We’re back with another episode of The Review of Mess: a podcast collaboration between The Review of Beauty (by me, Jessica DeFino) and I <3 Mess (a fashion newsletter from Emily Kirkpatrick). For this installment we invited Mikala Jamison, writer of the newsletter Body Type, to chat about muscle-as-accessory in the Build-A-Body era.

Today we’re talking about: A final Met Gala recap [3:12]; the Cannes red carpet nipple ban [27:30]; a hermeneutic analysis of Jones Road Just Enough Tinted Moisturizer [38:30]; genderqueer outfits from Justin Bieber and Alexander Skarsgård [48:30]; faux-free bleeding from Julia Fox [54:30]; Jennifer Aniston and LolaVie’s gimmicky “No Gimmicks” campaign [58:40]; a conversation with Mikala Jamison about Sophie Turner’s muscles, Khloé Kardashian’s protein popcorn, and the absurdity of “revenge bodies” [1:06:50]; Barbie Fashion Designer CD-ROMs [1:39:45]; and DIY otoplasty [1:43:25]. Plus more!

Media we mentioned: Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity [Monica L. Miller], “Black Dandyism: a Cultural History, an interview with Monica L. Miller” [Dressed: The History of Fashion Podcast], Theory of the Gimmick [Sianne Ngai]

About the podcast: The Review of Mess 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 The Review of Beauty, 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.

Subscribe to receive future podcast posts in your inbox:

About the theme music: The Review of Mess theme song is “Hot Mess” by Carly Lind. Find more about Carly here and listen to her music here.

We’re back with another very special paid subscriber only episode of The Review of Mess: a podcast collaboration between The Review of Beauty (by me, Jessica DeFino) and I <3 Mess (a fashion newsletter from Emily Kirkpatrick). For this installment, we invited Ochuko Akpovbovbo — writer of the must-read and oft-quoted (by us) newsletter as seen on — to join us.

Today we’re talking …

We’re back with another episode of The Review of Mess: a podcast collaboration between The Review of Beauty (by me, Jessica DeFino) and I <3 Mess (a fashion newsletter from Emily Kirkpatrick). For this installment, we invited writer and director Emilie Blichfeldt to talk about her new “beauty horror” film, The Ugly Stepsister, which is theaters now and will begin streaming on Shudder on May 9.

Today we’re talking about: Apocalyptic steampunk fashion at Coachella [3:30]; the astounding number of beauty brand founders on Time Magazine’s list of The 100 Most Influential People of 2025 [18:45]; aesthetic recession indicators [23:57]; a horrifying/embarrassing story involving Jessica, J.K. Rowling, and this Batsheva BUTTERFACE t-shirt [39:20]; a new hole care brand called Niches & Nooks [42:00]; luxury fashion post-tariffs [51:10]; Anne Hathaway’s alleged face lift [1:02:45]; an interview with Emilie Blichfeldt on tape worms, hair loss, and ugly heroines [1:08:36]; Lauren Sanchez’s $5,750 Balenciaga coffee cup [1:40:00]; and a fun little mental breakdown that resulted in Jessica bleaching her eyebrows [1:48:45]. Plus more!

Media we mentioned: “Small plate cowgirls” [American Style], Ways of Seeing [John Berger], “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction” [Walter Benjamin], “Weight-Loss Drugs Like Wegovy Are Linked to Hair Loss” [TIME], “Reentering The World With Anxiety Eyebrows” [Vogue]

About the podcast: The Review of Mess 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 The Review of Beauty, 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.

Subscribe to receive future podcast posts in your inbox:

About the theme music: The Review of Mess theme song is “Hot Mess” by Carly Lind. Find more about Carly here and listen to her music here.

We’re back with another very special paid subscriber only episode of The Review of Mess: a podcast collaboration between The Review of Beauty (by me, Jessica DeFino) and I <3 Mess (a fashion newsletter from Emily Kirkpatrick). For this installment, we invited comedian extraordinaire Josh Gondelman, writer of the newsletter That's Marvelous!, to join us in conversation.

Today we’re tal…

We’re back with another episode of The Review of Mess: a podcast collaboration between The Review of Beauty (by me, Jessica DeFino) and I <3 Mess (a fashion newsletter from Emily Kirkpatrick). For this installment, we invited Mother Jones reporter Inae Oh to talk about “In Your Face: The Brutal Aesthetics of MAGA,” her recent investigation into Mar-a-Lago Face, conservative makeup, and more.

Today we’re talking about: A potential live podcast event in NYC!, wired garments that simulate wind [5:10] and makeup that mimics weather [12:50], the irony of Allure joining Substack [13:50], the red carpet’s pleaser problem [21:25], Jacquemus and Louis Vuitton are launching beauty lines [30:22], why all beauty is “fast beauty” [33:15], Kim Kardashian covers Perfect magazine with her Tesla robot [40:40], a deep-dive into MAGA aesthetics with Inae Oh [56:00], Meghan Markle’s messy ShopMy account [1:26:40], Mindy Kaling’s ugly Kelly bag bling [1:30:50], and “butter biscuit blonde” highlights [1:34:00]. Plus more!

Media we mentioned: “In Your Face: The Brutal Aesthetics of MAGA” [Mother Jones], “Why ‘Allure’ joined Substack” [Embedded], “long live the female founder” [as seen on], “Would you eat at a reSTOREant?” [Shop Rat], “Elisa’s ‘Elle Decor’ Era & Kim K’s Skky Fall” [Puck], “Influencer Brands Often Fail. Does Meghan Markle's Stand a Chance?” [Back Row]

About the podcast: The Review of Mess 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 The Review of Beauty, 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.

