#22: Take A Sexy Picture Of Me
All the things I saw this month and thought of you
June has been a lovely month, with a holiday slotted in the middle which has done absolute wonders for my brain. We didn’t go away but had some wonderful days out in York, stayed with friends in Sheffield, hung out with family, and had entire days of reading, eating, walking Douglas, and relaxing. Dreamy.
This month’s newsletter is a good one. Books, music, and films! An incredible UPF hat! Articles about ageing, how to calm flare ups, internet misinformation, Kris Jenner’s new face, K-beauty! Posts on how to reapply sunscreen, rosacea and summer skin protection, the Medical Medium (😒)! And more!
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This month’s newsletter title and recommended song is Take A Sexy Picture Of Me by CMAT. We saw her supporting First Aid Kit a few years ago (at the Piece Hall in Halifax, which is such a beautiful venue) and she was so much fun. This song has been in my head for weeks.
This fantastic essay (‘I’m So Fucking Tired Of Listening To Women My Age Complain About Being Old And Washed’) from
really stuck with me.There is so much discourse about Gen Z and Alpha being ageist and cruel about older women, but we need to admit that a lot of this fear and disgust about ageing is also coming from inside the house. When I turned 40, I couldn’t believe the amount of people (women!) who implied I’d be sad about that number, that I’d be grieving my youth, that I’d cry on my birthday because 40 is ‘so old’… I found it bizarre.
“I completely understand the vexation women my age feel about getting older, even if I don’t share it, because this is exactly how we have been taught to regard ourselves. We live in a world where we are bombarded by our own technologically-mediated visage in ways human beings never had to contend with before. […]
This isn’t meant to denigrate women’s worries, but to remind them that these worries are inherited, not natural.”
Yes yes YES to that last line. Who is profiting from your fear and worry about ageing? Who benefits? Because it’s certainly not you.
I get quite a lot of questions about sunscreen at this time of year, especially about reapplication of sunscreen. This post from Michelle from LabMuffinBeautyScience is a great summary of a complicated topic:
And while we’re talking about sunscreen, THIS article from Refinery29 delves into the hugely dangerous and widespread issue of fake sunscreens, along with tips on how to spot them.
If you’ve been on the internet in the past few weeks you’ve no doubt seen Kris Jenner’s new face. Firstly, why has this family not been cancelled? Trump voters, Elon Musk supporters, peddlers of hideous, outdated, dangerous diet culture and beauty standards. They have nothing of use or interest to contribute, so please can we just collectively agree that they’re done?
Secondly, thank you to Allure for this article and pointing out that much of the fawning and complimenting of her new face is pointless as she definitely doesn’t look like that in real life. Even after a lifetime of privilege, expensive surgeries, tweakments, and treaments, she still doesn’t actually look the way she presents herself. On top of all of that work, there’s still a lot of heavy lifting being done by lighting, filters, angles, and photo manipulation. Comparing yourself to this is pointless on every level. Don’t be sucked in.
I’ve wanted a UPF summer hat for a long time and I’d previously seen Nadine Baggot raving about her Solbari one, so when the brand asked if they could send me a few to try and review, I practically bit their (virtual) hands off.
I have absolutely fallen in love with the Solbari Ultra Wide Cotton Linen hat*. It’s UPF 50+ (which means it protects from UVA and UVB rays), it’s really lightweight, it has internal wire in the brim so I can alter and place it to better shield my skin, it has a ponytail hole, a removable strap with toggle, and an internal cord to adjust the size, PLUS it’s 5” inches wide at the front and 6” at the back, so it shades my face, neck, and chest. AND, if you needed any more convincing, there’s a sale on at the moment, so you can get it for a bargain. Get it HERE.
Solbari also sent me their Holiday Sun Hat*. It has all the benefits of the Ultra Wide version except it is a bit smaller (with a 4” brim) and has no ponytail hole. It is also really lovely - so lovely in fact, that my mum has pinched it!
This article (“More than half of top 100 mental health TikToks contain misinformation, study finds”) from The Guardian shocked me even though I am very aware of the amount of misinformation online. We have a really dangerous mix of unscrupulous people who are happy to put their own fame and greed above other peoples’ safety, combined with people who don’t have the education or media literacy to separate useful, informed, educational information from well-packaged, scientific-sounding fluff.
