Hey, what's up guys?
Welcome back to Lavendaire.
Today I decided to switch up the background, just a different angle from my living room.
I'm doing another June favorites, highlights, and lessons video.
Please let me know if you're enjoying this highlights, lessons, favorites series
because I'm considering ending it, maybe just doing it every quarter
because it just doesn't seem to do well on my channel.
So let me know what you think down below,
if there's any way I can make it more interesting for you guys.
But a quick highlight from June is: I went to VidCon,
and I got to meet a bunch of creators and it was amazing to meet people
and not realize that they knew who I was too.
It was kind of like, "Oh my god!"
We both watched each other's videos.
This happened with AmandaRachLee.
She makes bullet journaling and art videos on YouTube.
I also got to meet two of my idols in person.
The first one is Michelle Phan.
She did a talk at VidCon, and this year with my badge,
I could go backstage to where the speakers were hanging out.
So I got to actually meet her in person.
And it was so cool because we kind of have been watching each other's InstaStories,
kind of replying to each other, but I didn't really know that she knew who I was.
It wasn't confirmed until I met her and she recognized me.
I was such a dork.
I had to make sure – I'm like, "You know me right? Lavendaire?"
And then she's like, "Yeah!"
And so I had a fangirl geeking out moment just meeting her.
And I didn't really ask her many questions in hindsight.
I should've prepared something cool to ask because I was just tongue-tied.
I think, when I meet people I admire, I'm just like –
I'm happy and I don't know what to say, and that's it.
I also got to meet Shameless Maya, Maya Washington, who I love.
Before I started my channel, Maya's channel was the only channel
that I found that meshed beauty and fashion with self empowerment.
She was all about being shameless, being confident.
And I really hadn't seen anyone else talk about topics like that,
so she kind of inspired me when I was starting Lavendaire.
So it was really cool to meet Maya as well.
VidCon was just an amazing opportunity to meet people
that I look up to and respect, and it was just really cool.
I also got the opportunity to go to San Francisco and do a workshop at LinkedIn.
I got to get a tour at the LinkedIn office.
My workshop was on time management and productivity hacks.
I'll list some of the videos below that I based the workshop off of,
basically How to Make Time for Everything that You Want to Do
and productivity tips that I've shared before in my videos.
It was really cool to see the tech scene, to see how people work at LinkedIn.
It's completely different from my lifestyle, obviously, because I work from home.
Honestly, it was a pretty short trip.
I was in and I was out.
Alright, so moving onto my favorites from the month.
The first one I shared on my stories on Instagram.
It's a book called The Inner Sky by Steven Forrest.
This is a book on astrology.
It's a book on learning the language of astrology, learning how to read the birth chart.
For those of you who aren't aware, everybody is born at a specific time and location
and there's a map of the planet, where the sun is, where the moon is, where you're born.
Astrology believes there is meaning in that map.
Depending on where the sun, the moon, the planets are located,
there's different personality traits, there's a different life purpose,
areas of growth for this person.
And yes, it's not exactly scientific because astronomy is the study of anything in space,
the physical matter of how it actually functions,
but astrology is the study of the meaning, the symbolism behind how we see what's in space.
It's just really fun for me.
In this case, I think I followed my curiosity
because I have been reading self help and business books,
and although yes, they're helpful, sometimes I do get bored of them.
Sometimes it's a little redundant,
or sometimes it's just not what's sparking my curiosity and my interest right now.
So I was just looking through my Goodreads,
searching what books would be good to read next
and I've somehow found this book and I love it.
It's actually written a long time ago, like in the '80s.
So I think some of the examples might be a little dated,
but it gives a really, really great foundation for understanding
how to read the birth chart in astrology,
what all the planets mean, what all the houses mean.
And I really, really love the writer of the book.
I think he has a really poetic, artful way of writing,
a very logical way as well, because he writes for the skeptics.
So he kind of walks you through,
"Okay, well if you don't believe this, here's a reason why it still helps you,
might still help you to use astrology…" for this and that.
