The Sunday Digest 134
"Ain't no change in the weather, ain't no change in me."
Welcome to The Sunday Digest — a free Sunday newsletter featuring long (and some short) reads, original columns, things I’ve saved over the last week, relaxing playlists, episodes releases, exclusive product drops, and more. Yes, you can reply to this email. I’d love to hear from you. Or, if podcasts are more your speed on Sundays, we’ve got that too.
Sunday Read › To Achieve Daytime Beauty, These Women Look Like Monsters at Night
by Chavie Lieber for The Wall Street Journal
For a majority of my life, I did nothing to support my skin. Not only did I not wash my face all through high school, I’ve continued that trend to the present day. While I can’t claim to have perfect skin, I do know that my laziness hasn’t affected me all that much.
Lately, however, I’ve gotten more into having a face routine. I’d say this is to take care of myself, but in reality it’s simply because I want to reduce the amount of wrinkles I have as I creep toward 40. I’m talking morning creams, serums, oils, SPF, and everything in between. If it can be applied to my face or beard, I’m dabbing, dropping, and smearing in the name of smooth under-eyes.
The person who set up my routine? Well, my wife. She doesn’t go to bed every night looking like the subjects of this week’s Sunday Read, but I know she’s tried most of it. Here’s an excerpt:
The “morning shed,” as this elaborate removal process is called, has gone viral for its striking before-and-after. People are going to bed looking like Jason X, covered in all sorts of wraps, masks and tapes, in the name of dewy skin, perfect hair and a sculpted chin. The trend highlights the continued commercialization of perfect skin, where a 10-step beauty routine is now followed with over-the-top overnight accessories.
Some of these items, like heatless curlers worn under silk bonnets, are age-old tools for achieving glamour while counting sheep. Others seem invented for the purpose of their removal, like collagen masks plastered onto the face and peeled off in the morning like plastic wrap, Korean face masks soaked with salmon sperm and castor oil patches for belly buttons.
Read in full here.
The Sunday Haiku: Nature’s Sound Machine
Rain, rain, go away,
come back when I’m snug in bed,
wash the fear away.
New Episode › Retail Therapy 115: Summer '25 In/Out Lists
With Barrett possibly being out for a few weeks for paternity leave, we thought now would be the perfect time to do a 90-minute In/Out list for the summer. Cocktails, food, aging, wellness, ceviche, therapy, THC — we cover all these and more as we try to figure out what waves to get on through summer.
Listen to Retail Therapy on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and anywhere else podcasts are found. You can also follow Retail Therapy on Substack.
Things I Saved This Week
Slide four if you want to see the shirt I did with Jocelyn Kowalski featured!
My Sunday To-Do List
Clean up the garden after numerous storms hit us this week.
Celebrate my father-in-law’s birthday with an early Tex-Mex lunch.
Laundry, I guess.
Work on a drawing/writing idea I have for the Sunday Scaries feed.
Prep for launching Scenes of Note, Volume 2 this week.
I hope you enjoy your Sunday,
Will
“How can I support Sunday Scaries?”
Buy our zine, Scenes of Note.
Listen to Retail Therapy.
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Subscribe to all Washed Media Podcasts.
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