July Favorites!

This summer is going by way too fast. It makes me feel so sad that it is the end of July. I want summer to go on forever. I love the sunshine, and the break from work. I hope August goes by very very slowly!

Favorite TV Show

The Real Housewives of New Jersey Season 6: I think every month one of my favorite TV shows is another installment of The Real Housewives on Bravo. For some reason, I didn't find any good pictures of this cast that I could copy. This picture is a little blurry. I think it is interesting that Dina is back. I wonder why her and her sister don't get along. This season is interesting to me because 3 of the ladies I already know from past seasons, but 3 of the ladies are totally new, including twin sisters. I think this will be an interesting season.

Favorite Nail Polishes

1. Julie G Nail Color in Tahiti: This is another blue-green color. I seem to have a lot of these. It is my favorite color. I thought this was a pretty combination. I taught VBS for a week, and one of the girls in my group (She was probably 8 or 9 years old!) had this combination on her nails. I thought it was so pretty and summery. I copied her nail look. The red color is Essie's Cute As A Button.

2. Essie Nail Lacquer in Shine of the Times: I saw a blog post where someone combined Sinful Colors Cinderella with Shine of the Times as a top coat. This is so beautiful! I would wear this every day on my nails. The way it hit the sun was amazing.

3. Revlon Pebbled Texture Nail Enamel in Seychelles Sand: I originally painted my nails yellow, but it looked a little boring. I wanted to try out this new nail polish I got. I got it in several shades. It looks like little rocks. It's hard to describe. I thought it was pretty. It is hard to see the nail polish in this picture, unfortunately.

4. China Glaze Flip Flop Fantasy: This is a neon coral shade. It has lasted for quite a long time on my toes. This was the best picture I took that showed how neon the color was. This is the perfect summer toe color to wear. It looks cute with flip flops.

5. Maybelline Color Show Jewels in Gilded in Gold with Maybelline Color Show in Born With It: I saw this on the display picture of the Jewel nail polishes. It is hard to see in the picture, but the jewel top coat looks like golden leaves to me. They aren't uniform glitters. They are more like golden particles. I think it is so pretty. Born With It is just a very light pink, but it makes for a good base to the golden jewels.

Skin Care

1. Avalon Organics Vitamin C Renew Revitalizing Eye Cream: I don't remember where, but I remember hearing someone used this and recommended it. It is a moisturizing eye cream.

2. Ulta Beauty Smoothie in Buttercream Cupcake 3-in-1 Shower Gel, Shampoo & Bubble Bath: This stuff smells so good! I love anything that smells like cupcakes. I use it as a shower gel.

Makeup

1. Maybelline Baby Skin Instant Pore Eraser: This has been compared to Benefit's Porefessional. I wouldn't go so far as to say this is a dupe, but it does a pretty good job at minimizing the appearance of pores on the face. I put this on before foundation.

2. Jane Oil Free Finishing Powder in Fair: This month my skin was acting weird with my regular foundation routine. Sometimes the pores were more visible, or it looked like my face was too cakey or sometimes it was too shiny. I dug this out of a drawer and I haven't used this product in a long time. This may be past the expiration date because this is when Jane was sold in Rite Aid. I remember buying Jane in high school, but then it went away and now it is back and more expensive and is sold at Ulta. Even though it is old, it works really well! It keeps my face from looking too greasy. I keep it in a purse to touch up my face.

3. Bare Minerals Well Rested: My mom is in love with this stuff. She had an extra one that she let me have. It is a good powder to put under the eyes, and around the nose. It is like a concealer. I am really impressed by it. I use it to set my concealer.

4. Jesse's Girl Liquid Eyeliner in Black: I was on a hunt for a liquid liner that was waterproof. I think this is new at Rite Aid. It has a very fine point brush. It lasts all day, and doesn't smudge. It is also very easy to use. I have a hard time doing winged liner, but this makes it really easy for me. You can get right next to your lash line.

5. NYX Matte Finish Long Lasting Setting Spray: I used this a lot this month. I'm not exactly sure how well it does with keeping me matte. I think it works just as good as the Urban Decay setting sprays. I have tried those, but this is the inexpensive version. I had to try it.

