036. Secret Santa, Empties, and Holiday Viewing
Sharing what I got from my Secret Santa, the last empties of 2020, and all the movies to watch during the holiday season.
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.
First and foremost, Happy Holidays! No matter the holiday you and your loved ones celebrate, I hope it’s been/will be a great one. Maybe not the most traditional in 2020, but that’s part of the fun. Get creative! This December has been particularly busy for Husband and I, so we haven’t been able to have much Christmas at all. If we still wanted a tree, we decided to get a small one since we’d only have it for a few days. But then, on Wednesday, he surprised me with this one he made using excess wood from his other projects!
It filled and warmed my heart instantly. Plus, he had saved a few fallen branches from a storm a week earlier and used them to decorate the base. It’s beautiful, and Muto thinks so too. I’m so thankful that Husband always manages to make the house warmer and cozier with every one of his handcrafted additions.
A few weeks ago, my close group of friends and I did a gift swap. I can’t take any credit for the idea, but I’m so grateful that everyone was on board! It was a perfect way to welcome in the holidays, see one another (we did a zoom unboxing), and gift presents. We all made our wishlists. It was incredibly fun to set a budget, figure out which items fit that budget, and get a peek of what everyone else was wishing for. All the ladies have great taste, and I’ve since added a few of their items onto my running wishlist! I would have felt lucky no matter which secret Santa I had, but I was so fortunate to have Bird as mine. *It was also her idea to do the gift swap! I’m highlighting three of the gifts today because they’re simply awesome.
SUNDAY/MONDAY Scrunchie in Solstice* ($15, Medium, also available in Small)
As my hair has grown ridiculously long, I’ve been in dire need of scrunchies. If you follow me on Instagram, you know I’ve shared about these before, and can you blame me? Look at how stunning this fabric, color, and pattern is! These scrunchies are made from leftover fabric, a mix of 25% silk and 75% cotton. They’re stunning in person. And I’m so gleeful that Bird chose this particular one because it was the one I had been eyeing!
Polar Pro Defender Lens Cover* ($24.99, multiple sizes available)
I absolutely love that she included my wildcard pick. Around here, it’s no secret that I’m terrible about using lens covers. I tend to forget them, knock them off by accident, or refuse to purchase extras (yes, I have lenses that don’t have any cover on them). Husband is always (kindly) yelling at me about it, and for a good reason! So when I came across this lens cover, I felt like it could be the one. And it is.
This is such an incredible lens cap! It’s like a portable, rugged case for your lens. The flat portion of it is a rigid, molded ABS lens plate. The entire exterior uses flexible elastomer, so it fits around your lens snug. I feel 1000% safer about my lens with this cover, especially when I’m shooting outdoors. Turns out Husband’s always right, and I’ll have to purchase a few more of these for the rest of my lenses!
KINTO Travel Tumbler* ($32.50, 350ml | 12oz, White, available in 8 colorways)
Last but not least is the item I wished for the most: the KINTO travel tumbler! I am terrible with drinking water. Especially if I get in the zone with work (which is 95% of the time). Thus, I like to have a water bottle nearby because I also dislike drinking it lukewarm–hot. Yes, you read right. I only drink cold water and room temperature if I have to. I’m very picky when it comes to hydration. It’s weird; I know. For the past three years, I’ve been using a 17oz Swell bottle. To this day, it is by far the best for keeping cold drinks cold. On 100 degree days, it will keep your water ice-cold for 24 hours at least. It’s crazy. However, the major flaw is in the bottle design. It hates to stand upright. The slender form also doesn’t help since it gets easily knocked over. Husband hated the Swell bottle because he was always accidentally toppling it over.
Bird must be a mind reader because she got me the water bottle and in the colorway, I loved most! The tumbler and top of the lid are an ivory cream, while the tumbler’s spout and lid’s bottom portion is black. Its beautiful, sandblast texture allows for a comfortable grip. I love the satisfying smooth glide feel when the lid screws closed. The part I love most is the stopper mechanism inside. Whichever your beverage of choice, it flows out through small channels on the outer rim, and the stopper in the center naturally catches ice cubes or tea bags! It’s such a comfortable tumbler to drink out of. The 12oz size though smaller than my previous one, fits perfectly in my small hands. Yes, I do have to fill it up more often, but I don’t mind because this tumbler is fantastic!
I haven’t tried it with hot beverages yet, but I don’t usually use a tumbler for those anyway. To me, this ticks all of the boxes of what I need and hoped for. A huge thank you and big hug again to Bird. For knowing me so well and spoiling me this holiday season!
I just finished a few products that I thought I’d share for the last empties of 2020!
