035. 3rd Ritual, Losing Your Fight, Alice in Borderland
Sharing the best hand cream and body lotion, struggles of defeat, and why Netflix’s latest J drama is a manga’s perfect live-action.
Hi! I’m Maggie, and welcome to Tender Forms Off-Camera: a weekly newsletter about slow beauty and slow living. If you enjoy and would like to support this newsletter, click the button below! No pressure but thank you if you do.
Early this year, I stumbled upon the brand 3rd Ritual. The item I saw was their meditation tool, BEL. My jaw dropped, imagining what a beautiful object this would be in any home. From there, I found their apothecary, which consists of three botanical balms aptly named: SUN, EARTH, MOON. Unsurprisingly, the brand is all about the meditative qualities of everyday rituals. Their trio of balms is meant to assist in these rituals through smell and touch (and, for me, sight). When I found out that a local Portland shop, ALTAR, carried them, I purchased two of the three last month when I ran out of body care.
EARTH is described as a botanical body cream, while MOON is a botanical body lotion. I use EARTH for my hands and feet (when I remember to) and MOON as my body lotion. They’re nothing short of perfection.
With Winter fast approaching, my hands have gotten much drier in the past two months. I’m an avid hand-washer and am very aware of any feeling of texture on my hands. I’ve always looked for a hand cream that is deeply moisturizing but doesn’t leave a film or oil on the surface. I use a stylus and my keyboard with work, and there’s no bigger pet peeve than seeing the tackiness build up from whatever hand cream I’m using. This is why I usually opt for no hand cream, but then my dry hands crack, and that’s not great either.
3rd Ritual EARTH ($32, 2.02floz | 60ml)
EARTH is a gorgeous hand cream. First, a little goes a long way, which I love because it’s not cheap at $32. Second, the color is a stunning pale mauve. It looks feminine, kind, humble. Third, the scent is profoundly relaxing and grounding:
Top Notes: Pink Pepper and Ylang Ylang
Middle Notes: Cardamom, Cypress, and Vetiver
Base Notes: Rosewood and Tobacco
Fourth, and most importantly, the cream sinks in immediately (whether on damp or dry skin) and feels instantly healing. Gone are the desert lines, as smoothness comes forth, and a barrier of softness sits in its place. And no greasiness, oiliness, or residue of any kind is left. It’s breathtaking. Needless to say, I’ve kept this at my desk and thoroughly enjoy putting on hand cream now. Plus, I wish I had another one to keep by the bed and a third one in the car.
This is the better version of the Aesop Resurrection Aromatqiue Hand Balm. That used to be my favorite, but I always disliked the heavy feeling of it and that it consistently left my hands greasy.
3rd Ritual MOON ($32, 2.02floz | 60ml)
MOON is a spectacular body lotion. I’m unafraid to say it’s my favorite body lotion out there. It checks all the boxes for me: scent, texture, feel, price, etc. Now, this comes at the same size as EARTH, and I’m sure you’re thinking I’m going to fly through this, and you may be right. I use this every time I get out of the shower, from head to toe; I guess technically from the lower neck to toe. The scent is what I imagine moonlight bottled would smell like:
Top Notes: Bergamot, Petitgrain, Clary Sage
Middle Notes: Roman Chamomile, Rose, and Lavender
Base Notes: Sandalwood and Oakmoss
The way this smells makes me emotional. Even just thinking about the scent as I’m writing this, I choke up a bit. That’s the beauty of these 3rd Ritual balms; they genuinely are spiritual and transporting. This one is also very energetic. My body feels a light current pass through it when I use this. Which makes sense since it’s described as a “tool for transition—to support the shift from restlessness to rest, day to night, and giving to receiving.”
The color is also of moonlight: the edges of the moon where it hits against the pitch-black night sky and tinges the white of it with a soft wash of grey-blue. I’ve been particularly loving my shower routine because of this product and pairing it with the Earthwise Beauty Cistus and Moonlight Face Mist. The combination of these two is like bathing in the moonlight: revitalizing, harnessing, a reset.
A note on packaging: at $32, it leaves a bit to be desired. The tube and cap are plastic, and while the graphic design is lovely, the choice of packaging doesn’t match up to the quality of this balm. BUT I know if the packaging were to be updated, it will definitely move it into the luxury realm. The price increase significantly, and I don’t know if I could continuously use it at that kind of price point!
