Monthly Highlight : March 2020

Hello, my loves! It’s April! Wow, doesn’t it feel so fast?

March was a peaceful month for me as I set the theme to be PEACE. We sometimes get heavy rain and cloudy days too. Overall, March was like a closing month, where we end the 12 month cycle as it’s marked by Pisces season and Mercury retrograde in Pisces that required us to slow down. Also, Saturn and Mars move into Aquarius in the last half of March and create a conjunction today at the very first degree of the sign. We might want to do many things but there are some limitations, like the current regulations for social distancing and restrictions for some areas. When you force things, it only hurts you, so it’s important to slow down, and to take alternative steps that both protect us and other people.

Lailiving is now a one year old baby! Yay! I created this blog on March 6, 2019. But I used to remember it as March 15, somehow, haha. So, the first time I decided to create this blog is for spreading more good things that are under the lifestyle category. I once had a beauty blog and music/entertainment blog, but then I felt like I want to do something more than this. There are still many things about life that I’m currently learning and I want to share it to everyone on the internet. Since it’s about lifestyle, lailiving popped into my head as a blog name, and it’s super easy to remember, it’s not too long, and the most important thing is that my name is in it, haha. This blog grows so much in one year, as I decided to post in English in November 2019. So, I hope this blog will reach more people, and I can improve my English too. 

My March theme is Peace. March is a peaceful month for me. I'm blessed with peaceful circumstances, the books / articles that bring peace, and also meeting kind people. When you are able to be in peace with yourself, your outer situation will follow. The uncomfortable situation in our outside world is a reminder that our inner world needs our attention because something is not in equilibrium state. So, when you face something that you perceive as not peaceful, like someone who makes you angry, it might be that your inner world needs you to go there to put some good energy.

I’ve started something that I believe will change my life one year from now, it’s #FocusOnTheGood Project on Twitter. Everyday I will focus on good things I experience and be grateful for it. In the middle of this pandemic, the mass focus is on the fear and it can be easily controlled by some people to spread more negativity to the world. But, we have the power to choose. We can choose to give our focus to anything we want. Anything we are focusing into will magnify its power. When you focus on the fear, the more fear you get. When you focus on gratitude, the more things that make you grateful will come. As I quoted from my favorite series, when you believe that people are bad, you can not see the good ones. It applies to everything in this world. If you can see this blog post as a good thing, it means you have focused on the good. 

Actually, the book for March is Wherever You Go, There You Are by Jon Kabbat-Zin, but then The Power of Now was like summoning itself everywhere. It’s like saying “Please read me, again”. So, I paused the first book, to reread The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle. The first time I read this book felt different. I could absorb the good messages, but during March I felt like it had more deep messages in it that I enjoyed reading this book like the first time I read it. It’s a popular book that is recommended by almost every youtuber I subscribed to, so if you haven’t read it, you better read it! You can get it through Google Books if you are an android user. There are more good messages that I wrote in my journal so that I can come back to read it whenever I need to. The Power of Now emphasizes on being in the present moment, to wake up, to break the chain of unconsciousness, that will absolutely change your life if you practice it. It opens my eyes and gives me more understanding of what life throws at me. 

As I mentioned in February Highlight, I emptied almost all my skincare products, so I decided to buy new ones. This time, I only bought the ones I need the most which are another sunscreen, moisturizer and hydrating products (it’s essence). The sunscreen I bought is the same one I emptied this one which is Skin Aqua UV Moisture Gel. I also bought a new moisturizer that has been on my wishlist for years, iUNIK Centella Calming Gel Cream. The reason I chose this moisturizer is the gel type (which won’t make my face shiny during the day) and the niacinamide on the top 5 ingredient list. Even though niacinamide is everyone's favorite for brightening, I love this ingredient for its ability to calm my skin. This moisturizer also has centella asiatica extract, centella asiatica leaf water and allantoin that work as anti-inflammatory. Since I don’t use the day / night cream as moisturizer, I always choose the moisturizer that won’t make my skin greasy on a hot day, so the gel type one is the best choice for me.

Another skincare I bought is the one for hydrating purpose, that is PURITO Fermented Complex 94 Boosting Essence. This one also has niacinamide and allantoin in it. It has some fermented ingredients that are claimed to slow the aging process. So, yeah, I will be forever young, haha. PURITO is one of clean brands that is cruelty free and has recyclable packaging. It also uses only green labeled ingredients for most of its products. This essence has essence consistency that is thicker than hydrating toner, but it can easily be absorbed. I only use it during the night or when my skin needs more hydration. 

