A Substack for me?? OK, let's do this!
The best (and worst) beauty products and other stuff I'm loving, delivered to your inbox every week.
I always say that I’m a tortured writer. Even though I started my career writing, I gradually morphed into more of an editor, so my instinct is to constantly edit myself as I go. Like, every sentence. It’s maddening and totally inefficient. BUT…when I’m done and it’s published, oh, it’s so satisfying. I’m happy to report: writing this right now is making me feel a little giddy, like I’m rediscovering what made me choose this path to begin with.
So, if you’re here, I’ve likely reached you on another platform before, whether it was during my many years as the Editor in Chief of Allure or maybe as EIC of Nylon or as VP at Netflix. Or maybe you follow me on Instagram (or you’re one of my 50 first cousins. Hiiiyeee).
I started this space because I’ve tried a lot of products. Literally thousands. People ask me all the time about the products and treatments that are worth it, what’s not, and how to use everything. And I want to share the wealth. There’s a lot of great stuff out there and, frankly, a lot of straight-up garbage that’s just a pure money grab. So I’ll give you my raw, unfiltered opinions about what to try, what to skip, and what some other cool people I know are loving, too. And for you science and testing nerds, I’m hoping to get really detailed on certain topics. I’ll show you my testing process, swatches, the good, the bad, the ugly…we’ll go deep.
I’ll sometimes tackle trends, news, and other stuff I care about. And things may get a little spicy if there’s interesting beauty or media industry gossip because who doesn’t love a little of that?
At the moment, here’s a peek at what I’m planning for the next few weeks:
Week 1: Sunscreen. Summer may be ending but our quest for SPF that actually works is eternal. But seriously, why is it so complicated?? I have some new favorites and lots of thoughts, especially after picking up some new ones while I was in Japan last month.
Week 2: Lip color. Dry lip gang, assemble. I’ve tried too many lipsticks and liquid lipsticks that are just the absolute worst, drying, flaky mess. Let me save you the trouble.
Week 3: Hair loss. I’ve been dealing with hair loss since having our daughter three years ago. Then I got Covid a year later and hair was falling out in handfuls (seriously, eff you telogen effluvium). I’ll walk you through what’s moved the needle for me. Yes, I even got a “topper” (if you don’t know what that is yet, you’re in for a real treat).
I’d love to hear from you. Let me know if there are topics you’re dying to know about by emailing me here. Or take this poll: