Highlights #29
Hi! It’s highlights time again. So many good reads this month, I’m very pleased! I’ve been working on my thesis so not much time for other things I’m afraid. Been looking at beauty ads and crying about the state of humanity, as one does.
This miffy-themed face oil is TOO CUTE.
An archive of ochres, would you believe!
Here’s something the beauty biz is mega guilty of: trying to make cocktails “healthy”.
Maybe online call-out culture can be a force for good.
Toilet fragrance spray made this woman super rich. Like, really rich. And…spiritual?

Hello, how major is this beauty store in Hong Kong? It looks like an ultra chic sci fi apothecary.
The kids aren’t shopping the same way as older generations – especially when it comes to beauty.
Microblading used to be all the rage, but now brow lamination seems to be catching on instead.
This piece on the exclusive and reclusive Biologique Recherche literally made me giddy.

How cool are these virtual makeovers? They’re made by artist Ines Alpha.
Meet the influencers going beyond face value and physical perfection.
DECIEM has been getting a lot of buzz for their anti-black friday campaign this year, but can we really praise them for distancing themselves from consumerism if they do it by offering a discount?
Speaking of which, “anti-consumerist” content is a big deal right now on youtube and instagram… how effective is it, really?
I’m gonna say it: Friendship breakups are the worst.

Pimple patches are having a real moment… but do they work?
Kylie Jenner just sold a majority stake in her beauty business to Coty… for $600 million dollars. Hoo boy.
Wanna see an ancient sorceress’s collection of charms and effigies? Of course you do.
This New York Times article asks if “closet accounts” on instagram are the future of fashion journalism… and while I think the phenomenon is fascinating, I sure hope it isn’t!
The Queer Eye genre of “self care” is not necessarily helpful.

Disabled food artist Sharona Franklin, known for her jelly sculptures as seen on @paid.technologies, was recently ripped off by none other than Alessandro Michele at Gucci. Here’s an interview with her.
This critique of heteropessimism is so lucid and important!
You know I love food culture and cooking, and I really enjoyed this article on culinary cinema.
Are there too many beauty brands? (YES. JESUS.)

Ever wonder what it’s like to carry a tiny purse for a year? Wonder no more.
Collagen: What exactly is the deal. Does it work. Is it a scam. Why is everyone trying to make me put it in my coffee.
What happens to influencer marketing once instagram starts hiding likes?
This seems cool: Shiseido is developing sun protection technology that responds to heat.

This Dover Street Market x MAC temporary tattoo capsule collection is pretty cool, actually.
People go on and on about how magazines and print media are dying, but there are more fashion magazines than ever in circulation.
Instagram and Facebook are, in the guise of “stopping sexual solicitation”, cracking down on seemingly any expression of sexuality on their platforms. Where do I even start with this nonsense.
As someone who is desperate to revive the 00s obsession with swarovski crystal-encrusted everything (phones. please god bring back bedazzled phones.), this trend of crystal-embellished makeup is exactly what I need.

Chloë Sevigny is, as we all know, mega chic, and so is her perfume collab with Régime des Fleurs.
How cancer became a marketing opportunity. (Side note: The entire latest baffler issue is…amazing.)
Here’s an artist profile on the fabulous Theresa Chromati. Her art is bold, imaginative and vibrant, and so is her her style. Check out her work here.
The Money Diary is some of the most controversial recent trends in women’s journalism, and The Baffler is taking it apart as always.
This article on scientism and science history is an incredible read, it’s unbelievably good. You gotta read it, is what I’m saying.

Dover Street Market has opened its first beauty retail space in Paris. The interior design is, as always, magnificent.
Let’s just face it: WORK SUCKS.
Beauty brands keep trying to appeal to LGBTQ people, but capitalizing on our struggle is a mockery of us. Please, no more sponsored coming out announcements.
Remember that Sunday Riley fake review scandal? There are developments!
An excellent piece by Laura Maw on horror, cinema, and women’s hunger.

And on a very different note: These skin-like phone cases are mega gross (and remind me of the movie eXistenZ, which I love).
Michelle of Lab Muffin Beauty Science is one of my favourite beauty bloggers, and I really appreciated her thoughts on PR, sponsorships, and the ethics of blogging.
Santal 33 is such an “it” fragrance, but it almost didn’t come to market. (I’m an Oud 27 girl, myself.)
The FDA is now proposing warning labels for breast implants. About damn time!
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