Subscribe to receive future podcast posts in your inbox:

About the theme music: The Review of Mess theme song is “Hot Mess” by Carly Lind. Find more about Carly here and listen to her music here.

We’re back with another very special paid subscriber only episode of The Review of Mess: a podcast collaboration between The Review of Beauty (by me, Jessica DeFino) and I <3 Mess (a fashion newsletter from Emily Kirkpatrick). For this installment, we invited Hollywood royalty Liz Goldwyn, writer of the newsletter STARF*CKER, to join us in conversation.

ALSO! To listen to th…

We’re back with another episode of The Review of Mess: a podcast collaboration between The Review of Beauty (by me, Jessica DeFino) and I <3 Mess (a fashion newsletter from Emily Kirkpatrick).

Today we’re talking about: The New York Times Styles section seems suspiciously inspired by Emily (Medieval fashion is in? Fur is back? You don’t say!) [2:15], some anonymous gossip about the mainstream media site that almost published Jessica’s facial harmonization story but didn’t [15:20], tighty-whitie fashion and the adult baby boom [28:00], geometric dress shapes in the build-a-body era [37:45], a theory against “Republican makeup” [49:45], the shopping sea change and economic boycotts [1:00:55], Fashion Week beauty trends (Pagliacci-core! exhausted beauty! mouth tape lipstick! feather brows! infantilization! latex lips!) [1:21:50], Emily’s continuing feud with Deux Moi [1:33:45], and Jessica’s maybe-controversial Love Is Blind take [1:42:28]. Plus more!

Media we mentioned: “Cheers! We Drank The White Lotus Grunch” [Who? Weekly], “The Cruel Kids’ Table” [New York Magazine], Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions [Edwin A. Abbott], Intact [Clare Chambers], “Forget ‘they go low, we go high’: This influencer wants Democrats to get mean” [The Washington Post], Meat Market: Female Flesh Under Capitalism [Laurie Penny], “Boyhood Is Trending” [The Review of Beauty], runway shows: Anna Sui, Ashish, Marc Jacobs, Fforme, Luar, Meruert Tolegen, Sandy Liang, Simone Rocha, Thom Browne

About the podcast: The Review of Mess 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 The Review of Beauty, 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.

Subscribe to receive future podcast posts in your inbox:

About the theme music: The Review of Mess theme song is “Hot Mess” by Carly Lind. Find more about Carly here and listen to her music here.

We’re back with another very special paid subscriber only episode of The Review of Mess: a podcast collaboration between The Review of Beauty (by me, Jessica DeFino) and I <3 Mess (a fashion newsletter from Emily Kirkpatrick). For this installment, we invited the iconic Mackenzie Thomas, writer of the newsletter ★ I WILL DO WHATEVER I WANT ★, to join us in conversation.

Today we’re talking about: …

We’re back with another episode of The Review of Mess: a podcast collaboration between The Review of Beauty (by me, Jessica DeFino) and I <3 Mess (a fashion newsletter from Emily Kirkpatrick).

Today we’re talking about: Our 2025 trend predictions already coming true [1:30], the future is ephemeral foam couture [8:30], a faux-scandalous pubic hair care campaign from Kiehl’s [15:50], the various horrors of Mr. Beast [22:00], why Coors — yes, the beer company — is entering the cosmetics space [33:40], a historical deep-dive into fascist fashion at the Trump inauguration [39:00], the right-wing obsession with cosmetic surgery [56:15], the upsetting politics of Substack executives [1:15:45], and The Ordinary’s flashy new “science” site marketing ploy [1:28:25]. Plus more!

Media we mentioned: Bryan Johnson on “Project Babyface” [YouTube], “Fluids On Film” [The Cut], “A Cultural History of Slime” [LitHub], “Khloe Kardashian Goes Into WAY Too Much Detail About Her — and Her Sisters’! — Pubic Hair” [Us Weekly], Richard Avedon’s portrait of Coco Chanel, “Ivanka Trump channels Audrey Hepburn in custom Givenchy gown for 2025 Liberty Ball” [ABC News], Fashion, Desire and Anxiety: Image and Morality in the Twentieth Century by Rebecca Arnold, “What We See In Lauren Sanchez’s Cleavage” [The New Yorker], “A housekeeping note about Substack and Nazis” [Read Max], “The painful lessons I learned after The Ordinary gave me chemical burns” [Dazed Beauty]

About the podcast: The Review of Mess 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 The Review of Beauty, 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.

Subscribe to receive future podcast posts in your inbox:

About the theme music: The Review of Mess theme song is “Hot Mess” by Carly Lind. Find more about Carly here and listen to her music here.

We’re back with another episode of The Review of Mess: a podcast collaboration between The Review of Beauty (by me, Jessica DeFino) and I <3 Mess (a fashion newsletter from Emily Kirkpatrick).

Today we’re talking about: President Trump’s perfume empire [1:15], fur is in fashion [7:20], meat is chic [13:07], dairy propaganda [14:30], the skincare industry is being weird about beef tallow [19:40], the return of Victorian-era nightgowns and bloomers [30:00], why Ulta is selling children’s toys [37:20], our 2025 fashion and beauty predictions [48:55] — Homage Psychosis! [54:20] Stepford Skin! [1:02:30] Feelings For Sale! [1:05:00] Anti-Cleavage! [1:14:52] WASP BBLs! [1:18:54] Furries! [1:19:25] — Mar-A-Lago Face [1:30:00], orcas and caterpillars accessorizing [1:32:40]. Plus more!

About the podcast: The Review of Mess 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 The Review of Beauty, 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.

Subscribe to receive future podcast posts in your inbox:

About the theme music: The Review of Mess theme song is “Hot Mess” by Carly Lind. Find more about Carly here and listen to her music here.