July Favorites
July Favorites
Reading Wrap Up & Other Faves This Month
If you've been to Lorimer Living before, you know that I have a post each month talking about the books I read the month before & my thoughts on each. Well, I will still be doing a mini book review on at least one book each month but it will be included in my monthly favorites post! This will be my first of these posts and I hope you enjoy them. I tried to include a few different genres of items I have been loving and using/reading/watching a lot this past month. Here we go!
Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?
And Other Concerns
$7.96
Guys. If you haven't jumped on the Mindy Kaling train by now, you are missing out! She first caught my attention in The Office as Kelly Kapoor, and I thought she had great comedic timing and delivery. When The Mindy Project came out I fell in love with her completely. She is so hilarious and self-aware, and I would like to be her best friend. Speaking to this book specifically, it's kind of an autobiographical conversation, which I love. You learn more about Mindy's life but in a way that just feels like chatting with her over coffee. She has another book coming out on September 15th, on the same day as the premiere of the The Mindy Project's 4th season. I'm very excited!
Time Traveler's Wife
$5.35
If you've seen the movie based on this book starring Rachel McAdams and Eric Bana, it's a pretty good representation of this book. That being said, as always, the book is better. It's more detailed, there's a couple of subplots that don't occur in the movie, and you can experience the character's thoughts more clearly because the book switches from being told by Henry's point of view to Clare's, depending on the chapter. It's just more in depth and beautifully written. Loved this book!
$6
If you're unfamiliar with ELF or Eyes, Lips, Face, they are a great affordable makeup brand. They are sold at Target but have a much larger selection online. All items are between $1 and $12, with the exception of "bundles" of multiple items. Some of their products are amazing, a few are duds. I really like this one. It's new from their Studio line, which is my favorite line from them. It's definitely powdery and has some fallout when you put your brush in it, so I have to blow the excess powder off before putting it away, but the color payoff is really good and that dark shade on the bottom right is the perfect contour shade because it's not an orangey-bronze like many other palettes have. The palettes are also interchangeable, so you can pop out a shade and replace with a blush, foundation or concealer from any of those 4-shade palettes as well, which is a great idea for traveling or a gym bag kit. Big thumbs up to this palette!
Beauty Blender
$20
Absolutely, 100% my favorite way to apply foundation. This is the best beauty sponge out there--just get it wet and use it to apply any liquid foundation. It gives a really flawless, even coverage and allows you to build layers if you need to. I also use the mini version to blend out concealer under my eyes. There are many other beauty sponges on the market but honestly, none compare. The closest one that I've seen is the Real Techniques version, but the "pores" of the sponge are bigger and the texture is different and it ends up looking a little bumpier on my skin. Beauty blender all the way! P.S. you can sometimes get them for a little cheaper on Amazon so check there first!
Cover Girl Stay Luminous Foundation
$13
This foundation is a great drugstore choice for a "radiant" finish. I think it would work on all skin types but if you have dry, normal, or combo skin you will really love this as it doesn't have a matte, dry looking finish. If you have oily skin, then radiant or luminous foundations are best in the winter when your skin tends to be dryer anyway. It reflects light without looking glittery or shiny--just the right amount of "glow factor". They have 7 shades and while I think they could stand to create a few more, the deepest is a gorgeous "Soft Sable" that I feel like drugstore options sometimes lack, so props to Cover Girl for that. This is absolutely the item I have reached for the most in the month of July.
Maybelline Blushed Nudes
$10
I have Maybelline's palettes in both "The Nudes" and this one, "The Blushed Nudes" and while I like them both, this is my favorite of the two. They are obviously inspired by the nude palette trend the last couple of years-most notable are the Urban Decay Naked palettes. But this one really does give you several shades that are quite different from any of the Nakeds, with some greens and pinks in there that I don't find in any of my other palettes. A little more powdery and a little less pigmented than some higher end shadows, but still a good color payoff, very blendable and creates beautiful soft rosy looks. Considering that it's $44 dollars less than the the Nakeds, I'm totally willing to build up the color a big. I've been prepping my eyelids with the Wet'N'Wild eyeshadow primer and that really helps the color be brighter and last longer. I've been using this about 2-3 times each week in July.
Beauty/Lifestyle YouTuber
As you may have guessed from the four beauty products above, I've been really into trying out new makeup this summer. I'm having so much fun trying out different combinations and looks. I get into a funk each winter and do the same look every day and then every spring & summer I get excited about makeup and clothes again. Warm weather just makes me happy! Speaking of happy, Rachel from Rachhloves is the YouTuber I've been watching the most in July. She's sweet, smart, has great tutorials and reviews, and seems very down to earth. I also have similar coloring and skin type to hers, which is very helpful when she reviews skin products. If you watch any beauty YouTubers, I recommend paying attention to their coloring & skin types and making a mental note of the ones that have similar features to yours. It helps you decide if you'll love the same products they do!
Summer Bonfire Candle
$12
Oh I so LOVE this candle. It's available at Bath & Body Works but isn't available there online. It's through White Barn Candles though so I linked their website above. It's a wonderful scent, warm & vanilla + spice + bonfire smoke-y. Summer Bonfire is the perfect name. They have a few other summer scents that I really liked as well at Bath & Body so be sure to check them out before they take the summer stuff out & replace it with fall!
Revenge
This show is a little soap-y but I binge watched it on Netflix and Hulu and couldn't get enough. The story centers around Emily VanCamp's character, whose father was framed when she was a little girl and later died in prison, and the revenge she plots on those responsible. Lots of fun characters, cliff hangers and twists, and set in the gorgeous Hamptons.
Blue Apron
3 Pricing Options Available
Blue Apron is a service that provides you with recipes each week as well as shipping you every ingredient you will need to cook that recipe. It's super nice if you don't mind cooking but don't always find time to run to the grocery store, or if you want to make something that calls for a tiny amount of parsley and don't want to buy a whole big bunch and throw it away next week. (Guilty.) It's also a good way to be kind of forced into trying new things. (My husband isn't normally a very adventurous eater but I'm encouraging him to broaden his horizons!) My parents also recently started subscribing, and a cousin of mine as well. Ricky and I have the two person plan, 3 meals per week, and it's $60/week, so it comes out to $10/person/meal. That's a bit steep but we eat "basics" a lot for the rest of the week and you can also skip weeks which is a nice option that we use often as well. Plus we keep every recipe in an expanding file that I created according to category, so if we really like something we can make it again. Let me know in the comments if you'd like to see that little project!
And those are the things I've been loving in July in a nutshell! Let me know in the comments what items have been your go-to things recently, or if you've tried/read/watched any of the things above & what your opinions were!
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Hello Lorimer Living Readers! I appreciate you taking the time to comment on my post, and I will absolutely read each one and try to answer any questions you may have. However, because this blog is my online home, I will remove any comment that I feel is malicious or inappropriate. XOXO!