061. MOB Minis and Sleeping Beauty
The cutest, sustainable minis you’ve ever seen, and talking the 1959 “Once Upon A Dream” classic
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.
A few weeks ago, MOB Beauty launched MOB Minis. The brand kindly gifted me the opportunity to choose a bunch of formulas in a variety of shades, and I tried to do so wisely. I picked up every version of the lip balm, many cream lipsticks, a few blushes, and eyeshadows. If you saw my recent Instagram video, you’ll have seen just how cute these are in person. They are, by far, the most adorable and sustainable mini samples I’ve ever seen and tried!
Full brand review and more swatches of the line in Newsletter 044!
They come in their signature compostable and recyclable paper packaging. The minis are aluminum pans* with a tiny bit of adhesive to stick to the paper. When you’re done with all the product, simply toss the paper packaging into recycling or your compost. Then try and remove any excess adhesive on the pan and toss it in with your aluminum recycling.
*Please note: these pans are not magnetic. You’ll have to either stick magnetic discs onto them to work in Z palettes or, as I did, just place them into the palette. There was a little bit of adhesive that stayed on the back of the pan when I removed them from their packaging. This helped it stick into the palette but will be easy to remove when the time comes!
Since I was one of their first rounds of shipment, unfortunately, a dark, shimmery eyeshadow shade I had chosen shattered during travel, and it got everywhere. Almost all of my minis had a thin layer of it on top since most of them were cream formulas. Because of the mishap, I had to scrape off a decent layer of each product to swatch them. While it took some time, it didn’t affect the product underneath at all, and I’ve been using and loving them ever since. Today, I have mini swatches to fit the mini-theme. Let’s get started!
Lip Balm ($25 w. compact, $20 refill, 3g | .10oz)
Above are all six shades of their lip balm. I have the one on the far right, M25. It’s described as a “honey rose,” and it’s still my favorite. Many lip colors tend to turn pink on my lips from their natural cool, purple hue. The other lip balms wore as either a pretty pink or berry on me. These lip balms, while super-emollient, deliver some serious pigment! With one swipe, it had a lot more color than I was expecting, just slightly less than their cream lipstick. It’s like a glossier version of the lipstick. If you like a glossy balm that packs a good tint, these are for you!
Cream Lipstick ($27 w. compact, $22 refill, 3g | .10oz)
If you’ve read my MOB Beauty newsletter review, you’ll know that their Cream Lipstick is my favorite in the beauty world, period. It’s my holy grail lipstick. So creamy, with a beautiful satin finish, it feels weightless and is pigmented. Again, I have the far right shade, M58. It’s my perfect everyday, my-lips-but-better shade. I’ve already made quite a dent in mine, and every time I wear it, I fall in love all over again. If you haven’t tried these yet, I beg you, pick up at least one the next time you need lipstick!
While I don’t have all of the shades, I picked up a few that I was definitely interested in: some nudes, deeper, and brighter colors. And, of course, I’ve found new favorites, which is dangerous because I’ll definitely be picking them up once I’m done with my current one.
M3 is the nude I’ve been searching for. It’s a deeper tone too, so it gives that sultry nude I never thought I needed. M56 is a lighter, warmer version and equally beautiful. In fact, it may be a dupe for my beloved Medina evanhealy color balm! I was also looking forward to the M62, simply described as a “red.” This, however, turned more berry than I was expecting. I appreciate the blue in this because I love reds like these since they tend to brighten my teeth. However, my cool lips turned it a bit too berry pushing it outside red for me. It does become a beautiful poppy berry though!
Blush ($30 w. compact, $25 refill, 4g | .14oz)
The blush the brand originally gifted me during their launch was M19, “honey rose.” While beautiful, the blushes are pigmented, so it often was just a tad too dark for my skin tone. I picked up the two lighter shades, M17 “peach” and M27 “coral pink.” I love both of them. The color descriptions are spot on. If I had to choose one of the two, I think I’d go with M17. Like lip colors, blushes tend to go pink on me as well, so it’s rare to find a true peach like this one!
M30 was also an automatic add-to-cart. While this is obviously not a blush for my fair skin, just look at this color! I had to get the mini just so I could see what it looked like on me, and surprisingly, I really love it! It gives me a slightly sunburnt look, but it would be perfect for summertime. And if I go in with a super light hand, it just looks like I went for a heavy blush look. I’m tempted to buy a full-size because it would look equally gorgeous for a full-color eye look, don’t you think?
Eyeshadow ($22 w. compact, $18 refill, 1.8g | .06oz)
I love that MOB Beauty has fun colors. Luckily, the brand gifted me two I’d been eyeing during their launch, but when I had the chance to pick up minis, I already knew the first shade I would get: M48 “shimmering olive.” I adore olive eyeshadow. I think it’s one of those rare “colorful” shades that look good on anyone with any eye color and skin tone. And this is a stunning olive.
Their shimmer eyeshadows are divine. The shimmer is so fine that it almost gives that wet look. I have M43 “shimmering champagne,” and the shine is gorgeous. M48 delivers that same high caliber shine in a base of muted olive. It’s sophisticated, it’s fun, it’s a one-and-done. After I finish a few eyeshadows, I’ll be picking up this shade in its full size.
