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The Review of Mess

Jessica DeFino
The Review of Mess
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  • Ambient Eugenics
    We’re back with another episode of The Review of Mess: a podcast collaboration between FLESH WORLD (by me, Jessica DeFino) and I (a fashion newsletter from Emily Kirkpatrick).Today we’re talking about: Skims’ dystopian skull shapewear [3:50], Alicia Keys’ “It’s Like Skin” foundation [18:40], Anna Delvey’s Trumpian approach to scandal, the politics of beauty’s WNBA takeover [39:00], the “Stretch Armstrong” trend (or the manspreading of garments) [49:35], Sydney Sweeney’s American Eagle ads [56:55], ambient eugenics in the beauty industry [1:10:00], Sydney Sweeney’s bathwater DNA [1:20:00], rage-bait as a gimmick [1:24:55], “The Summer I Turned Pretty” [1:30:25], and the Virgin Mary’s botched glow-up [1:36:00]. Plus more!Media we mentioned: Aesthetic Labour : Rethinking Beauty Politics in Neoliberalism [forward by Susie Orbach], “Alicia Keys Opens Up About The Pressures of Perfection” [Nylon], “haterade: the ny liberty think your vagina stinks” [Out Of Your League], “athlete beauty campaigns in the age of transvestigations” [Out Of Your League], Calvin Klein’s 1980 Brooke Shields commercial, “How Sydney Sweeney Became the Most Talked-About Woman in Hollywood” [WSJ], “Sydney Sweeney Knows Exactly What She’s Doing” [Salon], Gwyneth: The Biography [Amy Odell], Theory of the Gimmick [Sianne Ngai]About the podcast: The Review of Mess is a podcast by Jessica DeFino and Emily Kirkpatrick that takes a critical look at the dregs of pop culture. Jessica is the writer behind FLESH WORLD, which has been called the newsletter “the beauty industry fears,” and Emily is the creator of I , a weekly roundup of the best of the worst celebrity fashion. Together, they dissect the biggest and dumbest celebrity happenings every month and give their unfiltered opinion on everything going on in the world of fashion and beauty.Subscribe to receive future podcast posts in your inbox:About the theme music: The Review of Mess theme song is “Hot Mess” by Carly Lind. Find more about Carly here and listen to her music here. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jessicadefino.substack.com/subscribe
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  • You Can Never Escape The Labubu
    We’re back with another episode of The Review of Mess: a podcast collaboration between The Review of Beauty (by me, Jessica DeFino) and I (a fashion newsletter from Emily Kirkpatrick).Today we’re talking about: Our new book club!, period blood as a fashion statement (or protest) [4:55], Kim Kardashian’s Elizabeth Taylor cosplay [10:45], Revlon’s inane lip gloss collab with Guy Fieri [19:26], the panopticon of surveillance culture by way of the Coldplay cheating scandal [26:30], heat damage is the hot new hair trend [38:30], Hailey Bieber’s perioral dermatitis [42:10], The Battle of Versailles’ impact on the modeling industry [47:25], Labubu as the embodiment of Sianne Ngai’s aesthetic theory of cuteness [59:00], Schiaparelli’s unsettling beating heart dress [1:13:38], and frozen cod as skincare [1:20:35]. Plus more!Media we mentioned: The Lowbrow Book Club [Substack], So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed [Jon Ronson], So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed review [The Guardian], The Battle of Versailles [Robin Givhan], Our Aesthetic Categories: Zany, Cute, Interesting [Sianne Ngai]About the podcast: The Review of Mess is a podcast by Jessica DeFino and Emily Kirkpatrick that takes a critical look at the dregs of pop culture. Jessica is the writer behind The Review of Beauty, which has been called the newsletter “the beauty industry fears,” and Emily is the creator of I , a weekly roundup of the best of the worst celebrity fashion. Together, they dissect the biggest and dumbest celebrity happenings every month and give their unfiltered opinion on everything going on in the world of fashion and beauty.Subscribe to receive future podcast posts in your inbox:About the theme music: The Review of Mess theme song is “Hot Mess” by Carly Lind. Find more about Carly here and listen to her music here. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jessicadefino.substack.com/subscribe
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  • Should We Take Ugly Women Seriously?
