The Short List — Longevity Science 101, Uber with Guns, Beauty Product Empties & New Jewelry I'm Loving.
This is The Short List—a weekly curation of what’s on my radar.
Delivered to your inbox every Friday Sunday, consider this a thoughtful selection of media, people, places, and things that I think are worth knowing now.
AL
P.S. Apologies for the late send, I’ve been in a production sprint this week. But on the bright side, Chardonnay and Orange are back in stock on the Juliet shop!
Media I’m Consuming
I’m going to be honest, the most exciting thing happening in medialand for me this past week was the premiere of White Lotus Season 3. It feels like we are in a bit of a streaming drought right now, so I’ve been really looking forward to it … and it was … not, not interesting?
I wasn’t blown away. BUT, I trust in the genius of Mike White, so I’m going to withhold conclusive judgement until a few more episodes have unfolded … this just might be a slow burn season.
My disappointment in the lackluster theme music probably won’t change though—I think we all need the energy of last season’s music at the moment.
Plus, a couple of podcast episodes I enjoyed—
Celebrity Packaged Goods episode on longevity science, featuring Tally Health CEO, Melanie Goldey. This pod wasn’t on my radar, but Melanie shared the episode on her IG and it was a great listen. She’s a super smart CEO and unpacks the science behind longevity in an approachable way.
- is one of my favorite people to follow on social media. She is fun, witty and stylish. She also happens to have written what is, in my opinion, the most profound and accurate essay about fertility out there. She recently promoted an interesting back episode from a pod called It’s Fine, chatting about said subject, among other things.
A Beauty Product I Actually Finished
Caudalie, Premier Cru The Cream
I bought this Caudalie face cream on a whim while traveling in Europe. I had forgotten to pack a moisturizer and the pharmacy didn’t carry my usual Embryolisse (anyone else notice that it’s harder to find in London now?).
After scraping the pot clean to get every last drop, my overall thoughts are—
It’s very rich, a little goes a long way.
It’s very hydrating. I have dry skin and this helped a lot. I felt that it had a cumulative effect with daily use and my skin felt more supple over time.
Honestly, I didn’t love the scent at first—it has a strong floral fragrance. But the overall effect from using the cream was so good that quite frankly, I got over it.
It’s pricey, but worth the splurge.
Bonus points — Kelly Rutherford was just appointed the new face of the brand!
Articles I Found Interesting
The NFL’s CFO, Christine Dorfler, spoke to Fortune about the connection between playing sports and finding success in business, echoing my post last year about the merits of adopting an athlete’s mindset.
A fun read on so-called “dopamine dressing” from
— she is the stylist behind Anne Hathaway and Selena Gomez and who I imagine I would hire if I were ever rich and famous enough to afford a stylist.Results from a 3-year study on the positive impact of Mackenzie (formerly Bezos) Scott’s strategy of unrestricted giving—she’s allocated more than $19B to non-profits, and has raised eyebrows with her commitment to not giving direction as to how organizations spend it.
Reading the news around this got me thinking … what if she had allocated that $19B to influencing politics instead? Hypothetically speaking, if someone with this level of wealth & power had thrown their support behind the Dems, would it have changed the outcome? Just saying, this might just be the direction we need to go to compete with the emerging broligarchy.
This Tina Brown interview on the evolution of media since the “Great days of Conde Nast” was fascinating.
I’m always interested in the business story behind brands I like, so I enjoyed this Puck story on the evolution of LA fashion company Staud.
New Jewelry I’m Loving
I’ve been a fan of the jewelry brand Pacharee for years.
The designer, Sophie, splits her time between Zurich and Thailand, where she grew up (fun fact: she’s also a friend!). Her family is in the gem trade, so her love of gems and art started at a young age. Most of her pieces feature pearls, gemstones, or both, and they all have this beautifully organic, one-of-a-kind feel—perfect for people (like me) who despise wearing what everyone else is wearing.
Without fail, every time I have one of her pieces on, at least one person asks me about it (these hoops in particular have racked up the compliments).
This gorgeous turquoise choker with a gold heart was a Valentine’s Day gift from my fiancé, who picked it out at the Zurich atelier. He did very well. I can’t wait to wear it once the weather warms up—it’s begging for a beach vacation.
In other news, the Pacharee mini pearl hoops (available for pre-order) were just spotted on Michelle Monaghan in the first episode of White Lotus!
An New App I’m Intrigued By
In case you missed it, there was a new phenomenon at Fashion Week this month: women rolling up to fashion shows with armed bodyguards and full motorcades—on demand, courtesy of a new app called Protector. I heard someone (jokingly?) refer to it as “Uber with guns”.
Naturally, I had to investigate. Here’s what I found out.
If you live in NY or LA, you can indeed now hire an armed bodyguard with the tap of a button. After downloading the app, you scroll through protectors, choosing one based on their background and intro video. You even get to pick their outfit—options range from business formal to tactical casual (tragically, "operator" is currently unavailable). Want a motorcade? Just add it to your cart.
There’s a five-hour minimum and a one-time membership fee, so from what I could see, the minimum cost starts at around $650.
Cool concept? Maybe.
On the one hand, are cities really getting so unsafe that we need armed Ubers? Or is this just about image—a new way to flex by arriving to events with an entourage? What is the market size for this, is it a viable business? I have questions.
What I’m Drinking
Anyone who has ever gone to dinner with me knows that I’m always on the lookout for crisp, white wines that are not—
Commercially-made, big brand names.
Pinot Grigio*
Think fruity, floral aromatics. Or bone dry minerality. Give me obscure grapes I’ve never heard of. All of it will inevitably be low-alc, so if I’m feeling crazy I can have two glasses.
I keep a running list on my phone of wines like these that I’ve tried and liked.
This week’s addition, a gorgeous Etna Bianco. ⬇️
*to be fair, there are really nice Pinot Grigio wines, especially from smaller, Italian producers. It exists. I just rarely see it on BTG lists in the US and that is where I most frequently try new stuff.
This was delicious—medium-bodied with interesting fruit and honey flavors.
A bit of trivia. The name “Etna Bianco” is actually a regional designator, so the term here refers to the place it was made, not the grape (which is Carricante). It comes from Sicily, specifically the area near Mount Etna. I tend to like volcanic wines, so I’m not entirely surprised that I enjoyed this.
10/10 highly recommend. ✨
For those who are new here—Welcome to On the Rise.
Each week, I share personal reflections on building a business (Juliet Wine) and navigating life as a modern professional woman. You can read more about my story and why I started this newsletter in my post here.
Plus, catch up on some of my recent longer form posts—
If you like what you see, subscribe & and share your thoughts in the comments.