Favorite Songs

Oldies

1. Jessie's Girl by Rick Springfield

2. Joy to the World by Three Dog Night

3. Walking on Sunshine by Katrina and The Waves

4. You've Got A Friend by James Taylor

Pop

1. Problem ft. Iggy Azalea by Ariana Grande

2. Break Free ft. Zedd by Ariana Grande

3. Shower by Becky G

4. Stubborn Love by The Lumineers

5. Ho Hey by The Lumineers

6. East of Eden by Zella Day

7. Cool Kids by Echosmith

8. American Dream by MKTO

9. Hey Ya! by OutKast

10. Really Don't Care by Demi Lovato

11. What Makes You Beautiful by One Direction

12. Rhythm of Love by Plain White T's

13. Clarity by Zedd

14. Maps by Maroon 5

R&B

She Came to Give It to You by Usher

Christian

Never Too Late by Kutless

This Is Amazing Grace by Phil Wickham

With Every Act of Love by Jason Gray

Strangely Dim by Francesca Battistelli

I hope you enjoyed my July favorites! What were your favorites of the month? Don't be afraid to leave a comment. I rarely get comments, so I love to get them!

Hitting Pan and Empties

Finally, I have gathered 10 products that I have either finished or hit pan on. When you hit pan on a product that means you have come to the bottom of the product so you can see the bottom of the "pan." I saw someone's video when she included the products where she "hit pan" because she wanted to be able to show the product still before it was all gone. I thought that was a good idea, so I fished out all my products I have hit pan on and included them in my collection.

1. St. Ives Ultra Gentle Apricot Scrub

This smells good, and it exfoliates the skin. I didn't repurchase this because I felt like I could find something that would do a better job. I was looking for something with more fine beads in it.

2. Organix Repairing Awapuhi Ginger Shampoo

I like this shampoo. It is supposed to strengthen hair, and I think it does make my hair look nice. I'm not sure if it is stronger. I'm still using the conditioner that goes with this. It smells really good. I like the Organix products. I would repurchase this, but I have other shampoos that I need to finish using. When it is time for me to buy a new shampoo, I probably will buy one I haven't tried because I like to try out different shampoos.

3. Epielle Green Tea Cleansing Tissues

I get these from Big Lots for only $1. It comes with 30 tissues. My mom and I love these. I keep these at my makeup table, and I use them to clean up under my eyes, wipe off my hands, or take off my make up. I normally wash my face to take my makeup off, but sometimes when I want to be quick, I use these wipes. I love them! I repurchase them. This time I went to the store, the green tea wasn't there, I'm trying the cucumber wipes. They work good, but they have a cucumber smell which is ok to me. Some people may not like it. There is also a regular kind, and an aloe vera kind I think.

4. Wet 'n Wild Vanity Palette

I have just hit pan on the first color in this palette. I use this palette the most of all my eyeshadow products! It isn't available in the stores anymore, but you might be able to buy it online. The color I hit pan on is very dupable. It is my skin color. I think Wet 'n Wild Brûlée is a good dupe for it. It is a matte cream color. I use it to dupe many colors. I mention it a lot in my blog.

5. Revlon Illuminance Cream Shadows in Not Just Nudes

I hit pan on the first three colors. The first is a dupe for MAC's Painterly Paint Pot. The second is a dupe for MAC's Rubenesque. The third is a dupe for MAC's Indian Wood. You can still find this quad in the stores. The first color is a cream matte. The second is a beautiful color. I'm not sure how to describe it. The third is a matte warm medium brown. Some people don't like these cream shadows because they cause creasing. I haven't had a problem with them. I put an eye primer on first, like Too Faced Shadow Insurance. They are an inexpensive drugstore option compared to Mac's Paint Pots. These came out before Maybelline's Tattoos. I like the Tattoo's better because they wear longer. But the Revlon cream shadows are so beautiful. You can get them in a wide variety of colors and they come in quads. They are about $6.

6. L'Oreal Studio Secrets Professional Magic Perfecting Base

I liked this. It was expensive for a drugstore product. You don't get a lot in a jar. It was good at smoothing out my skin and getting it ready for foundation. I would get this again. It's also moisturizing. After I use up the primers I have, I might repurchase this. Edit: I actually, couldn't wait. I didn't like the primers I had and couldn't wait, so I repurchased this already! This is good on wrinkles. I don't have many wrinkles, but it is good for the ones I have.

7. Sonia Kashuk How To Organically Look Natural Cosmetic Palette

I don't know if this is available anymore. I got this a while ago. I have hit pan on the eye 2 color. It's a camel brown color. I've hit pan on the blush. I've also hit pan on lip 2 and 3 colors. These look natural on me. My lips but better colors. It's a really nice palette. I used this a lot before I got really into makeup. I would just use this palette every single day.

8. Elf Blush in Peachy Keen

I think I dropped this and it broke. So I have half of it left. I love this color. It's like the name says a peach. I bought a new one already. It's inexpensive. I think it's a good blush to have in your collection.

9. Bare Minerals Mineral Veil

You get a lot of product. And it takes a while to use up! I would say several years! But I finally used it up. It looks very natural on the skin. I like this. I would repurchase this again, but it is expensive. First, I have drugstore powders I want to try. I would rather use a drugstore powder because it is more convenient to buy and inexpensive.

