Alright, so, technically it's no longer July, but just barely! so I'll count it as a win. Like last month, I'll try to keep this brief, Tweet-style (though there are some places where I just can't help myself from rambling!).
Empties
Matrix Biolage Hydratherapie Conditioner: Gift from Nana a few months ago when I ran out of conditioner. Had to use a lot, but my hair did like it–never weighted down.
Shiseido Ultimate Cleansing Oil: Finally ran out of it! Bought a replacement bottle stat (see below). Lasted 6 months with 1-2x/day usage. Extremely effective. Well worth the $25!
Suave Captivating Curls Mousse and Conditioner, Color Protection Shampoo: Finished all 3 of my haircare staples! Repurchased the mousse, couldn't find the conditioner anywhere so bought a different one (see below), ran out of shampoo on the last day of the month so new shampoo will be featured in August's post.
Jack Black Black Tea & Blackberry SPF 25 Lip Balm: OMG YOU GUYS I FINALLY FINISHED IT! I generally love the Jack Black balms (though the recent information that they have not been disclosing all the ingredients was very disheartening––part of why I liked them was because I thought they were petroleum and lanolin-free [not because I'm sensitive to either, just because it seemed better for the environment], but I do find it to be very effective for me, so I will certainly use up the ones I have left), but I did not like the smell of this one. Reminded me of dirt! But damnit, I was not going to let it go to waste, so I wore it before going to sleep (both at night and before naps) and the stupid thing still lasted more than 7 months. You definitely get your money's worth! Now I can switch to my favorite scent, Grapefruit & Ginger. 7 months of bliss comin' on up!
Acquisitions
Sally Hansen Nailgrowth Miracle and Insta-Dri: Rebought 'cause old ones'd gotten thick. Work well together; tho strengthener doesn't work for me at all, helps keep polish on longer. Topcoat cushy, not as fast-drying as Seche but also no shrinkage. Sometimes bubbles. Both tend to apply too much product, but overall v good
Alpha Hydrox Enhanced Lotion 10% Glycolic AHA Anti-Wrinkle: Saw at TJ Maxx for $7. Used on face (light tingling), may have broken out skin so switched to using on body, where it works great. Absorbs super fast.
Nail art & jewelry supplies from Ben Franklin! Glass tiles for magnets (so much fun), excited to use the beads for special occasion manis.
Suave Captivating Curls Mousse, Herbal Essences Totally Twisted Conditioner: New can of my fave mousse. Beloved conditioner seems to be discontinued, so got this instead. Works quite well, key is to use very little.
Nail art stamping kit from Essence for $2.99! And dark blue shimmery crackle for n.p. jewelry/magnets. Still figuring out how to work stampy
Revlon Colorstay Whipped Creme Makeup, NYC Starry Silver Glitter, Clear Polish: Very good foundation, esp. on sale. Bought polishes to get +UP; blue glitter sparse but pretty, intending to mix clear with loose pigments.
Aedes order: Maitre Parfumeur et Gantier Bahiana, Fleur des Comores; Heeley Menthe Fraiche; Carthusia Fiori di Capri; Arquiste Flor y Canto, L'Etrog; Amouage Honour Woman
Giveaway that I won from the lovely Jessica Allison! Included (left to right): NUXE Paris Multi-Usage Dry Oil in Golden Shimmer* (which does exactly what it claims: adds gold shimmer! Very fun, though I've only worn it one time on my legs as I don't usually feel much need for being a gold glitterball. Glad to have it for when I do, though), Origins A Perfect World SPF 25 Age-Defense Moisturizer* (smells faintly of lemon cupcakes, absorbs quickly, and hasn't broken me out––but since I have ~6 oz of Neutrogena sunscreen in my stash, I gave it to my mother, who has been loving it), NYX Blusher and Bronzer in Marbella* (full review to come! Really like it), Dark Heart Designs Pigments in Coral Fang and Star Struck* (planning to try mixing these with clear nail polish!). I love free stuff :)
Sephora order, clockwise from top left: Illamasqua Baptiste (evidently forgot to include it in the full-order photo, whoops! Bought with the gift card I got from Z for my birthday, yippee! Full review to come), First Aid Beauty Face Cleanser (review here), Shiseido Ultimate Cleansing Oil (to replace my old one), Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment mini*, Hourglass Veil Makeup in 1.5 Nude* (I know this will be too dark for me, so I haven't worn it yet, but I will someday when I'm not leaving the house and report back on how it performed), YSL Touche Eclat Radiant Touch in 1, 2, 4.5* (used shade 1 under my eyes, and it did have a nice subtle brightening effect, but I don't really suffer from undereye circles so it's not a product I would purchase), Laura Mercier Full-Blown Volume Mascara* (Toya reviewed this and said it was a mascara only good for those timid about mascara, which is me, so I decided to use my 100 points to pick up the sample! Currently unopened), Fresh Sugar Rosé Lip Treatment mini* (review to come).
WNW Petal Pusher palette: Got to try out how purple eyeshadow would go. Pretty well, turns out! Quality is a bit hit-or-miss, though overall good for subtle looks. (Review to come)
a england The Knight and The Shield base and top coat: Picked up during the £5 sale. Will review in full soon!
Beauty (and chocolate) birthday presents! Pacifica Island Vanilla body butter, Pacifica French Lilac solid perfume (from G, along with Ritter chocolate, yum!), China Glaze Rainbow, Orly Fowl Play (from T, yay!). Full reviews to come! Earrings from brother and his girlfriend, as is Toblerone (and giant bag of Dove chocolate, not pictured). Also received $150 of beauty funds (okay, it was actually just cash, but I designated it for beauty) which I used to purchase things that will be featured in the August post! Still waiting (impatiently) for them to arrive...
