MODA Blog Favorites

Welcome to MODA Blog Favorites! This is our monthly series where MODA Bloggers, photographers and editors let you know what we’re loving! From binge-worthy series, to our favorite books to some Holy Grail skincare products, the team wishes you all a safe, and healthy fall quarter. Here’s what the team is loving, hopefully bringing you a monthly dosage of inspiration!

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Jennie Liu

Block Heel Combat Boots

I had always wanted a pair of affordable knee-high combat lace boots for the longest time, and these new boots deliver a vibe of fierce edginess that empowers my walk across the campus quadrangle. The day I got my order in the mail, I eagerly slipped these boots on, and have been fearlessly rocking in them ever since.

If you’re looking for a new pair of shoes to spice up your autumn fashion, feel free to check out Shoedazzle’s new member VIP deals - I was lucky enough to have stumbled upon a whopping deal that brought the price down to $10. (Just make sure to cancel the membership before they bill you the 5th of the next month, if this is just a one-time purchase.)

Anna Selden

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Since one day of Halloween is never satisfying enough, I like to extend Spooky Season into November. This month, I’ve been dragging on Halloween vibes by bingeing Buffy the Vampire Slayer. While the vampires aren’t sparkling like Twilight (queue the corny FX makeup), the late 90’s outfits are singlehandedly driving my fall wardrobe inspiration.

If you want a silly and slightly scary comfort show to cuddle up with as the temperatures drop, start watching Buffy on Hulu ASAP. With supernatural plot lines set in sunny California, this series will definitely take your mind off the fact that winter is coming.

Felix Gonzalez

Gossamer Garments

To be fully transparent (or sheer, in this case), I’m having a nail crisis. I started painting my nails this past summer, and I loved the various Holo Taco nail polishes I tried on—full review incoming. However, I’m unsure of whether they truly fit my personality and overall vibe. My naked nails don’t feel quite right either, though.

The current compromise is Essie’s ‘Gossamer Garments’. Most YouTube reviews included it in their “Best Sheer Nail Polishes” lists, and so far I have had favorable experiences with it. My nails have a sleek natural yet manicured look. TBD on how long this sheer phase lasts, but in the meantime, I’m giving this nail polish shade a solid 8.5/10.

Kaya Lee

Teavana’s Peach Tranquility & Jade Citrus Mint Tea

With flu season upon us and the usual Midwest winter freeze, it’s time for a nice warm beverage. I’ve been opting for Teavana’s mint tea to soothe my perpetual sore throat. Maybe it’s just the placebo, but it’s definitely been helping!

You can also create a dupe of Starbucks’ Honey Citrus Mint Tea (a sweet and comforting hot juice/tea situation) by brewing Peach Tranquility and Jade Citrus Mint Tea and adding steamed lemonade with some honey!

Alessandra Tufiño

The Athena Nap Dress

When my roommate first introduced me to the brand Hill House Home, best known for the nap dress, I decided to dip my toes in the water by purchasing an Athena in black, as it seemed to be the silhouette and color that I would wear the most.

The rest is history.

I wear my Athenas year-round, though I particularly love wearing them in the colder months, since I’m obsessed with how they look with a pair of tights, a cardigan, and a dainty necklace under a coat. Although I wear that first Athena I bought in black the most since it’s so versatile, I love wearing my light blue one because the light shimmer to it makes me feel like a princess. And who doesn’t want that?

(Hill House Home is currently having their annual sale, and all year you can get 20% off your first purchase with a referral code from a friend).

Georgianna James

Tula’s Glow & Get It Cooling & Brightening Eye Balm

As a skincare fanatic who’d pretty much given up on eye care, this product was a game changer. I’m currently on my third tube. When I pick an eye product, I’m looking for something I can’t get out of my daily moisturizers and serums, and this product delivers. The cooling and brightening effects are, for lack of a better description, insane. It’s like a much more subtle, much more pleasant icy-hot type experience that is now so fondly intertwined into my morning routine that I cannot start my day without it.

Plus, the ingredients are the perfect addition to my skincare regime:

Probiotic Extracts

Caffeine

Hyaluronic Acid

Rosehip Oil & Rosewater

A Personal Guide to Getting Pierced

At age 6 or 7, my mother took me to a piercing kiosk at the mall to get my first ever ear piercings. They were, unsurprisingly, one earring on the lowest part of each earlobe. For years thereafter, I adored going to Claire’s and buying funky earrings of all kinds to show off at elementary school. I grew old and realized that you could actually get more than one piercing on each ear. In middle school, I begged my mom to let me get second lobe piercings, and eventually she caved. We went back to the same piercing kiosk at the mall and I got two jeweled studs punched into my ears with a piecing gun.

But, my obsession was not quenched with just four piercings. Before I turned 18, I wanted multiple piercings so badly that (DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME!) I used a safety pin to give myself three new ones on my lobes. It was when I was 15 years old, beginning with a third lobe piercing on my left ear, and eventually a third lobe piercing on my right ear. When I was 16, I continued by giving myself a fourth lobe piercing on my right ear. As I did not have much lobe space left and my parents were not pleased at my self-inflicted body modifications, I waited until I was 18 to continue getting pierced.

Between September 2020 and March 2021, I got three new ear piercings professionally done. I had my upper left helix, my middle right helix, and my left rook pierced at a tattoo and piercing establishment in my home town. In case you have lost track, that totals to 10 piercings between both of my ears. After enduring all of this, as well as having my initial jewelry changed by the same piercer, I consider myself a seasoned piercing-receiver. Below, I will give you a step-by-step process of what you should do before getting pierced, so I can vicariously relive the experience while I am waiting until after my wisdom teeth surgery in December to get my nose pierced. (Mom, if you’re reading this, sorry :/)

Ear piercing anatomy. Image via Pintererst.

Think About It

Now you may ask, what went into the process of getting my piercings? Well firstly, as you read above, I considered the piercings for a very long time. I was interested in getting them for multiple years, and also considered each piercing placement specifically for multiple months before booking an appointment. Piercings are, for the most part, a lasting modification to your body and should be seriously thought over before you get one. The stereotype of getting piercings as a spontaneous act is not only partially false, but is also a dangerous stereotype that may lead to you making a drastic decision before thinking it through. Though depending on your body a piercing may close up even after having the jewelry in for years, piercings are essentially permanent.

I have been interested in getting a nose piercing since at least early high school and have been seriously considering it for about 6 months. Now that I feel comfortable and confident with the idea, I will eventually make an appointment to get pierced at my regular studio at home.

Avoid Amateur Piercing Establishments

Once you have decided you are interested in getting a piercing, the next step is to look for a reputable, highly rated piercing establishment. DO NOT GO TO CLAIRE’S (or a mall piercing kiosk). Not only may these piercers not be professionally trained, but Claire’s and other amateur piercing places use piercing guns instead of hollow needles, which is an improper way to perform body piercing. A piercing gun used blunt force trauma to force the jewelry through the skin and cartilage, rather than the hollow needle which smoothly creates an opening without trauma that allows jewelry to be inserted properly. Piercing needles will ultimately yield more accurately placed piercings and facilitate the healing process.

I did lots of research on body piercings before getting my first professional piercing. Therefore, I knew to avoid these amateur establishments and places that use piercing guns. This launched my search for a professional tattoo and piercing studio in my area.

Image via iStockPhoto.

Search for a Reputable Piercer in Your Area

Once you rule out Claire’s and the sketchy mall kiosk, begin to look for piercing and tattoo studios in your area using Google, Yelp, and other customer review platforms so you can be informed of the quality of their services as well as the cleanliness and conditions in the studio. Read through essentially every review you can find to get an idea of people’s experiences here, both positive and negative. If you see the name of a specific piercer being recommended multiple times, think about scheduling your appointment with that piercer.

Upon searching through different tattoo and piercing studios near me, I thoroughly read the reviews of one that interested me before getting my first helix piercing. The studio had overwhelmingly positive reviews and I decided this is where I wanted to get my piercing. I have had every piercing since done at this same studio, and am planning to go to the exact same piercer from my two previous piercings to get my nose pierced.

Image via Pinterest.

Visit the Studio or Schedule a Consultation

Oftentimes, consultations are required before getting a tattoo. Though they are not often required before getting a piercing, calling the studio, scheduling a consultation, or walking in to check out the environment and speak with the staff can be a very informative way to narrow down the studio you would like to get pierced at. You can see the conditions and speak with the person who may be piercing you later. Pay attention to the cleanliness, friendliness, and openness in the studio. If you catch any red flags, look for a different studio.

This is a step that I did not take before my first piercing at my studio, but I really wish I had. When I first arrived for my helix piercing in 2020, I was already nervous, and being in a new environment exacerbated that. I would recommend that getting acquainted with the surroundings in which you will be pierced beforehand can keep you calm for the piercing process. Now that I am better acquainted with the studio and the staff, I feel much more comfortable being pierced there.

Image via Pinterest.

Schedule a Piercing Appointment

A studio will likely have the option to schedule an appointment by phone or online. I highly recommend scheduling an appointment rather than going spontaneously, because it gives you even more time to consider and reconsider the placement of the piercing and the decision to get pierced in general. Choose a day and a time of day where you will not be busy or stressed. It is important to be calm and have a clear head, and allow time in case you faint, are hesitant, or the studio is running late.

I always schedule my appointments ahead in order to feel more organized and prepared. Also, since my regular piercer is in my hometown, I tend to schedule my appointments over breaks from school when I am the least stressed and have the least amount of commitments.

Preparing for the Appointment

As mentioned earlier, select the type of piercing (helix, rook, conch, navel, etc.) before your appointment, and then choose the exact location you would like in that spot so you are prepared to tell your piercer. Before your appointment, make sure to eat some food, drink water, and get a good night’s sleep. You want to be feeling your best, especially if you are nervous about the pain or are afraid of needles. Do not get pierced under the influence, even if you think it will help numb you and calm you down. A good piercer will tell you to reschedule if you show up to your appointment intoxicated. Save the painkillers until after you are pierced. Medicines like Aspirin thin your blood and may cause you to bleed more when pierced.

