Hannah Moochise Poston (Pt 3): Satan, Santa & Sole Seamstress -- Soothing her empty soul with 1000 new things

[EmptyVessel]

How did she have to close her business? She mostly did on-line sales and LA allowed manufacturing as early as April, from what I found. She and Joe, being of the same household, would have no issues with exposure of staff. Did I miss something?

Al tango events would have been called off. They usually take their merchandise to festivals to sell at various points in the year. There was the probability of selling far less clothing. However, more specifically in their case, the building where their workshop was situated was closed, because it was multi-occupancy, a studio complex. They did manage to get a couple of sewing machines out before the lockdown, but never used them commercially at home.

[EmptyVessel]

So as she counts up the makeup items at the end of her "year of less stuff", all the massive growth points were PR and review products, while all the reduced points were stuff she just decided to throw away as part of a declutter. She made a big deal about how the "backup box" is empty now, but that is entirely because she has embraced throwing new stuff into her collection, rather than kind of hiding that behavior behind the backup box like she did this time last year. This doesn't seem to at all reflect the spirit she started the project with, even though the numbers went down by about 50.

I also find it interesting that the year of less stuff is the thing from her year that she's decided to pseudo give up on because of covid. She kept the fun stuff budget, the review budget, and the PR collecting, but the project of connecting with her stuff and not collecting new items was somehow too much to handle and no longer fitting for the year. Definitely seems backwards. It seems like a convenient way to justify how she's not ending this year with the results she seemed to be gunning for at the start.

Isn't it ironic that the very year it would have made more sense than ever to aim for less stuff and a full no buy, making this about saving money and restructuring for the future, she couldn't even stick to even the most shapeless of regimes? They are living in someone's living room, not going anywhere (to justify the clothing and grooming expenditure), and have most of their stuff in storage, which they are paying for. If she had some proper life goals, she wouldn't be obsessing so much about yet another make up item or overpriced garment (that she doesn't need). It's like her life goal IS consumerism. She defines herself by what she has. She's the woman she thinks she should be, because she wears THIS lipstick or carries THIS handbag. That's what the brands and marketing people want you to think, no?

[long stay]

My gut feeling is that she was already fed up with the daily grind and while COVID might not have been the intervention she was going for, it rescued her from the workbench. There were shades of elation as she 'embraced change'.

Yes, you are spot on here. I always thought that she started her youtube channel with the intention of making it her 'career'. Looks like she has succeeded, in a fashion.

[long stay]

It's like her life goal IS consumerism. She defines herself by what she has. She's the woman she thinks she should be, because she wears THIS lipstick or carries THIS handbag. That's what the brands and marketing people want you to think, no?

Yes. She is a gullible idiot.

[EmptyVessel]

My gut feeling is that she was already fed up with the daily grind and while COVID might not have been the intervention she was going for, it rescued her from the workbench. There were shades of elation as she 'embraced change'.

Yes, you are spot on here. I always thought that she started her youtube channel with the intention of making it her 'career'. Looks like she has succeeded, in a fashion.

I think so. At first, I thought she was developing a platform that she would then expand to include her alleged passion for poetry or 'creative projects', because I couldn't believe she would find it satisfying, meaningful or even necessary to become yet another brand promoter on YouTube. I think she read a poem out once on her channel - no personal response, illustration or discussion, just a reading. My guess is that it messed with her categories on YouTube and her views went down, so she didn't go there again. However, wouldn't she be doing it anyway if that was her passion and YouTube was just her personal journal? Whatever she claims to the contrary, it's never been just a personal way of dealing with her shopping addiction or connecting with others; she aspired to be a YouTube 'influencer' and 'beauty guru' pretty much from the outset, and saturated herself with YouTube while sewing all day. She doesn't even have a blog. I mean, if you want to be a successful writer, you immerse yourself in a milieu which will nurture that material within you. If you immerse yourself in YouTube lifestyle influencers, this is what will come out. She's now the product of what she's been feeding her mind on for years. It's a salutary lesson. Sort of MFA to Meh within a couple of years.

[AbigailBountiful]

WRT her shrinking market, with the market exposure she had (Tango/YouTube), if design/manufacture were her passion, she could have very reasonably pivoted into masks, yes, but also "at home zoom fashion". Many of her fabrics were comfortable enough for at-home wear (based on the design descriptions talking about stretch) and were interesting visually both pattern and drape to pick up on camera.

