003. Pantry Love, Wildcare, and ZeroZeroZero

A variety of food, beauty, and TV for this week!

I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t do the cooking in the house. Yes, I know how to cook and can, but my husband worked as both a chef and pastry chef for over fifteen years so anything I make will never be on his level. (I am, however, immensely proud of the chocolate soufflés that I made for him when we first started dating.) Despite not being the one who cooks, I love browsing pantry items.

But usually, and especially in times like these, it’s tough to justify your urge to splurge on that fancy bottle of olive oil. Well, in comes fantastic friends who genuinely listen to your endless rambles of this beautifully designed bottle of olive oil and how amazing it must taste on fresh mozzarella with tomato and fresh basil. My dear friend, Shobha (of this blog and @mochaminimalist), heard me and gifted this stunning surprise for my recent birthday. I’d found Oracle Oil through CAP Beauty’s newsletter (a great one if you aren’t signed up already), and fell in love. How could the designer in me not? The deep inky blue reflective of the night sea off the shores of Greece. This natural tooth off-white label (most likely letterpressed) with a watercolor logomark! Be still my heart.

We’ve only used it twice so far, drizzled over two pasta dishes, and it was delicious. Husband being the chef made me take a small spoonful to see what it tastes like on its own (it wasn’t an experience I was overly fond of). Still, you do notice how delicate the flavor is. I’d describe it as a light, more fruity olive oil. It’s not as rich as some, but it’s not too acidic either. This would be the perfect olive oil to dress fresh fruit or salads or to dip bread into (with a bit of freshly cracked pepper). Because it’s an expensive bottle at $38 for 500ml (16.9oz), I couldn’t bear to cook with it! But it’s a great finishing oil, and I can’t wait until our groceries restock fresh mozzarella so I can enjoy it in all its glory!

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Last week I spoke about Wildcare (@wildcare_body) being my favorite hydrosol brand. But did you know they also carry my favorite body oil (Golden Hour Glowing Body Oil), along with two masks, and a facial oil? And we can’t talk about Wildcare without mentioning the amazing woman behind it all, Cortney Herrera. She’s the founder, distiller, maker, shipper, an all-around extraordinaire. When I think of the Wildcare line, I think of nature at its minimalist and best.

Today I want to share about two Wildcare items* I’ve been using. *Both were gifted to me by the lovely Salwa, owner, and curator of Bergamot Beauty (website is undergoing a rebuild, but find her on Instagram @bergamotbeauty). This isn’t sponsored, and I wasn’t obligated to share, but I love these, and so I will!

First up is the SunRoot Solar Serum*. I’ve wanted to try this ever since I fell in love with her hydrosols because you know what goes great with hydrosols? Yes, you guessed it: facial oils. This is a powerhouse of ingredients. The part that got me most is the 4-week solar infusion, thus aptly translating to its name. It’s a beautiful mixture of organic artichoke leaf, turmeric Co2, Amaranth Co2, and seed oils of Rosehip, Raspberry Seed, and Sea Buckthorn. Artichoke leaf is infused in organic jojoba oil sourced directly from one of the few U.S. organic jojoba farmers cold-pressed by hand! The color of this oil speaks for itself, like sunshine harvested in a bottle.

The joy of this serum is that you can use it as your sole facial oil for both AM and PM, and you need so little because of how luscious this is. In the mornings, I use 2 drops max since I’m usually using another serum, and my SPF of choice also contain oils. This is an excellent evening facial oil (I’ll use 3–4 drops depending on my skin). It is so protecting and healing. I’ve used this during winter and now in the warmer months of Spring, and I always wake to plump, smooth skin. It’s a rich and substantial oil, so it works particularly well as a facial massage or gua sha medium! And since it’s so healing, I love to mix this in with detoxifying or exfoliating masks. And we haven’t even talked about my favorite part of this serum, the scent—fans of savory aromas, this one’s for you. The first time I opened it, I got weak in the knees; it was so good. It’s spicy from the turmeric, green and woodsy from the artichoke leaf and amaranth, floral from the Bulgarian Rose, and slightly sweetened by vanilla and bergamot. I adore the grounding scent of this.

Second is the Bee Rosy Fruit and Flower Renewal Mask*. We have to talk about the color because it will instantly bring a smile to your face. Dry, it looks like the pale pink of strawberry mochi but mixed with liquid, it takes on a supremely rich hibiscus hue! And it smells like strawberries and roses mixed gently with clay. This mask is a mixture of purifying clays, strawberry that gently exfoliates and supports collagen production, rose and yarrow to soothe, and hibiscus to lighten scarring. And the pièce de résistance, Pacific Northwest bee pollen, a robust collection of nutrients that nourish and heal the skin. Plus it doesn’t contain any essential oils! When my skin craves simplicity (few products) but efficacy, I do my Wildcare routine. I’ll cleanse the face, use this mask (I use 1/2 tbsp with water to desired consistency), follow by a generous spritzing of any Wildcare hydrosol before and after the SunRoot Solar Serum. My skin always thanks me when I do this. *A note on the clays: if you want the clay to continue purifying, they need to stay moist. Either spritz with a hydrosol or water to keep them active. I love this mask so much I’m dying to try their other Soft Focus Coconut and Pearl Mask too!