Having nerves are normal! But if you feel extremely nervous or anxious, you should probably hold off on getting your piercing. If you would feel reassured by having a friend or family member with you, arrange someone to accompany you on the day of the appointment. Some piercers may not let them come into the back of the studio with you, but they will be there in case anything happens. At my piercer, I was waiting for an appointment and a girl fainted while getting her nose pierced. The piercer was extremely attentive, calm, and caring when this happened and the girl’s boyfriend was waiting in the lobby for her the whole time. The studio should feel like a safe space anyways, but you can feel extra comfortable by bringing someone else.

Image via Pinterest.

What Happens When You Get Pierced

After you tell your piercer what kind of piercing you want, they will help you pick out your jewelry, and then they will prepare to pierce you. If you see a piercing gun, run. Do not be afraid to back out if you notice improper piercing technique like this. Any ear or body piercings should be performed with a sterile, hollow needle. Good piercers will explain each and every move they make before they pierce you. They will wash their hands and put on new, sterile gloves (let them know beforehand if you are allergic to latex). They will demonstrate that they are taking the equipment out of new packages, indicating that it is clean and unused. Next, they will clean and prepare the jewelry you picked out. The piercer will also likely explain to you the sensations you will feel during piercing if you have never received one: the pressure of the clamp that is holding the pierced area steady; a swift, initial pinch when the needle is inserted; the pressure when inserting the jewelry through the other end of the needle; and the feeling of the jewelry being closed, screwed on, etc. Pain levels and discomfort will of course vary between piercings and between people. They may also ask you to lay down in case you faint or get dizzy.

My piercer both demonstrated the preparation of the sterile equipment and cleaning the jewelry while explaining the piercing process in depth. Good piercing practice like this made me feel very reassured, calm, and safe before being pierced. It also backed up their reputation as a trusted piercing establishment. I personally found being professionally pierced to be less painful than when I got my lobes pierced with a gun. In general, the healing process may be more painful than the piercing itself because the pinch is temporary.

P.S., you should probably not be getting a hoop as initial jewelry for any piercing. This will cause the piercing hole to heal curved and can even cause more irritation or a harder healing process. A good piercer will know not to give you a hoop as initial jewelry for a helix, nose, nipple, or any other new piercing. A slight exception is that it is extremely common to get curved barbell jewelry initially for a rook, navel, or eyebrow piercing.

Image via Pinterest.

Aftercare

Though the act of being pierced may seem like the worst part of getting a piercing, it is actually the healing process that can be the toughest. After your piercing, your piercer should give you information on how to take care of the fresh piercing and how long it will take to heal. The healing varies depending on the location, eg. a helix piercing can take between 4 to 12 months to heal. Bumping your jewelry, playing with it, or forgetting to clean it can set back the healing process as well. Many people also develop keloids (bumps made of scar tissue around the piercing site) while their piercing heals. Though unattractive, these are not necessarily signs of infection, but rather irritation than can be reduced by cleaning and taking care of the piercing.

Though there are many recommended methods of cleaning piercings all over the internet (and different advice from different piercers), what I find to personally work the best and cause the least irritation is soaking my piercings in a sterile saline solution. Rubbing alcohol, healing ointment, Vaseline, and other products tend to irritate piercings and curb healing. I also advise against using cotton balls or cotton swabs to clean the piercing, as the microfibers of cotton can get wrapped around the jewelry or trapped in the hole.

When I get a fresh piercing, twice a day for 10 minutes I soak it in a mix of 1/2 cup of water and 1/8 teaspoon of salt, which I microwave to a comfortably warm temperature. I try to avoid touching, playing with, bumping, or rolling onto my new piercing. The piercing site will be tender, red, or swollen for a few days after piercing. A new piercing (and old one sometimes) will develop a crust around the hole, which is a normal way of the body cleaning the wound. The warm saline solutions will loosen and clean these crusts without you having to touch the piercing.

I also like to buy a sprayable saline solution (like H2Ocean or a saline wound wash) that I can spray on my piercing throughout the day or when it gets irritated and I do not have time to soak it. If you are extremely careful with your new piercing and keep up your habits of soaking it, you will have an unproblematic new piercing. If you are concerned at all that your piercing is infected, being rejected, migrating, or you are allergic to the metal, visit your piercer or your doctor as soon as possible, and they will advise you on what to do from there.

Image via Pinterest.

Changing Jewelry

You should wait until your piercing is completely healed before changing your jewelry or having your piercer change it. This means no bleeding, redness, irritation, infection, etc. I also highly recommend having your piercer change your jewelry for you, as it can be very tricky to remove initial jewelry and you risk damaging the jewelry, irritating the piercing, or getting bacteria in the hole. I waited about 9 months before having my first helix piercing jewelry changed from a barbell stud to a hoop. But, I did have a few special cases where my piercings were not healing well due to the initial jewelry. My rook piercing jewelry was initially a long curved barbell to prevent swelling, but it was changed after a few months to a shorter curved barbell, which helped the healing. Also, for the helix piercing on my right ear, the piercing was knocked, rolled on, or caught on fabric or my hair much more often because of how my right ear protrudes slightly compared to my left ear. As it was healing poorly, changing from a stud to a hoop also facilitated the healing process. My piercer performed each of these jewelry changes.

Image via Pinterest.

Conclusion

Though piercings add quite an edge to your look, they are neither spontaneous nor easy. A lot of thought should go into selecting a piercing and a piercer. You should pay close attention to the conditions and attitude of your piercer before going through with the piercing. Aftercare is a lengthy and difficult process compared to the brevity of being pierced, and having a piercing is a big commitment. Despite the work and hassle that often comes with planning and taking care of a piercing, I have always found it to be worth it in the end. Piercing are a beautiful and personal addition to anyones body and I highly recommend the process for anyone that is interested.

Featured image via Pinterest.

An Ode to Flower Giving

A bouquet of flowers is, if thought about for even a little, a very peculiar gift. I don’t think I have ever found a gift so universal. Birthday? Check. Housewarming? Check. Date night? Extra-check. Combination birthday-housewarming-date? You know it!

And yet a gift that requires such minimal thought and knowledge of the individual seems to be a gift everyone genuinely enjoys (people with allergies—I sincerely apologise). So what’s so special about a few plants tied together?

One idea is that impermanence is a necessary part of beauty and flowers are therefore more universally expressive than say, a cool rock you found on the beach one day—it’s exactly because they are so fleeting. A romantic idea, yes, but one I’m inclined to judge for its attitude to impermanence—a fish is also fleeting if you are irresponsible enough, but that doesn’t make it a very universal gift (speaking generally of course. Personally, I would love a fish).

A quick dive into minimalist school of thought and the accompanying research about the influence of experiences as compared to material gifts in relation to happiness leads to a fun idea that flowers are the best of both worlds—you have a thing (for a bit), and also the experience receiving the thing (and posting on your Instagram story about it). Like a DIY kit for people who think they are too cool for DIY kits, it provides an opportunity to do something—watch some flowers bloom, grow and die, as well as have something, which is pretty cool.

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Looking to history, there is also a lot to unpack. Greek mythology seems to have a story for every flower, the vast majority of which centre themes of love. The myth of Clytie and Apollo is an example of this. Clytie the water nymph is in completely love with the Sun god Helios despite his rejection of her, and spends days watching him cross the sky while herself wasting away, to eventually become a sunflower, still watching him for eternity. Maybe it’s something about not being able to stop looking at your crush being relatable, but it is one of my favourite myths. Maybe I just like sunflowers.

Narcissus, more famously, faced a similar predicament where he too couldn’t look away from his Love and turned into a Narcissus (aka the daffodil) . Iconically, the one he couldn’t turn away from was his own reflection. With context of the myth the gods were condemning him for being full of himself, but with 21st century perspective, lazing around a river full of self confidence for a few weeks only to be ‘doomed’ to become a self love icon and continue to do this for all eternity seems like a pretty great punishment to me.

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Unsurprisingly, the Greeks weren’t the only ones to think flowers were myth worthy. In Egyptian mythology, a lotus flower was the beginning of the world at least for people; prior to that the world was an infinite expanse of darkness and water named Nun. Atum (or Ra, depending on translations) emerged from Nun in a lotus flower as a baby through his own willpower by uttering his own name. He then created gods and humans, and here we are. Blue and white lotus went on to carry great meaning in Egypt, with pharaohs tying blue lotuses to their chariots for luck in wars, as well as a symbol of growth and healing.

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In Russia, my home country, flower giving is extremely common. Teachers receive flowers on the first day of school, parents on their children’s’ birthdays and lovers on dates. Flowers, often with little to no occasion or explanation are always around. Here in Chicago, I send flowers remotely to my loved ones. We are connected by this ancient ritual that spans time, place and culture; the desire to give something beautiful to someone we love for no apparent reason. Flowers are one of the oldest gestures of love and, I would argue the most universally effective gestures.

What I’m saying is we need to gift more flowers!

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That's why you think it's beautiful.

It’s aesthetically pleasing to look at, isn’t it? Accurate, symmetric architecture; attractive faces of celebrities; perfect, powerful nature (disregard that it’s a hurricane…)

Parthenon, Greece

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A hurricane from space

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Amber Heard, American actress

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Taj Mahal, the jewel of India

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While you may not be attracted by these exact pictures, there are definitely some which you like but cannot explain why.

Well, I can. With some maths help.

Simple is beautiful

There is actually a reason why we prefer certain shapes, human appearances, and visual objects in general. And it is not subjective.

There exists golden ratio (golden section, golden mean, divine proportion) in nature, which is the proportion between the length and width of the object, encircled by a rectangle, equalling 1:1.618 - a magical number Phi. The nature always seeks to achieve golden ratio, and every time it does, it immensely pleases our eyes!

… but why?

We can ask for the explanation from the professor of mechanical engineering at Duke University, Adrian Bejan, who notes that, evolutionarily, it’s easier for animals (humans including) to perceive the image scanning it from side to side, not up and down. I believe that is because we observe more space horizontally, and not vertically.

So in the golden ratio, the length is 1.168 times as long as the width, which means that it is easier for our eyes to perceive, and they are naturally attracted to these correctly-geometrically constructed beautiful figures. And, according to the professor, simple is beautiful:

“This is the best flowing configuration for images from plane to brain. When we see the proportions in the golden ratio, we are helped. We feel pleasure and we call it beauty.”