    We’re back with another episode of The Review of Mess: a podcast collaboration between The Review of Beauty (by me, Jessica DeFino) and I (a fashion newsletter from Emily Kirkpatrick).Today we’re talking about: Our first impressions of the Caroline Bessette-Kennedy costuming in Ryan Murphy’s upcoming “American Love Story” (very Lifetime Original Movie-coded!) [6:30], why temporary tattoos and faux nipple piercings are trending right now [26:30], the faults and failings of “cosmetic transparency” [37:30], hyperreal paparazzi shots [1:02:20], shaving: personal preference or cultural conditioning? [1:13:20], women who aren’t hot: should they be taken seriously? [1:19:00], Tom Brady’s charming no-show socks [1:34:10], and the Baccarat Hotel stinkin’ up the streets of NYC [1:36:00; please note Jessica oh-so-stupidly referred to this as the Baccarat 540 perfume store, which it is not]. Plus more!Media we mentioned: “Carolyn Bessette Kennedy’s Colorist on the “Totally Wrong” Hair Color in Those Ryan Murphy Images” [Vogue], “Ryan Murphy Addresses the Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy Discourse” [Puck], The Century of the Self [YouTube], Fur Annual Body Hair Survey [Instagram], @messworldwide [Instagram], Impersonal Foul [Substack]About the podcast: The Review of Mess is a podcast by Jessica DeFino and Emily Kirkpatrick that takes a critical look at the dregs of pop culture. Jessica is the writer behind The Review of Beauty, which has been called the newsletter “the beauty industry fears,” and Emily is the creator of I , a weekly roundup of the best of the worst celebrity fashion. Together, they dissect the biggest and dumbest celebrity happenings every month and give their unfiltered opinion on everything going on in the world of fashion and beauty.Subscribe to receive future podcast posts in your inbox:About the theme music: The Review of Mess theme song is “Hot Mess” by Carly Lind. Find more about Carly here and listen to her music here. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jessicadefino.substack.com/subscribe
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  • A Hermeneutic Analysis of Jones Road Beauty
    We’re back with another episode of The Review of Mess: a podcast collaboration between The Review of Beauty (by me, Jessica DeFino) and I (a fashion newsletter from Emily Kirkpatrick). For this installment we invited Mikala Jamison, writer of the newsletter Body Type, to chat about muscle-as-accessory in the Build-A-Body era. Today we’re talking about: A final Met Gala recap [3:12]; the Cannes red carpet nipple ban [27:30]; a hermeneutic analysis of Jones Road Just Enough Tinted Moisturizer [38:30]; genderqueer outfits from Justin Bieber and Alexander Skarsgård [48:30]; faux-free bleeding from Julia Fox [54:30]; Jennifer Aniston and LolaVie’s gimmicky “No Gimmicks” campaign [58:40]; a conversation with Mikala Jamison about Sophie Turner’s muscles, Khloé Kardashian’s protein popcorn, and the absurdity of “revenge bodies” [1:06:50]; Barbie Fashion Designer CD-ROMs [1:39:45]; and DIY otoplasty [1:43:25]. Plus more!Media we mentioned: Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity [Monica L. Miller], “Black Dandyism: a Cultural History, an interview with Monica L. Miller” [Dressed: The History of Fashion Podcast], Theory of the Gimmick [Sianne Ngai]About the podcast: The Review of Mess is a podcast by Jessica DeFino and Emily Kirkpatrick that takes a critical look at the dregs of pop culture. Jessica is the writer behind The Review of Beauty, which has been called the newsletter “the beauty industry fears,” and Emily is the creator of I , a weekly roundup of the best of the worst celebrity fashion. Together, they dissect the biggest and dumbest celebrity happenings every month and give their unfiltered opinion on everything going on in the world of fashion and beauty.Subscribe to receive future podcast posts in your inbox:About the theme music: The Review of Mess theme song is “Hot Mess” by Carly Lind. Find more about Carly here and listen to her music here. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jessicadefino.substack.com/subscribe
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  • $33 Non-Toxic Toilet Paper with Ochuko Akpovbovbo
    This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit jessicadefino.substack.comWe’re back with another very special paid subscriber only episode of The Review of Mess: a podcast collaboration between The Review of Beauty (by me, Jessica DeFino) and I (a fashion newsletter from Emily Kirkpatrick). For this installment, we invited Ochuko Akpovbovbo — writer of the must-read and oft-quoted (by us) newsletter as seen on — to join us.Today we’re talking …
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About The Review of Mess

The Review of Mess is a podcast by Jessica DeFino and Emily Kirkpatrick that takes a critical look at the dregs of pop culture. Jessica is the writer behind The Review of Beauty, which has been called the newsletter “the beauty industry fears,” and Emily is the creator of I jessicadefino.substack.com
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