We are living the American dream our founding fathers envisioned
+ a winter skincare guide
We’re back, babes! After a week off to celebrate carbohydrates and oversized balloons, Hot Tip is back in your inbox to cover all things politics (still bad!!!), Pete Hegseth (still doing war crimes!!!), and winter skincare (still important!!!) I hope you had a gorgeous holiday wherever you were. Mine included snagging the grocery store’s very last rotisserie chicken, hiking through mossy woods in the PNW with my family, dancing with my perfect niece and nephew, and thrifting:
Upon return to LA, my weekend concluded with the pre-December ritualistic viewing of both The Holiday and The Family Stone while staring across the room at my as-yet unpacked suitcase, because, priorities.
In politics: Trump still doesn’t know why he had an MRI in October but insists it had nothing to do with his brain, because he “aced” his cognitive test (which, as an example, asks you to do things like draw a clock and name a duck from a picture.)
Secretary of Defense/War/being a whiny lil bitch Pete Hegseth is facing calls to resign (again) after a report from the Washington Post revealed that a September 2 attack on a boat in the Caribbean authorized by him was likely definitely a war crime. As a reminder, the Pentagon has thus far killed more than 80 people on random boats that they say were drug traffickers without a shred of evidence—or a declaration of war from Congress. The issue in this specific case was apparently that under Hegseth’s command to “kill everybody,” SEAL Team 6 ordered a second strike on two survivors in the water, all of which does make the new army recruitment posters a bit awkward:
(And Hot Tip: Though he’s denying he gave the lethal orders, Hegseth literally wrote that he instructed his own platoon to ignore military legal advice on rules of engagement in his own book re: his time in Iraq. A perfect bedtime story coupled with Kristi Noem’s dog murder memoir!!!)
Lest you think that this administration is truly concerned about drug trafficking, Trump just pardoned the former president of Honduras, who brought more than 500 tons of cocaine into the U.S. over 20 years and had served less than one year of a 45-year sentence. So perhaps all the boat bombing is really just about regime change and oil in Venezuela—things that have always gone well for us.
But hey: A president who recognizes a duck, a 90,000 square foot ballroom, and pardons for dudes who brought one million pounds of coke into the country—we are truly living the American dream. You may rest now, ghost of George Washington. We did it.
In travel: The administration is planning another racist travel ban just in time to be visited by three ghosts. Airbus is having another bad day as a second issue was discovered on some of its A320s, and Boeing stock is way up. Meanwhile, Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy continues to focus on what truly matters: bad airplane snacks and you wearing sweatpants on board.
Read this: This New Yorker piece from Tatiana Schlossberg—granddaughter of JFK, daughter of Caroline and sister of Jack, who has been diagnosed with terminal leukemia. She muses here about living, dying, and the critical research ecosystem that her cousin RFK Jr. is intent on destroying. I’m grateful for her vulnerability in such a delicate and difficult time in her life.
In culture: Nathan Lane and Laurie Metcalf are going back to Broadway in an upcoming revival of “Death of a Salesman.” Oxford’s 2025 word of the year is “rage bait” (which feels like rage bait, given the fact that it’s two fuckin words!!!) And Paddington Bear is making his West End (and British Vogue!!!) debut with a feature and a series of photos designed specifically to make me weep and also crave marmalade.
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Hot tip: Don’t neglect your skincare routine in the winter
Exfoliate once or twice a week. It may seem counterintuitive when your skin is drier, but it helps with texture, brightness, and product absorption. I love the Peter Thomas Roth peeling gel and the Paula’s Choice liquid exfoliant for a more gentle option.
Don’t forget sunscreen! Just because it’s cold out doesn’t mean the UV rays are gone. I love this super light SPF 50 one from Paula’s Choice or this slightly thicker (and cheaper) SPF 30 CeraVe option.
Layer. Start your nighttime products with Caudalie Grape Water. It helps everything else I put on top absorb, is super hydrating, and elevates your routine to spa-level for just 20 bucks. After that, a Vitamin C serum will help protect your skin barrier—I use Sunday Riley’s because I believe in it like I believe in God and breakfast burritos—but there are less expensive ones too, like this one from La Roche-Posay. Moisturizers are harder to recommend because it’s so dependent on your own skin and preferences, but the Cicaplast Balm also from La Roche-Posay is a lifesaver in the winter, and you can mix it with your regular moisturizer.
Day and night lip care. I love the Laneige lip sleeping mask all times of day, or good ol’ Vaseline before bed.
I’m still trying to figure out what I want to use for a winter hand cream, so if you have one you love, please do drop it in the comments.
🎧 Listening: Djo.
📺 Watching: Stranger Things Season 5 and Eternity.
📚 Reading: Ghosts by Dolly Alderton.
Previously on Hot Tip:
O’Keeffe’s “working hands” is the BEST!
the family stone hits different this year 😢