July Favorites

July 31, 2017

July Favorites

How we are already making our way into August is completely beyond me. This month has been crazy busy and I have no idea where the time has gone. Between planning for the wedding and everything else, my head feels like it’s going a million miles an hour lately. In last month’s favorites post, I included only one makeup item and a bunch of random favorites. I really enjoyed doing that and kinda stuck with it this month too, but with a few more beauty items than last time. I’m always talking about makeup and the things I like, so I’m sure by the end of the month we all know what I’m using. I like having this chance to talk about other fun things that wouldn’t otherwise get mentioned.

In my last Setting the Wedding post, I mentioned that we have been taking advantage of Summer sales lately and picking up things for our honeymoon. Which, by the way, has caused us the biggest headache right now. But one of the things we wanted to make sure we bought were cheaper sunglasses to bring with us. In case anything were to happen, we needed some that weren’t as valuable as what we wear everyday. These are actually by Guess and I only paid $15 for them at Burlington! Burlington has been my place lately!! I’m really into this mirrored effect and I love the pink mauve tones it has. I haven’t put them down!

These two pieces are also items that we bought for our honeymoon, but I can’t help but go ahead and wear them now. The shorts are linen shorts that I picked up at Burlington for $7. Seven dollars, y’all! Can you believe that?? They’re not the softest material ever, but they breathe nicely and they’ll be perfect for dusting beach sand off of them.

The shirt is from the Merona brand at Target and it is one of the softest women’s shirts I ever touched. I now own this same exact shirt in both black and coral, and I still want more. I love the way they fit and you can always get them for a good deal. The last time I was there, they had them on sale 2 for $10 and I picked up one of their tank tops also. Target is one of the best places to find basic shirts!

These shoes have been taking over my wardrobe lately. I mentioned them in last month’s favorites too and I’ve still been wearing them almost every single day. Unless I need tennis shoes or my rainboots, these rose gold sandals are what I’m wearing on my feet. These are also from Target and now that I’ve broken them in a little more, they’re even more comfortable than before.

If you follow me on Instagram then this might look a little familiar to you. Let me just start out by saying that I love cookie dough. Specifically chocolate chip cookie dough. And when I say “love,” I mean looovveee. I’ve seen this Cookie Dough Cafe in Walmart before, but always just passed it up because it was a little pricey ($6 for this container) and I honestly didn’t think it would live up to my standards. I’ve tried making edible cookie dough myself and have always failed. It’s never tasted as good as the real thing, but this right here totally does! I could not even believe it! I seriously ate the whole thing by myself in under three days and am on my second one. It’s sooo delicious!

Music has always been a big part of my life and I realized recently that the speakers on our phones just weren’t cutting it when we were playing outside. I wanted something that I’d be able to hear while we’re out on the gheenoe or playing in the pool. I found this Oontz speaker during the Amazon Prime sale and absolutely love it. It’s the perfect size, connects to bluetooth, and is really good quality. I definitely recommend it!!

I can’t tell you how many years I’ve talked about how I wish something like this existed. When that time of the month comes around, my cramps are no joke and one of the only things that helps is using a heating pad. Well that’s not very convenient when I need to be on the move and the scent of a heating pad now registers in my brain as a time to be sick. I tried these ThermaCare Heat Wraps recently and couldn’t believe how well they worked. I’ll usually keep the heating pad as high as it will go, so I didn’t think these would be hot enough but they really were. I could go anywhere with them and they were totally undetectable under my clothes. It says that one of them will provide 8 hours of heat, but mine was still hot 14 hours later! Definitely keeping these on hand now.

This one’s kinda gross, but I’m including it anyway because it’s just too good not to mention. I actually saw this Captivator Fly Trap on Instagram and had to see how well it really worked. You can find it at Tractor Supply for around $5. You just mix some water with the powder and it traps flies you didn’t even know you had. It was crazy! The first one we had got too nasty, so we threw it away and got a new one. Now if we could only find something as amazing to keep the mosquitoes away...

Okay, back to beauty. I’ve mentioned this St. Moriz Fast Self Tanning Mousse so many times lately, but it really is one of my most used items currently. This mousse does really work beautifully, but there are a few things that you might need to know before application so I’d definitely recommend checking out my full review if you haven’t already. It can be perfect, but there are a few important differences between this and the original version.

