The Noteworthy Edit #4: Solidarity Summer

My week in links - let's go!

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Thank you so much for all of the kind words on last week’s newsletter all about my flop era - your comments and DMs meant so much. It’s hard to be vulnerable on the Internet these days without feeling trite, and to convey that you’re not feeling your best self when the world is on fire and everyone is on strike feels entirely silly. But I’m so glad you feel me. 

I’m feeling marginally better this week just *deciding* that I’m going to pour more into myself. I’m putting more of an effort into doing the things that I love and enjoy - writing being one of them. And I’m being more intentional about where I spend my time, with whom I spend it, and ultimately how it makes me feel.

BUT! That’s not what this week is about, let’s get into some links, shall we?

📖 READING (books/articles):

Is anyone else fully engrossed in BookTok? I often have to pull myself out because I physically don’t have any more space to buy books at the rate that I’m going to read them but I truly can’t help myself! 

The trailer for Red, White & Royal Blue just dropped and my friend Ghenet made me buy the book right there on the spot! I love a good enemies to lovers trope, and this book was the sweetest - just the right thing to get me out of a bit of a reading rut. It’s a fun and romantic read, the emails the boys write to each other are particularly touching. I finally get what all the BookTok girls were banging on about!

🎧 LISTENING (music/podcasts): 

I honestly never in my life thought that I would recommend two straight cis men speaking on microphones, but here I am. 

I came across the boys of Loud About Nothing when they did an episode for Maddie Dragsbaek’s Emotionally Online podcast and found them so funny and totally endearing. To be completely honest, I don’t often go out seeking a man’s perspective and the podcast clips I have come across on TikTok of men talking were usually so racist, homophobic and misogynistic that I trained my algorithm to stop serving them up to me. This is a refreshing change of pace. 

It’s actually nice to hear what men are struggling with, how men are trying to find balance in their lives, what they are trying to change. They remind me of boys that I would’ve gone to high school with and just encountering them again as they are in their late 20s, early 30s.

Some highlights for me so far have been: Sexual Awakenings with Maddie Dragsbaek, Finding A Partner and their more recent episode Bear Attack with Brian Morabito.

🎥 WATCHING (TV/film):

At the time of writing this the Writers Guild of America have been on strike for over 70 days and SAG-AFTRA have gone on strike as well. It’s the first time actors and writers have gone on strike since 1960, which at the time, resulted in getting the right to residuals and profit sharing. Hearing about the reality of pay disparity between the CEOs at studios and streamers and the workers has been incredibly eye opening.

I know how hard it is to get paid as a writer, but even I thought that getting consistent work in Hollywood meant that you would be financially stable. The stories that have been coming out from writers and actors have been staggering. So far there haven’t been any direct calls to action to the public on how best to support the strikes, on whether or not we should not go and see new releases or stream things online but they have my full support. If 

I was lucky enough to go to an early screening of The Summer I Turned Pretty ahead of its release this past Friday and oof! I cried a bunch, of course. It’s out now, so I’ve already binged the first three episodes.

I still need to read the books, but the love story between the main characters is sweet and reminds me of my first love. However, I’m particularly invested in the older characters - particularly Belly’s mom Laurel and her best friend Susannah. No spoilers, but I’ve been really enjoying watching the women’s friendship in its different forms.

Survival of the Thickest on Netflix has filled the feel-good hole in my heart that I have been desperate for since the end of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Bearing in mind these two shows aren’t at all related, but the idea of women in their mid-30s trying to find themselves again and take control of their lives. First of all, I love Michelle Buteau til I die, that’s my girl right there! I watched the entire 8 episodes in an afternoon (so embarrassing), but it’s great to see a plus-size main character getting attention from men and creating a successful fashion career in a very normal way - as it should be!

👗WEARING:

Is this a safe space? 

It should be, ‘cause I created it! I’m just going to admit it - I’m already looking up autumn/winter outfit inspo. To be fair, I’ve already started going to autumn/winter press days which is, funnily enough, part of my job to see what is going to be out there for the new season. Coats and jackets always get me so excited - I love to layer!

I’m just in the mood for a little reinvention, you know what I mean

KITRI have released a preview of their autumn/winter collection which starts to drop on July 30th and I’m going to need it ALL. Particularly this matching green jacket and skirt set!

I went to the launch of the Abisola Omole x RIXO collection and to say I was impressed would be an understatement. I think everything Abi touches just turns to gold so it was an absolute thrill to see all of the pieces that she created and try them on in person! This is RIXO’s first extended sizes collection which goes from a UK 6-26.

I already have this matching set in my basket ready to pull the trigger! 

BEAUTY/SKINCARE/HAIRCARE:

I am a simple makeup girl, especially in the summertime - I don’t like wearing a lot on my face even when I have events to go to because the travel, but I love easy, lightweight products.

I went to the launch of Ateh Jewel Beauty in Harrods the other week where Ateh had set up stations for us all to try all three colours in her blush range, which was so much fun to play around with! I’m not normally a coral blush girl - I tend to steer away from brights because I feel like they’re never really catered to my skin tone but Ateh really did the damn thing! 

Radiant Rav is my girl, it’s a beautiful and poppy coral which brightens the face instantly - it really makes you look like you had a full eight hours of sleep! I also used Love Plum Plum, which is a rich plum shade on my eyelids as an eyeshadow and it was gorgeous - it makes for a really easy to wear smokey eye without having to do anything at all. Just use your fingers! 

Ateh has really created a universal product for everyone, I watched as so many different people tried her blushes in real time, the shades compliment everyone. Not only that, they are creamy in the truest sense of the word - the first ingredient is shea butter so the texture is soft and malleable on impact! 

If you’re not a dab hand at makeup like myself, these babies will be for you!

Thank you so much for reading as always and be sure to come back again next week where I’ll be chatting a bit about loneliness with you.

About me: I'm Nicole, the writer of The Noteworthy. I’m also a content creator and the co-host of the award-winning Mixed Up podcast. Having been chronically online since the age of 13, you can also find me on Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and Pinterest. I’m working on my first book, The Half Of It, which you can pre-order here.