June Favorites
June was probably one of my favorite, yet most stressful months this year. I feel like I’ve been busier than I ever have recently, but have also been enjoying spending time outside and soaking up the summer as much as I can. July seems like it’s going to be another busy one, so I really need to stay on top of everything to make it as easy as possible. But with as hectic as everything’s been, I have still found some fun new favorites to share with you. A few things have been mentioned once or twice, but most of them are new and exciting.
I love sweet tea. Actually, I think saying that I love it is an understatement. I am obsessed with sweet tea! In my last post, I mentioned that I don’t drink anything fast. And that’s true. Except for when we’re talking about sweet tea. I can chug it all day long and never get tired of it. I used to make my own at home, but buying it is so much easier sometimes. I was getting the Milo’s sweet tea for a while and even though it tasted fine, I found these weird slimy blobs in it twice. The first time I just disregarded it and thought I got a bad gallon, but when it happened a second time I couldn’t take it. The texture reminded me of algae in a fish tank. No thank you!
So I went back to my other favorite, Gold Peak Sweet Tea. I have been so much happier and can definitely tell a difference in the quality when I pour this in my glass. So even though this has been a favorite of mine for a while, I thought the story of the Milo tea needed to be told for my fellow sweet tea addicts.
Swimming in the pool a few times, I realized that the bathing suit I was wearing (and previously mentioned in my April Favorites) is not the most sturdy. So I started looking for a bathing suit that would be a little tighter and stay in place with all the movements swimming around. I found this top and bottom at Walmart, both were under $10 a piece! I really like that the bottom still covers everything up, but I have the ability to tighten the sides. I didn’t think I would like the top because at first glance, it looked like a bra to me. But after wearing it, I actually prefer it because you can’t see any silly tan lines when you’re wearing normal clothes. I originally bought this as a back up suit to wear when I’m swimming, but now it’s the only one I wear.
And of course, I have to mention the pool because I have been in it every single day that I can! I always preferred in ground pools because that’s what I grew up with, but now that I have this above ground pool I really like it. It’s more fun than I thought it would be and perfect for our needs!
The Crest 3D White toothpaste has always been a favorite of mine, but I recently decided to try their new 2 step system. It was a little different at first because you have to use step 1 for 1 minute, spit it out without rinsing and then continue with step 2 for another minute. I thought it would make the process take longer, but it actually doesn’t. As you can tell, I’m almost out of it and I am really starting to see a difference. I haven’t whitened my teeth with my whitening kit in a while and I’ve been super impressed with the results this has given me on its own!
The blue hair is gone and the pink hair is in! I ran out of the blue dye at the beginning of May and have been letting it fade out ever since. The blue was getting a little too dark for my hair color and almost wasn’t even noticeable anymore. I knew I wanted to switch it up and go for something brighter, so I decided to go with pink. Let me tell you, that was a process!
Getting the rest of the blue out was a struggle! I was really trying to avoid bleaching my hair, but after trying about 5 different methods that’s what I ended up having to do. I used Beyond the Zone Radical Color Remover with volume 10 twice to get every little bit of blue out. I didn’t want to leave any in because I didn’t know how it would affect the pink. But that stuff really worked! My hair was white!! Which is why the pink is so bright. I’m loving it, though!
My boyfriend and I had our four year anniversary at the beginning of the month. I’ve seen gold bar necklaces become popular recently and while I was shopping for a fashion one at Icing a few months ago, I mentioned to him how I think it would be precious to have one with our dog’s birthday on it in roman numerals. So, being the gentleman that he is, that’s exactly what he got for me and I love it! I’ve always loved gold jewelry the most and I cannot stop wearing this!
It is getting hot in Florida, like real hot! And humid, very very hot and humid. I’m sure you can imagine how much my oily skin is loving that. I’ve had to bring out my Elf Mattifying Blotting Papers. Not to be confused with their Shine Eraser Blotting Sheets. I love that this has the little sticky pad to pick up the papers because it makes is so much easier and the fact that it has powder on it makes such a difference. I like using powder to absorb the oils on my face throughout the day, but I don’t like reusing it on dirty skin. With this, I just use one sheet and then have a clean one ready to go for the next time.
I always wanted to try the Maybelline Dream Velvet Foundation, but never got around to picking it up. When I was walking through Walgreens one day, I saw that this was on their sale rack for $5 so of course I didn’t even think twice about throwing it in the basket. I got it in the shade Ivory which matches me pretty well since I think they run a little dark. It has a mousse-like consistency and stays all day long on my skin without breaking down or settling into pores. Be on the lookout for a full review of this product within the next two weeks!
Makeup Geek has easily made their way into some of my favorite products of all time. I’ve mentioned on several occasions how much I love their brand, what they stand for, and the quality of products that they produce. When I received one of their new blushes (Covet) in my May Boxycharm, I was so excited! Even though they claim to have reformulated the blushes, I still think they’re just as amazing as they always were and the new packaging feels very luxurious! This color is incredibly pigmented, so it’s been really easy to use when I want to get ready fast. It blends out beautifully and lasts all day!!
If you saw my recent simple eyeshadow tutorial, then you’d know that I haven’t been doing much lately when it comes to the eyes. When I spend a lot of time in the sun, my freckles really come out and I like to play up on that and do minimal makeup for a fresh summer face. Ulta’s Naked and Wet n Wild’s Brulee single eyeshadows have been my go-to for creating a barely there makeup look on the eyes. These shadows together make things look super natural, while brightening the eye area. If I do want a little bit more sparkle, I’ve been reaching for the L’oreal Infallible eyeshadow in Always Pearly Pink. It reflects the light beautifully and isn’t too overly pink.
Of course, I highly recommend all the products that I mentioned and have been loving using them this past month. And instead of thinking about how summer is almost over, I’m going to be spending July thinking about how much more fun I can have! Let me know in the comments what products you have been loving during June and what your favorite summer activities are! Hope you have a great day! :)
~Christina~