And she, Madame MFA, missed an opportunity to go deeper into what a year of less could truly mean. It started with consumerism but could very reasonably have turned to the deeper meaning of what less means and where to find "more" through less. This might not have recreated the success of the initialization of her channel, but it couldn't completely hurt.

Unrelated to HLP specifically, but the podcast Harry Potter and the Sacred Text has really expanded my thinking of where I can find deeper meaning and how anything can be a meditation/reflection.

[EmptyVessel]

WRT her shrinking market, with the market exposure she had (Tango/YouTube), if design/manufacture were her passion, she could have very reasonably pivoted into masks, yes, but also "at home zoom fashion". Many of her fabrics were comfortable enough for at-home wear (based on the design descriptions talking about stretch) and were interesting visually both pattern and drape to pick up on camera.

And she, Madame MFA, missed an opportunity to go deeper into what a year of less could truly mean. It started with consumerism but could very reasonably have turned to the deeper meaning of what less means and where to find "more" through less. This might not have recreated the success of the initialization of her channel, but it couldn't completely hurt.

Unrelated to HLP specifically, but the podcast Harry Potter and the Sacred Text has really expanded my thinking of where I can find deeper meaning and how anything can be a meditation/reflection.

Yes, good points, both.

[saywhatyouwant2me]

I expected her to acknowledge all the products she gained and decluttered over the year.

It's a little pointless for her to count how much makeup she has but not address that. It puts it into perspective because it can help us to understand how disciplined she's been in making sure her collection didn't grow like crazy.

Like she decreased numbers by 60 but it'll be interesting to know if that's in a situation where she introduced 50 or 200 new stuff.

Also, it's not relatable because she casts unwanted makeup onto others regardless of the state it's in. Most of us have no choice but to use up makeup that's half used or heavily swatched if we don't want to through it away.

Watching a few of her declutters over the last few months, I've had the impression that she had gotten a little harsher on her makeup and gave herself more reasons to get rid. I can't remember the item now but there was a powder cheek product she once expressed her deep love for and her reason for getting rid was she was more into cream cheek products. Being a powder product that will last and seeing as her cream product obsession is probably a phase, I was surprised as I wondered if she'd end up regretting it because she might want it again one day.

Maybe if this wasn't her year of less stuff, she'd have kept it.

I wouldn't be surprised if she had a bulging sack of "for review" makeup hiding somewhere that she's convinced herself doesn't count because it's for her alter ego reviewer self.

[long stay]

I expect that most of the (net) 60 items decluttered were lashes. I remember her accumulating dozens of lashes at the end of last year - just in time for her year of less stuff - despite never seeing her wearing any. She is so transparent it hurts.

[MiscellaneousCell]

I don't think PR is helping Hannah's addiction for consumerism or materialistic obsessions. How do you recover from a materialism addiction if you are still receiving the drug one way or another? What would happen if PR stopped for her? How will she fill the void of experiencing beautiful things? Hannah reminds me like the satin bowerbird. It builds its life building an elaborative nest and decorates it with blue things like flowers, pebbles, bottle caps, and more. The only difference is that the bird builds a nest/home for it's future offspring before spending its energy of vanity and collection of blue items. Hannah on the other hand would probably live in a box without the help of her friends, but as long as she has her beautiful things, all would be okay.

[MiscellaneousCell]

I expected her to acknowledge all the products she gained and decluttered over the year.

It's a little pointless for her to count how much makeup she has but not address that. It puts it into perspective because it can help us to understand how disciplined she's been in making sure her collection didn't grow like crazy.

Like she decreased numbers by 60 but it'll be interesting to know if that's in a situation where she introduced 50 or 200 new stuff.

Also, it's not relatable because she casts unwanted makeup onto others regardless of the state it's in. Most of us have no choice but to use up makeup that's half used or heavily swatched if we don't want to through it away.

Watching a few of her declutters over the last few months, I've had the impression that she had gotten a little harsher on her makeup and gave herself more reasons to get rid. I can't remember the item now but there was a powder cheek product she once expressed her deep love for and her reason for getting rid was she was more into cream cheek products. Being a powder product that will last and seeing as her cream product obsession is probably a phase, I was surprised as I wondered if she'd end up regretting it because she might want it again one day.

Maybe if this wasn't her year of less stuff, she'd have kept it.

I wouldn't be surprised if she had a bulging sack of "for review" makeup hiding somewhere that she's convinced herself doesn't count because it's for her alter ego reviewer self.

