Just 10 Things You'll Want To Try In July

Because we tried them for you in June!

This post features a mix of items that we purchased with our own money and those that were provided to us at no cost for the sake of review. (But! We’re under no obligation to write a review of those things, let alone a positive review.)

1. A plant-based, paraben-free EcoTools makeup brush shampoo so you can feel good about *finally* washing caked-on foundation out of your favorite tools without irritating sensitive skin or leaving behind residue.

BuzzFeed / Heather Braga

"After reading about how necessary it is to actually clean your makeup brushes (I know, I KNOW, I should’ve been doing this for years) I was super grossed out and motivated to order the right supplies to do the job. I’ve heard good things about Ecotools makeup brush cleansing shampoo so I figured I’d start there. The Amazon listing also suggested buying a silicone makeup brush cleaning pad to go with it so I figured... why not? Well, now I’m patting myself on the back because ordering these two items was a GAME CHANGER!

I could not believe how much residue came off my brushes in just one cleaning. You only need to use a little dab of the shampoo, so one bottle will definitely last a long time. The silicone pad made it super easy to thoroughly lather the brushes without leaving my bathroom sink in shambles. I also loved how each section was labeled with which brush should be cleaned in each area. My brushes look brand new! Don’t hesitate like I did — buy both the shampoo and the mat ASAP." —Heather Braga

Get it from Amazon for $5.29. And you can get the same silicone mat Heather used from Amazon for $6.99 (available in three colors).

2. A mini waffle iron, because you shouldn't have to wait until the weekend to live your best Leslie Knope life. A productive day starts with a great breakfast.

BuzzFeed / Alexandra Napoli

"Let me start off by saying that in the past, I wasn't really a breakfast person. It may sound crazy to most, but I would get by with a coffee and a protein bar. It wasn't until the Dash mini waffle maker entered my life that I truly started to love breakfast. I live in a studio apartment, so my kitchen has basically zero space for appliances. Thankfully, this little dude comes packed neatly in a tiny box and is super compact. All you've got to do is plug it into the wall, and voilà!

It only takes a few seconds to heat up, and let me tell you, this thing gets HOT. Once you pour in your batter and close the waffle maker, a blue light will turn on. This blue light indicates how long to cook your waffle for, so when it clicks off, you know your food is ready. The waffles are the perfect size to make for a single serving. With the amount of batter I mix, I can make around five to six waffles for myself, otherwise known as the perfect little stack. The Dash mini waffle maker has seriously upgraded my morning routine. Once I'm done, I just unplug it from the outlet to cool down and wipe the grill clean with a damp cloth. It's so easy to pack back up in the box and store in a cabinet. I didn't think I'd ever love a kitchen appliance so much, but I do. It takes minimal effort and only about fifteen minutes in the morning to make myself a filling (and delicious) breakfast before heading to work." —Alexandra Napoli

Get it from Amazon for $9.89+ (available in eight colors, plus a heart-shaped waffle maker).

3. Glossier's Brow Flick, their newest wow-look-at-my brows product. It's a felt-tip pen that dispenses juuuust the right amount of pigment in fine lines to mimic how your hairs actually look.

BuzzFeed / Maitland Quitmeyer

"I've lived many eyebrow lives until this point: the not-filled in at all, the filled in WAY TOO HARSHLY AND DARK (major regret), and most recently, the "just a few sweeps of brow mascara." But when Glossier launched their newest eyebrow wonder, the Brow Flick, I really wanted to try it and see if it filled in my brows a little more than just gel does, without looking tooooooooo over-the-top. My perfect face of makeup is a heavy-ish brow, mascara, and a red lip, but finding the right balance for your forehead caterpillars can be a major challenge. I have bushy-ish brows, but the front of them (closest to my nose) is a very sparse swirl, making it look like my brows don't even start where they should.

Tl;dr: I LOVE this pen! It's really easy to apply in short, hair-like strokes, and the fluid doesn't come pouring out quickly so you don't make mistakes. I like a dramatic brow look (as you can see lol), but you can defs do a more natural one! Thanks to the really fine tip and not-too-inky formula, it's VERY easy to build up! Just a few quick strokes (easier and more natural looking than a brow pencil, I found), a couple brushes with your favorite brow gel (Boy Brow is great, and Glossier sells Boy Brow and Brow Flick in a set, saving you four bucks!). I also realized I really needed to pluck my brows after taking this photo for you guys, so it's a win-win!" —Maitland Quitmeyer

Get it from Glossier for $18 (available in three shades).

4. A sloth to-do notepad to make everyday tasks a little more cheerful. Is "take a nap" an important thing to get done? Absolutely.

BuzzFeed / Emma McAnaw

"There are two things I love: sloths and not forgetting what I'm supposed to do for work. And while I *am* excellent at watching every sloth video available on the internet, I am *not* great at staying organized. Enter this handy-dandy sloth to-do notepad. It helps me break down my weekly tasks by priority so I never get overwhelmed by a busy week — aka when I get an email about something I need to do, instead of going "oh crap, I need to remember to do that later", I just write it down and finish whatever I'm doing first. I should mention each page is technically for individual days, but luckily for me I don't have an entire agenda per day, so I plan out by week.