“Short-form, attention-grabbing soundbites can sometimes overshadow the more nuanced realities of qualified therapeutic work”. This is one of the problems I have with using social media as an educational tool, because the algorithm prioritises short, polemic videos which remove nuance or detail. It’s a topic I’ve spoken about before, with a focus on the types of content I try to share vs what’s favoured by social media platforms:
LEARNING
This post from the National Rosacea Society was really interesting. I do all of these things! How about you? Which of the above are on your ‘surviving summer’ list?
While we’re talking about the National Rosacea Society, they recently published an ARTICLE about the enormous popularity of K-Beauty and J-Beauty and the trends associated with them (glass skin, mirror skin etc.) Some truly fantastic brands and products have come out of Korea and Japan, but that article is a good reminder not to get caught up in viral skincare trends that may not be appropriate for your sensitive skin.
When I first started blogging (12 years ago!) my head was easily turned by exciting sounding product launches, or things that others raved about. But as I got to know more about skincare, marketing (👀) and - more importantly - my skin’s own individual needs and quirks, I realised that so many of these routines and products are just not meant for me. The FOMO I felt was soon dwarfed by the relief I felt when my skin was calmer and happier.
I’ve said it many times before, but rosacea loves routine, loves simplicity, and gentle soothing products. That may sound boring, but it is what underpins every skincare decision I make.
We recently watched The Ugly Stepsister - a retelling of Cinderella - and flipping loved it. A body horror, dark comedy that lampoons beauty standards? Obviously I’m in! There are some truly stomach-turning scenes (I’m not good with anything to do with eyes, so the eyelash scene was traumatic!) so if you’re not a fan of gore, maybe swerve this one. We watched it on Shudder.
I have been having a bit of a slump with books recently. I’ve been reading a lot but most have them have been just okay. But there are two that I wanted to share. I’m really enjoying The Last Murder At The End Of The World by Stuart Turton: a post-apocalyptic (my favourite genre!) murder mystery that is keeping me guessing. (not to be confused with ‘A Murder At The End Of The World’, a TV series with Emma Corrin which is also really good!)
On a morning, with an iced coffee, I’ve been reading Perimenopause Power by Maisie Hill. I think it’s shocking how little information we are given about perimenopause and menopause, considering it’s something inevitable that we need to prepare for and have support for. This book goes into detail on every aspect of perimenopause, explaining what is happening to your body, what to expect, and how to best prepare and cope with it. I’m not sure if I’m in perimenopause yet, but it’s looming and I wanted to educate myself. I enjoyed it overall, however there were some dubious recommendations (e.g. a whole section recommending the EWG, who are an unscientific organisation who use fearmongering, greenwashing, and clean washing to push their agenda. More information on them HERE).
We are in the middle of a heatwave in the UK and I am hating it! My skin is remarkably calm considering, but I am constantly on edge wondering if my skin is going to flare up. I’m putting together a post with tips for surviving warmer weather, so look out for that next week!
In the meantime, I wanted to reshare this post which has some of my ultimate tips for managing and calming flare ups. I hope it helps:
While we’re talking about avoiding the sun, THIS VIDEO really made me laugh and I thought you’d appreciate it.
In case you needed anymore reasons to completely ignore The Medical Medium (previous reasons include: him not actually being medically trained in any capacity, getting his ’medical’ information from ghosts, claiming ‘eggs create endometriosis’, that ‘oranges help regrow teeth’… I could go on!), his newest grift is trying to convince people that blood tests are bad for you.
Of course, it would be very cynical of me to think that maybe he isn’t a fan of blood tests because they could debunk or refute some of his claims about ‘healing’ his followers…!
He is final boss of grifters and it infuriates me that people with huge followings promote and amplify his reach. It’s dangerous and, in my opinion, criminal.
WORKING
I was in London earlier this week, doing something really exciting with the British Skin Foundation team. I’ve been a proud ambassador for the charity for 8 years and I can’t wait for you to see what we’re working on. Make sure you’re following them on INSTAGRAM to hear more...
This week the BSF launched a separate campaign that is so clever. They took over billboards in various locations across the UK and used real-time data to show the current UV levels and what that sun exposure would do to unprotected skin. As the day went on, the skin on the billboard burned in real time. So clever and a powerful reminder of the damage done by the sun.
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