June 2016 Favorites

It is hard to believe that half the year is over already! I like to take a little bit of time in the beginning of July to take stock of the year so far, realign my goals for what I want to accomplish in the second half of the year, re-balance. Beauty-wise during the month of June I found myself reaching for several things that I’ve had for a while and rekindling my appreciation of them.

1) Pacifica Charmed Eye Shadow Palette – Sadly it doesn’t seem that Pacifica is selling this on their website anymore. Pacifica bring it back! I love the whimsical colors in this little palette and have found myself being drawn to it again in the summer season. Pacifica’s eye shadows (their regular ones in the palettes not their cream shadows) are some of my favorites of all time. They have such a buttery texture with beautiful luminescent colors. I did see this being sold around the web here and there on Amazon and such still if you want to get your hands on one. I also wrote about it in this post.

2) Pacifica Enlightened Gloss in Poppy – Ohhh one of my favorite lip gloss formulas of all time. I’ve talked about it a lot over the years but Poppy is just the perfect shade for summer. A smooth translucent coral color that looks good on its own or layered.

3) 100% Pure Pomegranate Lipstick in Foxglove – I just love this shade so much. I kept reaching for it all month long. I originally swatched it here.

4) DECLEOR Aromaessence Neroli Hydrating Serum Oil – This was sent to me a few months ago and at first I wasn’t sure about it but in June I became obsessed with it. It smells SO good. If you love neroli then you’ll fall in love with this too. Inside this super pretty bottle is a 100% natural serum with a base of hazelnut oil and blended with neroli, sandalwood, and petitgrain essential oils. I can attest that it is amazing for dry skin. I only use it in the morning because the scent is very uplifting and wakes me up. The directions recommend using just two drops and that does the trick, but I like to use three drops. I was afraid this little bottle wouldn’t last long but because you literally only use a few drops each day it does last quite some time. I recently tried two of their other products also, which I’ll write more about soon.

5) Last weekend my husband and I went to the Stowe Renaissance Faire here in Vermont and I couldn’t help but be drawn into the booth with a table full of crystals. I picked up a few that I was drawn to (as well as a delicious bottle of local blueberry mead at another table!). The crystals I purchased were a small fluorite point with the most gorgeous layers of purple and aqua, and an enchanting celestite egg geode.

After searching around on several “crystal meaning sites” they seemed to sum up the following:

Fluorite is said to calm mental chatter, protect from chaotic vibrations and clear energy fields, and promote peace and spiritual and psychic development. It is also said to enhance the strength of other stones so I like to stand my other stones in a circle around this one.

Celestite or celestine is also said to help block out distracting “noise.” Hmmm, I’m seeing a pattern here in what I was drawn to! It is said to be an angelic stone used to foster connection to the angelic realm, and can bring balance to thoughts and all forms of communication.

I’m excited to add these two to my small crystal collection which I often use in meditation practice and just as pretty things to gaze upon!

Oh and I almost forgot! I also really enjoyed the book Fragrant: The Secret Life of Scent by Mandy Aftel. I just finished the course, Art of Botanical Perfume, through the School of Aromatic Studies, so when I read this (found it for a great price on BookOutlet) I was very familiar with all the terminology etc. It was a very enjoyable and quick read – I found it very interesting and useful as I am a botanical perfumer myself. Even though I don’t really agree with her chapter on animal essences. However if you don’t really have an interest in natural perfume then you might be bored. Also, look at that cool cover! It has foiled tones of hot pink and orange! Let me know if you’d like a full review.

I’d love to know what your favorites were in the month of June. Let me know in the comments below. xo – Naomi