You Ask, We Answer: Korean Skincare, Cable Corral, and Sunscreen - Forever35

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[00:00]
Advertiser
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[00:24]
You're probably multitasking right now, right? Commuting, working out, crossing things off your list? Worth asking when check in on yourself Landed on it Grow makes the booking part fast. The rest is between you and a therapist who actually gets it. Grow connects you with thousands of high quality licensed therapists across the US offering both virtual and in person sessions, nights and weekends. There are no subscriptions, no long term commitments, you just pay per session. Grow helps you find therapy on your time. The therapist you want takes your insurance on. Grow grow accepts over 125 insurance plans. Sessions average $21 with insurance and some pay as little as $0 depending on their plan. Visit growtherapy.com startnow today to get started. That's growtherapy.com startnow growtherapy.com startnow availability and coverage vary by state and insurance plan.
[01:24]
Elise Hu
Foreign.
[01:37]
Dori Shafrier
Hello and welcome to Forever 35, a podcast about the things we do to take care of ourselves. I'm Dory Shafrier.
[01:45]
Elise Hu
And I'm Elise Hu and we're just two friends who like to talk a lot about serums.
[01:49]
Dori Shafrier
And this is a you ask we answer episode where we get to all of your questions, comments, concerns, thoughts, feedback, all the things. This is now a full length episode. These used to be called mini episodes but now they have been elevated, they've been promoted, they got a title change and a salary bump. And Elise, do you want to do you want to tell our listeners who's coming on the show in a few weeks?
[02:15]
Elise Hu
Oh yes, my dermatologist Dr. Jenny Wong is going to come back to answer yalls skin related questions, skin care, skin maladies, anything that is for a dermatologist. We will have a board certified dermatologist and somebody who treats me available to answer your questions. We will get those in advance and then ask her on the show. And so please do send them in to forever35podcastmail.com you can do it in the form of a voice memo and that way you can ask Dr. Wang directly or you can text or leave a voice Message there at 781-5910-3907, 815-910-390 and send in your questions that way too. Really excited to have Dr. Wambach on the show. She was great. She was a real fan favorite last time.
[03:11]
Dori Shafrier
Yeah, she was really good. It was so funny because we had. We had reached out to a couple of, like, dermatologist, like, influencer types.
[03:22]
Advertiser
Yeah.
[03:23]
Dori Shafrier
Who had, like, huge followings on TikTok. And they didn't respond or they, like, responded and then ghosted. And so Elise was like, well, my dermatologist is amazing. And we got so much feedback that was like, thank you for not having one of those influencer dermatologists on your show.
[03:41]
Elise Hu
She was very practical. And then she's not sponsored by anyone, so when she suggests a product or something, it's just because she likes it.
[03:49]
Dori Shafrier
Yeah, exactly. Exactly. So I just thought that was funny. It was sort of like, oh, this all, like, happened the way it was supposed to. We were supposed to be blown off by the celebrity influencer dermatologists and have this other amazing woman on. So.
[04:03]
Elise Hu
Yes, yes.
[04:05]
Dori Shafrier
Elise, tell us all the things. Tell us about your dink week.
[04:10]
Elise Hu
Oh, yes, I had dink week. D I N K Dual income, no kids week. I'm back. It was very restorative. We secretly, like, left the mainland and went to Big Island Hawaii for the week that the girls were at sleepaway camp. And I say secretly because I had gotten the tickets and the hotel for Rob's birthday, but didn't tell Issa and Ava and Luna because Ava loves Hawaii, like it's one of her favorite places on earth. And. And she was already not wanting to go to sleepaway camp or making some noise about not wanting to go. And so I thought if she knew that she was going to go to sleepaway camp in the woods and not have, you know, access to electronics and a blow dryer and stuff for a week, and we were going to be on the Big island drinking Mai Tais and reading in the infinity pool. She would lose her mind. So we just didn't tell her. We didn't really. We were like, oh, you guys have fun. And just didn't say anything one way or the other. It was just sort of lying by omission, I suppose. And then after they left, we dropped them off, like on a Sunday at 1pm and then got to the airport by 5pm and then we're off.
[05:25]
Dori Shafrier
Amazing. Wait, can I ask? Do they still not know that you went to Hulu?
[05:30]
Elise Hu
No, no. The way they found out was when I came back, I had souvenirs. I got like a little Hula girls for your dashboard in the car I got one of those hula girls for Ava and then alay and then. And a sticker. And I put it in her room. And I put like high chews in the other girls rooms. And I brought back some things for our hermit crab. Cici. I found some lava rocks for Cece to climb on.
[05:52]
Dori Shafrier
Cute.
[05:53]
Elise Hu
And I left those for Luna to put in the crabitat. And so I guess I wasn't home when Ava came home and found these things. And she, she went to Robin was like, were you all in Hawaii? And he was like. And that's how she found out. She was like, I am very upset. I am very upset. She's like, I was taking two minute show and you were off on the big island, you know, but you know, it's. We were entitled. We were entitled. And I needed it. I needed like a very restorative week away from the kids. And it really was, it all went really well. You know, we just ate awesome food, a lot of fresh fish. And we. Our resort was on one of those really soft sand beaches. And so what, we were either by the pool or down by the ocean on the beach. Just reading. Reading a lot. Rob made it through two and a half books, I made it through three books. We did this night swim with manta rays where the manta rays will come right at you up and like do these belly rolls right in front of you. And it's because you go out on a boat like 20 minutes into the ocean and then wait for the sun to set. And then they have these platforms, these floating platforms that beam light that attract plankton. The plankton then attract the mantas. And the mantis just swim right up underneath you. And they have you just sort of float and be as flat as possible, holding on to the platform itself so that these mantas can just kind of swim right up underneath you at night. And just doing it at night is so cool. And just being out in the ocean like that, lit by the stars. Except the waters were very choppy. So Rob did have to barf a couple times. He had to like disappear. People were like, what happened to Rob? He gets a little seasick, but incredible experience. And then on the very last morning, we went snorkeling off the beach at our hotel. Cause there was really great snorkeling. There were other people at our hotel who saw sea turtles and eel. And so we were like, let's go snorkeling. And we go out into the ocean. And I got too close to. To the rocks because I And so swam into an uni. A sea urchin. And so then I pull my. It's obvious that I'm, like, suddenly in pain. I pull my leg out of the water, and there's, like, long spikes coming out of my leg, which is terrifying. And then I was. They looked. They were very. They looked almost like long hair, even, like, not like porcupine spikes. So then my immediate instinct was to yank them out. But you're not actually supposed to do that because some of it. If you don't do it clean, like, some of the spikes can get stuck, and then the other spikes that were more brittle just did get stuck. So I wound up coming out of the ocean and then having, like, 22 sea urchin spikes in my leg.
[08:53]
Dori Shafrier
Oh, my God. Ow.
[08:55]
Elise Hu
Yes.
[08:55]
Dori Shafrier
Which then you have.
[08:56]
Listener Caller
Yeah.
[08:57]
Dori Shafrier
You posted on Instagram.
[08:59]
Listener Caller
Yep.
[08:59]
Dori Shafrier
It looked painful.
[09:01]
Elise Hu
It sure was. And the only way to deal with that is to wait for them to dissolve. So you have to sort of just sit in hot water, like steaming hot water, or pour vinegar or something really acidic onto it to help dissolve the calcium that the spikes are made out of. So I joked that I brought some Hawaii home with me. Free souvenir. I. I later did some research and found out that sea urchin, they don't have brains. So it's not like it didn't do it to me on purpose. It was really my bad. It was my user error. I came too close to it, and it was probably burrowed in a rock.
[09:42]
Advertiser
Ah.
[09:43]
Elise Hu
So everything's cool between me and the sea urchin. Okay.
[09:47]
Dori Shafrier
You've made your piece.
[09:48]
Elise Hu
Yeah.
[09:51]
Dori Shafrier
Well, okay. I'm, you know, I'm glad. I'm glad to hear that you left Hawaii, like, you know, with. With that closure. Yes.
[10:01]
Elise Hu
All in all, a great trip. And I got a straw bag for the trip because I realized I need kind of a big straw tote that would look cute with all of my outfits. And I got one from, like, Banana Republic outlet or something before I left. And I don't remember which substack person introduced it to me, but I really like it. And it was on sale, so I will find it and link it from our shop my. And in our show notes, because I really liked my straw bag. And then I also brought the Dalba sunscreen that has vitamin C in it. That was excellent. I mean, I got a lot of. I got tan. I got a lot of color, but, like. And my freckles are really out. But the sunscreen was great. And it never. I just don't like it when it Stings like if I'm in the pool or something. Like, yeah, never bothered me at all, but offered great protection. So the Dalba sunscreen with the vitamin C in it was excellent. Anything else I wore on vacay that I really liked? Oh, I wore one sandal all week. It was a reef sandal. And when I wore like a dress for dinner, like a sundress for dinner, I could wear those sandals. And then when I wore like shorts or my swimsuit to the pool, I could wear that. You know, it was just like a real all around versatile sandal. So those were kind of my MVPs from the trip.
[11:21]
Dori Shafrier
You link to those?
[11:23]
Elise Hu
Yeah. Yeah. I wanted to mention that to the listeners.
[11:26]
Dori Shafrier
Cool. Well, before we get to more of our listener comments and questions, we did get a funny text which said, dory, my car is disgusting. My husband's is very clean. Guess, guess who drives the kids around most.
[11:43]
Elise Hu
Hmm, I wonder.
[11:45]
Dori Shafrier
Yeah, I mean, in your case, I'm sure it is obvious. I will say Matt and I drive Henry around pretty equally because, you know, both of our schedules are pretty flexible. So if one of us drops him off, the other one usually picks him up. And like we're. We split it pretty evenly. So both of our cars are equally disgusting.
[12:05]
Elise Hu
Yeah, I was gonna say that too. Like both of our cars are disgusting, but. And we switch cars and so I think that the kids are in both cars pretty evenly too. Though I am trying to drive the electric car way more. Gas prices are still insane.
[12:19]
Dori Shafrier
