065. YINA, Hercules
A summer beauty duo featuring YINA and talking one of my most rewatched Disney features
Hi, I’m Maggie, and welcome to Tender Forms Off-Camera: a weekly newsletter on all things slow: beauty, fashion, 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.
I was over the moon when Sabrina of the YINA team reached out, asking if I would be willing to receive a package from them. I cannot express how honored and excited I was! You already know that I adore their Anti-Pollution mask (full review in Newsletter 053), perfect year-round, and their Divine Bio-Cellulose Mask, the best sheet mask, period. They kindly sent over two items from their Summer #YINAbeauty Ritual.
YINA Clarify Botanical Serum* ($75, 15ml | .5floz, $63.75 as subscription)
This is the first time I’ve had the pleasure of seeing their recent rebrand in person, and it does not disappoint. From the understated, fine gold foiled letterforms and illustrations on the outer box packaging to the feminine and refined bottle and dropper, elegance is the foundation of every design layer.
I love the shape of the bottle. I admire the wider, almost stout-like form. It’s balanced beautifully with the light font weights and clean layout with plenty of negative space to let everything breathe. This combination makes it feel more feminine, like a delicate object though it’s a sturdy shape. The bottle is frosted glass, and the dropper comprises a mix of glass, gold plastic, and rubber. Now, let’s talk about the magnificence of the serum itself.
This serum is everything I could hope for in the warmer months. We here in the PNW have recently had a fierce heatwave, and this serum made the heatwave feel like no bother. First, the scent is spiritually clearing. It’s herbaceous, spicy in a minty quality. It’s instantly calming and feels like a rebirth. Second, the serum is a lovely lightweight texture. It’s almost water-like, making it incredibly easy to apply as it glides across the skin. It sinks in quickly, and when it does, it feels like a breath of fresh air for my skin. The experience is stunning.
Described as a serum that helps minimize pores, balance sebum production, reduce and prevent breakouts, all while delivering a from-within glow, it indeed touts a lot. But the crazy part is it achieves every word. The serum is infused with the YINA proprietary TCM plant complex, a potent blend of herbs such as Ginseng, Ophiopogon Tuber, Skullcap, and Lotus, delivered through super seed oils Perilla, Camellia, and Tamanu. Be still, my heart.
The blend of this serum, along with its lightweight texture, makes it an excellent match for combination, oily, acne-prone, congested skin, or like me, almost all of these. While I’ve used this in a variety of ways (read it plays well with others), the way I like most is simply layering it between skincare steps on its own. It’s a perfected formula that I don’t feel needs another item to help it sink in or boost its qualities.
I use two drops max. This is a concentrated formula, and because of the dropper’s larger opening, it dispenses slightly more per drop compared to others. I would almost categorize it as a treatment serum because it is fast-acting and potent. Thus, I don’t use this serum every day. At most, I use it 3 times per week in the evenings. During the heatwave, I did use it as my morning facial oil before sunscreen, and it was stellar. My skin felt like it could breathe all day despite my wearing a heavier feeling SPF. There were no breakouts in sight.
One thing to note is that it retails $75 for .5floz, which is half the amount most serums and facial oils come in. But because this is a concentrated formula and I have to use so little, I don’t mind the price point. It also guarantees that I’d be able to finish it before its 6 month PAO.
Overall, I am so impressed. If the rest of the YINA serums are as beautiful and unique, I think it’s time to try them all.
YINA Bian Stone Gua Sha* ($50, 4.5"x2.625")
You know facial gua sha plays a significant role in my weekly pamper routines, so I was so thrilled to try YINA’s Bian Stone Gua Sha ritual. It’s handcrafted out of natural, authentic Bian stone and measures 4.5" length x 2.625" width and just over .125" thick. It is large, making it perfect for body gua sha as traditionally intended!
The stone contains 4 designs to help target specific areas or glide with ease:
Curve: enables deep tissue massage, promotes lymphatic drainage
Point: activates pressure points, deeply releases tension
Notch: targets narrower curved areas such as jawline, sides of arms
Ripple: mimics fingers and knuckles for large surfaces such as torso, thighs, and back
The Bian Stone Gua Sha comes with an instructional pamphlet including the above and more!
I have yet to use this on the face because of my recent pain and oral surgery, but I have used it on the body, and it’s divine. The size makes long strokes a breeze and helps cover larger areas of the body, such as my thighs and upper back. The stone also has a substantial weight (by no means too heavy to wield) that eases my mind as I use it. I’m not afraid that it will snap or break easily because it’s so sturdy. My favorite feature is the ripple. It feels incredible on my thighs, where I hold more tension than I expected!
Out of the shower, I’ll apply Earthwise Beauty’s Paloma of the High Desert as my body oil and use the YINA Bian Stone. It is a fantastic way to decompress. It easily removes tension from the body, and once I’m done, I simply rinse it with soap and water. It comes in a hefty box packaging that slides open and closed like a drawer. I leave it in there in between uses to keep it safe from scratching or accidental dropping. (I can be very accident-prone.)
Of course, you can use this tool on the face as well, and as soon as my mouth has healed, I will be testing it that way. I’ll keep you posted! And a huge thanks to YINA again for this wonderful duo!
One of my all-time favorite Disney movies to rewatch is 1997’s ‘Hercules.’ It is one of the most underrated and under-loved Disney features, but it does so many things right. It’s the age-old familiar tale of a misfit’s hero journey. I love rooting for the underdogs, and the Hercules in this Disney version is precisely that: a misfit, an outcast, someone who hasn’t quite grown into their strength yet.
It’s got a stellar cast and not just because they’re all Greek deities. What I love most is that every character oozes personality. Some goofy, some dark, some sarcastic, and some a bit dim-witted, but it all adds to the fun. Instead of ruining the whole experience doing a play-by-play, I thought I’d share some of my all-time favorite scenes to rewatch. They get me every time with tears, laughter, or sometimes both. Listed in no particular order:
To add to the distance between gods and mortals, the film makes excellent use of scale throughout. Above is my favorite wide-angle moment, next to the King of the Underworld himself delivering his best line.
As Zeus creates Pegasus, the sequence and dialogue are simply adorable, ending with the cutest meeting of Hero and Sidekick ever.
Meg has to be the most fabulously sarcastic character in all of Disney. It also doesn’t hurt that compared to most female leads, she’s brilliant, witty, and, as the young kids say, “don’t need no mans.” A Disney film is only as great as its songs, and every song sung by The Muses is a hit.
Aside from 1992’s ‘Aladdin,’ this one has some of the most fun, and clever cultural references sprinkled throughout, especially the Scar easter egg.
My emotional heartstring moment of the film. When Phil’s (Hercules trainer) dream comes true as Zeus cements Hercules hero status in the stars via a constellation. Danny DeVito (voices Philoctetes) wins.
And only when you’re done watching the film and want to stay in the fun for a bit longer might I suggest giving the Original Soundtrack a listen?
Thanks so much for reading! A special thanks to all your kind words of speedy recoveries and check-ins! I just had my post-op follow-up on Thursday, and the doctor says it’s healing up nicely. I’m counting down the weeks until I can eat regular food again. My list of all the items I’m going to enjoy is getting excessively long!
Have you tried any YINA serums or their Bian Stone? What about ‘Hercules’? Are you a fan or no? Remember, you can always leave a comment or reply directly to this email to chat one on one.
As always, I hope you have a great start to your week. See you next Sunday!