Hello August! I always say this at the beginning of the month, but July has really gone by so fast. I remember sharing five of my favourite items that helped me feel confident and my happiest self in June and May like it was just yesterday! We all love products that give us confidence or make us feel super happy when we need or don’t need it. Confidence or happiness is so subjective to everyone; it might mean something completely different to you than it does to me.

You may remember that last month’s five favourites post was all about taking care of myself. Mainly by taking care of my mental health. May was about the self-care I practised on my face after a huge hormonal breakout. After about two months, I feel like I finally feel comfortable to talk about the skincare products that have really contributed in containing my breakout, which naturally makes me feel more comfortable and confident in my own skin. I also obviously love my clothes and have picked two items that I have loved to wear in July. So without further or do, here are my five favourites of July.

Stradivarius cream blazer

This blazer is a new one to my wardrobe, however I had been eyeing it up since my trip to Lisbon, which was back in March! When it went on sale a couple of weeks ago, I saw it as my sign to buy it. I am so happy I actually ended up buying it, because I love how it looks on me – if I may be so forward. I have found that white and cream colour actually look quite lovely on me, especially when I have a little tan. I actually fell for this blazer because of the beautiful buttons on this blazer and the gorgeous texture of this blazer. When I was younger I would always look at older Spanish women who would wear these sort of blazer and I always felt like they looked so chic and effortless. So whenever I wear this, I feel like I am that super chic, effortless Spanish women, hence why I love it so much.

Clinique Moisture Surge Hydrating Supercharge serum

Like I briefly mentioned before, July was the first month where I actually felt like I had my skin and especially the hormonal acne under control. I cut back my skincare routine majorly and only used the products I know would help calm and hydrate my skin. One of the products I know would help with that, is the Clinique Moisture Surge Hydrating Supercharge serum. I have not mentioned this serum on the blog before, but have religiously used it since January. I then stopped using it, as I didn’t want to use too many products at the time. My skin was good up until May, when the big soy yoghurt-related breakout came, so one of the first products I went back to is this serum. Properly hydrating a breakout can actually make such a difference. I find that I can prevent any new acne breakouts from happening by using a hyaluronic acid on my skin, which is in this serum. This basically helps repair my skin barrier, which is what usually is broken whenever I start to have pretty bad breakouts.

The Ordinary Niacinamide serum

The next skincare product that has really helped get my skin under control is Niacinamide. I have watched a really long video on Niacinamide and what it can do for your skin. Niacinamide, or Vitamine B3, improves enlarged pores, uneven skintone and can actually help repair your skin barrier. The Niacinamide has actually really helped my skin look less inflamed from the breakouts. The zinc that is in this serum helps break down the breakout and helps with that. So what this actually does, is repair your skin, make it look less inflamed and helps breakdown and prevent any breakouts. At first I wasn’t sure if it was really the Niacinamide that was helping my skin look so much less inflamed, but now after using it for over 2,5 months I am definitely sure that this product has contributed and contributes to getting better, clearer skin.

Pixi x Caroline Hirons double cleanse

Whenever I had breakouts when I was younger, I was always told by people at counters to break out my acne to make it better. But it only really got worst. It’s no secret that I love Caroline Hirons and am always reading up on her blog or watching her videos. It turns out that when you are breaking out, it is so much more important to use a super gentle cleanser instead of a really harsh, drying cleanser. Oh how the tables have turned… So in May I bought this Pixi x Caroline Hirons double cleanse. I am a big lover and believer of double cleansing. This product makes it super easy to do that without having to invest a whole lot of money into two separate cleansers. The first cleanse is a bit more of a cleansing balm. The second cleanse is a super lovely cream that you cleanse your skin with. I have loved using these so much and have not had any sort of reaction to both of these, which is very rare as my skin is quite sensitive and reactive to new products. It’s one of the reasons why I am always a bit hesitant to start using a completely new cleanser.

Birkenstock Arizona sliders

Guess who are back again…? The Birks came back out to play once again this summer. I honestly completely forgot that I had these, until I started clearing out my wardrobe. I somehow stumbled across my Birks again after they had been in hiding since last summer. These sliders always make a comeback on my five favourites lists every summer and so it’s not really a surprise that they have made a comeback. They are super comfortable and I love how these sliders look with pretty much every outfit. Sure, they are not the most attractive pair of sliders to wear, according to my dad and brother, but I love how these sliders make pretty much every outfit look super effortless.