100% agree. I also don't understand decluters and how they help with consumerism. You can only sanitize makeup so much, and really shouldn't be passed down like clothing even to friends and family. When someone constantly declutters items, having less stuff is just an artificial concept. You still consumed lots of items even if you purchased them or not.

[secondhandlover]

Hannah's "year of less stuff" was never about divorcing herself from the whims of consumerism. Right from the very beginning I had it pegged as a way for her to obtain and declutter new items with little critical thought. The only thing she cared about was the final tally, so IMO it was always just a way for her to not feel bad about buying 10 new cream blushes because hey, she got rid of 11 pegs! I wasn't surprised she dropped it halfway through the year, it was never about genuinely evaluating what having less "stuff" would mean for her life, it was strictly a way to allow herself to obtain new things and not feel bad about it.

[KookyPeppaPig]

So she's blathering on about 2020 destroying her dreams and business etc, yet she's planning on having a budget for new makeup when she's living in somebody elses dining room? Where's the budget for rent on her own place? Or saving for the future? It's not like she doesn't have a shit-ton of PR and makeup she already owns. Crazy.

[long stay]

The only thing I gleaned from her most recent pretentious rambling video is that we are in for another year of narcissism and greed, but no accountability. Can't wait.

[EmptyVessel]

So she's blathering on about 2020 destroying her dreams and business etc, yet she's planning on having a budget for new makeup when she's living in somebody elses dining room? Where's the budget for rent on her own place? Or saving for the future? It's not like she doesn't have a shit-ton of PR and makeup she already owns. Crazy.

Imagine she gets stimulus and other sustenance and start-up grants and is still on three-figure monthly budgets... for overpriced frivolities... That would just be obnoxious.

[Pet-nat]

There was a part in her most recent video where it sounded like she wanted to stop talking about exact numbers because her budget may increase. I think she is expecting an increase in income/projects and wants to augment her budget accordingly, and wants to get ahead of not having to disclose just how much more she's spending. This is a woman who already spent $2200 last year on just NEW stuff. Replacements of premium stuff, stuff she got for her channel, and other items she could squeeze around the loopholes not included. Her real spending was probably closer to $3500-$4000. On... carefully packaged and marketed crap. To fill someone else's dining room.

It gave off the vibe of someone pre-spending because they're expecting a raise or promotion. All the financial advice is like "Pretend you didn't get a raise and stow away any extra money, don't change your lifestyle whenever you get a bonus". It's stressful to watch her earmarking future money for even MORE crap instead of say, a safety net and big savings account so they can get back on their feet after living in their friend's house. Does this woman have any money at all for retirement? Does she just expect someone else to take care of this for her?

[EmptyVessel]

There was a part in her most recent video where it sounded like she wanted to stop talking about exact numbers because her budget may increase. I think she is expecting an increase in income/projects and wants to augment her budget accordingly, and wants to get ahead of not having to disclose just how much more she's spending. This is a woman who already spent $2200 last year on just NEW stuff. Replacements of premium stuff, stuff she got for her channel, and other items she could squeeze around the loopholes not included. Her real spending was probably closer to $3500-$4000. On... carefully packaged and marketed crap. To fill someone else's dining room.

It gave off the vibe of someone pre-spending because they're expecting a raise or promotion. All the financial advice is like "Pretend you didn't get a raise and stow away any extra money, don't change your lifestyle whenever you get a bonus". It's stressful to watch her earmarking future money for even MORE crap instead of say, a safety net and big savings account so they can get back on their feet after living in their friend's house. Does this woman have any money at all for retirement? Does she just expect someone else to take care of this for her?

I think this feelgood frivolous spending is escapism on her part. I mean, I've done some soul-searching myself over the past couple of years, and I notice that the stuff in my cupboards is gradually getting used up, and I'm only replacing my basics. If a W7 dupe is going to do the same job as an ABH palette then I'm fine with that. That's not intended to be prescriptive, it's just where I'm at and happy to be, and intend to stay that way. £50 make-up palettes are best suited to people who don't miss the money. Moreover, I feel a moral imperative to use what I have. I shouldn't be buying it if I don't need it, or if I'm not going to at least get use out of it. These are the foundation stones of conscious consumerism. After that, one can look at the whole fairtrade, small business, women-owned, etc. factors, but those in themselves don't make conscious consumers. It's all precious resources going into landfill if we overdo it, or don't maximise our usage.