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Welcome to the running series recap of Amazon's ZeroZeroZero. Today, we unpack the premiere episode. 

Where this series truly shines is in its ability to tell a story through multiple methods. It may appear to be a slow-paced show, and it is, but there's so much being said in the moments without dialogue in-camera. The series premiere introduces us to all the major players through thoughtful camerawork, intentional dialogue, and music cues that train us to foresee (will be explained in following newsletters).

The opening shot is white powder falling down onto a surface. Graphics and narration tell the premise, which is a closer look at what it takes to run the international cocaine trade. We hear the beginning of a narration:

Powder. That's all you see when you look at cocaine. Look a little closer, and you see a network. Buyers, sellers, brokers, users, invisibly tangled in our daily lives. Whether we like it or not.

While there are four parties listed in the graphic, the show only focuses on three (a minor error derived from the pilot episode): the buyers, the brokers, and the sellers. In the next (slo-mo) shot, we see Gabriel Byrne's character rolling over on the ground as bullet cases fall around him, and realize he's the one narrating. As his narration continues, we abruptly cut to a dark bunker lit by overhead fluorescent lights, tinging the space yellow and green. An old man reads a newspaper and has circled letters in an obituary. He looks up, and we see he's looking at a security system. Multiple camera angles show what's directly above him, currently just a flock of goats. He makes his way above ground, and graphics show we're in Calabria, Italy. Let's meet "The Buyers."

We already met the first member, Don Minu (played by Adriano Chiaramida), the man who lives in the bunker. But then we meet Stefano. There's a festival, and he, his wife and son, are walking within a crowd downhill. It's clear he's well known as many passersby stop to say hello, remove their hats, pay respect. When he sees a man further down, he has a sweet moment with his son explaining he has to leave. As he makes his way to the man, we notice he's started moving against the flow of the crowd. He's trying to maneuver his way around, bumping into them (a compelling subliminal message for later in the episode).

Turns out, he's Don Minu's grandson. There's a meeting between what seems like all the crime families in Calabria, and Don Minu heads it. He announces he's purchased 5 thousand kilos of cocaine that would bring in $900 million. As a way to gain back trust (and authority) within the families, he's offering it to them at $27,000 per kilo, a "family price." The families all agree, and later that night, one of Don Minu's men makes the pickup with each family. Unfortunately, he gets intercepted. The man who captures him at gunpoint is a man from earlier in the day who first said hello to Stefano in the festival, but is a rival family member. Stefano meets up with him at a pig farm, and together, they burn all the money collected and have fed the hostage to the pigs. One of the farmers, another member from the same rival family, makes a note on the brutality of the death (his head taken off and eaten by the large mother pig). Just when we think that's the most offensive line, Stefano turns to say that she (the pig) should be put on a diet so she'll be ready for when he feeds her his grandfather. Now the scene from earlier as he walked with and against the crowd makes sense considering his recent change from loyal to the betrayal of Don Minu.

The main title comes on, and we hear for the first time the musical theme that runs throughout this show. Now's the perfect time to mention that the original music for this series is by Mogwai! (We'll break down the title sequence towards the end of this series.)

Now we're in Monterrey, Mexico, and Byrne’s narration picks back up:

Rules are not laws. Laws are for cowards. Rules are for men. That's why we have rules of honor. Rules of honor tell you you don't have to be good, just upright. Tell you how to behave.

This narration plays over several scenes of cocaine getting weighed and packed into jalapeno cans. Simultaneously, just outside the factory, a SWAT team sits with their eyes set on the man from within the factory as they listen in on his call through a wiretap. The faces of the squad are obscured by facemasks and goggles; their eyes are the only expressive parts we see. So we focus on one of the men sitting in the back closest to camera. He's the only one not looking at the target, and instead at their commanding officer seated in the front passenger side. All of a sudden, the target reads something on his phone, tosses it, and hops into a nearby car. A full-on car chase ensues. The following scenes are particularly tough to watch as everyday citizens get caught in the crossfire, and there's a tragic fatality. If the buyers' segment showed us a brighter side thanks to profits, the sellers' part threw us into the opposite; the dark side of the trade.

