September Favorites

Hi beauties! It's time for our monthly favorites - September! (this might be a little late, but hey .. better late than never!)

Some of the products from my favorites are quite new so I'd say they win best first impression, hence making it on my September list :)

My first hair favorite of the month is the Batiste Dry Shampoo in Original. This first product is one of the ones that won my best first impression award. I've heard so many good things about this so I went out and bought it. I'll have to say, it does not disappoint! 2 Thumbs up! It smells light, clean and makes my 3rd-day hair feel oh-so-fresh. I went with the original scent because I felt like playing it safe but when I run out of this one, I'll try all the other ones they have!

My next hair favorite for September is the Bed Head After Party. It is a smoothing cream that makes your hair super soft and silky smooth. Again, this is a recent purchase. I love this product so much and I can't believe I've never gone out and try it before. This is my new must-have in my hair routine!

My last hair favorite of this month is the Tangle Tamer I got from Sally Beauty. I use this with my conditioner in the shower and it really helps with detangling my ultra long hair. I'm not going to lie and say it detangles my wet hair 100% as soon as I get out of the shower but it sure helps make the job easier when I'm combing out my hair after I towel-dry.

I think it might work a whole lot better if your hair is not as long as mine, which is almost hip-length! (I know I have to get a haircut really really really soon because it's starting to really really really annoy me. My hair has never ever been this long before and it's starting to get really heavy and "eating" a lot of products I am currently using).

My next beauty favorite of the month is the CoverGirl Clump Crusher Mascara which I layered with CoverGirl Lash Perfection. Both are in Very Black and does a great job in lengthening and volumnizing which I really like.

My next beauty favorites are these 2 lip savers. The first one is Nivea Lip Butter in Vanilla & Macadamia which is so light-weight, soft and on top of it all tastes amazing. I love it for the day time. I would put a thin layer of this over my lipstick of the day. The second one is Vaseline Lip Therapy in Cocoa Butter. As you can see, this one is still in the package. I've gone through 2 of them already and this is my third backup because I love it so much. I use this overnight when I'm sleeping and I would wake up every morning with soft and smooth lips. It makes my lips feel very hydrated in the morning which means that it lasts all night long. It also smells really good, which is a bonus!

My next lippy favorites of the month are these Milani Color Statement Lipsticks. I have 3 to show you for they are the perfect shades for this Fall season.

(L to R) #20 Uptown Mauve, #21 Sangria, #24 Black Cherry 

#20 Uptown Mauve

#21 Sangria

 #24 Black Cherry

If you like burgundy, deep red, or dark plum color, you will love these. I'm really bad at describing scents and smells but these lipsticks are prime. They smell sooo goooood. They are soft and smooth and very pigmented.

Oh! They are also dupes for MAC lipsticks. Milani Color Statement Lipstick #21 Sangria (pictured above) is an almost-perfect dupe for MAC Rebel Lipstick. Milani Lipstick #24 Black Cherry is a dupe for MAC Dark Side Lipstick. If you want MAC lipsticks but you're looking for a cheaper alternative, check out Milani :)

My next lip favorites are these NYX Cosmetics Butter Glosses. We have NYX products in my local drugstores but for some reason they don't carry these Butter Glosses. I had to order them online. With online shopping comes patience as it can take days or weeks for your purchase to get to you. After almost 2 weeks of waiting, these babies finally arrive. They are absolutely worth the wait and they are so incredibly inexpensive and amazing, I can't wait to try more!

 (L to R) #4 Merengue, #2 Éclair, #9 Vanilla Cream Pie, #11 Maple Blondie, #5 Créme Brulee, #7 Tiramisu

My next beauty favorite of the September is this Too Faced Natural Eye Neutral Eye Shadow Collection. 

It has 9 pretty eye shadows in neutral pinks, brown, gold and bronze colors. They're great to create an easy everyday look.

A cheaper alternative is this Color Icon Eye Shadow Trio in #380B Walking on Eggshells by Wet n Wild. They are super pigmented, inexpensive and has similar colors with Too Faced Natural Eye Palette!

