May Favorites

Can we just talk about how we’re already making our way into the middle month of the year...and that this is my 100th blog post?! It doesn’t even feel like that at all and every time I remind myself of it, I can’t believe it. I have been so busy every single month, time is just flying by and I don’t even realize it. This month the weather has been much nicer than the earlier spring months and I took a trip to Disney at the beginning of the month, so ever since I got back from that I feel like I’ve been playing catch up with everything I have to do. But now it’s time to reflect back on the products I have enjoyed most throughout the month of May and share with you all my favorite things.
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One thing you probably don’t know about me is that I absolutely hate drinking water. I know how good it is for me and that I really need to drink it, but I will almost always choose something else to drink rather than water because I just don’t like it. Some people really love water and can chug it all day. That’s not me. So I thought I would trick myself and get a bottle to drink it out of in hopes that it would make it more fun for me. And surprisingly it has done the trick. I mean, it hasn’t changed me because I still have to force myself to drink a whole one of these a day (and I struggle with that) but I’m making progress. I found this bubba bottle at Walmart for around $12 or so and aside from it just being fun to say “bubba” all the time, I really like that the straw is rubber and not the typical hard plastic most cups have. I’ll probably end up getting another one just so I’ll always have one clean and ready to go.
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One of my first blog posts I ever wrote (and one of my most popular) was about this Aztec Secret Indian Healing Clay mask. I love it so much and it’s really always a favorite of mine. I use it twice a week, but recently I ran out of this 2 pound container and couldn’t find it locally near me anywhere. Since I waited until the last minute to repurchase it, I had to go about a week without it while I waited for it to arrive from Amazon. Now that I have it back, I have been enjoying it so much. It’s the most amazing, most affordable, most natural mask you can buy. If you haven’t tried it already, I highly suggest getting your hands on it. I will never buy another mask other than this again!
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Since the weather has been so nice this month, I’ve been spending a lot of time outside. Recently, I shared my favorite sun care products and this Hawaiian Tropic Silk Hydration After Sun lotion was one of them. I love the way this feels on the skin because it’s smooth like lotion while still having a cooling effect from the aloe ribbons in it. Plus, I just can’t get enough of the Coconut Papaya scent!

I’m gonna sound like a crazy person here, but the Spring weather has put me in the biggest cleaning mood. I’m already a huge clean freak, but this time I went over the top and literally scrubbed every single inch of tile and grout in my house on my hands and knees with a small brush (and the help of my super sweet boyfriend). They were so dirty and nothing was able to get them as clean as I wanted. Not even my beloved steam mop could do the trick. After a week and a half of intense scrubbing, the tiles are finally sparkling white again. But with all of that work, I needed something serious to soothe my aching muscles and epsom salt definitely pulled through for me. Soaking in it for 15-20 minutes helped me feel so much better and prevented me from being a lot more sore than I could have been. I found this at Walmart for under $1!
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A few other things that have helped with my skin is tea tree oil (for acne) and my Anderson Lilley Manhattan Beach Beach Butter Hand Cream that I received in my April Boxycharm. I’ve used tea tree oil to heal acne scars and dry up pimples for a while, but didn’t take it with me when I went to Disney. After that weekend, I could definitely tell a difference in my skin and don’t want to be without this stuff again. The hand cream is a lot more nourishing than I was expecting it to be and has been really nice to use every night before bed. They’re supposed to be coming out with new scents of it, which I’m really looking forward to.
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Right after I posted my review on the Revlon Lip Butters lipsticks, my favorite one (Berry Smoothie) melted in my purse and broke in half when I went to use it. They were sold out of that shade at Target the first time I looked to replace it, so of course I ended up picking a new shade to make me feel better. This one is Juicy Papaya which is a very natural shade, but gives just the right amount of peachy tint to the lips for a fresh spring look. I have been really happy with it. And for the record, I was able to replace Berry Smoothie. Everything is all okay!
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Speaking of a fresh spring look, that’s mainly what I’ve been doing lately and focusing on easy, effortless makeup. I’ve mentioned a few times before that I usually always like to use two mascaras in order to get my lashes to look exactly how I want them to. But when I’m in a hurry and just want to reach for one thing to get the job done quickly, I’ve really been liking Jordana’s Best Lash Extreme Volumizing mascara. It does have traditional bristles, which I’m not always a fan of but it provides great volume while still adding a bit of length.
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I’ve included Makeup Geek bronzers in quite a few blog posts by now and I just have to include it again because I really can’t get enough of them. They’re the only talc free bronzer that I could find, which is amazing for my skin and this particular shade is Love Triangle. It’s just the slightest bit darker than my skin tone right now, so it’s looks like a really natural glow and gives a beautiful sun-kissed appearance on the face. This has been one of my favorite parts of my makeup routine lately because I’m always happy with the results.
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For eyeshadow, I have constantly been reaching for my absolute favorite products of all time: Wet n Wild’s single in Brulee, Ulta’s Naked, and Makeup Geek’s High Tea and Barcelona Beach. They’re all mattes (big surprise there) and incredibly pigmented. I’ve been mixing up which ones I choose to use, but also love pairing them all together. To get ready really quickly, I’ll just use Brulee and Naked. But if I have a little more time and want to add some color, I put Barcelona Beach and High Tea in the outer corner and crease area for definition.
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I really can’t recommend all of these items enough, they all bring me so much joy when I use them and are some of my staples that I can’t live without. Hopefully I’ll have better luck next month with being more strict on myself when it comes to drinking water and it’ll start to become easier for me. If you try any of these products, leave me your thoughts in the comments on your experience. And don’t forget to let me know what you’ve been loving this month too!

~Mani Monday~
I’ve been doing a few softer pastel colors recently, so this week I wanted a color that was a little more bold. I chose Ulta’s nail polish in Fushiamania, which is a beautiful intense pink and found a little flower sticker I had to add something fun. Ulta brand nail polishes are a great formula and can be very affordable if you catch them with a good sale, and use one of their $3.50 off coupons. Sinful Colors also makes a polish almost identical to this one called Feeling Great and it was one of my favorites for years.
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What’s on your nails this week?

~Christina~

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