August Favorites:
Music Favorite: Twenty One Pilots
This band isn't the typical band I would be into, but I'm glad my roommate introduced me to them. We were looking at the lineup for Life Is Beautiful Festival (which now I'm really sad that I won't be attending) and we ended up fangirl-ing over them. The band consists of Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun and their genre states to be alternative hiphop/electro pop/indie pop (according to wiki). However, I was actually surprised with their sound because it felt like there were different genres in one song. From acoustics, to rapping, to rock, to indie, they definitely produce a sound that differentiates from many artists. My top two songs that I enjoyed from them are "Tear In My Heart" - Blurryface 2015 and "House of Gold" - Vessel 2013.
Book Favorite: The Alchemist by Paulo Coehlo
alchemy: the medieval forerunner of chemistry, based on the supposed transformation of matter. It was concerned particularly with attempts to convert base metals into gold or to find a universal elixir.
I know I'm a little late on this book, but I finally got my hands on a copy. This copy found me at a thrift shop a couple of months back and I finally got to reading it now that it's summer.
Opening the first page of the book, I didn't expect too much, but little did I know it would end up as one of my favorites. I put my feet in the shoes of the protagonist's and really reflected on my life obstacles and where I wanted to be. As the protagonist grew, I felt like I was gaining a sense of growth along with him. Every corner of the page was filled with lessons and advice that I was able to apply to my own life. Overall, the simplicity of the book was very refreshing and inspiring. It is definitely a book that I will read over again and again.
My favorite quotes:
"'before a dream is realized, the Soul of the World tests everything that was learned along the way. It does this not because it is evil, but so that we can, in addition to realizing our dream, master the lessons we've learned as we've moved toward that dream.'"
"'You must understand that love never keeps a man from pursuing his Personal Legend. If he abandons that pursuit it's because it wasn't true love... the love that speaks the Language of the World."
"'If you pay attention to the present, you can improve upon it. And if you improve on the present, what comes later will also be better. Forget about the future, and live each day according to the teachings and confident that God loves his children. Each day, in itself, brings with it an eternity."
Makeup Favorite: Sephora Lip Stain Blackberry Sorbet
I had my eye on Kat Von D's Everlasting Liquid Lipstick collection ever since my friend had bought Lolita while we were in New York and it stayed on for hours. So when I went into Sephora, looking for a more purple-y shade, I tried on Kat Von D's Exorcism, ripe blackberry, and it was beautiful but I also didn't feel like investing $20 on it at the moment. So I looked settled for looking at the Sephora collection and found this similar shade. However! It actually turned out to be a great alternative. The stay lasted longer than I expected and it was only $13. Recently, I've been keeping it simple with the rest of my face makeup and not using eyeliner, so this lip color gave a little kick to any look.
App Favorite: Bandsintown
It's been a while since I've gone to a concert or festival since Jazz Reggae Festival in April when I saw some of my favorites like Marian Hill and Kehlani. I've been itching to go to another concert and trying to get fairly priced tickets. Bandsintown actually heightened my obsession of wanting to go see live music. How this app works is that it syncs to your accounts such as Facebook, Twitter, and Spotify and it gathers all your music to configure when those artists and similar artists are performing around your set location. From there you can find tickets and RSVP to share with your friends all the events your attending. Although I haven't been able to buy any tickets for upcoming shows, this app has definitely been keeping me in the loop with my favorite music. For example, I didn't even know Jojo was touring again and she showed up on the app to where she was performing in LA. So, I definitely recommend this app to all y'all groupies.