Let's see how I did meeting my goals!
1) $120 limit. TOTALLY NAILED IT. According to Mint, at least, and that's generally pretty reliable! Nice restraint, me.
2) Buy no more than 2 non-staple, non-nail items. Seem to have done okay on this one, too, only buying the WNW palette.
3) No more than 1 "indie" order, StC/TPC order, and Aedes order. Check! Only placed one perfume order, with Aedes, and one batch of jewelry/magnet stuff (which technically isn't indie, since it came from Ben Franklin, but I'm gonna count it anyway since it was products I would have otherwise bought on Etsy).
4) No-buys on body butters, mascara, blush, eyeshadow, and base and top coats. Failed at this one with the purchase of the eyeshadow (though in my defense, I didn't buy yet more neutrals!) and the a england polishes, but I don't regret either purchase, so that's something, at least.
5) No nail polishes, soap, or shower gels: Well, I almost succeeded at this one––but I used my $10 off online purchase for Pacifica to order a Waikiki Pikake shower gel (total came to $5.95, thanks to shipping) as my California Star Jasmine is almost out, so I feel it was an acceptable purchase.
Guidelines for August:
1) $100 limit. Pretty sure I'll go over this, but goldarnit I will try my hardest!
That's it! I ordered a bunch of stuff with my birthday funds, almost none of which is "necessary" (sneak preview: full bottle of perfume [whoaaaa], two liquid lipsticks, and one eyeshadow palette), and still have a bit of that money left, so I feel like I've got a nice batch of stuff to look forward to that I didn't actually have to pay for! There are some staples I'll be needing to repurchase soonish (brow gel, MAC foundation, Meow concealer) and some things I would like to add (Ecotools eye brushes), but overall I think I'll be able to keep things under control. YAY RESTRAINT!
Favorites
Ugh, this post is so long already, I don't even care. Um: MAC Matchmaster, NYX Marbella blush, Dior Eau Sauvage, dresses, lactase pills, sunscreen.
How did your July turn out?
Empties
Shiseido Ultimate Cleansing Oil: Finally ran out of it! Bought a replacement bottle stat (see below). Lasted 6 months with 1-2x/day usage. Extremely effective. Well worth the $25!
Suave Captivating Curls Mousse and Conditioner, Color Protection Shampoo: Finished all 3 of my haircare staples! Repurchased the mousse, couldn't find the conditioner anywhere so bought a different one (see below), ran out of shampoo on the last day of the month so new shampoo will be featured in August's post.
Jack Black Black Tea & Blackberry SPF 25 Lip Balm: OMG YOU GUYS I FINALLY FINISHED IT! I generally love the Jack Black balms (though the recent information that they have not been disclosing all the ingredients was very disheartening––part of why I liked them was because I thought they were petroleum and lanolin-free [not because I'm sensitive to either, just because it seemed better for the environment], but I do find it to be very effective for me, so I will certainly use up the ones I have left), but I did not like the smell of this one. Reminded me of dirt! But damnit, I was not going to let it go to waste, so I wore it before going to sleep (both at night and before naps) and the stupid thing still lasted more than 7 months. You definitely get your money's worth! Now I can switch to my favorite scent, Grapefruit & Ginger. 7 months of bliss comin' on up!
Acquisitions
Let's see how I did meeting my goals!
1) $120 limit. TOTALLY NAILED IT. According to Mint, at least, and that's generally pretty reliable! Nice restraint, me.
2) Buy no more than 2 non-staple, non-nail items. Seem to have done okay on this one, too, only buying the WNW palette.
3) No more than 1 "indie" order, StC/TPC order, and Aedes order. Check! Only placed one perfume order, with Aedes, and one batch of jewelry/magnet stuff (which technically isn't indie, since it came from Ben Franklin, but I'm gonna count it anyway since it was products I would have otherwise bought on Etsy).
4) No-buys on body butters, mascara, blush, eyeshadow, and base and top coats. Failed at this one with the purchase of the eyeshadow (though in my defense, I didn't buy yet more neutrals!) and the a england polishes, but I don't regret either purchase, so that's something, at least.
5) No nail polishes, soap, or shower gels: Well, I almost succeeded at this one––but I used my $10 off online purchase for Pacifica to order a Waikiki Pikake shower gel (total came to $5.95, thanks to shipping) as my California Star Jasmine is almost out, so I feel it was an acceptable purchase.
Guidelines for August:
1) $100 limit. Pretty sure I'll go over this, but goldarnit I will try my hardest!
That's it! I ordered a bunch of stuff with my birthday funds, almost none of which is "necessary" (sneak preview: full bottle of perfume [whoaaaa], two liquid lipsticks, and one eyeshadow palette), and still have a bit of that money left, so I feel like I've got a nice batch of stuff to look forward to that I didn't actually have to pay for! There are some staples I'll be needing to repurchase soonish (brow gel, MAC foundation, Meow concealer) and some things I would like to add (Ecotools eye brushes), but overall I think I'll be able to keep things under control. YAY RESTRAINT!
Favorites
Ugh, this post is so long already, I don't even care. Um: MAC Matchmaster, NYX Marbella blush, Dior Eau Sauvage, dresses, lactase pills, sunscreen.
How did your July turn out?