— Adrian Bejan

How the rule actually works

Here you can see that these objects actually follow the golden ratio.

The ratio between the long and short lines is 1:1.168 (as golden as the colour of the building!)

(never mind that I have a better proof below - I simply attached this picture because it matches the colour scheme of my article - in the end, we are discussing visual aesthetics here!)

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And here is a more mathematical proof of the golden ratio of the building - looks convincing, doesn’t it?

a = 1.168b

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Golden ratio with a golden spiral (which expands by a factor of magical Phi).

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Even two golden spirals.

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The human body also seeks perfection.

Yes, there is a reason for why our arms dangles weirdly beneath our pelvis when we stand still, and why our noses are bigger than our eyes.

That being said, the human body is perfect — it follows the golden ratio.

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Are celebrities (those who are praised for their appearance) even more perfect?

Well, we can measure it. The Golden Ratio of Beauty Phi determines how close to “perfect” one’s appearance is:

Bella Hadid is 94.35% physically perfect according to the Beauty Phi.

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Beyoncé is honoured to have one of the most beautiful faces, as well.

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So a simple Sherlock’s deduction would be that golden ratio explains why literally the whole world may go crazy about one person’s appearance.

But Watson, we have a problem!

… which is me wondering if it’s a simple coincidence that the most “perfect” faces belong to famous celebrities?

I reckon not. The Greek golden ratio is known for long, and by many. And their surgeon is definitely one of that many:

Hadid’s plastic surgery to achieve golden ratio It’s like being an architect of your face.

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So my takeaway:

Surgery can make people look perfect, but only nature can make people be perfect.

Moreover, some claim that golden ratio has nothing to do with beauty. For instance, John Allen Paulos, a research mathematician at Temple University, argues:

“There’s no evidence for most of these claims. It’s a common rectangle.”

— John Allen Paulos

Which I find quite plausible, considering that you cannot find tons of images (be it of people or architecture) with golden ratio, meaning that, maybe, someone just looks for fun drawing challenges and draws spirals and rectangles over people’s faces.

Nevertheless, we can definitely call the golden ratio a “driver” of our eyes: sometimes we arrive at unexpected destinations, or have a weirdly long lay-over somewhere.

But drivers also sleep, and that is when, I believe, the time comes for our subjective visual preferences.

For instance, I know that you think that Reg is ugly. I know it doesn’t follow the golden ratio.

But I. Can’t. Help. Falling in love. With. It.

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Manifestation: How to Make the Universe Your B*tch

Admittedly, I went off in this article about the cultural appropriation of manifestation. But, what actually is manifestation?

I’ll wager a bet and say that everyone has some or the other idea: basically, you ask the universe for something, and you get it. Well, the universe isn’t Aladdin and that’s not how it works––well, not exactly. 

In Hindu and Buddhist spirituality, manifestation is not an ask-and-you-shall-receive system; it is based on a history steeped in belief, worship, and dedication. There are two terms you should know for this:

Karma: (I’ll wager another bet that you’re fairly aware of this, but I’ll do a quick recap.) Akin to a universal checking account. You do well, you are done well to; you do badly, you are done badly to. We reap the results of our actions, and these hold us accountable to not just our current selves but also to our future selves (rebirth is governed by karma). TLDR; cause and effect.

Dharma: The less popular twin, but essentially means your purpose in life. You can let this lead you down the existentialist crisis of wondering what it is, but you can also disseminate it into its smallest pieces: on a day-to-day, hour-to-hour basis, what is your purpose? And if your purpose is to serve yourself, to be happy, that counts. No purpose is too small, but it is also of spiritual value to figure out your larger purpose through self-discovery. 

Combined, they yield the Hindu ideology of universal welfare, a system in which the universe benefits from you achieving your dharma, and through karma, the universe benefits you. This whole concept is the actual Law of Attraction, as proposed by the Bhagavad Gita and the Upanishads. (If only all those pandits and yogis could summarize that well, eesh.)

As Lord Krishna says, ultimately you are the Universe––or at least, that you create your own universe, your own reality. The things you attract come to you, and the things you repel don’t. A simple example: If you’re the kind of person who’s always asking for “friends who do xyz,” and instead, you become the friend that “does xyz,” you attract more people like yourself and therefore, you will have friends “who do xyz.” “xyz” can be anything: who dress fashionably, who party less, who work out more, who decide to go vegan, who love art museums. 

Here’s the answer to the question you’ve been waiting for: “How do you manifest?”

Step 1: Figure out what you want, really figure it out

This step works sort of like a Google search; your results are only as specific as you make them. Instead of “I want a partner,” try, “I want a partner who is exactly three inches taller than me, a year older, goes to Harvard (no idea why you would ask for this, but you do you!), and has a sense of humour exactly like mine.” 

What you want to avoid doing is using “don’t,” like in “I don’t want a partner who attends UChicago (this, I understand).”

To figure this out, you also need to understand why you want it. Because here’s the kicker: manifesting is not about you and what you want. It’s about what’s best for the universe, for everyone. Whose life will get better when yours does? How many people will be served when you manifest your desires? Your karmic account has to line up; the reason you are manifesting has to be worth what you’re manifesting

Step 2: Believe you can have it

This is what all the affirmations are. To actually get something, you have to believe that you are deserving; this means none of that modesty shit, but also none of that arrogance garbage. Recognize what you have done, your (true) value as a person, and determine whether this is a reasonable ask. 

(If it is not, and I cannot stress this enough, the Universe will not give it to you; you cannot actually manifest anything and everything.)

But if it is, good. An abundance mindset comes from the fundamental belief that you are enough as you are––not a little smarter, a little lighter, a little more this or that, just as you are. Affirmations are a great way to remind yourself of this, and in turn, keep your vibrations (or the classier abbreviation, vibes) good. 

Step 3: Ask the Universe (a.k.a. Summon the genie, except there’s no blue Will Smith to haunt your dreams)

This is possibly the easiest step. You can ask in various ways: prayer, meditation, visualization, vision boards (I would believe Pinterest does count, yes), writing. The act of putting pen to paper is supposed to be sacred––no, not fingers to keys––so if you can, write it out. Write a letter to the universe, make a list, whatever tickles your fancy.

Step 4: Help the Universe help you

There’s a key part in the “friends who do xyz” example above: to get, you have to be. Manifestation, at the end of the day, is co-creation with the universe. The universe isn’t doing all the heavy lifting, you have to be lifting beside it––or at least spotting it. Working towards your goals increases your chances of getting what you want, it’s like a nudge. It’s also fun––or at least, it should be; if getting there isn’t fun, the “there” isn’t going to be much fun either.
This is fairly easy. Work towards your goals, isn’t that what everyone is always harping on about? How you do it is completely up to you, because it depends on your goal. If you’re super confused, use what is possibly the only thing more powerful than the Universe: Google. (For legal and spiritual purposes, that was a joke. I am not interested in being smited by the Universe.) 

Step 5: Trust the process

This shit takes time, y’all. It’s not a crash diet, you can’t get what you want in 24 hours or even 7 days; and if you do, you’ll lose it just as fast. 

But also, keep an eye out. The Universe is creative with its signs, so be open to different presentations of your goals. In the context of a partner, no they will not appear limb-by-limb, but hey, what about that really cute person you bumped into on your way to class last week? The ~feeling~ you got then, huh? 

And meanwhile, vibe check yourself! Keep the good vibes flowing; recite your affirmations, do your self-care routines, smile at strangers. 

You now know (1) why ManifestationTok is garbage, (2) the actual origins of manifestation, and (3) how to manifest. (*Checks list, nods.*) That’s it. You’re good to go. It’s also time for my daily affirmations, and the Universe doesn’t like to be kept waiting.  

One last thing: Just stay true to the roots––both, manifestations’ and yours.

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College: The Forever Fashion Trend

The first time I heard of UChicago was through a college brochure. You know the one, with the diverse group of friends walking across the Quad. I remember flipping through the pages and thinking, “This school seems cool and all, but why are so many of these people wearing UChicago hoodies? They already go there.”

I’d dismissed it as a promotional strategy––maroon really is an attractive color––but imagine my surprise when I started Zoom University this year, and every second person was in a UChicago hoodie or t-shirt.

In high school, this obsession with college-logo-wear makes sense; the hoodies act as aspirational items, proud reminders of where we want to go, a way of manifesting our futures. If decision season is over, maybe it’s a flex, or a way to retain some individuality, or even an act of loyalty to the institutions we’ll soon be heading to. 

In college though, this makes less sense. It’s not a flex anymore––we all go to the same elite school––and neither is it a mark of distinction––we all go to the same school. Then, maybe, it’s a show of school pride––a mark of loyalty, but I’ll say this: I don’t think it’s as intrinsically psychological as that.

Do most of us like UChicago? Probably. 

Do we truly believe that we, as individuals, embody the spirit of the institution and will carry its teachings with us like badges of honor for the rest of our lives? I’d wager not. 

Highlights from my “UChicago clothes” Google Search

So why do so many UChicago students look like everything they own is from the Bookstore? The answer is (kind of) in the question. The bookstore is conveniently located; there’s no need to go anywhere else to shop, and they seem to have enough variations of the same logo-based designs. The apparel itself isn’t particularly flashy: minimal graphics, solid colors––maroons, black, grey, white––and comfortably-loose styles are inconspicuous and easy to pair with anything. You don’t have to put too much thought into your outfit––unless, of course, you want to––which is perfect for our busy schedules. 

Similarly, college merchandise is discounted for students. Now, this argument applies to most schools, but at least at UChicago––and maybe this is just me––the prices are still through the roof. But, consider this: When you have nowhere to spend your nonrefundable $100 deposit, you might as well invest in something you can flex when you head back home or venture off campus.

Plus, when you’re at the airport and you see someone else in that classic maroon hoodie, you feel an immediate kinship with them; we subliminally build connections through what we wear. But, will you go up to them and ask them whether they went to UChicago, or whether it was their sibling/parent/best friend? Absolutely not.

This is perfect, because then even if you aren’t a college student, you can wear college apparel without worrying that you’ll be questioned about it! We know this better than most schools, universities are status symbols. Wearing an institution’s logo––even if you don’t go there––makes you seem a certain way; in our case, it makes you seem smarter. For as little as $5 in the case of certain universities, you can change the image you project.