And you know, I think we got some savings when we were in Boston. We rented a car and it was a hybrid and we still have gas cars. And I was like, oh, this is nice.
[12:35]
Elise Hu
Yeah.
[12:36]
Dori Shafrier
So I mean, I think my next car will definitely be. It's not full electric. It will be a hybrid. So. Yes, because gas is insane right now.
[12:46]
Elise Hu
Totally.
[12:47]
Dori Shafrier
All right, we are going to take a short break again. I know at least mentioned this at the top of the show, but our voicemail number is 781-591-0390. Our email is forever35podcastmail.com you can visit our website forever35podcast.com we have links there to everything we mentioned on the show. We are on Instagram at february35podcast and please join our Patreon. We have so much fun over on our Patreon. We have multiple levels. We have a free level where you get our newsletter, where we have pod highlights, product reviews, discounts, additional bonus content. It's always fun. At five a month you get access to our weekly casual chat which is now on video. If you would like to watch us, we do live casual chats. You have access to our community chat on the Patreon app which is really fun. For our monthly pop culture Culture episodes. Everyone always recommends their own pop culture recommendations and it's like a really fun conversation. And then at $10 a month you also get ad free episodes. So if you are a person who does not like fast forwarding through ads or you don't like listening to ads, which you know, I get it. You can join us at $10 a month and get ad free episodes and you also get a shout out on the podcast every month if you join us at that level. And we always put our favorite products on our shop My and that is shopmy us/forever35 all right, we are going to take a short break.
[14:10]
Elise Hu
We'll be right back. Hey y'. All, it is a well known fact that I aspire to live the retired life. I've been wanting to be retired pretty much since my 30s and the best way to get there is to have a handle on your finances so you have a chunk of change in that retirement fund. That's why I like Monarch. They have everything from a weekly recap to AI insights and bill split so I can get a heads up on what's happening with my money, including spending spikes, net worth, shifts and upcoming expenses. Sometimes it even spots things you wouldn't think to look for, like whether your spending has gone up or maybe it's just inflation. Most apps only tell you what you've already spent. Monarch helps set goals, map out big purchases and see if you're actually on track before it's too late to adjust. Monarch is super helpful to keep an eye on basically everything easily because Monarch is the personal finance app that tracks everything accounts, investments, saving goals and spending. I have clarity on my financial present and future that I haven't had before because all my info is in one place with features that give me insight into what's coming and how to plan for it. Write your own money story with Monarch. Use code F35@monition.com to get your first year of Monarch Core Half off at just $50. That's 50% off your first year at monarch.com with code F35.
[15:36]
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Dori Shafrier
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Elise Hu
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[15:59]
Elise Hu
That hundred dollars back, I'm putting it
[16:01]
Dori Shafrier
towards the zipline now.
[16:03]
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[16:05]
Dori Shafrier
Exactly. Best switch I ever made.
[16:09]
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[16:42]
Dori Shafrier
All right, we are back. Elise do you want to read this first? DM sure.
[16:48]
Elise Hu
Just in case this is useful to your listener with the food noise inquiry, I wanted to send this along. I got a lot of flack for it, but maybe it could be helpful, especially since she is someone for whom a GLP1 is obviously contraindicated given the hospitalization. Yikes. And what this caller sent in was a New York times piece from 2023 and the essay is titled what if Food Noise is Just Hunger? So we mentioned that briefly in one of our previous episodes when this caller had questions about it. But we will link this New York times piece by Dr. Kate Mann, Forever 35, friend and listener from 2023 from our show notes. So take a read.
[17:38]
Dori Shafrier
Thank you. Okay, this next text Elise, I feel like we've talked about this in the past and you had a lot of thoughts about it.
[17:48]
Elise Hu
Oh, okay.
[17:49]
Dori Shafrier
Dorian Elise, what are we doing with charging cords and cables? They drive me crazy. I find them hard to identify which port is going to work with which device just by looking and tried to label them at one point but other people in my family ended up using them with different devices and the system fell apart. I'm looking for organization tips so I'm not always running around when inevitably said device is almost dead. One product recommendation that has alleviated some, but not all of this annoyance is the zens Quattro Charger Pro 4. Not cheap, but I gave it to my husband as a Christmas present and it has really benefited both of us. It's a dock that is amazing. Fast charging even with four devices on it, magnetic connection so it kind of secures the phone or AirPods. I highly recommend it. My current qualm is with all other cables. Somehow we have so many devices that need to be charged. Kid, airport headphones, baby monitor, essential oil diffuser. So many cords and in theory these cords shouldn't be moving around, but they do we were just out of town, so they got moved around even more than usual. Help. Thanks. So one thing that I do just want to, like, note is that I believe it was, I think in the EU they, like, passed a law that you can't use proprietary ports anymore. Everything has to be USB C essentially. So that's why, like, on your iPhone, they don't use that lightning cable anymore. And there's no, like, old USB on anything new anymore. Like, everything is USB C. Like, my son's airport headphones are USB C and his yodo is USB C. And so I think that that should event like, once, you know, the planned obsolescence of electronic devices occurs, that should help the cord issue because theoretically you should just need USB C cords.
[19:43]
Elise Hu
Yeah. If you want a base recommendation, like a charging station that we really like, it's. There's one that is from baseus. I had to look it up. I actually had to look down at my charging station that is like 27.99, so about 28 bucks. And it's a 10 in one USB C fast charging desktop charger. And you can use it for your desktops, but also your other devices, tablets, phone, anything. And then so we have one here, like at my workstation, there's one near my bed where there's like, the kids like to charge things, but really I have like, the dehumidifier and the air purifier, and everything is kind of plugged in around there too. I still haven't solved the problem of the kids just stealing my charging cables. I have labeled them like, this is the kitchen one. And I really probably am going to have to buy that shark tank tool, which is where the base of that, the charging, like the charging base, the brick is actually behind the outlet cover so that people can't. Can't steal it anymore. That was something that y' all suggested when we talked about this cord problem. But in terms of charging stations, there's some really good ones out there. I like one from Anker as well. A N K E R R. And yeah, Story's right. Once everybody gets caught up to the USB C protocol, which it has taken like 10 years to finally get everybody standardized.
[21:15]
Dori Shafrier
Yeah. But like, most of my. Most of my devices now are usc. But yes, I have a. I have like, I have a box somewhere of old cables, like obsolete cables, and I'm like, why do I still have this?
[21:30]
Elise Hu
Every yard sale I ever go to has a sale on cables. Like, every yard sale that I have ever wandered by in the last, like, Five years. Every time I feel like going to a yard sale, there's like a box of just cables from somebody's house. And I'm just like, oh, I have that box too at my house. So if you are looking for an out of date cable, be sure to wander to your neighborhood yard sale or garage sale. Everyone has.
[21:58]
Dori Shafrier
Well, you know, it's, it is, it is an interesting question of like, if you have an old device, like let's say you find an old computer or camera or something and you want to see what's on it but you don't have the cable, what are you going to do?
[22:15]
Elise Hu
You know, you have to, you have to go to a yard sale.
[22:18]
Dori Shafrier
Yeah,
[22:22]
Elise Hu
I needed, this actually happened to me because I needed, I needed to charge my AirPods because I have like first generation AirPods and they're great. They're fine. Like, sure, they're not as noise canceling as like the good ones, but. Or the new ones, but they work for my purposes. I just run with them and. But I needed lightning for it and I just don't have that many lightning cables around anymore. So it was like, let's pop over to a yard sale after soccer.
[22:47]
Dori Shafrier
Boom.
[22:48]
Elise Hu
Everybody's only selling a box of those.
[22:50]
Dori Shafrier
That's really funny. Okay, I'm gonna play a voicemail before we take another break about sunscreen.
[22:59]
Elise Hu
Okay.
[22:59]
Dori Shafrier
And then after the break we have some requests for product recommendations. So.
[23:05]
Elise Hu
Okay, great.
[23:06]
Listener Caller
Hey, Dory and Elise, I'm calling in regarding the listener who had sunscreen questions. And you all have the chemist concessions on the podcast a couple years ago. It's two skincare chemists from L'. Oreal. Every year they do a 30 for 30 sunscreen challenge where they test out 30 different sunscreens and they actually rate them and then they put those scores from on their website, Kenneth's confession sunscreen database. And the one that they Recommend that gets 9 out of 10 that I just bought came all the way from Asia, of course is the Dior UV Aqua rich watery essence, which is just a sunscreen. Anyway, take a look there. They, they rate them all from 1 to 10. Also, the Banana Boat Light is Air SW Sunscreen Lotion 9.5 out of 10. Shockingly, it's super cheap. I and I buy it by the dozens and plaster it all over my children. I'll text you the link to it.
[24:07]
Elise Hu
Okay, great. Awesome. And then we will link to what she recommended also.
[24:11]
Dori Shafrier
Yeah. If you follow chemist confessions on Instagram, it's been really fun to watch their reels where they go through all of the, all the sunscreens because they, they put themselves under like a UV light and you can see how the sunscreen is like covering their faces. And I really like their analyses of all of the sunscreens. So definitely check out Chemist Confessions. Okay, we are going to take another short break and we'll be right back.
[24:41]
Elise Hu
We'll be right back and we'll talk about more recommendations for you.
[24:47]
Dori Shafrier
I feel like if months were days of the week, then August would be Sunday. Does that make sense?
[24:54]
Elise Hu
Oh, because everything is starting again in September.
[24:56]
Dori Shafrier