Anyway, I am obsessed with the book and I have been studying, basically.
I'm learning this new language and I'm so excited about it.
Moving on, I have some skincare favorites for you.
I did some shopping on Soko Glam for some new Korean skincare
because I was really looking for a new sunscreen.
This one I just got and I really like.
It's the NeoGen sunscreen.
It's SPF 50 PA+++.
I'll post a link below to a video about sunscreens
and what all of these letters and plus signs mean.
That video really got me,
"Oh my god, I have to start wearing sunscreen every day, even when I'm indoors."
So now, even when I'm indoors and there's daylight,
I'm wearing sunscreen, just because I need to take care of my skin.
I'm getting to that age where I'm really, really taking care of everything.
And also, I enjoy trying out new skincare products.
I personally love skincare a lot more than makeup.
I just love it.
I can layer on skincare products.
I can be very extra with it, just because it's so fun for me.
If you're curious, another sunscreen that I love are the sunscreens by Biore, the Asian ones.
They're just the perfect consistency.
This one's a bit more watery and it's just so light.
You put it on, it doesn't feel like you have any thick layer on at all.
It's just … it works really well that way.
So the next favorite that I picked up is this new cleanser.
I don't know – I think it's called Klavuu.
It's a pearl cleanser, it smells so good.
All you need is a little pump the size of a pearl, and it's a foaming-type cleanser.
So I'll first use an oil-based cleanser to take off the makeup
and then I'll go in with the foam cleanser.
And if I have time, I'll use the Foreo, the scrubby thingy, to scrub off my face.
Sometimes I just use my fingers.
Lastly, I have this all-in-one concentrate by Venn.
This was gifted to me and it's essentially an all-in-one.
You don't have to put on all the layers of skincare.
You just need this one product which is why it is priced on the expensive side,
but it's supposed to replace your whole skincare regimen.
All you need is this one bottle.
I love that the brand focuses a lot on science and research and development.
So if you look at their website, which I'll link below,
they have so much detail on the research going into
why they put each ingredient into this product, what each ingredient does.
And I really love the transparency, I love the information
because sometimes you just don't even know what's in your skincare products.
The only caveat with this bottle was:
I literally feel like I only used it for a month and it's already run out.
Literally, it's empty.
I wish I had more.
There's no more, and I'm so sad about it.
Yeah, it runs out fast, so just an FYI.
But it is really, really amazing.
Lastly, there was a documentary that really, really inspired me.
It's on Netflix and it's called The First Monday of May.
It's basically a documentary about the Met Gala
that is organized by Vogue and the Met Museum in New York.
I loved it just because it was gorgeous.
You see the behind the scenes of how they throw this giant party, the biggest fashion event.
I love everything about art, the creative process, and social movements,
social narratives, so I was really, really enamored with this documentary.
It just inspired me.
I don't know if it inspired me to do anything specific,
but it was just like, "Wow, wow. That's so cool."
So if you like beautiful things, if you like the creative process, check out that documentary.
Alrighty, that's it for my June highlights, lessons, and favorites.
I hope you enjoyed it.
Again, let me know your feedback down below,
if I should continue the series or make it quarterly or…
I'll still have to decide after this episode.
But I'm trying to revamp my channel in a way to be more creative
with my storytelling, visually and narratively with the videos.
Instead of just sitting down and explaining something,
I really want to be able to give better examples and actually make it into a story
so that it's more interesting so that it doesn't feel like you're taking a class,
but more you're watching a movie – not exactly a movie, but you know,
something a little bit higher level, a little more interesting than what I've been doing.
So I do have to push myself creatively and it does take more effort
to plan and come up with ideas that are better.
Instead of doing a lazy, easy video, I want to push myself to try new things creatively.
So that's where I'm trying to go with Lavendaire,
and I'm really grateful for you guys to be here with me.
If you're at this point watching this part of the video,
you're one of my loyal viewers so I love you so much.
Have a beautiful day, and a beautiful summer.
I will see you in the next one.
Bye!