050. Under/Over, Another Round
Sharing March favorites and disappointments and getting drunk off the 2021 Oscar-nominated international film.
Hi! I'm Maggie, and welcome to Tender Forms Off-Camera: a weekly newsletter about slow beauty and slow living. Links in this newsletter may include affiliate links or discount referrals. If you enjoy and would like to support this newsletter, click the button below or shop through my links! No pressure but thank you if you do.
Sharing another edition of “Under/Over,” aka March favorites and disappointments! I can’t believe the last time I did this was in October of last year. If you’re a longtime subscriber, you might know that I review plenty of new-to-me items, but certainly not new to the beauty space. The Under list are underrated items that might be new-to-me. The Over list is overrated items that wound up disappointing.
Heart of Gold Pastoralia Spring Sequence* (gifted, $110, 30ml | 1floz)
I apologize for the upcoming gush, but please bear with me. I believe this was first launched Spring of 2020. I didn’t get a chance to try it before it sold out then, so I almost screamed aloud with joy when I received a generous gift from Ally (founder, creator).
Pastoralia is a beautiful clear to milky “hydra-gel.” The color is not entirely transparent since there is some opacity and density to it. Still, the look of it certainly leans clear. It conjures beautiful scenes and sounds of ice cracking as it melts, freshwater surging through, and most prominently, an overhead view of waterfalls. Come to think of it, the mist found near the splash point of waterfalls is an excellent descriptor for its color!
The inclusion of “Sequence” in the name is spot on because it’s intended for morning and evening use over a consecutive 30 days. As with all skincare, I took my time introducing this to my skin. For the first two weeks, I only used 3 drops during the evenings. Already, this made a tremendous difference. It is fast-acting, quickly changing the seasons of your skin, from dull Winter to vibrant springtime.
So you can, of course, imagine the remarkable change once I started using it AM and PM. This gel is such a joy to use. It’s beautiful on its own, but I love mixing it with my facial oil of choice. I’ve tried it with the Maison/Made Extrait de Maison, Naturallogic Rarefy, another Heart of Gold oilserum, and it’s beautiful in all iterations. My face feels calm, relieved, and vibrant. And if that alone wasn’t enough, my skin looks incredible. I thought it was doing pretty great for the end of Winter already, but wow, did this take things up several notches. Now when I think of Pastoralia, I think of radiance.
The last thing I want to mention is the scent. Indeed, this is what caused my mind’s eye to picture the aforementioned scenes of water in all states. It is such a fresh, clean, soft floral, and delicately sweet scent. And this is achieved through the mixture of hydrosols, extracts, and flower essences. No essential oils! I’m just amazed that there are none, yet it possesses such an angelic scent.
Yes, this is pricey at $110, but given that the results are how your skin looks after leaving a facial appointment, it’s well worth it. Plus, it will far outlast the 30-day sequence. I’ve been using it for a month now and have barely made a dent. I’m estimating I still have three month’s worth if I continue using 3 drops per AM and PM. Tender Forms math time: $110 ÷ 4 months = $27.50 per month. WORTH IT.
This is a limited edition from Heart of Gold that only releases around springtime. If you’ve got a spot to fill in your routine and are looking for something magical, you can’t go wrong with this beauty.
Heart of Gold Sweet Clover + Pinyon Hydrolat* (gifted, $30, 50ml | 1.7floz)
Here we have another spectacular seasonal edition from Ally. I love the Heart of Gold Hydrolats. Her Blue Chamomile + Rose is the reason I use hydrosols today. All the ones I’ve tried are an instant boost to the body and spirit, each a sensorial sensation. Sweet Clover + Pinyon is so perfect for Spring. I guarantee when you smell this, you’ll think of sunlit fields of clover, flowers blossoming, Spring awakening.