Yeah. Yeah. It's the perfect time for a reset going into the next season. And a reset always feels best when your closet is involved. And Quint proves you don't need a crowded closet to look incredible. You just need the right pieces. And for me, those right pieces are the 100% organic cotton poplin long sleeve boyfriend shirt and the 100% organic cotton long sleeve swing tee. You know, I like a long sleeve Elise, because summer sun protection. Right. But you also need something that's going to keep you cool. You don't want like a thick or heavy long sleeve. So I wanted to be really intentional about getting long sleeve pieces that would still keep me cool. And these two are perfect. I've been wearing them all the time. And that's because Quint specializes in effortless, high quality essentials like ultra soft organic cotton and premium Mongolian cashmere sweaters. They're beautifully tailored, built to last and transition seamlessly from morning meetings to dinners out. And it's not just apparel. Quint's also brings that same everyday elevation to everything they offer from hotel quality bedding and bath to kitchen staples, essentials and thoughtfully designed furniture. Everything at Quint's is priced 50 to 80% less than similar brands. They work directly with ethical factories and cut out the middlemen. So you're paying for quality, not brand markup.
[26:18]
Elise Hu
Upgrade your every day. Download the Quince app for app exclusive offers or go to quince.comforever35. Get free shipping on your order and 365 day returns. Now available in Canada and the UK too. That's Q U I N C E.comforever35.
[26:38]
Advertiser
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[27:44]
Dori Shafrier
All right, we are back. And this text says hi Elise and Dory. This one is probably for Elise. I'm going to Korea at the end of the month. What K beauty products would you recommend to pick up while I'm there? I love stocking up on cleansers, moisturizers and sunscreen from Olive Young, but I'm open to any and all recommendations. Thanks.
[28:07]
Elise Hu
Okay, well, I've already talked about the Dalba brand sunscreens that you should stock up on at Olive Young. And I particularly like the Dalba sunscreen with vitamin C in it. But I do have a list now of recommendations for Olive Young because now there is one in Pasadena in Los Angeles. So on that list a few things from there that I really like. One the Dr. Althea vitamin C boosting serum. Also there's Bio Dance. They make a niacinamide that's really good and everybody seems to love. I don't use niacinamide, but like this is one that people bring me mule me a lot when I when when people come from Korea. So that one's very popular. The Etude House. Etude House is another brand. They have a stick sunscreen that I like. I like stick sunscreen for the kids in particular and I usually use that like Baby Bum roller. But stick sunscreen also is in my purse. So because Luna, who is the fairest of our children has to reapply numerous times a day and doesn't carry sunscreen with her reliably. There's also a Dalba brand. This is the same brand that makes the sunscreen. They have a all in one multi balm that you can use around your eyes and it's really amazing. Very soothing.
[29:31]
Listener Caller
Very.
[29:32]
Elise Hu
It's like a nice thing in your routine if you're just kind of winding down. And I use it around my eyes and it feels really good. So that's the Dalba Double serum all in one multi balm and we can link to these. The other thing is the beauty. And I wrote about her in Flawless, my book Odile Minode who is a soul based beauty marketer. I think she works in the industry. She's. She now has or she has long had something like a YouTube channel called the Monotist. M O N O D I S T she always has kind of the latest what's going on and like looks into the formulations of retinoids and all those things. And so you can always check out Monotist before you leave and see if there's anything hot. But my, my recommendation for Korean, if you're going to Korea isn't necessarily to buy the products that you should because there's like newer packaging and whatever is coming online next. And like I write about Korea is so good at like fast. The way they do fast fashion all around the world. They are able to do fast skin care and like get new things on the line, on the shelves like within a six week ideation to distribution time period. And so it's always cool to see what's new and what's next and what they're kind of pushing. But the other thing you should do while you're in Seoul of course is to get a facial and try various treatments.
[30:58]
Dori Shafrier
Yes.
[30:59]
Elise Hu
Like do some cool stuff. Right. Like that's always really fun and it's usually much more affordable. So if you have time then that's what I'd recommend. Go to the spas, do some fun stuff there.
[31:12]
Dori Shafrier
That sounds awesome. I need you to lead a trip to Seoul. A beauty trip to Seoul.
[31:18]
Elise Hu
It's so funny you mentioned that because I went to see a movie the other night and there was this film critic and he leads trips to film festivals and it's just. Just because he is an expert in film and so all these people go on a trip with him to film festivals. I'm like, oh, you could do that, huh? Yeah, I just, I, I'm clearly, I'm like really behind on thinking about monetization and just fun things.
[31:41]
Dori Shafrier
I mean if, if only one person signs up for the trip and that person is me, then yeah, that is you and me. Yeah, who cares? And then our last text just says hi, do you have a retinol you recommend?
[31:56]
Elise Hu
I think you do, right? Dora, you have recommended one that has. When this question has come up, do you not have one that you like?
[32:01]
Dori Shafrier
I don't, I don't use one anymore because I'm in the sun too much and I feel like I have to be really careful with using like retinols and AHAs. Especially in the summer. Like in the winter it's okay because the UV is not as high. But in the summer I am off any sort of retinol or aha, I
[32:22]
Elise Hu
don't use it either. And I think one of the keys with understanding retinol products is that they are unstable. Right. So the formulation really matters. Listeners call in, which ones do you swear by? And then Dori, is there one that you use during the winter that you like?
[32:40]
Dori Shafrier
Well, my sense is that if you're going to use a retinol, you might as well just use tretinoin. Like that's kind of the gold standard. And I think the other, the expensive counter, over the counter skin, you know, formulations just have stuff added to it that just make it expensive. And so I would just start with a low dose of tretinoin. Honestly, that would be my woman that
[33:04]
Elise Hu
I mentioned earlier too, Odile Manode. She also goes deep into Korean retinols. So if you're interested in those, check out her video. She has one that like goes into which one's their various formulations and which ones, even if they're coming from the same manufacturer, like which ones are better than the others. And so if you're into that and want to get a little bit more educated, I'd recommend them a notice for it. We'll link.
[33:29]
Dori Shafrier
All right, thank you everyone for your questions and comments. Etc, please, again, Please send them in 781-591-0390. You can text or call that number and email us@forever35podcastmail.com and we are going to enter the intention zone now. I've been loving. Sammy's been putting the, the sound effect on. Yes, I'm really enjoying it. Okay, so last week I said I was going to get going on my closet clean out. I have not done that. I. You know what, I am a little overwhelmed. I'm going to be honest. Partly because I like some of the stuff in the closet I think can just be donated. But the other stuff I do need, I do feel like I want to sell. And it is really easy to post on Depop, but I think I, I start getting, I start feeling like overwhelmed by it. So I think I need to just start post a few things and then see how that goes and get going.
[34:29]
Elise Hu
Yeah.
[34:30]
Dori Shafrier
But this week and I, I mentioned this on, I think I mentioned this on the casual chat. I've been, you know, I've been pretty head down about my book and getting the word count. So I'm gonna try and like hit my word count every day. That's my goal.
[34:46]
Elise Hu
Yeah. Great. So there's a daily Word count and not a weekly one.
[34:51]
Dori Shafrier
So that's a daily.
[34:52]
Elise Hu
You have to be really accountable. Oh, my gosh. Yeah.
[34:54]
Dori Shafrier
But you know what? I think it's better for me to be accountable daily than weekly. I think weekly is like two. Abstract, almost. Like, I like the daily. The daily nature of it, I think is helpful.
[35:07]
Advertiser
Yeah.
[35:09]
Elise Hu
Well, last week it was just sort of about getting back into things. So my intention this week is actually to give myself some structure around getting back into a routine. I think we're not too far. I know we're not too far away from school starting again. And the children need structure, you know, from me as a parent, just so they know their expectations and don't feel like chaotic. And so just as the kids do. I need some as well in terms of like, hey, I need to go back to a certain number of units of exercise per week and I need to make sure that I go and walk Oscar regularly. Like all those things that I did not do for an entire week.
[35:54]
Dori Shafrier
Yeah.
[35:56]
Elise Hu
So I'm just kind of getting back into it and I'll. I need to just establish some routine. So I'll be working on that for the week ahead.
[36:03]
Dori Shafrier
Okay, sounds good.
[36:05]
Elise Hu
And it is that time in the month where we thank our Patreon members at the hotel, spa and hotel suite levels. So I will go through the names here. Thank you so much. To L.M. alvin, Ariel C. Laura Ciccone, Sarah Liska, Fr. Justice Bureau, Jasmine DeJesus, Christy Caitlin H. Katie Ashley Taylor, Teresa Anderson, Nicole Gass, Maya Barbara C. Amy, Amy Schnitzer, Megan Shelley Lee, Cookie Townsend, Sarah Boozy, Allison Cohen, Melissa McLean, Jackie Leventhal, Fran Kelsey, Wolf Denay, Laura Eddy, Valerie Bruno, Julie Daniel, Katie Quattrone, E. Jackson, Alicia, Catherine Burke, Amy Maseko, Liz Raine, JDK, Hannah M. Julia P. Alice Maddie, Marissa, Sarah Bell, Maria, Diana St. Laura Haddon, Josie H. Nikki Bossert, Juliana Duff, Chelsea Torres, Olivia Fahey, Elizabeth A. Christine Bassis, Jessica Gale, Zulima Lundy, Carolyn Rodriguez, Carrie Golds, Ann T. Katherine Ellingson, Kara Br. Sarah H. Sarah Egan, Jess Combin, Jennifer Olson, Jennifer H.S. jillian Bowman, Elizabeth Holland, Katie Jordan, Sarah M. Bianca, Kate M. Josie Alquist, Tara Todd, Elizabeth Cleary and Monica. I know a lot of those names on the list have been long time supporters. You have been Patreon supporters for many years now. And during this time when our attentions are so divided and our subscription fatigue is setting in, I certainly feel it when it comes to my sub stacks. For example, it means even more to us that you have stuck with us. And welcome in to some of the new members too. Thanks so much.
[38:06]
Dori Shafrier
Thank you so much. Forever 35 is hosted and produced by me, Dori Shafrier and Elise Hunter and produced and edited by Sam Hunio. Sami Reed is our Project Manager and our network partner is Acast. Thanks everybody.
[38:19]
Elise Hu
See you next time.
[38:20]
Dori Shafrier
Bye.
[38:25]
Advertiser
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Summary5 min read