My next beauty favorite of the month can be found at Walmart: the Fox in a Box in Spicy & Sweet by Hard Candy .

It is a very pigmented peachy pink blush. I swirl my blush brush together and apply it onto the apples of my cheek. You could use each colors individually as well.

My next beauty favorite is an oldie but a goodie. Salvatore Ferragamo Incanto Charms Perfume is the first perfume I've ever own. This scent takes me back to around ..... 9th grade. This is my second bottle. It has been sitting in my collection forever but I decided to take it out and use it the whole month of September and fell back in love. I'm really bad at describing scents but I can say that it's really light and not too overwhelming whatsoever. The packaging is quite adorable too, don't you think? :)

I guess this next favorite can go into the "beauty" section as well. It is the Bath and Body Works hand sanitizer or anti-bacterial hand gel in Dazzling Diamond. To be perfectly honest with you, I don't really care much about the scent (it's a bit much and overpowering) BUT it has tiny glitter flecks in it and I just can't pass up haha! It is also currently flu season around here (everyone is getting sick, left and right) so this has come in handy when I just throw it in my purse and take it with me everywhere I go!

Moving on to my fashion favorites for the month of September ...  I have these 2 two-finger rings to show you.

The gold anchor one on the left is from Aldo (last year) and the right silver leaf one is from a local boutique. I love two-finger rings as they're so fun and they could be a statement piece on an outfit as they tend to be quite big.

And last but not least, my fun favorite for the month of September is this little beauty:

My 'What Would Blair Waldorf Do?' wrist band. This is my new official life motto because Blair Waldorf is my absolute idol. It is pink and I wear it everyday with my MK watch! I think it is so quirky and fun and is also a great conversation starter :D

So these are all my favorites for the month of September. What are your favorites? Feel free to share your thoughts and comments below!

But before you leave to go about with your day, remember and ask yourself this: What would Blair Waldorf do, indeed? ;)

Until next time,
from Film with love xxx

Hidden Treasures

Hi guys! Sorry for being MIA the past week. I've just been enjoying my free time before my summer class resumes (which is this Thursday :'( boo, I'm so bummed out). Anyway I want to show you 2 of my all-time favorite books that I love.

The Honest Life by Jessica Alba and Treasure Yourself by Miranda Kerr

I've had Treasure Yourself for several years now, since it first came out back in 2010. I ordered it through Miranda Kerr's organic skin and body care line Kora Organics website because I wanted to try her skincare products as well (which I will be dedicating a whole blog post towards in the near future so watch out for that ;)). Treasure Yourself is a self-improvement book written by one of my role model, Miranda Kerr, filled with fun and personal stories and advice. The second half of the book finishes off with many positive affirmations. Treasure Yourself became my bible and it is because of this book that lead me to live a positive life. I currently have 2 copies. One is here with me in Canada and one is back home in Thailand, where my family can enjoy it as well. I love this book so much. Not only because it is a light, beautiful and fun book to read, it will also change your life. I cannot wait for Miranda to write another book. I will be first in line to pick it up!

Positive Affirmation

The Honest Life: Living Naturally and True to You is a lifestyle book written by Jessica Alba. It is a collection of tips and tricks on how to create a happy and healthy lifestyle and covers everything from healthy food recipe in under 20 minutes, to what non-toxic and safe household products to use, some organizational tips to great beauty how-tos. 

This book is mainly geared towards families with kids but since it's just my boyfriend, my puppy, and I at the moment, this book is an amazing read to educate and prepare me for the future (when the time comes for us to have our own children :)). But kids or not, The Honest Life contains heaps of useful information I now utilize in my everyday life. The Honest Beauty section is my favorite :) (forever a beauty lover!). Living a positive lifestyle is good, but that combined with a healthy lifestyle is great!

 Beauty Tips

I highly recommend both of these books. If you like self-improvement books like I do, these two are on top of my list! So swing by your local bookstore and give these books a peek. I guarantee you won't regret it!

from Film with love

xx

Summer Essentials

So we are currently in the heart of summer (hi July! I can't believe we are already more than half way through this year, 2013! Crazy!), I would like to show you guys what I called my summer essentials.

