Danielle's favorite things, mid-July edition

I am the Oprah of this blog. It helps that I'm the founder and sole poster. If instead of a blog I had a TV show, and instead of being made of chocolate covered almonds, I was made of money, I would give you all this stuff. (Evvvvvverybody gets a Mark Harmon!) Bad news: not the case. Good news: I'm pretty cheap so all this stuff is reasonably priced.

Smith's Rosebud Salve. Best lipbalm I've ever used. Not sticky at all but also not waxy, and the tin format makes it easy to use for other things (cuticle balm, taming crazy frizz-halo).

Bare Escentuals powder sunscreen. I was going to explain to you how it works but the picture makes it pretty obvious. I like that it's a powder so it doesn't screw up your makeup and won't explode and make postmodern art out of your handbag.

NCIS--the reruns on the USA Network (though I watch the CBS primetime ones too when they're in season). Sometimes I need to have a little mindless background noise on while I'm doing debate work, and this does nicely. I have seen every episode ever (for serious, my mom's a bigger fan than I am and it's on constantly at their house).

Dermalogica Sheer Tint Moisturizer. Heavy makeup in summer is a real bummer. I wear Bare Escentuals Powder Foundation Fall-Spring but it's just kind of cakey in the summer. (In the infomercial, when they show you how it doesn't sweat off, the part they forget to mention is that it just gets really thick looking and obvious. Dude, I'd rather it just sweat off.) Anyway, this is perfect summer makeup. It just evens out your skin and makes you look glowy and pretty. If you have "OMG-I'm-Almost-30-How-Do-I-Have-Acne-and-Wrinkles-Together-and-Are-the-Circles-Under-My-Eyes-BLACK?" kind of skin, you'll still need concealer over this (I use Bare Minerals Bisque).

Dark Chocolate Covered Almonds. GAME. CHANGER. I buy the Target brand.

Elastic hair ties. Oprah loves these too! OMG, soulmates! Oprah isn't cheap so she buys the emi-jay ones. I bought knockoffs on etsy and they work just fine. They also make elastic headbands. Since I'm only washing my hair every other day, by the middle of day 2 my hair is tied back in a ponytail with the bangs held back by a headband so they're not all limply emo in my face. (BANGS! STOP BEING SO SAD AND LAY OFF THE EYELINER!)

Tazo Passion Tea. Uh, yum. Double yum when iced and mixed with Trader Joe's Low Calorie Pink Lemonade (see below, I really tried to post them together but blogger wasn't having it) as a sort of homemade "shaken unsweetened passion tea lemonade" which is the pretentiouns non-caffeinated beverage I order at Starbucks during the warmer months. (As soon as September hits I will be drinking enough Caramel Apple Spices to keep the apple industry afloat.)

The first time I wore this mascara one of the other professors in my department was like, "did you get eyelash extensions?!?" And I batted my newly giant eyelashes at her and said "nope, new mascara". I accidentally wore the washable version today and smeared it under my eye in like 12 seconds flat. Humidity sucks, yo. So waterproof is the way to go in the summer.

Trader Joe's Low Calorie Pink Lemonade. What wouldn't be delicious about this? The Low Calorie part? Girl, don't worry...I don't know what they used but it doesn't taste watery or like weird chemicals. (Upon consultation of the label, they're using a mix of sugar and truvia, which appears to be a plant-based sweetener.) It's actually almost too sweet so I either mix it with the Passion Tea or cut it with 50% water. YUM!

OPI Melon of Troy. Not streaky, not too orange, not too pink, not too dark, not too light. I will stop writing a Dr. Seuss book about my nail polish now. But get this, it's the perfect coral and the name was kind of witty.

What are your favorites for July?