August 2014 Favorites
1. KvD Autograph Eye Pencil, $10 / 2. Sephora Eyeshadow $3-9 / 3. Aztec Healing Clay Mask, $8
4. Goody Ouchless Ribbon Elastics, $4 / 5. Menda Twist-Lock Pump Bottle, $9
2014 is passing very quickly, but I think July and August went by the quickest of all for me because a lot of what was on my metaphorical plate was executed and came to pass. A little emo that summer is effectively over (and I only got to go swimming once) but I am so excited to get a break from that, and I hope to focus on the blog a bit more.
But enough about that, you came here to read about my August 2014 Favorites!
1. Kat Von D Autograph Eye Pencil in Immortal Love – Little wings and crisp black lines are all well and good, but sometimes you want or need more subtlety. Eyeliner in pencil form is not usually my cup of tea, but of the ones I have tried, I really enjoy the formula of this espresso brown one from Kat Von D. It is soft enough to glide on easily but not so soft that it mushes onto your lid (you know how some crazy-soft kohl sticks can be? ergh). Mine came with my Ladybird palette (now discontinued, tear) but you can purchase them on their own. When I run out, I think I will repurchase it on its own.
2. Sephora Eyeshadow in Space Odyssey – Having only re-discovered this at the end of August I think it landing in a favorites so fast says a lot about how awesome this shadow is. You can check out Monday’s post for more on it. Looks like they’re sold out now, though.
3. Goody Ouchless Ribbon Elastics – I lose hair elastics like it is my job. I set one down, a cat steals it, rinse and repeat. I needed to pick some up, so I grabbed a pack of my usual and I also grabbed a pack of these. I’ve been seeing them more often lately online and in stores, so I decided to give them a shot. On first use, I hated them – but then I realized I wasn’t wrapping it tight enough. I needed to go around my ponytail one more time than I would with a normal one; I feared putting too much stress on my hair, but even more tightly-wrapped, it is far more gentle on my hair and they stay in place longer – which was really important for the event that we ran weekend before last. That said, the tied tibbon-end is a bit obvious, so I would only use these in casual situations or in ones where you’re covering the elastic with a small lock of hair. The other downside is that cats find them way more attractive than the traditional ones – stick them in a drawer.
4. Aztec Healing Clay Mask – So part of my mission is to call BS on overhyped products with BS marketing (as far as I’m concerned, if you have a good product you shouldn’t need to resort to unethical marketing that misrepresents your product). The other part is to shed light on products you may not be familiar with that are awesome. This is one of those products. Sold as a clay powder in a jar, you mix it with water or apple cider vinegar and slap it on your face. It cleans your skin so. dang. well. and is so. dang. cheap. I hope to have a post up soon just about this product!
5. Menda Twist-Lock pump bottles – These are great for pretty much any liquid product. I have two and one currently contains acetone for nail adventures, and the other is still empty. They stand upright, the tops flip open, then you must twist the top to unlock the pump. Then, take a cotton pad and place it over the top opening and pump pump pump. They would also be great for facial toner, or even cleaning products (do not haphazardly repurpose a used-before container for another chemical without doing your homework. Science is good, surprise chemistry is not. Be safe) – really anything that is a liquid (don’t use it with viscous items like soaps or lotions – we want liquid in these). It allows for one-handed operation and does not spill if it tips over.
Disclosure: Hey! Some of the links in this August 2014 Favorites post are affiliate links – this means I may get a very small percentage of the sale if you decide to buy something. I only recommend products I’ve tried and verified as awesome, which is kind of the point of a favorites post. Ethical blogging FTW.