073. A Declutter: Beauty, Lifestyle, Work
Saying goodbye to holy-grail items, making things for yourself, pondering when play becomes work, and an announcement.
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.
It’s a quiet, overcast, rainy Saturday morning as I write this newsletter. It feels as though it’s been forever since we’ve had a good rain. This Summer has proven especially tough whenever I glance into our yard. My eye catching on the edges of sun-scorched plants, straw-like grass, and the overwhelming feeling of dehydration all around. Today, we rejoice as the water replenishes us!
For the past several weeks, I’ve done a sort of deep dive into life as one does when one feels overly stressed and depleted. When I feel overwhelmed in this way, one small thing that tends to set me right is decluttering in all senses of the word: physically and mentally. In an effort to right my course, below are a few conclusions I’ve reached.
My beauty declutter is the most literal of the bunch. I’ve kept hold of many items I love, but it’s time to say goodbye. Many are holy-grails (hg), but when it comes to green beauty, I must face the fact that these most certainly do not last forever.
RMS Beauty Swift Shadow Limited Trio (opened November 2018)
Nostalgia rings true for this trio since it was one of the items in my first YouTube video and one of the first posts once I started Instagram (Tender Forms No. 9). Eyeshadow trios are quite common across all brands, but this well-edited color story gets me every time. “Love Letter” is a dusty-pale pink, “Heartbreaker” a deep topaz, and “Secret Fling” a mulberry mauve. RMS Beauty was among the first in green beauty to have a stellar powder eyeshadow formula. Buttery, swatched well, and pigmented. The color theory of their eyeshadow range is also well researched, each unique in its undertone and shift. This trio, in particular, was flattering on my skin tone no matter what eye look I chose to do. I’ve had these just shy of three years. While the pigment is still great, it’s become a mess as it cracks further in the pan due to use and age. *Unfortunately no longer available as it was a limited edition.
Rituel de Fille Inner Glow Crème Pigment in Delirium (opened November 2019, hg)
One of my all-time multi-purpose favorites, nothing compares to Delirium’s unique color. The RdF Inner Glow formula is fantastic. A beautiful creme that melts on contact yet dries down so no stray hairs will stick to your face. Its signature lavender scent is deep and seductive, almost as seductive as this shade. I don’t need to expand on the brand’s description “the shade of fever dreams” because that nails it. A beautifully bright nectarine shade that is customizable, building from a sheer flush to a feverish burnt orange state. I’m finally letting go of this treasure because only recently has the pigment started to separate on application. It has a 12-month PAO, so the fact that it lasted just under two years is already impressive. I will absolutely be repurchasing this again once I finish a few makeup items. I’d highly suggest signing up for their Rituelist Rewards program. They have a rotating lineup of full-sized items you can redeem with your points. It’s excellent.
Prisma Palette Eyeshadows (opened March 2020, hg mattes and shimmers)
Prisma Palette makes some of my favorite matte and shimmer eyeshadows, and the formulas are spectacular. These eyeshadows also have a 5-year PAO (that’s correct)! The shades I’m decluttering are Poolside, Delicate, Sunflower, and Caribbean Green. The main factor is that my style of makeup has changed. The colors I’m attracted to have noticeably shifted this year, and these aren’t shades I reach for anymore. The only one I would is Sunflower. However, I have a dupe in a different palette I keep in my daily makeup drawer. Whereas these pans live within a Z-palette neatly stored away in a separate drawer.
I really don’t want to get rid of them, but they deserve a better home. I know everyone views sharing used makeup items differently, but I’m happy to send them your way if you would like them!
In general, what are your thoughts on receiving decluttered but not expired makeup? Should I put them in the Tender Forms Pay-It-Forward? I would sanitize best I can without altering the formula. Let me know what you think!
MOB Beauty Minis (opened June 2021, hg cream lipsticks)
I had some pink and red cream lipstick, lip balm, and blush minis that ranged from mid-way to fully used. The tricky thing about keeping these minis around is that I ran out of room to store them. Other full-sized items that needed to be in a Z-palette took their space. There was no great way of keeping the mix of powder, cream, and balm formulas without them shaking around due to their size and non-magnetic pans. Thus, I just decided to use them for lovely color and texture shots instead (below). Photo at the start of this newsletter is the clean aluminum pans that I tossed into recycling. Easy peasy.
The minimalist in me loves to “purge” to make room for newer, positive moments. I very much adopt a “more out equals more in” mentality when I’m feeling worn down. A feeling that often emerges in my creative space. In a way, I’m lucky that my work allows me to explore multiple styles, but sometimes it’s not enough. My eyes crave a specific kind of change, one that aligns with what I perceive as beautiful. This is where making time to create things for yourself comes in.
Often self-care is thought to be a slowing down, and it’s true. Modern time moves at a breakneck speed, and the majority of us could simply use a moment to breathe. However, for creatives, I think that moment of breath can manifest in imagery. There are images, colors, tones that can take my breath away and similarly give me breath. While my medium may be digital, I am a maker at heart. And it’s important to me to make things that bring me joy; to simply make something just for me.
