NO NONSENSE #40
Hey dolls,
It’s time for another No Nonsense newsletter full of all of Polyester’s best cultural (and general life) recommendations. From movies for weekend viewing to our Beauty editor’s current lifesaver products, there’s something here you’ll love!
Charlotte Landrum - Platform Editor
Film: Blow Out (1981)
It took me ages to realise that this was a different film to Blow Up (1966) but I am glad I finally watched it. I can’t get enough of 70s/80s paranoia thrillers at the moment. The film has wonderful moments for any audio lover and really cool shots of the protagonist setting up his tapes and putting the pieces of a murder together with just his ears… and the staple De Palmer split diopter shot that we need more of in every film… It honestly rocks.
Game: Subnautica
I got a Nintendo Switch for my bf but I’ve stolen it and got this game and I am obsessed… It brings me back to what I love about games: exploring and fun graphics. I love all the weird fish and swimming to the depths. I also sense some crazy lore.
Gina Tonic – Senior Editor
Essay: The American Novel Has a Major Problem With Fat People (Opens in a new window) by Emma Copley Eisenberg
A friend sent me this write up on fat representation in publishing – in books and in the teams that make books happen – and I found it to be a really gratifying though difficult read. I’ve had to put down a couple of really popular books recently because of the fatphobia and it was brill to read something that qualified my feelings around having to do so. Defs going to be buying Emma’s novel!
Grace Ellington - Beauty Editor
Pencil eyeliner by Flavedo and Albedo
The only black pencil that I can tightline my upper waterline with without it transferring to my lower waterline. Essential to any eyeliner look where you don’t want gaps of skin poking out between your lashes and interrupting the eyeliner shape. Also great for wearing basically no makeup expect this as the tightline won’t slip down and give you an unintentional smokey look rather than just providing the lash thickening effect
OPI Repair mode
Fucked my nails with one two many DIY gel manicures (and very DIY gel manicure removals) and this stuff has stopped them splitting and breaking off
Culture Editor - Misha MN
Film - Eyes Without a Face (1960)
Finally caught this 1960 French horror classic on MUBI and it did not disappoint. A brilliant creepy story about a surgeon who kidnaps young women so that he can attempt to use their skin to repair his daughter’s damaged face, we are treated to groundbreaking special effects and unflinching close ups on the gore, totally unheard of at the time. The daughter in her floor length night robe and porcelain face mask is an enduring horror image and I think should be as recognisable as Frankenstein and Dracula.
Film - Quartet (1981)
Watched this last week in the studio with Charlotte and had a thoroughly enjoyable time. It was on both of our MUBI watchlists, purely because it starred Isabelle Adjani, and it turned out to be everything I could have asked for. Set in Paris in the 1920s, Isabelle Adjani’s husband gets sent to prison so she moves in with an eccentric rich English couple, has an affair with the husband, and becomes the object of desire of lesbian painter Maggie Smith! Great costumes, great sets, all very good fun. The lesbianism is very subtextual, but I guess that’s a symptom of the early 80s. It’s all there though, Maggie wears a monocle, has cropped hair, has a female friend who wears tuxedos, and is clearly styled as seminal queer painter Romaine Brooks. Five stars.
Music - Ballads For Night People by June Christy
June Christy is one of my absolute favourite jazz singers, a true pioneer of the Cool Jazz genre with her incredible album Something Cool which I’ve probably recommended before, so I’m always excited to find more from her. I walked into a charity shop and was immediately drawn to this record called Ballads For Night People, and it doesn’t disappoint. “We’re night people, we always run before the sun can spoil our fun…” she croons, speaking directly to my soul and my nocturnal life. We also get a great version of “Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered,” an absolute favourite, and an intriguing song called “I Had A Little Sorrow.” “But one thing there’s no getting by, I’ve been a wicked girl, said I, but if I can’t be sorry, why, I might as well be glad.” Truer words were never spoken. Top marks.
Sihaam Naik - Editorial Fellow
Book: Freedom is a constant struggle by Angela Davis
Through interviews, speeches and essays, this book has been such a great read, especially for those looking for further reading about the Israeli occupation of Gaza . Davis writes with honesty, integrity and simplicity about black feminism, the prison industrial complex and Palestine. Highly recommend!
Music: Brat and its the same but there's three more songs so it's not by Charli xcx
While Brat has left the Polyester HQ divided, I am proud to announce my position as Brat Believer! While every summer rolls around with new propaganda (re: Barbie summer, rat girl summer, hot girl summer) Brat summer feels too good to be true. I am currently bumping “Spring Breakers” and feeling very Von Dutch. 10/10!!
Amaretto Sour
Amaretto is an underrated liquor with an almost almond-like taste that is indescribable. It's made with apricot kernels and peach (my favourite snacks) and the cocktail is often candied with cherries. The result is a sweet spot of sour and bitter mixed with an egg white foam that will leave your lips frothy. It's been my go-to drink this summer, and I cannot recommend ordering one at the bar enough!
See you next week!
XOXO
The Polyester Team
