I have so much to tell you...
Welcome to I Just Want To Talk, a (mostly) beauty letter where, you guessed it, I just want to talk about all of the things I’m doing. And also all of the stuff.
No one needs another Substack, just like no one needs another podcast… At least that’s what I thought until a couple of months ago. The truth is, I had been wrestling with the idea of starting a beauty newsletter—or, at the very least, a blog—for a long time, and I kept telling myself that no one needed to hear more from me. I mean, who am I?
On a technical level, I’m an editor, a producer, and a brand consultant. You might know me from Into The Gloss, where I write and produce everything from the landmark series The Top Shelf to The Face, when I’m not writing about how much I love my pair of scissors and skincare spatula. Or you might know me from my years at New York magazine’s The Cut, where I ran social and moonlit as the beauty columnist behind Why Is Your Skin So Good and Auto-Refill.
The point is: I held steadfastly to the belief that the publications gave me and my work credibility and gravitas—not the other way around. And it’d be silly and false to say that’s not true, to a certain extent. As someone who still has the emails I sent Into The Gloss in 2016 asking about internships, I know the power a publication can carry—and why I feel so lucky to have come full circle with ITG. But! I’ve also been working in media for nearly a decade—at Vogue, The Cut, Instagram, Harper’s Bazaar, and now, Into The Gloss—which means that I know a thing or two about this industry. So while it’s hard to call myself an expert—that’s for my therapist and me to unpack—I also know I am one.
I’ve written a ton of articles. I’ve tested more beauty products and treatments than I can count. I’ve met and interviewed hundreds, if not thousands, of people—founders, editors, influencers, celebrities, publicists, party-crashers, the list goes on. And I’ve lost count of the number of industry events—desksides (if I can take the liberty of calling them events), parties, dinners, I could keep going—I’ve attended. And, oh my God, I still have so. much. to say, which brings us here… to I Just Want To Talk, my (mostly) beauty newsletter where, you guessed it, I just want to talk about all of the things I’m doing. And also all of the stuff.
Maybe I’m still yearning for my Tumblr days, when blogging felt so new and fresh and fun (I have a few little secrets about my time on there that I’ve yet to share, by the way), and I was still a little naive to what working in media, in beauty, and in fashion really entailed. But now that I’m at the other end of it, with almost a decade of experience under my belt, I want to bring you along with me: to pull back the curtain on what it’s really like to be a beauty editor; to tell you about the things (and the stuff!) I’m obsessing over; to take it all a little bit (or a lot) less seriously; to have FUN.
Now that we’ve gotten my stream of consciousness out of the way… here’s how this is going to go: You’ll hear from me twice a week. The first letter will spotlight people I think you should know and their POV on beauty. The second letter will be the Daise Dispatch™️, where I’ll cover everything from the events I’m attending, BTS from stories and shoots I’m working on, products that have landed on my desk (or in the bin), treatments I’m subjecting my face and body to, real and honest conversations on how people are making this career work (no, really… how!?), and so much more.
The first official newsletter drops on Monday, and while this is a reader-supported publication, all of my posts will be free for the first month. On May 23, we’ll hit the paywall—with a couple of free posts a month! Coincidentally, May 23 happens to be my birthday, so if you’re looking for the perfect gift, would you consider subscribing (and telling your friends)?
x DB
Glowing skin detected. Subscription: instantly activated!
This is why I Love Substack!