July Favorites!

As expected, my vacation to Florida a couple of weeks ago was fantastic! I ate good food, laid on the beach, got a tan, spent quality time with my sisters, and just generally had a good time...also, my younger sister and I got our belly buttons pierced while we were there. :) Pictures will be posted later...it's a bit red right now since it's still healing.

I had planned to have a "How I Packed" post on packing for longer trips, but with all the chaos of packing and last-minute things that needed to be done before we left, I didn't get all of the pictures taken. Hopefully we can go back next year, though, and then I will for sure do that post.

Speaking of the beach, here's a little picture...hopefully it'll brighten someone's day as much as it brightens my own. :)

I just love it on the beach...so much that I could seriously live there. Maybe someday. ;)

Now on to the point of this post: beauty products I've been loving in the month of July! I'm going to try to do a favorites post once a month, and if I can stick with it then I will add a post for non-beauty faves.

First up is a nail polish, "Knackered" by Butter London.

One of the things I love about this shade is how versatile it is. As you can see from the picture, I showed what it looks like with varying coats on my nails, if that makes sense lol. In the top left is just one coat. Pretty and shimmery/glittery with just a hint of the blue and purple shades. The top right corner is two coats...still very sheer, but a little more color. The bottom right corner is three coats, which is my favorite. It's completely opaque like this, and absolutely gorgeous! My camera, of course, did not do the color justice. In reality it's a silvery blue color, but it has a purple opalescence running through it. The colors actually remind me of the ocean, which is why I bought this at Ulta while on vacation. I've only used it twice but it instantly became a favorite, and I've gotten a lot of compliments on it. :)

Next up is something that I think is absolutely essential for my makeup routine, particularly in the summer months: Urban Decay De-Slick.

I use this setting spray before and after applying my whole face of make-up, and it keeps it lasting all day. It's also great to use in the middle of the day to kind of refresh  your make-up.

My next favorite beauty product for July is Maybelline Dream Fresh BB Cream in Light/Medium.

I was so excited when this came out! I am a huge fan of BB creams, particularly Skin79 and Lioele. But Maybelline is one of my favorite drugstore brands, and the fact that this actually lives up to most (if not all) of the claims it makes is just awesome. I dislike going out on the beach with a bare face, so while on vacation I used this every day. Now that we're into August, I still find myself reaching for it, and it will most definitely be a repurchase.

My next July favorite is another product that was acquired while I was on vacation, and it is Mario Badescu Drying Lotion.

I had heard before that this was supposed to be the best spot treatment ever, but I didn't know if it would really be worth the money. Plus, I didn't really have anywhere I could buy it around me. Luckily, it was in Ulta! I knew that I had enough spending money to splurge on a skincare product like this, especially since it was one that I'd been wanting to try for a while. Whenever I have a pimple (or 2 or 3) I dot this onto the spots with a Q-tip at night before I go to bed. When I get up in the morning, it comes off when I wash my face. I am very glad I bought it, because it IS the best spot treatment ever, in my opinion anyway. When used on small blemishes, I've found that by the next morning they are almost completely gone. On larger blemishes (that unfortunately I get more of) it greatly reduces the redness and swelling. Not to mention the fact that it instantly soothes the skin and has a nice scent.

The next product is something that was in my June Glam Bag. It is the Living Proof anti-frizz nourishing styling cream.

To be completely honest, I have been looking for a hair product like this for a LONG time. It has a really nice smell and a smooth texture. I like to use this before I dry my hair, and then if I'm wearing my hair curly/wavy, I use it after I've styled. It definitely cuts out the frizz in my hair and makes it smooth and shiny. When this little bottle runs out, I will most likely purchase the full size.

The next product I have is Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Honey.

It's just barely darker than my natural lip color, which happens to be one of my favorite kind of lip looks. It's glossy and really beautiful, plus long-lasting. There's a lot of shades to choose from, too.  Definitely recommend this.

Next is another hair product: Organix Macadamia Oil Intensive Moisture Mask.

I use this as a deep conditioner 1-2 times a week. As you can see, it's pretty thick but not heavy or waxy at all. I love the smell of it, and it's done wonders for my hair.

The next product is one I've talked about in a post before, and it is Neutrogena Deep Moisture Body Cream.

To me, this is just the perfect body lotion year-round. It sinks into the skin quickly but is very thick and  moisturizing. It smells really good, plus I've found that it helps with peeling skin (like from a sunburn). For the full review of this, see this post.

The next product is something else that came from Ulta, purchased towards the end of the month but instantly became a favorite: Real Techniques angled foundation brush.

Ever since discovering Pixiwoo on YouTube, I've wanted to try these brushes. So naturally, I was beyond excited to see they were in Ulta. I'm pretty sure the bristles are synthetic (on this one, anyway) but they're very good quality. So far I haven't found a brush I like better for applying BB cream with. I've not actually tried it for regular foundation, but will be sure to do that soon. I hope that in the future I can purchase more of these brushes.

This next product I think I purchased on the last or next to last day of July, lol. But it's something that I've been wanting to try for a while, and when I did I loved it. It's CoverGirl eyeshadow trio in Shimmering Sands.

These are such beautiful, shimmery neutral colors that I think are perfect for the summer. I've been using it nearly every day since purchasing it, and I'm in love. :)

Next up is a Lush product: Mint Julips lip scrub.

I am definitely a Lush fanatic, and this is by far one of my favorite products from there. It's an all-natural scrub and it smells/tastes amazing, like mint chocolate. The thing I like most about this, other than how soft it makes my lips, is that after you're done scrubbing, you can lick it off. :P

The next product is Loreal Magic Lumi concealer/corrector.

I use this as my undereye concealer, as well as to highlight areas on my cheekbones and around my nose and mouth, and it's brilliant. There's no shimmer to it, but it makes my skin look radiant, as if it's glowing from within, and makes me look as if I've had 10 hours of sleep the night before (even though that's definitely not the case on most days, ha ha). I haven't used the YSL Touche Eclat, but supposedly this is a dupe for it...I'll just say that I'm not going to pay $30+ dollars for that product when I can get this one for less than $10 at the drugstore.

My next favorite product for July is a mascara: Benefit They're Real!

This is the BEST mascara I've ever used for long, voluminous lashes. It definitely makes me look as though I'm wearing falsies. Love. It.

The next product is my first-ever NYX product: Jumbo Eye Pencil in Iced Mocha.

I don't know why I didn't try NYX before now, because with just this one product I can see what I've been missing, lol. This works great as an eyeliner, and I also like to use it on my waterline for a more natural look. I will definitely be purchasing more NYX products in the future.

My last favorite beauty product for the month of July is another hair product: Jonathan Finish Shine Polishing Gloss.

I use this after I've dried and straightened or curled my hair, and it's just the most lovely finishing touch to any hairstyle, in my opinion. It makes my hair look polished and shiny, but never greasy.

That concludes the main point of this post. However, a few weeks ago I added a new member to my family...meet Megan. :)

She's adorable, right?! And getting SO big! She's grown quite a bit since this picture was taken...at least it seems that way to me, ha ha! Currently she is running around somewhere, but just minutes ago she was fascinated at the cursor moving across the screen as I typed, and tried to attack it. xD Such a mess, but very entertaining and sweet.

That's all for today! Hope you are having a wonderful summer, and I'll post again soon. :)

xoxo, Brittany