July Favorites: Beauty.
Oh. Hello almost August! Ugh.
What is happening? August?
Okay I’m just going to stop. Let’s get to pretty, sparkly things instead of focusing on how our lives are flying by.
I did some serious makeup damage this month. In May and June I was fairly frugal with my beauty junkiness, mostly do to finishing up the book and having lots of things going on. And even though I got hit pretty hard this month with a dumb cold, retail therapy is my friend. If I stood here and shouted out loud “I LOVE MAKEUP!” it still would not be enough to convey how much I love makeup. Ugh. Love it.
SO. Just want to mention before I go on that I am still using and obsessed with: all of the macadamia hair stuff (I definitely think amazon has the best prices on this stuff, though make sure to read reviews on certain products because it seems that some counterfeit stuff is out there), my too faced bronzer, the batiste dry shampoo, the kenra blow dry spray, my josie maran moisturizer, the coola sunscreen, the naked basics palette and the same mascaras. I know that is a ridiculous list, but it’s true. Same goes for all of the lipsticks from last month.
Now onto this month!
This smashbox heat wave palette. Okay, I must admit that in all my years of makeup loving (so since I was, like, 11 years old), I was never a palette girl until I got my Naked 2 palette a year or so ago. I actually bought this smashbox one earlier in the summer after multiple trips to Ulta and dreams about the stunning colors inside. It’s just SO PRETTY to look at. I’ve used every single one of these colors so far and love them all – even though it’s a bit out of my comfort zone since they are more warm-toned shadows. The true test will be in January when I am so pale that my skin is blue.
P.S. this comes with a nice brush as you can see, but I tend to use my fingers or some of my favorite real technique brushes. I also use the colors to line my lower lash line and will use a tiny liner brush from MAC.
If I’m not wearing any color, I’m going back to one of my standbys – urban decay sellout. One of the only shadows I’ve gone through multiples of. This might be my third. I love this shade.
Oh shocking! More urban decay liners. You’re probably thinking ummm… she is hoarding those liners.
You would be correct. These are my most favorite liners of all time and I freak over them. The two shades above are both purple hues (the lighting says otherwise but as you can see throughout this post, the lighting was horrific that day) and with my green eyes, that is my favorite color to wear. Ether is kind of sparkly, empire is matte. Love.
Had to give another shoutout to my dr. jart BB cream, the BB cream that made me slightly believe in BB creams. I’ve also repurchased a second one of this product, which speaks volumes for me. I did mention a few months ago that in the winter, this shade is too dark for me. But I can probably get away with it through September and I wear this almost every day. I have not worn a foundation in months.
Cheek things!
It is a possibility that blush is becoming my new favorite beauty product. It used to be eye shadow and liners buuuuut… I’ve been a blush fanatic the last few months.
This is another one of my tarte amazonian clay blushes in glisten. I think you know how much I love these things. Cannot say enough good things. They last forevvvvver. It’s tough to even make a dent if you like to switch up your blush.
And on days where I’m not really wearing any makeup (I almost never wear powder – skin is too dry and I hate a cakey look) – I love this josie maran coconut water gel blush. The texture is awesome and the color is not scary, despite how it appears. It blends perfectly and just gives my cheeks a little glow. Josie Maran is quickly becoming one of my favorite brands. Love everything from her.
Now on to lips, which I am sooo excited about. I have lots of new lip things to discuss.
First up, urban decay lipstick. Being the UD freak that I am, I can’t even tell you how many lipsticks I purchased when they released their new line earlier this month. I AM IN LOVE WITH THESE LIPSTICKS. More shouting. Apologies.
I will tell you more about the other colors I got in future posts or instagrams, but the one I’ve been wearing the most is called obsessed. Along with the matching liner, which should be no surprise due to how much I love the eyeliners.
