July Favorites

July seems to have dragged on and whizzed by all at the same time. Work was slow and I lamented coming home and having nothing to do, but at the same time I can't believe it's just three more weeks before school starts up again and I'll have to hit the ground running with events, meetings, and the occasional lecture or two (haha just kidding, I'm a devoted lecture-goer! I'm honestly a total nerd at heart. I'm that one girl who sits in the front at lectures and takes notes the old fashioned way with a notebook and pen so as not to get distracted by Facebook and the other wonders of the internet). I wasn't too adventurous with my routine this month so I stuck to the same sorts of products to make this post short and sweet.

Starting off with my current home goods obsession, I was never really a candle-burning type of girl but I recently went into Bath and Body Works during the semi-annual sale and got sucked into the Italian Piazza collection (I'm having a bit of a moment with Italy right now, a.k.a. obsession with all things italiano). I immediately fell in love with Bellini Cafe, described on the bottom as "The Italian love of life is captured in a blend of sparkling berries, juicy apple and sugared grape notes. Bellissimo!" It smells like fruity champagne with a bubbly, tangy hint. It makes my living room smell soooo good, I wish it weren't limited edition because I want my house to smell like this all the time!

Moving on to body care, I've discovered a miracle product for the ages. Coconut oil! I read many, many reviews before going to purchase this because I was a bit skeptical about putting something I can use in my coffee or even my frying pan on my body, but this product has seriously changed my life. I suffer from a lot of skin problems ranging from eczema to KP, or keratosis pilaris, and I've tried a lot of different moisturizers and body butters to try to cure it, but nothing has worked as well as rubbing coconut oil in before bed to calm my skin. Though it's not all gone, I'd say it's gotten rid of about 70-80% of the worst of my skin problems. It also functions as a makeup remover and facial moisturizer as well! Not to mention the smell is straight up coconut and I feel like a girl scout cookie before hopping into bed, hehe.

Now for the makeup, three products have really stood out to me this month. The first is the Maybelline Master Drama eyeliner in Midnight Master. It's a creamy black liner that is the only product I've tried so far that stays put all day on my tightline/waterline with very minimal smudging. The only con is that it's in twist-up packaging but once you twist the product up there's no way to retract it so you have to be careful and only expose a little bit at a time. I've also been wearing NYX True Taupe eyeshadow a lot because it's a pretty soft neutral beige color. It's great for wearing on the eye to work because I want some definition to my eye but not look overdone for the office place. Also, I am literally obsessed with my Rimmel Show Off Lip Lacquer in Celestial. It is seriously my favorite lip product, surpassing even the coveted Revlon Lip Butters. The color is such a gorgeous pinky-mauve it's so flattering because it defines my lips without being totally in your face. The creamy formula is shiny and stays put for ages, too! Once my no-buy is over I am going straight to Walgreens to pick up Luna, and perhaps a few more... Eeps, so in love! I've also decided to include my favorite nail polish of the moment, Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear in Mint Sorbet. It's such a pretty bright mint color that looks so good on my toes, I've been loving wearing it with sandals.

Last but not least I've been rotating between two new pieces of jewelry this month, my gold chain necklace from H&M and my cascading chevron necklace from Forever 21. These are very different looks but both add so much interest to an outfit and make me feel super glamorous in the summertime (when I do get dressed up, because honestly I spend about half of my time in pajamas, activewear, and oversized t-shirts).

Wow, this was an unintentionally long post, but hurrah if you've made it here! Thanks so much for checking out my July favorites and can't wait to see what August brings (: