SPACESUIT

A Brutally Honest Review of All The Products Brands Have Sent Me | Part 1: Supplements

Mary Taylor-Smith — Tue, 25 Aug 2026 14:21:30 GMT

I started using a platform called ShopMy around 2022 when I wasn’t able to offer facials but still did skin consultations virtually. Followers, clients, friends, and anyone else who found out I was a licensed esthetician with good recommendations always wanted to know what sunscreens they should use, what brands I liked, what cleanser I loved, and what about this moisturizer?

I made a lot of great recommendations in the years leading up to using this platform with absolutely no financial kickback from the brands I trusted and supported. ShopMy offered a place where I could organize all of my favorite items for clients to peruse at their leisure and order within their budgets. It also offered me a commission (10-20%) on each order at absolutely no cost to the customer or me. Obviously, it was appealing to me to make an extra few bucks each month on something I was already doing for free.

Eventually, I started to receive gifting requests from brands. They usually send me a look book to choose a few products from, occasionally provide a discount code to share, and hope that I enjoy the gift enough to promote it to those who are watching. Sometimes I did, mostly I didn’t. There is no contractual obligation for me to make content for these people or promote any of it, it has mainly just been a great way to try new things. I say no to 90% of gifting requests now because it feels wasteful.

I’ve received enough items that have probably been on your radar and I realized it might be fun to share my unfiltered thoughts. I tried to focus on the items themselves, rather than the lore behind companies and founders, some I know and some I don’t. Mostly that’s hard to do since none of this exists in a vacuum! Everything is linked, not with the expectation that you’ll make a purchase, but that some of you will want a visual as you read along.

Let’s get to it. Buckle up, this is long, so I’ve split into 5 parts:

1. THE SUPPLEMENTS
2. THE MAKEUP + SKINCARE
3. THE TOOLS
4. THE NON-ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES
5. DECLINED

We’re starting with The Supplements and as you probably guessed, there’s several protein powders on this list. I think when it comes to the package size, price, and serving size of protein powders specifically, the actual value can be deceiving so I’m sharing some nutrition info and value details for each one so you can make your own assessment.

PART I: THE SUPPLEMENTS

Seasonal Edit: Vernal Equinox

Mary Taylor-Smith — Wed, 25 Mar 2026 15:14:27 GMT

When Spring began, I started hearing the sound of a bird repeatedly crashing into something. A female cardinal was bouncing from the branches of a tree and flying directly into the window on the side of our garage. The pattern was repeated so often and with such force, that she had left markings on the window from her new habit. Occasionally she flies o…

Guide II: Dairy + Your Skin

Mary Taylor-Smith — Sun, 22 Mar 2026 17:31:14 GMT

I took a lengthy break between now and my last post, but I guess that’s what the home stretch of grad school does to a person. In this phase of my life I often feel like I’ve disappeared from society and only exist in a weird cocoon of my own creation that I’m now watching open up just as the tulips are, as they begin to herald Spring’s arrival. The last two semesters (September through March) have pushed me to an edge and forced me to give up what base line standards of “keeping in touch” or “keeping up” ever meant to me. I stopped calling friends, I unsubscribed from “the right Substacks,” I put my head down, and handed in better work than I ever thought I could. I watched myself become the practitioner I yearned to be, I watched an expensive and decade long journey in higher education finally land.

my emotional support snack of choice, don’t tell my dentist

Hello! This is Spacesuit, where I write about health inside and out. Why is it called that? Because I once half jokingly described our bodies as spacesuits that we need to maintain and repair occasionally to keep livin’ on this freaky little planet and it stuck. I recently wrote about the excess use of SUPPLEMENTS, and if you’re here for skin, The Retinol Issue and The Beef Tallow Issue are my most popular posts, and a good place to start.

