Monthly Favorites: June 2022 Edition!

[Anna2BT]

June marks that we’ve already made it to the halfway point of the year, woohoo! Can you believe it, BIC? The time has come again to take a look back and reflect upon all the things that brought us joy this month – in other words, it’s time to share our June monthly favorites! 🌻✨

Here are the items that brought me a little extra sparkle to my days in June:

• Biossance Squalane + Amino Aloe Gentle Pore-Minimizing Cleanser 6.76 oz/ 200 mL 
• NEST New York Wild Poppy Eau de Parfum 
• The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% Exfoliating Toner 8 oz/ 240 mL 
• PATRICK TA Major Volume Plumping Lip Gloss 
• Rare Beauty by Selena Gomez Stay Vulnerable Melting Cream Blush 

Also, I’m giving a special shout out to the The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% Exfoliating Toner 8 oz/ 240 mL – I’ve been using this a lot as a power combo for my face and body! It helps me with the bumpier areas on my skin and I love adding it as a bit of #selfcare in my post-shower routine.

What sparked joy for you this June? ✨ Whether they’re skincare, hair, makeup, fragrance, and/or wellness goodies (new faves or old loves), the Beauty Insider Community wants to know what you’ve been loving this month. Reply below and use the ‘#’ sign to tag those fave products!

[Sunnysmom]

I believe it @CookieGirl1 , bet it’s very flattering on you. I have to look this up now! Ugh. Lol. Just give us all the blush , every season! 😫

[CookieGirl1]

@Sunnysmom it also now comes in a stick/cream format (which of course hit the Ulta site literally a week after I bought the powder) and the formula is getting really good reviews.  I could actually see myself still picking up the cream in the same shade.

[Sunnysmom]

Of course @CookieGirl1 , grr lol. That sounds really nice, I would love that too. Drats these wish lists never get shorter do they!! 😩

[CookieGirl1]

@Sunnysmom no...my list grows far too quickly.

[makeitup305]

great summer picks @CookieGirl1 !

[WinglessOne]

Couple days late, but: 

Favorites for June 2022. I should've laid the pink kabuki brush on its side; it's in the shape of a cat paw, and it's adorable.

Haircare: 

Spoiler

Olaplex No. 3 Hair Repair Perfector - a repeat favorite. After wearing my hair up in a bun for about 2 months, I needed this to bring my coils back to life. No. 3 is still the Olaplex product I use most often. I gave up on the conditioner, hate the shampoo, and was unimpressed by the hair oil after using it several times—though to be fair, I’m not much of a hair oil user anyway. I have no need for No. 0. (not yet, anyway). I do kinda like No. 6 but don’t use it often. Still haven’t tried No. 8 though I have a mini; note to self. But No. 3 is pretty much a staple in my haircare routine. 

Skincare:

Spoiler

Native Unscented Mineral Face Lotion Sunscreen SPF 30 - one of several sunscreens I’m testing this summer. For a non-tinted 20% zinc oxide sunscreen, I’m very impressed by its finish: I won’t call it invisible on my skin tone, but the extremely minimal white/lavender cast is easily masked by a light dusting of sheer tinted powder. It doesn’t feel thick or greasy, and it doesn’t pill. It blends out easily to a natural radiant skin finish, with no streaks. Native makes a fragranced version of this, along with fragranced and unscented body sunscreens. I might try the unscented body sunscreen to see if it’s as easy to blend out as the face version. 

Dermstore Collection Daily Sheer Tint Mineral Sunscreen SPF 40 - a sunscreen I’ve used before and still enjoy. It has a very silky mousse texture that blends easily to a nearly invisible natural skin finish on me, leaving a cast that’s maybe barely noticeable (I don’t apply anything afterward to mask this sunscreen). Plays nice with my eyes, doesn’t pill or feel heavy, and has no fragrance. Coola used to make a similar sunscreen; when it was discontinued, I tried this one as a substitute and fell in love. In face, I prefer Dermstore’s because Coola’s left more of a matte (but not super dry) finish. 

Not pictured because I forgot to include it:

CeraVe Hydrating Cream-to-Foam Cleanser - my dry hands’ new favorite non-stripping/drying "hand soap." 🤣 I’ve also used and enjoyed it a few times as a facial cleanser, though I prefer my usual CeraVe Hydrating Cleanser Bar for that. But now I keep a bottle of Cream-to-Foam Cleanser in both my bathrooms as hand wash. 

Makeup: 

Spoiler

By Terry Terrybly Densiliss Compact - another repeat fave, and still my favorite powder foundation. Never leaves my skin cakey, patchy, or super matte. Bonus points for being fragrance free, so I don’t smell it on my face all day (and it doesn’t compete with any fragrance I wear on my body). I apply enough for sheer to medium coverage, usually to mask a zinc sunscreen’s white cast or tone down a too-shiny sunscreen. 