Forever35 – “You Ask, We Answer: Korean Skincare, Cable Corral, and Sunscreen”
Hosts: Doree Shafrir & Elise Hu
Date: August 3, 2026

Episode Overview

This full-length “You Ask, We Answer” episode sees Doree Shafrir and Elise Hu tackling listener questions with their signature humor, warmth, and practicality. Topics include Korean skincare must-buys, hacks for wrangling cables and charges, sunscreen recommendations, quitting coffee, and the existential challenges of closet cleanouts. With plenty of real-life anecdotes—including a sea urchin mishap and family travel sneaks—plus practical beauty advice, this week’s show is a relatable, resource-packed deep dive into modern self-care.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Catching Up and DINK Week Adventures

[04:05–11:21]

Elise shares her “DINK week” (Dual Income No Kids): a secret trip with her husband to Hawaii while the kids were at camp. She details keeping the trip under wraps to avoid kid jealousy, restorative vibes, and adventures like manta ray night swims (and her husband getting seasick).
Memorable mishap: Elise swims into a sea urchin on the last day, ends up with 22 spikes to dissolve with hot water and vinegar. “I joked that I brought some Hawaii home with me. Free souvenir.” (Elise Hu, 09:00)
The restorative power of a week away from parenting responsibilities is celebrated.

2. Travel MVPs: Fashion & Skincare Picks

[10:01–11:26]

Elise’s travel essentials: A straw tote bag from Banana Republic Outlet, Dalba sunscreen with vitamin C (“offered great protection, never bothered me at all”), and versatile Reef sandals.
Will link favorites in the show notes and “shop my” list.

3. Listener Q&A: Car Mess & Family Dynamics

[11:26–12:45]

A listener shares the classic messy-vs-clean car dynamic based on parental driving duties.
Doree & Elise both commiserate—both their cars are equally messy due to shared parenting.

4. Charging Cables Mayhem & Organization Tips

[16:41–22:50]

Listener asks for cable/cord organizing tips. Elise recommends the Baseus 10-in-1 USB-C Fast Charging Desktop Charger and Anker as great charging stations.
Discussion about the EU’s move to mandate USB-C: "Once everybody gets caught up to the USB C protocol... you should just need USB C cords." (Elise Hu, 19:42)
Both hosts bemoan ever-growing boxes of obsolete cables and joke that every yard sale has a “cord box” now.
Tips: label cords and try outlet covers/tools to prevent cable theft by family members.

5. Sunscreen Recommendations & Resources

[22:50–24:41]

Listener voicemail recommends the Chemist Confessions annual sunscreen database and two high-scorers:
- Biore UV Aqua Rich Watery Essence (imports from Asia)
- Banana Boat Light As Air SW Sunscreen Lotion (“9.5 out of 10... Super cheap. I buy it by the dozens and plaster it all over my children.” – Listener, 24:06)
Doree notes Chemist Confessions’ thorough Instagram demos under UV light.

