simple pleasures: Saltburn, "no makeup"makeup, and a book haul
no.2 - movie reviews, saving money, meditating, currently reading, 'no makeup' makeup, and what I bought
simple pleasures is a monthly curation of all my favourite new (and old and loved) things - think a collection of passions, habits, books, quotes, purchases, recipes, and more.
Maybe it’s the break from endless rainstorms here in The Netherlands or seeing the days get longer, but I’ve never felt more excitement about the first months of the year.
There are definitely a few moments and things that have stimulated this daily elation in me, so below you’ll find a few of the simple pleasures that made this January a month of great contentment, new ideals and inspiring values.
My favourite movies this month
Saltburn. By far the most intriguing thriller I’ve watched in a while about an awkward Oxford student who becomes obsessed with an aristocratic boy and his family. No joke, I watched it twice within a month. The whole cast is just awe-struckingly good. I could talk about all of them for hours, but I’ll just say that Barry Keoghan portrays the awkard sociopath role incredibly well and Rosamund Pike is the perfect eccentric aristocratic matriarch.
Tiktok makes it seem as if it’s the most disturbing movie ever, but somehow it felt pretty tame to me. Maybe I have watched a few too many A24 films and have become slightly numb to the grotesque and unpleasant. In any case, I highly recommend this movie if you love a bit of greek mythological symbolism with GORGEOUS cinematography - and yes, can handle a little discomfort. And you’ll adore this if you love The Secret History, as it literally emanates that elite collegiate vibe.
Before Sunrise. I almost have no words to describe this perfect love poem of a movie. It’s an hour and 45 minutes of two people having conversations and falling in love in one night. And the simplicity of such a plot makes for some truly insightful moments. Even though the two lovers’ talks bridge the corny, it never actually gets there, because they cut each other off or contradict one another. I thought it struck the perfect balance between ideal romance and reality. I don’t want to get my hopes up too much for the sequels (because, well, sequels), but I definitely am watching them soon.
Meditating as a newbie
There are often times when I realise how completely unaligned with myself I am. I’m sure all of us struggle with this, especially at the start of a new year. I’ve used meditation apps before but I’m still somewhat of a newbie, because I’ve never actually stuck with it. So this year, I started a 28 day “reset and refresh” challenge on the free meditation app Insight Timer. It’s helped me ground myself and feel more gratitude for the small moments in life, allowing me to rethink what no longer suits me and make more room for what I love.
Saving money on…
Getting my nails done - I admitted something to myself, something I believe all of us who get their monthly manicures done come to realise at some point: I dread my nail appointments. Just thinking about how much time and money I spent on getting them done each month makes me recoil because it really became a toxic upkeep that I deemed “self care”. I’ve now chosen to be fond of my natural nails. And you know what? I truly do love them!
Subscriptions - I love a good movie or tv show, but at some point I had an excessive amount of 5 streaming subscriptions, so I cut it down to two for now; Netflix and Apple TV. I’ll never be able to follow multiple shows at once anyways. It has pushed me to instead spend my evenings reading in front of the YouTube fireplace, taking myself on a cinema date with a tiny bag of popcorn, or doing something more along the mindful track like journaling.
Alcoholic drinks - Getting a soda on a night out always seemed futile to me before (I used to have that mentality of getting “something good” for my buck), but it’s made the biggest difference, for my wallet and my health. I love my newfound ambition to discover restaurant with a large soft drink menu.
Currently reading…
The Little Friend by Donna Tartt
Our Fable book club read of the month, and the one book in Donna Tartt’s oeuvre that has garnered a lot of negative reviews. In comparison to her other work, this one does feel different, and yet employs prose that is so Tarttesque that I can’t help falling in love with it.
The death of nine-year old Robin haunts his little sister Harriet, even though she was barely born at the time of his mysterious passing. Twelve years later, it leads her to follow disjointed clues to the possible murderer. The first half is absolutely riveting so far and Tartt’s way of interpreting trauma in snippets and dislodged memories is in itself haunting.
Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman
This is one of those books I feel like I’ll be returning to in the future and give as a present. Because even though it looks like a book about time management, it actually is the opposite. Starting with the statement that all of us, if we’re lucky, have about four thousand weeks, is alarming. It is not the most uplifting message, but it is a liberating thought. We could all use a little reconsideration of how we think about time and not just how we spend it, divided up into timeslots or to-do lists, because focusing on getting the smaller tasks done, will only create more of the same meaningless tasks. I think what Burkeman is getting at is the whole ‘less is more’ concept and that we should face the fear of not getting everything done, so we may as well choose more carefully which things are important to us.