Did you hear that? Yeah, those are the gears of capitalism turning.

Knowing fully well that people who didn’t go to these schools (for whatsoever reasons) want to occasionally either feel or look like they did, colleges launch apparel collections in collaboration with clothing brands––especially those with a large youth clientele. The Rue 21 x Harvard collection, American Eagle’s Tailgate UCLA collection, Old Navy’s University of Michigan sweatshirts; no need to even look outside Cobb Gate, UChicago’s merch is designed and associated with Nike and Under Armour. This is easy profit for brands, they’re selling cheap status symbols to young people that want to buy them. For colleges, on the other hand, this is even better because it saves them money; free advertising, anyone? Brands are businesses, and so are universities. 

With these expansions, college apparel has blown up into its own trend. A manifestation of logomania, even traditionally collegiate-wear silhouettes have been incorporated into mainstream fashion cultures. Varsity jackets and t-shirts, baseball tees, basketball jerseys have various origins in the fashion industry, but their collegiate influence is undeniable; how many fellow students own items like those, if not those exactly? 

But, college apparel isn’t just a trend relegated to those of us tight on cash we can spend on clothes; this logomania has become a high-brow accessory. Summer 2018 saw a league of celebrities subscribing to this trend; Hailey Bieber in a Stony Brook sweatshirt-dress, Drake in a “Tennessee” sweatshirt, Beyoncé’s collaboration with Balmain to raise money for HBCs. 

The question still remains, other than for image-related purposes, why do fully-grown adults want to dress like they’re in college? Well, because they’re not. Nostalgia-fueled fashion is definitely not a new concept. For one, Hailey Bieber cites Princess Diana as one of her biggest style inspirations; and what was one of Princess Di’s most classic looks? Her biker shorts–Harvard sweatshirt combo!

Dressing like you’re in college, or reminding yourself and people around you that you were once in college, seems to be a way of preserving a long-gone youth. Life in college is hard, sure, but there’s a reason these are supposed to be “the best years of our lives.” In a media culture that glamorizes youthfulness oh-so-much, maybe a trip down memory lane isn’t a bad thing.

And for those of us still living out our primes, may we continue to spend atrocious amounts of money on those UChicago hoodies; I know I will. 

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Alternate Reality, the One on My Screen

"Reality isn't worth perceiving."

How can we truly let others perceive our realities through a 6-inch screen and a tastefully filtered feed? This article from NBGA questions how our IG feeds mutate our sense of reality and, consequently, our sense of self. Curated moments are gone the instant they flash across our screens, and we’re on to the next with the frustrated flick of a thumb. Sure, you could take the aesthetic and perform it on your own: white taper candles, pastel plates, your most attractive friends with a hint of palatable edge. But you still won't achieve what happened there when you saw that photo: a promise of happiness, a careful aesthetic without effort.

NBGA uses the monochrome, chic loungewear trend created by Yeezy as a case study: "This isn't 'life-inspired' fashion culture, it's curated and algorithmic." What we're actually realizing is that aesthetics, as we define them now (a way to live, dress, eat, and work), are fragmented forms of reality.

Inspired by life? Sure. But are they honest? Far from it.

These aesthetics don’t allow you to be multiple things at once. Just ask the cottagecore TikTok gals, for example, whose livelihoods (in the form of sponsorships) depend on proof that their ears know nothing but the scratch of vinyl and their feet nothing but some lace-up heeled brogues. The algorithm thrives on consistency, second only to a pretty face and a nice body.

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When Kylie Jenner reigned supreme on Instagram, she inadvertently birthed the desire for consistency on our feeds with what would become known as “Instagram Face”. This particular look slowly took over, the most impish of early bloggers becoming pouty-faced, monotonous vixens. The filters, meanwhile, have adopted AI-level technology that changes our faces in real-time.

Gone are the days when this look required hours of makeup and one perfect, static shot. These filters are eerily realistic, going far beyond the cartoonish filters first popularized on Snapchat. Bridge of the nose narrowed, apples of the cheeks plumped, upper lip and eyes enlarged by 1.5 times, a wash of a tanned, ethnically-ambiguous skin tone, and you're set!

Actually, you're not. The "fox eye" trend, hollow cheekbones, carefully placed freckles, and an impossibly smooth skin texture are amongst the many variations that you can find scrolling through the makeup and beauty filters available on IG.

These filters often feel ridiculous when we try them on ourselves. Seeing them on influencers, however, is an entirely different thing. Even the most “real” Instagram models pick the best lighting and the most careful angle for their “casual” posts. Quite naturally, we use them as a standard for what’s beautiful, what’s attractive.

This indeterminate line between envy and admiration keeps us from even batting an eye when our favorite influencers use these feature-altering filters from time to time. There’s a casualness with which we view these minor tweaks: a strange desire to defend total strangers, creating lies on their behalf to explain their changing features... “They just overlined their lips! It’s really easy, try it!”

Sometimes these defenses are warranted. People, especially women in the limelight (in the bluelight?), are constantly scrutinized, reprimanded, and policed for what they choose to do with their bodies. No one should feel the need to explain what they’ve done to change their appearance and for what reason.

The issue doesn’t lie in the notion that the body is sacred and shall not be touched. Instead, the issue lies in what is the intentional fragmentation of reality. These ever-changing ideals come from a society that makes trends out of body parts and gets to cherry-pick their favorite features from otherwise “undesirable” ethnic groups.

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The impact of these trends isn’t anything new. The pressure to change our appearance according to the white cultural norm of the time is an unfortunate constant of our lives in the digital age.

I remember being 12 years old, sitting in the cafeteria, our towering cis-male gym teacher leading that week's health class on body image. It was as unnatural as it sounds, but I still remember how shocked we were to see the way this brunette model with textured skin and oily patches slowly became the flawless, perfectly symmetrical face I was already used to seeing in magazines. Hundreds of photoshop swipes and a time-lapse later, she looked nothing like the conventionally attractive woman from before. Instead, she looked as she was supposed to. It was unsettling how wrong and right it felt at the same time. 

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In cosmetic surgery clinics, that shocking subtlety is repeated on a more permanent level. But gone are the days when nose jobs were widely denied. We have a new appreciation for cosmetic surgery not only for the way it can change lives (e.g., resolving debilitating deformities or previous botched jobs), but for the perceived gentleness it has reached. We've gone beyond even the most praised of "tastefully-done" nose jobs like those done on Blake Lively and Ashley Tisdale — which were really only deemed as such thanks to their otherwise Hollywood-approved features.

"Tweakments" are the new trend: routine lip injections, brow lifts of just a few millimeters (à la Bella Hadid), and small doses of Botox administered every few months.

The goal? Achieve a natural-looking face that accomplishes the impossible: never aging while keeping up with ever-changing beauty trends. The real goal? Re-brand existing procedures as minor beauty treatments akin to a facial or a mani-pedi. Make consumers feel as if this is just another treatment they can tack on to their monthly self-care bill. 

There's no shame in getting work done—until there is (for you). But let's call it what it is and stay aware of the changing faces on our screens. Things get tricky when we delve into this alternate reality, ready to dole out money to finally (and ultimately, never) look "normal.”

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Painting The Lips Red: Thoughts on Red Lips

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Well, with February coming to a close and Valentine’s Day already feeling like an eternity behind us, with Christmas basically a distant memory, it seems like a weird time for me to be writing about red lips. Like, Ale, we’re about to enter Spring; we have pastels for Easter and green for St. Patrick’s Day to look forward to. Why are you bringing up red lips? To which I reply, I’ve just been thinking about them a lot recently, especially after watching Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s makeup tutorial on Youtube, which had been sitting in my “Watch Later” folder for months. Like AOC, I love a good red lip; some of my earliest memories involve me going into my grandmother’s makeup stash and applying her signature shiny red lipstick to look like her. As a four-year-old, I thought that as an adult, I would be wearing red lipstick every day, like my grandmother, and could not wait to be an adult so I could do that.

Reality, however, is quite different. I usually reserve the red lipstick for special occasions, performances, or going out; I’ve never worn red lipstick to class or on a day that I was just “hanging out.” Usually, there was some sort of occasion, even if it was just going downtown or out to dinner. Then I started thinking: why don’t I wear red lipstick all the time? It’s not like I don’t like it; every time I wear red lipstick, I feel powerful and confident and ready to take on the world, but it’s something more. When thinking about my article on uniforms, I realized that it goes back to not wanting to stand out too much. I exist in a weird limbo of wanting to be noticed for looking cute in my makeup but not wanting to draw attention to myself. And red lipstick is quite literally a bright red attention-grabber.

Then I started thinking about why I wear makeup at all; I wear it for myself, that much is evident by the lipstick and foundation stains in my mask at the end of each day, even if no one sees the full look except my roommates and me. So, if I’m just wearing the makeup for myself, why should it matter what people think about my red-painted lips? I guess that makes sense in theory, but in practice, that’s where it gets complicated, and it all goes back to me wanting to be noticed but not wanting to stand out.

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But then I think: my grandmother wears red lipstick every day, and it’s nothing out of the ordinary since we’re so used to it, so if I were to wear red lipstick often, would people just not even give it a second thought? I suppose so, but what about the first few times? That’s the hardest part, I think. When you start doing what you want or wearing what you want, people around you will notice, but that doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing. Life is too short to not wear what you want, and think of your four-year-old self who was so excited to be an adult and wear red lipstick every day. I’m sure she would smile at you widely with her lipstick-stained teeth.

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The Darkness of Aging

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The other day I was doing my hair and thought of experimenting a bit. I thought of maybe doing some space buns since I used to do that style a lot and kind of missed it. But then I stopped myself, thinking that I didn’t want to look childish or immature or just out of place, so I just went with my usual style- a simple blow-dry, parted in the middle. As I was walking back home from running my errands, I found myself thinking, “Why didn’t I do my space buns?” and not only that but “Why do I feel like all the cute hairstyles I want to do are too ‘childish’?” These questions quickly evolved into something more introspective: “Why do styles get so boring as you age?” Think about it; a typical outfit in a professional, corporate environment is mostly either black, gray, or navy, makeup and hair are often in more conservative styles, and shoes and bags are muted beiges and blacks. When people over a certain age are told to “dress their age,” it usually refers to dressing in more muted or darker colors, in other words, less “fun.”

