An Esthetician Recommends
For winter hibernation. From brain-care to skincare.
Venus of the Mind is a newsletter membership designed for aesthetes.
Our book club will meet Tuesday, January 20, 3:30pm to 4:20pm EST via Zoom. We are currently reading The House of Beauty: Lessons From the Image Industry and are so lucky to be welcoming author Arabelle Sicardi who will join us live (online) in conversation about their book.
¡Feliz Día de los Reyes mi gente! 🥂Happy Three Kings Day!
Inside Today’s Beauty & Culture List
An Esthetician Recommends
Some goodies to enhance your hibernation season. From brain-care to skincare.
1. Recommendations for a vibrant mind.
2. Recommendations to free your hands from infinite scrolling.
3. Multipurpose recommendations to keep your skin soothed, smooth, and supple this winter, including an ideal product for windburn recovery.
Brain-care as in Books, Long-form Reads, Quality Listening, and Quality Viewing
Books
A Short History of Spaghetti with Tomato Sauce by Massimo Montanari
Quick, cute, delightful. Impossible to read without a smile on your face the whole time.
The Secret of Scent: Adventures in Perfume and the Science of Smell by Luca Turin
I’m obsessed with how Luca Turin explains everything ever. The science writing is so accessible that I’ve now hoodwinked myself into believing I could be a chemist for a major perfume house just from comfortably reading this one book.
Anteaesthetics: Black Aesthesis and the Critique of Form by Rizvana Bradley
Hefty, mighty, trippy, will make your mind feel swole. Like a glute-pump but it’s a brain-pump. This award winning text was gifted to me by one of my spiritual sisters and I reach for it yearly around this time.
Long-form Reads
Exploring the World of Margiela, the Hermès Years, by Susannah Frankel for AnOther
Three choice quotes
“Margiela preferred his work to speak for itself. He and the loyal inner circle of creatives with which he surrounded himself guarded his anonymity fiercely.”
“ - way ahead of his time, he was intent on the gradual building of a discreetly beautiful wardrobe for discerning women, of all ages, shapes and sizes, assuming, of course, that their budgets allowed. Pierre-Alexis prefers the adjective “costly” to “expensive”, he says with a smile.”
“Such nostalgia is rose-tinted. Critics were not universally enamoured with Margiela’s shows for Hermès when they were originally shown. Then, as all too often now, they were anticipating the shock of the new and, in fact, that shock was there but only those willing to look closely identified that. At Hermès, The Margiela Years it can be seen in all its glory. It is extraordinary not least for the fact that any one piece could be taken off a mannequin and worn today without looking even remotely dated.”
Med Spa Nation: Why America’s Med Spa Boom is Raising Big Safety and Oversight Questions by Deanna Pai for Allure
Three choice quotes
“Like McDonald’s, people keep going to med spas despite what a lot of health care professionals say—fast filler, like fast food, isn't generally recommended by doctors.”
“ - the reality is that the majority of people who visit med spas do so without harm. One small survey published in the journal Dermatologic Surgery in 2023 found there was not a statistically significant difference between the rates of complications at med spas and doctors’ offices, though there was a numerically greater rate at med spas: 16.4% of med spa patients had at least one issue versus 11% of doctors’ office patients. These numbers get a little more interesting on a granular level: Minimally invasive skin-tightening procedures had a 77% complication rate at med spas compared to zero at doctors' offices.”
“America appears to be unfazed, for the most part, by any heightened risk that could come with visiting a med spa. As the standard of beauty shifted—lips got poutier, furrowed foreheads became taboo—med spas brought the look within reach. The public has had little interest in looking this gift horse in the mouth, and regulators have done little to control this whole new category of business that has managed to de-medicalize medical procedures in just a few years.”
Who Was the Foodie? What it would mean to take taste seriously again, by Alicia Kennedy for The Yale Review
Three choice quotes
“This narrowing of attention—pleasure without context—marks a stark departure from the origins of foodie culture itself. The idea of a food lover used to carry a different meaning.”
“Here was a foodie framework insisting that pleasure and politics were inseparable—that you couldn’t celebrate the dish without understanding the system that produced it.”
“There’s a fundamental tension at the heart of foodie culture: everyone must eat, making food more universal than music or theater—yet class inequities shape how we do it, turning appetite into a marker of status. This is precisely why the term matters.”