Epiphany, I know. In all seriousness, this is such a great and powerful reminder and if you’re not convinced yet, I’ll leave some quotes for you down below.
Quotes:
“Convenience culture seduces us into imagining that we might find room for everything important by eliminating only life’s tedious tasks. But it’s a lie. You have to choose a few things, sacrifice everything else, and deal with the inevitable sense of loss that results.”
“what you pay attention to will define, for you, what reality is.”
“One can waste years this way, systematically postponing precisely the things one cares about the most.”
I’ve come to absolutely adore Dolly Alderton and am in a bit of a frenzy over her currently. She reads like a funny and realistic podcast, her style simple and charismatic, with some of the most relatable stories to tell.
Ghosts is a Bridget Jones’, life as a woman in your thirties kind of book, with the trials and tribulations of love, online dating, family and friendship, infused with critique on toxic masculinity. Nina Dean is a 32-years old cookbook author living in central London, who, because of societal pressure, goes on a dating app and meets enigmatic Max. I don’t want to spoil anything, so I’ll leave it at that. But man, the feels this book is giving me.
As with Good Material, I am listening to Ghosts on Audible. I tend to listen to memoirs and autobiographies, but since Alderton’s style so perfectly translates to something akin a memoir, it’s the perfect audiobook.
An article I read on ‘no-makeup’ makeup
In an era of ‘clean’ and ‘five-minute’ makeup, it has become increasingly difficult to be satisfied with our natural skin and complexion. The beauty industry thrives off these barely-there trends and while I love the natural makeup look myself, there’s an always nagging pressure to perform the ideal woman. It reminds me of this TikTok video I saw once of a guy stating he preferred women without makeup, exemplifying his statement with a picture of a woman who clearly had perfected the ‘no-makeup’ makeup. The video itself received a lot of backlash and he later responded to it saying he felt betrayed that he could no longer see the difference. And this shows that, to those oblivious of clean makeup, the trend has placed an expectation on us to look effortless, even if we clearly put in a lot of effort (and not to mention, money).
Just like I’m simplifying my nail care routine, I wish I could just as easily get rid of my own multi-layered skin. But it won’t be an easy ride, having worn makeup almost daily for the majority of my life. In a way, it has become an extension of me to the point where I don’t feel myself if I’m not wearing at least some form of eyebrow gel or bronzer.
And then I read this incredible article by
called “How The '5-Minute Face' Became The $5,000 Face” which explains my anguish about it oh so well. Defino tells us that minimal looks have become aesthetic labour instead of a form of female emancipation from the beauty industry.Today’s five-minute face — as modeled by beauty influencers, editors, and entrepreneurs — is predicated on the behind-the-scenes beauty work of skin care products, cosmetic procedures, and plastic surgeries. A more fitting moniker, Nudson suggested, might be “the five thousand dollar face.”
The article ends with a quote by Dr. Engeln’s who reminds us that even if we remove makeup we’ll then deal with the consequences of maintaining injections, 10-step skincare routines, and other forms of upkeep.
Defino wonders how we can rise above this toxic labour and states that…
(…) perhaps it starts with acknowledging the “clean look” for what it is: the “culturally-conditioned look”
Expense report
I absolutely loved the idea of what
from described as her “expense report”, basically a list of things purchased, but with an elegant title. And so, influenced, here are the things I bought this month.St Agni minimal tote - inspired by
from and her effortlessly chique style, I picked up this small tote. It still has to arrive but I’m sure it’s stunning and I’m justifying the purchase because it’s the perfect book bag in my opinion.Arket wool skirt - I’ve slowly been rotating my closet so it includes more staples, and by that I mean actual staples that are good quality and that I can re-wear with anything. I’ve also been clearing out my closet, so do consider having a look at my Vinted account.
These cute mugs, also from Arket
Tickets to Avatar The Last Airbender in concert - One of my goals this year was to spend more on experiences instead of material things. I grew up watching Avatar The Last Airbender and it has such a special place in my heart. Hearing from a friend that there was a live music concert and that it was sold out made my heart ache. Luckily, I got a re-sell ticket that wasn’t all that more expensive and coincidentally on the exact same row as hers - what are the chances!
Having received a book voucher from my work, I bought a whole bundle of new books. Let’s just say I have enough now to get me to summer.
In addition to my “free” books, I also purchased the following myself
Hopeless Romantic by Dolly Alderton - I sent an email to Pound Project to receive a copy
A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara - I’m planning to re-read it this year. Wish me luck.
What did you get up to this month? Drop a comment below!
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Love that you included your own expense report! Also v obsessed with that St. Agni bag. I love that brand!!
girl I audibly gasped several times in the cinema watching saltburn I'm practically still recovering I need to up my game