6. Korean Skincare Shopping: What to Buy in Seoul

[27:44–31:11]

Listener asks for K-beauty product recs for an upcoming Korea trip.
Elise’s Picks:
- Dalba Vitamin C Sunscreen (“I particularly like the Dalba sunscreen with vitamin C in it” – 28:06)
- Dr. Althea Vitamin C Boosting Serum
- Biodance Niacinamide (“the one people always bring me from Korea”)
- Etude House Stick Sunscreen (good for kids/reapplication)
- Dalba All-in-One Multi Balm (for eye area, very soothing)
Additional pro tip: Watch Monodist’s YouTube channel for up-to-the-minute trends.
Beauty experience advice: “The other thing you should do while you’re in Seoul is get a facial and try various treatments… it’s usually much more affordable.” (Elise Hu, 30:58)

7. Retinol: Recommendations & Cautions

[31:41–33:29]

Listener asks for a retinol product recommendation.
Both hosts currently skip retinols in summer due to sun exposure.
Doree’s advice: “My sense is that if you’re going to use a retinol, you might as well just use tretinoin.” (Doree, 32:40)
For more K-beauty-specific info, check Monodist’s in-depth videos on Korean retinol formulations.

8. Closet Cleanout & Productivity Intentions

[33:29–36:03]

Doree shares the emotional/mental block of selling vs. donating clothes; sets goal to make daily progress on her book word count.
Elise’s intention is to re-establish routine and structure for the family as summer closes.
Both reflect candidly on productivity, accountability, and transitions.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

Sea Urchin Souvenir:
“I brought some Hawaii home with me. Free souvenir.”
– Elise Hu, 09:00
On Car Cleanliness & Kids:
“Both of our cars are equally disgusting.”
– Doree Shafrier, 12:04
On Charging Cords:
“Every yard sale I ever go to has a sale on cables ... I have that box too at my house.”
– Elise Hu, 21:29
On Closet Overwhelm:
“I think I start feeling overwhelmed by it. So I think I need to just start post a few things and then see how that goes.”
– Doree Shafrier, 34:29

Timestamps for Important Segments

04:05 – Elise’s Hawaii trip recap and sea urchin story
10:01 – Vacation MVP products: Dalba sunscreen, straw tote, Reef sandals
16:41 – Charging cable chaos & solutions
22:50 – Sunscreen product recommendations & Chemist Confessions resource
27:44 – Korean skincare must-buys and spa experiences
31:41 – Retinol product guidance and K-beauty analysis
33:29 – Closet cleanout and productivity intentions
35:54 – Elise’s intention to rebuild routines for end of summer

Tone & Style Highlights

Humor and warmth throughout (“lying by omission, I suppose” about the Hawaii trip; “free souvenir” on the sea urchin spikes)
Intimate and relatable confessions about productivity struggles and family dynamics
Actionable, crowdsourced product tips with direct, conversational language
Listeners treated as friends, with invitations to call/text/participate in Patreon

Resources & Recommendations Mentioned

Charging Stations:
- Baseus 10-in-1 Fast Charging Station
- Anker charging products
- Zens Quattro Charger Pro 4
Sunscreen:
- Biore UV Aqua Rich Watery Essence
- Banana Boat Light as Air SW
- Dalba Vitamin C Sunscreen
- Chemist Confessions’ sunscreen database
K-Beauty:
- Dr. Althea Vitamin C serum
- Biodance Niacinamide
- Etude House stick sunscreen
- Dalba All-in-One Multi Balm
- Monodist on YouTube for latest trends
Retinol/Tretinoin: Start with low-dose prescription if possible; Monodist for K-beauty-specifics

Listener Engagement

Submit questions for upcoming interview with Dr. Jenny Wong, dermatologist (send in voice memos or text)
Regular reminders to join the Forever35 Patreon/community chats for more product recommendations and casual chats

For those who haven’t listened: This episode is a breezy mix of expert self-care, product geekery, and genuine friendship. Come for the K-beauty tips and cord wrangling hacks; stay for the sea urchin mishap, supportive banter, and crowd-sourced sunscreen wisdom.

