School's Out
Hi everyone, happy Wednesday!
I’ve got a very special guest post for you today: please welcome Casey Lewis! Casey is a former Strategist editor and a longtime subscriber to this newsletter, so you know she’s got impeccable taste 😉. (In fact, she’s the reason I netted my first-ever Strategist byline!) In the past she’s been an editor at Teen Vogue and MTV, and she’s even founded a media company for teen girls called Clover Letter. Currently Casey is acting as a consultant for brands about content, community, and e-commerce while also working on a daily newsletter called After School about youth culture, so if you’re interested in what’s hip and happening with Gen Z — which, if you’re subscribed to WIWO, you probably are! — I highly recommend you check it out. Thanks so much to Casey for taking over today and without further ado, let’s get to the recs!
One Jump Ahead
I've been a jumper dress devotee since I was a toddler, and this is the best one I've found as an adult. Oftentimes they're too boxy, or too flimsy, or too fast-fashion-y. Jungmaven makes theirs from hemp cotton, so they wear incredibly nicely, and they wash well, too. They're the perfect length for me — I'm 5'4 — and they skim my body without being too snug, ideal for the swamp-like temps we've been dealing with lately. (I'm also already dreaming about layering them over thin-stripe long sleeve t-shirts when it gets cooler.) Jungmaven does lots of really rich, bright colorways, but because I'm me, I bought the black and gray. However, I loved them both so much I just went back for the beautiful cobalt blue, too. I will say they run a touch big, so size down if you're unsure.
Hair Brained
THE SCALP POWER DUO - CEREMONIA
I've been recovering from a particularly heinous haircut that I got last November (!) and I've tried just about anything to get my curls (which were chopped into, essentially, a bowl cut) to grow faster. On his new album, Tyler, the Creator says, "The only flaw is my fuckin' hair won't grow / It's been like two years and this shit likе two inches." I have many flaws, but the line very much resonates with me. Prenatal vitamins and masks have made my hair healthier, but not necessarily longer; biotin supplements just made me break out. Ceremonia Aceite de Moska hair oil, however, really seems to be doing something. Founded by Latina entrepreneur Baba Rivera, the stuff is a miracle-seeming oil that you massage onto your scalp for healthier hair. It's said to promote hair growth, and I honestly believe it. I wasn't familiar with Aceite de Moska before Ceremonia, but it has Spanish roots and seems to have been around forever (I was so impressed with the stuff that I did a little deep dive into what it even is). Also, I never owned a scalp brush before this one and I don't know what took me so long, because it feels great.
Seeing Green
KAUAI COLOR-CORRECTING CREAM - JOURN
Green color-correcting creams are nothing new, but rubbing green goo on my face and seeing it disappear into my skin right before my eyes always blows my mind. I picked up this Journ color corrector a few weeks ago and it pretty quickly replaced tinted moisturizer and concealer for me. I have it in Kauai, which is for "light to medium skin tones." I'm fairly tan these days, probably right at the tippy-top of "medium skin tones," but it still works for me. I do also like Dr Jart's Tiger Grass color-correcting treatment that went TikTok-viral — and the SPF is a major bonus for me — but I find that you need to use a lot more of it than Journ, and it doesn't always blend quite so seamlessly. Sometimes my boyfriend will say, "Uh, why is your face green?" It also smudges onto my contacts, which never happens with Journ.
The Gourd Life
PUMPKIN POWER PEEL - DIANE HIGGINS SKINCARE
I am not a face mask person, but I am a Pumpkin Power Peel person. This formula is handmade by New York facialist Diane Higgins; I first learned about it from the #ITGTOPSHELFIE of Erin Allweiss, who has absolutely luminescent skin. I can't say whether I've unlocked luminescence, but I am slightly glowier? In the right light? Maybe? It smells like pumpkin pie and makes my skin feel tingly and just super awake. Face masks are such an indulgence — I think that's part of the reason I was anti-mask for so long — but this one is worth it to me.
One Steep Forward
DARJEELING AND HIBISCUS FLOWERS BOOZY TEA - OWL’S BREW
I love both beer and wine, and I have absolutely no interest in spiked seltzer, so I can't begin to explain why I decided to order a canned boozy tea called Owl's Brew on a ferry ride from Fidi to Williamsburg (booze is back on NYC ferries FYI!) But it was delicious. It's light enough, at 4.8% ABV, and it's super refreshing — like a just-brewed herbal iced tea with a little extra...something. The taste is so perfect that I was frankly suspicious: surely this was too good to be true, i.e. lab-engineered and produced by InBev. But nope! It's founded by two women who are tea enthusiasts (one of whom is actually a tea sommelier, which I didn't know existed but am glad it does). They use real ingredients, no added flavors whatsoever; of course, it is a malt beverage, so it's not a health drink, but all things considered, I feel pretty good about it.
Tried one of my recs and loved it (or hated it)? Wanna get something cool on my radar? Drop me a line at kittylguo@gmail.com or swing by my Twitter @kitguo!
I love both beer and I have absolutely no interest in spiked seltzer, so I can't begin to explain why I decided to order a canned boozy tea called Owl's Brew I've also tried some mix drinks from www.nctorganics.com