Becca Light Shifter Finishing Veil - a satin finish setting powder. I bought shade Vapor and should’ve also bought the next shade lighter. (It’s much too late to do that, of course. 😞 ) I use it as a sheer powder foundation to mask sunscreen white cast. It also tones down too-shiny sunscreens without mattefying my face. The only problem with this product is its hard pan issue, made worse by dipping back into the compact after brushing over certain sunscreens. I haven’t had to scrape off a hardened layer yet (I concentrate on just one area of the compact at a time, so as not to hard-pan the entire surface area at once), but I’m sure I’ll have to at some point. Still, this is a product I wish was still available and could maybe be perfected via reformulation. 

Uoma Beauty Black Magic Carnival palette - if I’ve never listed this as a monthly fave before, shame on me! In June, I chose it as my exclusive monthly eyeshadow palette because I hadn’t used it in a while. It’s colorful, bold, and sparkly, but can be toned down if desired. Each shadow performs beautifully on my hooded eyes: no blending issues or patchy pigmentation. And I still say the shade Barbados is among the best yellow mattes I’ve ever used. 

Brushes: 

Spoiler

Koyudo Cat Paw - I resisted using this sokoho goat kabuki brush for… gosh, I don’t remember how long ago I bought it. I didn’t want to get it dirty. But in June, I finally started using it with the 2 powders I mentioned earlier. The pink pad is, eh, medium density, while the white toe beans are less dense and splay quite a bit during use. The pink softly lays down product, then the white blends it out. It shed more than expected during my first couple uses, but hasn’t lost its adorable shape or developed any bald patches. It’s not the best brush for very controlled application due to its size and shape, but it’s great for soft, less defined powder application. 

Shiseido Hanatsubaki Hake Polishing Face Brush - I'd used this synthetic kabuki many times before June, and I might’ve listed it as a previous monthly fave. It’s much denser than the Koyudo cat paw and easier to control for more precise product placement. It’s velvety soft. Great for buffing! 

Sonia G. Lotus Face Detail - a repeat fave, this saikoho goat brush is still my favorite way to apply any powder product to the contours of my nose and along my hairline. It’s not too dense or floppy. Easily my second favorite brush from the Lotus set, I reach for it more often than expected. 

Rephr #23 - I’ve listed this natural (goat) + synthetic mini pencil brush in a few monthly fave posts. I need to call it out again because it’s still the best brush for detail work in tight lid spaces, like my inner corner space. I can lay down 2 or 3 distinct bands of different colors in that tiny space with the 23. One of my favorite eye brushes ever. 

Sonia G. Lotus Soft Definer - another fantastic brush for small lid spaces. I use it mostly on my outer corner and lash lines, but also on my inner corner when I’m not getting super detailed in that space. This brush is the sole reason I bought the Lotus set when it first launched. Now that it’s available for individual purchase, I’ll likely buy a second one. (I should also get a second Face Detail while I’m at it.) 

Nail polish: 

Spoiler

Painted Polish Peridot Persuasion - a matte flake polish that does its namesake justice. It has metallic green flakes and rainbow holo pinpoints, making it surprisingly shiny and sparkly for a matte. Peridot is one of my favorite gemstones, so this polish makes me giddy. 

Zoya Frida - a gorgeous teal jelly. Perhaps my favorite plain jelly polish of all I own, and that says a lot because I love jellies. Frida’s fun to layer over various other polishes, but I also love it on its own in all its squishy, jelly, Caribbean Sea goodness. 

LynBDesigns Stay Fresh Cheese Bags - a shimmery thermal polish that’s lemon yellow when warm and peachy orange when cold, with a strong fuchsia flip that persists in both thermal states. It’s hard to choose my favorite from all the LynBs I’ve bought this year, but this one’s high on the list. 

Crystal Knockout Dance Electric - a thermal that’s turquoise when warm and black when cold. It’s jam packed with pink, green, and marigold dots and a scattered rainbow of iridescent and holo pinpoints. And it glows in the dark! This was a limited edition shade for the last Polish Pickup event. Cadillacquer makes a similar thermal polish (The Enemy) that’s still available from a few retailers. 

[blackkitty2014]

@WinglessOne I admit I bought that cute Koyudo cat 🐾 paw because of its cuteness. 😂🤣 I might have to try to use it now 👍

[Sunnysmom]

Yup there’s those Sonia brushes again @WinglessOne ! 😊 They look so nice, I know a lot of you guys love them. I have a few littles. Gotta check these out. Good By Terry I’m sure, love her stuff. 

[CookieGirl1]

@WinglessOne those Sonia G. Lotus brushes are soooo gorgeous.

[WinglessOne]

@CookieGirl1  They're all available (at Beautylish) for individual purchase now, so folks can pick and choose without having to buy the whole set. Now everyone can get whichever one(s) of these beauties they want! 

[eshoe]

@WinglessOne I commiserate with you on the Coola; the Dermstore is a pretty decent dupe though, I agree. I miss the more matte finish of the Coola (helps with the forehead). I need to reorder this so thank you for that. 

OT it looks like waxing cotton is a pretty simple process, so let’s see what I can do with my tote. 

