What's up guys?
It's time for August Favorites!
I do have a giveaway to share with you guys.
If you follow me on Instagram then you already know about it.
But if not,
you can check out my Instagram right now or wait til the end of the video
where I share more details.
So let's talk about August.
August was an interesting month for me because a lot of different things happened.
I feel like it was a whole range of emotions.
So the beginning was crazy and busy
and overwhelming in a good way because I was doing that 5 Days to Minimalism Challenge,
which was really fun.
And I also premiered Picture Taipei which was the short film
I shot in Taiwan last year.
I worked on that film for like two years and we finally premiered it
to a full theater in LA.
It was very nerve-wracking but very fun in the end
and we also screened it again this past weekend.
So the more times I watch it,
the more I'm getting used to seeing myself on that screen.
I'll talk about my thoughts
in my upcoming podcast coming out this Sunday.
So yes: the Lavendaire Lifestyle will be coming back this Sunday.
I know that
I stopped doing the podcast for a couple weeks and I skipped one week of videos
on this channel, and that's because, literally, the week after the minimalism challenge,
family became my number one priority.
My grandma had a stroke and she was in a coma
for an entire week, and then she basically slowly passed during that week.
Every day, me and my cousins all went to my grandma's house every day,
hanging out with her, hanging out with family, just to be there with her for her last days.
I just totally did not want to think about work.
I was like, "Okay, I'm not going to edit a video.
I'm just gonna go to my grandma's house and hang out with family."
So that's why these past two weeks have really been a lot of family time,
and I feel happy to do that and really break my schedule consistency,
because normally I'm so rigid with my consistent schedule.
But for once-
that's why I feel like I was like go, go, go, so focused in the beginning of August.
And then that happened and then my focus all shifted towards going at a slower pace
and being with family and taking the time to really, I don't know, feel the love and
feel life
around me.
I'll probably elaborate more on my podcast on Sunday.
So if you're interested
in hearing my thoughts and what I'm going through, what I'm learning, feel free to tune
in.
But today we're going to talk about my favorite things from the month of August.
My first favorite is a video that I think you guys should all go watch
right after you watch this video.
It's Marie Forleo's interview with Tony Robbins called,
"What it Takes to Have an Extraordinary Life".
You already know that I'm huge fan
of Tony Robbins' documentary, "I Am Not Your Guru".
Basically, this is like
Marie Forleo's interview with Tony, talking about that documentary.
But Tony also shares so many new, fresh lessons that he's recently learned,
because I feel like-Tony Robbins, he's a motivational speaker.
He's been doing this for decades
and, you know, he has all the foundations and the basics set.
And we heard
a lot of those things before, but the things he shares in this video is like next level.
It's kind of stuff that he's recently learning which is really fresh for other people to
hear as well.
One thing I really like about this interview is how Tony talks about the art of fulfillment.
Previously, he's been focused on the science of achievement, and a lot of people
are focused on things like productivity, how to become successful, how to do it faster,
how to do it better, and that's more of a science.
And now he's shifted
and sees the importance of the art of fulfillment.
And I feel like-that got me so excited
because I'm all about the art of fulfillment, finding a life that is fulfilling and meaningful
to you.
It's not a science, it's an art, and it really comes from your heart and your soul
and your intuition.
So I thought that was pretty exciting to hear.
Another thing that I absolutely love-I kept repeating that part over and over again-
was how Tony talks about suffering: how suffering is not a necessary part of life,
contrary to what most of us believe.
I'll break it down real quick.
He separates
our emotional/mental states into beautiful states and suffering states.
Beautiful states are when you're happy, excited, passionate, etc.
Then there's suffering states, and there's a huge range.
It could range from
being nervous, anxious, overwhelmed, sad, angry, depressed.
There's a whole range.
Even the suffering that's on the lighter range of the spectrum, like worrying
or feeling overwhelmed or feeling nervous, that is still considered suffering.
So for example: feeling overwhelmed about your work.
That is something that people are like,
"Oh, that happens to everyone.
It's normal."
Tony Robbins is like, "No!
It's not normal.
It's not necessary.
You don't have to feel overwhelmed.
All you have to do is decide
that you're not going to suffer.
Choose not to suffer."
If this doesn't make sense to you,
just watch the video yourself because they probably do such a better job at explaining
it than I do.
Next: another platform that I've really dove into-and you guys know this
from last month's favorites-is webtoons.
So last month, I talked about Helios Femina,
which is Michelle Phan's comic.
And after I read that-I mean, it's on a hiatus right now,
so I'm like, "Oh my god, I want something else to read!"
So I started reading
two other comics that I've fallen in love with and they're so much better
than Helios Femina.
They're just more encapsulating.
The first one is called Siren's Lament, and it's really one of the most popular comic
on webtoons, and it's about sirens AKA mermaids.
I mean it's love and it's romance,
and if you like reading anime or manga, you'll love it.
And other one that I'm reading
is called unTouchable and that one's about vampires, but it's not like the typical vampires
that suck blood and whatever.
