I love this partly because I love hearing about Products but also because I'm working on a substack about perfume which after years of "trying to get into" I may have actually gotten into lol.
I find that the single most effective thing I can do or not do for my skin is using a cleanser with niacinamide in it. Nothing else really matters? So right now I use a Naturium gel cleanser + CORSX snail stuff + CORSX rice moisturizer most of the time.
Twisted Lily in Brooklyn got me briefly into perfume a few years ago. The guy there will tell you everything and give you samples (and you can buy samples cheap online). And he writes perfume descriptions like this: “[the perfume] captures the process of self-acceptance, the freedom gained after the acknowledgement. This scent reveals the beauty of making mistakes, the acknowledgement, and the moving on. A failure might serve as an essential factor while creating a successful masterpiece.”
wow I have never heard of this brand... I mostly struggle w sunscreens that I Feel like never actually sink into my skin but just sit on top in a way that yes makes me want to claw my skin off
I love using a rice protein for my hair and I had a rice mask from BrioGio that I love love loved (but have not since replaced). if I was smart I'd save all the rice water from rinsing rice to use for refresh spray but... I am not that smart
i literally never hear people talk about it but they had it at my old pharmacy in ~*~the west village~*~ that was always full of like french skincare and such. it was a great place but they went out of business… i'm not good at remembering to apply sunscreen but I really like it… the texture is fluffy.
right now on the hair front i sort of want to switch to using shampoo and conditioner bars when i run out of my current stuff since i find all the plastic my hair generates depressing and the one my hair dresser recommended is rice based i think (the brand is kitsch)… so this is encouraging
I have tried some sample bars in the past and liked them, and I switched over to bar soap two years ago for this reason. It takes me like half a year to go thru a bottle of shampoo and conditioner so I am not feeling so bad about my plastic use yet (it's also part of why I dilute the creams/gels with water) but I would love a whole bar lineup of my fav stuff.
yeah tbh based on my experience with bar soap if i switch to bar shampoo i will actually go through it a lot of faster, since I wash my hair like… twice a week.
BDM if you ever want me to forward you some old The Dry Down (RIP) newsletters from Rach and Helena, let me know! They got me into perfume and now I have many many samples. Too many, one might say. I still sometimes re read the newsletters for comfort.
ok sorry if i am projecting but i feel like we have a kind of ~similar hair texture~ (this belief is based on old twitter/insta photo memories and that all the products you listed are ones i love/have loved). here is a rec you did not ask for: something i'm obsessed with is flaxseed gel (i spray on a light leave in conditioner before and then do gel and that's it), my fav is Curlmix medium hold https://curlmix.com/products/medium-hold-flaxseed-gel-curly-hair (idk how diff the holds are, but the 'light' hold is on sale rn so there's that), they're pricey tho so my budget alternative is https://www.amazon.com/Aunt-Jackies-Flaxseed-Elongating-Curling/dp/B015YAM4EU
thus concludes my recs that you did not ask for, thank you for writing about your recs i very much love it!
omg hello crissy!!!!!! long time!! this is such a great rec... you have always had such great curls so this tip goes a long way. I am always googling to try to remember if my hair has good or bad protein amounts but I feel confident that it probably does need flaxseed of some kind for volume/hold. will be purchasing!!!
