Mid-week Quickie #14
Coach, Khaite, Tory Burch, searching for the perfect blue shirt, Merit's first ever fragrance, thoughts on The Brutalist and Conclave
Welcome to the Mid-week Quickie, a mid-week check-in with personal updates and thoughts + things I’ve seen and enjoyed of late in a (usually) quick, snappy format!
Hi friends,
Lately, I’ve been really trying to take in my surroundings while I’m out walking, especially when I’m in the city. Noticing what people are wearing, how they’re styling their everyday outfits, the accessories they chose. This led me to spotting (and snapping) a chic woman on the street in Surry Hills last week in a perfect blue oversized shirt. It spurred a frantic online search for one of my own. And ultimately, solidified my love affair with blue. I haven’t purchased anything as yet as I’m in the midst of my fashion no-buy but I’ve found some excellent options - like this one and this one (both $125), or pricier options like this, or this.
Other fashion/style bits
I’ve been enjoying the goings on in New York and the circus surrounding fashion week. Brands grabbing my attention are Tory Burch, Coach, Khaite and Calvin Klein (their first runway show since 2018).
I’m always in awe of Khaite’s outerwear and this runway showcased the continuing genius of this. Make the coats long, make the leather lived in and distressed and get ready to whip out the animal print!
It got me thinking of a current leather jacket of Khaite’s that I saw somewhere, on someone. Some quick googling led me to the actual jacket, the Darlman. It’s breathtaking (as is the $8k+ pricetag!)
I loved this Tory Burch campaign, as well as this Bottega campaign. The power of a familiar (if you’re chronically online like me) face or song to get the mood going can’t be overlooked. And most importantly, it’s fun and unserious.
I really love how these two fashion houses come back with a vengeance over the last few years.
Films/books
Over the weekend, we did another movie double. This time, we saw Conclave and The Brutalist. Angus and I are anti movie trailer and prefer to go in relatively blind to a movie. We’ll usually have a vague thematic understanding of what we’re about to see. We hate spoilers and love to be surprised.
However, this backfired a little for me when seeing The Brutalist. I thought I was off to see a film about Brutalist architecture but what followed was far heavier and intense than I was prepared for. Without giving away too much of the film, there’s heavy drug use and sexual violence and given the film goes for 3.5 hrs (with an intermission), it felt like it was never ending and I wanted to escape about 2 hrs in.
Visually, it was beautiful. The set design, costumes, cinematography and of course, the architecture was spectacular. Adrien Brody was astounding and heartbreaking. I left the cinema thinking, ‘I can’t believe all that horror and misfortune happened to one person,’ only to find out the story of László Tóth wasn’t even real! I felt let down. If you’re planning to see this, you’ve been warned.
Conclave, on the other hand was much lighter than I would ever have expected. It follows the meeting - aka conclave - that takes place to choose the next Pope, after the current Pope dies. Parts of the film felt like I was watching an episode of The Real Househusbands of Vatican City. So much gossiping and backstabbing from arch bishops and cardinals. This film felt like a breeze compared to The Brutalist.
Books
Nothing new on the book front. I’m still reading The Wedding People. I’ve been slower with it as it’s a bit depressing (although I feel like it’s turned a bit of a corner nearly 1/3 of the way through). But I did buy some new books, because I can’t help it. After loving Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren so much, I’ve really leaned into all the rom/com book vibes.
Beauty
In December I started getting laser hair removal at Laser Clinics Australia. Laser had always been something I knew I wanted to do but like so many things in life, I just never got around to booking it in and getting it done. From the first session, I noticed an immediate difference to hair growth. The growth rapidly slowed down and when it did grow back, it was dramatically reduced. Think of laser hair removal, not as a permanent removal but a huge reduction in hair. The more sessions you do means the results will be more long-term. I’ve now had 3 sessions (they occur monthly) and believe I’ll do 2 more. The change already after 3 is unbelievable.
My thoughts: Laser is incredible and life changing. I cannot believe I waited so long or ever spent money on waxing. Waxing is PAINFUL and hair grows back within a week of your appointment. It’s expensive and that payment is never ending because you always have to go back for more. Laser is an investment but there is an end in sight when it comes to payment. I was nervous prior to my first session that laser would hurt, but I either barely feel what they’re doing or at worst, it’s a light pinch. Very, very tolerable. 1.5/10 at worst on the pain scale. Laser also means my skin is rarely if ever irritated/itchy, the way it would get after shaving. It’s one of those “high maintenance treatments to remain low maintenance.”
Reforme Beauty
I live for a good lip liner and so when I saw friends of mine using and loving the new Australian brand, Reforme Beauty power lip product, I ordered some for myself. The beauty of this product is that it has a double use - you can use it as a contour for your lip but also on the rest of your face.
Merit ‘Restrospect’
Another beauty fave of the week is Merit’s first fragrance, ‘Retrospect.’ It was an instant classic to me from first use and is reminiscent to Glossier ‘You’ - however I like Restrospect more. It’s a clean but rich scent. I really pick up on the bergamot. I can see how this will have major, broad appeal. The scent notes are:
Top Bergamot, Pear, Ambrette, Aldehydes
Heart Jasmine, Rose, Rosemary, Violet, Orris
Bottom Vanilla, Musk, Moss
Home
On the home front, I got my Chesca Athas gummy bear back from the framers (I go to Acme Framing in Surry Hills if you live in Sydney and need a rec!). Getting things professionally framed is a game-changer and a little luxury in life. Still working out where to hang this one but I love the pink and chrome against the green. Here’s to getting things framed and having fun with it!
While in the area, I swung past Hay (physically impossible to walk past a Hay store and not go in). I was pulled in the direction of their Barro homewares range. It’s a similar look to what Soft Edge Studio are making - I am also a fan of these. And then I saw their tablecloths (above). The little embroidery details are so divine.
More Smooth Brain Thoughts soon,
Ali xx