Next, perhaps one of my favorite purchases this month is this buxom lavender cosmo gloss. Holy crap. Honestly, I’ve never really been a fan of buxom products… but I walked by this on the summer display in Sephora and it just called out to me. Words cannot describe how much I love this. I wear it on top of lipstick or wear it alone. It smells delicious. It’s slightly “plumping” but does not burn your lips at all. Freak.Ing.Love.It.
Another repeat offender I’m loving so much that I had to mention it again is this tarte brush. This thing is amazing. It’s so soft, so dense, so giant. I love it for bronzer. I want like three of these things so I can use one for blush and plain old blending too.
These have been my go-to polishes all month. Both are longtime faves and just scream “summer!,” right? The neon highlighter shade is called rave and one that I instagrammed last summer. So bright and so me. The pink is self explanatory and one I’ve been wearing since spring. In other words: perfect.
Oh. Hair stuff? Do I really need to even talk about this?
I’ve continued trying out macadamia products since I love the shampoo and masque so much. Wow. These also did not disappoint. Totally love the curl cream (my hair is naturally wavy) and the no tangle is awesome too. Is there anything from this line I won’t love? Probably not.Â
This aftersun gel. Um… I had an unfortunate run in with the sun last week and got BURNT TO BITS with SPF 50 on. It was so bad that I felt like I actually bought a bad batch of sunscreen or something. Insane. Anyhoo, while I whined and cried for three days straight, this was all that made me feel better. Thank goodness for free samples attached to sunscreen bottles.
Along the same lines… this little sun bum sunscreen stick below. IN LOVE. First off, it fits easily in a purse and is so easy to apply if I’m out in the sun longer than I anticipated. It also doesn’t seem to burn my face if I’m sweating when applying it like some others do. Oh… and it smells like tropical bananas or something. Like I’m tempted to ingest it.
Now this body butter? OMG.
Definitely another favorite purchase of the month. I figured I’d love this, but did not think I’d love it THIS much. I’m a big user of the body shop body butters and if you use those, you know how thick they are. You can feel them on your skin all day. And while I love them – this is different. It’s super luxurious but much lighter on the skin. It is not sticky. I have the vanilla apricot scent which is just, like… intoxicating. GAH.
That is all. As usual, please tell me what you are loving! Set a bad example. Influence me.
[none of this post is sponsored and none of these companies even know who i am. i just really love to talk about makeup and hoard beauty products. there are a handful of amazon affiliate links above.]
59 Comments on “July Favorites: Beauty.”
It is Batiste dry shampoo! Not Baptist hahahaha ;-)
it was just a typo, fixed it – thanks!
Trader Joe’s 100% tea tree oil. I use it for spot treatment of my blemishes. LOVE. OBSESSED.
Love these posts! What is the brand/shade of lipstick in the photos of the Buxom lip gloss?
urban decay obsessed – it’s linked above!
I do have three of the tarte brushes lol. I get the foundation from QVC (I am only 22 haha) and for $38 dollars, I get the brush and foundation :) The cost of the foundation. I have one in my travel brushes bag and I use one for my face powder and blending and the other for my blush! Also, I wish I could use Josie’s products because evvverrryyy beauty guru (or the like) loves her products but I am allergic to Argan Oil! So disappointed. I love these posts every month :)
I have become a cosmetics junkie the last few months and I have to get a grip! Some of my recent faves are the Smashbox CC cream. I love ,love how flawless my skin looks with it. I get redness on my cheek area and it covers it up very well. I am also obsessed with Smarshbox’s waterproof liquid eyeliner. The application is perfect and it stays put all day. I am also loving my new Urban Decay Optical Blurring foundation brush. It has synthetic bristles which doesn’t absorb the CC cream I use like natural bristles. Highly recommend as the all in one brush for liquid and powder. I am also obsessed with the Urban Decay Moonshadows (Moonspoon is my fave for adding sparkle). i get so many compliments on this shadow. I love your Favorites reviews! Thanks for letting me share mine!
I’m loving Trish McEvoy lipglosses…they are not too sticky and taste good…kinda minty!
