#14: You're Not Special, Babe
Rosacea news, product bargains, books, and present ideas...
It’s newsletter time! What’s included this week? Two great songs, a few articles about rosacea (winter tips, skincare, a link with the neurovascular system, and the bucket theory), a bargain face mask set I think you’ll love, and some books I’ve been enjoying recently.
Links in this newsletter may be affiliate. This means if you buy using my links, I’ll receive a small percentage, at no extra cost to you. It’s an easy way to support my work!
Did you miss this? Last week I published two posts all about winter and rosacea. The first was all about the tips I’ve learned after nearly 20 years of having rosacea and collected into one big ‘things to help you and your skin survive winter’ post. You can find that HERE.
In the second post, I shared my current winter skincare routine and you can find it here:
Listening: The title of this newsletter comes from my song of the moment - You’re Not Special Babe, by Orla Gartland. “Find the ones that get you, stick to them like hot glue” - advice for all of us, I think.
The song I really wanted to recommend this week was ‘You Stupid Bitch’ by Girl In Red, but I thought that if you opened your inbox to find a newsletter with that subject title, it might come across as slightly aggressive…!
Using: A few weeks ago, I shared an exciting gel mask pack I’d found (HERE) and said I’d let you know how I was getting on. The short version is: it’s flipping brilliant. The long version is that I have used it loads and it now lives in my fridge permanently. It has a few different sizes of gel packs, so you can choose which to use depending on your flare up and what you’re doing. I think I’ve used the eye mask one the most, as my ocular rosacea has been playing up a lot (cursed central heating!) Two tips: put in the fridge rather than the freezer, and don’t put it straight on your face from the fridge: extreme cold can be as bad for your skin as extreme heat! It’s currently in the Black Friday sale so it’s even more of a bargain.
Reading: this article from the National Rosacea Society about the link between rosacea and the neurovascular system. Read it HERE.
Sharing: I’ve been thinking about: the ‘bucket theory’ and how it relates to rosacea (and all skin conditions), as I usually do at this time of year. I always preach that trigger management is an incredibly useful way to keep track of and move towards controlling your rosacea, but this time of year is so hard as there are so many triggers stacking up: weather, heating, parties, stress… I wanted to share this video that quickly explains the bucket theory, hopefully it helps you too:
Reading: I’ve got a couple of book recommendations for you today. I’m currently halfway through The Blue Hour by Paula Hawkins. It’s an atmospheric and beautifully written psychological thriller set on a remote island. Betrayal, missing people, isolation, and complicated characters a-go-go.
A completely different vibe is The Wake Up Call by Beth O’Leary, a really fun enemies-to-lovers romance. If you’re an audiobook person, Jessie Cave is one of the narrators on this and she is great. Beth O’Leary also wrote The Flatshare and The Switch, which are both fantastic if this is a genre you like.
Sharing: The lovely By Sarah team have set up a free online skin consultation for my Rosacea Club community. It only takes a couple of minutes to answer the questions and then you’ll get personalised recommendations (and can then take advantage of their amazing Black Friday sale if you see anything you like the sound of) I’ve tried so many of their products and think they’re fantastic. This isn’t an ad, the team just wanted to say thank you as I’ve been a supporter for a long time! You can find it HERE.
Reading: I really enjoyed THIS ARTICLE about the female body and the grotesque.
“The actions that define the grotesque body are normal human processes, yet they’re “gross” and impolite to talk about. Why? Centuries ago, the primacy of public living gave way to a desire for privacy, personal space, and hygiene, which meant the grotesque body stopped being accepted as a normal, healthy part of social life. The grotesque remained very much alive in the Western imagination and in Western culture, but the attitude of grotesque images became more negative as the body became less free to express itself.”
Substack is really such a fantastic place to find writing and writers I would never have come across otherwise. If you don’t already have the Substack app, I highly recommend it as you are bound to find all sorts of interesting writing on your timeline. I’m trying to replace my social medi doomscrolling with Substack scrolling instead and it’s really helping to improve my mood.
Shopping: And finally, as we’re coming up to Christmas (I know, sorry!) if you’re looking for something to add to your present wish list, can I humbly suggest the Skin Positivity Affirmation Cards that I designed myself and sell on my shop, real skin club? I don’t talk about my small business much, but I’m really proud of it and these cards have really helped me to work on reframing the psychological impact of rosacea. Have a nosey at the affirmation cards HERE (I also have stickers, postcards, etc so have a look around the website while you’re there).
That neurovascular article was very interesting!!
I actually wished you had used the other song title!!
Also I also recommend your affirmation cards. I use mine daily 😊 I'm looking at getting the mirror affirmations next.