M8 is a “matte sable,” M18 is a “matte milk chocolate,” and M65 is a “matte brown plum.” All are beautiful, just not shades I tend to use day-to-day. Though M65 makes an extra stunning colorful liner when applied wet!
That concludes the mini swatches! You can get 2 of these minis with every order. I love how compact these pans are, but you still get so much product to truly test several looks over the span of (in my opinion) weeks. I love, perhaps, even more, the easily recyclable aspect of them too. I’m hoping they’ll make these available for purchase too. An Instagram follower also had the fantastic idea that they could sell minis in categorized bundles! Fingers crossed!
To get my money’s worth from my recent Disney+ subscription, I’m rewatching plenty of the classics. I decided to start with the 1959 classic, ‘Sleeping Beauty.’ It’s a shame I never rewatched this in full, with undivided attention in my adult life because it has proven to be one of the best, bar none.
Upon watching it now in my 30s, this is one of the quieter, visually stunning, and conceptually strong Disney princess tales. I even venture as far as to say this is the best of them all. It is so well-considered, frame by frame, song by song. But the beauty is not surface only; even the characters are fully fleshed out and complex. Each holds a strong personality, but there are nuances too. Merryweather, a fairy godmother, can be grumpy, and Maleficent can be humorous. I had never noticed the wide range of Maleficent’s facial expressions. She can be comical, devious, all while being the most powerful sorcerer.
Before Maleficent essentially crashes the party, places a curse on the newborn, and leaves early in style, both Flora and Fauna had bestowed their godmother gifts upon Princess Aurora. This is also the first time I listened to the lyrics of each gift, and it is sublime.
One gift: beauty rare
Gold of sunshine in her hair
Lips that shame the red, red rose
She'll walk with springtime
Wherever she goes
One gift: the gift of song
Melody her whole life long
The nightingale's her troubadour
Bringing his sweet serenade
to her door
For true love conquers all
Is that not poetry? Not to mention the orchestral sways and almost Gregorian style chorus; it is epic in its beauty in lyric and instrument.
Then, of course, there are the visuals. So impeccably art directed, the color palette is a star in itself the way it’s woven into every frame as it tells its tale. From the opening titles, we quickly learn the story’s hero hues: red, green, blue, purple, yellow. It makes sense because, in a kingdom, there are jewels. And jewels can be found in each of these colorways. While it opens itself up to have some wiggle room between them, it is clear where the foundation lies.
As we move deeper into the story, we’re reminded that a combination of RGB (red, green, and blue) is good. The good fairies are each of these hues, and the kingdom in all its colorful range uses them too. However, when green and purple make an appearance, we are taught it’s dark magic as this particular combo belongs strictly to Maleficent. We see it first in her dramatic entrance, but her external features are cloaked in it too: from her inky purple robes to her green skin.
And when the Princess’s fate is sealed as she touches the spindle, she turns green herself. The fairies come up with a compassionate plan to place the kingdom into slumber with her, and as they fly through, dusting them with sleep, the kingdom and its subjects turn green and purple as well. For now, they are under the reign of Maleficent.
How do they get out of it? Well, true love’s kiss, of course. But who’s to deliver it? Prince Phillip! As I rewatched this, I decided that he is the best Prince there is. He’s funny, charming, can sing… And I don’t mean the usual adolescent, boyish voices we hear in many Disney films. I’m talking about a deep bravado. Even Princess Aurora herself sings with a deeper tone than her speaking voice, another detail I truly enjoyed for how different it is compared to the others.
And we haven’t even covered the Prince’s valiance and chivalry, for chivalry was not dead! This man fights a dragon that spits green fire with what looks like a run-of-the-mill shield and sword. His shield could even be wooden, in fact! Yet he braves a forest of thorns and a one-on-one KO fight with Maleficent as said dragon. How brave is that?!
After the inevitable defeat of Maleficent, in the scene just as the Prince leans into True Love’s Kiss, we already know what’s about to happen. The story has unfolded through the color palette again. While our Princess Aurora is green, Prince Phillip dons his bright red cape against the rich blue tapestry. We’re already back in the world of good and RGB.
I haven’t even mentioned the magnificent theme song of “Once Upon A Dream” yet.
I know you, I walked with you once upon a dream
I know you, that look in your eyes is so familiar a gleam
And I know it's true that visions are seldom all they seem
But if I know you, I know what you'll do
You'll love me at once, the way you did once upon a dream
More poetry. See?! This film is full of gems! Speaking of, was it an arbitrary choice to make Maleficent’s color theme green and purple? Of course not. Have you seen the colors of the Aurora Borealis? I think you’ll notice lots of green and purples there…Aurora would fall under Maleficent’s curse; the two are tied in their fates! And with that, I hope you’ll take an afternoon or evening and treat yourself to this elegant enchanting tale.
Thanks so much for reading! Have you tried anything from MOB Beauty yet? And what are your thoughts on the classic Disney ‘Sleeping Beauty’? I’d love to know. Leave a comment by clicking 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!