I have the Dr Jart black label BB cream and I love it too! I also spent way too much money at Sephora this month, mostly on Butter London nail polish. So pretty, so expensive…
I am also not a palette girl, and apparently not the smartest of girls. I just bought an 88 color palette from BH Cosmetics, and it is HUGE. I was shocked by the size, but in retrospect – how small could something containing 88 different anything be? I thought I would put it in my makeup bag, since I do my makeup in the car about 50% of the time. That seems unrealistic now. Oh well…lots of pretty colors to play with.
Question: Do you use a primer under those lipsticks? If so, what do you like? Thanks!
Love this beauty share time, Jessica! Josie’s products are amazing. I go through my beauty product obsessions too! Gotta try some of these you listed!
I’ve been using the 15 Hour Benefit primer. While it seems to work really well, it feels like rubbing a glue stick on your face. I hate the feel of it! Really like the Too Faced shadow insurance, it’s amazing. Clinique Lash Doubling Mascara is beautiful. I am really tempted to buy an Urban Decay shadow, just because the little pods are so cute! I just bought the Naked Basics palette tho, and really like it! I’ve never used matte shadows before, and they are beautiful.
Ahh, your makeup collection is incredible! I would LOVE to try Urban Decay products someday soon, they seem to be really high quality. Right now, I am loving Original Mineral Shampoo and Conditioner, Neutrogena Foundation and Powder, and Ulta store-brand lipstick!
Would you ever consider showing the products on your face or showing your hair, nails, etc in the pics of posts like these? Your product photos are lovely, but kind of aimless given the context of the post – that you like how these things make you LOOK. Just a gentle request – no offense or criticism intended at all.
I’m with you on the UD eye liners! I buy 3 or 4 at a time to make sure that I don’t run out… ever!
I bought that Macadamia Nut shampoo, conditioner, and masque based on your recommendation!!! I wish you could get commission or something! I ordered it on Amazon after your last beauty post and it took literally 3 weeks to arrive so have only use the shamp/cond 1 time and haven’t tried the masque yet. Love love love the smell of it. And I can tell that over time, it will replenish moisture into my hair. It’s not as good for ‘detangling’ my hair as some of my other conditioners seem but they overall moisture load seems higher, so in the end, probably better. Anyway just wanted to LYK I am all over that stuff :) Love these posts & thanks for taking the time to do them!
That body butter needs to be in my life. I just got Lime Crime’s Latest Lipstick, Babette and it’s pretty amazing…
That urban decay lipstick is so pretty. Me gusta muuuucho.
Also, i always stand there in ulta trying to be all stealthy while I binge-sniff all the sun bum stuff they have. Mmmm, so good!
These posts scare my husband because I always start talking about what I am going to buy at Sephora.
I’m interested in the Macadamia line but sadly they don’t list ingredients on their website. I’ve been doing the Curly Girl routine for a few months, and trying to avoid silicones, etc. I am LOVING the Jane Carter curl cream (can get it at Target) but it’s always good to have something in mind when that stops working.
The new PUR CC Cream. OBSESSED! Finally something to combat my oily, acne-prone skin. Light to medium coverage. Lasts all day. Love it.
I’ve been obsessed with the Josie Maran moisturizer with SPF, urban decay bb cream and I’ve always loved Josie Marans argan oil. It’s great, I don’t like the feeling of wet lotion on my skin and argan oil just sinks right in. I put it in my hair too :
I got Philosophy Hope in a jar A-Z Cream and am totally hooked. It has more to it than a BB cream and my skin has cleared up and evened out in the month that I’ve been using it.
That yellow polish- DYING. Also, you really have me wanting that Buxom gloss now!
Does the curl cream enhance your curls? I’m always looking for new curl creams for my naturally wavy hair.
That body butter sounds amazing. I want it. No, I need it!
