029. Under/Over, The Queen’s Gambit, and The Undoing
Bringing back favorites and disappointing products, and thoughts on two current tv series
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For a long time, I’ve wanted to go back to doing favorites. I wish I had the time to make YouTube favorites each month, but it’s not in the cards just yet. What I can do for now is at least include them in the newsletter! Every month I indeed find myself smiling each time I use a particular item. But since I’m usually testing new items too, there are the occasional ones that fall by the wayside and aren’t a good fit for me. So welcome to “Under/Over,” my current favorites (under for underrated) and disappointing products (over for overrated). *These are for the month of October.
Naturallogic Luna Biofermented Red Wine Mask* (decant, $78, 2floz | 60ml)
My first item was my favorite from the month (even if I didn’t try it until halfway through October). I have to say, this item deserves all the high praise it gets. (Yes, you’ll notice some underrated items aren’t underrated at all; they’re just new to me!) My friend, Jess, decanted such a generous amount to me, and I will be forever grateful. This is such a beautiful mask. It’s aptly named because once you open it, it smells exactly like bio-fermented red wine. However, once applied to the skin, it takes on a sweeter quality. I’m guessing the sweetness is imparted through the use of raw cacao, strawberry, and raspberry and cranberry oils.
As with any first time trying a mask, I applied it sparingly. I probably used just enough to cover my face in the thinnest layer. And while the results weren’t immediate, they proved astounding. The first thing I noticed is that this is an incredibly comfortable mask to wear. It stays on the skin, doesn’t slip around, and doesn’t dry out. I can understand why people keep it on for several hours. It feels like you’re just wearing a balm instead of a mask. I kept it on for an hour before removing it with a warm, damp washcloth (be mindful with lighter fabrics; it will stain). This has kaolin clay, but it’s pretty fine to the touch, and you only notice it if you’re removing the mask with your hands.
My skin felt deeply hydrated and very soft to the touch. Apart from that, I didn’t see much difference until the next morning, thanks to Husband. I was about to start my morning skincare when he asked what I did to my face. I gave him a confused look, and I said, “nothing.” He then proceeded to tell me how “tight” my skin looked (he means firm), and I was elated! I didn’t have contacts in yet, so I shoved my face into the mirror so I could see more clearly. Wow. My face indeed looked great: firm, hydrated, healthy, and best of all, my blackheads were diminished!
I can’t stress enough how rare it is for a mask to work on my blackheads. I get a lot on my nose and have just learned to live with it, but something about this mask really does the trick. That and having firm, healthy-looking skin even before skincare? Sign me up. Whenever this limited edition puppy comes back, I’m buying it.
Evan Healy Color Balm in Sibyl*(giveaway win, $19.95, .17oz | 5g)
If you don’t know already from my IGTV unboxing, I won an Evan Healy giveaway back in September. There was no other makeup item I enjoyed using more than their color balm in Sibyl for the month of October. It was the perfect way to ring in Autumn.
Sibyl is a mauve brown. The descriptor I associate most with it is sophisticated. When I wear it, it makes me feel sophisticated, simple as that. It’s a very unassuming color, yet on the skin, it has the indelible balance of everything: rosiness to give you a gentle flush, brown for a bit of warmth and richness, and perfectly teeters neutral-cool in tone. All of this makes it the perfect multi-use product. I use it as both contour and blush, and it looks equally stunning on the eyes, cheeks, and lips.
Full YouTube video review is coming soon, so if you aren’t subscribed yet: please do!
Fitglow Beauty Vegan Good Lash+ Mascara* (gifted, $38, 8g)
I had high hopes for this mascara, even though I had an inkling it wouldn’t work for me. A lot of people really like this mascara. Even I was very interested because it boasts volume, length, and lash growth. It only delivered volume on me, but then again, most mascaras never provide length nor growth for my straight lashes. To be fair, I am quite picky with mascara. I’m very expressive in the face, which means most mascaras don’t do well when I and my hooded eyes smile or laugh. This performed more or less like any other mascara on me. It smudged on both upper and lower lashlines and was surprisingly pigmented and difficult to remove. It also flaked to high heaven. This, along with the stubborn smudges, really put me over the edge. I had gone almost an entire year without wearing mascara, and for this one to be the first one, it was a tough blow.