So whether I am going to the beach or simply up to my roof to tan (I live in a beautiful apartment building and even though I have an adorable little balcony, it is simply too small to lay out), these are what I take with me.

First and foremost, a beach towel! I got mine from Winners. It is by Cynthia Rowley. I absolutely love the print and its fun colors. This is by far my all-time favorite beach towel to date!

Next is probably one of the most important thing you should always bring (and use!) when you're out and about in the sun: sunscreen. That's right. I know, I know, everyone have preached the importance of sunscreen over and over. But to be totally honest with you, I myself have never been one to use it. They are so thick and sticky and I just hate them .. especially when you want to lay out on the beach ... hel-lo?! I don't want to roll around on my towel with a sticky body where sand is going stick all over you. Nuh-uh. No thank you.

But behold .... after much researching (yes, I actually researched for sunscreen) I have come across this : 

This baby right here is by a brand called Coola. It has SPF 35, is a spray (easy to use and non sticky!), smells totally delicious (Pina Colada! Who doesn't love the smell of coconut?), and on top of it all, ORGANIC! (score!)

This 180 ML bottle of goodness cost me $25.30 CA (it was so hard to find around where I live, but luckily I found one at a local massage and spa place. It was on sale as well! (good timing or what?). But you can find it online here. I wanted to try their other scent Citrus Mimosa too but they didn't have them at the place I went to. That's okay though because I love my Pina Colada one :) Oh, they also have an unscented one if you like yours to be completely au naturale! 

Now, I know a lot of people have mixed feelings about tanning by laying out in the sun. Since where I live, we only get to see (and feel) the sun for a total of 2 months (3 if we're lucky ... 2 weeks if we're talking about this year so far) in a year, I like to lay out as much as I can. I don't go to tanning beds but I do use sunless tanner during the colder months. When I do lay out, these are the products I use.

Hawaiian Tropic Dark Tanning Oil is what I reach for before I lay out. I'm not too crazy about tanning oils and have not used it enough to tell a difference so I wouldn't worry about it too much when it comes to summer essentials but I thought I'd mention it anyway!

At the end of the day when I got home from the beach or wherever I laid out I usually take a quick shower to wash off all the sweat and the occasional sand that might stick on me. After I get out of the shower, I reach for my Hawaiian Tropic Silk Hydration After Sun Lotion. This stuff is hands down the best ever! I love the smell (coconut papaya!) and how hydrating it is. Most importantly, it does not leave my skin feeling sticky like most lotions do afterward. As you can see, I am almost all out of it. I love and use this stuff so much - this is my second bottle this summer!

Next, you can't forget your sunglasses and a big floppy beach hat! They are a necessity as you need to protect your face and eyes from the hot sun!

My sunglasses are Ray-Ban Aviators from the Sunglass Hut. I got my wide brim floppy hat from Icing. Turquoise/mint is my new favorite color and I love the color accent and rhinestone trim (very Kardashian! ;)) the hat has.

I always bring lip balm with me everywhere I go and I really like EOS lip balm in Summer Fruit. It keeps my lips hydrated and smooth and taste oh-so-good as well.

I also like to bring something light to read with me. I usually go for magazines. They are always fun. I recently picked up the latest issue of Teen Vogue. I don't remember the last time I read Teen Vogue but Emma Watson was on the cover and I've always love her so I figure I might as well pick it up.

Sometimes I'll take my ipod with me. But I always listen to music on my phone anyway, so ipods aren't really necessary. I found this beast recently (I've had this classic ipod forever ago and I thought I lost it but nope, it's been in my gym bag all along!) I decided to throw it in my beach bag.

Last but not least, we must never forget to bring water with us! This is more important than sunscreen in my opinion. Remember to always stay hydrated :)

PS. Can you see one of my hair on Emma Watson's face. LOL, major fail. I swear, I shed soooo much you could make a wig out of how much hair I shed everyday. It drives my boyfriend absolutely crazy. My hair is everywhere and pretty much in every thing. Hahaha, oops. Well .. what can I say, long hair don't care? ;)

Until next time,

                        from Film, with love
                          xoxo