My List: Kulap Vilaysack
The pod host and comedy force from all your favorite tv shows has *taste*.
Kulap Vilaysack epitomizes the phrase “multi-hyphenate”. Actress! Producer! Director! Writer! Comedian! Podcast host! Mom! Probably also exhausted!
She’s laid hands on classics like The Office, Bob’s Burgers, Parks & Recreation, and Happy Endings — as well as created Bajillion Dollar Listing. Coming up, it’s Mindy Kaling’s tongue-in-cheek Scooby Doo adaptation, Velma, airing on HBO Max. She’s busy.
But I wanted to talk to Kulap for the sake of this, a shopping newsletter, because she co-hosts one of my favorite podcasts, Add to Cart, with our friend Suchin Pak, a podcast dedicated entirely to… (what do you think) shopping. On the pod, Ku and Su ruthlessly analyze and review their purchases — from the most mundane to big-ticket — with wit, self-awareness, and a heavy filter on the bullshit.
Any extension of their taste guarantees immaculate, useful picks. Kulap has graciously agreed to share some of her tried and trues below. Plus, it’s nice to not always hear from me, you know? I want to know what other people are buying too — and why. I’ll let her run it down.
Kosas Tinted Face Oil: I’ve become a superfan of the brand. (I am trying my hardest not to branch off and name everything I have.) Using all the restraint I can muster, I’ll shout out this tinted face oil. I’ve got freckles that I don’t want to cover, and skin that gets drier as I age — enter the perfect product for me. It lays light and feels fantastic.
Panache Sports Wired Bra: There is no better sports bra for large-chested sisters! Treat yourself to the support your girls deserve.
BLUNT Skincare Face Oils: My ADD TO CART co-host SuChin Pak thinks the Isolate Pure CBD Balancing Face Oil is a game changer, I love it too and swear by the Moonrock Full Spectrum Renewal Face Oil. (Bonus, AAPI creator and CEO!)
TA3 Plunge Swimsuit: Their Facebook and Instagram ads were chasing me for months, but it took for my friend Julia Vaughn to post about it for me to purchase. The hype is real. I am shaped, laced in, and SEXY in the 3 suits I own. It’s a GAME CHANGER.
RISE: A Pop History of Asian America from the Nineties to Now: Authors Jeff Yang, Phil Yu, and Philip Wang have done our community a service, but everyone can benefit from the dynamic way they educate and celebrate. A handful of my non Asian friends received this as a gift for AAPHM in May!
Sackcloth & Ashes: This company donates a blanket to a homeless shelter for each one purchased. I love my Naiomi Glasses Heritage blanket. It’s a go-to gift.
Super73 Electric Bike: These bikes are super fun. During the demi, my friends and I started a neighborhood e-bike gang of 40+ year-olds. I have the R and added some third-party mods to make it my own.
Thousand Heritage Helmet in Carbon Black: to protect my melon! I first heard about this AAPI-created company through the Gold House Gold Rush Market.
Madewell The Oversized Trucker Jean Jacket: I’m a very cool dude and all cool dudes need a jean jacket to look casually put together. #geriatricmillenial
More to Love…