I even stuck it out for a few weeks in case it delivered on lash growth, but it didn’t. Then again, I probably needed much longer before seeing any difference. I just can’t get on board with this mascara. Plus, my sensitive monolids and my fearful self had a scary time using the giant brush. Is it so much to ask for more when a mascara retails for $38? The only plus side is that it has a period-after-opening of 6 months instead of the usual 3.
Purito Comfy Water Sun Block* (decant, $18.90, 2floz | 60ml) and Purito Centella Green Level Unscented Sun* (decant, $18.90, 2floz | 60ml)
Another two generous decants from Jess. Sometimes, I feel like she can read my mind. I’d wanted to try the Purito sunscreens because I’d heard such great things about them. Centella is a favorite among friends. I was interested in trying Comfy Water since it was their physical sunscreen option, so let’s talk Comfy Water first.
This is, by far, the most comfortable physical sunscreen I’ve ever tried. Every physical sunscreen feels heavy or clogging to some degree, yet this one feels weightless on my skin. It’s also breathable, another trait that I never associate with a physical sunscreen. The texture is like a light lotion. It really delivers on the “comfy” part of its name. Unfortunately, this gave me contact dermatitis, which really really bums me out. You know I’m so particular with texture, and I thought I had found THE ONE. The ingredients say it doesn’t contain any fragrance, so I’m not sure what my skin reacted to. But whatever it was, it does not agree with my skin. My cheeks and the outside corners of my eyes became so sensitive, red, itchy, and stingy. Luckily, I recognize when this happens and remedy it quickly, so I stayed away from it for almost two weeks. When I returned, the same thing happened. So I guess…that’s that.
Now, the Centella one is their chemical sunscreen option and is also unscented. What surprised me most was that this one felt like what I imagined Comfy Water would feel like. It’s effortless to apply and dries down matte. However, it feels heavy on my skin, which I wasn’t expecting. I don’t mind a matte sunscreen; in fact, I prefer them. But this one makes it difficult to put on makeup afterward. I don’t wear much makeup, so it wasn’t a dealbreaker, but I imagine if people are going in with full coverage makeup, this might not play well. It makes your skin so matte that you can feel tugging when you attempt to blend makeup with fingers, and depending on the item, there might be pilling. It’s comfortable enough to wear, and I’d say the heaviness feeling is on par with some of my other physical sunscreens. Perhaps heaviness isn’t the right word, and it’s lack of breathability rather. I liked this one more for the sheer fact that my face didn’t react poorly to it, but alas, it seems like neither is for me.
I went in not knowing much aside from that this starred Anya Taylor-Joy (whom I enjoy watching on screen) as a chess player fighting addiction. I binge-watched the series over the course of four days, and it was fine. I walked away with two main things: a love for its stylistic choices and an urge to buy a chess set. Both were to be expected. The key art combines the richness of wood hues with red and gold sprinkling opulence and liquid courage. The brief moments of the trailer I watched solidified it. This was a well-shot and excellently color-graded series. It reminds me most of HBO’s recent ‘The Outsider’ and Netflix’s ‘The OA.’ Which makes sense since the cinematographer is Steven Meizler, who shot 6 episodes in Season 2 of ‘The OA.’ He was the perfect choice because he does his best work in low light settings and has an eye for richness in darkness.
What stands out most in ‘The Queen’s Gambit’ is its art direction. As someone who works in motion design, I’m always very aware of visual treatments, and I very much enjoyed the series’ visual effects. But VFX only goes so far alone, so it was really the combination of set decoration, camerawork, and VFX that made this one shine. There was a surprisingly large amount of VFX in this series. While not all were as photo-real as it gets these days, they do give the series its own artistic edge, and that I can really appreciate. Specifically, the treatment of Beth Harmon working through a chess game was highly watchable. But the camera work and editing are also great. There’s a particular sequence in episode 5 that I really enjoyed and real pockets of style throughout the series. I just wish the story and acting were on par.
