This week, I’m sharing highlights from my trip to Nashville to see Jelly Roll in concert—an incredible night filled with surprise guests and amazing music. Between exploring the Country Music Hall of Fame and indulging in some BBQ, it was a trip to remember.

In Juicy Beauty News, we’re covering jellyfish mucin as skincare’s latest innovation, hypochlorous acid’s rise in popularity, and a deeper look at chemicals linked to early puberty. For dog lovers, this week’s About the Dogs shares Sparky’s inspiring rescue story and an important message about Blastomycosis.

Plus, don’t miss my beauty finds in What Did I Buy This Week?, where I’ve got some great Dermstore picks. Check out why Ulta Beauty is this week’s Winner of the Week and why Astroturfing is the Loser of the Week. Also I’ve included New Products I’m Excited About in this issue.

Congratulations to Julia M., this week’s giveaway winner—check your inbox for details!

Let’s get started! 🎉

Made Me Laugh - This looks like a little Lincoln

Nashville Trip:

Two weeks ago I was lucky enough to travel to Nashville to see Jelly Roll in concert! After waiting over a year for him to come back to Minnesota I finally decided I would go see him. Funny enough, the day before our trip Jelly Roll announced he was coming to Minnesota in May. I’ll see him then, too!

It has been years since I was at a concert so I was very happy to attend - with Cameraman and my dad we made a nice trio of tourists! We had one spare day and we made the most of it. We hit up the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Johnny Cash Museum, and visited the home of former President Andrew Jackson in Hermitage, Tennessee. We also had some amazing BBQ. The only disappointment was the lack of desserts at pretty much all of the restaurants we went to.

The night of the concert was amazing. It took place at the Bridgestone Arena where the Nashville Predators play hockey. The venue set-up was great- it was a main stage with two catwalks and then one more stage at the back of the arena. Our tickets were great, we were close to the left side of the catwalk! The opening act was amazing and Morgan Wallen even made an appearance for a couple songs. Jelly Roll finally took the stage around 8 and there were several special guest appearances. Keith Urban came out to play guitar and sing a couple songs with Jelly Roll. I thought that was pretty cool, but I also assume Keith Urban lives in Nashville so maybe not totally “unexpected.”

For a few more songs Jelly Roll continued to bring on special guests: Skylar Gray (most known from a duet with rapper Eminem on “I Need a Doctor,” rapper Yelawolf, and Struggle Jennings all made appearances. As the night winded down a little Jelly Roll surprised us with one more guest. Snoop Dogg took the stage to lead the crowd in a few of his rap songs! Snoop Dogg has definitely come a long way in his career- from a highly publicized murder trial to being the wholesome judge on The Voice. He did imbibe a little with his favorite “maui-waui.”

The night ended with Jelly Roll being immersed in rain as he sang his hit song “Save Me.” All in all it was a wonderful night, and my 75 year old dad even had a blast. I always root for the underdog and find Jelly Roll’s transformation inspirational.

Juicy Beauty News

• E.l.f. Beauty Issues a Statement Countering Unsubstantiated Short-Seller Report
  The company is fully confident in its financial statements and states the ‘allegations were without merit.’

• This Scandinavian Beauty Brand Is Betting On Jellyfish Mucin As The Next Innovation In Skincare
  Snail mucin for skin had its moment. Now, Scandinavian skincare company Mantle says jellyfish secretion is the next power-packed ingredient for hydration. Are dermatologists on board?

• What Is Hypochlorous Acid, and Is It Good for Your Skin?
  Dermatologists weigh in on the trending skincare ingredient.

• Chemical found to cause early puberty in young girls
  Over the last several decades, studies show puberty is starting earlier in young girls. It’s a trend researchers call alarming.

👀 What did I buy this week?👀

Don’t tell Cameraman!

• Peach & Lily Velvet Biome Smoothing Silky Ointment At P&L

• Best of Dermstore Kit - Containing multiple full size products including Allies of Skin At Dermstore

• Q+A Ceramide Barrier Defence Face Cream At Cloud10Beauty

• Bioderma ABCDerm Perioral Dermatitis At Cloud10Beauty

• SkinMedica TNS Advanced Serum At Dermstore

• Prequel Multi Quench Plumping Serum At Amazon

  (sold & shipped by Prequel)

About the Dogs

This week I want to talk about Sparky.  Sparky was rescued from roaming the Puerto Rican beaches by my friend, Celeste.  She was a regular visitor to Puerto Rico and after several visits made a lifelong “friendship” with this memorable pup,  He was in charge of running the beaches- all while being followed by his “herd” of fellow homeless dogs. 

On one visit she had planned to rescue Sparky and bring him to his new home in Minnesota.  Between the last two visits to Puerto Rico Sparky was being fostered by a local fireman (thus the name Sparky was very fitting).  After some vet check ups and shots Sparky was finally in his new home which was shared with two other rescue dogs, Matrix and Martini (both of which have now passed).  

