#18: New Person, Old Place
All of the things I wanted to share with you this week
It’s the end of February and I keep finding myself staring at the calendar in disbelief trying to work out where the weeks are disappearing to. I’m working on so many exciting but stressful things at the moment (none of which I can tell you about just yet, but soon…) and I desperately need an extra month between February and March. How does one go about getting one of those?
Preparations for Rosacea Awareness Month (April, in case you didn’t know) are in full swing and - as this year marks 20 years (!!) since my rosacea diagnosis - I am planning to make this year’s RAM a really memorable one. Make sure you’re subscribed and keep your eyes peeled for announcements…
Today’s newsletter includes: two (yes, two!) song recommendations; an article on ‘beauty standard brain rot’; two TV programmes and one film to watch; some tips for spotting ‘nutribollocks’; a book I’m enjoying; a documentary I think you’ll enjoy; two products that saved me after two days in London; and a link to my first post for paid subscribers!
If you’d like to catch up on my recent newsletters, you can find them all HERE.
Listening: My song of the moment which, as always, inspired this newsletter’s title is ‘New Person, Old Place’ by Madi Diaz. Her voice, the song itself, the lyrics… just tremendous. “What used to hurt doesn't hurt anymore, what used to work doesn't work anymore, and that's just true - it's not even brave. Can't be a new person in an old place.”
Also, here’s a bonus song recommendation that I’m currently enjoying wailing along to, but one that has a song title that would have made a very confusing newsletter title: ‘Liffey’ by Pillow Queens.
Reading: I loved THIS Substack article from
on ‘The Era Of Beauty Standard Brain Rot’. I have no idea who Tate McRae is, but I’ve definitely noticed the change the author writes about - a bizarre warping effect of the internet on beauty standards over the past 10 years.
Watching: I’m sure you’ve already watched Apple Cider Vinegar on Netflix, but if you haven’t then I highly recommend it. We all know that I’m fascinated/enraged by internet health grifters, and Belle Gibson was like the final boss of health grifters. You don’t need to know her story to watch, everything is explained early on. I have so many thoughts about this show and the topics it touches on, I’m currently drafting them in a standalone post.
We also watched a great film called Grafted. If you watched and liked The Substance (you can read my review of that HERE if you missed it!) then you’ll love this. It’s part Death Becomes Her, part Mean Girls, part Face/Off and I flipping loved it. You can watch it on Shudder, through Amazon Prime (there’s a 7-day free trial, and if you’re into horror, sci-fi etc you’ll find loads of great films on there to fill the week).
We’re also still binging our way through a Lost rewatch and I’m enjoying it so much. If you haven’t seen it since it was originally on TV (21 years ago! Stop it!) it’s definitely worth a rewatch.
Sharing: The post below, from threads, that really resonated with me. For the past few years I’ve really scaled back on frivolous spending and it’s really made me look at my behaviour with different eyes. Do I really need another beautiful bag? Or another lipstick? Will it actually make me happier or serve any purpose beyond a momentary boost? Is my money better spent elsewhere? How many things that I think I need or want will I even remember in a year? (or a month for that matter…)
Reading: This brilliant summary of red flags to look out for on social media when people are sharing nutrition-related advice - very timely after watching Apple Cider Vinegar! There’s so much overlap between the diet culture nonsense and the predatory rosacea content online, so I think you’ll find this useful and/or interesting.
Reading: ‘The Night Swim’ by Megan Goldin. I read a lot of psychological thrillers and they start to get a bit same-y after a while. So I’m always looking for ones that have something unusual about them, for example playing about with the expected format. This one is a pretty standard thriller, but the story follows a true crime podcaster covering a high-profile court case, and the chapters alternate between transcribed podcast episodes, letters, and regular storytelling.
Watching: 2025 marks the 50th anniversary of Saturday Night Live and, to celebrate, Questlove has made an absolutely fantastic documentary all about the amazing music that has been such a huge part of the show. It’s called ‘Ladies & Gentlemen… 50 Years Of SNL Music’ and the trailer alone is award-worthy and really showcases the scope and fun of the full documentary. You don’t have to be an SNL fan to enjoy it, it’s just a really interesting look at 50 years of popular music.
Using: I spent 48 hours in London and I feel like I’ve been run over by a bus! I slept terribly (does anyone else never sleep well in hotels?), walked everywhere, lugged around a stupidly heavy bag, and arrived back in York yesterday a husk of a human being. I was in bed by 9pm!
And it wasn’t just my body that was struggling, my skin and eyes were so unhappy. A combination of pollution, lack of sleep, and stress all showed on my face. I got into bed and put all my faith in two products:
The COSRX Ultimate Nourishing Rice Overnight Spa Mask is one of the best products I’ve discovered in years. It’s such a lightweight gel-cream texture but it really feels like a huge drink of water for the skin. I woke up with skin that feels brand new. It also featured in my Winter Skincare Routine post and I’ve been using it a couple of times a week ever since. Get it HERE.
The Optrex Actimist Spray. After wearing contact lenses for two days, plus the pollution and general smogginess of London, and then adding in the not sleeping, my eyes were like pinpricks and so itchy and bloodshot. This spray made my eyes feel instantly better and helped snap me out of that awful eye-rubbing cycle. Find it HERE.
Writing: Earlier this week I shared my first post for paid subscribers, my recommendations for affordable cleansers for rosacea. You can find it here:
As mentioned in THIS POST, all of my educational rosacea content will be free here on Substack, but any personal recommendations, reviews, round ups etc will be for paid subscribers. That post I linked above has more information on the other benefits, if you’re thinking of upgrading your subscription.
And that’s your lot! I hope you’ve had a great week and that the weekend ahead is everything you need it to be. Tell me what you’re up to in the comments, I like being nosey…