HLP generates a disproportionate amount of gossip, with new people joining the tribe all the time. It's the dissonance between her avowed aim of breaking the shopping habit, and her helter-skelter 'air shopping' and actual spending habits. At one time, the people who stumbled across her channel were most likely to be those trying to deal with their own consumerism. Since her no-buy, it's been one long car crash in slo-mo. Deep down, I know what has driven my own shopping addiction, and the revelation of that has made me averse to 'comfort spending'. It's just a way of avoiding the less palatable realities of life. It's hard to do real things, produce something. It's like when you go through rough patches in your relationships and it feels like hell at the time, but when you are apart or find yourself in another context, you realise that something was being worked out through that process, and it forged a deeper bond. I'm not making light of that; it's tough to hang on in and even harder to choose 'the higher road'. Thankfully, a lot of the time, there is very little choice for most people, so they end up trying to work it out. It's not quite the same experience as browsing the rails in Anthropology and agonising over how to spend you jolly slush fund though.

I find it very significant that there hasn't been any real creative output from Han for a very long time. I know she made the dance gear, but that was more repetitive. Once launched and turning over, it wouldn't be the same level of creative challenge as her poetry, or maybe a book project. She might give lip service to creative writing being her 'passion', but there's no evidence of that. Passion isn't actually enough on its own; there has to be some personal investment, and that costs, it isn't glamorous, it's hard work. Even within the whole YouTube beauty context, there are people who are far more creative, interesting and inspirational than HLP, and I would say that this is an indictment against someone who did an MFA on a scholarship. She has finally become this full-on caricature of privileged Californian boho, but sort of 10 years too late. I guess she has her audience, but really, the mind boggles. Imagine, she calls herself a writer and doesn't even run a blog.

I watched one of her videos recently, giving her summary of last year, or her intro. to this one, and there was no mention of any real changes to her channel. Well, she CALLED them changes, but I couldn't see how they were different. Just spreading make up on her arms, shot from various angles. I rarely watch any of her output now. I think I was interested to see what she would do next. I always hold out these expectations that there'll be other types of content, but I can finally see that this isn't going to happen. With her channel being like it is, the whole consumerism thing has been galvanised into a stronghold. It's just one big mask: a mask against the world and worse, a mask against the realities of her own life. Not just her, it can work like that for anyone. However, she has made that choice to walk away from something more meaningful, just because it didn't give her the immediate feels. I guess she didn't have it in her in the first place. She's not the type to see out the long game, and she comes from a social milieu that will ensure she never has to.

Anyway, I've been judgemental long enough, but mainly because I judge myself for the same BS behaviours. This year is a year of rebuilding for many people, myself included. It isn't a comfortable prospect. However, buying yet another lipstick is not only going to be wasteful and pointless, it's also going to stop me doing the better thing to improve my situation.

Just taking this opportunity to wish everyone the best for 2021.

[MiscellaneousCell]

She is lost and is using items to fill a void. No idea if she is saving any money for the future. I'd hate to mooch from a hardworking family with a baby. Can you imagine going to school, finding a career, and working hard to make a living to have two grown adults stay at your home? I understand offering help during emergencies, but people tend to abuse and never leave or find ways to help themselves. Hannah and Joe need to learn to be independent functioning adults.

[EmptyVessel]

She is lost and is using items to fill a void. No idea if she is saving any money for the future. I'd hate to mooch from a hardworking family with a baby. Can you imagine going to school, finding a career, and working hard to make a living to have two grown adults stay at your home? I understand offering help during emergencies, but people tend to abuse and never leave or find ways to help themselves. Hannah and Joe need to learn to be independent functioning adults.

In fairness to Hannah, I think she has worked hard in her life, and is working pretty hard now, cooking all the meals, doing housework, minding a baby, and trying to find a way forward, perhaps doing her writing gigs too. I think she's pretty much the only one doing that in her relationship though. The crunch point will come eventually, unless she has an enormous stroke of luck: that point when she realises she's the only one holding it together and making an effort, and without being bailed out by someone else or getting a big start-up grant or something, it's just to heavy for her to carry two people. Moreover, since being with Hannah, Joe doesn't seem to have done an awful lot of anything. He's written this play, Banging the Shrew, and I think it has been produced as a podcast, so I guess he's hoping it will be picked up by someone bigger. It's his fantasy, and has nothing to do with making Hannah happy as far as I can see. They seem to want completely different things out of life. Moreover, Hannah has been the one accommodating Joe's writer fantasies, supporting him. She even creates roles for him so he can earn money.