Spacesuit is a reader supported newsletter. I’m currently a full time grad student earning my masters in Clinical Nutrition while working as a licensed esthetician so if you want to subscribe, it will give you access to the full archive <3

I see a lot of dietary recommendations made by Holistic Estheticians - some are made carefully, others are toeing the line of their scope of practice. If you’re wondering just how bad some of it is, someone out there once recommended avoiding “Glutens” for clear skin and included a picture of potatoes in the graphic (potatoes do not contain gluten).

There is plenty of research available and agreed on to allow me to use nutritional assessments to help guide dietary and supplemental changes for my clients with skin conditions who would benefit from it, but I’ve yet to put so much focus on elimination with an acne client when other shifts didn’t provide success first. That’s not to say that I never will, but rather to say that copy and pasting the same elimination protocol for every acne client is not in my practice.

When I practice nutrition therapy, I am looking at the whole picture and the whole person. If I am working on a new case with a client who wants to make dietary changes to support healing acne, and their 24 hour diet recall shows they eat dairy - elimination of dairy is not the first move I make. But it is a common first step that I see a lot of estheticians recommend. And they’re not completely wrong, it’s just not universally helpful.

In naturopathic offices, limiting dairy is a typical part of an acne patients protocol. Dairy, specifically high protein dairy containing whey, like cow’s milk, can drive a couple of different pathways in the body that will stimulate sebaceous glands to secrete more sebum, increase skin cell growth and inflammation, leading to more clogging and acne. This is usually the case if these things are consumed in excess (over a period of time), and with isolated whey protein or BCAA supplement use,1 especially by a patient who is already genetically predisposed to acne and/or has an existing hormone disturbance.

Guide I: How To Stop Hating Vegetables

Mary Taylor-Smith — Tue, 06 Jan 2026 12:25:25 GMT

Hello! This is Spacesuit, where I write about health inside and out. Why is it called that? Because I once half jokingly described our bodies as spacesuits that we need to maintain and repair occasionally to keep livin’ on this freaky little planet and it stuck. I recently wrote about the excess use of SUPPLEMENTS, and if you’re here for skin, The Retin…

Seasonal Edit: Winter Essentials

Mary Taylor-Smith — Sun, 14 Dec 2025 20:40:15 GMT

2025 marked my first full year in grad school and my first full year living in rural Maryland.

Some things I learned since getting measurably stronger and smarter over the course of a year: It takes competence to quiet the voice of imposter syndrome. Competence requires time and commitment. But commitment does not need to be held to the rigidity of disc…

Looking Forward: Spacesuit 2026

Mary Taylor-Smith — Tue, 09 Dec 2025 17:35:05 GMT

When I started writing Spacesuit this year I had no game plan outside of enjoying this platform and wanting to utilize a space beyond social media to connect with friends, colleagues, and clients with longer form writing. It has functioned almost like a diary that I come to when I feel like it.

As someone who thrives with structure, that system is not se…

How Many Supplements Do You Take Every Day?

Mary Taylor-Smith — Fri, 14 Nov 2025 12:02:47 GMT

Hello! Welcome to Spacesuit, where I write about health inside and out. I recently shared my absolute basics for making Meal Prepping work for you, and if you’re here for skin, The Retinol Issue and The Beef Tallow Issue are my most popular posts, and a good place to start.

Spacesuit is a reader supported newsletter. I’m currently a full time grad stud…

I wish health influencers would just admit they hate food already

Mary Taylor-Smith — Fri, 24 Oct 2025 18:30:19 GMT

I started studying Nutrition around 2012. I was living in an apartment in Echo Park, Los Angeles that only cost me $600 a month, which, looking back I should have been happy about, but my mental and physical health were rapidly deteriorating thanks to my 365 Party Girl lifestyle and I turned to Ayurveda to pull myself out of it. Fortunately, it worked. I called my parents to tell them I was finally ready to move home to go to school and get my BS in Nutrition. I quit my job, and packed my bags.