And, I got Senka Perfect Whip White Vibrant White for free! A friend on instagram kindly did a giveaway for her extra purchased face wash. I haven’t tried this variant yet, so when my current face wash runs out, I will switch to this one. This product has Fuji Sakura Essence (you can find it listed as Prunus Speciosa Leaf Extract) and White Cocoon Extract (you can find it listed as Sericin and Hydrolyzed Silk). The ingredients show me that it does contain some ingredients such as alcohol, stearic acid, myristic acid and lauric acid that are usually drying out my skin, also it has fragrance. But, I can’t judge a product’s performance by its ingredients, so let’s see next time when I try this product! Yeah! 

One skincare that I emptied in March is a sunscreen from Skin Aqua that is Skin Aqua UV Moisture Gel. The one with green cap is for oily skin, and it’s named “gel” even though it doesn’t have the gel consistency. It’s pretty similar to the other 2 variants for normal/dry and sensitive skin. It’s one of my favorite sunscreens that I recommended in my sunscreen blog post. It’s super affordable and it has my favorite UV filter : Tinosorb M in it. I usually wear it for my face, hands and feet, since it’s not sticky anymore, so it’s super comfortable to wear during the hot weather.

So, during this current pandemic, some Japanese artists / agencies hold special live streams on YouTube that we can watch for free. They aim for cheering up and bringing good vibes to the fans around the world. So, I’ve watched some of the live streams whether it’s a mini live, special live, or concert DVD streaming. You can also watch them since they’re archived after being streamed. 

Some of lives that I watched :

>> LDH (they streamed past concert DVDs simultaneously on their channel, they manage some artists / groups like EXILE, 3JSB, E-girls, GENERATIONS, The Rampage, Doberman Infinity, DREAM Ami, Happiness, Leola, Aoyagi Sho, and many more).

>> Avex (you can watch Ai Otsuka, Ayumi Hamasaki, AAA, moumoon, Do As Infinity and many more. The one that I watched was Avex Special Live on March 8 that had some artists performing in the same stage like Beverly, GENIC, lol, FAKY etc. From this special live, I found a new favorite song by GENIC, haha.

>> Johnny's & Associates (a big and famous agency that has debuted many popular artists like Arashi, V6, Kinki Kids, Kanjani8, Hey! Say! JUMP, NEWS, Johnny’s WEST, King & Prince, and many more. They held special live for some groups from March 28 - 31, along with the birth of a super catchy song Wash Your Hands - a song that will stick in your mind forever once you listen to it. Haha. So, I watched the one this one that had kansai groups ~ because I’m so sexy baby, lol~, and the backstage/making part)

Show Yourself is a song by Idina Menzel and Evan Rachel Wood, for Frozen 2. When I first listened to this song, I didn’t feel anything, but during March, I felt like this song speaks more than its lyrics to me. So it’s an urge for me to do some “updates” for my life. I like both the original and Japanese version by Takako Matsu and Yoh Yoshida. Check my favorite part of this song that speaks my heart in my tweet below :

Show Yourself - Idina Menzel, EvanRachel Wood ( Spotify )

Show Yourself - Takako Matsu, Yoh Yoshida( Spotify )

Glory Days is my number one favorite song from Johnny’s WEST newest album Wtrouble that has reggae touch and refreshing vibe. Unfortunately you have to buy the physical copy of the song to listen to the full version. The preview is available on their release site. When I first listened to the preview I immediately got the image of summer and beach and sunscreen. So I think it’s suitable for a sunscreen commercial song, haha. By listening to this song, my days are being the glory days.

Glory Days - Johnny’s WEST ( CDJapan )

Glory Days - Johnny’s WEST ( ReleaseSite Preview ) 

Tobira wo Akete is an old song by ANZA from my favorite childhood series Cardcaptor Sakura. I just found out that the soundtrack for this series is available on Spotify, so yeah, I re-listen to them all and it feels so nostalgic. I can come back to my magical childhood era whenever I listen to the songs. One of my favorites is this song. It’s a cheerful and a positive song! The very first lines of the lyrics are : It's’ all right! It’s all right. It’s all right. It’s all right. A miracle can happen. Here we go. Let’s go. Let’s go. Let’s go. Spread your wings.

Tobira wo Akete - ANZA ( Spotify )

Dakishimetara is the newest EP titled MOONGENIC from avex group GENIC that I just found out during the Avex Special Live. I like this song immediately after watching their performance. It’s a cute love song that you can dance for. I think this song doesn’t only apply for romantic relationships, but also any relationship like friendship and siblings too. You know when you have a really close friend, no matter what gender they are, you feel safe with them even though both of you are doing your own thing, not talking to each other. You hug each other and feel the warmth and you laugh together. 

Dakishimetara - GENIC ( Spotify )

So, yeah! This was another super long blog post I made, haha. I believe that April will be a wonderful month too, and there are more new things to do and to learn. I hope you enjoy this post, see you on the next lailiving blog on May! 

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