Loading summary

Transcript112 lines

[00:00]
Advertiser
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[00:24]
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[01:24]
Elise Hu
Foreign.
[01:37]
Dori Shafrier
Hello and welcome to Forever 35, a podcast about the things we do to take care of ourselves. I'm Dory Shafrier.
[01:45]
Elise Hu
And I'm Elise Hu and we're just two friends who like to talk a lot about serums.
[01:49]
Dori Shafrier
And this is a you ask we answer episode where we get to all of your questions, comments, concerns, thoughts, feedback, all the things. This is now a full length episode. These used to be called mini episodes but now they have been elevated, they've been promoted, they got a title change and a salary bump. And Elise, do you want to do you want to tell our listeners who's coming on the show in a few weeks?
[02:15]
Elise Hu
Oh yes, my dermatologist Dr. Jenny Wong is going to come back to answer yalls skin related questions, skin care, skin maladies, anything that is for a dermatologist. We will have a board certified dermatologist and somebody who treats me available to answer your questions. We will get those in advance and then ask her on the show. And so please do send them in to forever35podcastmail.com you can do it in the form of a voice memo and that way you can ask Dr. Wang directly or you can text or leave a voice Message there at 781-5910-3907, 815-910-390 and send in your questions that way too. Really excited to have Dr. Wambach on the show. She was great. She was a real fan favorite last time.
[03:11]
Dori Shafrier
Yeah, she was really good. It was so funny because we had. We had reached out to a couple of, like, dermatologist, like, influencer types.
[03:22]
Advertiser
Yeah.
[03:23]
Dori Shafrier
Who had, like, huge followings on TikTok. And they didn't respond or they, like, responded and then ghosted. And so Elise was like, well, my dermatologist is amazing. And we got so much feedback that was like, thank you for not having one of those influencer dermatologists on your show.
[03:41]
Elise Hu
She was very practical. And then she's not sponsored by anyone, so when she suggests a product or something, it's just because she likes it.
[03:49]
Dori Shafrier
Yeah, exactly. Exactly. So I just thought that was funny. It was sort of like, oh, this all, like, happened the way it was supposed to. We were supposed to be blown off by the celebrity influencer dermatologists and have this other amazing woman on. So.
[04:03]
Elise Hu
Yes, yes.
[04:05]
Dori Shafrier
Elise, tell us all the things. Tell us about your dink week.
[04:10]
Elise Hu
Oh, yes, I had dink week. D I N K Dual income, no kids week. I'm back. It was very restorative. We secretly, like, left the mainland and went to Big Island Hawaii for the week that the girls were at sleepaway camp. And I say secretly because I had gotten the tickets and the hotel for Rob's birthday, but didn't tell Issa and Ava and Luna because Ava loves Hawaii, like it's one of her favorite places on earth. And. And she was already not wanting to go to sleepaway camp or making some noise about not wanting to go. And so I thought if she knew that she was going to go to sleepaway camp in the woods and not have, you know, access to electronics and a blow dryer and stuff for a week, and we were going to be on the Big island drinking Mai Tais and reading in the infinity pool. She would lose her mind. So we just didn't tell her. We didn't really. We were like, oh, you guys have fun. And just didn't say anything one way or the other. It was just sort of lying by omission, I suppose. And then after they left, we dropped them off, like on a Sunday at 1pm and then got to the airport by 5pm and then we're off.
[05:25]
Dori Shafrier
Amazing. Wait, can I ask? Do they still not know that you went to Hulu?
[05:30]
Elise Hu
No, no. The way they found out was when I came back, I had souvenirs. I got like a little Hula girls for your dashboard in the car I got one of those hula girls for Ava and then alay and then. And a sticker. And I put it in her room. And I put like high chews in the other girls rooms. And I brought back some things for our hermit crab. Cici. I found some lava rocks for Cece to climb on.
[05:52]
Dori Shafrier
Cute.
[05:53]
Elise Hu
And I left those for Luna to put in the crabitat. And so I guess I wasn't home when Ava came home and found these things. And she, she went to Robin was like, were you all in Hawaii? And he was like. And that's how she found out. She was like, I am very upset. I am very upset. She's like, I was taking two minute show and you were off on the big island, you know, but you know, it's. We were entitled. We were entitled. And I needed it. I needed like a very restorative week away from the kids. And it really was, it all went really well. You know, we just ate awesome food, a lot of fresh fish. And we. Our resort was on one of those really soft sand beaches. And so what, we were either by the pool or down by the ocean on the beach. Just reading. Reading a lot. Rob made it through two and a half books, I made it through three books. We did this night swim with manta rays where the manta rays will come right at you up and like do these belly rolls right in front of you. And it's because you go out on a boat like 20 minutes into the ocean and then wait for the sun to set. And then they have these platforms, these floating platforms that beam light that attract plankton. The plankton then attract the mantas. And the mantis just swim right up underneath you. And they have you just sort of float and be as flat as possible, holding on to the platform itself so that these mantas can just kind of swim right up underneath you at night. And just doing it at night is so cool. And just being out in the ocean like that, lit by the stars. Except the waters were very choppy. So Rob did have to barf a couple times. He had to like disappear. People were like, what happened to Rob? He gets a little seasick, but incredible experience. And then on the very last morning, we went snorkeling off the beach at our hotel. Cause there was really great snorkeling. There were other people at our hotel who saw sea turtles and eel. And so we were like, let's go snorkeling. And we go out into the ocean. And I got too close to. To the rocks because I And so swam into an uni. A sea urchin. And so then I pull my. It's obvious that I'm, like, suddenly in pain. I pull my leg out of the water, and there's, like, long spikes coming out of my leg, which is terrifying. And then I was. They looked. They were very. They looked almost like long hair, even, like, not like porcupine spikes. So then my immediate instinct was to yank them out. But you're not actually supposed to do that because some of it. If you don't do it clean, like, some of the spikes can get stuck, and then the other spikes that were more brittle just did get stuck. So I wound up coming out of the ocean and then having, like, 22 sea urchin spikes in my leg.
[08:53]
Dori Shafrier
Oh, my God. Ow.
[08:55]
Elise Hu
Yes.
[08:55]
Dori Shafrier
Which then you have.
[08:56]
Listener Caller
Yeah.
[08:57]
Dori Shafrier
You posted on Instagram.
[08:59]
Listener Caller
Yep.
[08:59]
Dori Shafrier
It looked painful.
[09:01]
Elise Hu
It sure was. And the only way to deal with that is to wait for them to dissolve. So you have to sort of just sit in hot water, like steaming hot water, or pour vinegar or something really acidic onto it to help dissolve the calcium that the spikes are made out of. So I joked that I brought some Hawaii home with me. Free souvenir. I. I later did some research and found out that sea urchin, they don't have brains. So it's not like it didn't do it to me on purpose. It was really my bad. It was my user error. I came too close to it, and it was probably burrowed in a rock.
[09:42]
Advertiser
Ah.
[09:43]
Elise Hu
So everything's cool between me and the sea urchin. Okay.
[09:47]
Dori Shafrier
You've made your piece.
[09:48]
Elise Hu
Yeah.
[09:51]
Dori Shafrier
Well, okay. I'm, you know, I'm glad. I'm glad to hear that you left Hawaii, like, you know, with. With that closure. Yes.
[10:01]
Elise Hu
All in all, a great trip. And I got a straw bag for the trip because I realized I need kind of a big straw tote that would look cute with all of my outfits. And I got one from, like, Banana Republic outlet or something before I left. And I don't remember which substack person introduced it to me, but I really like it. And it was on sale, so I will find it and link it from our shop my. And in our show notes, because I really liked my straw bag. And then I also brought the Dalba sunscreen that has vitamin C in it. That was excellent. I mean, I got a lot of. I got tan. I got a lot of color, but, like. And my freckles are really out. But the sunscreen was great. And it never. I just don't like it when it Stings like if I'm in the pool or something. Like, yeah, never bothered me at all, but offered great protection. So the Dalba sunscreen with the vitamin C in it was excellent. Anything else I wore on vacay that I really liked? Oh, I wore one sandal all week. It was a reef sandal. And when I wore like a dress for dinner, like a sundress for dinner, I could wear those sandals. And then when I wore like shorts or my swimsuit to the pool, I could wear that. You know, it was just like a real all around versatile sandal. So those were kind of my MVPs from the trip.
[11:21]
Dori Shafrier
You link to those?
[11:23]
Elise Hu
Yeah. Yeah. I wanted to mention that to the listeners.
[11:26]
Dori Shafrier
Cool. Well, before we get to more of our listener comments and questions, we did get a funny text which said, dory, my car is disgusting. My husband's is very clean. Guess, guess who drives the kids around most.
[11:43]
Elise Hu
Hmm, I wonder.
[11:45]
Dori Shafrier
Yeah, I mean, in your case, I'm sure it is obvious. I will say Matt and I drive Henry around pretty equally because, you know, both of our schedules are pretty flexible. So if one of us drops him off, the other one usually picks him up. And like we're. We split it pretty evenly. So both of our cars are equally disgusting.
[12:05]
Elise Hu
Yeah, I was gonna say that too. Like both of our cars are disgusting, but. And we switch cars and so I think that the kids are in both cars pretty evenly too. Though I am trying to drive the electric car way more. Gas prices are still insane.
[12:19]
Dori Shafrier
And you know, I think we got some savings when we were in Boston. We rented a car and it was a hybrid and we still have gas cars. And I was like, oh, this is nice.
[12:35]
Elise Hu
Yeah.
[12:36]
Dori Shafrier
So I mean, I think my next car will definitely be. It's not full electric. It will be a hybrid. So. Yes, because gas is insane right now.
[12:46]
Elise Hu
Totally.
[12:47]
Dori Shafrier