What I define as beautiful, interesting, appealing may be the opposite for you. But that’s the delight of individual beings: style is personal.
Moon Lists Digital Workbook 01
One thing I’ve started doing recently is “journaling.” I’m using this term extremely loosely. Back in the day, when I “journaled,” it wasn’t hand-writing in a paper notebook but typing in an endless word doc. Needless to say, I’m foreign to the original hand-written concept but have started to see the pleasures in it. This brand has been on my wishlist for years, and earlier this year, they had a promotion where you could download their digital workbook for free. Having just started the journey, it’s already worth the $18 to me. This workbook is a six-month “journaling method,” and perfect for a beginner like me because right on the first page, it reads:
Ritual, but make it low commitment, high reward.
It’s broken up into four weeks for six months. Don’t let the condensed format fool you. You may only be journaling once per week, but it feels like a concentrated dose in the best way. I love that it makes me slow down to decipher the most “potent” moments of the week. While my first love may be imagery, my second love is prose. It’s an excellent conduit for connecting the two in a new way. Doing this weekly has been a breath of fresh air for my brain and my vocabulary. I won’t give the rest away, but if you’re looking for an easy way to try journaling, I’d say this is a great starting line.
Their paperbound Original Workbook (on sale) is their original 12-month guided journal. I would love to get my hands on this after I finish my digital one!
I don’t know if it’s the New Yorker in me or what but you might describe me as a workaholic. Because I love my work! And though it runs me into the ground sometimes, I can’t say I regret any of it. However, the part I dislike is dealing with difficult clients. Clients make or break a project. And no matter how passionate you are about your work, clients are the thin defining line between work and passion projects.
So when my passion project, Tender Forms, became more work than play, I had to assess if it was worth it. Within the past year, I’ve slowly started doing lifestyle photography and videography for brands. As a senior creative working for agencies specializing in branding and motion graphics, there are a few distinct differences despite both of these being in the creative field:
Budget. Unless you’re doing an entire brand or campaign’s worth of photography/videography, the budget will never be as high as those for production studios.
Scheduling. In an agency, you have project managers/producers who handle timelines with the client. As a content creator who isn’t repped by anyone, you do all correspondence and scheduling yourself.
Pay and Reward. I will never earn as much as my “office” job as a content creator. (Unless I have a million YouTube or Instagram followers. But that’s not the game I want to play. If you’re familiar with my erratic Instagram schedule and overall lack of time spent there, then you already know, haha!) Currently, the same goes for exposure. Again, if you’re not shooting an entire brand or campaign, your post is just that. A post among a million.
Long story short, I have decided to no longer do paid work for brands at this time. The number one reason are the clients. I can’t tell you how much time I’ve wasted in correspondence with brands regarding content creation. I find it highly unprofessional and disrespectful.
I’ve had brands initiate contact, asking for estimates, contact sheets, and schedules, ghost me or not reply for months (yes, months), only to return out of the blue and demand to move forward. That’s not respecting anyone’s time and effort. I don’t know if this is what the majority of content creators deal with, but it’s not a norm I want to get used to. And I have tried to in the past year. However, that plus my already demanding office hours, makes scheduling paid content insanity.
Since I had to deal with many similar clients in the past year, it has become evident that I don’t want to create content for brands. It’s more risk than reward at this juncture and an added stress I simply don’t need or want.
This extends towards PR as well. For the ones that come with strings attached in the form of shares: post or otherwise, I am being selective of the brands I accept. I’d much rather take my time testing the item and shooting at the Tender Forms standard you’re used to, than rushing content.
It’s incredible how my shoulders instantly dropped, and I breathed a sigh of relief when I realized all the above. This stress that had been haunting my days and nights, the work that I didn’t enjoy, the little that was gained. I’m still learning to be mindful of my time, worth, and well-being.
Of course, I’ve also had the pleasure of collaborating with fantastic clients too! (Sadly, they’re the minority in this case!) Whenever work lightens up and the stars align with scheduling, I’d happily work with them again.
The Tender Forms Off-Camera Newsletter will now be a bi-weekly (every two weeks) newsletter. I am hoping this isn’t too much of a bummer! I have loved staying in touch weekly with you, but it’s not sustainable as of right now. This year, work has been hectic, making the bank account and family happy but significantly lowering my Tender Forms capacity.
I always want to provide you with the best content I can, and I hate to admit to myself that I’ve had to rush through recent newsletters to make it in time for Sunday. I wish I had more time to devote to these, so giving myself that extra Saturday allows me to do just that, along with YouTube videos and podcast episodes!
The newsletter may go back to weekly in the future, but for now, I’m changing it up to every two weeks. I hope you understand, and I can’t wait to continue sharing all the things with you.
I know today’s was a lengthy and personal one. If you’ve made it to the end, thank you so much for reading! 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 in two weeks!
