Hello hello! Happy August! Cut to me panicking about school starting again. Here’s a recap of my week:
Things I Read
Books
After flying through so many books at the beach, I’ve hardly picked up a book in two weeks. The goal is to finish one this week!
Articles
This is What Billionaire Justice Looks Like: I am once again here to complain about the Sackler Family! I hate these people! The Sackler’s founded Purdue Pharma, which created OxyContin, and basically caused the opioid epidemic by lying about how addictive the drug was and funneling insane numbers of pills into vulnerable communities. They are now billionaires and 500,000+ people are dead. This article describes how, when they realized that Purdue Pharma was likely to be held criminally liable, they started pulling money out of the company and into their own personal accounts. Then they shopped around to find a judge in bankruptcy court that was likely to agree to what they wanted and are now very close to reaching a bankruptcy settlement for Purdue that also shields the Sackler family as individuals from any future litigation. They are terrible people, just the absolute worst, and they are very close to an agreement that will ensure they can never be held criminally responsible for what they have done. I hate it here! Things I recommend you read/watch about the opioid epidemic and the Sacklers: Dopesick by Beth Macy, this New Yorker article, Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe, Crime of the Century on HBO Max.
“They Murdered Me”: Reality TV Stars Push Back at Producers’ Cheapest Trick: If you are a person who watches any type of reality TV but you’ve never really taken the time to learn about how these shows get made, I’d encourage you to do that. This article talks about Frankenbiting, which is when producers cut together pieces of what someone said to completely change the meaning or context. I think a lot of people don’t know that reality shows are edited this way (the Bachelor franchise in particular is notorious for it), and I think it’s important for people to know. People who get a villain edit on a reality tv show will literally get death threats on social media, and sometimes it’s because of something *they never actually said.* Do not fall for a villain edit! It’s not real!
The Princess Diaries' at 20: How a Perfect Pop Soundtrack Was Born: Reading that this movie is 20 years old made me feel ANCIENT. I loved this article about the soundtrack, because this movie stands out to me as having great music in it. Mandy Moore singing Stupid Cupid? Iconic.
Things I Watched
TV
Crashing (UK): I loved this! This is the show Phoebe Waller-Bridge wrote before Fleabag. It’s about a group of people who are all in their mid-20s and living in an abandoned hospital because that’s all they can afford. This is a quick six episodes, and I wish there were more! It also stars Jonathan Bailey, aka Anthony Bridgerton. This was a delight, and I really recommend it. There is also an American show called Crashing, so make sure you have the right one. On Netflix.
Special: I also loved this! It’s about a man named Ryan who a) has cerebral palsy and b) is gay. It basically just follows him as he decides to take more control of his life and start living it how he wants to. I watched the first season of this when it came out over two years ago, and I remembered that I liked it but not much else. After a quick google to find a plot summary to refresh my memory, I watched season 2 last weekend and was surprised at how much I really loved it. It’s very funny, endearing, and also just very cute. While the subject matter is different, the general vibe and humor in this reminded me a lot of Shrill, another show I loved. Watch this! I liked it so much! On Netflix.
Gossip Girl: I regret to inform you all that I am giving up! This show is so bad. And worse than being bad, it is so BORING. I watched four episodes and I simply cannot go on. I am not invested in any of the storylines and I do not care about any of the characters. Each episode is an hour that feels like three hours. While I like that we know who Gossip Girl this time is around, I feel very uncomfortable with who it is. This is not working for me in any way. I’m out!
Movies
Resort to Love: This is what I like to call a Trash Can Movie. This is a very specific category of movies that have a Made For TV/Hallmark/Lifetime Movie vibe (you may remember this if you were here at Christmas). They are bad, but they are bad on purpose, and I love them. These can vary WIDELY in quality, so I give them a rating out of five trash cans (one trash can means SKIP and five trash cans means this is as good as a Trash Can Movie can get). This one stars Christina Milian as an aspiring singer who has recently been broken up with by her fiancé, and then she gets a job as a singer at a fancy resort. This is the second Trash Can Movie that Christina Milian has made with Netflix, and the first one, Falling Inn Love, was WAY better (four trash cans). This one was way too long and not good. I like Christina but everyone else in this film is so annoying. 2 trash cans. On Netflix.
