July Favorites!

Since I haven’t been blogging for very long, this is my first “monthly favorites” post. Not sure if I’ll be able to keep this up every month, but in July I definitely tried a ton of new products, and these were the ones I discovered, and/or used regularly.

L’Oreal Infallible Pro-Matte Powder: I’ve read countless reviews on the liquid foundation from this line, and have yet to try it because during the few attempts at trying to purchase, they were always out of my shade. While at Ulta about a month ago, I decided to try this powder instead because it retailed for $12.99 and was 40% off during a special promotion, making it worth trying even if it ended up being a dud. The shade I picked up was “Natural Beige” with yellow undertones, and as soon as tried it at home, I knew it was the perfect shade for me!

It comes with a sponge applicator and mirror that sits nicely below the powder, and although I’m usually not a fan of these applicators, it absorbed and distributed the product very well, and gave you the option of either light or heavier coverage.

I would argue the 16-HR staying power is a little unfounded, but I totally stand by the fact that this product mattifies while still managing to give you a natural look. I’m so glad I decided to bring this to Europe because whenever I thought my face looked a little oily, I used this to touch-up and it never broke me out.

I highly recommend giving this one a try, whether you loved or hated the liquid foundation in this line.

MAC Studio Fix Concealer: So many MAC products are popular among bloggers, and this concealer is no exception. It works extremely well for spot-coverage, and I apply it with a brush or my finger, depending on what I’m trying to achieve. The staying power of this is unbelievable and if I wanted to use this solely to cover all the redness in my cheeks, it would do the job.

NYX Green CC Cream in Medium/Dark: This is another product that I purchased during the month while I was looking to try a drugstore product that could combat redness. NYX has both a Light/Medium, and a Medium/Dark for Green, and I opted for the latter because I felt that whenever I choose the lighter shade, it tends to whiten my skin too much, and then my foundation doesn’t look right.

People with dry skin and redness, pay attention! This is lightweight, and it comes out green from the tube (love the applicator tip btw, it’s narrow so you don’t have to worry about too much product coming out), and then dries in a light beige color. I literally did a comparison where I only put it on 1 side of my face, waited 5 minutes, and I could totally tell that the redness was reduced on that 1 side. The complaints I’ve read are that it doesn’t fully cover redness like concealer does, but I believe that’s not the point of a CC cream. This is supposed to be one of the first things you put on to try to neutralize redness, and I found it to be moisturizing as well. People with oily skin might be turned off by the moisturizing aspect, but properly hydrating your skin can combat excessive oil production, so I wouldn’t write this product off entirely.

At $13.99 retail, this definitely isn’t a “cheap” drugstore product, but I find it to be very effective, and compared to Stila and MUFE that have similar products, this price is a steal. The only thing it’s “missing” is some SPF, but that’s what moisturizer is for, I suppose. Also, Ulta has BOGO 50% of NYX all the time, and I happened to purchase this from Ulta when they had 40% off NYX, which was amaaaazing!

Origins GinZing Refreshing Eye Cream: I’ve never been an eye cream person, but I may have found a cream that I enjoy using. This is a really popular product so I won’t ramble on about it very much, but I’m really going to make an attempt as using up this whole tube!

What were some of your favorites in July? Do you use any of my favorites? Thank you for reading!