I had so much fun gathering together beauty goods in June/July. I finally got to hit up Space NK, stumbled upon some great product by mistake, and checked some important buys off of my wish list!

1. Vernon Francois Pure Fro Moisture Spray — Sephora kicked the summer off with a crazy curl campaign and I totally fell for it. I marched right into my closest Sephora and bagged a few goods but this and one other actually made the cut. I love how this product revives my hair after a day or two, locks in moisture for twist-outs, and deposits itself evenly due to the bottle engineering and actual spray output. It's definitely not cheap and I really planned on going back to my Cantu spray Leave-in but I think they'll both have to find a way to work in my day-to-day routine..

2. Revlon Ultra HD Lip Lacquer [Fire Opal] — All I wanted this year was an orangey red lipstick and I messed around and got me a liquid lip lacquer with a high gloss sheen to it! I'm in love! The staying power is great, coverage is bomb.com, and it feels so good on my lips during the day. #inTOit

3. Burberry Fresh Glow Foundation [No. 64/Mocha] — I searched long and hard for a foundation that matched my life and style. I thought it would be NARS or Cover Girl, or maybe I'd finally get it right at MAC! NOPE! I decided to just see what Burberry, Lancome, and Armani had to offer and almost landed on the Luminous Silk or Power Fabric jawns, but fell in love upon application of this baby right here. Again, pricey but I'm okay with that. Also: medium coverage, doesn't get in the way of my day, stays, and blends well! Also seems buildable. I wouldn't know because I truly use it to generally even out my complexion when needed. So good!

4. Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cleanser — I use lots of Kiehl's products and always ignore this on the shelves when I go in to replenish the goods. When we were heading to Detroit, I realized I forgot all my face wash and wipes and popped into Bloomingdale's quickly to find something to take with. I swear I only got it cause I knew that it's a generic blend of ingredients good + safe for all skin types. I grabbed the travel size to last me the weekend and BAY 👏🏾 BEE it literally cleared up a small problem area on my forehead within minutes of first use! I do want to see if there's more moisturizing formula simply because I don't want to cause more problems by stripping too much. It may mean changing my moisturizer instead. We'll see.

5. Aethiopika Hydrate & Twist Butter — Man look! When I say defined, shiny, hydrated twists in a flash OR over two days; I mean it! I love this stuff. Another find in my grab at Sephora a few weeks ago. Definitely keeping her in rotation for a MINUTE!

6. Pear Nova [Diana Boss & Michelle Our Mama] — There's a girl from Chicago named Rachel who started this nail polish line a while ago and she + her business continue to grow to astronomical heights day by day. For at least a year I've even been saying it was time to buy after getting a manicure with Spifster Sutton and loving the color of one of her past seasons. I finally copped and grabbed the four-pack that makes up the #BRWNgrlMAGC set and am totally in love with Michelle Our Mama and Diana Boss. I love the formula, coverage, and staying power that I've experienced in just a few weeks of applying and reapplying to my nails every week. So glad to finally own and have supported such a brilliant and local (although globally known) business!

7. YSL Rouge Pur Couture (The Mats) [201-Orange Imagine] — another red orange lipstick love. This time in a classic velvety texture and matte. Seriously feels like nothing is there and has a buildable amount of coverage for a stained to seriously bold pout.! It was the same story for this guy, too. I kept looking at Urban Decay, Kat Von D, MAC, and Bite Beauty for this one, but Yves Saint Laurent came through with the upset!

August will probably be slow for me because I'm doing a spending freeze this month so I can tip a financial goal of mine into reality by September! I do have a running list of what I want to try, but this will be a good time to revisit some things I already own, or venture into other lifestyle faves for the month.! Stay tuned and tell me what you think of these products or what you're looking forward to trying.

Melissa

July Favorites

INSTAGRAM.