Eau No
The Don't Buy List: Issue #85
Hello and welcome to another edition of THE DON’T BUY LIST! To start, single-sentence summaries of the month’s biggest beauty culture stories:
On the public’s lust for Luigi Mangione:
Some people are hot and we dehumanize them (celebratory).
On men body-shaming Sydney Sweeney:
Some people are hot and we dehumanize them (derogatory).
Or: Some men don’t want living women but static objects, dolls, playthings, pets. (What is “your body, my choice” if not something to tell a toy, or an ant under a magnifying glass?)
On women defending Sydney Sweeney against body-shamers by saying she doesn’t deserve it because she is, in fact, hot:
Bleak.On Cardi B claiming she’s “a perfect 10” because she never has an “odor even when it’s that time of the month”:
Cleanliness is often aesthetic shorthand for goodness. (See also: Olfactory ethics.)
On Azealia Banks tweeting out dental care instructions for Matty Healy:
Uncleanliness is often aesthetic shorthand for badness.
On allegations of bullying, favoritism, and fat-shaming at influencer Matilda Djerf’s brand, Djerf Avenue:
Influencer valued for her spot at the top of the hierarchical system of beauty culture turns out to have internalized those values.
On the beef tallow moisturizer boom and its attendant backlash:
“Is Mastercard A Queer Ally? Is This TV Show My Friend?” Is my moisturizer Republican?
On the topic of tallow, I spoke to Vogue Business for “The carnivore is back. Are vegan brands out?”And I’m on a new episode of the Never Post podcast, talking about “the capitalistic excess of self-care online.” Listen here.
Anyway! Onto the links.
IN THIS ISSUE: Beauty filter bans! Phthalates in fragrance! Dove x Crumbl Cookies! Blush is not a virtue! Matt Gaetz’s Botox is “not gender-affirming care”! Nike lipstick as an apologetic for women in sports! Fluids on film! What does it mean to be “botched”? Rejection! The Bluest Eye! Mocha Mousse! Bootyhole Brown! & more!