Everything sounds great; and a happy ending to the story, right?  Well, that’s not how life always goes.   Celeste and I think the most important part of Sparky’s story is bringing awareness to a  certain illness that can affect some dogs, so please read on.  

About three years into his new life in the midwest Sparky suddenly started to become very ill.  He began weeping in his eyes and then the next day his eye clouded up.  Celeste spent many days and much money trying to find what the cause of Sparky’s sudden illness was.  Many vets were trying to treat him with various medications to no avail.  

This is a strange coincidence, but everything in life happens for a reason…

The previous year I went up north to the cabin with my dad, Cameraman, and all 6 of our dogs.  A neighbor from down the street had stopped by to talk with us.  They had just lost a dog to an illness that they had never heard of before called Blastomycosis.  After doing some renovations to their property they had dirt brought in to fill for constructing a new out building.  With this fresh dirt it brought in an invisible and deadly fungus.  This fungus is typically inhaled by dogs, and any dog can become afflicted with Blasto.  

After talking with Celeste about Sparky and his symptoms the Blasto fungus was the first thing that instantly crossed my mind, and thankfully the vet ordered the proper tests to diagnose it.  With that diagnosis they were able to put Sparky on the right meds and save his life- which was very close to the end.  It wasn’t early enough to save Sparky’s eye, but just in the nick of time to save him and his other eye.  To have saved his eye he would have needed the proper medication within 12 hours so sadly it was too late for that.  

Interesting to note, the house Celeste was living at had recently also had unearthed some dirt for a landscaping project, after this it rained for several days making the conditions right for the fungus to grow.  Blasto is prone to affecting the brain, eyes, lungs, and bones.  The wrong treatments for Blasto can be as bad as no treatments- antibiotics can hinder the body’s ability to fight the fungus so we are really lucky that the vet was able to treat this before it was too late.  

Blasto is also very common in the midwest, around rivers, and in damp leaf covered areas.  Passing this story along for two reasons:

1. To encourage people and awareness to rescue pets

2. To spread the knowledge of Blasto to others, especially those living in similar environments.

For more information on Blastomycosis please see:  https://www.webmd.com/pets/dogs/what-to-know-about-blastomycosis-in-dogs

To consider rescuing a dog from Puerto Rico please see:
https://allsatorescue.org/

And

https://www.facebook.com/chicasrescue/

Winner of the Week - Ulta Beauty

Ulta continues to impress me. This week they stepped their game up a bit more. Tthey took on another huge brand previously retailed only by Sephora.  Tatcha is now on Ulta’s website and will go live at the beginning of the new year.  Ulta is coming in hot in the new year!   

Over the past couple of years Ulta has been able to recruit some huge brands such as Drunk Elephant, Chanel, Fenty Beauty, and Natasha Denona.  Even the LVMH (the company that owns Sephora) owned brand OleHenriksen is now being retailed at Ulta.  My only disappointment with Ulta is that the bigger they become the less 20% off coupons I get in my email.

Loser of the Week - Astroturfing

First I will share with you the definition of astroturfing for those who aren’t familiar with this term.

Astroturfing is “the disguising of an orchestrated campaign as a "grass-roots" event – i.e., a spontaneous upwelling of public opinion.”

How does this relate to the skincare and beauty world?  These days this technique is used so often most of us may not even be aware of when we are being “astroturfed.”  Sites like Reddit, Instagram, YouTube, and Discord are all target places for this.  Reddit is where I have noticed it most often.  Reddit makes it extremely easy for people to create dozens of different accounts.  So why am I telling you all of this?  Be skeptical, don’t be overly trusting.  Trust but verify.   Always use your own judgement, knowledge, and experience.  Also trust your gut feeling, it will rarely lead you astray.  

Many brands have been accused of astroturfing - Omnilux, Strivectin, Gold Bond, CeraVe, and more.  Do we all remember the Sunday Riley scandal from a few years ago?  The owner of the brand was requiring employees to strategically place glowing reviews on a variety of social media platforms and websites.  Anytime something sounds too good to be true it usually is.  So… be weary of unsolicited glowing reviews when you see them.  Does this mean every glowing review is fake?  Not always, but when it comes to money some people will do anything to make a buck. 

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New Products I’m Excited About:

Biossance Firming Serum At Sephora

It Cosmetics Confidence in a Barrier Repair Moisturizer At Ulta

First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Rescue Barrier Balm with Dimethicone At Ulta

COSRX - The Peptide Collagen Hydrogel Eye Patch
At Yesstyle: Use Rewards Code NOBSBEAUTY for an additional discount!

ma:nyo - Bifida Infusion-Shot Ampoule 1Dx
At Yesstyle: Use Rewards Code NOBSBEAUTY for an additional discount!

Giveaway - The winner is Julia M.