lounge.

I passed at least five live cooking stations in the lounge, many of which featured Turkish specialties. I even saw someone making pastries from scratch.

A coffee station had a barista making drinks to order.

The lounge had various coffee drinks available to order and an impressive selection of Turkish teas. I recommend trying the Turkish coffee, of course.

I ate so much while I waited.

I ate constantly (probably every 30 minutes I was awake) during my layover just because there was an overflowing abundance of food.

The salad bar was well-stocked and I especially enjoyed the stations serving traditional grilled meats. The Turkish beef patty I ate was perfectly cooked, and I got it hot off the grill.

After eating, I found a reclined lounge chair and napped through the night.

Eventually, I headed to the second leg of my flight.

I was excited to board my flight's longer, 13-hour leg on the newer Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner.

I had my own plush, private window seat, and no one was seated next to me as I headed from Istanbul to Los Angeles.

Breakfast was my favorite meal on this flight.

I boarded at 7 a.m., and breakfast service started shortly after takeoff.

I'm not usually a huge fan of yogurt, but it was gorgeously displayed on my plate I ate every bite. For my main entrée, I selected the eggs Benedict, which were OK, but the eggs seemed overcooked

Before the lights turned down in the cabin, a flight attendant came to make my bed.

The best part of business class is undoubtedly the lie-flat seats that can be customized to any incline.

For turn-down service, a flight attendant added a mattress pad and a velvety blanket to my seat.

Again, I enjoyed even more food.

Turkish Airlines really stands out for its food offerings, in my opinion.

I really enjoyed selecting appetizers from a meal cart of options. On this flight, I chose the Caesar salad, shrimp salad, roasted eggplant, and cauliflower soup. I especially enjoyed the savory soup.

For my main entrée, I ordered a pasta dish with shrimp, which was heavily cheesed to my liking.

Overall, Turkish Airlines really impressed me — especially when it came to food.

I loved the flight, especially the last leg with the plush seats. The meals I ate throughout my travel journey were impressive, and I can see why the airline has been nominated for multiple food awards.

I would fly with Turkish Airlines again and revisit its Istanbul lounge just to eat.

• I booked free personal-styling appointments at Nordstrom and Saks to refresh my work wardrobe. 
• My appointment at Saks was more glamorous and included a tray of cakes, fruit, and nuts.
• The appointments are great for those who want a wardrobe refresh but aren't sure where to start.

It can be difficult to find work-appropriate clothes that are professional but not stuffy and can seamlessly transition from a Zoom meeting to a happy hour — all while looking good, of course.

I tend to shop minimally and pick investment pieces that I love (and end up wearing for years), but it's gotten harder to put together office-ready looks that don't feel repetitive.

Similarly, as more and more companies mandate a return-to-office policy, workers are looking for ways to update their workwear wardrobes.

I was long overdue for a work wardrobe refresh, so when I learned that both Nordstrom and Saks offer free one-on-one styling appointments at certain store locations, I jumped at the chance to try them.

I booked appointments using each store's online portal and was excited to see if the stylists could help me revamp my work-to-happy-hour look. Here's how it went.

My Nordstrom styling appointment was up first

Before my appointment, my personal stylist, Kalyn, texted me directions to the changing room in the store's contemporary section.

The room was stocked with an extensive selection of on-trend work tops, jeans, blazers, and dresses, which she said were meant to give "off-duty model" vibes.

The pieces were mostly neutral colors, although there were some pops of red, olive green, and light blue.

There were also quite a few menswear-inspired work pieces, including jackets, trousers, and shirt dresses.

By the mirror, there was a table with a selection of earrings and heels to try on with my outfits. After asking me for my initial thoughts on her selections, my Nordstrom stylist left to find more colorful pieces to add to the collection.

I got to work trying on the pieces, some of which were a little out of my comfort zone

Many of the pieces she pulled for me felt more "masculine" than the styles I'd typically wear, but I was impressed by what she'd picked, given that she didn't initially have an idea of my style or coloring.

While in the fitting room, I played around with pairing pieces together myself. I styled a white power blazer with gray wide-leg pants that looked like they belonged in a C-suite.

I even tried teal-and-white-striped button-up co-ords and leather loafers that I'd never pick for myself. Even though I wasn't a fan of how they looked on me, it was fun trying them on. It felt like I was playing dress-up.

Kalyn asked for feedback and came back with some additional picks

After asking for my initial thoughts on her selections, Kalyn returned with more pieces for me to try. It was clear that she'd taken note of my coloring and slightly less formal style. However, the clothes were a little less business casual than the options from the first round.

I loved a butter-yellow slip dress she'd picked, although I'd probably wear it to date night instead of to work.

I also liked a pair of white wide-leg pants that I wouldn't have chosen for myself and a burnt-orange bodysuit that I could easily wear for both a day of meetings and happy hour.

I didn't show my stylist anything I tried on, but throughout my appointment, she asked for feedback from outside the fitting room and periodically brought more things she'd curated while taking out pieces that I didn't like.

Considering how high-end everything looked, I was surprised by how relatively affordable it was. Prices started at about $30 for an Open Edit tank top and went up to $248 for a Reformation dress.

My appointment at Saks felt a little more glamorous

On the day of my appointment, my Saks stylist, John, called me and asked some questions about the occasion I was shopping for and what brands I liked.

Although I wasn't expecting a call, it was helpful to talk through what I was looking for and which styles I preferred. Getting to know a little about my stylist's personality beforehand was also nice.

