I confided to my psychiatrist that I’m obsessed with the nuclear reactor crisis in Japan and that I’ll be disappointed when they get it under control. I was shocked when he said he felt the same. “Of course.” he agreed, “We all crave this drama, it’s great. It lets us externalize all our feelings of anger and chaos.” We both agreed that we weren’t actually hoping for something apocalyptic, although I am personally ready for the world to end.
A better way to distract myself has been tumblr, where I can scroll through images for hours. I’ve learned to avoid the ones with the aggressively teen-aged nihilism: All those morbid photos of skinny kids with septum rings and animated gifs from horror films and topless hippies with guns in their mouths.
There is so much beauty out there. Visual stimulation excites some pleasure center in the brain, like eating chocolate or listening to an aria. Tonight my tumbler stopped working and it was horrifying to be cut off from my new addiction. I have a lot of avoidance to accomplish. Max’s birthday is coming up at the end of the month.
Can we distract ourselves from everything serious with a focus on beauty products? I’ve always found them comforting, their promise of transforming us from ugly ducklings into flawless supermodels. Okay, so, what is your favorite beauty product that has surprised you by actually doing something good? I really want to know (remember: I’m desperate,)
My favorite product is Kate Sommerville Sunblock 55. It’s light, greaseless, no fragrance, and leaves a dewy glow. You don’t have to wear make up and you don’t have to get skin cancer. I prosthelytize about it to everyone.
Okay, what’s yours?
I like beauty products, too. My recommendation is a product called Boomstick Color from Cindy Joseph’s line. It’s a tiny bit gimmicky (marketed to mature women) but Jesus, this stuff is Miracle In A Stick.