Your Favorite Jumbo’s Clown Room Dancer’s Favorite Meal by Lauren Bethke for L.A. Taco
At the very top of my travel bucket list now, after reading: 1) Go audition at Jumbo’s. 2) Do a food tour through L.A. visiting every spot mentioned in this write-up.
Three choice quotes
“I grabbed a bar seat—yes, the same bar where David Lynch once nursed a drink and scribbled out Blue Velvet.”
“One by one, the dancers sat with me. Sometimes mid-conversation, they’d hop up, glide onto the stage for their number, and return to continue debating taco trucks, sushi counters, and perfect bowls of pasta. At one point, the table next to me tapped me and said, “What are you writing about?” My eyes widened to see that the group was comprised of no other than Padma Lakshmi and Chef Melissa King.”
“The best gift you can give Valentina? Show up at Jumbo’s and drop some cash.”
Quality Listening
Ian Schrager interviewed by Nadine Choe of The Stanza Podcast
Nadine Choe is a sharp interviewer who crafts a conversation that unfolds as a masterclass in creativity with hotelier maverick Ian Schrager.
I love how Schrager’s approach to business shows that intuition is a boon to entrepreneurship.
Sonal Khullar interviewed by Katy Hessel of the Great Women Artists Podcast
I had the pleasure of briefly meeting Katy Hessel when she was in D.C. promoting her first book, The History of Art Without Men, and she is every bit as enthusiastically engaging in person as she is when hosting her podcast.
In this episode, Hessel and Dr. Khullar - a professor of South Asian studies at the University of Pennsylvania - have a rich and delightful conversation about global art icon Amrita Shel-Gill who once said “I can only paint in India, Europe belongs to Picasso, Matisse, Braque and the rest. But India belongs only to me.” A Baddie™.
Quality Viewing
Wong Kar Wai’s collection on the Criterion Channel.
Start with In the Mood for Love. SWOON.
Desert Hearts directed by Donna Deitch, also on the Criterion Channel.
DOUBLE-TRIPLE FOREVER SWOON.
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes directed by Howard Hawks on - you guessed it - Criterion.
I watched this on Christmas day with found family who’d come over (💖) and, THE LAUGHS WE LAUGHED. So good. Jane Russell and Marilyn Monroe have phenomenal comedic chemistry while serving stunning looks.
Deprogram Your Hands from Infinite Scrolling
Call your fruity friends over, open the wine, and have a good o’belly laughing level time with this conversation game. 1000/10.
Intro Gua Sha Tool - Stainless Steel from Lanshin
Gua Sha yourself to the gods!
I’m always sending my gua-sha loving clients links from Sandra Lanshin’s YouTube channel and her specialized on-demand learning platform as well.
Several of the skincare products I recommend below pair nicely with an at-home gua sha ritual.
I stumbled upon this deck while in Rome after having struck Libreria Aseq - an esoterica bookshop - off my list of places to explore because I didn’t think I’d have enough time to find it along with everything else I wanted to get to. Then, while doing a 1:1 food tour with Saghar Sarteh (book her the next time you’re in Rome) we turned a corner and there was the shop just waiting for me! Totally unplanned on Saghar’s part as I’d never mentioned the shop.
I’ve had several decks and this is the loveliest of them all. The deck’s explainer features interpretations in English, Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese all in one compact booklet.
Use this deck to channel your guides, explore tarot as a secular tool of self-inquiry, or FAFO with a bit of magic.
Looking for the last beauty & culture list?
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Your Vetted Winter Skin Survival Kit
Every purchase listed below was self-funded as part of newsletter testing.
As a general practice, I research, review, and test for at least one month and up to three months before recommending anything to in-person clients. I’m taking the same thorough approach to skincare recommendations for readers with a membership to Venus of the Mind.
Nothing listed is an affiliate link. Nothing listed is sponsored. All are now official mainstays in my beauty cabinet. All products are vegan.
For reference - I have skin that is easily sensitized (eczema-prone), with a tendency towards dryness and hyperpigmentation. However, with the exception of one noted product not ideal for combination-to-oily/acne-prone skin, all other listed face and body products are suitable for all skin types.