And for anyone who's not a natural-born multitasker, this is great for you! I, for one, like to do one thing at a time so it's great to be able to list everything by time frame (like to do soon or to do after a nap) so I can think out the order of importance. I don't have to say how SATISFYING it is to check things off when I complete them — do I sometimes write things down just to give it a check? Maybe. It also has cute ways to motivate me, like a mood- and productivity-rating method in the form of sloths. Dare I say, I owe these little sloth heads full credit for keeping me out of stress mode every week — they just a have a way with...planning? Who knew! I guess it turns out that the only way to make me act like an adult is to have me use a sloth-themed planner — but I'll take it." —Emma McAnaw

Get it from Amazon for $5.95.

5. A waterproof phone pouch so you can take underwater photos, boat selfies, and beach sunset pics with confidence. NO. RUINED. SMARTPHONES!

BuzzFeed / Elizabeth Lilly

"This phone pouch is one of those products I've admired from afar awhile as a person writes about products for a job. So when I booked a Greek isle–hopping vacation that involved boating, I knew I needed it. Early on in my trip we spend a full eight-hour day sailing around the island of Milos on a catamaran (highly recommend!) and I became the designated dad for photography purposes thanks to this simple-but-airtight pouch! So what can it do? As long as you keep it clean of sunscreen (which was honestly an ongoing battle with my pale-ass skin and deathly fear of sunburn), it'll deliver pretty decent pics. I captured a video of dolphins swimming under our boat, took tons of group pics, jumped off the boat and into the water while wearing the lanyard (and holding onto it tightly!), floated in the Aegean Sea as I captured swimming pics of friends, and handed it off to our tour guide Manolis to capture a video of an octopus changing colors underneath the water as he snorkeled.

If you're going to be using this thing while swimming, I only recommend doing so if you're a *strong* swimmer. It took me a bit of work to get the hang of treading water and taking pics with this at the same time, but I was able to do it! I also figured out while snorkeling that if you're going to be taking a video of it, it's best to tap your phone to start while out of the water and then submerge the pouch because I found it was a bit harder for my phone to pick up the sensor of my finger on the screen while underwater. This pack comes with two and after that day of boating (and tons and tons of sweat and sunscreen) it was a bit hard to get the pouch as clean as it was before use, but these come two to a pack so I think it's a solid under $10 investment for any seaside or water-based shenanigans!" —Elizabeth Lilly

Get a two-pack from Amazon for $8.99 (available in three color combos).

6. LaVanilla's The Healthy Deodorant, a natural deo that (*gasp*) actually WORKS!

BuzzFeed / Lara Parker

"Hi there, my name is Lara and over a year ago I made the switch from regular deodorant to a more natural option. This was for a lot of reasons, but mostly because I got too high one night and spent like three hours reading about the dangers of some of the ingredients included in non-natural deodorants. After that, I immediately went to Target the next day to purchase a more natural alternative. I went through several options from Target at first like Toms (I could *not* stop profusely sweating for months, the pit stains were real), and Schmidt's (I fucking smelled and no matter what I did, it did not stop) before finding one that I swear by now — LaVanila's The Healthy Deodorant.

I love that it comes in stick form because it feels much easier to use than some of the powdered options available. It also smells great, doesn't leave residue on my skin or on my clothing, and it...works. I don't smell bad and I don't profusely sweat when I use it. It took some time for my body to adjust, about 2-3 weeks, but once it did, I never looked back." —Lara Parker

Get it from Ulta for $14.

For more options, check out our picks for best natural deodorants at three price points on BuzzFeed Reviews!

7. A tube of Burt's Bees toothpaste, because you don't have to feel "meh" about the goo you use to brush your chompers.

BuzzFeed / Sarah Aspler

"I’ve never been committed to a certain brand of toothpaste and to be honest, I would usually buy whatever was on sale at my local drug store. This ended with me owning a bunch of half-used toothpaste tubes because, for some reason or another, I wasn’t thrilled with any of them. Some of them were too gritty, overwhelmingly minty, or wouldn’t provide me with that clean feeling after brushing. I had no idea that Burt’s Bees even made toothpaste, but decided to give it a shot when I found out about it. I've been a life-long user of their lip products and lotions (I even use their hypoallergenic shampoo for my dog!), so I figured why not? And that’s how Burt’s Bees Mint Medley toothpaste quickly became my favorite.

The toothpaste is super smooth, has a mild mint flavor, and is gentle on gums. It’s free of preservatives, sulfates, dyes, artificial flavors, parabens, plastic microbeads, and even the tube is biodegradable. The toothpaste that I ordered did contain fluoride (which helps prevent tooth decay and cavities), but they also have another one that is totally fluoride-free. The last thing I love about this toothpaste is that a little goes a long way. It really doesn’t take much to make my teeth and breath feel fresh. It’s safe to say that I’m finally settling down and committing to this toothpaste, (I ordered the 3-pack!) and may we live happily ever after. The end!" —Sarah Aspler

Get a pack of three from Amazon for $13.50.

