Another Wednesday and the carpet is still not done. I’ve been informed it will happen this Friday. I fear the carpet person is gaslighting us (this is now the third date we’ve been told the install will happen) so I will believe it when I see it.
There’s a handful of style Substacks I want to make - including my Vintage + thrift haul and the accompanying guide for NYC, LA and lots of Europe but the house is in quite the state as we live in a perpetual state of pre-carpet install purgatory - so crossing my fingers next week or the following week I will be able to put this together.
Alas, here is your mid-week quickie for the 18th of October. I literally always think before putting this together that I’ll have about 2-3 things to talk about and then the list keeps getting added to and the ‘quickie’ of it all fades away. Maybe one week the title of this series will be accurate!
Until then, I have a wild Anna Delvey esq story via AIR MAIL Weekly that I’m still wrapping my head around. Plus, a Substack I’ve newly subscribed to (and I’m paying for - that says it all!), an excellent $26 Brow Gel that holds my unruly brows in place, pretty bras that just about fit my size 12Fs, and a few other thrilling things that will hopefully delight you as they have me.
Like, comment, tell your friends, send me a DM - you know the drill! (for real, I love hearing from you! It puts an immediate smile on my face!!)
MWQ#3
Read: The Grift, the Prince and the Twist
This story kind of has it all. It starts off as your straight forward, as far as tales of deceit and relationships go, but what unravels is rather shocking and I’m still trying to work out exactly what happened. I love how this article breaks the fourth wall and you hear directly from the Air Mail Editor about the behind the scenes chaos prior to printing. A teaser from the article:
“It seemed like Liza-Johanna Holgersson had crafted an elaborate and fake persona to win the hearts (and hopefully the wallets) of a number of well-off men. But she wasn’t the only one pretending to be something they weren’t. A shocking twist lies within this shifting tale of identity that turned both the writer’s life, and that of her editor, upside down.”
It’s long and colourful and took me back to my celeb / entertainment mag days dealing with various legally questionable stories almost too explicit or litigious to be printed.
Substack rec: I<3 mess by Emily Kirkpatrick
I love coming across a new Substack to subscribe to. I find the best ones in Substacks I already know and love. So here’s me sharing the love about a new recent find that I think is really great. It’s called I <3 Mess by Emily Kirkpatrick. Emily is very funny. She writes about pop culture, fashion and celebrity in the best way - witty, silly, off-beat, colourful and educational! Here’s an example of her work. Subscribe here.
Makeup: Mecca Max Brow Guru gel
If you’re after a good clear brow gel with strong hold - check out the new Mecca Max BrowGuru Power Brow Strong Hold Gel. My brows need a super strong brow gel to stay in place and I’ve been very impressed with this one. It also doesn’t leave any icky glue-like residue behind. It’s $26!
Have you had a Buccal massage facial? If you’ve not experienced this for yourself you may have seen it online - in a nutshell, it’s where the facialist puts their fingers in your mouth for a deeper massage and to be able to access your jaw/cheeks better. If you love facial massage and or hold a lot of tension in your jaw (me), grind your teeth, get tension headaches etc - try it out.
I’d had one before at Face Gym in Mecca and truly loved the experience but this was a huge step-up.
Melbourne-based, April Brodie is a sought after facialist and she specialises in Buccal treatments. She visits Sydney once a month-ish and works out of the Intercontinental Hotel in Double Bay. She invited me to give her Buccal treatment a whirl and my god, Wow. It was a lot deeper and more intense than the Face Gym treatment. April’s treatment was still incredibly relaxing however parts of the treatment were a bit on the painful side (not a bad thing), reminiscent of remedial massage. She uses Rationale products throughout, there’s lymphatic drainage and Gua Sha use as well. Immediately after the treatment I was lifted to the heavens and glowing.
A week on from the treatment and it really helped with my jaw pain and tension. April has a waitlist in both Melbourne and Sydney but her treatments are like nothing else I’ve experienced so it’s well worth exploring. More info here.
Bras: Dora Larsen
I recently got sent some cute new bras from British brand, Dora Larsen. Their colour combos and lacy feminine designs have stood out to me online for a while now but I have huge boobs and very much detest bras and bra shopping. I was skeptical that these would fit me and while I could do with a touch more support from the bras I chose, they work well enough and they’re so pretty.
Tech: Meta AI Chatbot
Can someone explain to me the point of these new celebrity AI personas? I need to hear the elevator pitch these celebrities were given. If you haven’t seen Kendall Jenner’s “Billie”, this TikTok discusses this new tech. This whole thing feels at best, weird and at worst, dangerous. I don’t like it.
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It’s not just Kendall that’s taken part. Tom Brady, Paris Hilton and Charli D’Amelio (and more) have all done it too. Each of the celebs reportedly received upwards of $1 million (USD) for their services with one unnamed creator getting paid $5 million (USD) for just six hours of studio time.
Belts: These belts are cool!
Dehanche is new to me but I’m loving their vibe. Here’s a bunch more belts I love from a variety of places - check out my belt edit.
Pants: Nagnata pants
I bought a pair of red track pants from Isabel Marant years ago.
They’re a linen blend so can be dressed up a bit more than your regular cotton/fleece pants and every time I wear them, I get so many questions about where people can buy them. But given they’re years old this is near impossible to track down, unless there’s a pair on Depop/Ebay etc. But then I saw these Nagnata pants and they reminded me so much of them! Buy here before they disappear. If red isn’t your jam, they have a variety of other colours.
Shoes: Freda Salvador red flats
Speaking of red, how cute are these woven flats from Freda Salvador! Love these red flats and these too. Also you can pre-order the Alaia fishnet flats in red. Not red, but these are great Mary Jane flats for $140!
Watch: Real Housewives of Beverly Hills
Any RHOBH fans in the house? BH is my favourite (and Angus’s too, I’m not allowed to watch without him) in the Housewife franchise. I feel like we’ve had to wait a really long time for this season? The new season starts October 25! The trailer (see below if you missed it) didn’t disappoint. The season’s main drama seems to be centered on Kyle and Mauricio’s “separation.” Sign me up.
I know she’s divisive but I’m going to miss Lisa Rinna this season. She really spiced up the show and that’s what I’m here for. I hope she comes back. Angus and I watched new the new Real Housewives of Sydney and we enjoyed it…it’s a promising start but we’ll see how the season and the new ladies evolve.
Appreciate you and I hope you found some things to enjoy or earmark for later within this Substack. Fingers crossed the carpet is installed this week and I’ll literally never have to say the word carpet again!
More Smooth Brain Thoughts soon,
Ali xx
You’ve sold me on the brow gel