094. When Life Gets Me Down

Some Simple Ways to Get Back Up

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.

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I’ve had a tough month or so. And it’s not any one thing but a small collection of events that all happened around the same time, compounding, sending me into a state of general misery and unease. At the same time, it’s the little things that build a path back to balance and happiness. They may seem small but end up mighty. Here’s a list in no particular order of things that are helping me get back to “normal.”

1. Our Love by Emile Mosseri. I’ve never watched the film. This song just came on one day, the Spotify algorithm working its magic, extending a playlist of mine. A most welcome surprise. 

2. The way Fang’s fur becomes galaxy colored when the sun is hitting him just right. We’ve been feeding the boys a lot of salmon and tuna, so their coats are extra high-shine lately. It briefly reminded me of a book I got during my elementary school Scholastic Book Fair days. I think it’s this one, but it looks nothing like how I remember it. In my memory, it felt moodier, deeper, and darker in the depths of the ocean, really letting that foil stamp beam to life. But maybe that’s just how I choose to remember it now as an adult. 

3. My in-laws’ birthday gift to me: the Kindle Paperwhite 11th Gen. I traded in my ancient Kindle for some extra money off, and I couldn’t be happier. This one’s slightly heavier, and a large part of me misses the physical buttons, but a larger part of me wholly appreciates the renewed ability to read books late at night. In bed. In the dark. *On dark mode with the warmth dialed way up, naturally. 

4. Getting both a Library Card and Libby. While I adore my Book of the Month, sometimes none of the selections are for me, and at some point soon, I’ll run out of space in the house for storing these books. Thus, my goal to save space and money landed on my above ask for a Kindle and applying for a Library Card. Best decision of this year. Here are some e-books I recently blew through (links are paper copies to support your local bookstores; the irony, yes): 

   • Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton: A grittier, overgrown world better than the film adaptation. ★★★★ *Don’t worry; the film continues to hold a special place in my heart. If anything, reading this made me appreciate the film’s choices more. 

   • Sisters by Daisy Johnson: I’ve never read anything by this author but loved her prose. ★★★

   • The Maidens by Alex Michaelides: I enjoyed his debut novel, The Silent Patient, so thought I’d give this a go. Enjoyed this less but always love a good cameo. ★★★

5. Tillamook Mint Chocolate Chip Waffle Cone Ice Cream Sandwiches. If I were a dessert, I’d be this. Okay, that’s a weird thing to say. Just trust me and buy these the next time you see them. It’s as if two of my favorite desserts had a baby: mint chocolate chip ice cream and stroopwafels (minus the caramel…sad). ★★★★★/ *The star rating felt necessary.

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6. iPhone photo dump: 

   

   The rays framing Muto perfectly (L), Tomatoes! (C), Fang suspicious of the rose Husband got from our yard (R)

   

   Trying Night Thoughts for the first time (L), San Mai and his cool whiskers (C), the boys keeping me company during newsletter writing day…or is it the other way around? (R)

7. My first impulse purchase in years: the Lisa Eldridge Luxuriously Lucent Lip Color in Night Thoughts. The thrill, the excitement! I was afraid it would sell out and wouldn’t come back in stock. However, the depth and richness of color in the model photos are misleading. In my opinion, you can’t get achieve that deep a color even after building it. Is it still beautiful? Yes. But what drew me most was that richness I saw in the photos, so I’ve yet to make my mind up on this one. *This is my very first Lisa Eldridge lip purchase. The Lucent formula is very comfortable to wear!

8. Irma Vep (HBO Max). Assayas. Vikander. I’m in. I spent all of last Saturday binge-watching four episodes, and it fed my soul. I’m ashamed to say I haven’t watched the original. I don’t want to jump back and forth, so it will have to wait until I finish the series. 

9. The Terminal List: Season 1 (Amazon Prime Video). Hot damn, this series rules. ★★★★

10. The Boys: Season 3 (Amazon Prime Video). As the young kids say, this series slaps. *I made myself cringe typing that. I could have done without the musical scenes, but woo, to the introduction of Soldier Boy! He had some of the best lines this season. Poor Hughie really gets it. ★★★½

11. Skin Fancy Honey Rose Cleansing Salve. I don’t know what scent is more appropriate for summer than this beautiful medley of strawberry, rose, and honey. This cleanser alone makes my day; every evening that I use it. 

12. This Dior short narrative ad. This is as close as I’ll get to experience this type of life in Portofino, and I’ll take it! 

13. MOB Beauty Cream Clay Bronzer in M77. I love the Cream Clay formula, and this bronzer is a dream. I was worried it might be too golden, but the tone is just beautiful. If I were to wear it during wintertime, I’d go for the lighter, slightly-rose taupe M80 shade. Luckily, my beloved M36 powder bronzer fits that bill, so I’m happy I have both moods and bases covered. 

14. Live the Stream: The Story of Joe Humphreys. My co-worker and his wife wrote, directed, filmed, and funded this documentary. Another co-worker produced it. It deserves all the praise and awards it’s won! I had a huge fangirl moment watching this—a lovely reminder that our work selves are just a part of us. We’re made of so much more. 

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Thanks so much for reading. I have many exciting things lined up, including a new-in-makeup video, but I haven’t had time to edit. With everything that’s happened recently, plus not getting the best sleep, I can feel the imminent burnout inching its way towards me. Thus, I think it would be beneficial to skip next week’s newsletter so I can get some rest in between and finally get to edit. Or should I continue the newsletter with content that’s easier and faster for me to put out? For example, I’ve been wanting to do a series of recommendation lists for what to watch on different streaming services (ie. the best of HBO Max, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, etc.).

I would love your input! Please leave a comment:

or try this new Substack poll feature!

As always, I hope you have a great start to your week. See you August 14!* (For now. Let’s see how the poll goes, and thank you for your input!)