I was not super familiar with this phenomenon until recently; growing up, it seemed that the older you were, the brighter your outfits were. My great-grandmother hated wearing black or neutral colors, and she was always dressed in bright, eye-catching colors and prints, with bold accessories and bright pink lipstick to match. My grandmother dresses similarly, always wearing bold color-coordinated outfits with matching prints, nice accessories, and her signature shiny red lipstick. Wearing darker colors seemed more for the teenagers and young adults in the family. I recall that my mom would tell me stories about how my great-grandmother would comment that the clothes in her closet were so dark when she was younger.

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Then I noticed that my experience was an outlier. I began to perceive that I second-guessed wearing certain hairstyles to avoid looking childish or, God forbid, immature, but who decided that certain hairstyles were this way? Why can’t a lawyer wear a pink tweed suit and a crown braid to court? Why can’t an investment banker wear space buns and some bright red shoes? Why is it “embarrassing” for a forty-year-old engineer to have rose-gold luggage? I’m not saying dress codes are a bad thing since there still needs to be a certain image of professionalism, but why does that have to mean sacrificing some creativity and fun? Dress codes, in my opinion, should serve as a guiding force rather than an oppressive one that crushes individuality. I personally don’t think there’s anything more professional about the colors black and navy than the colors pink and red.

Furthermore, this “dull/darkness” phenomenon is not strictly relegated to adult fashion but also adult television. Shows that are viewed as “mature” and “intellectual,” in my experience, are usually dark, both literally and figuratively. The lighting and clothes the people wear are muted, gray, and quite frankly, depressing, the storylines are often about the darkness of humanity, and the endings are bleak or just… kind of there. Why is this? Why does age have to be associated with darkness and a lack of fun and brightness? People will say, “oh, that’s reality” or something about how when you grow up, you’ll understand, but what does that even mean? Why does our society have such a pessimistic, negative view of aging? Why does getting older have to mean getting boring? Is this a generational thing?

I certainly don’t understand it or see it that way; I’ve always viewed growing up as something to look forward to because I felt like I would have more freedom to do things that I would enjoy, such as travel or learn a new skill or fall in love, which you can’t fully do as a child who needs to go to school and depend on your parents. I also thought growing up would give me new wisdom to share with the next generation, which is something I look forward to since I often rely on the wisdom of generations before me, like my parents and grandparents. I wanted to grow up because I viewed it as an adventure. I feel like that is what growing up is supposed to be—an adventure. And if adventures are supposed to be fun, why can’t we dress like it?

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Dressing Room Dilemmas

For as long as I can remember, I have been captured by the sight of beautiful things, directly correlating to my daily wardrobe. This has led me to be pretty well-versed in the experience of ~the dressing room~ and the anxieties that it can entail. However, it never fully dawned on me how problematic a dressing room, or just the shopping experience as a whole, can be. That is until my roommates compared my room to a dressing room— a cave-like, beautiful wonder. This description was paired with how overwhelming it can be at times. Nevertheless, it made me really wonder why dressing rooms are the root of such an ostracizing experience.

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The shopping experience, itself, is highly designed to not only play into your visual and social perception of the world and specifically into your insecurities. From thin mannequins, to the body and race selective ads, to the store’s environment just being unfriendly (usually to dissuade certain types of customers), the act of shopping is harsh, confusing, and at times degrading to one’s well being. It brings a lot more to the table to worry about than just finding clothing that you personally enjoy.

This has led the shopping experience to be tumultuous, and it has made some people hate shopping or fashion in general. The jarring nature of staring at your body— especially with our current fixation on appearance greater than ever before due social media— can make anyone anxious, stressed, and overall uncomfortable just from entering the store, let alone the dressing room. It turns fashion, a form of art and expression, into a trigger or stressor. How is someone expected to see and appreciate the beauty of a garment when it is being forcibly entangled with our perception of self?

Entering a dressing room— I can’t help but feel pressure to make the clothes work for me as if returning to the salesperson is a sign of defeat, but it’s as I struggle to live up to this image I’ve doctored for myself that I start to hate the clothing, itself. However, entering it, I also feel an intense excitement at the possibility of a new addition to my wardrobe, but this excitement only exists because of my “love” of clothes and deep-rooted capitalism. I am not sure when exactly one of my favorite activities, shopping (or at least mainly online shopping), became riddled with pressures and stressors relating to my own insecurities. It only makes me wonder what pushes people, who don’t care about fashion, to even step into a clothing store.

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In recent years, I have started to hate the experience of shopping in person. There’s so much pressure to find clothes that are interesting, different, and look appealing on you. I remember there were times when I started working in a boutique during high school— the first two shifts, I would start stress sweating. There was always so much stress around the store, from how to act with the customers to just how to carry myself. The relationship between our clothes and bodies has seemed to have created this ever-present tension in the air.

People are so drastically affected by the size on the tag of their clothes. Something that is known to vary from company to company. These constant expectations about being a certain size and its intense link to our self-worth allows the idea of finding your style to be daunting and, at times, impossible. This overwhelming sense of trying to be perfect leads the whole shopping experience for customers and employees to be much more uninviting.

Through working in that boutique, I saw first-hand how employees can affect your shopping experience. It became apparent that the half-assed comments I dished out during my shift to customers of “wow that’s so your color”, “oh wow you look amazing!”, etc. made them feel more comfortable in the clothing pieces and shopping at the store. It just shows how brands and their brick and mortar stores can directly influence the entire act of shopping. Decor, ads, and even the employees they hire all equate to the stress that shopping is now associated with.

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In reality, there just seems to be unmeetable expectations at this point. The customers are so pressured to be perfect or to look just like the model on the ad through society’s expectations (mainly rooted in the rise of social media) that they get upset when any issues arises or when there isn’t a specific size. They hold on to the notion that the missing size would have been the perfect one. We give these fashion conglomerates too much credit for the most part, mainly in caring for their clientele. Most of these fast fashion cemeteries (i.e. F21 lol) or even “boutiques”— that put on the facade of being a better alternative or more original when they really just buy from wholesale— just want the profit at the end of the day. It is all about the money.

The way the majority of customers and brands think has been so skewed by the supposed expectations of society that the view of fashion and shopping has made the dressing room, and sometimes the shopping experience as a whole, a place once of beauty and art but now one riddled with self-judgement. The world we live in focuses too much on the appearance of things and making profit. It makes total sense, with the obsession with image, that dressing rooms, a place where we are forced to examine our bodies, have become associated with negative emotions and experiences.

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Winter Skincare Secrets

As yet another polar vortex reaches Chicago, you may wonder if the universe hates the midwest and has cursed us with dry brutal winters. As a person from a warm, humid place, I was ill-equipped for what would happen to my skin when I moved to Chicago. Each winter, despite my best attempts at using lotions, my skin would crack and even sometimes bleed. Cold weather and indoor heating combine to strip skin of moisture. Through three years of trial and error (lots of trial and error), I’ve come up with a basic understanding of how to keep skin safe during yet another brutal Chicago winter.

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Prevention is key:

• Buy yourself a humidifier: Humidifiers help counteract the drying effects of indoor heating during winter. My humidifier has saved my life on so many occasions. I have it going 24/7 in my room to ensure that its air will not strip my skin of moisture. 

• Drink water like your life depends on it (it really does): now is the time to increase your water intake. Most Americans don’t drink enough water, and as students, sometimes we get caught up in school work and tend to neglect our basic needs like drinking enough water. This is your sign: drink water like your life depends on it because it really does. *https://nypost.com/2020/09/03/most-adults-dont-drink-enough-water-every-day-do-you/)

• Be more mindful of your shower habits: The unfortunate fact is that hot showers irritate and dry out your skin. But if you’re like me and a shower is only a real shower if you run the risk of getting second-degree burns, then you are really going to have to be sure to moisturize right out of it in order to trap in heat. Additionally, consider incorporating a gentle moisturizing body wash if you haven't already. Somehow it took me four years to figure out that my favorite scented Bath and Bodyworks body washes were wreaking havoc on my skin.

Treating Dry Skin: 

• Aquaphor is worth its weight in gold: Aquaphor heals cracks in your skin by preventing them from drying out, and it by far has saved my hands this winter. My knuckles every year cracked and sometimes even ended up bleeding from the harsh winter winds. Lotions and creams could only get me so far. Ultimately, the only thing that previously saved my skin was returning to warm humid weather. 

• Moisturize every time you wash or sanitize your hands: This sounds so basic, but it's the only thing keeping my hands safe during the pandemic when I’m constantly washing and sanitizing. Because I always forget to use moisturizer, I leave a heavy hand cream next to the soap in my bathroom to serve as a visual cue to moisturize right after washing.

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Clever Subject Line: Did You Forget Something?

Your cart will expire in 10 days.

Ask any friend of yours who’s locked down, working/studying, and doing how we would now describe as “pretty good!”—they definitely have 6-8 tabs open on their laptop and cell phone. Some e-mails, scanned library books, maybe even their favorite study-tuber (okay, just me?), and about 3 different types of shopping tabs. There’s the product search results page, on which they are still browsing for the perfect combination of stars and reviews; there’s the full cart, sitting in anticipation of an uncertain click; and there’s the 10-minute-old shipment racking page, reserved for the more committed procrastinators (or maybe just the daftest).

I’d like to call myself a pretty tame shopper. After recovering from my weekend suburban-mall-trip addiction in middle school, I’ve grown increasingly less and less interested in the shopping experience. And while online window-shopping was the high school distraction I had to conquer next, I’ve never been the type of person with a full cart open in a faraway, pitifully hidden tab.

That’s not to say I haven’t had my fair share of quarantine purchases. Most of mine, however, have been pre-meditated, habitual: the start of a new routine like matcha lattes in the morning or a new candle to burn each month. I’m a stranger to the kind of shopping I’ve been doing in the past few days. A new interest in skincare? Physical devices to extinguish my distress? Gen Z-targeted birth control and liquid blush? Who am I!?

