“I’m from Bay Ridge. We have manners.”
TikTok makeup influencing, Vampire Weekend’s new tunes, & my 'Mad Men' rewatch
Hello there, friends, fans, and foes -
I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I have really been getting into TikTok lately (purely as a viewer). Once the algorithm “learned” what I like, it got me hooked and, I fear, there’s like no going back. Though most of the videos I’m shown on my FYP discuss a range of interesting topics (low-buy years, the evils of private equity, social commentary, local NYC stuff, comedy, weird stories, recipes, fun facts, etc.), inevitably the algorithm remembers that I’m female and directs me to makeup tutorials.
There are literally millions of women and other femme-presenting people out there who would be more than happy to show you how you should do your makeup. And, I’ll admit, I watch some of them. Some are true artists in the ways they’re able to blend eye shadow colors together and contour cheekbones. Some help women of a certain age bring their makeup to the modern day. And one young woman in Wales shows all the makeup she bought during the “height of her shopping addiction”; she has pretty much an entire Sephora store in her bathroom and could have easily made a down payment on a home instead of buying said makeup. It’s like Hoarders: Makeup Edition.
In my opinion though, so many skincare and makeup products do not live up to their hype. Especially the stuff that’s hawked on TikTok. I’m convinced that so much of this industry is a scam targeting women, convincing us to spend ludicrous amounts of money on products that are complete snake oil and simply don’t work. I also think there’s a common assumption that the more expensive the product, the better it is (e.g., an $80 retinol serum is twice as good as a $40 retinol serum). When really, after a certain price (my arbitrary threshold is around $40), I don’t think the products get any better. Now I’m SURE many of you reading this are like “I know my Drunk Elephant serums are better than your drug store crap!!!” And maybe you’re right. But also, maybe it’s the marketing and the pretty little bottles the serums come in that sway your opinions.
However… (lol) I did find a very good product via a TikTok recommendation that I caved and bought (it was only 12 bucks). It’s Hero Cosmetics’ Rescue Balm & Red Correct, a green cream that very easily removes some of the unwanted cheek flush I usually have due to rosacea. (My Metronidazole prescription only gets rid of so much of the pink.)
And – miracle of miracles – I now have been ridded of all my physical insecurities! All I needed was a $12 cream!
Not really, but I do like it.
I mean, these pictures don’t lie:
Amazing!
Here’s the thing though—this cream works for ME. It might also work for YOU. But YOU might not have rosacea. You might be a Summer instead of a Winter. You might have warm undertones and not cool undertones. You might also not give a shit about any of this. Also, what makes one person insecure might not make another person insecure. It still surprises me when I meet someone who is completely unbothered by something I’d assume they’d be insecure about, but are actually wildly insecure about something else entirely that I doubt many other people even notice at all. Or, when someone is insecure about their looks but should be embarrassed by their awful personality (or lack of one). No one cares that you’re ripped and dressed to the nines if you have the personality of NYC post office employee. When it really comes down to it, though, people are mostly just caught up with thinking about themselves. They aren’t worried about you and your “imperfections” at all.
What I’m Listening To
The new Vampire Weekend album, duh. They’re usually in my Spotify Wrapped Top 5 bands, and they’ll likely always be (because I’m over 25 and my musical tastes are 90% set for life). If you missed it, they put on a fun concert in Austin, TX the afternoon of the eclipse and took a 5-minute break while the moon slid in front of the sun (did I get that bit o’ science right?). They streamed the concert live, which I watched most of on my laptop. I hate to say it, but it was honestly way cooler seeing Austin’s eclipse on my screen than it was seeing the NYC version of the eclipse IRL. (Note: NYC was not along the path of totality like Austin was. Also, I didn’t have the special glasses.)
My favorite song from the band’s new album, Only God Was Above Us, is “Mary Boone.” From the first time I heard it, I knew the song was special. The track title follows in VW’s grand tradition of naming songs after people (e.g., “Hannah Hunt,” “Jonathan Lowe,” “Diane Young,” “Bryn”). I’ll be perfectly honest – I’m not entirely sure what the meaning of the song is, though I do know that Mary Boone is a real-life NYC gallery owner and that she also has the perfect name for the particular melodies and phrasing in this song. It’s an alternating push-and-pull mix of extremely catchy drum machine beats and an angelic choir with Ezra’s soft voice over top, and lightly distorted piano playing. VW’s mixing of rock and choral sounds here is not totally unlike what the Stones did on “You Can’t Always Get What You Want”.
Vampire Weekend has always been just the right mix for me of catchy pop with some experimental melodies and vocal distortions thrown in – kind of like The Beatles’ “A Day in the Life”, where you get the very pop-sounding “Woke up/fell out of bed/dragged a comb across my head” portion, but you also get that completely chaotic, orchestral, being-sucked-into-a-vortex portion of the song too. This isn’t Björk-level experimental music, and I’m very much ok with that.
Take a cab ride through the Lincoln Tunnel from NJ into NYC in the song’s “Official Visualizer” (music video?).
What I’m Watching
I’m currently doing a re-watch of Mad Men and am happy to report that it still lives up to every bit of praise it’s ever received. (In other obvious news, water is wet and the Pope is Catholic.) The costumes, the acting, the social commentary, the sexy, subtle dialogue, Jon Hamm and his ‘60s suit collection – it’s perfection.
I was still in college and then early in my career when the show first aired. I feel like I’m watching it now through an entirely different lens, able to relate (or not relate – smoking in an office, what?!) to more of the plot lines and characters than I was in the aughts.
Somehow, even with all the cheating, the misogyny, racism, drinking, etc., the plot line that has shocked me the most so far in this re-watch was when Don would call his wife Betty’s psychiatrist after her sessions and the “doctor” would tell Don all that she spoke to him about!!! Can you imagine??? How do you even sleep at night, Don? Oh right, he compartmentalizes. And consumes about 20 glasses of whiskey a day.
I know there are a good deal of guys out there today who love Mad Men and idolize Don, whether they’d admit to it or not. And I can’t completely blame them. Sure, he’s leading an unhappy, empty life, but damn, he looks good doing it. And all the women that are after him! Of course real guys would be envious. Still though, it’s concerning.
I’m only on season 2 of my re-watch, so perhaps I’ll have more thoughts later. I’m remembering very little of the show from my original viewing of it, but I’m sensing a big arc for Peggy. I’m also realizing that it’s more of an ensemble cast than it is a show about just Don, a guy who works in advertising in the 1960s. And although it is mostly a drama, it’s incredibly funny too. Roger Sterling does and says some wildly problematic things, but he’s funny as hell.
Roger: “Maybe every generation thinks the next one is the end of it all. Bet there are people in the Bible walking around, complaining about kids today.”
I’ll leave you fine folks here with some real (horrifying) ads from the 1960’s:
I have no words.