All right, we are going to take a short break again. I know at least mentioned this at the top of the show, but our voicemail number is 781-591-0390. Our email is forever35podcastmail.com you can visit our website forever35podcast.com we have links there to everything we mentioned on the show. We are on Instagram at february35podcast and please join our Patreon. We have so much fun over on our Patreon. We have multiple levels. We have a free level where you get our newsletter, where we have pod highlights, product reviews, discounts, additional bonus content. It's always fun. At five a month you get access to our weekly casual chat which is now on video. If you would like to watch us, we do live casual chats. You have access to our community chat on the Patreon app which is really fun. For our monthly pop culture Culture episodes. Everyone always recommends their own pop culture recommendations and it's like a really fun conversation. And then at $10 a month you also get ad free episodes. So if you are a person who does not like fast forwarding through ads or you don't like listening to ads, which you know, I get it. You can join us at $10 a month and get ad free episodes and you also get a shout out on the podcast every month if you join us at that level. And we always put our favorite products on our shop My and that is shopmy us/forever35 all right, we are going to take a short break.
[14:10]
Elise Hu
We'll be right back. Hey y'. All, it is a well known fact that I aspire to live the retired life. I've been wanting to be retired pretty much since my 30s and the best way to get there is to have a handle on your finances so you have a chunk of change in that retirement fund. That's why I like Monarch. They have everything from a weekly recap to AI insights and bill split so I can get a heads up on what's happening with my money, including spending spikes, net worth, shifts and upcoming expenses. Sometimes it even spots things you wouldn't think to look for, like whether your spending has gone up or maybe it's just inflation. Most apps only tell you what you've already spent. Monarch helps set goals, map out big purchases and see if you're actually on track before it's too late to adjust. Monarch is super helpful to keep an eye on basically everything easily because Monarch is the personal finance app that tracks everything accounts, investments, saving goals and spending. I have clarity on my financial present and future that I haven't had before because all my info is in one place with features that give me insight into what's coming and how to plan for it. Write your own money story with Monarch. Use code F35@monition.com to get your first year of Monarch Core Half off at just $50. That's 50% off your first year at monarch.com with code F35.
[15:36]
Advertiser
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[15:42]
Dori Shafrier
Trip booked and switching to T Mobile
[15:44]
Elise Hu
help make it happen with experience beyond
[15:47]
Advertiser
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[15:59]
Elise Hu
That hundred dollars back, I'm putting it
[16:01]
Dori Shafrier
towards the zipline now.
[16:03]
Advertiser
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[16:05]
Dori Shafrier
Exactly. Best switch I ever made.
[16:09]
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[16:42]
Dori Shafrier
All right, we are back. Elise do you want to read this first? DM sure.
[16:48]
Elise Hu
Just in case this is useful to your listener with the food noise inquiry, I wanted to send this along. I got a lot of flack for it, but maybe it could be helpful, especially since she is someone for whom a GLP1 is obviously contraindicated given the hospitalization. Yikes. And what this caller sent in was a New York times piece from 2023 and the essay is titled what if Food Noise is Just Hunger? So we mentioned that briefly in one of our previous episodes when this caller had questions about it. But we will link this New York times piece by Dr. Kate Mann, Forever 35, friend and listener from 2023 from our show notes. So take a read.
[17:38]
Dori Shafrier
Thank you. Okay, this next text Elise, I feel like we've talked about this in the past and you had a lot of thoughts about it.
[17:48]
Elise Hu
Oh, okay.
[17:49]
Dori Shafrier
Dorian Elise, what are we doing with charging cords and cables? They drive me crazy. I find them hard to identify which port is going to work with which device just by looking and tried to label them at one point but other people in my family ended up using them with different devices and the system fell apart. I'm looking for organization tips so I'm not always running around when inevitably said device is almost dead. One product recommendation that has alleviated some, but not all of this annoyance is the zens Quattro Charger Pro 4. Not cheap, but I gave it to my husband as a Christmas present and it has really benefited both of us. It's a dock that is amazing. Fast charging even with four devices on it, magnetic connection so it kind of secures the phone or AirPods. I highly recommend it. My current qualm is with all other cables. Somehow we have so many devices that need to be charged. Kid, airport headphones, baby monitor, essential oil diffuser. So many cords and in theory these cords shouldn't be moving around, but they do we were just out of town, so they got moved around even more than usual. Help. Thanks. So one thing that I do just want to, like, note is that I believe it was, I think in the EU they, like, passed a law that you can't use proprietary ports anymore. Everything has to be USB C essentially. So that's why, like, on your iPhone, they don't use that lightning cable anymore. And there's no, like, old USB on anything new anymore. Like, everything is USB C. Like, my son's airport headphones are USB C and his yodo is USB C. And so I think that that should event like, once, you know, the planned obsolescence of electronic devices occurs, that should help the cord issue because theoretically you should just need USB C cords.
[19:43]
Elise Hu
Yeah. If you want a base recommendation, like a charging station that we really like, it's. There's one that is from baseus. I had to look it up. I actually had to look down at my charging station that is like 27.99, so about 28 bucks. And it's a 10 in one USB C fast charging desktop charger. And you can use it for your desktops, but also your other devices, tablets, phone, anything. And then so we have one here, like at my workstation, there's one near my bed where there's like, the kids like to charge things, but really I have like, the dehumidifier and the air purifier, and everything is kind of plugged in around there too. I still haven't solved the problem of the kids just stealing my charging cables. I have labeled them like, this is the kitchen one. And I really probably am going to have to buy that shark tank tool, which is where the base of that, the charging, like the charging base, the brick is actually behind the outlet cover so that people can't. Can't steal it anymore. That was something that y' all suggested when we talked about this cord problem. But in terms of charging stations, there's some really good ones out there. I like one from Anker as well. A N K E R R. And yeah, Story's right. Once everybody gets caught up to the USB C protocol, which it has taken like 10 years to finally get everybody standardized.
[21:15]
Dori Shafrier
Yeah. But like, most of my. Most of my devices now are usc. But yes, I have a. I have like, I have a box somewhere of old cables, like obsolete cables, and I'm like, why do I still have this?
[21:30]
Elise Hu
Every yard sale I ever go to has a sale on cables. Like, every yard sale that I have ever wandered by in the last, like, Five years. Every time I feel like going to a yard sale, there's like a box of just cables from somebody's house. And I'm just like, oh, I have that box too at my house. So if you are looking for an out of date cable, be sure to wander to your neighborhood yard sale or garage sale. Everyone has.
[21:58]
Dori Shafrier
Well, you know, it's, it is, it is an interesting question of like, if you have an old device, like let's say you find an old computer or camera or something and you want to see what's on it but you don't have the cable, what are you going to do?
[22:15]
Elise Hu
You know, you have to, you have to go to a yard sale.
[22:18]
Dori Shafrier
Yeah,
[22:22]
Elise Hu
I needed, this actually happened to me because I needed, I needed to charge my AirPods because I have like first generation AirPods and they're great. They're fine. Like, sure, they're not as noise canceling as like the good ones, but. Or the new ones, but they work for my purposes. I just run with them and. But I needed lightning for it and I just don't have that many lightning cables around anymore. So it was like, let's pop over to a yard sale after soccer.
[22:47]
Dori Shafrier
Boom.
[22:48]
Elise Hu
Everybody's only selling a box of those.
[22:50]
Dori Shafrier
That's really funny. Okay, I'm gonna play a voicemail before we take another break about sunscreen.
[22:59]
Elise Hu
Okay.
[22:59]
Dori Shafrier
And then after the break we have some requests for product recommendations. So.
[23:05]
Elise Hu
Okay, great.
[23:06]
Listener Caller
Hey, Dory and Elise, I'm calling in regarding the listener who had sunscreen questions. And you all have the chemist concessions on the podcast a couple years ago. It's two skincare chemists from L'. Oreal. Every year they do a 30 for 30 sunscreen challenge where they test out 30 different sunscreens and they actually rate them and then they put those scores from on their website, Kenneth's confession sunscreen database. And the one that they Recommend that gets 9 out of 10 that I just bought came all the way from Asia, of course is the Dior UV Aqua rich watery essence, which is just a sunscreen. Anyway, take a look there. They, they rate them all from 1 to 10. Also, the Banana Boat Light is Air SW Sunscreen Lotion 9.5 out of 10. Shockingly, it's super cheap. I and I buy it by the dozens and plaster it all over my children. I'll text you the link to it.
[24:07]
Elise Hu
Okay, great. Awesome. And then we will link to what she recommended also.
[24:11]
Dori Shafrier
Yeah. If you follow chemist confessions on Instagram, it's been really fun to watch their reels where they go through all of the, all the sunscreens because they, they put themselves under like a UV light and you can see how the sunscreen is like covering their faces. And I really like their analyses of all of the sunscreens. So definitely check out Chemist Confessions. Okay, we are going to take another short break and we'll be right back.
[24:41]
Elise Hu
We'll be right back and we'll talk about more recommendations for you.
[24:47]
Dori Shafrier
I feel like if months were days of the week, then August would be Sunday. Does that make sense?
[24:54]
Elise Hu
Oh, because everything is starting again in September.
[24:56]
Dori Shafrier