Anyway, I wanted to take this opportunity to discuss the uniqueness of our quarantine purchases. It’s not just paints and puzzles anymore; we’ve collectively evolved past March 2020. Our feigning interest in quarantine trends allows us to now ask the question: what do our unique purchases say about us? Are we vapid? Hopeful? … Have we given up? I don’t have the answers, there’s not a lot of those lying around these days. But I can share my own, in an effort to partake in an exposé of ourselves and our habits.

I share this list without much comment because, well, it’s really open for interpretation. Your guess is as good as mine.

Ummmm

You know, just exploring other avenues to express our feelings.

A weighted blanket

But then I was like, wait…my comforter is already pretty heavy and these are… pretty expensive!

A clip-on book light

Still considering. Need to read more physical books to justify. Reminiscent of the old GAMEBOY light attachment. Very chic.

A mug warmer

Honestly, why are there not already a common thing? (You: because we have microwaves...?) Okay, but have you seen the selection? Crazy ones that also charge your phone, smart mugs that keep your drink at a constant temperature, smart coasters, wireless warmers, the list goes on! These range from $12-200, so I’m holding off until I have a more permanent home.

Various The Ordinary products

Youtube rabbit holes and a queue full of Skincare by Hyram. But I can tuck this one under self-care and pre-meditated purchases.

And, finally, some BC refills

Unwilling to brave my OBGYN office, I opted for an online service, having only ever done so in foreign cities. Here, of course, all of the options I found were carefully marketed, cute, and with painfully terrible customer service. My order has been messed up twice already, but I just want that free chocolate.

I’m nothing if not practical, but that’s not always a positive thing. People keep saying we’ll know more about ourselves than ever when this is all done. I say we’ll just have had more occasions to be self-perplexed.

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A Look into Graffiti

While admiring art and looking at what we associate with its historical evolution, our thoughts about expressive mediums may range from European Renaissance paintings to the acrylic project you had to turn in for your high school art class. But often times we may forget to go back and explore counterculture artworks that have significant influences and can be spotted in modern creative projects. This mistake of overlooking certain mediums is indeed a common one, so something to remember when we are deciding to interpret a piece, whether that be a fresco or the cheapest canvas you can find at BLICK, is that with art there is a story.

There is a drawing method that falls within the revolution of art history we ironically tend to oversee: graffiti.

This type of art contains historical significance like no other. It can be seen as a political message or as an act of boredom, yet its spread across major cities deserves to be praised.

Personal Experience

As most of you have probably experienced, graffiti can very easily feel like it is only vandalism. It is, in fact, the criminal act of defacing property, and having public infrastructure as a drawing space can make it seem destructive to the original architectural vision intended. Nonetheless, it has earned its title as an ever-evolving medium. Even graffiti artists themselves see the evolution within their lifetime.

I took it upon myself to engage in graffiti throughout Chicago and Miami in hopes to understand the history and meaning of it. One thing I quickly realized in my journey is that it is everywhere because there is no limit to what can be spray painted, but that’s what makes it so accessible and relatable. Cities with a large presence of graffiti artists have transformed a private skill for a niche audience into free art exhibits that are available for millions of people to interact with on a daily basis.

I grew up in Miami, Florida, and although it is a fairly new city compared to Philadelphia or New York City where there is a lot to unload in terms of this artistic style, there is still a concentrated community of street artists in the neighborhood Wynwood. My first time visiting was purely accidental. I realized that my unintentional drive-through-tour of the city was keeping the meter on my car running. With every mile, I continued to get led deeper and deeper into Miami’s graffiti district. While circulating back streets and alleys, I was taken aback by the political messages and colorful murals that lay embedded on every wall and street corner. There was even art on the sidewalk, extending for what seemed like forever. From that moment forward these impressive creations remained cemented in my brain as one of the most unique art forms to interact with. I kept going back to watch the progression of this district filled with artists using small, metal, spray cans to add life and meaning out of thin air.

Today, as I walk around downtown Chicago it is not a rare occurrence to see an array of messages, different fonts, and mind-churning masteries spewed in hidden crevices between buildings. After a few years of being surrounded by street art, I have gathered that this medium must be applauded. Just because the art is rebellious does not make it meaningless. Rather, there is so much passion and many personal stories that have to be unlocked in the visual exploration of graffiti within a city. 

History

Graffiti has so much history because it is an umbrella term for any drawing outside of a dedicated space. So, finding the origin of this art form makes it extremely difficult since even cave paintings are considered graffiti. One of the earliest examples goes back 10,000 years, in a cave called La Cueva de las Manos.

This natural landmark in the Argentine Patagonia contains repeated imprints of hands like stencils, in bright hues blending from red, to black, and yellow. There are even scenes of prehistoric life, including stories of hunting and symbols of sacred animals. Looking back this art concept has been around for as long as we have.

 Even though nearly anything can be “street art,” we tend to concentrate on its history within the last six decades when graffiti in urban spaces flourished. This happened in congruence to the rise of spray cans which completely changed the game. A spray can company known as Big Spray became popularized and began surpassing millions of sales of aerosol paint to the U.S. in the 1970s. Its intended purpose was to apply aluminum paint coatings to radiators, but its lightweight, portable, and inexpensive qualities caught the attention of street artists who found them practical for a speedy ejection of compressed color and its permanent application onto surfaces, leaving time to flee the crime scene without a trace.

(Well, except for one).

With a large population in states like Philadelphia and New York, the utilitarian origins of aerosol art became embedded in the visual appearance of the metropolis. The imperfect ensemble of colors by unidentified artists also started tying this idea of rebellion into the process of graffiti. Projecting ideals such as anti-capitalist and counterculture views could be controversial, but what better way to express political opinions than having works displayed across crowded streets and no one knowing who to blame? Even the fact that graffiti itself is imperfect backs its existence as an expressive form of revolt. 

The late 1960s and early 1970s started to see a growth in a form of graffiti called tags: where one writes their name tag (hence, the name) over and over. Tags from local artists started to be noted for their repetitive appearances; some recognized ones were Cornbread from Philadelphia and Julio 204 along with Taki 183 from New York. It’s interesting to break down the meaning of these artists’ tags because they are a lot more innocent than they appear. Taki 183 got inspired by Julio 204, using Taki from his name Demetrius and 183 for the street number where he lived.

Although tags can appear very simple, it is important to understand that just as graffiti itself evolves, the artist during his lifetime does too! It starts with these tags, which soon inspire people to move to bigger pieces. Considering that we are looking at art only a few decades back, it makes sense that the greatest street artists today only developed their craft, and the boundaries of street art, within their lifetime.

As I explored Wynwood Walls for tags I came across the artist by the name of Hec One who gave me a brief recap of his journey into the graffiti world. He told me he began tagging random neighborhood walls in Philadelphia with some friends for fun (as most artists involved in this field do). Then in the ‘80s he moved to Miami and continued to tag: with each growing victory of a mark left behind he would dedicate a little more time to developing interesting looking fonts and prints. From tags to pieces, what was once a hobby started to become his passion. The mix of adrenaline and attention he was gathering was enough to inspire the desire and dedication to continue, and years of adding more visible works led to it becoming his job.

He laughed at the irony. “I got arrested many times in Miami when I was younger for defacing public property, now the city of Miami pays me to create murals on their walls.”

Controversy and Meaning

The controversial aspect of graffiti does not only lie in its vandalism. Its taboo nature is related to the fact that a lot of street art was and is still used to communicate among gangs. Graffiti is a tool that serves to intimidate for territorial dominance. Areas that have been marked by gangs are likely to be under attack, serving as a warning to others not to interfere with activity. After the Los Angeles gang wars in the ’90s, there was an implementation of Graffiti Tracker, an online system that would track gang activities and new additions of graffiti near them. This gang association caused people to rank graffiti as low rather than high art.

However, because these low-income, gang-infested neighborhoods were mainly underfunded, black neighborhoods, the rise of hip-hop and street art were intertwined. Many emerging hip-hop performers located in New York created tags, “throw ups” or “throwies” (quick artistic tags), and “wildstyles” (very elaborate letterings), of their artist names which simultaneously promoted the art style and their music. Some common names in hip hop graffiti were Fab 5 Freddy and Grandmaster Flowers.

An instance of graffiti in pop is Blondie’s single “Rapture,” where the music video features Jean-Michel Basquiat, a famous graffiti artist from the ’70s that influenced the public to respect the art style. Released in 1980, it was one of the first songs introducing street art into mainstream pop culture that made the medium even more appealing. New York, Chicago, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and Miami all started to see an influx of those who were passionate about adding color into the busy and dull cities just like the artist I met, Hec One.

Whether it was for aesthetic purposes, to bring light to important political subjects, or for social movement, it was working. Pieces were popping up from day to night and the public began noticing and having conversations that needed to be had.

The best part is that no one could do anything about it: if graffiti was covered it would reappear the next day. It was nightmare for police officers but an inspiration for younger artists that just wanted to be heard.

The strict ban of street art rather than the encouragement to redistribute art and add to the cityscape also makes the illegal aspect of it unattainable for those who have talent but don’t want to challenge authority. The line between what was seen as good or bad was blurry, and slowly it became understood that it just had to be accepted. I mean, look at Wynwood Walls. Rather than having government officials spend the rest of their lives painting over walls, they decided to hire the best artists and promote the district as a tourist attraction. The artists ruled and will continue to do so.

The cultural and artistic nature of graffiti shows that more can be said with images than with words. Social and political themes are very commonly portrayed. For instance, a Wynwood art piece showcases Black culture and empowering messages for young Black folks: in it you see the sight of a jazz player, a woman flexing her muscles, and young smiling Black faces followed by emotions of love and community.

Graffitied messages of gun violence or presidential candidates being mocked the size of a three-story building is an efficient way of voicing an opinion. When the Black Lives Matter movement gained momentum, I saw a significant increase of political pieces by artists who speak with their spray cans. I recently noticed a block-sized mural while walking under the train from Trader Joe’s to my apartment in Hyde Park. These sightings make me appreciate current events and street art more than ever before and I always notice a more accepted view of graffiti by those around me, too.

 I am very glad I decided to tackle this article because I have a newfound appreciation for graffiti, the history of it, and what it means today. As someone who is still fully invested in admiring these eighth wonders of the world, all I can say to those reading this article is this.

