Summer Beauty Favorites

For the Face:

Just thought I'd share some of my favorite beauty products I've been using all summer....

I have sensitive, prone-to-breakout, combo-oily-dry skin with huge pores, so I'm usually minimal and picky when it comes to beauty products. I'm happy these products work for me:

• Best Facial Moisturizer: Garnier Moisture Rescue Refreshing Gel-cream ($7.99): still using the same jar since last review, it really does make my skin feel refreshed and moisturized, without ever being heavy, oily or shiny. I love dabbing this on my face every morning before I start my day! I don't want to go back to regular creams after using this "gel" formula.

• Best Foundation (to use as a concealer): Revlon ColorStay Makeup for Combo/Oily skin in Sand Beige ($11.99): since my skin is so sensitive, I cannot stand foundation on my entire face, so I only use this sparingly to cover-up some redness around my nose, chin, and random acne spots. The color blends well with my skin tone with good coverage and lasts all day!

• Best Bronzer: Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Matte Bronzing Powder ($30): I think I deleted my original review on this, but I bought this way more than a year ago (the packaging seems to have changed in-store now), it's a bit pricey, but definitely worth it since it's hard to find a "matte" bronzer without shimmer, and there's tons of product in the container...I probably can keep using this stuff for 5 more years! I use this to contour my cheekbones with the Sonia Kashuk Multipurpose Brush No. 16 ($18.39).

• Best Blush: The Balm Fratboy ($21): talc-free, paraben-free, and with great color payoff with just one brush stroke! The matte Fratboy peachy-pink is so pretty on the skin, definitely worth the money! I use the EcoTools Blush Brush ($6.99) with a light-hand to apply this. 

• Best Lip Balm: Nivea A Kiss of Milk & Honey Lip Balm ($2.99): previously raved about it here, I cannot live without this. Best lip balm on the market ever!

• Best Lipstick: Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Rendezvous ($8.99): I've been a fan of the moisturizing Revlon Colorburst Lip Butters (see previous review) but found the colors fade too quickly throughout the day. After reading countless positive testimonials on this balm stain, I caved in. I picked up the orange Rendezvous color, and it turned out to be the perfect pop of "sheer red" for my complexion. It's not as moisturizing as the lip butters, but still comfortable to wear compared to most other lip products I've tried. Since the long-wearing staining effect works, I also use this underneath my other lip butters. Here's how the Rendezvous color looks on me...

• Best Eyebrow Pencil: NYX Auto Eyebrow Pencil in Charcoal ($4.50): previously reviewed here. I normally don't wear eye-makeup due to extremely oily eye lids...and I cry too much, haha...but I can't go a day without filling my sparse eyebrows with this pencil. Love it so much!

For the Hair:

• Best Shampoo (for oily thin hair): Organix Nourishing Coconut Milk Shampoo ($7.99): this now beats my previous favorite (2Chic Ultra-Sleek Shampoo). The 2Chic shampoo left my hair shiny and silky, but did nothing for volume. The Organix Coconut Milk leaves my hair clean, shiny and fuller in volume. Every time I'm having a nice hair day, I realized I had washed my hair with the Organix shampoo the night before. Of all the shampoo's I've been using, I find myself reaching for this one more often!

• Best Hair Product: Tresemme Thermal Creations Heat Tamer Spray ($4.99): I bought this due to the plethora of Youtube rave reviews and have stuck to this brand for almost 4 years now and continuing. I'm actually not sure if this really protects my hair form heat, but it definitely helps smooth out my hair and holds my curl better without the gunky, oily, or heavy-feeling of most other hair products. I use this everyday before I style my hair with the Hana Professional 1" Flat Iron. 
  
  
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