[WinglessOne]

@eshoe  Ah, now I remember both of us wondering why the heck Coola discontinued their old matte mineral sunscreen. I wonder if they ever released a replacement... I haven't kept up with their product releases to find out. 

And shoot, I think I forgot to go back to the gratis thread and post info on how to wax cotton. (Sometimes I browse BIC via phone and don't like to—or can't at the moment—reply to posts that way, so I heart posts and then come back to them later, when I'm home at my laptop, to reply to those posts.) Glad you found a simple process! It's not difficult, just a bit time consuming. If in doubt, try waxing part of a tote strap first, or pull the interior pocket out and wax that as a test. 🙂 I'll be doing that myself, just to make sure that cotton weight will hold up well to a wax coating. Hope your tote turns out well! 

[eshoe]

@WinglessOne I contacted Coola and the lady I spoke with recommended their sister company Bare Republic’s Mineral Sunscreen Lotion. I tried and loved it, and then it went off (to be fair, it was within seven months of the expiration date). It turned rather liquidy when I expelled it from the tube. 

Great idea to ‘spot test’ first on an inner pocket or handle. Makes sense. This tote is kinda special and I do not want to ruin it.

[WinglessOne]

@eshoe  I keep forgetting about Bare Republic, and that it's in the Coola family. Bummer about the sunscreen getting liquidy though. Sheesh, a product should still be fine within 7 months of expiration date (assuming you meant 7 months before that date). 

Sometimes a too-liquid texture is just product separation instead of serious badness. Kinda like if you make a homemade cream sauce and it separates or curdles when heated, it's still safe to eat. Probably not very appetizing due to the texture, but it hasn't gone bad. So for some skincare products, I'd say "try shaking the container to remix the product." And that can work for sunscreens that are formulated with runny liquid textures; some of those even have mixing balls inside the container to help the process. But with a thicker sunscreen, product separation may break its ability to set up a protective barrier on skin, rendering the sunscreen useless. It might not've gone bad—no mold or bacteria causing any badness—and might be safe to apply to skin, but it probably won't perform well as UV protection anymore. Eh, I'm not a cosmetic chemist so that's all assumption on my part. But it was smart to stop using that Bare Republic sunscreen once it separated. 

[eshoe]

Hmmm @WinglessOne based on your vivid description, I would have to say that yeah, it probably wasn’t bad, but again, it also probably wouldn’t protect my skin as intended. And yes, it was before the expiration date!

Right now I am just using the Biossance Squalane + Zinc Sheer Mineral Sunscreen SPF 30 PA +++ all over and following up withBenefit Cosmetics The POREfessional Pore Minimizing Primer on my forehead. I prefer the one and done, but the Dermstore isn’t quite as matte/blurring as the Coola was. But I may go back to it anyway, or maybe repurchase the Bare Republic to give it another go. I did shake it, but it seemed like there was just too much separation for it to work properly. If you ever come across something similar in this family, please let me know. I haven’t, yet!

[chrislynb]

This month has been about exploring new brands and shades for summer. GXVE BY GWEN STEFANI Original Me Clean High-Performance Matte Lipstick , GXVE BY GWEN STEFANI Anaheim Shine Clean High-Performance Satin Lipstick 

and Rare Beauty by Selena Gomez Mini Perfect Strokes Universal Volumizing Mascara Black are all staples in my routine now, along with Fenty Beauty by Rihanna Eaze Drop Blurring Skin Tint . Perfect for summer

[Saradestin]

I also love GXVE’s lippies @chrislynb ! Great love list! 

[Ispend2much6]

I forgot about these two DE products I sampled:

Drunk Elephant Silkamino ™ Mega-Moisturizing Masker 7 oz / 210 mL 

Drunk Elephant Silkamino ™ Mega-Moisturizing Shampoo 8.4 oz / 240 mL 

These have, especially the shampoo, the most natural vanilla-bean scent I've ever experienced in a body or hair product.  And, the scent lasted for the rest of the day, although it was faint. But, I could catch a whiff every once in awhile.  It's lovely, and there's a DE  points multiplier right now!

The shampoo is very, very gentle- possible too gentle for me, as I only wash my hair twice a week. But, it looked okay afterwards so maybe it's just a very different experience for me.

The hair mask is very rich, richer than Kiehl's Since 1851 Olive Fruit Oil Deeply Repairative Hair Pak 8.4 oz/ 250 mL .  I think I prefer the Kiehl's as my regular conditioner, but the DE one certainly would be great for days when I may want to leave a mask on throughout the day and shampoo at night.

[Saradestin]

Drunk Elephant has great products but I have not tried their hair ones. They look very interesting @Ispend2much6 !! 

[Ispend2much6]

@Saradestin  I really like the Lani co-wash, but the other hair products (not the ones I just mentioned) leave my hair dry and tangled. 

[coopbd]

I just tried the co-wash and was quite pleased with it! I have long, dry, color treated hair that tangles easily so I was doubtful, but I followed the directions and my hair felt quite clean and soft after.  I’m not sure why this isn’t available at sephora, I had to wait until I visited the US and ordered straight from DE.