Some of my faves 🫶🏻˚ ༘ 💌⋆｡

Beauty pageants, ballet flats, and hair masks.

As I mentioned last week, I’m in the middle of an absurdly stressful, majorly chaotic international move from London to Los Angeles. And did I mention the travel day will be 18 hours total and I’m doing it with my two cats? FUN!

So I hope you guys can forgive the brevity of this week’s newsletter. It’s not that I don’t love you, I’ll just be on the verge of tears until I touchdown at LAX. Despite the fact that my flat has looked like a building site for the last few weeks, I have been organized enough to write down a few things that I’ve been obsessing over recently.

Drop Dead Gorgeous, 1999
God, women are so funny. I can’t remember who originally recommended this movie to me, but whoever did, I love you. Drop Dead Gorgeous is a mockumentary that follows a Minnesotan beauty pageant, where contestants suddenly start dropping dead. Sure, Drop Dead Gorgeous is kind of about unmasking a killer, but it’s really about winning at all costs, even with a murderer on the loose. It also has an insanely star-studded cast, including Denise Richards, Brittany Murphy, Allison Janey, Kirstie Alley Amy Adams, and Kirsten Dunst. Bring It On was a formative comedy for me, so I already knew Kirsten Dunst could effortlessly follow a comedic beat, but she just eats this sweet-but-psycho role up. I truly think this is one of my favorite movies about the absurdity of America.

Girl Juice by Benji Nate
Once again, women are so fucking funny. I was watching one of Uncarley’s book recommendation videos, and she started raving about Girl Juice by Benji Nate. It’s a graphic novel that follows a messy lives and friendships of four roommates. I can’t even lie, I’ve only read a handful of graphic novels in my life (the obvious ones: Ghost World, Watchmen, Persepolis, etc.), so I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect. But I absolutely ripped through this, basically in one sitting. Each character has such a distinct personality and perspective, and they tackle everything from hating your job, to being sexually attracted to clowns (but never comedians!), to exorcising a demon—it’s genuinely hysterical. Plus, the artwork is gorg.

Target Ballet Flats
Everyone asks me if these are Repetto, but I actually got them on a whim with my sister during our last Target run. They’re slightly heeled, patent ballet flats (if they have a heel, are they still technically ballet flats?) that look good with literally everything. All patent scuffs fairly easily, but aside from that, the quality of these are pretty great and they’re actually really comfortable. I’ve been wearing them religiously for the last few months, and have influenced a few of my besties (and my mom!) to get them too.

Wella Hair Mask
If you're a bottle redhead, you know how quickly the vibrance of your hair color can fade. To keep it looking as fresh as poss, I use a color-depositing mask at least once a week. My favorite so far are the masks from Wella, which my colorist in London recommended to me. They're amazing for reviving your color and adding that spicy, brightness back into your hair.

My hair color is somewhere between fiery red and ginger, so to get the perfect balance, I mix Wella’s Copper Glow and Red shades. That said, these masks aren’t particularly hydrating, so I like to mix both shades in a bowl with Bleach London’s Reincarnation Mask for an extra boost of moisture. I l

ike to apply mixture with gloves to avoid staining my nails. You def need to give your bathtub a bit of a scrub after this as it does stain, but not in any permanent way.

Baby by Gal Costa
Anytime I go and visit my family in Brazil, I find myself only listening to Brazilian music for like a month after. Gal Costa is one of the greatest Brazilian voices of all time, and this is one of my mom’s favorite songs. On the dreariest London days I would quite literally listen to this song, close my eyes, and pretend I was back on a beach in Rio. I’ve probably streamed this song 100 times in the last few weeks.