I’m a fan of Taylor-Joy. I think she’s one of the more interesting younger actresses today. However, I found this performance a bit lacking, which surprised me. She did a fine job, but it’s not her best, and as it stands with the rest of the cast, I’m guessing that has more to do with the dialogue since all of them were a bit lacking.
I also couldn’t help but associate Taylor-Joy’s Harmon to Lily, her character in 2017’s ‘Thoroughbreds,’ which was the last thing I saw her in. (‘Thoroughbreds’ is an excellent little thriller if you’re looking for one.) Both characters keep everyone at arm’s distance, have a love for the finer things in life, and are always working through a strategy in their mind’s eye. Lily was more enjoyable to watch than Harmon. But Harmon takes the edge in wardrobe. My goodness, it was a joy to watch the fashion of the 1950s–1960s! Wardrobe and makeup really knocked it out of the park. *Regardless of Taylor-Joy’s performance in this series, I'm very excited for Robert Eggers’ new film ‘The Northman,’ which she’ll star in alongside Nicole Kidman, and her 2020 ‘Emma’ is already in the watch queue.
Overall, ‘The Queen’s Gambit’ was too much style over substance, but 2020 has proven to be a year of slim pickings when it comes to film and television, so I’ll take what I can get. Luckily, HBO recently released their new drama series, ‘The Undoing.’
Episode 1 premiered on October 25th, and by the end of the episode, I was hooked. Let’s first address the elephant in the room: this is not a new story. We’ve all watched and read* countless versions of this premise, but ‘The Undoing’ is one of the better-executed ones we’ve seen in a while. And by we, I mean Husband and I. *This series is based on the novel, ‘You Should Have Known’ by Jean Hanff Korelitz. I haven’t read it, so I can’t speak to how closely it lies to the book.
It stars Nicole Kidman and Hugh Grant. As if these two giants weren’t enough, the supporting cast is well-rounded too: Donald Sutherland plays Kidman’s father, Lily Rabe of ‘American Horror Story’ fame plays Kidman’s close friend, and Edgar Ramírez plays the detective. Noah Jupe, who rose to fame from ‘Honey Boy,’ plays their son. So far, he’s miscast. No matter what, it’s a tough sell that this is the son of Kidman and Grant (unless that’s another storyline to come later).
Both Kidman and Grant are superb in this. Kidman isn’t new to these roles, but she really is an astounding and underrated actress. On the other end of the spectrum, this role is pretty out of left field for Grant, but it makes his performance that much more remarkable, the best he’s ever acted.
My one major gripe with this series is the filler camera work. Mainly, it’s the exterior shots and specific direction and editing choices. It was very distracting during episode 1. While it gets better in episode 2, I finally figured out what it reminded me of. It reminds me of BBC crime mysteries, particularly the newer ‘Sherlock,’ ‘Luther,’ and ‘Broadchurch.’ I must admit, I’m not a fan of tilt-shift. When used sparingly and as part of the narrative, that I don’t mind. And even if I were to throw it to them, understanding it was used to make NYC feel small and claustrophobic, I could maybe ignore it. But I can’t. It’s too jarring and cheapens an otherwise stellar show.
Another trope they borrow is the gratuitous reactionary macro close-ups. It’s most noticeable at the top of episode 2, where we shuffle through 8 million (okay, maybe just 8) close-ups of Kidman’s frantic eyes as she tries to reach her husband on the phone. Again, I get it. At the end of the day, it’s a stylistic choice, so to each their own.
The series is directed by Suzanne Bier and edited by Ben Lester, the original team from BBC’s ‘The Night Manager.’ I had high hopes for the critically acclaimed series but was left very disappointed after viewing. I accredit these missteps to this duo since the writer is David E. Kelly, and so far, the writing is nothing short of excellent. Overall, very consumed by this series and can’t wait to watch episode 3 tonight. By the way, there are only 6 episodes, and it’s unclear if the series will live to have a sophomore season.
Thanks so much for reading! I’d love to know what your October favorites or disappointing products were! As always, you can reply directly to this email or leave a comment.
I hope you have a great start to your week. See you next Sunday!