fran!!! <3 bestill my heart, a compliment from a queen of curls! dude i cannot understand (or perhaps just properly remember) the protein shit at ALL. but this account has been very helpful for me re: porosity and moisture and product recs and such https://www.instagram.com/sumans.waves/?hl=en
also the head & shoulders (for me, nizoral) is so key...my scalp is always going through it
once I abandoned the rigid structure of "curly girl method" (hell on earth) and just curated products that actually work for me I felt truly free... this girlie's waves are fab and I would also be remiss to say that I didn't learn a thing or two from the Chappell Roan tutorial: https://www.tiktok.com/@chappellroan/video/7269161502136077614?lang=en
The Merit Pinterest ads got me into doing their shade-stick-for-everything makeup, though I use a dupe from Colourpop. I like having the same shade on my cheeks, eyelids, nose etc—feels very ‘clean girl’ or whatever they call it now. Maybe one day I’ll pay up for the real shade stick, to make it a ‘rich clean girl’ look, but for now I’m convinced the dupes are as good (same goes for L’Oréal color match foundation, which I’ve recently discovered is as good as the old YSL one I used to pay $35 for)
I love the beauty issues. Fran!! I have nothing to contribute (I say before I type out an exhaustive list of skincare and makeup items that I use). I’m also a Clinique Black Honey user. I wanted to buy that and Benetint for years and this year I finally did. I can get weird about different lip product textures so I most align with any kind of tinted balm but because I try to wear my mask at work, especially in the children’s room in the library, which is filled with iPad cough kids, I just get weirded out if I take my mask off and see a lipstick smear. Enter tints. Benetint is pretty great, if a bit drying, and I also use the Milk Makeup Cooling Jelly on my lips as well as a blush (TikTok has influenced me many times). I’ve been obsessed with any kind of blush or lip gloss (for non work days) for years now. Cannot get enough. I broke down and got the Tower 28 lip jelly and love it. Less sticky than a gloss and fades nicely. On the skincare front: Fran what can I say. I have wrinkles now. And I still get acne breakouts. Everything I do including using the Sola Wave red light wand intermittently, seems to make it worse. Morale is low Fran. I’ve also tried out my first retinol (Peach & Lily) by using it once a week and I am praying it helps. I might be back to comment more.
I think I prefer the Milk cooling jelly as a lip product than as a blush, though it's a great color in theory. The Sola Wave never doesn't feel fake to me, but talk to your derm! Maybe some short term prescription could help - I really would not have the type of skin I have now without it. I am very at peace with the wrinkles for now though.
I do love reading what products real people use so thanks for this!! I wish I didn't love the Supergoop sunscreen as much as I do since it's so expensive, but I can't ever find a dupe that I like as much. So Supergoop it is!!
people seem to really swear by the Trader Joe's dupe but I live just too inconveniently located from a TJ's for it to be a major player (plus I hear they are always sold out). I shop the Supergoop sales and I hope for the best!!!
For dupes, I just found out abt a website called SkinSkool (https://skinskoolbeauty.com/) which gives you ratings on the dupes of things. Supposedly the E.L.F. "Whoa Glow" is the best dupe for the tinted version, if not better. Haven't tried it yet but I'm ordering today!
I’m seated for a serum that actually makes a noticeable difference… also have recently been venturing into the world of curl creams after being a gel/mousse only girl for years. So far the Ouai cream is… working I think? I’m withholding judgment until I finally get a haircut.
I did gel on top of cream for a long time but I felt like it was making my curls worse throughout the week between rinses/conditioning, but I also felt like once I cut it should I cared less about the curls maintaining hold consistently and I'm content with a weird wave or something. it was crazy to learn in real time that there is a difference between "Ouai" and "Ouidad"
i have a shitty trader joes hyaluronic acid and the supergoop vitamin c thingy. i buy 1-2 serums a year and i never know if they do anything.......but "maybe this one will"!
really all i do aside from wash/moisturize/spf is alternating tretinoin and a chemical exfoliant....
imo this antioxidant thing works a bit better for me than vitamin c but I have also never found a c serum that I actually like.. you might be fine without!!!
I love this partly because I love hearing about Products but also because I'm working on a substack about perfume which after years of "trying to get into" I may have actually gotten into lol.
I find that the single most effective thing I can do or not do for my skin is using a cleanser with niacinamide in it. Nothing else really matters? So right now I use a Naturium gel cleanser + CORSX snail stuff + CORSX rice moisturizer most of the time.
