M U S H L O V E M O N T H L Y
Alright alright alright, I'm back! If you follow me on Instagram, you knoooow I had TOO MUCH FUN this summer, and most of it included concerts, spin class, Bang Bang ice cream, weekend trips, Whispering Angel rosé, books, babes and beauty products. Here's the best of the best to get you up to speed on what's good in D's life, and lead you into fashion's best season, the fall.
(listen)
F R A N K O C E A N
K you guys, I had the immense privilege of going to the Wayhome festival this summer to see one of my all-time favourite musicians Frank Ocean, live. It was a very stripped down performance in front of where hundreds upon hundreds of fans leaned on shoulders, held hands, and swayed back and forth to one of the most talented artists of our generation. While of course it was just a good performance at the end of a rad music festival to some, many don't realize that Frank doesn't normally perform, and this show was his 6th since 2014. SIXTH.
(newest single, released August 27, 2017)
What I learned this night and something I've for sure talked about with other live music experiences is that music is a direct reflection of love in its purest form. It transcends all understanding, and being in the middle of a crowd of brown, pink, gay, trans, cis, queer, tall, short people there to simply enjoy this music and each other is really what life should be about. If you listen to Frank, you know that he talks a lot about love surpassing colour, gender, age, time, distance. In fact he says its the simplest thing. When he released his breakout single Thinkin' Bout You in 2012, internet trolls were surprised to find out the lyrics were referring to his relationship with a man. The irony of course was that it didn't at all change how beautiful and relatable the lyrics were. When he performed this song, I had a moment of realization that while there is SO MUCH bullshit going on in the world right now, I was watching a black and queer man singing about a love I can understand, relate to and aspire to have, and what a fucking privilege it is to be alive in this time and be whoever you are. Nothing is perfect and as a global community we have a lot of work to do and progress to be made, but damn have we come a long way, and it's important to take a sec to remember that.
(extended version of Good Guy, live at Panorama, NYC)
So I spent the majority of this night in ugly ass tears because I was overwhelmed at how profound the gift of music is, and Frank reminded us that hate has no place in the sanctity of music. Neither do theatrics, misunderstanding, or judgement. Just strip it down, keep it simple, and keep it groovy.
(buy)
B E A U T Y
I turned thirty this summer (look ma, we made it!) and while by virtue of the fact that black don't crack, I won't have to deal with wrinkles for a MINUTE, I am STILL dealing with the occasional acne breakout, hyper sensitive skin, oily t-zone and super dry cheeks, which, UGH! But hey, better acne than wrinkles I always say. The trick recently has been finding a remedy of all types of products that have worked, and those that don't. So here's the break down of all the good good I've been using (and dollars I've been dropping) to get this face looking riiiight, and it's really been working.
Shout out to Ulta Beauty for carrying the biggie size (236mL) of this because I go through bottles like crazy. It smells amazing and is a softer alternative to setting spray if you use that for makeup. I love to put it in the fridge and use it as a refresher in the middle of the afternoon or after a workout.
Okay so I fell of the bandwagon for this product for a really long while, and used the Avene Mousse Cleansing Foam, and while I liked that, I found it waaaaay too gentle and I like the spicy kick it gives and extra clean feel. Plus I'm digging the new packaging.
Just as the name indicates, this the bomb dot com shit right here! I'm a tough sell when it comes to lip balm, because my forever and ever #1 favourite product is Rosebud's Salve, so the transition to this stuff has felt a bit like infidelity. In a variety of flavours, coconut holds supreme, but the birthday cake flavour (in collaboration with Momofuku Milk Bar, another fave of mine) pictured here smells insane. Like, makes me want to go to Milk Bar for birthday cake truffles and corn cookies and crack pie insane. Like, makes me want to eat this lip balm because the Milk Bar is too far at this point insane. Anyway, just try it.
So like I've been saying, this new combination t-zone sensitive skin I've been dealing with has made it a bit difficult to balance, but this toner is doing a great job of that. The customer service at Aesop Queen St. is impeccable so I got to try out a couple of samples before committing (especially because it's a wee bit expensive) but it's so good and smells so CLEAN.
Can these people do any wrong? I have switched to an even lighter foundation routine, switching back and forth between Charlotte TIlbury Magic Foundation which I talked about last year and Next To Nothing Face Colour by Mac and as a result, I've had to change my moisturizer and primer. Enter: priming moisturizer. It's s'good! And light and build-able and primes your pores in a natural photo-finished way without looking like an Instagram makeup artist. I can't wait to try the extra thick rich version of it as the weather gets cooler and my skin gets a little drier.
It was just a couple of years back that I was buying this stuff for 5x the price at Whole Foods, and now you can get it in super cute packaging from Canada's favourite bargain beauty company, Deciem, in The Abnormal Beauty Company stores. It's amazing for blemish recovery, fine lines and leaves your skin soft. I simply can't say how much I love rosehip oil enough.
For someone who has religiously used sheet masks and only sheet masks since my days of living in Korea, I have dropped those like they're hot and am kicking it old school with mud masks. And loving them. I need that extra drying feeling for my super oily days and this is so great for that.
I have verrrry blemish prone skin, not just on my face but on my entire body and I'm TRYING here, to get rid of them. Enter: this stuff. It's great, I'm almost through my first bottle and will keep using it for a while to see how I continue to like it. TBD.
I love Avene, as I mentioned earlier in this post, I liked the face wash and am a MASSIVE fan of the spray, but Is it just me or are all micellar waters preeeetty comparable? I love them, but find that they're more or less the same. I love to use this stuff to remove my make up, then after I wash my face I use it again before toning. Squeaky clean and gentle on my fache.
Okay this stuff is great for combatting the sensitive skin I told you I've been dealing with. A little pricier than the sister brand The Ordinary, Hylamide Booster Sensitive has been a great serum addition for my cheeks and chin where I really experience my problem skin. Try it, you'll dig it.
(read)
Q GIBSON
So the poetry obsession continues, and I've talked about Q Gibson before I finally have her entire collection of works. I mean, she is just so talented, enlightened, vulnerable, honest, charming and cheeky. Reading her work has helped me in many ways to accept myself for who I am and where I'm at, and I really believe that all good art is about connection and feeling like a part of something greater than ourselves, and Q Gibson just gets it.
As a writer, it's always an important lesson to be reminded that while we all live life with vastly unique experiences, we are part of a larger narrative, and our journey - the light in it, the joy in it, the pain in it - is shared. Seldom are you ever alone in what we go through (that's just simply not how we were designed) and Q Gibson, your poetry is a good reminder of that. And for all other writers, musicians, artists, poets, share your heart, because you don't know what deep, dark and lonely prison your words could release someone from.
(left to right: sunday sugar, the sweetness in soil, the flowering woman)
(adorn)
Aaaand here's a photo of Sterling K. Brown, because Sterling K. F*cking Brown. #blackexcellence
