Things I Actually Spend Time Thinking About

And things I'll never write about here

Hello, Gorgeous!

This morning I noticed a few posts pop up on my timeline about the dread of wash day. Having spent nearly four years consulting and creating copy for a haircare brand, I knew this was a real issue. I understood that significant time and effort went into planning the perfect shampooing, conditioning, and treatment options. Not for me, mind you.

This isn’t me

My summer routine for my baby fine hair is much like my winter or fall routine. It takes less than five minutes and goes something like this:

• Wash

• Condition

• Air dry

• Find a scrunchie and a hat

But I do spend time thinking about other things, and I’m always happy to hear what’s on your mind. I also spend a lot of time not only testing and researching products, but also making choices about what I don’t include. So for instance, you will not be reading about some of these things.

Things you won’t be reading about on Hello Gorgeous!

I’m so grateful for each and every one of you. And while I’m well versed in clickbait, that’s not a tactic I use. I’m not interested in being the most popular, I’d rather provide continuously entertaining and useful content from someone you know and continue to trust. So while I could have gotten tens of thousands more readers, and then some, I choose not to step into the quagmire of some of these topics. I might touch on them, but I won’t do a deep dive on:

• The Sanchez/Bezos wedding. It was big. It was bloated. It had a faux charitible component and lots of cosmetic surgery. You can read more about it in the gossip rags and dedicated Insta accounts. I do have something I love about that union - the age appropriate connection. He’s 61, she’s 55, and they made a big splash of things. That part was nice. And while I love a stunning engagement ring — and worked in the diamond industry for five years — even I don’t get the point of a 30-carat engagement ring other than to make everyone else feel bad.

• Bad cosmetic surgery. Or good cosmetic surgery. It’s just not a topic I feel comfortable covering. I am big on aging in a way that brings you peace. And I’m not a fan of constant nip and tuck. Maybe it’s from my years as a celeb makeup artist when I’d be up close and personal with facial surgery scars and freaky enhancements. Or maybe it’s because talking about ugly topics often descends, and I hope we can always lift each other up. I support you in whatever decision you make. I’m just not going to offer you tips or advice on it.

• The British Royal Family. Here’s something I doubt you know. During the pandemic I had an anonymous social media account dedicated to fashion, gossip, and analysis of the royals (don’t look, you won’t find it, we scrubbed the internet). At one point I had about a dozen palace insiders supplying me with bullet-proof intel. It was a blast. But it got very ugly, very fast. I’m no longer comfortable discussing anything related to this family publicly other than as commentary for articles or TV. More trivia: I included actual beauty recommendations from Kensington Palace with regard to Queen Elizabeth’s beauty routine in my first book, Hello Gorgeous! Beauty Products in America ‘40s-’60s.

Here are a few more:

• Political hot takes or partisan content. I’m well informed and engaged and advocate for others in my nonprofit life. I just have zero interest in turning this space into another echo chamber or battleground. You choose to hang out with me for beauty and lifestyle treats along with a soupcon of beauty history and cultural commentary. I’ll leave it to you to find your political punditry elsewhere.

• Diet culture and weight loss trends. While I’m a woman smiling eating salad (OHMYGOD have you tasted Tabitha Brown’s Dill Pickle Chopped Salad from Target?) I’m more interested in supporting people in feeling good about their bodies than highlighting diet, surgery, or easy transformations. I’m not crazy though, I’ll still write about chocolate (especially considering that this post about chocolate from last year is still one of my most popular).

• Celebrity breakups and relationship drama. We’re probably all taking bets on how long the aforementioned Bezos union will last. I’m not interested in dissecting people's personal pain for entertainment, even if they're public figures.

• Fast fashion hauls or ultra-cheap product recommendations. I believe in cute things. I believe in sustainability. And while I won’t exclusively feature green or clean brands, I’m not going to provide content promoting overconsumption or exploitative labor practices. I love sharing my product picks. I also assume you’ll probably skip most and buy the ones that make you happy or fill a need.

• MLM or affiliate marketing disguised as genuine recommendations. I don’t promote products or companies I don’t believe in. And I’m certain you’ve noticed by now that affiliate marketing isn’t the underlying motivation in what I share.

• Wellness trends that lack scientific backing. I’ll leave those to Gwyneth.

What are topics you avoid; any you think I should be avoiding or covering more often? Let’s meet in the comment section to discuss!

Rachel, Your beauty concierge 💋