As July is coming to a close (where has the year gone?!) I thought I'd do a July favourites because I've never done one of these posts before.

Nothing beats classic SNL to adequately describe your

feelings. 

Below is a collection of everything I have loved this month and have been reaching for more frequently.

1. Benefit 'They're Real' Mascara: I can't get enough of this product. If you're looking for a mascara that gives you length and volume then you've come to the right place. This is more of a ~high end~ product so it will make a hole in your wallet, but if you want to spoil yourself on a mascara that could replace all of the other 123249822 mascaras in your collection, then give it a go.

Price: Retails at $38 on the Myer website.

2. Maybelline Dream Fresh BB Cream: This has replaced my foundations this month. I bought both the medium shade to contour and the fair shade to highlight and I haven't looked back. This lightweight product stays true to its word by leaving your skin feeling lightweight and flawless with its oil-free formula. It's also available for those who battle with a more oily complexion.

Price: Retails at $15.95 on the Priceline website.

3. Real Techniques by Samantha Chapman Base/Flawless, Core Collection Brushes: I believe in having quality make-up brushes above all else in your make-up collection, and this month I've loved using these brushes to apply my make up. They're give you absolute control and they clean easily.

Price: Retails at $17.99 on the iHerb website.

4. Sea Spray by Lush: I'm a pretty low maintenance kind of girl when it comes to my hair. I cut my hair really short once and I vowed never, ever to do it again because of how much maintenance went into keeping it looking cute. For my long hair, I love to just wash it, let it hair dray and spray a couple of pumps of Sea Spray by Lush to make it look like i've put hours of effort into it. It leaves it looking like I have just been to Bondi beach when really I haven't left my room.

Price: Retails at $12.50 on the Lush website.

5. Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette: Ok, you're crazy if you haven't heard of Urban Decay's Naked palettes. They're pretty much the bee's knees. I've been reaching for Naked 2 this month because the colours allow you to create any smokey or neutral eye look with its highly pigmented shades.

Price: Naked (the original palette) Retails at $59.60 on beautybay.com
Note: Naked 2 is currently out of stock.

6. Clinique 3-Step System: I was fortunate enough to score a 10-day trial of the 3-step system from my local Clinique counter and I think I'm going to buy the full sized system once I get some money. My skin feels refreshed and lovely after following the steps. Definitely worth the extra 3 minutes of my skin care routine.

Price: Retails at $29.00 for the introductory kit from the Clinique website.

Let me know what your July favourites are. I want to know!

-C.

A Human-less Portrait. What?!

I was reading one of my favourite photography-based newsletters from Photojojo last week and it gave me some amazing insights into today's project.

First of all, who and what is Photojojo?

Well, Photojojo is an amazing website that embraces the unique side of photography. It gives you inspiration to be super creative with your shots and to embrace your own style of photography using new and experimental methods of creating interesting content.

They even have an awesome online store that sells a whole bunch of awesome and unique camera accessories and even accessories for your iPhone to enhance your iPhone-ography! I've purchased a fair few of their items for my camera bag including: Photorito Lens Wraps, Seat Belt Camera Straps and a Polaroid Z2300 just to name a few :)

So yeah, I really love their website and their bi-weekly photo inspiration newsletters.

Last week the newsletter was all about 'The Most Unconventional Family Portraits' and it made me wonder what that meant. You can't really have a portrait without a human or living being, right? Wrong. Sometimes we are shown in our possessions. You can really find out a lot about a person by their interests. And that's what inspired me today.

Camilla Catrambone prides herself in her unconventional portraits by laying out the person's belongings and photographing them instead of the person. How cool is that? You can see her amazing photographs here where she showcases her family through their possessions and what they surround themselves with, because ultimately that is how we tell the story of ourselves.

Through this series I decided to try it myself, telling my own story. So below you'll see a collection of my own possessions that I think tells the story of me, Clarissa.

Above you'll see some of my cameras that I've collected over the years including my first Nikon which my dad bought me to start off my collection & ignite a passion of photography, my two favorite pairs of shoes (Steel Cap Lita by Jeffrey Campbell and my black leather Doc Martens) , my iPhone which contains photos of the people that I love (my family and friends) and music that fills my ears including Michael Jackson, A Tribe Called Quest, Justin Nozuka and more, my very first Apple product; my blue 1st generation iPod mini, make-up because well... I love make-up, a photograph of my Sugamama aka my best friend, my calculator watch given to me by my brother Spencer as a spontaneous gift, my Coach clutch, my favourite perfumes; Rose by Paul Smith and Miss Dior Chérie by Dior, my Tiffany & Co jewellery including my Engagement and Wedding rings given to me by the love of my life Gideon and my Tiffany Key which Gideon gave me as well, my RayBan Wayfarers that I've owned for about 5 years, my Macbook aka my love, Frankie Magazine which I have been reading since issue 1, a composition book which represents my years in university (my undergraduate in Education & Psychology, and finishing up my Masters this year in Primary School Teaching) and lastly my Ukulele, Jackson, whom I have strummed many chords on for hours and hours, creating music.

Another possession not featured was what I used to capture the photos for today's post, my Nikon

D7000. I take this camera everywhere and I love it!

I believe these possessions of mine really show who I am, and ultimately tell a story of myself.

What would you think, from your possessions, would tell your story?

Stay classy

-C.