Twisted Lily in Brooklyn got me briefly into perfume a few years ago. The guy there will tell you everything and give you samples (and you can buy samples cheap online). And he writes perfume descriptions like this: “[the perfume] captures the process of self-acceptance, the freedom gained after the acknowledgement. This scent reveals the beauty of making mistakes, the acknowledgement, and the moving on. A failure might serve as an essential factor while creating a successful masterpiece.”
forgot to say I love this sunscreen which is one of the few I never want to claw right off my face: https://gobareoutside.com/collections/face
wow I have never heard of this brand... I mostly struggle w sunscreens that I Feel like never actually sink into my skin but just sit on top in a way that yes makes me want to claw my skin off
I love using a rice protein for my hair and I had a rice mask from BrioGio that I love love loved (but have not since replaced). if I was smart I'd save all the rice water from rinsing rice to use for refresh spray but... I am not that smart
i literally never hear people talk about it but they had it at my old pharmacy in ~*~the west village~*~ that was always full of like french skincare and such. it was a great place but they went out of business… i'm not good at remembering to apply sunscreen but I really like it… the texture is fluffy.
right now on the hair front i sort of want to switch to using shampoo and conditioner bars when i run out of my current stuff since i find all the plastic my hair generates depressing and the one my hair dresser recommended is rice based i think (the brand is kitsch)… so this is encouraging
I have tried some sample bars in the past and liked them, and I switched over to bar soap two years ago for this reason. It takes me like half a year to go thru a bottle of shampoo and conditioner so I am not feeling so bad about my plastic use yet (it's also part of why I dilute the creams/gels with water) but I would love a whole bar lineup of my fav stuff.
yeah tbh based on my experience with bar soap if i switch to bar shampoo i will actually go through it a lot of faster, since I wash my hair like… twice a week.
BDM if you ever want me to forward you some old The Dry Down (RIP) newsletters from Rach and Helena, let me know! They got me into perfume and now I have many many samples. Too many, one might say. I still sometimes re read the newsletters for comfort.
you will change lives for making this a wednesday issue aka free to the public, fran mag is for the people 🫡
Love and miss OG into the gloss and always LOVE hearing a product rundown!!!
Mane & Tail erasure………………………
I only used it one time!!!!!
ok sorry if i am projecting but i feel like we have a kind of ~similar hair texture~ (this belief is based on old twitter/insta photo memories and that all the products you listed are ones i love/have loved). here is a rec you did not ask for: something i'm obsessed with is flaxseed gel (i spray on a light leave in conditioner before and then do gel and that's it), my fav is Curlmix medium hold https://curlmix.com/products/medium-hold-flaxseed-gel-curly-hair (idk how diff the holds are, but the 'light' hold is on sale rn so there's that), they're pricey tho so my budget alternative is https://www.amazon.com/Aunt-Jackies-Flaxseed-Elongating-Curling/dp/B015YAM4EU
thus concludes my recs that you did not ask for, thank you for writing about your recs i very much love it!
omg hello crissy!!!!!! long time!! this is such a great rec... you have always had such great curls so this tip goes a long way. I am always googling to try to remember if my hair has good or bad protein amounts but I feel confident that it probably does need flaxseed of some kind for volume/hold. will be purchasing!!!
fran!!! <3 bestill my heart, a compliment from a queen of curls! dude i cannot understand (or perhaps just properly remember) the protein shit at ALL. but this account has been very helpful for me re: porosity and moisture and product recs and such https://www.instagram.com/sumans.waves/?hl=en
also the head & shoulders (for me, nizoral) is so key...my scalp is always going through it
once I abandoned the rigid structure of "curly girl method" (hell on earth) and just curated products that actually work for me I felt truly free... this girlie's waves are fab and I would also be remiss to say that I didn't learn a thing or two from the Chappell Roan tutorial: https://www.tiktok.com/@chappellroan/video/7269161502136077614?lang=en
the curly girl PRISON
omg wait sorry LAST LATE REC i looove this shit bc when i use it, i don't need leave-in + gel. just this one thing on super super wet hair (like in the shower post rinsing out conditioner wet) https://www.sephora.com/product/curl-defining-styling-hair-souffle-gel-P501982?country_switch=us&lang=en&skuId=2622066&om_mmc=ppc-GG_17791296871___2622066__9007324_c&country_switch=us&lang=en&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwmYCzBhA6EiwAxFwfgKAEvZEe01DkATxEOkYZEuOWvE70bYqcn7V1dXRtkgFlH-YIDVZXwRoCK1gQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
