My May Favourites

As you might remember, I’ve been trying very hard not to spend money this past month, so because of this, I don’t really have anything new to show you, but since I have been forced to use products I already owned, I do have a couple that I sort of re-discovered.
Also, if by any chance you were wondering why I am not allowing myself to buy makeup, there are two main reasons. First is that I took only one class this semester, so I had to pay for it myself, without getting a student loan, which put me out almost a thousand bucks. Secondly, I am trying to save up money for PAX Prime, which is a gaming convention held in Seattle at the end of August. I went for the first time last year with my friends and I’m super excited to go again! I also really want to have a fair bit of spending money to stock up on Cherry Coke, chocolate chip cookie dough Poptarts, and makeup.
So, for this month’s favourites, I present to you:

1. Sephora Instant Moisturizer:
   
   
   I’m sure I posted this in my first ever favourites post, but this past month I made a point of trying out the various moisturizers and face serums that I’ve received samples of from Glymm or Sephora, and yet I keep coming back to this particular product as a favourite. The scent is very soft and clean, and the texture is light and non-oily, instead of feeling heavy on my skin, like so many others. I feel like this product is refreshing and perfect for my combination skin.
   
   
2. Maybelline Turbo Volume Express Mascara:
   
   
   
   I bought this mid-April and I have been loving it ever since. I love that it has a nice dense, bristle brush, and looks great on my lashes. I’m also pretty sure that it has better staying power than my L’Oreal Voluminous Million Lashes did. Overall, I definitely prefer this one.

Non-cosmetic favourites:

1. The Tudors
   
   
   I’m currently just starting to watch Season 3, but I’m absolutely in love with this show! I’ve had it sitting here for me to watch it for ages, but I never seemed to get around to it, though I had started watching it when it first came out, which was in 2007. Turns out I didn’t have to rewatch the entire first season, since I had already finished it, but I guess it’s good to refresh my memory, and probably watch it with a little bit more understanding, since I am no longer 17 (not that this show is hard to understand, but if you’ve ever seen it, you’ll know its very… let’s say adult).
   
   Anyways, I would definitely recommend this series to anyone who enjoys history, particularly that of Henry VIII and England, as long as you don’t mind a bit of swearing and a fair bit of sexuality in your TV shows.
   
2. John Green videos (as well as CrashCourse)
   
   
   
   John Green is probably my favourite YouTuber—definitely is, if you exclude all the beauty vloggers. He does weekly videos with his brother Hank on the channel VlogBrothers. These two are great, though I prefer John to Hank, because John is more of an English and History guy, whereas Hank is the science geek. However, they are both hilariously, and sometimes adorably, nerdy, and you should definitely check them out if you have never seen any of their videos. You should also check out John’s books, as he is a fiction author. I started with “The Fault in Our Stars,” which is technically young adult fiction, but it is amazing!
   
   
   
   
   
   Also, Hank and John have another channel, called CrashCourse, on which they give weekly 10 minute videos giving short—and in John’s case, very amusing—lessons about History (as taught by John) and Biology (as taught by Hank). I have a hard time watching Hank’s crashcourse videos, though, and prefer his SciShow videos, which are much more interesting and informative, in my opinion!
   
3. Cold Brewed Tea
   
   
   
   And finally, although I am sure I have mentioned it before, I love tea. Like, I own about a billion different kinds and I drink it every day. However, lately I have had a thing for making cold brewed iced tea. I have always liked iced tea, and thought the idea of making my own was a good one, but I never really knew how to do it well. For example, if you want to make iced tea from hot tea, you have to make it very strong in order for it not to go all watery when you pour it over ice, and using two tea bags to make one cup of iced tea seems like such a waste. This is where cold brewed iced tea comes in! I use a big juice pitcher, put in 1 teaspoon of tea leaves for every cup or so of water (so about 6 to 8 for a 1.75L pitcher), pour the water over top, put on the lid, and leave the tea to sit in the fridge overnight, or at least 6 hours. If you want your tea sweetened, I suggest you measure out the sugar you want, and pour in just enough hot water to melt the crystals, and add that to the tea leaves and cold water before you toss it in the fridge.
   
   This is so much better for you than pop or, in any cases, juice, since tea has lots of health benefits, and, as long as you don’t load it with sugar, it has far less calories!

Although it’s nice to re-discover some of the products I already have, not being able to purchase anything new has meant that my list of wanted products (which you can find linked in the top bar) has grown very quickly. Oh well, I’ll just appreciate buying stuff more when I can again!
What were your favourite products last month? Let me know in the comments!