Well, another summer has almost come and gone. Gotta say, this time around, it really flew by quick. Obviously, my Singapore trip was the major highlight of my Summer. But it was a busy few months with Christmas and SO MUCH RAIN! Unfortunately for me and this page, it wasn’t a busy makeup wearing couple of months. That’s right, it’s another *scrounge around to find 5 products that I enjoyed* Five Faves! I did manage to get there in the end. But these Faves encompass the entirety of the beauty spectrum. We have makeup, body, hair, and fragrance! Let’s chat about them.
SUMMER FRIDAYS DREAM LIP OIL – $45.00
Summer Fridays bringing out a lip oil is such a good idea, I’m shocked they hadn’t done it sooner. But these are legit something special. Not too oily, but not too sticky. And I love the shades that they came out with for the initial launch (above are the shades Rosewood Nights and Soft Mauve). I took these with me to Singapore to give them a test out and I’ve been incapable of using any other lip product since. Well worth the money, if you ask me.
FRANK BODY ROSEHOP BODY SCRUB + CLEANSER – $25.00
I’ve been particularly vocal over my affection of the Frank Body Salicylic Acid Scrub. But I picked the Rosehip Body Scrub up on a whim a little while ago and finally cracked into it during the summer. And now, I feel it is my duty to shout this out because I’ve heard no one talk about how good it is! This is actually a 2 in 1 deal. It starts out as a sugar based body scrub. But as you lather it up, the sugar dissolves into the most luxurious feeling body wash. And it leaves my skin not only feeling amazing, but smelling amazing too. This is one that I would recommend to those who aren’t keen on the messiness of body scrubs (the dissolving sugar makes this super easy to rinse off).
SOL DE JANERIO DELICIA DRENCH BODY BUTTER – $35.00
So, this might be the best smelling range that Sol De Janerio has ever come out with. The Delicia Drench Body Butter is absolutely phenomenal. If you’re a fan of woody vanilla’s, you will adore this! It’s a thicker consistency than some of the other body creams in SDJ’s range. But it’s just so nourishing and it soaks in so quickly. I’ve only had this since January and I’ve already flown through half the tub. A repurchase is definitely in my future. And no, it does not attract any more spiders than what is usual here.
ELLIS BROOKLYN SUPER AMBER EDP – $173.00
NOTES: Amber, Musk, Virginia Cedar, Vanilla Orchid
This one actually surprised me by how much I enjoy it. I picked this up on a whim in Sydney as a gateway to get me into more Amber perfumes. It starts off a little harsh to the nose initially. But as it mellows out, it becomes so warm and inviting on the skin. I feel like this would be a good option for you if you’re one of those people who find Baccarat Rouge to be a bit too much. But you still want to explore in the Amber family
K18 LEAVE IN MOLECULAR REPAIR HAIR MASK – $100.00
When I mentioned that I grabbed this while I was in Sydney, I had so many questions from you all as to whether this is worth the admittedly high price point. Short answer, yes. While my hair does look healthy on the surface, it’s actually quite fine and especially prone to breakage. And using this once weekly has dramatically improved the health of my hair. I’m losing less hair and I’m finding that I’m having a lot less breakage overall. Even my hairdresser commented that my hair felt a lot better when she gave me my most recent trim. I do think this is worth it. But maybe wait for a sale if you’re worried about the cost.
And those are the beauty faves. Let’s dip into the other faves for the Summer.
500 OPEN TABS (Spotify) – December 2023 saw the end of one of my favourite podcasts, Musicalsplaing. But former co-host, Kaveh Taherian didn’t leave us contentless for long. Alongside friend and fellow cartoonist, Hannah Hillam, they launched their new podcast, 500 Open Tabs, in January. The conceit of the podcast is simple. In a bid to close the colossal number of tabs that they have open on their computer/phones, they discuss one of those tabs that they have open. And the content they discuss is utterly fascinating. They’ve launched 6 episodes at the time of writing. But they tackled topics such as Cheese Mafia, The deleted letters of the Alphabet, Beached Whales, Crypto Scammers, Forbidden Hawaiian Islands, and they recently finished a two parter on the Johnstown Flood (definitely recommend that one!) You can find this wherever podcasts can be found and they also have it in video form on YouTube.
PLAGIARISM AND YOU(TUBE) (YouTube) – Speaking of YouTube! One of my favourite content creators, Harry Brewis AKA HBomberguy, lobbed this absolute bomb of a video onto his page back at the start of December. And nearly three months later, we are still feeling the aftereffects. If this video didn’t cross your feed, or if you didn’t have time to watch it because it’s damn near 4 hours long, here is a super brief summary. Plagiarism is bad, don’t do it. I do insist that you watch the whole thing though. Because not only is it Harry’s finest work, it goes to show just how insidious and pervasive plagiarism is throughout YouTube.
ANYONE BUT YOU – We’ll end these favourites on a lighter note. As a child of the late 90’s, the phrase ‘Shakespeare, but adapted into modern times’ is basically my crack. I live for that shit. So when it finally came down on the pipeline that the new rom-com starring Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell was basically an loose retelling of Much Ado About Nothing, I booked my ticket immediately. Y’all, I will forever rue Sony for fumbling this movie’s marketing. Anyone But You was charming as hell. So, so funny. And Glen Powell and Sydney Sweeney have chemistry to burn (I can now see how those rumours started). I’m pretty sure this is still in some theatres but I also spotted it as a rental on Amazon. If you missed it, I recommend it unquestionably.
And those are my Summer faves! Here’s hoping that 2024 continues on this good path. Let me know in the comments what your Summer must haves were.
Cheers and love
Emily xo