Byoma

Taking a moment



Bruce Weber
When did self-care become a dirty word? The concept originated in the late 60s by radical feminists wanting to empower women by teaching them to get to know their anatomies. But in recent years, ‘self-care’ has come to encompass the Goopification of beauty, aka a capitalist catch-all that couches healthy habits and ancestral rituals in spa language and posh packaging. My take on self-care is somewhere in the middle. Nice-to-have products (that don’t have to be expensive) and free DIY practices to maintain health and wellbeing rather than ‘optimising’. (more…)



Shop the post: summer beauty update



Audrey Hepburn Cartier lipstick

I finally made the pilgrimage to Sephora UK! It was good but not as epic as I’d built it up to be. I really like the self-service element – it feels like the only truly self-service beauty store where the advisors aren’t poised to ambush you. And the brand curation is well executed – a good combo of Gen Z buzzy new brands and proven classics. There was a queue, but with literally less than five people in it. (more…)



Shop the post: Kind cleansers



Face Values book - Mari Giudicelli by Demian Jacob

A major skincare shift I’ve seen over the last few years is the move towards products that protect, nourish and gently strengthen the skin, a departure from the problem-solving and ‘repairing’ narrative. While ‘wellness’ gets a bad rap, I think we’re now much more attuned to nutrition, hormones and lifestyle factors that affect the skin. (I mean, when Kate Moss launches a holistic skincare line, you know there’s a vibe shift.) Hopefully that means we’re raising a generation that won’t resort to invasive aesthetic procedures like injectables, lasers and skin resurfacing to repair damaged skin in the future.

In particular, cleansers, facial washes and body washes have become so much more part of a proactive wellbeing ritual. (more…)



Trend Report: what to wear for SS22



CHANEL SS22 by Christina Fragkou

What’s new in fashion? Nothing much! What’s being reprised, updated, revamped, remixed? Loads. This spring it’s mostly about rehashing the 90s and 00s and what’s kind of scary is that ‘the 90s’ is now officially retro in the way the 50s was for me. It’s really quite terrifying interesting to see. (more…)