Issue #78: My 3-Product Makeup Routine (And Why I'm Still Paring It Back)

Plus, an interview with Jessica DeFino.

Morning Person is a weekly newsletter packed with obsessively-curated recommendations and ideas—let’s get to it!

🎥 ‘All That Breathes’ on HBO Max: The first documentary to win “Best Documentary” at both Cannes and Sundance, this compassionate film follows three men in New Delhi as they rehabilitate birds of prey in the city. Set against the backdrop of violence between India’s Hindu government and Muslim population, the film becomes philosophical, centering the importance of humanity and kindness in its core idea, “One shouldn’t differentiate from all that breathes.”

📚 I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai: It’s been a minute since I’ve picked up a book and couldn’t put it down from the first page. In Makkai’s latest insomnia-inducing novel, out today, film professor and podcaster Bodie Kane is eager to forget her past, especially the murder of her classmate Thalia in ‘95. When Kane is invited for a two-week teaching engagement at the New Hampshire boarding school where the crime took place, she falls into a rabbit hole that unravels the mystery that has since gripped the public with an impersonal “Serial”-type fervor, but is deeply personal to Kane.

🎧 “Let’s Make a Rom-Com” Podcast: In this new feel-good sequel to “Let’s Make a Sci-Fi,” three comedy writers record the process of writing a rom-com script, including consultations with experts, including screenwriter Kirsten Smith (‘Legally Blonde,’ ‘10 Things I Hate About You’), Phoebe Robinson (“2 Dope Queens”), the creator of that succinctly pragmatic SATC line, “He’s just not that into you.” It’s silly and funny, but also an interesting peek into Hollywood. The eight episodes will be released weekly.

Also great: Kelela’s new album, ‘Raven,’ the short film “My Year of Dicks,’ and the documentary “Stolen Youth” on Hulu about a sex cult that originated at Sarah Lawrence College (here’s a podcast about the story, if you prefer that medium!).

Clearly still a fan of this tank (it’s from Everlane and very old!)

I didn’t just drink the Beauty Kool Aid when I lived in L.A. Nope. I dove headfirst into that sweet, expensive brew, religiously applying $300 serums and getting facials that cost twice as much (albeit covered as a job perk). I microneedled and microbladed, double-washed, Botoxed between my brows, twelve-stepped, sat for fake lashes and gelled nails twice a month. I dermaplaned and layered on dewy highlighter to disguise the fact that my skin had never looked duller. Even after a costly overhaul of my conventional products for all-natural alternatives, my bathroom cabinet still held upwards of twenty bottles that promised to plump, tint, prime, nourish, and tone. Naturally.

In the years following my L.A.-exit I began dropping products one by one until I realized on a recent trip that my usual cosmetics bag was far too large. Aside from my toothpaste and deodorant, my entire skincare and beauty routine fit into a sandwich-size Ziplock. The kicker? I’ve never felt prettier or received more compliments on my skin.