Monastery Attar Floral Repair Concentrate
Creates an elegant layer of protection over the skin before stepping out into the cold. Perfect if you’re in the market for a nourishing face-specific occlusive that will lock-in your humectants layered underneath and sink in seamlessly without leaving a goopy film like many occlusives do.
I’m currently in a season of experimenting with a couple esthetician founded brands as I play around with my own backbar set-up. This is one of those brands.
For all skin types.
Good for facial gua sha.
Tested since December 2025.
Yes, all of Monastery is vegan.
Fun fact: their squalene, found in this sumptuous body oil, is sourced from olives in Puglia, Italy!
Monastery Lab Edition 008 Universal Balm
To soothe dry hands or chapped lips. I especially love massaging this into my cuticles, using this as a sealant over my lips after going in with a thin layer of moisturizer, and also to spot treat small eczema patches.
For all skin types.
Tested since September 2025.
Violette_FR Boum-Boum Milk 3-in-1 Skincare Spray
What I first turned to while recovering in desperation from windburn and now I can never go back. I felt a difference in my skin immediately; as though every pore had sighed in relief. I then saw a difference in the quality of my affected areas over the course of one night’s sleep. That first night, after misting, I followed with my go-to eczema emergency specific moisturizer, and a thin layer of Monastery’s Attar Floral Repair Concentrate. Woke-up looking over halfway healed from just one application.
Also, this spray generously misted underneath Monastery’s Attar = a DIVINE base for facial gua sha. While I haven’t done facial gua-sha with this combo just yet because of my current windburn induced eczema situation, I can just tell that it would work so beautifully. When I first layered the two together over my face I squealed “OK GLIDE!” which meant that if I’d done that exact product combo on a client it would have been gua-sha time!
I last wrote about skincare in Letter from Puerto Rico where I detailed managing a heat rash. Now it’s windburn…I promise, my skin has good days and I’m not always managing a skin-emergency.
A moment for being granular and maybe pedantic but this is important!
This spray is marketed as a 3-in-1 serum-toner-moisturizer. When it comes to formulation, it is certainly a serum/toner. I say that it 100% soothes (which was important to me as my skin was reeling from windburn) and primes perfectly for optimal absorption of a moisturizer layered overtop. But it is not a classic moisturizer so it should not be used as a replacement for one. This would be better described as a serum-toner-primer with soothing anti-inflammatory and moisturizing properties.
Would not recommend for skin that is acne prone with a tendency towards heavy oil production.
Tested since December 2025.
Yes, all of Violette_FR is vegan.
The perfect booster oil to winterize your go-to moisturizer.
For all skin types. Yes, even combination to oily.
Good for facial gua sha.
Tested since November 2025.
Yes, all of Aypa is vegan.
Dieux Skin Baptism Fragrance Free Gentle Gel Facial Cleanser
While reaching for a gel cleanser in the Mid-Atlantic winter may be controversial, I’ve been alternating between this and my usual oil cleansers because throughout these winter days I’ve been slugging every time I step out. Constant occlusion can be comedogenic (as in potentiates breakouts) so proper cleansing helps mitigate that. This cleanser will get everything off in one thorough go without stripping the skin. Remember: emulsify cleansers on your skin for a minimum of 60 seconds to ideally 90 seconds before rinsing off.
For all skin types.
Tested since November 2025.
Yes, all of Dieux is vegan.
Soft Services Carea Cream Daily Softening Body Lotion
I LOVE A YEAR ROUND TRAVEL ADAPTABLE BODY PRODUCT. This is one such body product. Works in all four Virginia seasons, works in the cold Colorado desert, works during an autumn vacation and then a summer vacation in different regions of Italy. I should have packed this for Puerto Rico and maybe I wouldn’t have gotten a heat rash.
Especially good for dry or bumpy body skin but can be used by all skin types. Also an excellent option for anyone managing keratosis pilaris.
NOTE: by body, I mean all surface area below the chest, not including your face. The face includes chest, neck, ears, and chin to forehead.
This product is well past my one to three month testing range. I’ve been using it on/off for years. I can’t remember when I started, it’s basically a part of me now.
Yes, all of Soft Services is vegan.
Happy Hibernating Newsletter Hotties! 🩵❄️✨
oooh I want/ need a gua sha ritual and the youhaul game!