Beauty Unlocked the podcast

Sometimes the hardest decision as a creator is deciding not to release something you're not proud of. Just a quick update to let you know what's happening with Episode 126 and Beauty Unlocked's upcoming summer break. Thank you for your patience, support, and understanding. I'll be back at the end of August when the show returns with new episodes and plenty more uncomfortable questions for us to ex...

Why were Laetitia Casta and Aishwarya Rai criticized for their appearance at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival? What starts as celebrity gossip quickly becomes a much bigger conversation about beauty standards, aging, body image, and social media. Because the more I looked at the comments coming out of Cannes, the more one question kept nagging at me:Did the tabloids disappear—or did we become them? A...

In this episode, I’m unpacking the history of female body hair removal, the rise of shaving and Brazilian wax culture, and why women are taught to see natural body hair as “gross.”From Ancient Egypt and razor advertising to pornography, patriarchy, and Eurocentric beauty standards, we’re digging into how female hairlessness became tied to femininity, desirability, cleanliness, and control. Why is...

What's a recession indicator you've noticed? Lately, one answer keeps resurfacing online: "You can see celebrities' ribs again." And as unserious as that sounds at first, history suggests it may not be entirely wrong. In this episode, I dive into Ozempic, recession aesthetics, quiet luxury, heroin chic, and the return of thinness as a cultural ideal. From celebrity weight loss trends to the politi...

What if your "glow-up" didn't change who you are, but changed how the world treats you? In this episode, I'm unpacking pretty privilege, the psychology behind it, and why being seen differently can feel more unsettling than empowering. We're talking about perception, bias, and the uncomfortable truth behind why opportunities, attention, and respect suddenly shift. This isn't about glow-ups...it's...

Labia fillers are one of those beauty trends that's quietly gaining traction- and chances are, you didn't even know it was something you were supposed to think about. In this episode, I break down what labia fillers actually are, why more people are getting them, and the beauty standards driving the demand. We're getting into the language, the marketing, and the bigger cultural shift behind this i...

Some of the most dangerous beauty trends right now don't look dangerous at all. In this bonus episode, I unpack viral skincare trends like over-exfoliation and DIY lip plumping-and what dermatologists are actually saying about them. What do these quick-fix trends really do to your skin-and why are experts warning against them? If you've ever been tempted to copy a routine from TikTok, this episode...

The obsession with thinness didn't just appear out of nowhere-and it's not just about beauty, body image, or "health."In this episode, I'm unpacking the deeper history of diet culture, female body standards, and the social conditioning that taught women to shrink themselves-physically, emotionally, and culturally. From historical ideals of discipline and restraint to the racial roots of the modern...

The beauty industry wasn't built on beauty-it was built on control. In this episode, I'm breaking down how beauty became gendered, why women were expected to invest in appearance, and how men were deliberately kept outside of it. From the rise of modern masculinity to the rebranding of men's grooming, skincare, and cosmetic procedures, I unpack how these standards were constructed and why they're...

Why does looking "effortless" cost so much? In this episode, I'm breaking down the myth of low-maintenance beauty and why "natural" is often anything but. From aristocrats who had other people do the work for them to today's hyper-curated "clean girl" aesthetic, what looks effortless is usually carefully constructed behind the scenes. I'll get into how this illusion became a class signal, who it a...

What if I told you that one of the most popular beauty treatments today is made from one of the most powerful toxins known to science? In this bonus episode, I'm breaking down what Botox actually is, how it went from food poisoning to a cosmetic staple, and why it's become so normalized that people are getting it done on their lunch breaks. We'll talk about how it works in the body, the side effec...

Welcome back, loves! The male gaze didn't begin with film, it was already centuries old by the time cameras appeared. In this episode, I trace how powerful patrons, religious institutions and elite collectors shaped beauty standards through the paintings they commissioned. From reclining Venuses to carefully staged portraits, these images didn't just depict women, they trained viewers how to look...

If you've ever wondered why you're attracted to villains... congratulations, you're about to get answers! Let's talk about why so many of us are absolutely unwell over Joan "The Freak" Ferguson from Wentworth, and why a villain this elegant, severe, and unnervingly captivating makes our empathy do backflips it has no business doing...while simultaneously awakening thoughts that require either a li...