Even back then, over a decade ago, health and wellness had an aura about it that I can see now, rightfully turned the Average Joe off. My husband tells me the vibe I’ve attempted to describe to him is Global Village Coffee House Adjacent. And it felt a little like an amalgamation of the what these images feel like:

Lots of mandalas and vaguely culturally appropriative art and outfits to signal one’s ability to “think global while acting local.” Which remains a great way to think, but for the most part we were severely deprived of nuance. This was still the general vibe back then because Instagram was just starting so no one who Lee For America was yet, and we definitely didn’t have color blocked workout sets. It was peaceful! It was hopeful! Even moving deeper into the decade, it was still an exciting industry to be in until we all realized Kundalini was a cult, most of the health coaches were giving everyone eating disorders, and finally admitted that putting cauliflower in everything was making us all bloated, not better.

What I’m trying to get at here is that, for a very long time, healthy food has been associated with being bland, bad tasting, and restrictive. As a 22 year old I eagerly joined suit, once forcing my very trusting sister to try a gluten-free, sugar-free, dairy-free brownie that she told me was disgusting. She looked me in the eye, spit it out, and told me, to my face, that it was bad. I may have not wanted to believe her at the time, but thank god I had someone being honest with me. She planted the seed that maybe removing everything that makes something what it is, does, in fact, make it something else and I should no longer be allowed to call that abomination a dessert.

So there’s a reason that certified nutritionists and registered dietitians require a master’s degree and 1000+ hours of experience working with patients to ensure we’re practicing evidence based care and creating therapeutic plans that actually work for long term health. I think the current influence of today’s internet has led a lot of people to take health advice from 22 year olds like the one I once was. That 22 year old barely passed biochemistry! She watched Freelee The Banana Girl and thought “I should try eating 12 bananas a day!” Best not to take advice from a person still in the process of becoming.

Like this “future primary care clinician” who thinks if you just took care of your own health and drank bone broth for dinner you’d finally stop being so ugly!!

Meal Prepping: The Basics

Mary Taylor-Smith — Sun, 19 Oct 2025 14:37:29 GMT

The type of content in my field I find more deplorable than What I Eat In A Day videos are the videos of a weekend warrior mother of three influencer showing how easily she allegedly meal preps 30 meals in identical stackable containers.

I despise it because, not only do the meals look mostly unappetizing, perpetuating this annoying myth that healthy eating must be bland (chicken - rice - broccoli - no sauce - vibe), but meal prepping that way is actually not easy or enjoyable. It sucks up an entire day along with anyone’s will to live. While I think the majority of Americans would do well to slow down and consider their hand in the food system we all engage in more seriously, we don’t all have the same 24 hours or paycheck available to us. Spending time considering what meals to make, what ingredients are needed, acquiring said ingredients, making the meals, packing it into its container, and cleaning up, can take a lot of damn time and energy. Time and energy that you likely want for other things, like quality time spent with the kids/partner/pets that you were away from all day.

There are some pretty basic ways to set yourself up for success each week, that I’ve realized a lot of folks aren’t doing and I think they’re generally available to anyone with a home and kitchen, regardless of it’s size. This is not a list of rigid rules and recipes, it’s just the basics: guidance to hopefully help shed some of the burden of meal prep and the often mundane needs of spacesuit maintenance.

Figure out which meal is actually the most challenging for you

There’s a lot of information about food prepping online and a lot of bad advice because none of it is taking your life into consideration, that’s one reason working with a skilled nutritionist 1:1 can be so helpful for folks who need help to reorient their attention back onto their own life and relationship to food. Consider what meals are *actually* a challenge for you and start there. Most people don’t need to prep breakfast, lunch, AND dinner. Some people have access to corporate lunches and don’t need to worry about it, but fall short at breakfast. Some folks love cooking breakfast and are so hungry and tired by dinner that they panic and order takeout again. Pay attention to yourself, your body, and your lifestyle and start with the meal that’s the biggest stressor for you, not all three.

I Tried Rhode So You Don't Have To

Mary Taylor-Smith — Wed, 27 Aug 2025 14:55:34 GMT

I have consistently been loudly against celebrity skincare and beauty brands but Rhode’s seemingly unavoidable marketing has had a gorilla grip on my curiosity that finally came to a head. I get into something a little juicier after a brief product review.

