Hi, I’m Maggie, and welcome to Tender Forms Off-Camera: a bi-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’m not a big birthday person when it comes to my own. However, since starting the Tender Forms newsletter, it’s become a nice marker of sorts. I started this newsletter two years ago (wow, time flies). The first newsletter was dispatched just a day before my 32nd birthday and began my annual birthday reflections in “The Year of 32.” Now, every time the calendar rolls around to the end of April, I know it means another newsletter anniversary, and it makes me giddy.
To say the newsletter is a passion project is an understatement. It started as an ancillary channel to everything Tender Forms (back then, more present on YouTube and Instagram). But it represents so much more to me now. Despite the long and sometimes grueling hours it can take, I’m always happy and thankful after a dispatch. In a way, it forces me to make time to think deeply and share about various things that occupy my mind.
I think it’s no surprise that the newsletter is really a journal. And to you, my dearest reader, a blog I hope you feel you can come back to whenever. I am incredibly thankful for you because you make it real. It’s also been a pleasure to see Substack grow. It’s finally becoming a platform that I’ve been searching for, and since joining early, it’s been wonderful to see the addition of podcasts and now videos. At long last, it feels like a place to house all things Tender Forms.
Since no anniversary newsletter would be complete with a photo of me, here’s one I posted just a few days ago on Instagram. I’m a real, living, and breathing human being, I promise!
Thus far, my 30s have been filled with personal growth. And I am happy to say at 34, I’m feeling my strongest and healthiest yet. And I’m looking forward to another year of newsletters!
MAE is a small-batch studio founded by Anna Mae in Newberg, OR. The brand has a tightly edited line featuring her signature cold-pressed soaps, refillable liquid hand soap, and hand cream.
If you looked closely at an Instagram reel from last month, you might have spotted one or two things from MAE. I have never seen soap as beautiful as this before. Their unique and stunning form is what captured my eye first. They’re molded into circular disks but at two varying diameters so there’s a larger “lip” to hold onto at the top and a smaller disc on the bottom. The packaging is simple yet sophisticated: a printed sleeve. The print quality is beautiful, as is the graphic design. Minimal, chic, and straightforward.
MAE SEAWEED ($18, 2.8oz | 79g)
This one caught my attention first. I love seaweed, both to eat and when it comes to body care. The “profile” on its packaging sleeve reads:
Matcha butter, french green clay, Oregon dulse, eucalyptus, poppyseed.
The website offers a deeper take with the following:
Essential Oils (steam-distilled): Eucalyptus, rosemary, bergamot, and laurel leaf.
Clays and Exfoliants: Green clay, Oregon dulse seaweed, and poppyseed.
Saponified Oils: Matcha green tea butter, coconut, shea butter, olive, rice bran, sweet almond, and castor.
The scent is equally calming and awakening in the shower. The eucalyptus and rosemary give a grounding presence while the bergamot uplifts. But the magic in all of MAE’s soaps is the feel.
When I think about how this soap feels on the skin, I get goosebumps.
Everything comes together, time slows down, and it makes me want to stay in that moment.
The seaweed and poppyseed activate the senses with a physical touch, while the butters and oils coat the skin in an exquisite veil of moisture and nourishment. The scent surrounds you and twists and turns within the shower steam. It’s quite the experience.
MAE CHARCOAL ($18, 2.8oz | 79g)
The charcoal version offers the same incredibly sensorial experience but under a different profile:
Activated charcoal, black sesame seed, shea butter, cedarwood, hinoki.
Essential Oils (steam distilled): Hinoki, cedarwood, and frankincense.
Clays and Exfoliants: Activated charcoal and black sesame seed.
Saponified Oils: Coconut, shea butter, olive, rice bran, sweet almond, and castor.
If I had to choose a favorite, I would choose Seaweed. The deciding factor (which, spoiler alert, is also my con) is how long they last. Seaweed lasted longer than Charcoal, so it wins as the favorite.
However, I have to write about their short lifetime. These are truly gorgeous artisanal soaps, but they do not last. Husband and I both used these. Charcoal was the first and lasted two weeks. Seaweed faired slightly better at 16 days. Yes, you read all that correctly. And yes, we have a soap dish, providing ample drying time in between.
For this reason, I would categorize them as high-end luxury soaps.
Not ones to be used on a daily basis, but saved for special occasions or times of healing.
It bums me out because the experience is unparalleled. But $18 a bar for two weeks will rack up money fast. Regardless, I will most likely repurchase at some point to treat myself as the experience is too good to pass up. I’m currently eyeing the “Imperfect Bars” section.