I also need, need, need to come and visit you so you can teach me all you beauty tricks! I am clueless and fun beauty day with you is exactly what I need (in a totally no-creepy way!!) Plus, it would be crazy fun!
I love that Naked palate!
Loving your love of Josie Maran line- everything I’ve tried is flawless! The body butter smells amazing!
I met her a million years ago and she’s so earnest about good, healthy products and great ingredients. Such a sweetheart.
I just have to say, I bought the Josie Maran moisturizer a few months ago based on your review and I’m obsessed! I love that it’s mostly all natural and it still has SPF. Some days it’s all I put on my face. I’ve already turned one of my friends on to it. you may also be convincing me to start using blush. I love these posts!
Beauty favs this month: Essie’s Sunday Funday nail polish. It’s like a pinky orange and it’s just so summery! Smith’s Strawberry Lip Balm. I picked this up on a whim at Sephora and it tastes like strawberry starburst. I want to eat the whole thing! And the fresh face masks at Lush. They’re made with all fresh ingredients and they can recommend ones for you that address your current facial needs (ie I slept in my makeup 4 nights in a row and my skin hates me!!) or you can just buy the chocolate cupcake one :)
LOVE Too Faced products! The Beach Bunny bronzer is by far one of my most favorite makeup products I’ve EVER used! (I used to work at Nordstrom! I’ve tried a lot!). I am of Irish decent, super dark hair and very light skin. This bronzer actually gives me some natural-looking color all year long. The best! Love to follow it up with The Balm’s Hot Mama blush. Perfect combination. I hope you like them if you give them a try! :)
I know that essential oils are all the rage now. But, hands down the best thing I have used on a sunburn is lavender oil. Can be used with coconut oil, to help spread it further. It takes out the heat and I didn’t peel. Apply a couple times a day until it stops hurting!! I too would shout with you I LOVE MAKEUP. I have been on a self imposed buying strike because I have enough for a few lifetimes. But love to window shop still :)
Just FYI…the Sun Bum has a chapstick that tastes just like it smells: Tropical banana goodness. So..basically…you can sorta-kinda ingest it. :)
Brilliant picks. FYI, tarte is getting ready to have their ‘biggest sale ever’ per their Facebook link…great idea about getting more of their brushes, and good timing! Josie Maran’s stuff is great too. Her argan balm helps to soothe bugbites for me (which was great to have on vacation in Jamaica when the skeeters were having a feast). Love your blog…I’m a Pgh transplant living in Jersey :)
Girl, have you ever used your naked palette using a “wet” technique? I’m also a makeup JUNKIE and i love using it that way! I use the brush that is included or a thin brush and just dip it in a bit of water and apply either all over the lid or just as a liner. It gives a bit of a thicker consistency which gives the shimmer some major BOOST. And I know we can agree that we love shimmer. LOVE. And the lasting power is INCREDIBLE. You have to try it! :)
i love Naked palette. I have been thinking about trying BB cream but havent – its good to hear that you are liking it.
you’ve gotta try Revlon’s colorburst lipstick. it feels like chapstick, but the color doesn’t melt right off your face! i bought the tutti frutti color, and i loooooooooove it. plus it’s like $7 so you can totally justify it, right??
I loooove the Josie Maran cheek gel!
But I also made another discover this month: I got the Benefit Feelin’ Dandy kit and LOVE it. Posey TInt, which is in there is a lot lighter than the regular benetint, perfect for summer, and the highbeam gave me good glow without looking greasy or too shiny. The gloss is great too. I think it’s a great deal for all the stuff you get in there.
do you have a recommendation for a good waterproof eyeliner pencil-style that’s not the sharpener type? i always scratch my eyes with the splinters. thank you! my eyes are brown, if it matters.
Tarte EmphasEyes is a great, smooth, long-lasting automatic eyeliner.
The coconut water based cheek color looks wonderful. What shade is posted? I have gone to the website but difficult to determine what shade would be right for me. Just looking at the colors in the pots doesn’t give me a real feel for the right color/shade. Thanks for all your trials- I love reading your posts.
