The Cult of Cuteness

We’re back with a new episode of Mess World, a podcast collaboration between FLESH WORLD (by me, Jessica DeFino) and I <3 Mess (a fashion newsletter from Emily Kirkpatrick).

Today we’re talking about: April Fool’s Day beauty products and the death of parody [1:30], even more fowl-inspired fashion [8:13], the return of the joutfit [17:00], diet-culture-beauty-culture mashups (Fat Oil Body Oil!) [24:30], inflatable attire [32:40], the machine behind the Swan Beauty mirror [41:10], Sianne Ngai’s theory of cuteness [58:00], Bieberchella x Hailey Bieber’s Rhode pimple patches and the reign of the digital doppelganger [1:16:00], Kris Jenner’s quest for tautness [1:35:52], and Euphoria makeup madness [1:48:40]. Plus more!

Media we mentioned: “The rise and rise of ‘dewy dumpling skin’” [Sunday Times], “The Estée Lauder Companies is investing in skin-care technology to fight sugar’s impact on skin” [Glossy], Our Aesthetic Categories [Sianne Ngai], Doppelganger: A Trip into the Mirror World [Naomi Klein], “My Strange Dysphoria” [The Cut], “Inside Kris Jenner’s Facelift-gate” [Puck], The Lowbrow Book Club

Also: We’re on YouTube now, for those who prefer to watch their podcasts!

About the podcast: Mess World 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 <3 Mess, 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.

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About the theme music: The Mess World 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