Yeah. Yeah. It's the perfect time for a reset going into the next season. And a reset always feels best when your closet is involved. And Quint proves you don't need a crowded closet to look incredible. You just need the right pieces. And for me, those right pieces are the 100% organic cotton poplin long sleeve boyfriend shirt and the 100% organic cotton long sleeve swing tee. You know, I like a long sleeve Elise, because summer sun protection. Right. But you also need something that's going to keep you cool. You don't want like a thick or heavy long sleeve. So I wanted to be really intentional about getting long sleeve pieces that would still keep me cool. And these two are perfect. I've been wearing them all the time. And that's because Quint specializes in effortless, high quality essentials like ultra soft organic cotton and premium Mongolian cashmere sweaters. They're beautifully tailored, built to last and transition seamlessly from morning meetings to dinners out. And it's not just apparel. Quint's also brings that same everyday elevation to everything they offer from hotel quality bedding and bath to kitchen staples, essentials and thoughtfully designed furniture. Everything at Quint's is priced 50 to 80% less than similar brands. They work directly with ethical factories and cut out the middlemen. So you're paying for quality, not brand markup.
[26:18]
Elise Hu
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[27:44]
Dori Shafrier
All right, we are back. And this text says hi Elise and Dory. This one is probably for Elise. I'm going to Korea at the end of the month. What K beauty products would you recommend to pick up while I'm there? I love stocking up on cleansers, moisturizers and sunscreen from Olive Young, but I'm open to any and all recommendations. Thanks.
[28:07]
Elise Hu
Okay, well, I've already talked about the Dalba brand sunscreens that you should stock up on at Olive Young. And I particularly like the Dalba sunscreen with vitamin C in it. But I do have a list now of recommendations for Olive Young because now there is one in Pasadena in Los Angeles. So on that list a few things from there that I really like. One the Dr. Althea vitamin C boosting serum. Also there's Bio Dance. They make a niacinamide that's really good and everybody seems to love. I don't use niacinamide, but like this is one that people bring me mule me a lot when I when when people come from Korea. So that one's very popular. The Etude House. Etude House is another brand. They have a stick sunscreen that I like. I like stick sunscreen for the kids in particular and I usually use that like Baby Bum roller. But stick sunscreen also is in my purse. So because Luna, who is the fairest of our children has to reapply numerous times a day and doesn't carry sunscreen with her reliably. There's also a Dalba brand. This is the same brand that makes the sunscreen. They have a all in one multi balm that you can use around your eyes and it's really amazing. Very soothing.
[29:31]
Listener Caller
Very.
[29:32]
Elise Hu
It's like a nice thing in your routine if you're just kind of winding down. And I use it around my eyes and it feels really good. So that's the Dalba Double serum all in one multi balm and we can link to these. The other thing is the beauty. And I wrote about her in Flawless, my book Odile Minode who is a soul based beauty marketer. I think she works in the industry. She's. She now has or she has long had something like a YouTube channel called the Monotist. M O N O D I S T she always has kind of the latest what's going on and like looks into the formulations of retinoids and all those things. And so you can always check out Monotist before you leave and see if there's anything hot. But my, my recommendation for Korean, if you're going to Korea isn't necessarily to buy the products that you should because there's like newer packaging and whatever is coming online next. And like I write about Korea is so good at like fast. The way they do fast fashion all around the world. They are able to do fast skin care and like get new things on the line, on the shelves like within a six week ideation to distribution time period. And so it's always cool to see what's new and what's next and what they're kind of pushing. But the other thing you should do while you're in Seoul of course is to get a facial and try various treatments.
[30:58]
Dori Shafrier
Yes.
[30:59]
Elise Hu
Like do some cool stuff. Right. Like that's always really fun and it's usually much more affordable. So if you have time then that's what I'd recommend. Go to the spas, do some fun stuff there.
[31:12]
Dori Shafrier
That sounds awesome. I need you to lead a trip to Seoul. A beauty trip to Seoul.
[31:18]
Elise Hu
It's so funny you mentioned that because I went to see a movie the other night and there was this film critic and he leads trips to film festivals and it's just. Just because he is an expert in film and so all these people go on a trip with him to film festivals. I'm like, oh, you could do that, huh? Yeah, I just, I, I'm clearly, I'm like really behind on thinking about monetization and just fun things.
[31:41]
Dori Shafrier
I mean if, if only one person signs up for the trip and that person is me, then yeah, that is you and me. Yeah, who cares? And then our last text just says hi, do you have a retinol you recommend?
[31:56]
Elise Hu
I think you do, right? Dora, you have recommended one that has. When this question has come up, do you not have one that you like?
[32:01]
Dori Shafrier
I don't, I don't use one anymore because I'm in the sun too much and I feel like I have to be really careful with using like retinols and AHAs. Especially in the summer. Like in the winter it's okay because the UV is not as high. But in the summer I am off any sort of retinol or aha, I
[32:22]
Elise Hu
don't use it either. And I think one of the keys with understanding retinol products is that they are unstable. Right. So the formulation really matters. Listeners call in, which ones do you swear by? And then Dori, is there one that you use during the winter that you like?
[32:40]
Dori Shafrier
Well, my sense is that if you're going to use a retinol, you might as well just use tretinoin. Like that's kind of the gold standard. And I think the other, the expensive counter, over the counter skin, you know, formulations just have stuff added to it that just make it expensive. And so I would just start with a low dose of tretinoin. Honestly, that would be my woman that
[33:04]
Elise Hu
I mentioned earlier too, Odile Manode. She also goes deep into Korean retinols. So if you're interested in those, check out her video. She has one that like goes into which one's their various formulations and which ones, even if they're coming from the same manufacturer, like which ones are better than the others. And so if you're into that and want to get a little bit more educated, I'd recommend them a notice for it. We'll link.
[33:29]
Dori Shafrier
All right, thank you everyone for your questions and comments. Etc, please, again, Please send them in 781-591-0390. You can text or call that number and email us@forever35podcastmail.com and we are going to enter the intention zone now. I've been loving. Sammy's been putting the, the sound effect on. Yes, I'm really enjoying it. Okay, so last week I said I was going to get going on my closet clean out. I have not done that. I. You know what, I am a little overwhelmed. I'm going to be honest. Partly because I like some of the stuff in the closet I think can just be donated. But the other stuff I do need, I do feel like I want to sell. And it is really easy to post on Depop, but I think I, I start getting, I start feeling like overwhelmed by it. So I think I need to just start post a few things and then see how that goes and get going.
[34:29]
Elise Hu
Yeah.
[34:30]
Dori Shafrier
But this week and I, I mentioned this on, I think I mentioned this on the casual chat. I've been, you know, I've been pretty head down about my book and getting the word count. So I'm gonna try and like hit my word count every day. That's my goal.
[34:46]
Elise Hu
Yeah. Great. So there's a daily Word count and not a weekly one.
[34:51]
Dori Shafrier
So that's a daily.
[34:52]
Elise Hu
You have to be really accountable. Oh, my gosh. Yeah.
[34:54]
Dori Shafrier
But you know what? I think it's better for me to be accountable daily than weekly. I think weekly is like two. Abstract, almost. Like, I like the daily. The daily nature of it, I think is helpful.
[35:07]
Advertiser
Yeah.
[35:09]
Elise Hu
Well, last week it was just sort of about getting back into things. So my intention this week is actually to give myself some structure around getting back into a routine. I think we're not too far. I know we're not too far away from school starting again. And the children need structure, you know, from me as a parent, just so they know their expectations and don't feel like chaotic. And so just as the kids do. I need some as well in terms of like, hey, I need to go back to a certain number of units of exercise per week and I need to make sure that I go and walk Oscar regularly. Like all those things that I did not do for an entire week.
[35:54]
Dori Shafrier
Yeah.
[35:56]
Elise Hu
So I'm just kind of getting back into it and I'll. I need to just establish some routine. So I'll be working on that for the week ahead.
[36:03]
Dori Shafrier
Okay, sounds good.
[36:05]
Elise Hu
And it is that time in the month where we thank our Patreon members at the hotel, spa and hotel suite levels. So I will go through the names here. Thank you so much. To L.M. alvin, Ariel C. Laura Ciccone, Sarah Liska, Fr. Justice Bureau, Jasmine DeJesus, Christy Caitlin H. Katie Ashley Taylor, Teresa Anderson, Nicole Gass, Maya Barbara C. Amy, Amy Schnitzer, Megan Shelley Lee, Cookie Townsend, Sarah Boozy, Allison Cohen, Melissa McLean, Jackie Leventhal, Fran Kelsey, Wolf Denay, Laura Eddy, Valerie Bruno, Julie Daniel, Katie Quattrone, E. Jackson, Alicia, Catherine Burke, Amy Maseko, Liz Raine, JDK, Hannah M. Julia P. Alice Maddie, Marissa, Sarah Bell, Maria, Diana St. Laura Haddon, Josie H. Nikki Bossert, Juliana Duff, Chelsea Torres, Olivia Fahey, Elizabeth A. Christine Bassis, Jessica Gale, Zulima Lundy, Carolyn Rodriguez, Carrie Golds, Ann T. Katherine Ellingson, Kara Br. Sarah H. Sarah Egan, Jess Combin, Jennifer Olson, Jennifer H.S. jillian Bowman, Elizabeth Holland, Katie Jordan, Sarah M. Bianca, Kate M. Josie Alquist, Tara Todd, Elizabeth Cleary and Monica. I know a lot of those names on the list have been long time supporters. You have been Patreon supporters for many years now. And during this time when our attentions are so divided and our subscription fatigue is setting in, I certainly feel it when it comes to my sub stacks. For example, it means even more to us that you have stuck with us. And welcome in to some of the new members too. Thanks so much.
[38:06]
Dori Shafrier
Thank you so much. Forever 35 is hosted and produced by me, Dori Shafrier and Elise Hunter and produced and edited by Sam Hunio. Sami Reed is our Project Manager and our network partner is Acast. Thanks everybody.
[38:19]
Elise Hu
See you next time.
[38:20]
Dori Shafrier
Bye.
[38:25]
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