In comparison to June 2016, July was a less busy month; it’s the height of “lazy summertime”. I started feeling better and there was no traveling. It was a lazy month but that’s what I wanted. No regrets.

The heat was oppressive and I found myself staying indoors more than I would have liked. But, honestly I just did not feel like being out in 100º heat in a stinky city filled with clueless summer vacation tourists. We went to the Jersey Shore a few times which please, don’t let that TV show color your opinion of the Shore. The Shore is awesome.

Here’s some of my favorites from July:

 

 

Wearing (fragrance) – My fragrance preferences were all over the place! Some days I want bitter green figs like Diptyque Philosykos. Other days I wanted “anything Chanel“. Some days I wanted something “beachy” like Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess. And then there were the usual Maja days.

My favorite bath/body combo was Alba Botanica Midnight Tuberose Shower Gel which is a moisturizing shower gel with coconut oil that smells wonderful, paired with  Yves Rocher Manoï Oil.

Summary – There’s no pattern. I wore whatever.

 

 

Wearing (cosmetics) – It was an odd month for me because I wore very little makeup. I felt like anything on my face would sweat off. My skin was looking good so why cover it up anyway? For a brief period, I rekindled my love affair with red lipsticks. My favorites were Urban Decay Vice Lipstick in F Bomb and Revlon Super Lustrous Matte Lipstick in Really Red. Eye makeup was minimal I used various shades in the Morphe 35K Palette. My absolute favorite purchase was the NYX Pro Foundation Blender in White. This stuff will make me use up all these fancy foundations that I bought that are a bit “off”. It doesn’t compromise the wear of the foundation and I love how custom it is. I highly recommend it to any of my fellow pale pals.

Summary – Even when I’m not wearing a lot of makeup, red lipstick makes me feel like I’ve tried and that I’m “put together”. Red lipstick is magic.

 

Wearing (clothes) – I’m dedicated to black culottes and white button ups.  I ended up buying more clothes than I should have in July. I can’t resist all these summer sales. I bought an Alexander Wang leather mini skirt for a great price. I bought a pair of Melissa shoes. They smell like cherry-almond or “urinal cake”. It depends on who you ask. They’re surprisingly comfortable. We’re going to Mexico (Mérida) in September and I actually bought swimsuits for the first time in a decade. This was less painful than I imagined because I’m at age where I don’t give two fucks what anybody thinks of me.

Summary – I am planning my fall wardrobe which will hopefully include a lot of dupes of Mugler A/W 1995 runway extravaganza (video here, it’s amazing).

 

 

Using (skincare) – So, for the entire month my complexion looked great even though I wasn’t doing anything that different. Then on the last few days of the month, I get this huge zit on my chin that is going to take like five months to fade. Anyway, my favorite skincare product of the month was a little sample of La Colline Cellular Eye Mask that made my eye area look taunt and hopefully that will distract from that whopper on my chin.

Summary –  I could scream into a pillow over this.

 

 

Eating/Drinking – For the most part, my appetite is much better than it was. I bought a vegan cookbook by Bryant Terry, “Afro Vegan: Farm-Fresh African, Caribbean and Southern Flavors Remixed“. This cookbook is very much like the sort of meals I grew up on as someone raised vegetarian in the South. But, these are more conscious and step up from the vegan greens and black-eyed peas I grew up on. This cookbook for the most part doesn’t suffer from what a lot of vegan cookbooks suffer from. They aren’t overly simplistic or recipes that are so elaborate trying to replicate something that they aren’t (like a stuffed turkey or something).  They”re good; they have flavor and most of them I could easily whip out on a weeknight.

Summary – Bryant Terry may be the only person in the world that could make me go vegan. Or at least when I’m not eating buttermilk biscuits or cornbread.

 

Listening – Back to listening to 70’s funk like Betty Davis and 70’s George Benson. Also, lots of 80’s Zapp band. So, really nothing new but at least it’s fun.

Summary – My default.

 

 

Watching – I went to the movies a few times this month. I saw “Neon Demon” which is weird and has a lot of triangles. I’m happy I saw it but I do think it was a little too “involved” for something that comes across as camp. Also, the themes were tiresome and I don’t really like anything that vilifies lesbianism (especially as much as this movie did). Yet, I still didn’t hate it. I can’t explain why other than all the Helmut Newton photography references and glitter. Then I watched “Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie” which was funnier than I expected it to be. It’s exactly what you’d expect from that silly show with added Marilyn Monroe flick references and lots of pretty imagery of the South of France.

At home, I rewatched “Welcome to the Dollhouse” which is still my favorite “coming of age” movie (along with “Ghostworld“). I watched “Salvando al Soldado Pérez” which is a Mexican comedy about a “cartel boss with a heart of gold” that tries to rescue his brother from Iraq who is a US soldier/POW because it’s his mother’s dying wish. It was a cute comedy with some ridiculous depictions of Turkey (which I think were purposeful, suggesting how “isolated” the drug lord was) and some funny “Scarface” references.

Summary – I wanted to see the new “war on men Ghostbusters” but didn’t get around to it. I guess now I have to wait until it is on DVD.

Reading – July was one of those months where I worked on skills. The time I usually reserve for reading, I reserved for Spanish language study. I bought a book “Breaking Out of Beginner’s Spanish” which has been very helpful. And then I bought Bryant Terry’s cookbooks.

Summary – No dejes para mañana lo que puedas hacer hoy. I’ve been saying that I would “brush up” on language knowledge for years but haven’t. So, now I’m making myself.

Wanting – A new desk/work space. Honestly, I’m so content right now that this is all I can think of and really, it’s been on my list since I’ve moved. I think I finally know what I want: sit/stand desk with a bamboo top.

Summary – So boring, but it would get so much use.

Overall, life is really good which is a nice surprise because the past few years have been rather tumultuous. I also want to announce that I’ve been accepted into a graduate program at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health! Classes start in September. I’m so excited to continue my studies. So, I’m taking a few years to track diseases, dig through massive datasets and create pretty maps to gently break bad news to the world about ugly stuff like cancer clusters. I can’t wait!

What were your favorites from July? Did you do anything inspiring? Go anywhere inspiring? Eat anything inspiring?

Also, you can find me on Instragram and Snapchat (User ID – EauMG).

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*All images are mine except for Betty Davis from lipstickalley.com. “Welcome to the Dollhouse” still from lootersfollies.tumblr.com.  Desk from thehumansolution.com. Post may contain affiliate links.