A Late-30s Girl Walks Into Sephora...💄

Hi friend,

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👩🏻‍🤝‍👩🏽 Inconvenience Is the Price We Pay for Community

This weekend I hosted birthday parties for each of my twins… back-to-back.

It was exhausting, but also, so magical. That’s parenting in a nutshell, right? Messy joy. Organized chaos. Love layered with logistical nightmares.

It was the first year we did their parties separately, and it felt good to give each of them their own day to shine. Brooke’s was a full-blown Wicked moment (my Broadway obsession lives on), while Charlie’s was all baseball, all the time. Think: peanuts, Cracker Jacks, Big League Chew, and a small army of seven-year-old boys wielding wiffle ball bats.

Some parents dropped their kids and dashed off to run errands, but a few stuck around, and by the end, they kept saying how glad they were they stayed. We swapped stories, passed cupcakes, and cheered on our kids like we were at Game 7.

I saw somewhere on social media that “inconvenience is the price you pay for community,” and I’ve been feeling that more than ever lately. It’s so easy to prioritize efficiency — the Target run, the quiet car ride, the to-do list — over showing up for the small, chaotic moments that actually make us feel part of something bigger.

Because community rarely fits neatly into our schedules. It’s loud, messy, and almost always inconvenient. But it’s also where we laugh the hardest, feel the most seen, and remember we’re not doing this alone.

🔍 Ask Clara: Why is community so important for women's health?

💭 When IVF Moves from Whisper to Headline

When I went through IVF for the first time in 2018, it felt like sneaking into a club no one wanted to admit existed. Every appointment was a quiet act of hope, whispered among those of us who’d memorized our hormone levels and learned to inject courage right alongside medication. Back then, it wasn’t dinner party conversation. It was survival.

So when I saw IVF in a presidential headline last week, I froze. Not because it was the first time IVF had ever reached the White House — it wasn't — but because this time came with concrete steps toward real change. For once, the world wasn’t just whispering about fertility; it was saying the quiet part out loud... and backing it up with action.

IVF isn’t fringe. It’s family-building. And it’s about time the conversation reached the highest levels of government.

The announcement outlined measures that could actually make a difference: GONAL-F and other fertility medications will soon be available at discounted rates through TrumpRx.gov, with low- and middle-income women eligible for even deeper savings. IVF drugs will be manufactured in the U.S. for the first time, and employers now have a new pathway to offer standalone fertility benefits, giving families a chance to access care more consistently.

Still, I felt that familiar tension: between progress and performativity, between access and eligibility, between the visibility of IVF and the unease of who might still be left out.

And yet, there’s reason to hope. These steps signal a real shift in how society treats fertility: from whispered struggle to recognized need, from isolated hope to shared opportunity. We’re not done, and the work is far from over, but for the first time, it feels like the light is staying on, and that’s a win worth celebrating.

🔍 Ask Clara: How long does IVF actually take?

💉 Microdosing GLP-1s and Diet-Culture Flashbacks

I read the Vogue article about celebrities and microdosing GLP-1 medications (Ozempic, Zepbound, Mounjaro) and immediately flashed back to my diet-culture days. Growing up in the ’90s and early 2000s, I tried everything from Weight Watchers to MyFitnessPal, meticulously tracking points, counting calories, and stressing over “too-heavy” salad dressings. It feels wild to think how much has changed… and how much hasn’t.

For a little context, these drugs are synthetic versions of a hormone our bodies produce naturally called GLP-1, which helps regulate glucose, slow digestion, reduce cravings, and make us feel full. They’re usually prescribed for diabetes or obesity, but lately, they’ve become a bit of a celebrity trend: Serena Williams, Oprah, Kelly Clarkson, and Andy Cohen have all talked about taking them. Last year, one in eight Americans reported trying a GLP-1 medication, mostly for the weight-loss side effect.

Microdosing, as explained by Dr. Rocio Salas-Whalen, a board-certified physician specializing in obesity and endocrinology, is taking a smaller dose than the FDA-approved amount. People try it to avoid side effects like nausea, fatigue, or the infamous “Ozempic face.” Dr. Salas-Whalen points out that microdosing doesn’t always give the full benefits, but for some, it can be a maintenance-level option under careful supervision.

Reading all this made me think about the girl I used to be: the one who counted points, felt guilty after meals, and lived in her head about every bite. That girl would have been fascinated by a hormone that curbs cravings. Now, decades later, I can approach food and my body with curiosity and gratitude — listening to hunger cues, enjoying meals without guilt, and celebrating everything my body has carried me through. I no longer chase numbers or extremes, but I can see that these tools exist for a reason, and used thoughtfully, they're just another way to show up for yourself.

🔍 Ask Clara: What are the benefits of GLP-1s for women?

💄 A Late-30s Girl Walks Into Sephora…

Anyone who knows me knows I am low-maintenance when it comes to beauty and personal care products. My holy grail lineup? The CeraVe Hydrating Facial Cleanser (yasss, queen) and EltaMD's tinted, oil-free sunscreen (truly, the G.O.A.T. in my humble opinion).

I’ve always been an acne-girlie, so tretinoin and I have been BFFs for a longggg time. Because of that, I haven’t worried much about “anti-aging,” one of the very few perks of being perpetually acne-prone. But now that I’m in my late thirties, I’m starting to notice that a little under-eye cover-up could go a long way.

So this week, I ventured into Sephora. Does that store give anyone else hives? Between the lighting, the endless shades, and the too-cool-for-me twenty-somethings, I felt wildly out of my depth. I stood in front of a wall of Kosas concealers, squinting at labels like “neutral olive” and “light medium cool,” wondering when shopping for makeup became an exercise in self-doubt.

A fellow millennial next to me laughed, equally overwhelmed. We bonded over our confusion, shrugged, and went on our separate ways — one (potentially matching) concealer richer, still none the wiser.

Walking out, I realized maybe that’s what getting older is like: figuring things out bit by bit, celebrating the small wins, and occasionally, standing in Sephora wondering how the hell you ended up there... all while letting yourself laugh through it.

xo,
Kristyn

🔍 Ask Clara: Why do women feel the need to look "good" all the time?