One thing about me is I love playing with makeup and I have a fairly boundless curiosity when it c…

What's Your Relationship To Beauty?

Mary Taylor-Smith — Wed, 23 Jul 2025 17:12:33 GMT

I’ve noticed a hard-to-ignore increase in businesses marketed as wellness centers that, in reality, are closer to med spas. These aren’t spaces that offer infrared saunas, nutrition counseling, and community support groups. They offer weight loss injections, botox, and filler, with a side of more facial treatments. There’s more celebrities sharing their specific plastic surgery details so fans can request something similar from their doctor. There’s podcasts featuring women who describe their choice to receive injections as “self-care” and a “personal choice.” While all of this is happening, girls as young as 7 are frequenting Sephora and beginning skincare routines that they’re sharing on the internet and everyone is really surprised and bothered by it.

Summer Spacesuit Edit

Mary Taylor-Smith — Fri, 18 Jul 2025 14:31:40 GMT

I’m currently in Massachusetts for July with family and a much lighter schoolwork load. While I’m working on some juicier pieces, including one on fulfillment and the weaponization of individual health as a virtue, in the meantime, I thought I’d share something more easily digestible and immediately useful.

Extreme weather is the only time I consciously…

The Authentic Kobido Method

Mary Taylor-Smith — Sat, 03 May 2025 17:29:33 GMT

It’s been a while since I sent a fresh post out. I never forgot. I had three drafts (including this one) haunting me the entire time, but I did experience an incredibly wild two weeks that had me clutching my iced matcha each day and required absolute precision when it came to navigating what I poured my daily allotment of energy into. It involved losin…

Everything Is A Scam Pt 1

Mary Taylor-Smith — Sun, 09 Mar 2025 19:40:22 GMT

We’re taking in more media than these Spacesuits we’re in were ever meant to download, and there are a few trends I’m looking at so we can clear it up and you can keep scrolling without some very misinformed seeds germinating in that brain of yours. Last week I published a long form essay for no reason, so here’s something a little more digestible.

Trend cycles seem to be just as fast in beauty and wellness as fashion so I hope to do more of these. Send me a chaotic trend you’ve seen and want me to break down next time with alternate suggestions.

Makeup As Skincare

For folks who wear makeup, it is a final step in their face prep for the day (or night). This means you’re applying it after a layer or 3 of skincare products. Makeup like blush and highlighter that claim to be healing your skin in some way or have any effect on skin texture, are not telling the whole truth. That hyaluronic acid is not penetrating through the layers of foundation, concealer, moisturizer, and serum that you’ve already applied. These items are also being used in a small area, not your entire face. The blush I use supposedly contains “fermented arnica that helps reduce redness.” I actually don’t have much redness and just lurrrrrve the color and application. Let your skincare do the heavy lifting, and let makeup just be makeup. You’re not morally inferior if your blush *just* blushes.

Some current faves in my personal stash:

Retinol in Body Wash

You are literally washing any Retinol in these products off of your body and down the drain. Why are you washing your body in retinol? Are you experiencing body acne? Is it sun damage you’re thinking to treat? Are you concerned about aging? There are some actually effective body product options to try for whatever your concern is, but retinol is just not an ingredient that works by applying to your skin for two minutes and then removing it. You can read more about that here!

Some faves:

AG1

If 9 out of every 10 influencers and podcasters are pushing a product you can bet it’s not that great. Hearing Andrew Huberman tell people he drinks two of these a day still gives me the chills. Eat real food, brother.