Aside from its bright, cheerful, smile and dance-inducing scent, it has been so lovely in my skincare routine. I layer it between each step to provide hydration to my easily dehydrated skin. This one is also excellent in the mornings because it feels like it depuffs as I use it. Amazing. If Blue Chamomile + Rose is my favorite for Summer, this one will be my favorite for Spring. There’s not much else to say aside from it is simply wonderful.
And if you’re someone like me who enjoys seasonal skincare, might I direct you to the Heart of Gold Seasonal Attunements section. Enjoy!
Naturallogic UNMASK Detox Hydration Mask* (gift from dear friend, Andie, $58, 60ml | 2floz)
If you’ve been here a while, or even if you haven’t, it’s clear that I am a visual person. So let’s just take a moment to enjoy the above texture of this mask. Has one seen anything like it before?! I haven’t, but that could be that I’m always behind in the mask category since I only mask once or twice per week.
I’ve written about Naturallogic’s LUNA before, another all-time favorite mask. It’s appeared in the last Under/Over (Newsletter 029) and in my 2020 Skincare Index (038). Toni (founder, creator) is gifted when it comes to creating masks. I’ve tried three thus far, and each one has been nothing short of magical. The true power in her masks is comfortability. And UNMASK is no different.
Similar to LUNA, UNMASK is another do-it-all mask for me. It detoxifies, deploys a tremendous amount of hydration and antioxidants while also brightening and smoothing. This mask is fun to use, mainly because the texture and color are so mesmerizing. I haven’t come across any mask that resembles squid ink as much as this one. Its rich inkiness is a feast for my eyes. Spread across the face, it turns surprisingly translucent, like smoke-colored glass.
One of the most unique qualities of Toni’s masks is that they perfectly capture room temperature. You know how any pre-mixed mask can feel cold immediately upon the skin, making it shocking and sometimes uncomfortable during the colder months? UNMASK will not do that, which makes it so comfortable upon application and during wear-time! This mask also moves with your skin—no tightening or drying, allowing you to dictate the amount of time to leave it on.
This has been the mask I’ve been reaching for consistently. Helps clear up acne, makes my skin so plump and smooth, and the scent of clove is so grounding. I also know it won’t freak out my skin, causing unbalance if I leave it on for too long. UNMASK is fool-proof.
Saie Slip Tint (Shades Two and Three) ($32, 40ml | 1.35floz)
You might remember that I included this in my 2020 Makeup Index. It was my favorite tinted SPF of the year. And for the first half of the tube, that remained true. However, after using it as my only SPF for five months now, I’ve realized it simply takes too much work.
First, I have to mix two shades. Shade Two is too pale for me outside of deep Winter, and Shade Three is too yellow and deep. Combining the two brings it to my closest match. Day-to-day, indoors in my office, I mix one pump of each. On sunnier days, I use four pumps to make sure I’m getting the full SPF35. This never looks good on my skin. It turns full coverage, gathers in lines, and accentuates dry patches when I use this much. I can’t imagine going outdoors with four pumps, which I would need for the full SPF.
Second, the glow factor is too much. You already know I prefer satin or matte when it comes to my base. Unfortunately, even with only two pumps, it is way too glowy for my liking. And without powder, I would be a ball of light during office Zoom-calls. Thus, every day, after putting this on, I have to set it with powder. Luckily, I work from home because I can’t imagine wearing a mask with this SPF. Possibly all of it would transfer onto the mask because this SPF moves like none other. It makes it incredibly comfortable to wear, but the amount of upkeep is astronomical (unless you’ve set it with powder, don’t wear a mask, and don’t touch your face for the whole day).
I’ve gotten down the routine of using two pumps at my desk (thanks to the PNW cloudy weather), setting it with powder (under the eyes, eyelids, brows, along the nose, jawline), and not touching my face the rest of the day. And I would have considered continuing the routine if I hadn’t hit past the two-thirds mark of the tube. I started Shade Two first before I reached out to them about shade match. They kindly sent Shade Three, and that’s when I started mixing the two. Once I hit the two-thirds mark on Shade Two, I noticed my usual routine looking worse. The SPF looked awful on days I didn’t get enough sleep, or my skin was having more trouble than usual. It clung aggressively to dry patches and seemed to separate on the skin. And on days where my skin was looking great, it somehow made my skin look worse.
