Letter #34: Maggots For Brains
June's newsletter, filled with things I think you'll enjoy
Welcome to June’s newsletter, filled with all sorts of things I saw and took note of throughout the month with you in mind. Whether that’s things I have been enjoying (music! books! films and tv!) or things I’ve read or watched online that I think you’ll find as interesting as I did.
I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed putting it together for you. Don’t forget to let me know you’re here with me by liking, commenting, and/or sharing it - it really helps me to reach new people!
There have been some really fun pop releases already this year and the new Olivia Rodrigo album is fantastic. This one in particular:
I’ve also been enjoying ‘Love Him I Don’t’ by Maisie Peters.
INTERNETTING
A collection of articles, posts, videos and other internet goodness that I have gathered over the month, that I think you’d find interesting, thought-provoking, or inspiring.
This post from the British Skin Foundation about the shift from ‘anti-ageing’ to skin longevity.
This post on Instagram about the media coverage around the Devil Wears Prada stars: ‘Hollywood Isn’t Ageing Anymore And It’s Fucking With Women’s Minds’
This Substack article from Rebecca Woolf: Surgical enhancements may be a choice but so is choosing to ignore their implications. “Faking it might be a choice but I refuse to do it anymore. The ramifications of you do you, girl
feminismindividualism is making a mockery of us all.”This video from Dermangelo about the myth of a base tan (something I’ve already heard otherwise-intelligent people repeat as fact this year!)
This older article (‘Why Are We Scared Of Growing Old’) from Stylist is probably even more relevant now.
This article from Allure about the ever-changing nail trends and why they signify something much deeper (‘This Bare Nail Trend Is Just Girlboss Propaganda’).
This BBC article about ‘Cosmeticorexia: How Girls Are Falling Down A Skincare Rabbithole’
I have raved about La Roche Posay Cicaplast Baume B5+ for well over a decade. I even dedicated a whole ARTICLE to it.
But I needed to share it again because I got a tattoo last weekend and I’ve been putting this miracle product on whenever my skin was looking dry and it not only helped with the healing and dryness, but also really soothed the sore and red skin. It’s the ultimate multitasking product and I will never be without it.
You can buy it from Boots (where there’s a deal on LRP products) HERE, or from Amazon HERE.
Orbital by Samantha Harvey - This Booker Prize winner seems to be a marmite book. I think if you go into it knowing it’s more of a descriptive, character-focused book, rather than a story-led one then your expectations will be set. I thought the writing was beautiful and I really enjoyed it.
We All Want Impossible Things by Catherine Newman - This book made me weep. The story of a decades-long female friendship, as one of the women enters a palliative care facility. Although it sounds bleak, it is funny, heart-warming, and such a beautiful reminder that platonic love can be just as meaningful (if not more so) than romantic love.
Whalefall by Daniel Kraus - Another book that seems to divide people, for similar reasons to Orbital. You may have heard it, as it has been made into a film which is coming out this year. A young diver sets out to find his dad’s remains, missing at sea, and gets swallowed by a whale. I saw some reviews expecting it to be like The Martian or Project Hail Mary and it couldn’t be further from that. It’s the story of a complicated father-son relationship, expectations, tradition, and pressure. It gave me similar vibes to Life Of Pi.
Sunrise On the Reaping by Suzanne Collins - I only started this at the weekend but I’m enjoying it so much. The Hunger Games series is a comfort book and film for me, they’re not incredible literature by any means, but the world-building and characters just scratch an itch for me. This book takes place between A Ballad of Songbirds And Snakes and the original HG books, and tells Haymitch’s story.
WATCHING
I don’t own a TV anymore so I am very behind on most series, films, programmes etc. But I got a cheap month trial of Now TV with a week free trial of the movie package, plus went to stay with friends and with my sister (TV access!) so I feel like I’ve consumed more media in the past few weeks than I have in the past year!
The Pitt, S1 & S2 - I’ve wanted to watch this for so long and I was not disappointed. It’s bloody fantastic. A medical drama where each season takes place over one day in a busy emergency department, each episode representing one hour of the shift. Sad, funny, interesting, infuriating… just brilliant.
Send Help - My sister and are both fascinated by anything survivalist-themed, so when we saw the trailer for this horror-comedy with Rachel McAdams we were instantly sold. Really gory, very silly, and so much fun.
Weapons - Yes I’m very late to this, but I really enjoyed it. So creepy and unsettling.
They Will Kill You - Another horror comedy that was not at all what I was expecting. A lot of gore and impressive effects (the ballroom scene in particular made us laugh out loud!), this gave me real Evil Dead vibes.
Outlast S2 - My friends and I watched the first season last year and loved/hated it. This season has the same blend of contestants: some that you are rooting for and also some of the worst people alive. We spent most of the time watching shouting at the screen and declaring that if the arseholes won we would never watch again! A super fun watch with friends.
Maternal Instinct and The Crash - I think most people have watched both of these by now, because they were top of the Netflix charts for ages. But both are great true crime documentaries, if that is your thing.
Kylie -I wouldn’t say I was a Kylie fan, but I found this documentary really interesting and emotional. It focuses a lot on the media and the impact the attention and harassment had on her over the years.
Next up on the watchlist: From S4 (I’m currently rewatching all the other seasons to prepare myself - so excited!!) and Welcome To Derry (my little sister and I are big Stephen King fans and are going to remote watch together).
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Every new subscriber helps keep things ticking along around here!
The charity Changing Faces do such fantastic work, and they’re a great educational account to follow for interesting information and posts like this:
DRINKING
A few of you asked for more alcohol-free cocktail ideas after my recommendation last month (you can find it HERE if you missed it).
These were so refreshing and easy to drink during the ridiculous heat. I find that a lot of the alcohol-free wines are very sweet which - for me - makes them hard to drink over the course of an evening.
I made two different cocktails for me and my mum, both with a base of Fizzero from M&S (which is, as the name would indicate, an alcohol-free sparkling wine):
Cocktail 1: Fizzero, fresh lime juice, (the sharpness cuts through the sweetness), and topped up with soda water.
Cocktail 2: Fizzero, Monin basil syrup (I flipping love anything basil-flavoured and this gives the drink a really green, summery flavour), and soda water.
Two really simple but refreshing drinks which you can drink from a flute or coupe which really helps with FOMO, or putting off people who inevitably want to know why you’re not drinking (why do they care?!)
Hi Lex. I have mild rosacea, mostly in part of my cheeks and around my nostrils. I think I understand that I need to stay away from retinols. What about Vitamin C? Some formulations have lower levels and some up to #5%. Thanks for all you do!