8. A pair of SoundPEATS Bluetooth earbuds with great sound quality, ergonomic ear hooks (so they don't fall out of your ears), and useful cord so you can wear 'em around your neck when not listening.

BuzzFeed / Sarah Han

"Since I'm pretty much never without my earbuds, I've thought about splurging on top-tier earbuds a lot, but it feels like a lot of pressure and I have a history of losing them. I spent ~$40 on my previous pair but I was getting sick of its long, cumbersome wire. And at the opposite end of the spectrum, I refuse to get completely-wireless earbuds (Airpods, looking at you). So what I needed was a mid-priced pair — just the right price where I'd look after them ~carefully~, but also delivered great sound quality and ease of use — and had a much shorter wire!!!

My boyfriend introduced me to Soundpeats, since he had a pair veeeery similar to mine, and they're so freakin' great. I'm not a super tech-y person, so my review won't be very professional. BUT here's the deal: they come in cute colors, like pale pink! The sound quality is fab! I don't have to turn up the volume even nearly as much as I used to while I'm on the subway, and I love that they hang around my neck when in use or not — making them easily accessible, but not super noticeable or troublesome. And a really short cord and magnetic ends = serious manageability and less detangling required every time I haphazardly toss them into a bag.

Aside from a few small changes that I've since gotten used to — actually charging the buds (takes an hour or so for every eight hours of playing time), manually disconnecting and reconnecting between my work laptop and phone — I have really fallen in love and I don't think I'll ever go back to traditional wired earbuds. Plus! When I eventually upgrade to a headphone-jack-less iPhone, I still won't have to get Airpods! *triumph*" —Sarah Han

Get them from Amazon for $27.99+ (available in five colors).

9. Winky Lux Matte Lip Velour in Royal, a cruelty-free purple matte lippie that must have confidence as a secret ingredient.

BuzzFeed / Katy Herman

"I barely wear makeup — the one exception is a statement lip, which I love to rock almost like an accessory when an outfit really calls for it. I love red, pink, and yes, PURPLE. I have several purple lippies that I love, from Fenty Beauty to Smashbox, but Winky Lux's formula takes the cake for many reasons. First of all, you will love this matte formula in other shades even if purple isn't your color (my mom loves some of their more neutral pinks). It's soft, smooth, and not very drying, and it's cruelty-, paraben-, and sulfate-free! The rounded shape of the bullet is MIRACULOUS. I'm talking the kind of lipstick that even clumsy old me can put on perfectly without looking in the mirror. It's the perfect size bullet for my lips, too, and it wears down to form to the curve of your lips, whereas smaller bullets just stay kinda flat. And people, it stays the heck on. I'm not saying it can survive multiple meals, but it never claims to. But for a regular lipstick to still look fab after I have a snack and drink out of my water bottle a ton? That's a big win for me. The metallic pill-shaped packaging is super secure, cute, and easy to find in my bag, too! If you want to try out the formula/different shades, I definitely recommend the brand's teeny-tiny lipstick 'pill' assortment, which is where I first fell in love with this stuff (and one of the mini lipsticks can last a while!).

Okay, now let's talk about this particular color. Maybe it's the way the magenta-ish purple makes my blue eyes pop. Maybe it's the rich pigment. Maybe it's that purple is my favorite color in the whole dang world. But something about this shade makes me feel like an absolute queen when I rock it. Like, I use those selfies on dating apps. It's also way more versatile than I initially thought — there doesn't have to be purple in what I'm wearing for it to work. Maybe that's because confidence goes with everything." —Katy Herman

Get it from Winky Lux for $15 (see all the available colors here).

10. The Sleep Pod, an adult swaddle for anyone who loves the idea of a weighted blanket, but wants to go a step further (or doesn't want to feel overheated!).

BuzzFeed / Mal Mower

"I recently replaced my weighted blanket with a Sleep Pod and I am never going back. I appreciated the comfort that I got from a weighted blanket, but it was so hot I wasn't able to last under it for long. It was also so heavy I couldn't take it with me anywhere. This design solves those problems. The fabric is breathable and so lightweight I can comfortably use it in the summer and I can throw it in my tote bag on vacations. I feel calm and comforted every time I get in. I've used it while napping, while trying to calm down before going to bed at night, and while sitting on the sofa/needing some extra stress relief when binge-watching Chernobyl got too stressful. I can't rave enough about this thing, but I'll certainly keep trying!" —Mal Mower

Get it from Hatch Sleep for $99.99 (available in medium and large).

All of us right now, tbh:

TBS

Looking for more reviews? Check out June's edition!

Check out some of our favorite cheap things to buy on Amazon, some of the weirdest things on Amazon you might actually want, or read through all the rest of our incredible Amazon product recommendations.

Shopping for something specific? Check out BuzzFeed Reviews to find the best things for every budget!

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