July Favorites

It’s a little sad that July is coming to an end because that means Summer is that much closer to being over, but I can’t say I’m too upset about it because Fall means kids are back in school and (more importantly) football! I missed the whole season last year being busy with wedding stuff, so now I’m more than ready to watch some games! July wasn’t actually a very busy month for me. I was just talking to my husband about how full my schedule was last year with wedding activities and how empty my schedule is now. I’m enjoying this break, though. It’s so nice to finally relax!

Call me a grandma, but these no-tie tennis shoes have been my thing for the past year or so now. I included a pair in last year’s June Favorites, which I still wear all the time. They’re so comfortable and I love not wasting time having to tie them up. I’ve been looking for a lighter colored pair for months now and finally found some on sale at Target. I actually had to have my sister pick these up for me because her local store was the only one that still had them in stock. They’re the Zaylee metallic lace up style from the S Sport by Skechers line. White and gold are my two favorite colors, so this was perfect!
It took a long time for me to think I looked fine wearing a baseball hat. I always thought I was never a hat person, but now I love them. I’ve been adding to my collection any chance I get. My most recent addition is this light pink one I found at Walmart for under $5! I always have to have the velcro in the back because it makes it easier to adjust my ponytail. This one fits great and I like how simple it is to match with so many different outfits.
I’ve done a lot of shopping online this month because there were a lot of good sales going on. Expect a haul very soon!! But every time I shop online, I make sure I have Ebates activated on my browser. I’ve spoken about it a few times before, though I’ve rarely given it enough credit for how amazing it is.

All you have to do is create an account, choose your bonus reward for signing up (sweeeet!), and make sure it’s activated every time you shop. They offer different percent cash back for 2500 different online stores! Sometimes they even offer double cash back, which is even better. All of your cash back accumulates on your account for a few months and they send a check to you a few times a year, with no minimum cash out! I can’t even tell you how much money I’ve gotten back by using Ebates over the years. It’s been a lot!! This is one of those things I recommend to everyone, even in my daily life. It’s awesome!
This tiny Crocs lighter is nothing new to me, but I realized I’ve never mentioned it before and I just had to let you know about it. My sister got me this because I had been wanting a mini lighter to use for candles, but I’m scared to use those Bic classic lighters. I know, I’m a baby. I’ve never even used one because I’m too worried about burning myself. But this solves all my problems!
I never wanted one of those wallet cell phone cases because I thought they were too big and bulky. I like my phone to be slim and easy to use. But lately I’ve been getting real tired of carrying my entire purse around, especially when I’m running a ton of errands or just need to go in a store for a few things. So I ordered this cute wallet case on Amazon for only $13. The bow is what really drew me in.

So far, it’s been great! It’s very slim, it has a magnetic closure, holds my Galaxy S7 perfectly, it has two slots for my driver’s license and credit card, and it has a mirror. I kinda thought the mirror was a waste at first until one day when I really needed to use it. I’m so happy with this purchase! I keep my regular case (and PopSocket) on all the time and can quickly switch to this one whenever I need to.
Unfortunately, lactose intolerance runs in my family and is something I’ve struggled with my whole life. I always stay far away from any kind of dairy that I feel will make me sick. I always thought these Coffee-mate creamers had dairy in them, but they actually don’t! It says it on the side of the bottle, so I know I’m in the clear. I usually just go for the French Vanilla because that’s all I can ever find, but they recently stocked my local grocery store with this new Toasted Marshmallow Mocha flavor and it is delicious!!! I even just had to repurchase it because I ran threw the first bottle so fast!
I used to have extremely curly hair when I was younger, but it’s become more wavy the older I’ve gotten. I’m always on the hunt for the best curl cream ever since they discontinued my favorite Samy curl lotion. My sister tried this Ogx Coconut Curls Styling Milk and recommended that I try it. I still don’t think it’s my absolute favorite product, but it does do a good job. It smells delicious and activates a lot of my natural curls. I apply this on towel-dried hair and use a diffuser on my blow dryer to define and dry the curls.
Nip + Fab is one of my favorite skincare brands. They’ve sent me a lot of their products in the past and I’ve always had very good experiences with how they treat my skin. It’s been a while since I’ve repurchased my favorite Glycolic Fix Daily Cleansing pads and I was starting to notice some of my texture coming back. So I went out to repurchase these immediately.