Naturallogic Luna Biofermented Red Wine Mask* (decant, $78, 2floz | 60ml)
If you read Newsletter 029, you already know how blown away by this mask I was. I tried to restrain myself from using too much because I wanted to make this generous decant last as long as possible! Sadly, I’ve since finished it, and whenever I think of masking, I wish I had it on hand. Clearly, whenever this re-releases in 2021, I’ll be in line.
Stark Skincare AURORA Cleanse + Hydrate Balm* (gifted, $46, 60ml | 2oz)
This balm was such a joy to use. Its thick balm texture feels so nourishing on the skin. It’s also excellent for any type of facial massage or facial gua sha. However, this lasted me just under 3 months. At first, I thought with the 2oz size, it might last me longer, but I found I always had to use a bit more than I thought I did, and that, in turn, made me go through it much faster. There was also something never quite right with the rinse-clean portion of this small-batch round. The balm never emulsifies with water or turn milky, so I always had to second cleanse to remove the excess. When I reviewed the line back in Newsletter 025, it was on sale, and now seeing that it’s $46, I don’t know that I would purchase a jar. I love their Eclipse gel cleanser far more and would happily purchase that instead.
Twelve Beauty Hyaluroil Lip Treatment* (gift from friend, $36, 10ml | .34floz)
If you followed along my 12 Days of Christmas over on Instagram, you’d recognize this as Day 8! I’ll keep this one short and sweet since I pretty much say it in that post, but this is excellent. It’s lasted me over 6 months; I can’t believe how affordable that makes this. If you have chronically dry lips, this underneath any lip balm will do the trick. Highly recommend.
Under Luna Warrior Shampoo ($32, 8oz | 236ml)
This is my favorite shampoo. Period. I never thought I could feel this way about shampoo, but there’s something truly magical about this one. If you followed me for a while, whether on Instagram, YouTube, or here, you know I have a very finicky scalp. This shampoo works with me instead of against me. It’s so soothing and balancing for my scalp. This bottle also lasted 5 months, a whole month longer than when I used my previous holy grail: the Innersense Pure shampoo. I have more to say but am saving it for a future newsletter, but I will 100% repurchase this. I’ve since purchased another one from this brand in the meantime, but again, more on that soon!
Under Luna Serenity Conditioner ($30, 8oz | 236ml)
I fell hard for the scent of this conditioner. The descriptor that always comes to mind is sensual. The aromas of sandalwood, bergamot, and geranium are extremely luxurious in this particular blend. I don’t know how Carly (founder, maker) did it. The only thing is that this conditioner is too nourishing for my scalp. It tends to weigh down my hair if I use it on the roots, so I’ve just applied it from mid-length to ends. It’s a fantastic detangler, and if you also suffer from dry or damaged hair, your hair will thank you for using this. Let’s put it this way: I didn’t need to cut my ever-growing long hair in 2020 because this conditioner made it feel and look so good. I just wish I could use this on my roots too!
You didn’t think I’d forget to make a list of movies to watch during the holidays, did you? Some of these are Christmas or New Year themed, but some encapsulate the wintry season in surprising ways. Listed by release year for hopefully some sort of easy referencing. I’ve linked the ones available on some kind of streaming network!
Holiday Inn (1942)
White Christmas (1954)
How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966)
Die Hard (1988)
Scrooged (1988)
National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989)
When Harry Met Sally (1989)
Edward Scissorhands (1990)
Home Alone (1990)
Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992)
The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
Before Sunrise | the Before Trilogy from Podcast 034 (1995–2013)
Jingle All the Way (1996)
Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001)
The Lord of the Rings | trilogy (2001–2003)
Harry Potter | all 8 films (2001–2011)
Catch Me If You Can (2002)
Elf (2003)
Love Actually (2003)
Christmas with the Kranks (2004)
The Holiday (2006)
The Hobbit | trilogy (2012–2014)
The Christmas Chronicles (2018)
Klaus (2019)
The Lodge (2019)
Happiest Season (2020) *Haven’t watched yet but on my list
Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey (2020) *Haven’t watched yet but on my list
Thanks so much for reading! I can’t believe the next newsletter will be in the New Year. I tried to keep the holiday viewing list very off the cuff and only 30 films. There are plenty more, of course, and I’d love to hear which ones are your favorites! And in case my dedication to this newsletter was ever in question, I’m writing this on Christmas Eve! The holidays can wait! That’s how important you are to me. Remember, you can always leave a comment or reply directly to this email to chat.
As always, I hope you have a great start to your last week in 2020. See you in the New Year!
Home for Christmas is another good one on Netflix to watch. It is a Norwegian, English voice-over 6-episodes-season show. I thoroughly enjoyed it last year and could not wait for this year seasion right on time for Christmas.
sooo happy you are enjoying the secret santa gifts. i loved the scunchie so much i treated myself to one too and use it almost everyday! i gotta try under luna shampoo and twelve lip oil 💕