The main soldier we follow is the one who was closest to camera earlier and the only one who stops when he sees the fatality during the shootout. As we follow the team throughout the day, we observe how tightly knit the group is tactically and emotionally (except for one young, black sheep, but we'll get to that in the following weeks). The mission is to catch the drug lords selling, and the chase brings the squad to a restaurant later in the evening. As they stake out the meeting from the parking lot, we see our soldier texting. Just as he finishes, his commanding officer asks if he's alright, noting he's sweating. He assures him, unconvincingly, and as the officer leaves, he drops the phone onto the ground. A subordinate swiftly picks it up after him. At the same moment, the meeting is terminated as they receive a threat. It's clear by now that our solider is playing for the other team and has been warning them. The officer commands they move in, and they break into two teams flanking either side of the restaurant. Another shootout incurs, and one soldier says he has his sight on one of the Leyra brothers (the drug lords). Just as he's about to shoot, our soldier bumps into him, causing him to shoot Gabriel Byrne's character. Off-camera we hear someone yell, "Dad!" and everything switches to slow-motion. We recognize the scene as the opening one with Byrne lying on the ground, and the central music theme comes on as we see him breathe out a breath. This is the first instance of a device used throughout the show: the pairing of slow motion with this rhythmic melody to trigger a flashback.

Byrne's voiceover starts again as we cut to him and an associate walking through tight quarters:

You need to know how to be respected and how to show respect. La famiglia. Respect the people who are useful to you and despise the ones who aren't. The people who can give you something get you respect, and the ones who are useless, lose it.

Byrne points something out to his associate and continues:

Somebody who wants something from you but doesn't respect you. Somebody who's afraid of you? So what happens when you've got nothing to give? When you've got nothing left.

They reach a door, and Byrne opens it. We see daylight, deck, and hear seagulls. He finishes with:

You're no longer useful.

As the associate closes the door behind them, we cut to a bird’s eye view of a ship, and we’re in New Orleans, USA, with the brokers.

We meet everyone gathered on the ship, and we quickly understand they all know each other. There are smiles, everyone's friendly and joking, and we learn Byrne's character's name is Edward. A woman who's been speaking with the owner informs him she got the price down to $20 million. Edward smiles and asks him to come down in price. They settle on $18 million.

We cut to a shipyard where we learn the woman is Emma Lynwood. She's professional but tough and very adept at running things, in this case, a shipping line company, transporting cargo for clients. As she walks through the office, it's clear she's well known and respected too. Everyone greets her, and employees tend to be overly formal than they need to be. (A similar dynamic to how Stefano is treated.) What's also immediately noticeable is her body language. In every scene thus far, she stands very open and strong. Her clothing is also very structural in design, minimal in color, and not form-fitting, often looking too big on her. Both her body language and clothing skew masculine. We'll see in the upcoming episodes whether this is an appearance she has to uphold or truly representative of who she is.

We come to find that the young man following Edward is his son, Chris. And further, that Emma is Chris' sister and Edward's daughter. The Lynwood family dynamic unfolds as we follow them throughout the day. It's based in love; they're an intimate trio, and it's clear there's a lot of warmth in the scenes between them. That makes it all the more noticeable when Chris is left out of the picture. When it comes to the family business, Edward keeps him at arm's length, and we often see Chris watching from the outside in.

Edward and Emma butt heads when they learn the money hasn't come in yet. Edward tries to reassure her, saying he knows Don Minu and trusts him. She retorts that it's too risky. He and Chris head to a restaurant where he meets with an Italian associate to express his concern. The man suggests sending Don Minu a message that he'll publish in the obituaries. Now we know this is how they communicate from the earlier scene of Don Minu decoding the newspaper.

Despite the three working closely together, there's tension between Edward and Emma on their differing views of whether or not to involve Chris. We learn Chris suffers from what took their Mom's life, Huntington's disease. (Because of his illness, he takes medication, wears a hearing aid, but has a knack for reading lips.) Edward makes Emma promise him that if anything ever goes wrong, she won't bring him into the family business. At her reluctance, she promises. His narration comes in one last time:

We are the engine of the global economy. Take us out of the equation, and the whole white facade comes crashing down on our heads.

We cut to them sitting at a table with the Leyras negotiating, taking down the price from $70 million to $62 million. They agree, and they take the first $31 million down payment (fronted by the Lynwoods). Suddenly, the Leyras' bodyguards say they've received a threat, and they all must leave immediately. Outside, we see the Mexican Swat teams move in. Bullets fly in, there's full-on gunfire, and we cut to Edward getting shot. Returning us back to the start of the episode. The first cycle and episode finishes.

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Thanks so much for reading! I know it took a bit to recap the first episode and all its major players. Next week's will flow smoother and faster. Remember, you can reply to this email or meet me in the comments to talk about Wildcare, any new pantry items (olive oil or other) you might be loving, and ZeroZeroZero! And if there’s someone you think might enjoy this newsletter, please feel free to share (button below). Happy Sunday and Mother’s Day!