Since you love Tarte’s blush so much (me too! I adore the Achiote shade….which comes in a kit with two matching lip products I also love…) and the Josie Maran cream/gel blush, you should check out Tarte’s maracuja cream blush — so pretty and moisturizing without being oily! I layer it under the powder blush for staying power in the summer.
I am LOVING the Josie Maran stuff too!! I can’t get enough! I want to try her cheek gel too, but I seriously am tempted to buy the face matching foundation! It’s one of those white-to-colored products that matches your skin tone. I haven’t worn foundation since high school, but my skin has been way wacky lately (hooray for mid-twenties and terrible skin all the sudden) and I need to get more coverage. Hope you maybe try it and tell me how it is!!
I love that UD Eyeshadow shade! It’s so pretty! I bought the Heat Wave palette earlier this summer too, and I’m obsessed!
http://www.ipsy.com/?refer=u-hfyqlojtwj5f34h
Guys, ipsy. Seriously. It’s a 10 dollar per month subscription that gives out 4-5 full size or deluxe sample size products. Some things I’ve gotten from them in the past three months: Pacifica Roll on Perfume, Urban Decay Moondust Eyeshadow, Macadamia Oil Hair Treatment. All full size, all AMAZING. Totally worth the ten dollars a month. I will keep suggesting this over and over!
Probably should not tell you this, but Haute Look is having a UD blowout today where you can get some of the 24/7 pencils for $6 :o)
I spent this past spring trying out every BB cream on the market, and I do mean every BB cream on the market. I had a really hard time shade-wise: they were either too pale and looked greyish (most of the Korean brands), or turned orange-y on my skin. Finally settled on Smashbox Camera-Ready BB Cream; it’s not my HG, but it’s the best that I’ve tried, and it doesn’t oxidize and turn orange like so many others. My latest beauty obsession are quality makeup brushes. For years, I was content with cheap-o makeup brushes, mostly Sonia Kashuk. Then I discovered Trish McEvoy, Paula Dorf, and the ultimate for makeup brush connoisseurs, Hakuhodo, and haven’t looked back. Quality makeup brushes make such a HUGE difference in makeup application — I had no idea! I spent a week in LA in June and made sure to make an appointment to visit the Hakuhodo showroom in Torrance, and I described it to my husband that it was akin to a pilgrimage!
Forgot to ask: Have you tried Josie Maran’s Love Your Lips Hydrating Lipstick? The “Happy Honey” is the prettiest nude color!
Have you tried those Katy Perry color pop lashes yet? Same them at Ulta and seemed so you!!
Hey Jessica! Have you tried the Avon Mega Effects Mascara? It’s different from any other mascara you have ever used but it will be your next on your next beauty obsession list! It has a brush that can hold your whole lash in one application. So unique. Check it and shop on my website. http://www.youravon.com/mlferguson Click shop now and then search “mega effects” (You will love it or your money back- guaranteed always!)
I just bought a Rimmel Show Off lip laquer and I’m obsessed. Need to get back to Walgreens and get some more! Also loving the Soap & Glory Sexy Mother Pucker gloss stick. Oh, and just got the L’oreal Infallible Eye Shadow in Diamond and that thing is amazing.
Hi Jessica! Do you ever deal with dark circles under your eyes? If so, do you have any favorite tips or products to share? I’m constantly battling mine!
I was just convinced to buy the Urban Decay B6 Vitamin Infused Complexion Prep Spray, their BB Cream, Good Karma brush and Razor Sharp powder. I cannot WAIT to get my paws on them!
For all those who subscribe to Ulta emails, the coupon I received yesterday via email was for 20% off my purchase. Awesome. I finally bit the bullet and bought the Macadamia Nut repair masque. Used it today and love it! It made my hair super soft, and the smell is so tasty. Kind of manly, but in a good way. Thanks for letting us know your favorites!