I was wondering if this brand was good!!! I see all the time
The Merit Pinterest ads got me into doing their shade-stick-for-everything makeup, though I use a dupe from Colourpop. I like having the same shade on my cheeks, eyelids, nose etc—feels very ‘clean girl’ or whatever they call it now. Maybe one day I’ll pay up for the real shade stick, to make it a ‘rich clean girl’ look, but for now I’m convinced the dupes are as good (same goes for L’Oréal color match foundation, which I’ve recently discovered is as good as the old YSL one I used to pay $35 for)
I love colourpop but I don't live near any ultas and don't trust myself to buy online!! their stuff is SO fun tho
I get mine at the mini-ulta in target
I love the beauty issues. Fran!! I have nothing to contribute (I say before I type out an exhaustive list of skincare and makeup items that I use). I’m also a Clinique Black Honey user. I wanted to buy that and Benetint for years and this year I finally did. I can get weird about different lip product textures so I most align with any kind of tinted balm but because I try to wear my mask at work, especially in the children’s room in the library, which is filled with iPad cough kids, I just get weirded out if I take my mask off and see a lipstick smear. Enter tints. Benetint is pretty great, if a bit drying, and I also use the Milk Makeup Cooling Jelly on my lips as well as a blush (TikTok has influenced me many times). I’ve been obsessed with any kind of blush or lip gloss (for non work days) for years now. Cannot get enough. I broke down and got the Tower 28 lip jelly and love it. Less sticky than a gloss and fades nicely. On the skincare front: Fran what can I say. I have wrinkles now. And I still get acne breakouts. Everything I do including using the Sola Wave red light wand intermittently, seems to make it worse. Morale is low Fran. I’ve also tried out my first retinol (Peach & Lily) by using it once a week and I am praying it helps. I might be back to comment more.
I think I prefer the Milk cooling jelly as a lip product than as a blush, though it's a great color in theory. The Sola Wave never doesn't feel fake to me, but talk to your derm! Maybe some short term prescription could help - I really would not have the type of skin I have now without it. I am very at peace with the wrinkles for now though.
My wife asked me to learn how to braid her hair and it’s really hard. I even watched the Masterclass
I do love reading what products real people use so thanks for this!! I wish I didn't love the Supergoop sunscreen as much as I do since it's so expensive, but I can't ever find a dupe that I like as much. So Supergoop it is!!
people seem to really swear by the Trader Joe's dupe but I live just too inconveniently located from a TJ's for it to be a major player (plus I hear they are always sold out). I shop the Supergoop sales and I hope for the best!!!
The TJs one is actually a really good dupe. But it is ALWAYS sold out. I've only found it once in stock at my also too far away local TJs.
Supergoop does have sales every now and then. I just keep an eye on emails and buy like, 5 tubes of unseen when there’s a 20% off coupon
For dupes, I just found out abt a website called SkinSkool (https://skinskoolbeauty.com/) which gives you ratings on the dupes of things. Supposedly the E.L.F. "Whoa Glow" is the best dupe for the tinted version, if not better. Haven't tried it yet but I'm ordering today!
I've never heard of SkinSkool!! Thanks for the rec!
I’m seated for a serum that actually makes a noticeable difference… also have recently been venturing into the world of curl creams after being a gel/mousse only girl for years. So far the Ouai cream is… working I think? I’m withholding judgment until I finally get a haircut.
🕯️haley haircut soon🕯️
I did gel on top of cream for a long time but I felt like it was making my curls worse throughout the week between rinses/conditioning, but I also felt like once I cut it should I cared less about the curls maintaining hold consistently and I'm content with a weird wave or something. it was crazy to learn in real time that there is a difference between "Ouai" and "Ouidad"
NSS will be good for the skin too I imagine.
fingers crossed... I am hoping to complete a perfect NSS (that's "no soda summer," for Fran Mag readers) so that it can be its own blog
Seated
bro you're really about to have me buying another serum..........
which ones do you already have?
i have a shitty trader joes hyaluronic acid and the supergoop vitamin c thingy. i buy 1-2 serums a year and i never know if they do anything.......but "maybe this one will"!
really all i do aside from wash/moisturize/spf is alternating tretinoin and a chemical exfoliant....
imo this antioxidant thing works a bit better for me than vitamin c but I have also never found a c serum that I actually like.. you might be fine without!!!