6 Tiny Treasures To Watch, Read, Try, Buy, Shop and Splurge On For June.
Hi everyone, and welcome to a surprisingly timely (to me, anyway) installment of my monthly cheatsheet. I’m really pleased about all the things we have to look forward to this month, and I’m just feeling excited about summer overall.
Before we jump in, a couple of quick notes.
You know how I love Left On Friday swim? I adore it so much I’ve interviewed the founders for Second Life, have detailed my favorite suits at length in this forum, and have proclaimed the brand as my You Can Only Have One swim brand. So you can imagine how delighted I was to see that Wirecutter just published a story with the same findings! I would like to say that my lengthy testaments to the Sunday Top ($95) and Hi Tide Bottom ($95), which I have been shouting about on here for years, should be enough, but the fact that Wirecutter called out these exact suits as the best on the market? Well, I feel like that’s just the cherry on top. My Virgo brain is immensely pleased.
Secondly, the lovely team at Rare Beauty has kindly extended our discount code! You can use HILLARY15 for 15% orders of +$30 for another week, which is really rad. As always, I recommend their elite Perfect Strokes Volumizing Mascara ($22), the creamy long-wear All Of The Above Weightless Eye Shadow Sticks ($22) are ideal for summer (I like the bronze shade Adventure best), the Soft Pinch Matte Bouncy Blush ($27) in Happy is my current fave cheek product, and the Soft Pinch Tinted Lip Oil Mini ($14) is small enough to fit into your tiniest summer clutch (I like Happy for this product too).
WATCH: Stick (Apple TV, starts Wednesday June 4th)
Is this the world’s most random recommendation from me? Well, yes and no. To be honest, I’m not really a sports girly, and I sure as hell don’t care one whit about golf. Yawn. On the other hand, I was inclined to give this show a cursory watch for a variety of reasons. Yes, my amazing music supervisor husband worked on this—you might know his work from Girls, which is not not why I married him—but he works on tons of shows and I rarely (if ever?) discuss them here because he’s modest and I try to respect his privacy! But back to the show: It stars Owen Wilson, who I have adored since 1996’s Bottle Rocket (yes, I was there), still quote his lines from The Royal Tenenbaums and Zoolander, and have fostered a deep parental appreciation for his work as Lightning McQueen in Cars, a trilogy that was on repeat in my home for several years, as my daughter enjoyed a long-term hyperfixation on said film.
So yes, I am personally and sentimentally predisposed to liking it. But if I didn’t think it was worth your time, I’d just say “go stream now!” in an Instagram story and call it a day. Instead, I’m going to pester you about it here, because it’s just that good. A comedy with some heart-wrenching moments, featuring a talented, down on his luck golfer who needs a redemption story, starring Wilson alongside Marc Maron, Judy Greer, and my other longtime favorite, Timothy Olyphant (Justified fan for life). It’s a big YES for me.
Sirens (Netflix, streaming now)
Am I late to the game on this? Sure. Is it still worth writing about? Absolutely. To be candid, I will watch just about anything featuring Meghann Fahy—she was my favorite on The Bold Type, irresistible on season two of The White Lotus, and yes, I liked her on The Perfect Couple too—especially when she’s in a show with Julianne Moore and Kevin Bacon. Even better: Her new show Sirens is set in a wildly privileged world, with loads of extremely wealthy people behaving badly all around, which is honestly just my cup of tea. It’s a very dark comedy—not joking about the darkness—that follows two working-class sisters, one of whom is desperately trying to shed her past while working for a billionaire socialite with cult leader vibes. Money, class, trauma, manipulation, sex, and Lilly Pulitzer pastels? What more could you want on a hot summer night?
READ: Atmosphere: A Love Story ($25) by Taylor Jenkins Reid
As someone who loved Daisy Jones from page one, who devoured Evelyn Hugo in 36 hours, and who has read even the entire TJR back catalog, I am happy to buy and recommend Taylor Jenkins Reid’s newest novel without having read it. Yes, I’m suggesting it without knowing a damn thing about it. Because there are some authors I will buy without thinking about it—Stephanie Danler, Tia Williams, Emily Henry, Casey McQuiston, Jennifer Egan, Emma Cline, Dolly Alderton, Emma Rosenblum, Lucy Foley, and Kevin Kwan, to name a few—and TJR is definitely on that list. So this is an unqualified recommendation, as I have not read it, but a staunch one nevertheless!
Sunny Side Up ($28) by Katie Sturino
Now this one I have read, and it’s oh-so charming! From my favorite Megababe founder, this is Katie Sturino’s first foray into novels, and it’s beyond charming. As I’ve mentioned before, it’s sexier than I expected, has a satisfying plot, and is so delightfully Manhattan, it made my heart happy. Sunny, the main character in Sunny Side Up, launches an amazing swimwear line in the book, and Katie, the author, is releasing some sort of cute swimwear collab on Tuesday to celebrate the launch of the book, which is the sort of thoughtful rollout I would expect from one of the kindest founders in the game. So long story short: Katie is a real one, the book is a delight, and both are worth your support.