Stillwater: Well. Where to begin with this one. I will start with the plot: Matt Damon’s daughter, Abigail Breslin, is in prison in France after traveling there to study abroad and then being convicted of murdering her roommate, despite maintaining her innocence. Sound familiar? The writer and director of this movie said it was inspired by the story of Amanda Knox. Amanda has some thoughts about that! Mostly negative ones. You can read what she has to say here. She spoils the movie, if that is something you care about. I think Amanda makes good points about how the media has handled her story terribly and that has resulted in the victim of the crime (of which Amanda has been fully exonerated) being erased. But also, Amanda is a public figure (she is a writer and activist and has a podcast) and I really do not understand why she thinks she will ever be able to get anyone to stop talking about what happened to her if she remains in the public eye. This movie was barely on my radar until she tweeted about it, and then I went to go see it in the theater last weekend so I could know what people were talking about. What’s getting lost in all the conversation about Amanda is the fact that this movie is….not that great! It’s way too long, there is one plot line in particular that I didn’t really like, and while I was engaged the whole time and interested to find out where it was going, I didn’t find the ending to be that fulfilling. I definitely would not recommend paying to see this at the theater (I have a Regal Unlimited pass, so I go see everything). Once it’s on a streaming service, maybe watch it then. Also, I just have to say it: Matt Damon is not a good celebrity. Someone tell this man to be quiet!
The Last Letter From Your Lover: I am confused about whether or not I liked this movie. It’s based on the book by JoJo Moyes, which I have not read. It stars Felicity Jones as a reporter who finds a series of old love letters in the archives of the paper where she works. Then it also stars Shailene Woodley and Callum Turner (HOT) in a past timeline, and they are the people writing the letters. Mostly, Shailene Woodley made no sense to me in this movie. I think Felicity and Shailene should have been playing each other’s parts. There was also one too many plot lines going on here, and it was a little chaotic. But, I did find it entertaining enough and wanted to see how it was going to end. I think if you watch the trailer you’ll know whether this is for you. On Netflix.
Things I Bought
It’s time for another round of SPF reviews! I know you are all very excited. As always, these will live here: The Sunscreen Master List. My favorite one is still the Native one. Five more that I’ve tried recently:
Dermalogica Invisible Physical Defense Sunscreen SPF 30: I got a little sample of this with my Sephora points and it is so nice. This is a physical sunscreen, and it’s super lightweight and left no white cast on me. My one problem here is that this is $45 for 1.7oz, and I have trouble justifying that price. I would absolutely buy this if I ever saw it on sale. You can get Dermalogica products at Ulta and Sephora, and sometimes at CVS.
EltaMD UV Shield Broad-Spectrum SPF 45: This is a combination physical/chemical SPF that I also think is very nice. It rubs in very easily, does not smell like sunscreen, and left no white cast on me. This is a pretty popular sunscreen brand, and there are a couple other EltaMD products I want to try before I would buy this one again, but I think this one is a great option. $27 for 3oz, so you get a pretty big bottle for a decent price. You can get EltaMD products on Amazon, at Dermstore, or sometimes at CVS.
Sun Bum Face Mist SPF 45: Continuing my love of Sun Bum products with this face mist. I have been looking for a good way to reapply sunscreen over makeup, and this is the best one I’ve found so far. The mist is super lightweight, this dries down very quickly and then I cannot feel it on my face at all. It also keeps my makeup intact. I carry this with me basically any time I leave my house with makeup on. It’s $15.99 for 3.4 oz. The one thing about this that may be a dealbreaker for some is that, like all Sun Bum products, this has a very strong banana scent. It dissipates pretty quickly, but it’s a little overpowering right as you spray this on your face. If you don’t like an artificial banana scent, I don’t think you’d be able to use this. I think it smells really good, so I don’t mind. You can get Sun Bum at most drugstores.
DERMA-E Sun Protection Mineral Powder SPF 30: This is another product I thought would be great for reapplication. It’s a powder, and it’s super small and would be easy to throw in a purse. And it’s a mineral sunscreen. Ideal! I grabbed it when I saw it on sale at Whole Foods and had high expectations. Despite the fact that the box says this is “100% translucent on all skin types,” on me this is just straight up orange. Like, Donald Trump’s skin tone ORANGE. I have never been more confused. The only way I can use this is in my part, since it sort of blends in with my hair. It’s actually really nice for that, so I’m not too upset that I spent money on this, but I will not buy this again.
La Roche-Posay Anthelios Ultra-Light Fluid Mineral Face Sunscreen (SPF 50): I had high hopes for this because I have tried and liked several products from this brand, and it’s SPF 50. This is a super lightweight (essentially liquid) formula that which is not super common in a mineral sunscreen. The problem I have is that this leaves a white cast on me, and because of that I won’t buy it again. I am curious to try the tinted version, and other SPFs from this brand. This one is $33.99 for 1.7oz, so not the cheapest but not the most expensive either. Just doesn’t quite work for me. You can buy La Roche-Posay at CVS, Ulta, Target, Amazon.
One Last Thing…
I really like the whole new Billie Eilish album, but I am particularly obsessed with this song. This has no right to be this good.
That’s it for me! I hope you all have a good week.
TTYL,
Emily