I’m going to make a bold statement and say prestige TV is officially back. It all started, of course, with last year’s hits such as newcomer series ‘Mare of Easttown’ and ‘Loki,’ and returning series like ‘Succession.’ (Head to Newsletter 081 for more.) And however excellent they were, they were still few and far between. Nowadays, our (Husband and I) weeks seem filled with a decent amount of choices, and all rather great; some even spectacular.
Today, I’m sharing a few present and upcoming tv series all within the latest trending theme of time travel.
No spoilers of any kind; I’m just providing top-level synopsis and why I love them.
‘Outer Range’ (Amazon Prime Video) New Episodes Thursdays
Ever since we watched ‘ZeroZeroZero’ on Amazon Prime Video, I’d been waiting for Amazon Studios to come out with their own original series in the same vein. While this series is nothing like that one, it sure delivers on similar fronts. First, it’s breathtaking to look at. The cinematography and, specifically, the color grade are outstanding and a feast for the eyes at every turn. This could be somewhat biased since a large majority of shots are views I ache and long to see in real life (mountains, plains, ranches, long stretches of green grass prairies, etc.).
Second, the cast is phenomenal. There are a few recognizable big-ticket names like Josh Brolin, Lili Taylor, and Will Patton, but it’s the fresher talent that rounds it out to something special. Imogen Poots is as incredible as I thought she would be. She’s highly underrated for her acting prowess, so technical and methodical in her deliveries; she doesn’t half-ass anything. Lewis Pullman is especially noteworthy. A quick IMDB search reminded me he’s in the background of several great films, so it’s wonderful to see him in the spotlight for a change. The same goes for Tamara Podemski, whom I’ve only seen for a brief scene or two in the 2020 HBO limited series ‘Run.’
Third, and most important, is the story. The series follows a Wyoming generational ranching family struggling to hold onto their land.
Here is where I must protest if you’re thinking of watching the trailer. It will only spoil things and ruin the surprise.
But if you’re looking for just a bit more information, the many genres it falls under should be enough: neo-Western, thriller, mystery, sci-fi. And lest we forget the theme of time travel. What’s cooler than that?
Four episodes screened.
‘Shining Girls’ (Apple TV+) New Episodes Fridays
Unlike ‘Outer Range,’ my general rule with Apple TV+ series is always to watch the trailer first. This is mainly from being baited by several of their series in the past, ha! *Surprisingly, I didn’t do that with ‘Severance,’ which was the right choice. Take from this what you will. I didn’t need to finish the trailer before knowing and deciding that I was in. It premiered with three episodes, and I binge-watched all three.
Thus far, it’s fantastic. I’m not even sure where to start because the series is so deftly layered. But let’s start with the story. A woman who’s an assault (murder) survivor learns of a murder that might be connected to hers. She teams up with a seasoned reporter to unmask the killer while confronting her own attack and unusual situation: ever since the assault, her reality shifts constantly.
Here’s where things can go wrong. Depicting these shifts can quickly turn way too cheesy, over the top, or simply not well-done (especially when special effects are involved). But the way the series depicts these shifts is rather beautiful, despite the obvious psychologically jarring experience. And that’s because they’re mainly practical. Everything is in the camerawork, prop and set design, brought together in the edit.
Elisabeth Moss leads this eight-episode miniseries. Her counter (that’s to say “villain”) is none other than Jamie Bell, who never fails to surprise me. That rings true (get it? had to) in this series as well. He is notable in all the right ways: confident, charming, ruthless. Wagner Moura is like I’ve never seen him before. Granted, I haven’t seen him in much aside from ‘Elysium’ and Netflix’s ‘Narcos.’ All you know is you instantly like his character: his dedication, how gentle he can be, and how fractured he is.
All of this, and we haven’t even touched upon the time-travel aspect yet. What’s most interesting here is:
The question of whether Moss’ character, Kirby, is truly experiencing time travel or is it a manifestation of her trauma?
I already know my answer but will have to keep watching for the reveal. I’m looking forward to the ride.
Three episodes screened.
‘The Time Traveler’s Wife’ (HBO, HBO Max) Premieres May 15
Our last time-bending series is premiering soon, and it’s none other than ‘The Time Traveler’s Wife’ based on the best-selling 2003 novel. If you liked the book, then you were most likely fairly (if not outrightly) disappointed by 2009’s film adaptation. I quite liked Eric Bana as Henry, but there was simply no chemistry between the two leads (along with other various problems).
Here we are in 2022, and HBO has decided to make it into a television series instead. It’s not listed as a limited series either, which is surprising as it’s hard to imagine more than one season of this. But hey, prove me wrong, HBO.
Full disclosure, I did watch the trailer and felt very neutral about it. What I do know is that the instant I saw Rose Leslie, the character of Claire clicked. Now I hope the two leads click on-screen too.
Thanks so much for reading! As always, I hope you have a great start to your week. See you May 22.