TRY: Milk Makeup Hydro Grip 12-Hour Hydrating Gel Skin Tint ($36)
If you spend as much time online as I do, you’ve no doubt heard the hype around Milk’s new skin tint, and I’m here to say that this is a happy occasion when the buzz is actually accurate. I don’t love face makeup and try to wear as little of it as possible, not because I’m a flawless goddess with perfect skin, but because, generally, I just don’t like it. This product feels like a great tinted moisturizer, and it leaves you glowy, not greasy. I’m also impressed because even without any primer, it doesn't settle into your fine lines, which is a must for me. I have shade 5, and I find the shade matching technology on Milk Makeup’s website is great. It’s also available at Sephora, if that matters!
BUY: Reformation Calie Tank ($38) and Avi Tank ($38)
I tried to narrow it down to just one Ref tank top, but I was unsuccessful, because they’re both so great and serve slightly different purposes. The Calie Tank is going to be in heavy rotation this summer, as it’s very slightly stretchy, feels incredible on, comes in seven colors, and the straps are wide enough to conceal my go-to summer undergarment: Top Secret’s Prop Top Bralette ($44), which I have in black/medium and swear by. I have this tank in black/medium, and it’s just ideal. Long, but not too long, and the neckline feels like I can wear it in most situations.
For date night, I’m 1000% about the Avi Tank, which is giving me such ‘90s flashback dreams, it’s crazy. Again, it has a little stretch, feels a tiny bit shorter in the body than the Calie Tank, but not in a bad way, and there’s something about the low balconette neckline that I think is just so cool. If this tank was a song it would be “6 Underground” by Sneaker Pimps. (Victoria Beckham once used this song—in entirety—for a runway show where I was seated across from her family, and the combo of an excellent collection, this song, and her stunning family almost took me out, it was too much goodness.)
SHOP: Gap Cotton Gauze Easy Barrel Pants ($79.95)
What to wear whilst traveling in the summer has been a hot topic of conversation in my DMs, texts, and even Slack, and I have a new contender to throw into the mix. While I still very much into my J.Crew Stratus Pants ($89.50), which run long on some people, a known ick for airplane travel, and my Nili Lotan Shon Pants ($375), which are expensive, though can be worn to work, I am also now Team Gap for travel.
Specifically: The brand’s Cotton Gauze Easy Barrel Pants are a great option for road trips or long-haul flights, as they’re so very comfy and have a cropped length that will never drag on the ground. I have them in black/medium and I’m 5’5”; a friend who is 5’9” has them in a large, and they are an ankle-grazing length on both of us, which bodes well. I have them in the regular length, but they also come in petite and tall, which is nice, and are available in five other colors. The black are not transparent in the slightest, but also lightweight enough that they’d make for a very good swim cover-up. They’re technically a barrel silhouette, but it’s very mild, so don’t let that throw you. Overall, an excellent piece at a decent price, and there’s a coordinating shirt available too, if you like a matching look.
Also: I have no business buying another straw tote, but if you have space for one, I’d throw Gap’s Gingham Straw Tote ($69.95) into your bag too. She’s a cutie!
SPLURGE: Zoe Chicco 14K 3 Prong Diamond Open Link Medium Rolo Chain Necklace ($1100)
I get a fair amount of questions about my necklaces on social media, in particular a new necklace that I’ve been wearing for the last couple of months by Zoe Chicco, so I wanted to formally direct you to it today. As you know, I love a female-founded brand, especially one based in Los Angeles, and I’m really so pleased with this new addition to my neck. It’s a 16-inch fixed chain and only comes in yellow gold, and I love both it and where it sits on my neck. It plays nicely with my other always-in-rotation necklaces, which include a vintage chain, a vintage Mercury dime, Jennifer Meyer’s good luck charm, and often Sherman Field’s heirloom quality rectangle barre locket (not pictured below).
Okay friends, that’s it for now. If you want to follow me on @hillarykerr, I’d love it. And if you have anything to say or ask (preferably nothing terribly mean), please drop me a note either via DM or in the comments below.
As always, thank you for taking the time to read this post. I’m truly so glad you’re here. If you like what you’re reading, please consider sharing this newsletter. (And if you have the time to like it, that would mean a lot to me!) All products mentioned are independently chosen, and some may be affiliate links. Your support is appreciated.
Hi everyone! Fellow lady unenthused by face makeup. Have you tried the Saie glowy super gel? I was between it and the Milk product you reference - would love a comparison from anyone who has used both.
Also, gap is crushing it with the matching and mix and match summer sets and this elegant-but-relaxed Florida lady is here for it.
yay -- I love Katie, adored her book, and was thrilled to see you include it here!!!
(And I too, ordered TJR's book without knowing a thing about it - cannot wait for it to arrive)