Hi friends!
If you grew up in the '80s like me, you probably had an almond mom. That's Tiktok slang for what was essentially just... most of our mothers. Women who were deep in the thick of diet culture — Atkins one month, Mediterranean the next, vilifying fat, logging hours on the NordicTrack, snacking on almonds and calling it a meal. It was a lot to grow up inside of. For me, it left me with a complicated relationship with food that took years to work through.
What eventually got me out of it wasn't a diet or a plan. It was actually the opposite — a kind of fuck it aha moment that came after my second daughter was born. And ironically? That surrender led to me being the thinnest I've ever been. Because I stopped fighting my body. Started eating for joy. Stopped thinking about food constantly. That mental quiet became freedom.
Which is exactly what I keep hearing GLP-1s give people. Not just the weight loss — the silencing of that obsessive mental loop. The ability to just... go about your day without your brain constantly negotiating with your body. But that quiet comes with real trade-offs. And I wanted to know what it actually feels like to live inside it not from a clinical perspective, but from someone who's been there, which leads us to this week’s Friend Of A Friend episode on Mirror Mirror — Tracy Tutor.
Tracy was one of the first public figures to openly talk about her GLP-1 journey and she does not hold back! She's raw, hilarious, honest about the hard parts, and incredibly candid about navigating success in a male-dominated industry. I loved this conversation and I think you will too.
One more thing — next week we're going somewhere I've been wanting to go for a while. Our next theme is Eurocentric Beauty Standards: Beauty When You're Not White. Stay tuned for that one. It’s going to be loaded and sharp and say all the unsaids.
— Amy
The GLP-1 Conversation Nobody's Having Honestly — with Tracy Tutor
Listen to this week’s episode of Mirror Mirror with Amy Chang →
Mood Board: This Week Visually
#TWDT — what made me do a double take.
Korean In-Office Treatments Are Coming to the US — In 2024, one of the largest laser manufacturers in the U.S., Cynosure, merged with Korean device company Lutronic to form Cynosure Lutronic — with a clear goal: bring Korean aesthetic technology to the U.S. The first device making its way stateside is XERF, a radiofrequency skin-tightening treatment that's already one of Korea's most popular and has been on the market there for several years. I had the chance to try it this weekend at Cynosure Lutronic's medical convention. I'll keep you posted on my results, but the technology is intriguing — and it's a preview of the Korean aesthetic innovation wave heading to the U.S. I'm so here for it. Read more…
Leaked Labs Is Changing The Beauty Launch Model — The Lipstick Lesbians — Alexis Androulakis and Dr. Christina Basias Androulakis — are flipping the beauty development model on its head with their new brand, Leaked Labs. The pair built a following by demystifying how beauty products are actually made. With Leaked Labs, they're taking that transparency further: releasing experimental formulas sourced from labs around the world and inviting consumers to help decide which ones survive. Their latest drop, Leak 001: Amplify Flexi Powder, features water-activated pigment discs at $36. The concept is genuinely smart — product development as a public experiment. But it raises an obvious question: will consumers pay $36 for a formula being workshopped in real time with no guarantee it exists long term? We shall see. Either way, I'm excited to see real innovation enter the beauty conversation. Read more at Forbes…
Summer Fridays Launches A Fragrance — Summer Fridays' new scent, Sunlit Vanilla, is the latest entry in the gourmand fragrance wave — vanilla, caramel, chocolate — that's been building for a few years now. Perfumers say gourmand notes activate the limbic system, triggering dopamine and tapping into nostalgic memories of childhood comfort. In an overstimulated world, it makes complete sense. Personally, gourmands skew a little too sweet for me — I lean spicier, floral, earthy. But if vanilla-forward is your thing, this one is worth investigating. The packaging alone is beautiful: compact, travel-friendly, clean, slightly European. Timeless and unisex. Read more at Vogue…
What If Sephora Kids Isn't Late-Stage Capitalism — But Mirroring? — As a millennial born in the late '80s, I watched my mom wash her face with Cetaphil and moisturize with Vaseline. Skincare wasn't a ritual in our house, so it wasn't one for me either — not until adulthood. That trajectory is familiar for a lot of Millennials and Gen X. But our kids are growing up in an entirely different beauty culture. They've watched us layer serums and exfoliants like a daily practice. Skincare is everywhere — airplanes, drugstores, TikTok, locker rooms. So it's not surprising that kids want in. Whether that's a good thing is a personal call for every parent. But brands are already moving to meet the demand — and the kid and tween beauty category is about to expand fast. Watch Evereden, Petite 'n Pretty, and Bubble Skincare.
The Ultimate It Girl Has A Smoothie At Erewhon — Who better to partner with Erewhon than the ultimate Malibu girl — Barbie. The icon is celebrating her 67th birthday on March 9th (a fellow Pisces, naturally) with a limited-edition birthday smoothie: banana, oat, and vanilla, finished with coconut whip, organic whey, and birthday sprinkles. Very her. Read more at EliteDaily…
Calvin Klein Does It Again — The quintessential '90s It brand is back with an internet-breaking campaign starring Dakota Johnson. Cool, minimalist, and quietly sexy — it taps directly into the nostalgia of the era when Calvin Klein ruled culture, now revived by Love Story, the series about JFK Jr. and Carolyn Bessette Kennedy. Safe to say… Calvins are feeling relevant again. Read more at The Cut…
Beyond the mirror….
You are beautiful at any size and doing what makes YOU feel good in your body is all that matters however you decide to get to that place.
Thanks for looking a little closer with me. Until next time.
Amy Chang, Host of Mirror Mirror