Another month down! I usually take my blog photos with my phone, but seeing as it's featured in this month's favourites, I had to use my camera. You can really tell the difference, and my camera isn't that bad! Anyhoo, on with my top picks for July 2016!
Clothes & Beauty
Stila Eyes Are the Window Palette in Spirit
I received this palette for Christmas from my parents, and it's definitely got a lot of love. I really love it for travelling, as it has a massive mirror. Last week I was away from home, and I took this with me. I used it every day and didn't get bored - you can create so many looks with it! I usually reach for my custom MAC palette at home, but I feel like this one might have a resurgence. I especially love the burgundy shades and the pale neutral shimmers. It could probably do with a few more matte shadows, but I'm not complaining too much!
MaxFactor Creme Puff Blush in Lovely Pink
I've had this for quite a while (you can find it in a makeup haul from 2015), but wasn't mega impressed with it up until recently. A couple of months ago I realised I can get the effect that I want by applying with a stippling brush. It's gives a natural look yet has your highlighter sorted too. As you can see, I've hit pan and don't have much left! I'm not sure what to do now - buy another, buy it in a darker shade, or try something new? However, the only similar product I can think of is Hourglass, which isn't exactly cheap! Any recs would be great, otherwise I'll probably just stick with Lovely Pink!
Nivea Cleansing Wipes
So last week my family and I went away to Hay-on-Wye, and I shared a room with my sister. She had these wipes and, after accidentally taking two out of her packet, offered me one. I know I know, face wipes are bad for your skin etc. etc., but these are seriously amazing. I was wearing a full face of makeup and I got it all off with just one wipe! I think it's because it contains some of Nivea's cleaning lotion, because they leave your face feeling wonderfully soft. A great alternative for when you're feeling lazy!
Books
The Princess Diaries Series
I'm a bit late to the party on this one, but in July I started reading the Princess Diaries books. I think when I was a kid I saw them as 'too girly' (even though the film is one of my all time favourites) and stuck to reading Harry Potter over and over and over. The first book was 99p on the Kindle Store so I decided to give it a go. Not exactly high-brow compared to some other titles in my library, but I've really been enjoying the light-hearted side of reading. All of the pop culture references make me feel very nostalgic for the early to mid-00's.
Food & Drink
Whole Earth Peanut Butter
I've started becoming more aware of the presence of palm oil in my diet. Palm oil has a huge impact on biodiversity in the countries that it's produced (mainly Indonesia and Malaysia) and is linked to issues such as deforestation, global warming, animal cruelty (with animals such as orangutans being displaced) and abuse of indigenous peoples' rights. According to WWF, an area of rainforest the equivalent of 300 football pitches is cleared each hour for palm oil production. Not good. Peanut butter is a pretty obvious offender when it comes to the use of palm oil in food, so I decided to make a change to a more sustainable option. I'm not going to get all high and mighty on the subject, because palm oil is in so many products, but I'm making small steps to change my shopping habits. Not as cheap as my old peanut butter, but definitely the better choice.
Rachel's Organic Rice Pudding
As mentioned above, I've been trying to cut down on palm oil foods. Much to my dismay, it's found in a lot of Ambrosia products, such as rice pudding. I'm a bit of a rice pudding fiend, and originally picked the Rachel's Organic one up because it was on special offer. Going to university in the town where it's made, I ate way too much Rachel's Organic Yoghurt whilst I was a student (fyi, raspberry is my fave), so I knew I'd love this. And thanks to a really lovely taste (better than Ambrosia) and its palm oil free status, it's becoming a firm favourite.
Wagamama Yasai Yaki Soba
It's no secret that I'm a Wagamama addict. If Kris meets me for lunch on a week day, we nearly always go there because it's close to my office, the food is good and the service is fast. However, I often end up getting something off the kids menu because I don't have the appetite for something heavy. Enter yasai yaki soba! I'd never gone for the veggie option before and I'm not sure why, it seems like the obvious option. I'll take mushrooms over chicken and prawns any day! But yes, perfect lunch time food because it's delicious and not too heavy (but must be accompanied by chilli squid, of course).
Misc.
Pokémon Go
I've got the Pokémon bug; I pretty much downloaded this app as soon as it was released! I'm not ashamed to say I love it, I love having the app open as I walk along and finding new Pokémon that I haven't caught yet. There are loads of Pokéstops near my work, which makes stocking up on items easier. I just haven't tried fighting at gyms yet - even though I'm level 12! Oh well. My one gripe is I wish I could earn steps towards hatching eggs without having the app open - it uses so much battery! Also, thanks to no Wifi in my room in Hay-on-Wye coupled with the urge to catch 'em all, I'm saying bye bye to all of my data!
What have been your favourite things this month?
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