Make sure you look up and take in the pieces you see around you. It can be a simple tag or the biggest mural you have ever seen; appreciate what it means and its history in order to become the spectator that the artist hoped you would be.

Photographer: Nicole Helou

Model: Laura Sandino

The Case for Doing the Bare Minimum

When I’m feeling guilty or restless about not being productive, my absolute favorite thing to do is, of course, something pseudo-productive: something that makes me feel like I’m getting things done, without actually having to do them. This can include creating unrealistically ambitious to-do lists or goals for the entire month ahead, adding groceries to my Amazon shopping cart (but not actually buying them, just preparing the cart), watching YouTube videos of other people cleaning, saving TikToks of people’s efficient morning routines, or most recently, listening to podcasts on self-improvement. 

Unfortunately, almost all of the advice that I’ve come across on kicking bad habits, finally sticking to goals, or boosting productivity has involved adding or incorporating something new into my routine. Eat breakfast everyday so you have more energy! Set out your clothes the night before to save yourself time in the morning! My issue is that I can’t even bring myself to do these basic things that are apparently supposed to help me accomplish every other future goal I have. That’s why when I heard Christine Carter’s TED Talk, I was shocked that I might actually be able to follow her approach. 

Carter suggests that the key to actually accomplishing things is stripping your expectations to the bare minimum. Since the amount of motivation a person needs to complete a task or reach a goal largely correlates to how ambitious the task is, and motivation inevitably dwindles, the best strategy is to shrink your goals to be as small as possible so you have the highest chance of achieving them. In my experience, when I’m feeling unmotivated to go to the gym for an hour, for example, I am much more likely to skip it than I am to go thinking it will be very mediocre and not worth it. But if I make mediocrity my goal, then the thought of going to the gym becomes more appealing because I know I can succeed at that.

This is what Carter’s approach is all about– setting goals that are as unimpressive as possible without being nothing. In her words, “the goal is repetition, not high achievement.” Repeated mediocrity is better than doing nothing because it starts to form the habit of doing something at all. After you form the habit it’s your choice how much more ambitious you want to get, as long as you still only require the bare minimum from yourself. Cheers to that, Ms. Carter. Here are some of her recommendations for mediocre goals, as well as some of my own:

1. If you’re trying to run more: run for just one minute everyday. You can do more if you want, but only hold yourself accountable for one minute, and then you’re done. 

2. If you’re trying to be healthier: eat one piece of lettuce on your sandwich everyday.

3. If you’re trying to get more sleep: go to bed (or wake up) 5 minutes earlier than usual. It could be the difference between 2:55am and 3am.

4. If you’re trying to start an assignment: do one minute’s worth of work, and then break, and repeat.

5. If your goal is to read more: read one sentence everyday. 

In 2021, we could all use a little stability. People, places, and life will let you down, but if you stick to these kinds of goals, at least you know you can count on yourself to be consistent.

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How My Skincare Routine Saved My Mental Health in 2020

It’s no secret that Covid-19 has completely changed the landscape of the beauty industry. Pre-pandemic, most consumers — yes even zoomers — preferred to shop for beauty items in store. Not only did lockdown make this impossible, after a year of crises including a massive recession, US political instability, and pandemic numbers that were not going down, the beauty industry was in trouble. Yet despite this, growth and innovation in the skincare industry skyrocketed in 2020 and is unlikely to slow down in 2021. Experts have guessed that being at home has decreased the demand for makeup, causing the increase of skincare as an alternative. While this may be true, I believe a lot of these explanations miss the comfort that routines bring into our lives; and how skincare helps provide just that.  

Life has changed significantly for us all. Namely, Zoom has become a large part of our daily existence. The normal routines that used to provide structure to our lives, a morning walk to the gym or afternoon classes, are almost nonexistent. Going to class or work in PJs and sweats has become the new normal. Don’t get me wrong, I love my fuzzy PJs, but that routine structure that I sustained myself on disappeared when I began to roll out of bed to be in class in a manner of minutes. Skincare and beauty more broadly gave a sense of normalcy to my life while the world had been upended and was, and still is, in chaos. 

Every night and every morning my skincare routine, something I never followed as religiously until 2020, provides a welcome constant. Of course, skincare is a great form of self-care. But it’s not just skincare itself. It’s the normalcy the routine brings into my life that brings me the most joy. Those first ten minutes of my morning where I wake-up and those final ten minutes of my night where I unwind while listening to music or a podcast are some of the most important moments of my day.

There is a multitude of psychologically backed reasons that routines help us cope in the time of social distancing. Managing healthy daily routines is really important for our mental health especially during the Covid-19 pandemic where our world came to a halting stop. Almost everyone lost their daily routine and was forced to form new ones in these uncharted times we live in. Quarantine routines ground us, provide structure, and predictability when it feels like the world is at its most unpredictable.

I’ll leave you with a video of AOC’s campaign volunteers trying her skincare routine:

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Sunday Stories 1: A Vegan Take on Japanese Soufflé Pancakes

As I finally experience a suburban lockdown (read: a full-sized, fully-equipped American kitchen), I’ve been compelled to get back to the ~~experimental cooking I used to do in high school. Sweets were always my go-to because, well, I was a sleep-deprived teenager. And while my mom is a wonderful cook, the precision required for baking causes her more stress than anything else. So, in an attempt to make the most of this time at home, I’m spending each Sunday with a brand-new (to me) recipe and review. Just for you!

I’ve been watching a lot of Midnight Diner: Tokyo Stories on Netflix, and while I won’t be making fish-sausage American dogs (similar to corn dogs), I was thrilled to see a different Japanese, American-esque recipe on my YouTube recommended page: soufflé pancakes スフレパンケーキ! We’re easing into the Sunday stories with this recipe, as pancakes (and their many varieties) are a typical weekend morning treat for many of us.

This Sunday (January 17th, 2020) was the perfect morning for this recipe as snow covered the Chicagoland area overnight, leaving me with no choice but to stay inside and indulge. The classic version of this recipe involves the whipping of a few egg whites (and yolks, separately), which are what make the actual soufflé. Of course, the vegan recipe doesn’t involve any eggs which makes for a different, cakier, but still fluffy texture. If you eat eggs, the classic recipe is definitely the one you should go for for the sake of authenticity. But I’d recommend the vegan recipe when you want to make these on a whim—they’re easier to make and so so tasty. This vegan recipe from Okonomi Kitchen seems to get even closer to the original, with the addition of pastry flour and potato starch.

This vegan souffle pancake recipe is inspired by the popular Japanese Souffle Pancakes which are super fluffy and thick. This version is egg-free, dairy-free...

Mary will explain much better than I can, but I really liked making the molds for these (it took aluminum foil, a stapler, and two minutes!) and even got ~~crafty~~ by turning one into a heart shape. If that’s not your thing, the molds are optional and you can just pile the batter (which looks like biscuit dough to me!) onto the pan. This might even make them look more like the traditional, non-vegan pancakes. You essentially “bake” them on the stove, flip once, and you’re done!

What’s nice is that the only “weird” ingredient you need is apple cider vinegar, which can be replaced for lemon juice and (I think…) any other vinegar you have in your pantry. That, mixed with the baking powder and baking soda is what gives these, and any other vegan cake, their extreme fluffiness—in lieu of eggs.

This little carousel shows the process, the texture, and the heart-shaped cake of which I’m especially proud. I made the bottoms a tad bit too crispy, but they tasted great to me (and my parents). We had them with maple syrup, bananas, berries, and a bit of crème de marrons. Make these the next time you want an extra special breakfast (or dessert). Till next time!

Images via Mary’s Test Kitchen, Okonomi Kitchen, and the author.

The Myth of the Glossier Girl: Emily Weiss's Wedding Black Book

I firmly believe that we don’t talk enough about Emily Weiss’s, founder of Glossier and #girlboss, 2015 pre-wedding routine beauty article. In Into the Gloss, Glossier’s blog, Weiss detailed her six-month pre-wedding journey through beauty treatments that were basically the equivalent of poking and prodding her limbs, skin, wanted hair, unwanted hair, nails, muscles, lashes, brows, and digestive tract. Yes, the digestive tract, something I had no idea we were supposed to be insecure about. And according to her, it was a success. She wrote that day that she was a whole 8/10 happy with how she looked. She spent six months, and maybe the average annual American salary, on grueling beauty treatments for an 8/10. 8/10. Not even an A or a high B. An 8/10.  

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Initially, when I read it, I couldn’t pinpoint where I felt the discomfort. Was it my gen-Z ‘eat the rich sensibilities’ that were perturbed by her frivolous recommendations to spend what’s probably my tuition on beauty treatments? Or the practical side of me that highly doubts a colonic will flush out the toxins in your body and is also slightly worried about Weiss’s misleading medical advice? Or the mom friend in me that wishes influencers would stop feeding into toxic diet culture and endorsing detox cleanses? (I really wish I understood what it is with millennials and ‘detoxing’) Yes to all of these, but also, her 8/10 ranking will forever haunt me. 

Weiss built her brand as a CEO and her company, Glossier, on the idea that minimalism and the natural look can also be beautiful. Her products are easy to use, beautifully packaged, and celebrate dewy skin. Glossier’s Instagram is carefully curated with images of models and actors in ‘natural’ makeup. And in the ten minutes it took me to read this article, the idea of the Glossier girl finally cracked.

The same person who sells us on a brand whose entire ethos is based on minimalism is also trying to sell us on colonics, cleanses, and microcurrent treatments. And if you practice what she preaches, maybe one day you too can feel like an 8/10. The glossier girl doesn’t spend ten minutes applying skin tint with a wash of color and maybe a smokey eye and then goes out the door. The glossier girl apparently spends thousands of dollars to emulate a faux minimalist aesthetic to then only feel 80% good about herself.

