How is it June has come and gone? This entire year is whizzing by. But summer has officially started, the weather is warm here in New England, and I'm wearing even less makeup. It was also my birthday month—so suffice it to say, it's my favorite month.

So, here are some of my favorites.

SKIN CARE

For mornings and after workouts, I washed with my favorite, Cetaphil gentle cleanser. What's funny about this cleanser is that when everyone was using it years ago, I thought it didn't work for me. But, now, I love it. I even use it at night when I exfoliate (one from Trader Joe's).

Because New England gets pretty hot and sticky, I've revisited philosophy's Purity Made Simple. Yes, it can be a bit harsh (don't get any in your mouth!), but it really removes everything, including makeup. I bought it when I replenished a body spray I love of theirs.

CBE Tip: Use Purity to clean your makeup brushes, especially concealer brushes. I turned many makeup artists at Sephora on to this sorcery.

I use some type of toner every time I wash my face. After learning REN was shuttering, I bought a few of their Vitamin C toners at Marshall’s, which is really fantastic. I've used their products here and there, and it's sad to see a great company close. I rotate with my favorite First Aid Beauty Facial Radiance pads and some kind of gentle witch hazel.

For moisturizing, I started with a Vitamin C serum (Vibriance, Kiehl's, or Murad) and then an Ole Henriksen moisturizer that's been discontinued and that I'm hoarding. I used Sheer Transformation for ages and ages, even mixing it with a facial oil in the colder weather. Then, it was discontinued.

I must have at least eight jars of it, collected from my various trips to TJ Maxx and Marshall's. What can I say, I'm loyal.

No facial oils or balms until the first crack of autumn air.

For sunscreen, I mostly applied Summer Friday's Shade Drops. It's nice and light and I can't feel it on my skin. Then I rotated with my favorites from Sephora Collection and Trader Joe's, depending on my mood, time of day, and length of time in the sun.

MAKEUP

I think using very few products on my skin is officially my routine, not just makeup for warm, summer days. If I had to use only 2-3 products on my face before leaving the house, it'd be: brow fixative, concealer, and double-duty lip-cheek product.

For brows, I rotated between e.l.f. Beauty's Wow Brow gel in taupe, Benefit's Precisely, My Brow in 2.5, and NYX's Brow Blade & Shade Nano Mechanical Pencil in Cool Ash Brown. I don't talk much about my brows but, no matter what, I never go out without tending to my brows. Once shaded in, I fix with L'Oreal's 24H Lamination, and they do not move.

For mascara, my favorite Maybelline's Lash Sensational mascara (I just love it) and Tarte's tubing mascara. That's all.

The Laura Mercier and L'Oreal concealers work best for me. Yeah, I might rotate in the Natasha Denona, but when it's humid, a lighter concealer works best.

And no "glazed donut" steps in the summer. For summer, I go for the plain, dry donut look.

For cheeks, I finally found the Essence What a Tint! lip and cheek stain. Not easy; it was sold out everywhere. It's just as good at BeneTint but at a much better price. I love BeneTint but I've been using it since I first discovered BeneFit back in the early '90s at a store called The Face Place. I think they were the first of the "clever" brands. Great tag lines and product names, way before they went viral.

I've stopped using self-tanner on my face because it just clogs after a while. So, I lightly add either Ilia's Sunshift cream bronzer in Ray or Charlotte Tilbury's Sun-Kiss Glow bronzer in Fair. Both are really natural and they last most of the day, at least on me.

Other than the cheek stain, I grabbed a Rhode Pocket Blush in either Freckle or Sleepy Girl or Westman Atelier in Coquette (absolutely love; perfect summery pale peachy pink).

One new cheek discovery: Moira Cosmetics creamy blush. They look exactly like Merit's but they last much longer than Merit (sorry, Merit!). It's a K-Beauty line I discovered recently. The shade I've been wearing is 006 Lucky Me. No one really talks much about this line. If this blush is any indication, the line is pretty dang good.

For lips, I was all over the place. I started making my own lip balms again. I find that mine is much more emollient and feels much better than any lip products I own. Most are drying out my lips to the point of being chapped. More to come on the balm front.

Other than my love for my own product, I stuck to a natural, glossy-balmy lip, like City Lips Beauty in South Peach, Palladio butter balm in Caramel (is anyone aware of their great lip balms and liner markers??), Lawless Beauty in Velvet Daisy, and Clarins' Lip Perfector in 01 Rose Shimmer. And that Kiko Milano Lip Volume in Tutu Rose is just delicious.

And, then, there are the lip pencils. I'm starting to think the problem is me. I can look at a lip pencil and see that it leans cool but when I apply it, I see mustard. The lip pencils I prefer are MOB Beauty's M1990 pencil, MAC's Stone, and Charlotte Tilbury's Iconic Nude.

FRAGRANCE

This past June, I added a new scent to my artillery: Elizabeth Arden's Green Tea. Mostly because I realized Francis Kurkdjian was the "nose" behind the fragrance (1999).

I've heard about the scent for ages; about how light and clean it is. I've not used many Arden products, but I have worn their Sunflowers fragrance (which I used to love; a bit of a dated scent, but I still love it).

Green Tea is so light and airy, perfect for hot, summer days. It's citrusy and green and lemony. You have to be stealth about where you place the fragrance so that it lingers. It's light as a feather.

NAILS

Since I'm still looking for a new job, I need the occasional perk. So, bright it is. I feel more plugged into fashion or being more aware of what I wear and how I present myself. For polish, I rotated between OPI Big Apple Red and Olive & June's CV.

For toes, I just discovered Londontown's Pearl shimmering polish. So pretty. Barely there and perfect for tanned toes. This is the summer of shimmery shades on my toes.

July is coming in. I'm ready!