#17: Ankles
A newsletter packed with information, recommendations, and updates just for you
What’s included in this week’s newsletter? A brilliant song, a product recommendation, a perfume I’m loving, articles about all sorts (rosacea research, facial fixations, clickbait), book recommendations, and a teaser about some exciting changes that are a-foot…
If you’d like to catch up on my recent newsletters, you can find them all HERE.
Listening: Oh, Lucy Dacus. How do I love you? Let me count the ways… It’s been a minute since we’ve had new Lucy Dacus music, as she’s been focusing on boygenius (for which we thank her) but this song is so flipping good.
Using: I have been using the Naturium Barrier Bounce every day for the past month or two and it’s bloody lovely. It’s an oil-serum formula which feels a bit like a blanket over my skin, perfect for my freezing cold dog walks. It contains squalane, urea, and ceramides, and FYI it does contain lactic acid (typically an exfoliant), but it’s low down in the ingredient list, which means it’s a small amount and is therefore there as a humectant (e.g. a hydrator). I’ve had absolutely no problems when using it every day. You can use it under moisturiser or, like me, as the last step in your skincare (before sunscreen of course). It’s a SpaceNK exclusive, you can find it HERE.
(I’ve been using and loving quite a few Naturium products recently, I might do a standalone post on them - let me know if that would be of interest…)
Reading: This article (‘Topical Ivermectin May Improve Rosacea Indirectly’) by the National Rosacea Society will be of interest to those of you who like to keep up with current rosacea research. As always, I’m sharing these so you can read more about potential improvements in rosacea treatment, but also in part to show you that there are things happening behind the scenes.
I often see people in the rosacea community who feel frustrated and sad that there is no cure for this condition and they question why no one is working on it or getting any results. Hopefully the studies and information I share in these newsletters shows you that this isn’t true and there is always hope.
Watching: This video by The Skin Priest echoes something I say a lot, but it’s worth repeating and for you to hear it from a highly trained aesthetician who sees countless faces and skin types. Perfection is sold to us online, but it’s a myth.
Smelling: I was sent Golden Rule, the new perfume by Phlur, a few weeks ago and I have worn it every day since. It’s quite different to the scents I’m usually drawn to, but I really recommend it if you’re in the market for a new fragrance. It’s described as having “top notes of mandarin and pink pepper that blend into heart notes of vanilla cream and coconut milk. This personal fragrance has base notes of orange flowers and jasmine to complete the fragrance profile.” It’s absolutely beautiful and so long-lasting that I can wear it all day and then still smell it on my skin when I wake up the next day. If you’re near a SpaceNK, go sniff it (I find it changes on my skin and gets even creamier and warmer through the day, so don’t just do a bottle-sniff!)
Reading: This article from Women’s Health was fascinating: ‘Why you can’t stop looking at your face’. I’ve spoken before about the concept of hyper-awareness and how it is an all-too-common by-product of having rosacea (or any skin condition that affects your appearance). Mirror-checking, comparison, obsessive behaviours… these will all sound very familiar to some of you. There are some useful tips at the bottom of the article, if this is something with which you need some help.
Reading: Another article I thought you would find interesting: ‘Ditch That Itch: Early Findings Offer Hope Against Range of Skin Conditions’. Again, this is research in early days, but is proof that people are working hard to try to help.
Books: I’ve read some really great books recently and I’m happy to say that I’m still on track with my reading challenge for the year, which is a relief!
‘She’s Always Hungry’ by Eliza Clark. If you read and loved her novel Boy Parts you’ll like this too. A collection of dark short stories about hunger, in all its forms. Personal highlights were the story about the teenage girl going to extremes for perfect skin and the woman giving advice on weightloss. Both were shocking, sad, and gory - just how I like it!
‘The Midnight Feast’ by Lucy Foley. A great thriller with some deliciously unlikeable characters.
‘Into The Drowning Deep’ by Mira Grant (sci-fi, spooky, terrifying mermaids). If post-apocalyptic zombies are more your thing, Grant also wrote one of my favourite book series of all time: Newsflesh.
If you missed my round up of the books I read in 2024, you can find it here:
Reading: One last article for you: ‘Confusion is the new clickbait’. This topic is one that I’m really interested in - the ‘enshittification’ of content on the internet. We’re all tricked into anger, bafflement, and frustration because people have quickly realised that’s what gets views, shares, and comments. As someone who struggles to get engagement on actually helpful posts, it’s a very annoying thing to see!
I also wrote about this topic last year, here on Substack (you can read it here: ‘Intentionally Uninteresting’).
January-ing: In case you missed it over on instagram, I posted a January round up. Which includes this photo of me mid-breakdown over the tiniest puppy I’ve ever seen. She was so light it was like holding nothing! She is called Rita and she is perfection. No I’m not crying, you’re crying.
News: Next Tuesday I’m going to be sharing some exciting changes to my Substack. I’m not going to say anymore than that, so make sure that you’re subscribed so you don’t miss it!
I hope your January was restful and gentle. I always find this time of year quite hard, but the days are finally getting lighter and - as always - my mood is lightening with them. Here’s to February.
Always a great read.
Love the new Lucy Dacus ❤️