Inside The Internet There Are Two Wolves

Mary Taylor-Smith — Wed, 26 Feb 2025 18:11:15 GMT

Look, you either know who Freelee The Banana Girl is and you’ve seen Saladino’s test results, or you’re normal. I have studied Nutritional Science and have been online for too long to avoid either, and I had to write about it. This was brutal to write and have to consciously expose myself to so much of their content, but it has felt personally cathartic…

The Retinol Issue

Mary Taylor-Smith — Mon, 27 Jan 2025 16:35:59 GMT

Retinol gets a lot of attention and a lot of use, and personally, I think it needs to be recommended with a higher amount of education for the client or consumer than they’re currently getting (this is probably you). I will never forget having a consultation with someone using a prescription Retinoid alongside an over-the-counter Vitamin A serum, not realizing they were different forms of the same thing. Homegirl was doubling down on retinoids every night. Honey, no!

Serums are arguably the most complex skincare product to formulate. It's why tiny brands, don't always have them (sometimes they have oils that they call serums, this is not the same), they don't have a cosmetic chemist on board! They're complex because often, the ingredients and molecules used can be very unstable. The right serum can have a profound effect on one's skin health or the healing of a condition. The wrong one can cause a new fun problem to contend with :)

So let's talk about Retinoids. In this issue you’ll find:

-The difference between the many different forms of Retinoids!
-The difference between Pro-Vitamin A and actual Vitamin A!
-What it’s actually doing on the skin!
-What it’s doing inside our bodies when we consume it in our food!
-How to use it!
-My thoughts on Bakuchiol!
-Answers to questions sent in!

When we talk about Retinol or Retinoids, we are just talking about Vitamin A in its various forms or derivatives. Some are active, some are inactive, some are natural, and some are synthetic - it all gets very confusing quickly because they are not all equal in quality and strength!

The synthetic, pharmaceutical Retinoids and/or retinoid derivatives are those from a dermatologist or doctor. You need a prescription for these, they are not on store shelves. This is what things like: Tretinoin, Adapalene, Differin, and Retin-A are. These are often prescribed and used for moderate to severe acne and/or aging concerns. This is typically what is being used or imagined when folks are worried about the stronger effects of Retinoids being dry, flaky, and sensitized skin. They picture the clinical packaging, containing a very unsexy cream. When I’m recommending to my friends and clients a retinol product, I am literally never referring to these.

The many forms of Retinoids that you see on store shelves and webshops that have various, slightly different names are still different forms of Vitamin A. They are essentially the same compound at different points of conversion. Our body does this same conversion when we consume Vitamin A in our food. Here's a visual for more clarity:

Brand Collabs Are Killing Us

Mary Taylor-Smith — Wed, 08 Jan 2025 16:34:05 GMT

I haven’t been able to stop talking about collaboration fatigue, and I’m probably not the only one. The collaborations have become more transparently destructive and unnecessary, so I dug this draft up from the depths to bring you into it with me.

In this one, I talk about:
-Some collaborations we saw this past year!
-How collaborations could be better!
-Wh…

We Need To Talk About Tallow Balm

Mary Taylor-Smith — Wed, 01 Jan 2025 14:50:00 GMT

Hello again from Brooklyn,

I’ve been asked about beef tallow/tallow balm enough times in the last two months that I know it’s time to flesh out some details on this topic more publicly as we collectively enter a new year, some with new gift cards or cold hard cash in hand.

This issue includes:
-What is beef tallow!
-Why is it suddenly all over social media…

Ring Ring

Mary Taylor-Smith — Thu, 19 Dec 2024 15:12:50 GMT

I have many drafts occupying real estate on my Substack dash that I’ve ignored for the entirety of November, unable to focus for too long on the business of beauty, but very willing to disassociate to a steady stream of Shanti Celeste on NTS and submitting to the endless scroll more often than I care to admit. Shame aside, with an inbox constantly brea…

The Hot Take Issue

Mary Taylor-Smith — Tue, 01 Oct 2024 17:12:22 GMT

It’s only 9:00 AM and there’s a jackhammer outside of my window tearing up the street that will continue for the rest of the day, potentially the whole week. I’ve been up for three hours, caffeinated, fed, and exercised, courtesy of jet lag. New York is New Yorking.

After two weeks in Europe (two weeks that felt like four! in a good way!), I have a lot t…