They were having a sale and I decided to pick up the No Needle Fix Serum also because it claims to improve texture. It does apply a little sticky at first, but absorbs into the skin very quickly and I do think I’m already noticing my texture beginning to fade away again. I’ve been so happy with the both of these!
Moving into makeup, there’s two palettes that I’ve been using the most. The first is this Alamar Cosmetics Reina Del Caribe eyeshadow palette. I just recently published a full review and a tutorial featuring this palette. Although it gave me some trouble at first and sometimes it can get a bit too colorful, I’ve been reaching for this a lot for testing purposes and because I’m obsessed with the La Costa shade. It’s my current favorite shimmer shade for the lid! My other two most used shades are Coco-Taxi (with just a pat of Tropico) and Cafecito.
The second palette got sent to me from Profusion Cosmetics around the middle of the month. There were a few products included in the package, but this Siennas palette left me completely speechless. Seriously, you can ask my husband. My jaw was on the ground for a good 10-15 minutes. Not only am I all about this color selection right now, the quality and the price left me at a loss for words. I’m still doing some testing and will post a full review after I work with it more, but would you even believe me if I told you this is only $10?! I mean, just look at the pigment in those swatches!
I was really intrigued by this Wander Beauty Unlashed mascara from the very beginning and I’m so happy to see that it’s actually really good. This has pretty much been the only mascara I’ve used all month because I wanted to test it in so many different situations. It is super easy to work with and almost has a sort of gel-like consistency. It adds a ton of length and volume, and I haven’t noticed any flaking. Now I’m kinda interested to see more from this brand!
Maybelline Baby Lips has been my favorite lip product formula for years! The shade Cherry Me is always in my purse. I can’t even count how many of those I’ve repurchased. Recently both my husband and I have been dealing with really dry lips. I’m not sure why since the humidity has been so intense.

I don’t always want to wear color on my lips, especially if I’m just at home, and my husband obviously would never want pinky red lips either so I picked up their clear shade. This one is called Quenched. I used to have one of these a long time ago and used it for sun protection at the beach, but I don’t know what happened to it. I’m glad to have this back and have already noticed it healing our dry lip situation. I knew it wouldn’t let me down!
I’ve been teasing a little bit that I’m trying a new base coat and while I’m still not ready for my full review with proof pictures, I will go ahead and finally tell you what it is. Essie’s First Base base coat! I’ve tried this with many polishes already, making sure to use formulas that don’t normally last on my nails, and oh my goodness! It has consistently kept all the polishes in place with zero chipping after an entire seven days! I’ve never had that happen before. I think I’ve finally found my match!
I had no idea this post was going to be so long, even though that’s what always happens. I think I only have a few things to mention and then I keep remembering more and more. It’s not like I can keep it all to myself, I have to share all my good finds! But seriously, don’t forget to check out Ebates whenever you’re shopping online. You can get some serious cash back! And keep an eye out for more information on that Siennas palette and the base coat. I have a feeling those are two new staple products!

If you have any questions about anything 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 this past month?

~Mani Monday~
I love picking out nail polishes to wear when I have a fresh self tan. Sometimes not everything that I want to wear matches as well with my super pale skin as I would like it to, so having more color on my skin makes things a little easier. I feel like there are more options that will stand out better, such as this soft pink. This is Sally Hansen’s polish in the shade Pink A Card. It’s one of my favorite colors, but the formula has never lasted very long on me. This is another one I’ll be testing with that Essie base coat. Based on my previous experimenting, I have a feeling this will still be going strong a week from now.
What’s on your nails this week?

~Christina~

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