I can’t even tell you how long this dry brush has been sitting in my bathroom closet. If I had to guess, I’d say maybe around 2 ½ years?! I bought it on Amazon when dry brushing became really popular and just never got into using it. I’ve been having a lot of important events going on recently, so I brought this out to help exfoliate off my self tanner before reapplying. It does feel a little rough if you’re not used to it, but it feels so good afterwards. I do this before I get in the shower and I really like the effects it has. I’d like to get better at using it regularly to see it’s lasting benefits.

I don’t mention these very often, but I use eye drops almost every day. I don’t use them for dry, irritated eyes or anything like that. I usually use them after I take my contacts off when I get home after a long day. The Thera Tears have been the only eye drops I use since wearing contacts and I love them so much. They’re super refreshing and have never caused me any issues. They aren’t one of the more cheap eye drops, but taking care of your eyes is something you shouldn’t take lightly. There’s nothing like washing your face after a long day and putting in some refreshing eye drops. I always look forward to it!

Since I’ve been self tanning so much lately, I’ve been having to use different makeup in my collection to keep my face the same color as the rest of my body. Thankfully, my Elf Acne Fighting Foundation is just a little too dark for my natural skin tone so it’s perfect for when I have a little extra color on me. It makes me feel more comfortable while I’ve been having some skin issues recently and I’ve always been a fan of the formula.

I don’t tan my face at all, so there really are quite a few extra steps I have to take in my makeup routine. Besides switching to a darker foundation, I’ve also been using a liquid bronzer under my powder bronzer. I love the Temptu Shimmer Bronzer! It’s so easy to blend in with a damp sponge and looks super natural on the skin. Although “shimmer” is in the name, you can barely see any glow on the skin once it’s blended in.

For eyeliner, I have two different shades that I typically don’t reach for very often. I usually stick with a brown or eggplant shade, but have been loving a deep blue or a traditional black eyeliner lately. The Lancome Drama Liqui-Pencil in Noir Intense is the smoothest, most pitch black eyeliner that I think I’ve ever used. You barely have to touch the eye and it just glides right on. I recently featured the Pür Cosmetics Double Ego Dual Ended eyeliner in the shade Bora Bora in my Mermaid Eyeshadow Tutorial and it reminded me how much I really enjoy using it. I’ve worn it quite a few times since then and like the slight hint of color it provides.

Jordana retractable eyeliners have always been one of my favorites, and so are the lip liners. They’re very easy to apply and are super affordable. The colors I’ve been using most recently are Rock N’ Rose and Baby Berry. Rock N’ Rose is a neutral dusty rose that could match with any shade to provide just the right amount of definition along the outer edges. Baby Berry is a beautiful mid-tone pink that’s perfect for Summer time. I typically put down a light lip balm first, which helps the liner to glide on and fill in the lips faster.

The Ofra Long Lasting Liquid Lipsticks still aren’t my complete favorites, but I tend to look past the things I don’t like just for these colors because they are absolutely gorgeous. Santa Ana is such a fun bright pink for Summer that can also look a little more like a deep berry in certain lighting. Pasadena is my favorite for when I want something a little more muted to give my lips color without really being noticeable if it starts to fade. I always wear a lip balm underneath these too, otherwise they’ll do a number and really dry them out.

Can you tell it’s been a busy month? There are so many favorite things to mention! I’m actually surprising myself with the amount of fashion items that have been in my recent favorites lately and how little eyeshadows or other makeup I want to mention. I’ve been taking it pretty easy on the eyes just because it’s so hot outside, I want as little product on my face as possible!

If you have any questions about any of the products I mentioned, please feel free to leave them for me in the comments section below. Have you tried any of these products? What were some of your favorites from July?

~Mani Monday~

This week I decided to go with another color that’s a bit more muted than what I typically choose during Summer. Normally I’m always drawn to the super bright, neon shades but I’m really enjoying the softer tones right now. The color I’m wearing is by Sally Hansen and is called Camo Queen. I also decided to pair it with a Nicole by OPI polish in the shade On A Gilt Trip. I used that as an accent color, but only put it on my ring finger on my left hand. I love both of these colors. The Nicole polish does last all week for me, unlike the Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure formula. There’s a wonderful shade selection in that line, but it typically chips within four to five days on my nails.