I desperately want to try SUN too, but figured I ought to wait until the warmer months return. And I would love to invest in BEL, except I haven’t entirely wrapped my head around if it would be soothing or frightening for Muto (our cat).
I was on the Moon Lists website the other day and saw their latest prompt asking:
In the last 30 days—what was gained? What was lost?
I answered with:
Gained: Breakthrough
Lost: Fight
As suspected with the past month, all I’ve been able to think about is work. I’m currently on a grueling job and have been excessively drained. Drained is not a great place to be when you work in any creative field. Yes, when push comes to shove, I’ll deliver. That’s part of what makes companies hire me. I always deliver, and sometimes my best work is done under the tightest of deadlines. This is why I answered “breakthrough.”
Despite running on empty, I had the usual breakthrough. I’m thankful that even when things are looking dire, and I fear the breakthrough might not come, it inevitably always appears. But there’s a lot of push and pain that happens to achieve it. Which led me to my second answer, “fight.”
I know I need to take a break when I lose my fight. Being drained sounds like the same thing, but it’s not. You can work through being drained, especially if the work is more production than conception. But losing your fight is a truer end. This one’s about endurance. Luckily, it’s not as bad as it sounds because of the previous answer. The breakthrough came at just the right time that losing my fight to find that the right solution was okay because I’d already found it. I could take that breath and continue on—no pain, no gain, as they say.
The creative process is so mysterious to me. It’s made up of contradiction and shows itself in the most unexpected of ways. Sometimes it’s through so much hardship and nonstop willpower; other times, it comes as naturally as the sun rising every morning. I was reading one of Mason Curry’s newsletters (one that I love and highly recommend signing up for). A writer wrote in with a question every creative struggles with. Mason’s advice is excellent, but head to the discussion thread for a more comprehensive array of insight and advice from other creatives. These are always an exciting read.
I’m going to (try to) keep this short and sweet because of the above section (re: drained). Husband and I blew through Netflix’s ‘Alice in Borderland.’ Neither of us has read the original manga before, so we went in not knowing anything aside from Netflix’s short blurb. It was excellent!
‘Alice in Borderland’ is by far the best live-action adaptation of a manga I’ve watched in recent history. It’s a tall order for any live-action adaptation (sorry for the pun) to live up to the original manga or anime. The main hurdle is always the action. There are beautiful but impossible ways of showing specific action through drawing or animation than in camera.
It achieves the action so beloved in manga and anime in a drama series. And then it steps it up a notch with simply stunning cinematography. It’s very easy to lean too cheesy or niche when it comes to adapting manga. ‘Alice in Borderland’ translates it in spades (oh ho ho, yes, another pun).
There are some excellent camera moves and shots in this series. Plus, it was a joy to feel transported back to Tokyo. Husband and I spent a month in Japan back in 2018, and the last place we stayed was in Shibuya, so it’s also freshest in our memory. It was so much fun to spot stores and streets we’d walked down.
Of course, this is not a feel-good series. I don’t want to say anything because I don’t want to ruin all the fun, but these two images should do the trick:
For those who are afraid of Japanese horror or gore, know this one is a relatively PG version. The cinematography alone is worth it, especially if you’re a fan of any manga’s blocking of characters. This series truly brings those frames to life. Plus, for anime fans, this series has no filler episodes. Yes, you heard right. Each episode moves the storyline forward, and even those primarily based on the character’s past adds something interesting.
The premise reminds me most of 2013’s ‘Death Parade’ anime series (which we also loved). It’s ‘Death Parade’ meets the PG-13 version of ‘Battle Royale’ with a sprinkling of ‘Kakegurui’ strategy (the anime, we haven’t watched the live-action series). If this doesn’t sell it, I don’t know what will.
Thanks so much for reading! Remember, you can always leave a comment or reply directly to this email to chat.
I 100% cannot wait for the holiday break, which starts on Thursday for me. Part of the strategy to surviving work is to not let in the holidays; sad but true. I’m looking forward to Christmas Eve when I can finally let in all the holiday joy. It’s been a mad dash, and I’m ready to sit and watch film and tv all day long.
I hope you have a great start to your week. See you next Sunday!
Hi! So many thoughtful items here I can't wait to look into - they BEL meditation thing!! and the moonlists...i'm in major need of a more consistent journaling exercise and I'm feeling a little lost without my full moon and new moon soundbaths here in San Diego since so many group gatherings are shut down. I'll have to check it out ! Sending good vibes to you this week, the other not as cool Maggie (@mindfulglowguide :) )