Basically, it's about this girl who's a modern day vampire
and the way modern day vampires are: instead of taking humans' blood,
they have to just touch humans to absorb their energy.
Basically, she's chasing this guy
who tastes good, this human boy.
But that boy has OCD and he doesn't like to be touched.
It's just really fun and entertaining, so I've been just reading that at night
instead of reading my usual books but it's been a really nice break
and I have a lot of fun with it.
They give me a lot of feels and, I don't know,
it's a very interesting type of feel that you get from reading something like this
versus watching a movie or watching something live.
My next favorite is an audiobook, and this is my second book on Audible
that one of you guys recommended to me, so thank you so much for recommending it.
It's Sara Bareilles' book called "Sounds Like Me", and I'm a huge fan of Sara Bareilles.
Once I read that comment that suggested it, I was like, "I'm on it.
I ordered it."
If you know about my background, I started singing on YouTube in high school.
One of my first songs I sang on piano was Sara Bareilles - Love Song.
And then I also covered Gravity, and then I covered King of Anything.
Her audiobook is broken down into essays, and each essay starts with a song.
In the audiobook, she actually sings to you the song, and then she tells you the story
behind that song, and I love, love, love hearing the background of artists:
how they work and stories behind their work.
So I've just really been enjoying this audiobook.
I listen to it when I drive, and I've decided that, with Audible, I'm only going to listen
to books of memoirs or stories.
Not self-help books, because with self-help books,
usually I read them on my iBooks or Kindle and I love to highlight and take notes,
and I like to reread parts because I really want to engage with the content and really
absorb it,
really learn something.
When I'm listening to an audiobook, it goes one way through
and it's really annoying to go back, rewind to listen to things again and I can't take
notes
while I'm driving.
And I miss things, because when I'm driving, I usually have GPS
and when the GPS says something, it tells me where to go, it covers up
what the audiobook is saying, so that really bugs me.
So yeah, only stories and memoirs for audiobooks.
And shameless plug: if you don't have Audible and you want to listen to this book,
you can sign up for a free 30-day trial using audibletrial [dot] com [slash] lavendaire.
So sign up, listen to this book.
You can cancel it at any time.
Alright, my next favorite is my absolute favorite product of the month, and if you watched
my last video, "Do you feel pretty?", that video has this product.
It's the Laneige
Lip Sleeping Mask, and I forgot to mention it in that video, that this thing smells like
cherries.
It just smells so good.
It's basically this lip mask.
Think of a thick, thick lip balm
that you put on your lips before you go to sleep and then you sleep with it.
And when you wake up, your lips are super soft.
Next up, I'm really loving these honey products.
I just like honey in general,
and when I got sent these samples of honey products, I've just been using them every
day
and I love them so much.
The first one is the Royal Honey Essence by Skinfood
and this is a little honey serum that you put on right after you do your toner.
And the next one is called the Honey Sleeping Mask by Aritaum.
(I'm not sure
if I'm pronouncing that right at all.)
It's basically a honey sleeping mask that comes in this pouch,
and a sleeping mask is kind of like the lip mask.
It's something that you put on your face,
right before you go to sleep, and when you wake up, you wash it off.
The point of a sleeping mask is to lock in all of the other steps that you do with your
skincare.
Korean skincare has so many steps: you cleanse your face, then you put toner,
then you put serum, then you put moisturizer, then I guess you can put your sleeping mask.
Sleeping mask comes on last.
So yeah, this honey sleeping mask literally smells
and almost feels like honey except it's more gel-like and it's not sticky like honey.
But yeah, it's really inspiring me to try to make actual skincare products with honey
by myself, because I feel like it's pretty doable.
Yeah, honey is a great product.
That's it for my favorites for the month.
Now let me talk about the giveaway.
This is like my back to school giveaway where I'm giving away four laptop cases by Della.
Della is a socially responsible fashion line based in LA, that works directly
with communities in Ghana to handcraft these unique products.
While they sell
these cool products, they also help the people in Ghana have a better life through jobs,
education, and skills training.
I love, love, love what they do.
I feel like
socially conscious businesses have a special place in my heart.
So I think they're a great brand to support.
If you want to learn more,
you can check them out at DellaLA [dot] com.
I'm going to give away three 13-inch Macbook cases and one 15-inch Macbook case.
So this is how you enter: you have to go to Instagram.
You have to follow
@dellalosangeles and @lavendaire, and then go to my photo with the Della cases
and then comment with a change you wish to see in the world.
Della's tagline is "Carry change."
I love that pun and play on words because when you're using a Della product,
you're literally carrying a piece of change because they're doing really amazing things
on the other side of the world.
Also: I'm sure you guys know that quote by Gandhi,
it's one of my favorite quotes: “Be the change you wish to see in the world.”
So comment with one change you wish to see in the world, and then I will pick the winners
on Friday, September 9.
I will DM you guys, and I'll probably post it on Snapchat too.
Let me know if you guys have any favorites from this month that you'd like to share,
any audiobooks, videos, songs, whatever.
Post them in the comments below.
Thank you guys so much for watching.
Thank you for being here.
I really love you guys,
and I'll see you next time.
Bye!