Halloween! It’s a love-hate relationship... — BEAU SOCIETY issue #058

If I dig deep enough, I can get excited about it.

Hi everyone!

Happy Halloween! I’ve mentioned this before, but every year, I’m somewhere in between avoiding Halloween and knowing that if I dig deep enough, I can find it in myself to get excited about dressing up and doing the whole thing.

I tend to love the chaotic last-minute scramble that happens in my house every year. It’s two hours before a Halloween party, and I have 13 open tabs on my iPad, trying to find a simple, somewhat clever costume that I can pull together with an eyeliner and a black dress that doesn’t feel like a cop out. Some years turn out better than others (I’ll elaborate below).

Regardless of whether or not I leave the house, one thing I never skip on Halloween is the candy. I have a huge sweet tooth (never had a cavity, knock on wood!), but Halloween candy is really hit or miss. So I made a power ranking to break down the best picks. Candy Corn is awful, sorry.

• M&Ms: Elite (add to popcorn)

• Tootsie Rolls: Only if everything else is gone

• Dots: Straight to the trash

• Butterfingers: Solid

• Reese’s: Elite

• Kit Kat: Elite

• Jolly Ranchers: Filler candy

• Snickers: Solid

• Twix: Elite

• Milky Way: Solid

• Three Musketeers: Solid

• Nerds: Filler candy

• Milk Duds: Underrated

• Pixy Stix: Straight to the trash

• Blow Pops: Underrated

• York Peppermint Patties: Only if everything else is gone

• Candy Corn: Straight to the trash

If you’re going out tonight and still don’t have a costume, I searched my camera roll for what I’ve gone as in years past and found a few fun ideas.

I love this costume. It was one of the rare occasions I actually planned my outfit well in advance. (Raising my hand to host a Halloween party really lit a fire under me.) We worked with a legit costume designer and made sketches and everything.

This was a few years ago. Very last-minute, and easy, easy.

When I was living in New York City, I totally forgot to get a Halloween costume (are you sensing a theme?). I pulled a black dress from my closet, and I asked my friend and makeup artist, Carolina, to come over and paint my face like a clown. If you’re good at makeup, you could totally do it yourself. All you need is a black liquid eyeliner. This is a helpful tutorial.

I’ve seen so many good Mary costumes!! But an even more niche and specific idea: Mary from the ‘90s! High-waisted jeans, leather jacket, high pony, lollipop (Blow Pop?). Just a thought.

What did you dress up as this year? Drop a comment. And if you’re on the couch, let me know what you’re watching…

I polled the biggest movie buffs I know and assembled a Halloween watchlist for us, a mix of classic horror films and newer releases (I’m so excited to see Julia Garner and Josh Brolin in Weapons). Side note: I love this video on Stephen King adaptations and how the movies differ from his books.

• Get Out (2017)

• Sinners (2024)

• Weapons (2025)

• Hocus Pocus (1993)

• The Shining (1980)

• Night of the Living Dead (1968)

• Jennifer’s Body (2009)

• The Watcher in the Woods (1980)

• Talk to Me (2022)

• Lamb (2021)

• Death of a Unicorn (2025)

• I Saw the TV Glow (2024)

• The Exorcist (1973)

• The Omen (1976)

• The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

• The chocolate chip cookies at Casa Tua: I have to reach out for this recipe. They’re caramel-y and just the right amount of chocolate with sea salt. Also, the plates, <3.

• Koala Eco Kitchen Spray: I find so much peace and comfort in knowing this disinfectant is clean when I’m spraying it all over my house. The kitchen spray is my favorite, but I also use and love the dish soap and the hand soap. About to place a refill order.

• Bay leaves: I made the best white rice the other day. I used water, chicken broth, salt, and butter, added rice, and then I put a bay leaf on top, and just let it cook. The bay leaf flavor was subtle, but it was there and made the rice 10x better.

• Substack!: It’s no secret that I’m not particularly good at social media, but I’ve been having so much fun exploring here on Substack. I love Notes like this.

• Hosting a casual dinner party midweek: I love a Wednesday night dinner with a few friends. It fills my cup, allows us to catch up casually, and breaks up the week. I especially love it when my friends bring their six-month-old baby who’s got the best little personality!

• This color combo.

• Hot chocolate: Is it too early? (I’ve also been lightly Christmas shopping...)

THIS WEEK’S BS

TO READ: How to shop for antiques in Europe (and get them home).

TO WEAR: Guest in Residence Industry Jacket.

TO EAT: Three-bean chili with plantains.

TO REMEMBER: “Maybe romantic love is not the forefront of your life right now, but love exists in so many forms. It’s in your friendships, in strangers, in your parents. There’s so much love to be shared in the world.” -Olivia Dean

Love,
Hailee
(Beau)

P.S. I was so impressed by the comments section of last week’s newsletter! It reminded me of why I started Beau Society in the first place: to have these deeper two-way conversations. There were a couple of responses that stood out to me. The biggest one was this note about how much of a privilege it is to even be able to contemplate this question…

Highlighting your comments on the previous week’s issue. Today, we hear Ada’s response to Can you ever really have it all?

“I’m appreciative and happy to be living at a time in history where a woman like me and Hailee, and you who’s reading this can look at ‘having it all’ as a thought to consider. For so many of the women who came before us, it was an absolute impossibility. A fever dream. Today, our minds can conceive it, and our hands can work to try and achieve it.” -Ada