Christmas Tree Inspo, Mel Robbins' Morning Mantras and Our Fav Cult Beauty Buy 🐞

PLUS is Princess Diana's hair really making a comeback?

Dec 01, 2025

A note from Donna 💌

I hope everyone had a great weekend?

If you’re a new The Beauty Ed® subscriber: I thank you so much for giving us space in your inbox!

One of the reasons I created this Substack was to provide a fluid and reactive writing platform for myself and other beauty writers to contribute to.

The Beauty Ed® has earned a trusted and respected reputation over the last 15 years, and I know from my Instagram DMs, that women crave advice and commentary that is genuine and honest. And The Beauty Ed.® substack hopes to provide just that 🐞

I hope you enjoy it and it gives you a little lift in your day

Have a great week,

Donna x x x

Let’s start with some sunshine ☀️

👄 Where’s my lip balm?

Cos you know, wherever we go, our lip balms go too: they are like our emotional support beauty comforters.

This week, Melanie Macleod, HELLO! magazine’s Beauty & Lifestyle Deputy Editor wanted to share her favourite lip balm with us…all the way from the Maldives ☀️

“I’m lucky enough to have spent the last five days in the Maldives, at a beautiful resort called Kandolhu. And while the weather was questionable (constant rain was not what I ordered), one thing that didn’t disappoint was Naturium’s new Phyto Glow Lip Balm Shimmer - the latest addition to this balm family, with added glimmer. It gives a grown up shimmer to the lips - not too early 2000s, but more than your average shine, and keeps them hydrated too with plant derived squalane. It accompanied me everywhere on the island, from kayaking to dinner to the spa - the only complaint is that in high winds, my hair did stick to it, but that’s an occupational hazard we all expect from glosses, isn’t it?

In other news, spotted in Donna’s email inbox:

📩 Princess Diana’s Hair Is Back. Apparently…

If you grew up in the ’80s and ’90s, brace yourself: Princess Diana’s iconic feathered crop is trending again. Apparently.

According to new data from Fresha, Google searches for “Princess Diana hair” hit 10,000 in the past month — a 155% spike compared with last year.

I often see press releases like this turn up in my inbox and often there is not much real life truth in it. It’s just PR spin - a way to gain some click-bait for the brand sending it.

My take on it? Maybe some people are actually craving hair styling again? Especially as some celebrities have cut their hair shorter, more shaped styles.

What do you think? At least, it makes a nice change from years of bed head “I woke up like this” hair.

Maybe it’s time to get out the Ellnett hairspray…

Donna x

Gia’s discovered a classic…

Weleda Skin Food is having a very deserved moment again. Rich, luminous, properly nourishing; the kind of cream you throw in your handbag and instantly feel more ‘put together’ for it. It also carries that quiet beauty-insider credibility: Hailey Bieber mentioned it in Vogue Italia, and it’s long been Victoria Beckham approved, the ultimate British It Girl seal.

I’ve started using it ahead of the winter ‘uglies’ (you know, that annual season of cheek-crust, dehydration and dullness), and it already feels like the antidote; smoothing, comforting, genuinely hydrating in a way most “dewy” creams only hint at.

🌟A full review is coming soon, along with my thoughts on the skin food drops!

-xo Gia

Time for some…

`🥁` GOOSEBUMPS

the people, places, things that we are loving this week

✨Gia

Gossip Girl, Season 1, Episode 17: Woman on the Verge

Two words: Gossip Girl. If you know me, you’re probably laughing or sighing… yes, again. I’ve rewatched this series every single year since I was thirteen, and at twenty-one, it still hits like the first time. This week’s goosebumps came from one of my favourite episodes: Woman on the Verge.

Georgina Sparks returns, chaos incarnate, dragging Dan (played by Penn Badgley, my guilty soft spot) into the usual Upper East Side chaos. Secrets resurface, drama unfolds, Serena runs off, and classic NYC teen tension takes centre stage.

This is my Roman Empire:

But the moment that gave me actual goosebumps wasn’t the lies or the scheming. It was Rufus, Dan’s dad, on stage with his 90s band, Lincoln Hawk. He performs a song he hasn’t played in years, written for Lily van der Woodsen, his great love (yes, Serena’s mother). The crowd fades, the lights soften, and Lily walks in. Their eyes meet. And Rufus sings:

“Every time you walk away or run away, you take a piece of me with you there.”

It’s dramatic, a little cheesy, yet completely sincere. One song, one glance, decades of longing and regret folding into a singular moment. It captures everything about lost love, timing, and the messy, beautiful ways families and children’s lives intersect; and somehow, this teen drama makes it quietly grown-up, almost literary.

The song becomes somewhat of an emotional bridge: past to present, unspoken words to realised feeling. And for me, it was a reminder that even in the most chaotic worlds (Upper East Side or one’s own), moments like this exist.

XOXO,

Gia

💌 Paloma

MEL ROBBINS’ MORNING MANTRAS

Life-Changing Lessons from Mel Robbins | SUCCESS

Mel Robbins says a lot of things - and honestly, I will trust nearly anything that comes out of her mouth. I think she is the queen of tough love, and it somehow feels like she knows everything about everything.

According to Mel, one of the best things you can do for yourself is to have a good attitude for no reason. And you know what? The easier (lazier) thing to do is to have a bad attitude because it requires less effort. But if you look for the good things, you would be surprised at how easy they are to find. The idea behind this is that your brain is most susceptible to messaging in the morning, right when you wake up (which is why it’s so terrible to reach for your phone first thing, by the way).

Mel has eight mantras, and I don’t know about you, but there’s no way I can memorise eight different things, especially when I’ve just woken up. So, I’m sharing with you my favourite ones and the ones I find to be most impactful…

You can be in charge of this one yourself. Maybe you’ll buy your favourite coffee, maybe you’ll watch your favourite movie later - up to you!

Maybe it’s something small, maybe it’s something big. But *something* cool will happen for you, if you look for it.

While the others may require perhaps a little delusional thinking, this one is a literal fact, for all of my logical thinkers

AKA don’t give up because it’s hard. Do you know how easy it would have been for me to ditch this beauty journalism thing months ago? I didn’t, and now I’m writing for you guys here (yay!)

The full list of Mel’s morning mantras can be found here. I hope you find it as inspiring as I have!

P xx

🎄 Donna

THE CLARIDGES CHRISTMAS TREE

I mean the pictures tell you why I’ve got *goosebumps* right?

If you’ve ever visited Claridges, the chicest hotel in London, you’ll know how beautiful it is. And the magic is even more special during the holidays, as their iconic Art Deco lobby is home to the most talked about tree in London.

Each year, a fashion designer takes charge decorating the real 16ft tree and for 2025, it’s the turn of Daniel Lee, Chief Creative Officer of Burberry.

Adorned majestically with gorgeous bows - a Victorian symbol of unity - crafted from surplus Burberry fabrics, alongside wild foliage, thistle, brass bells, and finished off with a gleaming gold crown for the top of the tree. The oversized floor-standing chess pieces and cosy cushions give it a fireside scene worthy of a Victorian storybook ✨

I spent many Christmas’ at Claridges when I lived in London and have had made lots of happy memories there and seeing picture of the tree takes me back…