I’m going to start with one of the most important things for Summer beauty – the sunscreen! I have absolutely been in love with the Hang Ten Sunscreens. I have been switching between the three that I have – the Mineral Sport SPF 50, the Classic Sport SPF 50, and the Classic Sport Spray SPF 50. I’ve decided my favorites are the Mineral Sport and the Classic Sport Spray. If I’m in a rush, I grab the Spray – not that the Mineral version takes any time either, it’s just not as convenient. I think I’ve finally decided that the Mineral Sport is my all-around favorite. It’s a great consistency that rubs into the skin quickly and easily, and it is never greasy. It’s absolutely fantastic! The Spray is all those things as well, I just always feel like using the spray in the bathroom leaves a sunscreen film all around me, and it’s just kind of troubling for my semi-OCC brain. J As for the regular Classic Sport, it’s wonderful too, but it’s so thin that I’m always afraid it’s going to drip all over the place. It just seems messier than the others to me, but I’ll definitely continue using it as well. If you’d like to learn more about SPF and the difference between the formulas, check out my post here. For more detailed thoughts on the Mineral Sport SPF 50 and the Classic Sport Spray SPF 50, check out that post here. And for one last shameless plug, if you’re interested in the traditional Classic Sport SPF 50, you can find that post here.
Wow, that was long! So, moving on…I’ve gone back to using my Tarte Colored Clay SPF 15 Liquid Foundation, but I have found my favorite way to apply it is with a Beauty Blender. That makes two favorites in one! J I have never really used my Beauty Blender much because I never find it to give enough coverage and I feel like it’s such an expensive gimmicky product, but for some reason I really love it with the Colored Clay Liquid Foundation. The two really work well together to create a fantastic finish that looks like natural, healthy skin. The foundation does lose a bit of coverage when applied this way, but it still has a fantastic and buildable medium coverage that works well enough to cover my giant blemishes to the point where just a bit of concealer takes care of any remaining discoloration. Plus, it never looks too heavy or cakey as it sometimes can when applied with a brush or your fingers. If you’d like to read more about the Tarte Colored Clay Liquid Foundation, check out my review here. As for the rather new appearance of my Beauty Blender, I simply wash it right after every use and it comes clean really easily. I know, it’s a pain in the arse, but I feel like germs and bacteria are just waiting to grow all over the thing and at least having it looking clean makes me feel a bit better about it.
For the eyes, I’ve been absolutely loving my Milani Shadow Eyez in Brown Deluxe. It’s the perfect bronzey shade for Summer and it is so easy. I just scribble it on my lid and a bit under my lower lash line, blend it a bit, add some mascara and maybe a liner and call it a day (these are my fancy days lately btw). It gives kind of a grungy effect that I actually love. Plus, it’s so easy that I can do it in no time – and it’s waterproof! J
For my brows, I finally caved and tried the Anastasia DipBrow Pomade in Blonde. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve swatched this in a store and thought it was just the complete wrong shade for me and the texture would make for such a strong brow that I’d never use it. Well, I swatched it yet again and decided it might not be so bad after all, and I gave it a shot. It is quite creamy so it can be easy to go a bit too heavy handed, but if you don’t get too much on your brush, the consistency spreads beautifully and fills in my brows with ease – and it’s a lot faster than I would have expected. I’ve really been loving it! I use it with the Anastasia #12 Angled Brush which is perfect for my brows. It’s quite thin – as are my brows – so it’s great for getting a precise brow shape, or (at least in my case) not going outside the natural lines of your brow hairs. The spoolie on the opposite end is a must for me too, so together, the two have been great for my brows – and the Pomade really is budge proof! Seriously, I have trouble getting it off even after a sweaty workout or even a shower if I don’t use an oil-based makeup remover. Great for sweaty Summer days! J
