It’s June! That means Pride month and rainbows for everyone! But really it’s a lot more than that, like the recognition of those who’ve fought and literally died for the right to live authentically and love openly. Stonewall was 50 years ago, and sometimes that’s forgotten in the haze of glitter and balloons and drag that is Pride.

For some reason, my hometown celebrates Pride in July, so I kind of forgot it was official Pride this month and completely missed the celebration in my new city. I was drunk in the Adirondacks instead. It was gorgeous and peaceful and I already miss it.

While I was gone, I tried some new stuff!

Gemz Haircare

Occasionally I see an ad on Instagram and lose my mind and buy the thing in the ad. That’s how I got my hands on these weird little things.

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Your Royal Highnesses, we're excited to invite you to our newly launched GEMZ home: shopgemz.com 💎🍾🎉🎊 YOUR HAIR WISHES – OUR COMMAND. We understand that Your hair craves different things on different days. We are here to serve you with 12 single-dose collections expertly formulated to serve your wildest hair freams. You are kindly welcome. 💎. #gemz #newkidontheblock #hello #gemzbeauty

A post shared by Gemz (@gemzbeauty) on Oct 4, 2018 at 9:22am PDT

Um. I love them.

So the most important thing, obviously, is how the products perform. I’ve tried the Cleansing Creme and Perfect Air Dry shampoos and Rainy Day Anti-Frizz and Light as Heir conditioners and they’re lovely. They smell really good but the scent isn’t overpowering. The shampoos hydrate really quickly in the shower and lather nicely. The conditioners took a little longer to soften and stayed a little chunky, but they still worked really well. My hair felt soft and not weighed down, which is really all I can ask for.

Some other cool things: when you’re placing your order, the site allows you to choose your hair length and they adjust the amount of product slightly to minimize waste. Awesome. They also give you the option of having a prepaid bag included with your order. I was confused about this the first time, but each shampoo and conditioner comes in its own plastic case. The company allows you to send those cases back to them to be reused, minimizing packaging waste. How cool is that?

So while these aren’t exactly practical for every day, I’m into them for traveling. Even just going away for the weekend they were nice. They took up less space in our suitcase and weigh almost nothing. I can’t wait to take a bunch through security the next time I have to fly.

Wet ‘n Wild Rebel Rose Photo Focus Rose Toner

Comes in a glass bottle which I don’t love, especially for traveling. Smells good. Doesn’t seem to do much for my skin. I’ll likely keep using it when I remember I have it, but it’s sort of a meh product.

Avon Anew Vitale Day and Night Creams

Y’all. Avon isn’t just for grandmas.

Remember my friend Heather? Well, she sells Avon, and it’s actually the reason we started talking. I’m not into predatory MLMs, and she was kind enough to educate me on the fact that Avon doesn’t expect a massive initial investment or continue to bilk their reps like some other companies.

Over the last few months, I’ve tried some stuff and found things I really enjoy, including these moisturizers. They’re kind of heavily scented which I don’t love, and the day cream is a little heavy for me in the summer, but it was lovely during the winter when my skin was thirsty. I like having SPF in my day creams because frankly, I suck at remembering to put on sunscreen. The night cream is thick but doesn’t feel super heavy. It’s more like some of the sleeping masks I’ve paid significantly more money for, which means I’ll be buying it instead.

I’m working on a post dedicated to Avon, using some of Heather’s recommendations combined with my own. It’ll be good. You’ll like it.

I’ve been working on a lot of projects lately but my time management skills are improving, which means I’m finding more time to actually try things and put thought into reviews. Yay! I put up mini-reviews on my Instagram occasionally, so if you’re not already following me, do it. Now. Also go listen to my podcast on Anchor, iTunes, Spotify, and basically anywhere else you listen to podcasts.