I hadn’t changed much in either my skincare or makeup routines, so I deduced that it’s something with the formula. It hasn’t passed its shelf life expiration (10/22), but the tube itself also doesn’t have a PAO symbol. I also don’t recall the outer box packaging having it, or I would have noted it. The site says their products last from 3–12 months (I’m guessing the 3 is more for their mascara and brow items). But it hasn’t even been 6 months since I opened it. There’s been no change in scent, just in performance, and it bums me out.
Ultimately, I’m too lazy to constantly be guessing what it will look like that day and how to fix it. I won’t be repurchasing this one.
Here are three out of the many things I thought while reflecting on ‘Another Round:’
Damn, drinking with loved ones is fun.
I never want to experience another hangover.
I can’t wait to celebrate something again.
Back when we lived in NYC, I loved to drink. Husband loves to drink too. During all of our personal milestones and celebrations, we each had a scotch in hand. It was our thing. I haven’t had a drink in well over a year now. And since moving to the PNW, I’ve only had one glass of wine, three to four beers, and only a few sips of whiskey here and there. I don’t think there’s a scenario that’s better than the other. It’s just how life finds itself to be at a specific moment in time.
But in the three years of living in the PNW, I’ve never wanted a drink more than while watching this film. ‘Another Round,’ or ‘Druk’ (meaning either “drinking” or “binge drinking”) in its original Danish title, is directed by Thomas Vinterberg and stars Mads Mikkelsen, Thomas Bo Larsen, Magnus Millang, and Lars Ranthe. Mikkelsen plays our lead, Martin, in this group of four middle-aged men who conduct an experiment testing a psychiatrist’s theory that everyone performs best at 0.05% BAC (blood alcohol content).
There is so much to love about this film. What I appreciated most was its unadulterated, 360° look at life. Though Mikkelsen leads, the experiment shines through the individual effects and choices of each of the four (Martin, Tommy, Nikolaj, Peter). They round each other out beautifully, and it gives us more than one point of view, story, and relationship. And though the cinematography is rich and stunning, it doesn’t sugarcoat things.
As much joy and high as the film exudes during its drunken stupors, it equally mellows and falls into despair, nausea, and the grueling ticking of the clock as we wait for the next drink. When the group takes it too far, it’s dire in the moments coming down or waking from passing out. They wear wounds, expel bodily fluids, and can’t disguise an overall dread as relationships fall out and careers are jeopardized.
Mikkelsen is the MVP of this film. His body language is spectacular, as are the minute changes in his facial expressions. The way his character’s physicality progresses through the story is incredibly fun to watch. There’s an excellent scene 48 minutes in where he stumbles into a teacher’s lounge. He maneuvers some fancy choreography similar to Chinese drunken boxing before just missing the mark at the end. It’s fantastic.
And the camerawork is delightful. It spins, sways, and bounces with ease in inebriated states and grounds itself slow and steady when sober. During an early dinner scene when they’re discussing the psychiatrist’s theory, Nikolaj (Millang) says the 0.05% BAC makes one more “musical and open.” That is what this film is: musical and open.
And if you’re a fan of dance, let Mikkelsen sweep you off your feet in the film’s end scene—INCREDIBLE. *And yes, that is Mikkelsen performing! He is a trained gymnast and dancer. The film is Oscar-nominated for both International Feature Film and Best Director, a rare and well-deserved feat.
Thanks so much for reading! I’d love to hear about your March favorites and disappointments! You can always leave a comment (click the comment bubble icon) or reply directly to this email to chat one-on-one. And if you know someone who might enjoy this newsletter, please share!
As always, I hope you have a great start to your week. See you next Sunday!