10. Covergirl Clump Crusher by Lashblast Water Resistant in Very Black

This was a very good mascara. I used this for three months, so now I'm throwing it away because they say that is how long a mascara lasts. I would repurchase this. I want to get something new though because I love trying new mascaras. This is true to it's name. It never clumped my lashes. I was pleased with it.

11. Maybelline Lash Discovery Mini-Brush Waterproof in Very Black

I always use this for my bottom lashes. I repurchased this. This is one of my all-time favorite things!

Favorites of 2012

This is my first blog post of my yearly favorites. Last December, I didn't really know what my yearly favorites was because I had no record to go by. This year I feel like I do, based on all my blog posts of the year. I looked at all the favorite looks I wrote about, who was the makeup artist and what makeup I used to do the look. The most frequently I mentioned someone or something is how I found my yearly favorites.

My Favorite Youtuber of the Year is Cosmetic Couturier! http://www.youtube.com/user/cosmeticcouturier I mentioned her looks the most out of everyone with a total of 22 looks! She does a lot of great looks. She's also a good teacher. I think I've learned a lot about how to do makeup from watching her tutorials.

Face Primer: Hard Candy Sheer Envy Skin Illuminating Primer. This is a new primer for me. I will include it in my December favorites. It is inexpensive. I got it at Walmart. It gives the foundation a nice, slick base for putting on makeup. It also gives a natural glow, so I don't look too matte. I don't want to look too oily, but not like I'm wearing a mask.

Foundation: Estee Lauder Double Wear Stay-In-Place Makeup SPF 10 in Shell. I first heard about this foundation from Samantha Schuerman's Youtube videos. Her face always looked so good after she put on this foundation, so I was curious to try it. I love the coverage this makeup gives.

Concealer: My favorite concealer for under my eyes is Maybelline Dream Lumi Touch Highlighting Concealer in Ivory. I don't have bad under eye circles. I get good sleep, so I don't have bad bags. This concealer is perfect for me. In the picture it is the concealer on the right.

Concealer: My favorite concealer for blemishes is Hard Candy Glamoflauge Heavy Duty Concealer. It is good at covering red spots.

Powder: Bare Minerals Mineral Veil. I love this powder for being invisible on my skin and helping my oily skin, not look so oily.

Bronzer/Contour: Mac Studio Careblend Pressed Powder in Medium Deep. I wanted to use something that wouldn't look bad on my fair skin. I first tried being matched at Sephora, but I wasn't sure I liked anything the girl there tried on me. I felt like everything made my face look dirty. Then I went to a Mac counter, and the lady there recommended this for me. I decided I liked it the best of everything I tried. It was also the first time I went to a Mac counter!

Highlighter: Physicians Formula Powder Palette Mineral Glow Pearls in Translucent Pearl. This is a highlighter you can find in the drugstore. It is a translucent powder that gives a natural glow to the skin.

Blush: I have two favorite blushes for the year. The first one I have said many times is my all-time favorite blush. It is Milani Baked Blush in Luminoso. It is peach.

Blush: My second favorite blush is Physicians Formula Happy Booster Glow & Mood Boosting Blush in Natural. It is petal pink.

Eyeshadow Primer: Too Faced Shadow Insurance. I have oily eyelids. This seems to be the best eye primer I have tried to help make my eyeshadow last the longest.

Eyeshadow: I have 9 favorite eyeshadow palettes. They are all from the drugstore! My all-time favorite eyeshadow palette is Wet 'n Wild Vanity Palette. I mentioned this 155 times this year! The left side is matte, and the right side has shimmers. It has been discontinued, which I find pretty ridiculous. I love to use this palette to dupe other eyeshadows.

Eyeshadow: My second favorite is Wet 'n Wild's Greed Palette. I mentioned this 50 times. It has also been discontinued. The left side is matte, the right side has shimmers.

Eyeshadow: My third favorite is Wet 'n Wild Lust Palette. I mentioned it 47 times. I'm not counting the times I mentioned these in monthly favorites. Only when I recommended a look. This has also been discontinued. :(

Eyeshadow: My fourth favorite is Wet 'n Wild Comfort Zone Palette. Thankfully, this has not been discontinued!

Eyeshadow: My fifth favorite is L'Oreal HIP Duo in Dynamic. The left side is a gold that I use to dupe Mac's Woodwinked and Urban Decay's Half Baked. The right side is a dupe for Urban Decay's Darkhorse from the Naked Palette.

Eyeshadow: My sixth favorite is Wet 'n Wild's Walking on Eggshells. I initially got this because I heard the eyelid color was a dupe for Urban Decay's Sin and the crease color was a dupe for Urban Decay's Smog. I have found a lot of things to dupe with this palette. This has not been discontinued.

