The Unpublishable

Welcome to The Unpublishable!

Here’s what people are saying about this weekly(ish) beauty newsletter:

• “Yanking consumers out of the matrix made by the beauty industry.” - HuffPost

• “[From] the woman the beauty industry fears the most.” - The Sunday Herald

• “Examines the beauty industry’s tight grasp on consumers and popular culture, from evolving beauty standards to the deft marketing tactics used to sell people more products.” - New York Magazine

• “Jessica DeFino covers the beauty industry the way Woodward and Bernstein covered Watergate.” - Val Monroe

• “DeFino’s [work] is a reminder to question our relationship with beauty. Why do we do what we do? Is it being defined by society or driven by our authentic self?” - Dua Lipa

• “A newsletter focused on the darker sides of the beauty industry.” - Vox

• “A tantalising series of beauty stories … Subscribe for witty, BS-free content.” - The Sunday Times

Hi! I’m Jessica DeFino, a freelance beauty journalist for The New York Times, Vogue, WWD, Allure, and more.

This newsletter is a place for my most “unpublishable” pitches: the beauty-critical content that publications can’t, won’t, or don’t cover — whether that’s to appease advertisers, preserve brand relationships, or cling to the conventional wisdom, outdated ideals, and marketing myths that keep consumers consuming. Trust me, it all influences what information makes it to the mainstream.

Basically, it’s what the beauty industry won’t tell you — from a reporter on a mission to reform it.

Paid subscribers get:

• Access to all past and future articles from The Unpublishable

• Two issues of The Don’t Buy List — a roundup of product-free content and breaking beauty news, curated to broaden your understanding of the beauty industry and help us all break free from beauty standards — each month

• Access to community subscriber chats each week

• The ability to comment on articles

• The joy of supporting the culture-shifting work of The Beautywell Project and Slow Factory, where a portion of subscriber proceeds are donated each month

• My eternal gratitude for funding critical beauty content that, thanks to subscriber support, doesn’t have to push products on people via advertisers or affiliate sales

Here’s more information about how The Unpublishable’s paid subscription is structured and why, along with a free sneak peek at The Don’t Buy List.

Subscribe now to support independent beauty reporting that isn’t beholden to brands, advertisers, algorithms, or affiliate sales.

Your skin, psyche, and savings account will thank you later.