And I cannot emphasize enough how profoundly disappointing this was for me. Glossier was the brand that pushed me to accept my skin with and without foundation. I fell in love with the idea of a ‘no-makeup’ makeup brand that focused on skincare. Emily Weiss changed the beauty industry forever and turned a beauty blog into a beauty empire through the magic of genius marketing. Glossier has revolutionized the beauty industry. Despite initial blunders, it has made a concerted effort to support social causes and increase the diversity of its models. It’s refreshing to see models in something that isn’t full glam, especially at the time Glossier was founded. With this in mind, it’s so disappointing to see its CEO, who was heralded as revolutionary to changing our relationship to beauty, parroting archaic cliches about ‘toxins’ and cleanses. So much of the beauty industry relies on triggering insecurities or creating whole new ones. We are told to hate ourselves because it sells juice cleanses, colonics, and a million other procedures or products for an ideal that no one will ever be able to reach. Even the brand that marketed themselves as different has fallen into this trap.

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But I believe that self-love can coexist with loving beauty. Beauty can be more than creating insecurities and trying to sell a solution. Beauty can be about care and love for yourself. It can be about the final moments in the day when you unwind or in the morning when you prepare yourself to take on the day. Self-love is profoundly radical when we are constantly told to hate ourselves, our digestive tract, and our bodies. And the brands which capitalize on self-hatred should begin to take note because one day, hopefully, they will be obsolete.

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Sydney Cummings: Bringing the Gym to You

It’s a new year, which means New Year’s resolutions. Many of you probably have some form of “work out more” or “be healthier” or “take care of my body” on that list, right? But how often do you ever actually get around to those resolutions? Well, I’ll make it easy for you and share my secret on how I was able to keep active while in a small apartment instead of making the trek to Ratner or purchasing a Peloton.

You may have heard of fitness influencers like Chloe Ting, who posts workout videos on YouTube and is known for her “2 Weeks Shred Challenge.” You may have even tried it yourself during peak quarantine. Although I never tried it, I remember hearing friends who started it but were never able to finish, or who did the entire thing and didn’t really see much of a difference in their physique. Well, let me tell you why Sydney Cummings is a different kind of “influencer” and why she is, frankly, the best.

 Free workouts:

Sydney posts a brand-new workout every day at 5 AM as part of her fitness company she runs with her fiancé called Royal Change. These videos are posted to YouTube, where you can view them for free! She even refuses ads so that they don’t interrupt the videos and more importantly your workout! Although many of her workouts use dumbbells or other home equipment, she often mentions ways you can modify the exercises if you don’t have the proper gear. She is committed to showing how anyone, regardless of living space or fortune, can get up and be active.

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Researched, enjoyable workouts:

Because Sydney is a National Academy of Sports Medicine Certified Personal Trainer and Fitness Nutrition Specialist, she has the proper knowledge that many fitness influencers don’t actually have. Each month, she creates a theme and designs daily workouts that are made to progressively increase your strength, conditioning, and overall health. By the end of the month, you’ll be surprised at just what your body can do! Plus, she makes working out fun: the special effects of her set, her motivational words, and her very unique exercises will make you love getting up to work with her.

This month’s theme, “Ignite.” Image via

Optional group membership:

Outside of YouTube, Sydney offers entrance to a group called the “Sydney Squad.” While this membership isn’t free, it is a Facebook group of 3.3K+ driven people who foster an incredibly supportive environment. I was in the Squad for a few months in quarantine, and seeing people post their transformations since starting with Sydney was incredibly inspiring. Plus, if you were to post, you would get about fifty comments from complete strangers praising you with the sweetest of messages. In a time of strife and hardship, it’s a blessing to know that there are people who have your back, even if they don’t know you. This group also offers a workout schedule for the entire month so you know what will be coming, private Q&As with Sydney, daily challenges, a nutritional program based on your specific needs, recipes, and knowledgeable guest speakers. 

Sydney with some members of the Squad early last year. Image via

A different idea of health:

I won’t sugarcoat it: most influencers are super skinny. Sydney has a very muscular physique: while she certainly has minimal body-fat, she doesn’t have the same type of Chloe Ting skinniness that many teenage girls strive for. In an era of increasing awareness of different body styles and a changing definition of “beautiful,” Sydney offers something different: to be healthy and beautiful is to be strong. Strong can mean both physically, where you can bench X number of pounds, but can also mean mentally. She makes the point that every day when you do her workouts, you exhibit mental strength because you were able to push through the pain and finish. At the end of every workout, she delivers a pep talk where her pride in you genuinely shows and motivates you to show up the next day. Sydney teaches people that if you can get through her workouts, you can get through your day or any other struggles you may be going through; you just have to search for that determination you have in your workouts and apply it to your daily life.

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Sydney Cummings is one of the most inspirational people I have seen on the internet: she has gone through the struggles of losing a brother in an accident, losing a job, and even getting shot. Still, every day, she shows up for her audience. She shows up because she knows she can make a difference in their lives and spread good in the world. She has picked me up when I’ve felt down and has motivated me to become my best self. You won’t find another fitness trainer like her, I guarantee you.

Subscribe to her at https://www.youtube.com/c/SydneyCummings.

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Sunscreen: The Unsung Hero of Skincare

I have a skincare confession to make: I used to dread putting on sunscreen. I opted to get a tan instead with the excuse that I don’t get sunburns (I’ve only ever had two in my life and one was from an antimalarial medicine I was taking). It wasn’t until I went to a dermatologist for the first time when I realized just how important sunscreen was: it prevents wrinkles, sunspots, and some of the most common types of cancers. Today even on days when I can barely wash my face: I always use sunscreen. I’ve become the mom friend who always brings extra SPF on outings. Sunscreen is the magical skincare product that I cannot live without. Unfortunately, most people are either not wearing sunscreen at all or wearing sunscreen incorrectly.

Repeated UV exposure contributes to a loss of skin elasticity, skin roughness and dryness, sunspots, and wrinkles. Ninety percent of cases of skin cancer are caused by the sun’s UV rays. Sunscreen provides a shield from UV rays and helps prevent the suns aging effects. Despite all of these benefits most Americans don’t use sunscreen. According to the CDC less than 15% of men and 30% of women regularly use sunscreen in instances that their skin is exposed to the sun.

Even when people wear sunscreen, they are often making a few skincare mistakes that undermine its many benefits. Unless you live underground and never see a window for the rest of your life you should probably wear sunscreen daily even when its cloudy outside, even during the winter, and even if you are indoors all day.

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To quote Vi from whatsonvisface: “be generous with your sunscreen”

Most people are also not even wearing enough sunscreen. Experts recommend the using the two-finger rule for your face as shown below. This honestly blew my mind because until then I probably used about a pea sized amount for my entire face. The American Academy of Dermatology recommends using about an ounce or a shot glass amount of sunscreen for your entire body.

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Fun skincare ingredients have become all the rage these past couple of years. In the past year I’ve learned so much about hyaluronic acid, retinol, vitamin C serum, and a whole other list of fun ingredients. In fact in my hometown legend has it so that you have to trade your first born under the full moon in order to secure a vial of the ordinary niacinamide serum at the local Ulta: it is always out of stock. In comparison to these products, sunscreen can seem quite boring but it is essential to protecting your health and the time and effort you’ve invested into skincare. And as much as I love experimenting with new products, the one thing that will remain a constant in my skincare routine is the SPF. Sunscreen is an underused, underappreciated, and underrated skin care product and I urge you to make sure that you are using it often and generously this winter. Your new skincare mantra should be: wear lots of sunscreen and often.

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¿When Did We Lose The Colors?

A black jean, black belt, black turtleneck, black t-shirt, black leather jacket, black sweatpants, black combat boots…

Almost each and every clothing item in my closet has a black sample. Even though I have a relatively colorful wardrobe, it is an upsetting fact for me to not be able to make the same statement for the rest of the color chart. Maybe for white. But definitely not for orange. I don’t necessarily avoid wearing an all-black outfit; however, by my personal choice, I have always been prone to wearing colors. Myself being the last person to want drawing all the attention on, this poses a great problem towards my fading-with-the-crowd mission. The yellow trench coat smiles in between the clusters of black, beige, and grey ones. My seven-colored balloon sleeve pullover seems so colorful that even only its existence on my body makes my friends wonder why I might be wearing something “too colorful.” Looking back at the pre-2000s wide color palette, it is inevitable to question when and why we traded all those colors in to embrace being “interesting”.

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For the sake of wandering through our minds, I will put the “natural tones being the easy-matches” card aside. That would have been a waaay too easy answer to explain all the similar figures and styles we faced throughout the day. 

According to Anabel Maldonado, a fashion journalist and, as her saying, a fashion psychologist, “we wear what we wear for an item’s psychological pay-off. (...) The dark hue creates a barrier between itself and the outside world, keeping people away while providing comfort, protecting emotions, and hiding vulnerabilities, insecurities, and a lack of self-confidence.” Very much like an armor, she suggests. Also, the way societal culture initiates the meanings behind the colors adds to this psychological phenomena. The graduation gowns, lawyer togs, ecclesiastic clothing, meaning education, law, and religion, all refer to the color black as a must-wear of the official occasions. Meanwhile, the bridal gowns, uniforms, doctor coats are white, following the very same reason. In the 2000s high-competitive, self branding environment, as worded by Maldonado, people cast their votes to the empowering, serious presence of the settled tones. Vivid colors identified with a childlike, playful, superficial characteristic, but the majority does not prefer to attend the first day of work wearing green pants and a fuchsia shirt. 

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“Chromophobia manifests itself in the many and varied attempts to purge colour from culture, to devalue colour, to diminish its significance, to deny its complexity. More specifically: this purging of colour is usually accomplished in one of two ways. In the first, colour is made out to be the property of some ‘foreign’ body - usually the feminine, the oriental, the primitive, the infantile, the vulgar, the queer or the pathological.
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— David Batchelor, excerpt from Chromophobia, London: Reaktion, 2000, p. 22-23

In today’s fast developing, media based structure, people have a lot of platforms and a lot of opportunities to express themselves in the way they want to represent themselves. They are more than free to use the aesthetic they want. And on top of these, with sky-rocketing possibilities, fashion is currently another medium of art, as opposed to once limited production and availability means. It is now a matter of choice if you want to splash some color to your fabric. It is a matter of taking the risk to catch glimpses, challenging the appropriateness, and accepting to be the different one. It is a matter of personal preferences and not obligations.

Who knows, maybe pop-culture’s small hints to disco era and vintage are little hopes of new breathes for the dusty multicolored combines? What can bring the colorful podiums of the fashion industry down to the streets of our homes?

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