For my limp, lifeless hair, I’ve found a new combination that’s actually helping! Both products are from Giovanni. The first is the Giovanni 2Chic Tangerine & Papaya Butter Ultra-Volume Leave-In & Conditioning Elixir. It helps condition my hair while taming flyaways and I think it actually does help a bit with volume. After that, I add the Giovanni Natural Mousse Air-Turbo Charged Hair Styling Foam. This definitely is adding volume to my hair. We’re not talking ‘80s hair or anything, but nice, natural looking body that’s never over-the-top (though I’m guessing you could do that too if you really wanted). I believe this is alcohol-free, which is fantastic since alcohol will dry your hair out – the last thing I need. It can get a little crunchy if you get too much product in one spot, but I use about 2 pumps and start with the lengths of my hair, then use what’s left at the roots since I’m aiming for thicker hair all-around, and I never have trouble with crispiness. I find if I start at the root, they can end up a bit stiff if I’m not careful. But once you figure out how these work best for your hair type, they are fantastic for just adding a bit more life into your locks. Love, love, love Giovanni this month! J
I ran out of my Badger Balm Cocoa Butter Lip Balm in Vanilla Bean, so I grabbed my old favorite this time – Creamy Cocoa. I don’t know if or how the formula between these two differs other than the flavor, but I forgot just how insanely wonderful the Creamy Cocoa version is! It actually seems to be more hydrating and conditioning than the Vanilla Bean for some reason. It makes no sense to me, but I am 100% addicted to the Creamy Cocoa formula! If you’d like to see a full review on this lip balm, check it out here. (I believe this is my third replacement tube, plus I have a few others stashed in various places that are only used occasionally.)
For something I don’t normally include in my Favorites, I’m going to give you a Fitness Favorite and a Cat Favorite. For the Fitness Favorite, I have been addicted to FitnessBlender.com, or just FitnessBlender on YouTube. I cannot stress how much I dislike exercising, but I do like feeling stronger, more toned and in better shape so I’m trying my best to keep it up – I’ve been doing pretty well too despite knee and ankle issues. I actually started with the Tone It Up videos about 2 or 2 ½ years ago, but was getting sick of them. Plus, I was having trouble doing a lot of the exercises when my knee was acting up. I somehow stumbled across Fitness Blender on YouTube and tried a few of their workouts and really enjoy them (as much as I can enjoy exercise). Granted, they’re not as personable as Karina & Katrina from Tone It Up, but they’re better at explaining how to – and how not to – do the exercises correctly for the best results. I swear, in the few months I’ve been doing more workouts from Fitness Blender I’ve noticed more results. Not to mention they have about 6 billion work outs, and if you go to their website, they have an awesome search feature where you can specify workout time, type, intensity, calorie burn, etc., and the results are displayed for your sweating pleasure. If you’re at all interested in working out at home – be it yoga, pilates, strength training, HITT, and more – definitely check out Fitness Blender.
As for the cats, Bailey has had a lot of belly issues so I’ve been trying to find something that helps to keep her regular. Emerson also has had tummy troubles her whole life, but they have never really been addressed too much because she started with a different vet that gave her an enema and sent her on her merry little wet-bummed way. During my research, I found tons of Probiotic products for cats (although apparently there’s no evidence one way or another that shows such things do anything for cats at all). Figuring I had nothing to lose, I settled on some treats hoping that at least one of the cats might simply enjoy them. Well, all five cats seem to love them! They are from Greenies and they are the Smart Bites Digestive Care in the Salmon Flavor. Even little Miss Clover comes running over to get her share, and she never eats any treats! There must be crack in these or something because I have never seen a treat that every one of my cats absolutely devours (they’ll even lick my fingers to get all the dust) – and they generally don’t even like the Greenies treats. As far as aiding their digestion, I don’t know if they do anything, but they certainly do love them. I had to include these because they are apparently the greatest treats on earth in my cats’ eyes!
And that’s it. If you made it this far, I feel like I owe you something. There’s not a lot included here, but I certainly had a lot to say! J I hope you enjoyed seeing my July Favorites and if there’s anything you would like to know more about – more about the DipBrow, my favorite FitnessBlender workouts, a Bailey update, something entirely unrelated, etc. – let me know and I’ll see what I can do. Thanks so much for sticking around through my spotty posting and I hope to get back to a more regular schedule soon. Thanks so much for reading this far, and let me know what you’ve been addicted to this month! J Until next time, love you all!!!