My appointment was at the department store's Fifth Avenue Club — a luxe space with its own doorbell and a large suite with a couch and complimentary cakes, fruits, and nuts.

John gave me a rundown of what he'd chosen, grouping certain pieces to try on together. He asked me to show him every outfit after I'd tried it on, even if I didn't like it.

I didn't love some of the earlier picks on my body, but John took my feedback into account

Trying on some of the menswear-inspired pieces was initially a little disheartening, as I struggled to find blazers and collared styles that didn't overwhelm my frame.

John critiqued each outfit, asking my thoughts and zeroing in on some of the things I did and didn't like, such as overwhelming silhouettes and certain necklines. He also shared advice on how he'd tailor certain pieces to be more flattering to me.

Eventually, I even tried on two black blazers that looked good on me — a huge win for someone who's never owned a flattering blazer.

In fact, two of my favorite pieces didn't jump out at me on the hanger and probably weren't things I would've chosen myself.

Most of the pieces I tried on were in the $300 to $500 range, but a few dresses were on sale for $150 to $200. Saks is high-end, but it had a sale that made some of the pieces more affordable.

However, I think if you're shopping for timeless wardrobe staples, splurging on certain pieces is worth it.

Overall, the styling appointments were a worthy investment of my time

Although each appointment took about two hours, I think they were worth the time I spent in the stores.

I tried on pieces I would've been too intimidated to pick off the rack myself, and the stylists encouraged me to try on things outside my comfort zone.

I learned about styles and designs I'd like to try on again in the future and discovered that garments that wouldn't catch my eye on the floor can end up being flattering favorites.

Normally, when something doesn't look good when I'm shopping, I'm discouraged and unsure how to find an alternative that looks better on me. However, it was nice to have a stylist there to guide me.

Overall, I think the personal-styling appointments are great for those who want a wardrobe refresh but aren't sure where to start. Both stylists were helpful and even gave me some ideas about styling some of the clothes I already own, and I didn't feel pressured to make a purchase if I wasn't sure about the pieces.

Although I didn't buy any of the pieces I tried on, I'm keeping an eye on them to see if they go on sale or if I can find something similar that I really want to splurge on.

• MrBeast shot to fame for giving life-changing amounts of money to complete strangers.
• The YouTube star has turned that approach into financing and fundraising for UBI programs in Uganda.
• His Beast Philanthropy organization donated $200,000 to help people buy basics or start a business.

MrBeast became the most popular YouTuber on the planet by handing cash to strangers, so it's little wonder he's experimenting with universal basic income, known as UBI.

Jimmy Donaldson, who goes by MrBeast and has around 288 million subscribers to his flagship channel, has partnered with GiveDirectly to help people living in extreme poverty in Uganda.

Between them, they delivered $1,000 to around 300 households. Beast Philanthropy donated $200,000, and GiveDirectly covered the rest, including operational costs. The program gave the households roughly a year's worth of income.

1. Together, we delivered ~$1,000 to over 300 households, so ~$300k in cash transfers total. Beast Philanthropy gave $200k and GiveDirectly covered the rest, including operational costs.

MrBeast also announced a joint fundraiser with GiveDirectly to gather enough cash to give $1,000 to every household in a neighboring village. It has raised over $37,000 of its $150,000 target as of Tuesday.

From absurd stunts to fighting poverty

MrBeast helped pioneer a genre of YouTube videos that centers on giving large sums of money to strangers and filming their reactions.

He often challenges people to compete in silly competitions, such as remaining in a circle or not letting go of an object for as long as possible.

In recent months, he has pivoted toward funding philanthropic pursuits such as building wells in Africa, donating food and clothes to the needy, and providing cataract surgeries and hearing aids to blind and deaf people who couldn't afford them.

GiveDirectly is a nonprofit that, in 2017, said it was conducting the world's largest test of UBI. It involved 20,000 recipients in Kenya and lasted 12 years.

Universal basic income typically refers to a recurring cash payment made to all adult members of a population, regardless of their wealth or employment, and with no restrictions on how they spend the money.

Early findings from GiveDirectly's trial suggest that direct cash handouts boost household and business savings and support the financing of bigger projects. Upfront money also trumps regular payments as it allows people to make transformative changes to their lives such as starting a business.

Turning cash into change

It's a natural extension of MrBeast's brand to go from giving briefcases of cash to deserving strangers to handing money to people living on $1 or $2 a day.

"This is $1,000 in cash and if you suddenly came across this kind of money, no strings attached, what would you spend it on?" MrBeast teases at the start of the Uganda video.

But the social media star also addressed questions about whether direct cash payments would be spent wisely. He noted that flooding a community with money could be viewed as "extremely irresponsible," and that he and his team were "somewhat skeptical about the idea of direct cash" before GiveDirectly showed them the benefits of the approach.

MrBeast shared three anecdotes about the villagers in Karamoja, Uganda, who received the money. Ruth used her cash to open a store and buy food and medicine for her children. Auma built a school that hosts seven teachers and more than 200 students.

Similarly, two residents named Tiyan and Lokure could buy land to grow their crops, purchase a grain mill to serve other locals, and open a store in their home and a refueling station in the village.

The examples suggest those who received MrBeast's cash used it to not only provide basics for their families, but also to start businesses, invest in their local community, and establish revenue streams that could help them escape abject poverty for good.

To some, helping villagers will never be as entertaining as concocting absurd scenarios and watching random people navigate them in the hope of winning a life-changing amount of money. But it's fascinating to see MrBeast's evolution from a real-life Willy Wonka to a UBI believer.