There are so many men around who can't grow up and become adult men, and so many women trying to protect them from themselves. I can just see that Withnail & I moment at some point when Han is obliged to walk away just to save herself, and Joe will be there, clinging to the railings, belting out a Shakespearean soliloquy as he crumples to the pavement. He'll survive though; just find himself another basement and potter around, hand to mouth, living on handouts or the things other people throw away, and maybe some other poor fool will stumble across him and try and 'fix him'. It sounds cruel to say it, but I fear it's true.

[andthensome]

She is lost and is using items to fill a void. No idea if she is saving any money for the future. I'd hate to mooch from a hardworking family with a baby. Can you imagine going to school, finding a career, and working hard to make a living to have two grown adults stay at your home? I understand offering help during emergencies, but people tend to abuse and never leave or find ways to help themselves. Hannah and Joe need to learn to be independent functioning adults.

Moreover, since being with Hannah, Joe doesn't seem to have done an awful lot of anything. He's written this play, Banging the Shrew, and I think it has been produced as a podcast, so I guess he's hoping it will be picked up by someone bigger. It's his fantasy, and has nothing to do with making Hannah happy as far as I can see. They seem to want completely different things out of life.

At first I thought this was a sly reference to Forgetting Sarah Marshall and the Dracula musical, and then I realize this is a real thing

[EmptyVessel]

She is lost and is using items to fill a void. No idea if she is saving any money for the future. I'd hate to mooch from a hardworking family with a baby. Can you imagine going to school, finding a career, and working hard to make a living to have two grown adults stay at your home? I understand offering help during emergencies, but people tend to abuse and never leave or find ways to help themselves. Hannah and Joe need to learn to be independent functioning adults.

Moreover, since being with Hannah, Joe doesn't seem to have done an awful lot of anything. He's written this play, Banging the Shrew, and I think it has been produced as a podcast, so I guess he's hoping it will be picked up by someone bigger. It's his fantasy, and has nothing to do with making Hannah happy as far as I can see. They seem to want completely different things out of life.

At first I thought this was a sly reference to Forgetting Sarah Marshall and the Dracula musical, and then I realize this is a real thing

Yeah, you can even email him if you are a person of means who wants to sponsor the arts.

[visualsoup]

holy fuck the reads in this thread are scathing PHEW

[long stay]

holy fuck the reads in this thread are scathing PHEW

Scathing but fair, in my opinion. Above all else, they are entertaining

[EmptyVessel]

holy fuck the reads in this thread are scathing PHEW

I think I'd be equally scathing about myself in that situation. She's surrounded herself with people who tell her what she wants to hear, even her alleged therapist it seems. It's not healthy. One minute she's winning scholarships and getting published, teaching in a university, and then she's calling eyeshadow-swatching ''creative''. Something wrong somewhere. What's the point in bemoaning the fact that you're not where you want to be in life? You have to do something about it, surely? It's not like she even has student loans to worry about.

[saywhatyouwant2me]

There was a part in her most recent video where it sounded like she wanted to stop talking about exact numbers because her budget may increase. I think she is expecting an increase in income/projects and wants to augment her budget accordingly, and wants to get ahead of not having to disclose just how much more she's spending. This is a woman who already spent $2200 last year on just NEW stuff. Replacements of premium stuff, stuff she got for her channel, and other items she could squeeze around the loopholes not included. Her real spending was probably closer to $3500-$4000. On... carefully packaged and marketed crap. To fill someone else's dining room.

It gave off the vibe of someone pre-spending because they're expecting a raise or promotion. All the financial advice is like "Pretend you didn't get a raise and stow away any extra money, don't change your lifestyle whenever you get a bonus". It's stressful to watch her earmarking future money for even MORE crap instead of say, a safety net and big savings account so they can get back on their feet after living in their friend's house. Does this woman have any money at all for retirement? Does she just expect someone else to take care of this for her?

It's old news now but I can finally reply lol. I also got this sense. Also her saying she may or may not show all her purchases. She was already being shady in her budget reviews - highlighted by eagle eyed viewers who calculated the real expenditure - so now she'll use this to hide how much she's bought and how much she's spent.

For me, it's a little pointless to not disclose this because while it's not a financial or budgeting channel per se, that aspect sets it apart from other beauty channels. Without it, it's just her uploading long winded videos of "advice" with no sense of whether she's following that herself.