A BETTER VERSION OF YOU

Why did The Substance make me think of this quote from Kim K...

Weekend Roundup:

Beauty brands are starting *Christmas in September* — nothing like making up a thing to celebrate to sell more beauty things we don’t need (I swear, everything goes back to Teenie Beanie Babies). Greed is Good is back both with shows about finance bros and in my observation, beauty (why are there so many hauls, how the pendulum swings). GOOP is growing in the world of beauty… and is interestingly launching a retinol product. And… Jackie Aina said the quiet part out loud (thank you Darian for sharing with me—Darian is also on Substack).

Lastly, if you are able, have vetted organization that are helping Palestinians and Lebanese people.

Lebanese aid:

• Lebanese Red Cross

• Haven for Artists

• Solidarity for Lebanon

Palestinian aid:

• Healing our Homeland

• Operation Olive Branch

A BETTER VERSION OF YOU: THOUGHTS ON THE SUBSTANCE

Note: there are spoilers!

To work in beauty is to live in a state of cognitive dissonance. The industry crucified Kim Kardashian for telling the NYT if poop was the fountain of youth, she’d eat it. Kim Kardashian is someone who has created fame and fortune through the public scrutiny of herself and her life. To be honest about the lengths she would go to maintain a part of herself that is praised isn’t exactly shocking or groundbreaking news.

From a young age we’re indoctrinated to believe that enhancing your appearance is an "investment." But, as a former finance student, I learned that good investments give you returns over time. Beauty, or the attempt to reach the ever increasing standards, is a transaction at best, and a sunk cost trap at worst.

The first step in understanding your transactions with the beauty industry is asking yourself why you’re here in the first place. For me, it’s pretty simple, I am trying to preserve my skin without falling into too deep into a hole. In the absence of positivity, I aim for neutrality.

When it comes to beauty, body and “wellness” standards, they should be critiqued. Taboos tend to become less controversial when you talk about them. And while America’s unique blend of individualism and puritanical thinking has led to our own brand of stringent beauty standards, we’re hardly the only culture to have antiquated views on aesthetics.

Many societies link how you look to virtue and worth. This text from the Joseon Dynasty in Korea is one example. The conflation of beauty with morality appears to be a fundamental human bias, not purely a cultural one. The archetype of the ugly evil witch is global. And one thing that’s common about witches? They’re old.

Two factors have accelerated society's obsession with looking forever young: Zoom and social media. We now live in a time where we are constantly seeing ourselves, being perceived and subjected to feedback, whether we want it or not. The praise lavished on women who appear younger than their actual age is intense. Conversely, if you’re seen trying to look younger? If you have (gasp) visible work done? Equally extreme. The pressure to maintain a youthful appearance is relentless (hence the ever expanding and rapidly growing beauty and wellness industries).

Which brings us to Demi Moore, who most recently starred in a film called “The Substance.”