republican jesus + the art of seduction

this is a weird one

Happy Tuesday! 💙

We’re back with another edition of your favourite newsletter. This week’s edition explores whether Apple’s Vision Pro headset will ever be relevant, what the beauty industry’s next major hurdle is, the secrets of the global garbage trade, and whether the art of seduction is truly dead.

We’ve got a lot to cover, so let’s not dilly dally any longer. Grab yourself a cup of tea and let’s delve in!

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🤳 Tech

Can gaming save the Apple Vision Pro? – wired
Unless you’re a tech bro or influencer who received one for free, you probably believe the Apple Vision Pro release was a flop. Because really, it kind of was. From the outset, the headset was seriously expensive and deemed unnecessary by most of Apple’s customer base. It wasn’t designed for users to experience virtual reality (VR), but instead for them to have a digitally enhanced experience of the real-world. Now, a new patent registered by Apple may hint that it’s gearing up to move further into the VR world. The patent details handheld controllers which could be intended to connect to the headset, potentially boosting the product’s relevancy within the gaming world in the near future.

Social media wants to know if Jesus is a Republican or Democrat – thred
No, I’m not trolling. A debate about whether Jesus (yes, as in, Christ) would be a Democrat or Republican is taking place online. Republicans say Jesus could not possibly be in favour of abortion or same-sex marriage, citing Bible stories as ‘proof’ of why he would probably be neck-deep in MAGA mania. Democrats say that Jesus was known for his selflessness and charity towards those in need, which aligns more closely with the social welfare policies of the blue party. What do you think? Better yet, does it really even matter?

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💄 Beauty

Why the next phase of beauty inclusivity is accessibility – glossy
While inclusivity in beauty is finally where it should be thanks mostly to Fenty Beauty founder Rihanna, accessibility has long been left out of the conversation. Emerging brands like Tilt are finally changing that. The company launched with a mascara and tinted lip balm designed with rubberised packaging and magnetic closures for people living with chronic arthritis, filling a much-needed gap in the market. Reports reveal that major brands are slowly beginning to wake up, designing their packaging with disability mind. Although progress is still slow, it’s clear that the next hurdle for beauty’s ‘mainstream’ future is accessibility.

Inside the dupe fightback – vogue business
Have you been wondering how beauty dupe brands are getting away with ripping off the product designs of the world’s most popular companies? Me too. Turns out many of the dupe-producers Gen Z loves (MCoBeauty and Elf, for example) have already been sued by major beauty brands for ripping off their packaging, designs, and formulas. But rather than taking legal action, many major brands have chosen to instead directly address the growing popularity of dupes through marketing campaigns and social media posts, confidently reasserting their superiority by publicly boasting about their expertise in science, formulation, and innovation.

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🚮 World

The world can’t keep up with its garbage – the atlantic
Rich nations have a nasty, longstanding habit of passing on their problems to poorer ones. This includes the responsibility of dealing with their garbage, whether it’s single-use plastics or e-waste from tech devices. Our bins may disappear from view once we put them outside, but everything in them ends up somewhere – usually in landfill in developing countries where they are burned or left to pollute the environment. This article details the contents of an upcoming book called Waste Wars by Alexander Clapp, and outlines how wealthy nations have historically shifted their hazardous waste (abestos, DDT, and more) to developing countries and the consequences this practice continues to have on people’s livelihoods and the planet’s health.

How Covid is still taking its toll five years on – guardian uk
Many of us feel like the pandemic era is a faraway fever dream, but for others, the last five years have been especially difficult to shake off. Those who have lost loved ones feel like they are still grieving as the world moves on like nothing happened. Others are suffering from the mysterious and debilitating symptoms of long-covid or live with someone who is. For many, including students who missed out on years of proper learning, the pandemic was and will continue to be a life-altering event. This piece takes a necessary, up-close and personal look into some of these experiences.

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💬 Culture

Is seduction a (dying) art? – in hot pursuit of pleasure (via substack)
Pointing to an intimate love letter written by one hot British celebrity to another nearly 20 years ago, Ismene Ormonde asks her readers whether the art of seduction is dead. Let’s face it, handwritten notes are rare to receive and truly yearning for our lover is impossible when their face and voice is just a FaceTime away. Meanwhile, no one is really writing poems on love like they used to. Can anyone really be seduced, charmed, or heart-warmed through the cold glass screen of an iPhone? Better yet, who is doing the seducing when we’re all too afraid to be vulnerable, to be too cringe?

Too many trends! – nyt
For a while there, Gen Zer were dictating every popular trend in fashion, beauty, and online content. Now, they’ve grown tired of following them. Keeping up with the never ending, short-circuited trends promoted on platforms like Instagram and TikTok has resulted in widespread consumption fatigue. Young people say they’re tired of the lack of individualism amongst their generation, which they say is a consequence of everyone buying the same items due to following the same trends. The antidote? Underconsumption… the new movement of the moment.

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📚 Recommendation

Finished this beautiful book over the weekend and it’s now one of my favourite works of historical fiction I’ve read on Palestine so far. Spanning sixty years of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, this is a truly multi-dimensional, unforgettable read.

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