The Pleasure Lists Q&A: Rachel Karten of Link in Bio
Pleasures, Curated by Rachel Karten
We’re back with another installment of
: Pleasures, Curated.I hope you enjoy reading these as much as I enjoy getting to know members of the Pleasure Lists community and what makes their Pleasures tick.
This week’s Pleasure-seeker is
. Rachel Karten is a social media consultant and author of the social media industry newsletter . She has worked in social media for over 10 years and previously led the social media team at Bon Appétit and Epicurious. Since leaving Condé Nast in 2020, Karten has been consulting on social media strategies for brands like CAVA, west elm, and more. Her newsletter has over 60,000 subscribers and is a top 10 business newsletter on Substack. She basically lives on the internet so you don’t have to.Pleasures, Curated by of
Instagram: @milkkarten, TikTok: @milkkarten
Location: Los Angeles
MY PLEASURES
Looking at my phone before bed
Blue light is my lullaby. I love my little pre-sleep scroll. I look at Reddit, play Connections, and check in on the Instagram influencers that I refuse to follow but like to check in on. I know it’s time to put my phone away when my eyelids grow heavy in the middle of some article by The Cut. I get the best night of sleep after this routine!
Watching other people’s wedding videos
Inject them into my veins. The voiceover vows. The stock music. The drone shot. The perfectly-timed music swell during the dip kiss. If someone (stranger or not) posts a wedding video on social media, I am watching it.
The moment in cooking where the food becomes fragrant
Is there a better smell than onions cooked down in butter? I swear my mood shifts from “I don’t want to be cooking dinner” to “This is the most relaxing, fun activity” when the food starts to smell good. It’s euphoric. There’s probably some evolutionary explanation to this.
Playing with my nail sideburns
When looking up what to call the little piece of dead skin on the side of my nail, I came across this post. I will forever call them nail sideburns now. What can I say? They are fun to play with! Eventually they get too long or start to hurt, and I trim them (no, I don’t eat them like some commenters on that post suggest!). But they are fun while they last!
Taking off my makeup at night
I used to wear makeup every day when I had to go into the office. Now I only wear it when I am going to see someone in person or via Zoom. Because it’s not in my routine as much, it feels heavier on my face—which means taking it off at night has become all the more enjoyable. I bought one of those TikTok viral makeup removing balms and IT IS AMAZING. It gets everything off in one scrub and rinse.
Martinis with olives, lemon, and ice
I don’t care about the “right” way to make a martini. That’s why in the summer I drink my martinis on the rocks. I also like to include both olives and a twist to really piss people off. It’s delicious.
What does pleasure mean to you? The little things that make up a fulfilled life
Who do you want to see next? Send me suggestions for who to feature in the next installment!
What Is “Pleasures, Curated”?
Each week, a new Pleasure-seeker will document their personal Pleasures and ruminate a bit on what Pleasure means to them. True to
style, I keep the list-maker’s je ne sais quoi in as much as I can — only minor editorial changes are made when necessary. I do this intentionally so that the writer’s inner world really comes through. The style of the list says as much about the writer as the list itself.Read the Last Q&A’s:
Why submit a list?
Pleasure Lists are a summary of what you need, want, or have, or see at a particular moment in time. They are a survey, an overview, a summary of the crucial facts of the state of one aspect of your life. It’s a kind of blueprint that can be a guide to the future.
Mull it over and if you’re moved to, send me a list.
Questions? Comments? Send any recommendations or suggestions for what you’d like to see in these newsletters my way. I’d love to hear more about what you’re currently finding pleasure in.
Join the chat below to connect with other members of the Pleasure List community:
Please share this newsletter! The Pleasure Lists is meant to be a collaborative project that calls people from all over to write, read, and share their pleasures — a global community of artists, writers, and pondering minds alike.
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