Hello Everyone!
July is over which means school is just around the corner. Luckily enough for me, it is August which happens to be my Birth-Month. There is a good chance that I will be working on my actual birthday, but I think I'll survive. I am super excited to start school because I will be graduating next December with a degree that I love. I'm hoping that these next semesters go by quickly so that I can get a job in my field of study. Back to the beauty world. I tried so many new products during the month of July and some have become my absolute favorites. Most of these products have made it into my daily routine and the rest are essential for Summer. Here are my July favorites...
July Favorites - 2014
Banana Boat Sport Performance Spray Sunscreen SPF 100: The temperature here in South Texas has been unbelievable. We have had 100 degree weather everyday for the past couple of weeks. I am a person that gets sunburned very quickly, but hates putting on sunscreen. It makes me feel greasy and takes forever to apply. I picked up this spray sunscreen before my trip to the beach a couple of weeks ago. It was very easy to apply since the mist is clear and it is so quick to just spray my body and face with. I was at the beach for about 8 hours and I only got the slightest tan. I love this sunscreen and recommend it if you burn easily, or are lazy like I am.
Murad Rapid Age Spot and Pigment Lightening Serum: It is no secret that I struggle with hyperpigmentation. Since I finished the last product I was trying, I though I would pick up this serum and see if it made more of a difference than the last. I had never tried a Murad product before, but this serum made me want to try other products from the line. This serum was a bit on the pricy side, but I have found that most (if not all) serums are. Within the first week, I noticed a huge difference in my dark-spots. My entire face seems so much more even and my spots are not as noticeable. I find myself using a less amount of concealer to hide imperfections and I love that. This serum does make your face sensitive so there are a few recommendations: use at least SPF 30 before going into the sun, only use at night and do not use continuously for more than 3 months.
Clean & Clear Advantage 3-in-1 Exfoliating Cleanser: When it comes to treating acne, I have found that my skin reacts best to benzoyl peroxide. This acne medication is more difficult to find than salicylic acid, especially in the drugstore. I was lucky enough to find this drugstore cleanser and really enjoyed it this past month. It really helped to treat any existing acne that I had, and prevent future breakouts. The exfoliation isn't harsh on the skin and gentle enough to use on a daily basis.
Clean & Clear All-in-One Cleansing Wipes: I picked up these wipes the same time I got the cleanser (they were right next to the cleanser and I needed new wipes haha). I actually enjoyed these more than I did the other Clean & Clear makeup removing wipes. Something about the smell of these wipes really helps to relax me and prepare me for bed. I truly feel like they remove all of my makeup and they keep my skin feeling clean. These wipes have sea minerals and sea kelp extract (I'm not exactly sure what these things do, but my skin looks and feels great). Again I would like to point out that although there are 30 days in a month, there are only 25 wipes.
Maybelline Dream Pure BB 8-in1 Beauty Balm Skin Clearing Perfector: Because my skin has been better than usual, I have been able to wear lighter makeup. During the Summer I tend to gravitate to more BB creams than foundations. This BB cream is supposed to have acne clearing properties, that caught my attention. I love how light this feels on my skin, but still gives a nice amount of coverage. It is so easy to blend into the skin and does a reasonable job of adjusting to your skin tone. There are a couple of shades available and it is easy to work with. I'm not sure how much this actually helped my acne, but I didn't cause any extra breakouts.
Makeup Forever Full Cover Extreme Camouflage Cream: Waterproof makeup is my best friend during the Summer and trips to the beach. I don't like to wear too much makeup when I go to the pool or beach, but I do like to coverup a few problem areas. I also don't like to have to keep fixing my makeup or reapplying it because it completely disappeared. With this concealer I know that all my problems areas will be fully covered and that it will last all day.
Maybelline 24hr Color Tattoo Leather Collection (Chocolate Suede): On lazy makeup days, (which occur more often than usual) I tend to gravitate towards cream shadows for a quick splash of color. I have a rather large collection of the Color Tattoos, especially the neutral shades. This particular shade is part of the Leather Collection. It is a bronze shade that is more on the chocolate, brown side. This shade is beautiful all over the lid alone, or mixed with other shadows. Although it is Summer, I have found myself wearing this darker shade more than bright, fun colors.
Milani Bella Eyes Gel Powder Eyeshadow (Bella Bronze): This eyeshadow goes along the same line as the previous. I actually love using these two products to create a beautiful bronze eye look. These Gel eyeshadows are absolutley wonderful. The pigmentation is ahhhhmazing and they are super easy to blend with other shadows. The quality of these shadows is remarkable for the inexpensive price that you pay.
Natural Collection Blushed Cheeks (Peach Melba): Although the name itself says "peach," I would say that this blush is more on the mauve/pink side. For some reason, I have never been the biggest fan of different colored blush. Something about my skin tone makes me feel like no color really fits me right. When I do wear blush, I tend to pick something very natural and understated. This shade just gives the right amount of color and gives a very natural look. This particular blush was actually sent to me from a fellow beauty blogger and it is one of my absolute favorites.
Bare Escentuals Buxom Lash Mascara (Blackest Black): Very similar to my eyebrows, my eyelashes are very long and dark. This time of year I look for mascaras that will just define my lashes and not change them too much. The Buxom Lash mascara is perfect for everyday makeup. It gives me the volume and length that I desire without being clumpy or too dramatic.
MAC Cremesheen Lipstick (Lickable): Yet another MAC lipstick has made it into my monthly favorites. I own way too many of these lipsticks but they are some of my absolute favorites. This shade is a bit brighter than all the other makeup I have featured in this post. Something about this particular shade of fuchsia looks very nice with my tan. I like to apply it to my lips and then blend it in a bit with my finger to take it down a notch.
Music: For music I though it would be nice to just list and link all of the songs that I have been loving this past month.
Sia - Chandelier
Bastille - Oblivion
Echosmith - Cool Kids
Sia - Dressed in Black
Meghan Trainor - All About That Bass
Demi Lovato - Really Don't Care
Ariana Grande - Break Free
Melanie Martinez - Dollhouse
Troye Sivan - Happy Little Pill
Hope you enjoyed this post :)
Please let me know your favorite songs so I can give them a listen!