Welcome, my love buckets! Step into the real world of medieval beauty- a place where "glowing skin" meant experimenting with ingredients that ranged from clever to catastrophic. In this episode, I peel back the rituals, recipes, and dangerously creative practices that shaped the medieval ideal face, and the women who kept that knowledge alive. Some of what you'll hear will shock you, some will wei...

Welcome, to a brand new bonus episode, my loves! From extreme historical beauty demands to clothing laws that targeted women, to the era when pants were treating like a public threat, this bonus episode uncovers the absurd systems that shaped, and still shape, women's lives. These restrictions weren't about fashion; they were about power, discipline, and keeping women in their place. These beauty...

I'm back! Did you miss me? In this episode, I'm taking you on a journey through the ways beauty standards twisted and transformed during some of history's darkest moments- from the death-obsessed world of the Black Death to the patriotic glamour demanded during World War I & World War II.We'll uncover why people clung to fragile, disciplined, or "pure" aesthetics when everything around them wa...

Welcome, my unholy loves, to the final episode of our Unholy December series. In seventeenth-century Puebla, a cloistered nun's suffering was documented as spiritual warfare rather than illness. Drawing on colonial convent records and clerical testimony, we examine how pain, devotion, and fear collided inside the rigid world of New Spain's Carmelite convents. Stripped of folklore, this case reveal...

A quick message for my Unholy fiends to say Happy Holidays, thank you for the love! Just wanted to share a small update, the final Unholy December episode will be released on Saturday. I really appreciate your patience and apologize for the delay. Stay safe, my loves.****************Leave Us a 5* Rating, it really helps the show! Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/beauty-unlocked...

Welcome, my devilish fiends! A ghost born from childbirth and silence, the Kuntilanak haunts Indonesia's folklore as something far more unsettling than a simple possession story. In this episode, we trace her origins through birth, blood, and grief, and examine how a woman who never needed a body sometimes ends up speaking through one. From eerie encounters in banana groves to modern cases of mass...

Welcome, my dark souls! In this haunting chapter of Unholy December, we uncover the chilling possession outbreaks that swept through convents in France, Spain, and Italy during the 17th century. From violent public exorcisms to quiet nocturnal terrors, these cases reveal how fear, faith, and control shaped the lives of cloistered women across Europe. Drawing from diaries, trial records, and centur...

A brutal killing in 1974 shattered the quiet town of Ossett and left investigators confronting one of Britain's most unsettling possession claims. In the hours before the violence, ministers believed they were fighting unseen forces inside a small church, pushing Michael Taylor through a "deliverance" that spiraled far beyond their control. What followed fractured the thin line between faith and r...

Welcome, my devilish fiends! In 1730, the trial of Catherine Cadiere exploded into one of the most notorious scandals of 18th-century France. What began as a confession between a young woman and her Jesuit director spiraled into accusations of seduction, manipulation, and demonic influence. Courts, clergy, and entire communities were suddenly forced to choose sides as the case blurred the line bet...

Welcome, my ghoulish fiends. The Smurl family claimed their West Pittston duplex was overtaken by a violent, calculating force that wanted more than their fear, it wanted their bodies and their faith. Over fourteen years, they reported whispers, apparitions, assaults, and a darkness that grew stronger the longer it was ignored. Even seasoned investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren called it one of th...

Welcome, my December souls! A young French woman ignites chaos in the 1590s when claims of demonic possession turn her into a national obsession. Was Martha Brossier truely tormented... or performing for influence? Follow me as I delve into the case that rattled priests, physicians, and even the king's court. *Listener Discretion is Strongly Advised*****************Sources & Further Reading: A...

This December, we're unlocking the darkest files in spiritual folklore and recorded history. Unholy December: The Possession Files plunges into the chilling stories of bodies overtaken, minds manipulated, and homes twisted by forces no one could explain. From infamous cases of alleged demonic possession to the chaos of one family's relentless haunting, each episode pulls back the veil on what happ...