I feel like I spent June half-asleep until VidCon arrived, and then suddenly I was hit by this wave of energy. That being said, I barely had time to keep track of some of my favorite things from this past month.

1. Dream Cream Hand and Body Lotion by Lush

It's one of Lush's "best-selling" lotions for a reason, which probably also makes me a bit out of touch by including this on a June 2017 favorites list. I actually received a sample of this last year, and was told it was developed with those who suffer from eczema in mind. I've read up on it, and it seems to be hit or miss for many, but I began using it pretty regularly once I moved to Los Angeles where the dryness and unexpected winter heat hit me harder than I expected. Having grown up in California, I was pretty used to my skin flaring up with small rashes due to the heat, and having grown up with mild bouts of eczema, I knew what helped and didn't help too. Unfortunately the one thing I always relied on was a topical cream that contained steroids, but even that should be used sparingly because of damages it could do if too much is used.

The other thing that I discovered quickly worked though? Dream Cream. It would stop the itching, which helped me sleep, and it doesn't leave a sticky or oily feeling. The downside, in my opinion, is that it's not the most pleasant smell you could get from Lush, but it's not offensive either.

2. Cheer Up Buttercup Bath Bomb by Lush



This was an Oxford Street exclusive, and I can only hope it's released in regular stores sometime soon. I picked up this bath bomb while in London last month, and it was such a lovely find. It has a strong lemon/citrus scent and it turns the bath a gorgeous gold with some bursts of pink from the center. It also left my skin feeling smooth the whole night and next day. If I were just writing a Lush-themed blog, I'd have done a better job photographing this and describing it; instead, I just sunk into the moment and then realized after the fact that unless I planned to head back to London anytime soon (I'm not, unfortunately), I'm at the mercy of whoever decides what Lush products go into stores (rumor for a moment was that it was coming to stores this spring, but then it got put on hold...).

3. NARS Liquid Blush



I was very skeptical of this when I first saw the ad in my inbox because I generally don't do well with liquid/cream blushes, bronzers, or highlighters. I find powder easier to work with, but that's because I've never worked a product like liquid blush with a beauty blender before. But now that I'm armed with a blender, it's made products like the NARS Liquid Blush blend easier into my skin. You only need a small pump of this product to make a difference (I have it in the shade Orgasm), and it's made my skin glow in the process.

4. Reply All



The theme of all my favorites lists should just be "things Traci is very late to finding." Reply All is not a new podcast, but I've finally jumped into listening to it a couple of weeks ago and am now almost all caught up. It's a "podcast about the internet," and dives into some of the most interesting topics you'd never expect: you'll meet the guy who invented pop-up ads, the girl who set up a webcam in her dorm room and broadcasted her life 24/7 before vlogging really existed, the doctors who help people figure out what's wrong with them after their own doctors have given up on helping them, and more. What makes "Reply All" especially great is that it's backed up by real journalism: they go to the sources, they fact check and research, they talk to people. So often, people who want to go on and on about the internet or a topic don't actually do the legwork. They rely on someone else's reporting. "Reply All" does its own reporting – and it shows.

5. Joseph Joseph DOT Water Bottle - UPDATE: I'm taking this off my list

Read my Amazon review on why I'm no longer recommending this bottle.
What's on repeat on my Spotify:

• Melodrama (album) - Lorde
• Dear Evan Hansen OST (I'm seeing the show at the end of the month, and I'm so excited!)