The next installment of Ask Ugly, my monthly beauty advice column for the Guardian, is here! A preview: Hi Ugly, I’ve been obsessed with makeup and beauty products for years and have read a lot (and seen a lot of TikToks) about how a beauty routine can be a form of meditation or mindfulness. I felt that way for a re…

On night four of our Arizona trip, Sam and I (Aja) drove from Sedona to a small town nearby to try a locals’ favorite for dinner. The draw was the barbecue, but the real prize was the drive — we looped around a hill and then swung into a low valley surrounded by Mars-like red rock formations hundreds of feet high. The sun was setting, suffusing the rocks and hills and scrubby Ponderosa pines with a lovely orange light. Sam and I kept repeating “wow” as the beauty unspooled and unspooled.

Welcome to the latest installment of Beautifully Boring, a conversation devoted to navigating all things makeup, beauty and other cosmetic adventures. The start of the new year always marks the beginning of a deluge of new product launches from brands old and new. Though no one would blame you for thinking the only new releases have been familiar iterat…

There are far too many brands that abuse greenwashing tactics. By this I mean they use the terms "clean" or "natural" because they mean absolutely nothing being unregulated terms. That said, these wo…

I thought — I really thought — that once I was done with the big bigs of my income-related endeavors, I’d be able to enjoy the space to work on all the “fun” things I’ve been stacking in the back of my mind, ONLY to realize that going at it full throttle (full enough for me, I mean) for a prolonged-enough time has pressed my last working brain cell into…

“Natural Beauty” Myth Web (Complicating “natural beauty” culture) Pamela Anderson isn’t wearing makeup anymore but I’m not celebrating it just yet. The actress sporting a bare face at 56 feels like a transgressive shift in the beauty world, but it’s more complicated. It’s a huge risk for any famous woman over 50 to refuse the veneer of beautifying routines like intense makeup, of course. Anderson’s beauty is pretty era defining (fringe subcultural ultra sexy beauty aesthetics define eras now). But I don’t think Anderson embracing her looks or the rise of clean beauty looks are evidence that we’re in some “new era of self acceptance”. It’s fine that we’re not, and again, it’s complicated.

October is just the month for beauty events and I’m not mad about it. Starting this morning, the Sephora Savings Event is in full swing for Rouge Members. Not Rouge? Here’s how the savings event breaks down. Rouge: 10/27 - 11/6 → 20% off Sephora Collection:

Earlier this year, I stumbled upon someone, somewhere talking about how much time they had wasted trying to figure out how to be more attractive. I can’t remember the exact context now, or even who t…

Hello, dewy dust bunnies, and welcome to another edition of the The Don’t Buy List! I have good news: The beauty industry is running out of body parts to correct, as evidenced by the just-launched Luminous Shine Teeth Serum from Kendall Jenner’s MOON Oral Care. Yes. A serum. For your teeth. Surely this is the end, right? (If not of beauty culture, then …

Credo Beauty has a vice-like grip on my heart and my wallet. I love the Credo team and I’m pretty sure the feeling is mutual because they are doing something fantastic today. Starting right now, Whoorl subscribers will receive 20% off their Credo order

I shared a burger recently with B, a very smart woman and non-practicing MD, who manifests her business skills in the aesthetic field. We talked about her difficulties treading the fine line between promoting the idea of recapturing youthfulness—known in the beauty market as “anti-aging”—and acknowledging the perilousness of that notion. I suggested the…

Dear Readers, Due to the Thanksgiving holiday, no City Council, County Board, or Metro Council sessions are scheduled this week. So, I’ve assembled a collection of articles, films, and other online resources in recognition of Native American and Alaska Native Heritage Month

Weekly Mood board: Tired Girls…Tired of your bullshit! Top Row L-R: Joan Jett, Janis Joplin, Amy Winehouse Middle Row L-R: Rihanna, Julia Fox, Patti SmithThe Wax Poetic Love Letter is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

“There are times where I'm scrambling to try and make myself look ‘well,’” Jayne Mattingly tells me. “I’m like, ‘If I'm in a wheelchair, I have to be pretty. I have to cover up all my acne, or at least I need good hair.’” I call this “cosmetic coping.”

In preparation for my next book on radical Left approaches to debates around sex and gender, I have been getting lost in the comments section of a supposedly feminist, supposedly Marxist, reactionary Instagram account. The usual arguments are all alive and well there: porn is always already rape, sex work is always already rape, and trans women are alwa…

NOTE: While this piece largely discusses abortion, commodification, discrimination, and autonomy in relation to women’s bodies (through the lens of two specific women), I want to be crystal clear that these issues also profoundly affect trans and nonbinary people. As we fight for equal rights under the law including but not limited to life-saving medica…

Today and tomorrow we wrap up our week of being sponsored by WineText.com. Thanks to them for their support, and to those of you who clicked through to check them out! The deals are tremendous. The ordering process is super simple. The wine arrives in lightning fast time. This is the only wine deal service you need to be on! Sign up for

From the time I was 10, I’ve been obsessed with what it means to grow older. I’m curious about what it means to others, of all ages, and so I invite them to take “The Oldster Magazine Questionnaire.” Here, veteran beauty editor—and author of the brilliant Substack newsletter,

I think of my mother often this time of year; she died three years ago this month. Reminders of her sometimes come as a surprise: I’ll be about to apply lip gloss and notice that the shape of my mouth—slightly downturned at the corners now as I’ve gotten older—is just the same as hers. That my feet seem to be getting more narrow-heeled, like hers. And t…

I recently had the pleasure of being interviewed for Oldster Magazine, a newsletter from writer Sari Botton that explores “age and aging among every gender at every stage of life.” If you aren’t subscribed to Oldster yet… whew. Do it. I’m telling you.

From the time I was 10, I’ve been obsessed with what it means to grow older. I’m curious about what it means to others, of all ages, and so I’ve started “The Oldster Magazine Questionnaire.” Here, fellow newsletterer and intrepid beauty journalist Jessica DeFino

I think I have something in my eye. Better examine it. 313-263-3935 International call: +1-214-446-1459 http://bit.ly/10U4NH #female bodybuilding #female bodybuilders Femalemuscle.com via Follow Us on Facebook

Hey, it’s great to have you. My first week back in NYC has been crazy in a good way - I feel alive. The pro’s of getting to catch up with people, motivational atmosphere, and convenience more then make up for living near Times Square as a light sleeper

Hey there! Thanks for opening this up. After spending a few days with my family in New Jersey over July 4th weekend, it’s good to be back in action; however, I’d prefer not to have things go from zero to one hundred during these context switches - relaxing and not doing much while off and grinding like crazy while on.

Hey there! Thanks for opening this up. No writing from me this time, just curation, but also a bit of tidying up - when you have stuff (notes, writing, social media posts) all over the place, things get lost. The newsletter here is then a way to document what I care about, hence the subtitle of this issue. Did a bit more analysis this time around, sort o…