the february review

the beauty manifesto you need to read + learning to drive tips

February — my birthday month! Your girl made it another year around the sun. It’s also Jack’s birthday month, so we went down to Somerset for a few nights to celebrate. It was so nice to get away, I think next year I’ll book a longer fresh air or winter sun trip as this mouldy city gets me down when there’s weeks of sheet cloud, rain and wind. I’ve been following Lindsey Holland’s dreamy surf trip on Instagram and it’s been inspiring me to book an adventure for next year — I’m thinking Mexico, India or Japan? If you’ve visited any and have thoughts, please let me know in the comments!

I’ve gained some momentum in 2024 now and I’m feeling more ready for the year ahead. This could be a side effect of learning to drive (!!) — if you’re a nervous car girlie like me, I hope I can reassure you by confessing that it’s really not been as scary as I’d anticipated. I wrote on the driving school form that I was a nervous passenger, and probably as a result I’ve been blessed with a great instructor who’s really calm. Initially I felt overwhelmed — which I have to remind myself is normal when learning a new skill — but I’ve put some trust in the process (all I have to do is show up and have my brain switched on for an hour) and lesson by lesson, I’m improving. On a scale from 1 to learning to ski, it’s a four. I hope that helps.

wearing —

I am buzzing about one particular purchase this month. Let me tell you the story: after the G.H. Bass derby loafer I wanted had sold out in every size and vanished from the site, I mourned and cut my losses. Tell me why I received an email weeks later saying there was a single pair in my size back in stock?! The speed that I snapped them up… so now I have the perfect not-loafer-loafer and I love them. I struggle with styling loafers; chunky leather shoes give me school uniform shopping flashbacks, but I feel like this pair is classic and versatile. I haven’t styled them for a photo yet but I’ll include an e-com pic so you can admire them.

photos via anthropologie singapore

reading —

How is the twelve week year reading goal going? Let’s just say I… fell off a bit. Daily pages have not been tracked, and the endless scroll continues, albeit at a slightly slower pace.

I haven’t stopped reading though! My friend Ellen gifted me an early copy of her debut non-fiction Pixel Flesh and trust me when I tell you: if you like the things I talk about, you’re going to love this book. She explores the relationship between beauty culture and the digital world, how we got to this frozen, filled, ideal and how we can escape. I keep texting her excerpts and lines followed by multiple exclamation marks. It really resonates. It has all the power and heart of The Beauty Myth. This is a manifesto that is incredibly well-researched and I hope will make waves once it’s released in May.

watching —

Jack and I have been terrible at watching tv together as I refuse to sit in the living room when it’s this chilly. You can feel the breeze through our single glazing and I’m just not built for that. On some of the warmer nights this month, I plucked up the courage to spend a few hours in there and we started Mr And Mrs Smith on Amazon Prime. It’s silly, it’s fun, and it stars Donald Glover looking… really good? Jack’s been away loads this month but once he’s back I’m excited to get back into it (and invest in a heated blanket.)

following —

What I lack in pages turned, I make up for in creator recommendations. Let’s start with Tiktok: I am obsessed with Yola’s commentary on personal style and musings on the zeitgeist. I love how it feels like you’re joining her mid-conversation, and I love how she approaches trends and fashion. If she starts a podcast, I’ll be the first subscriber.

For styling, Tina Zhang’s outfit videos are beautifully made. Her font choices: immaculate! Her edits scratch my brain in the best way. She also writes a fashion Substack:

tina

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An early discovery is Rasida, who’s hilarious fringe-styling video made me instantly follow. It was 1. iconic but 2. actually helpful — we love. Her whole thing is giving life advice, and she’s only got 16k followers so if you follow her now you’ll be ahead of the curve.

A final note: my long-time inspiration Claire Marshall started posting again! Eight years on, I’m thrilled to see her so well and that Bruce, her sweet cat and icon of the vlogs, is still around. There’s a few creators I probably wouldn’t be here without, and Claire is one of them.

Now let’s talk YouTube. I’m buzzing that Claudia Sulewski is making videos again, her vlogs are my ultimate wind-down watch. Another new creator discovery is Tâm Mai, who makes beautiful city vlogs (important) but also has a great sense of timing in the edit, and a great personality — two things that keep me watching. Perhaps it’s because it’s my 9-5, but I’m fussy when it comes to the quality of lifestyle content. If your storytelling isn’t good, the edit is bad or your character isn’t coming through, I’m probably closing the tab. Tâm has all the ingredients, I’m amazed she’s still under 150k subscribers.

listening —

Why do I enjoy sad boy pop so much? I thought my blackbear phase was over, but last month was all about brakence and this month its been truly reignited by rinsing Artemas’s new tape, pretty. Honestly, the lyrics don’t resonate with me — is anyone surprised that lines about parties and getting high with girls don’t make me go “wow, me too” these days? It’s so hooky though, and the chaos speaks to my soul. I dived into his other music and his first single High 4 U has also been added to my rotation.

forward thinking —

I’m in a real work-orientated mindset at the moment. I feel ready to knuckle down but recently realised that while I have an overall strategy, I need a bit of tangible planning to stop me from hitting mental roadblocks. So I’m back on my planning bullshit, hoping to work on my consistency now I have some clarity on my direction. Visiting my dad takes up a whole day each week, but in a way the time loss has spurred on the desire to be more organised. It’s funny how these things work! I’ve got some videos I’m excited about in the pipeline, and some of the work coming through is so me — all of which is definitely helping with the motivation. I’m excited for you to see what’s coming.

Let me know what’s made your February review in the comments!

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I always try to recommend products I would use myself and all opinions shared are my own. Some of the links in this post are affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission if you make a purchase at no additional cost to you. I will always disclose when I work with a brand on any paid partnership.