Eyeshadow: My seventh favorite is Elf Brightening Eye Color in Day 2 Night. Somewhere I heard that the second shade is a dupe for Urban Decay's Hustle and the last shade is a dupe for Urban Decay Sidecar. Last year I was obsessed with duping the Naked Palette. I use this quad a lot though. It was only $1!

Eyeshadow: My eighth favorite is Maybelline Sunbaked Neutrals palette. I'm surprised I haven't mentioned it in a monthly favorite yet. It has a lot of beautiful colors.

Eyeshadow: My ninth favorite is Maybelline Enchanted Forest. It has unique colors in it. I also love the name.

Cream Eyeshadow: Revlon Illuminance Creme Shadows in Not Just Nudes. These are good bases. Not everyone likes these quads, but I do. They work fine for me, as long as I have a good primer underneath.

Jumbo Eye Pencil: NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Cottage Cheese. Originally, I wanted to get the pencil in Milk, but it was all sold out at the NYX website, so I got Cottage Cheese since it looked similar. I use this whenever a look calls for the Milk pencil. The only difference between the two is Cottage Cheese has shimmer in it, but it isn't too noticeable especially when you are wearing eyeshadow over it.

Eye Liner: Pixi Eye Bright Liner in Nude. I mention this whenever a look called for nude in the waterline. I remember I first heard about this from Lisa Eldridge's video where she did an Audrey Hepburn look.

Gel Eye Liner: Maybelline Eye Studio Gel Liner in Brown. Whenever a look called for gel eye liner I used this. Now I am just getting into using the black one on my eyes, and I like it. Maybe next year the black one will be my favorite. It has a good texture, compared to the other ones I have.

Liquid Eye Liner: My favorite seems to be Jordana Incolor Fabuliner Liquid Eye Liner in Black. Whenever a look calls for liquid liner on the top lash line, I reached for this. It is inexpensive. I got it at Walgreens. It is just like using a black pen. I also have this in brown and like it as well.

Mascara: For my top lashes I like The Balm What's Your Type? "The Body Builder." I got a little sample size from one of the beauty boxes I'm subscribed to. It does a good job thickening the lashes. When I am done using this, I don't think I will repurchase it because I don't like spending too much money on mascara because it's only supposed to be hygienic for three months. I think the mascaras at the drugstore work nicely enough for me. I have to admit I love this mascara, even though it is expensive. I like The Balm cosmetics.

Mascara: For my lower lashes I like Maybelline Lash Discovery Mini-Brush Waterproof in Very Black. I learned about this from Emilynoel83 youtube video on her favorite mascaras. It has a little brush that is perfect to get the lower lashes. I have since found out that my mom loves this mascara!

Lip Liner: Boots No.7 Nude Lip Liner. I think I first heard about this in the Audrey Hepburn video by Lisa Eldridge. That was one of my favorite Youtube videos this year I think. It is one of the only videos where I watched it and rushed out to buy the makeup that was used. I thought maybe I would be able to find it at Target, and it was there! It has since become a favorite.

Lipstick: I have four favorite lipsticks. I haven't mentioned these in any monthly favorite. I think because I'm always using different lipsticks and lip glosses, that I rarely have a favorite for the month. My first favorite lipstick is Revlon Soft Nude 070. It has a slight peachiness to it.

Lipstick: My second favorite is Revlon Lip Butter in Creme Brûlée 095. I really love the lip butters. They go on smoothly on the lips. I have almost every lip butter! This is sheer and a light, warm, peachy nude.

Lipstick: My third favorite is Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in Plum Baby 467. This has a pearl finish.

Lipstick: My fourth favorite is another Revlon product. I'm noticing a pattern! It is Revlon Lip Butter in Peach Parfait 025. This is just the perfect peach lipstick.

Lip Gloss: I have four favorite lip glosses. The first one is Revlon Colorburst Lip Gloss in Peony 008. It is a sheer golden pink with gold/multi glitter. It is said to be a dupe for Nars Orgasm Lip Gloss. That is described as being a pinky peach with gold sparkles.

Lip Gloss: My second favorite is Milani Crystal Gloss in Summer Baby. It is a nudey-pink with a golden touch.

Lip Gloss: My third favorite is Elf Lip Gloss in Blossom. I remember going through a phase this year where I pretty much wore this every single day! It is a light pink with a hint of peach in it with very fine shimmers.

Lip Gloss: My fourth favorite is Urban Decay Lip Junkie Lip Gloss in Midnight Cowboy. I love the way this feels on my lips. It has a nice, minty smell. It is sheer, nude, and sparkly.

I hope you enjoyed reading about my favorites for this year. Leave me a comment about your favorites or what you think about my list.