My Hot Girl Summer Got a Little TOO Hot…

This post is in collaboration with Aveeno. As always, all opinions are 100% my own.

Y’all, I think my hot girl summer got a little too hot…lol. I mean, I’m not one to complain (but here I am complaining…lol) but I have been having an amazing whirlwind of a summer with travel, really amazing career opportunities, dating (well, I would say the dating was more lukewarm than hot), and my birthday just passed (8/26 ayeeee VIRGOS STAND UP!) but really and truly I need to go sit down somewhere and relax.

RNG helping me setup for my Dinner en Blanc in June

Summer started off with me dating a really nice guy (RNG). I had dating on hold because well, I’m sure y’all see the same guys out there that I see so you get it…lol. And by virtue of what I do for a living working in fashion and beauty, I don’t always come across eligible men, except I actually did (although not directly) at a beauty event in May. We had a lot of fun–we both have a similar sense of humor, he was very gentleman-ly and thoughtful, but ultimately I think I got hyped about him too soon :/

Womp womp.

This was also the summer for a ton of travel: I hit Essence Fest in early July. Essence Fest is always a great MOOD. I got to run into so many of my blogger boos, met some new people, and took in some amazing concerts (hellooooo Machel Montano, RBRM, Mary J. Blige, and MISSYYYYYYY). One of my favorite stops during Essence Fest was at an Aveeno brunch—it was at the super quaint Mosquito Supper Club, which looked as if it was a private home converted into a restaurant. It’s so cute inside (so cute in fact, that I neglected to take pictures because I was so busy taking it all in…lol) and I love how it’s family style so I got to sit among some familiar faces with the brand and got to meet some cool influencers who I now stalk on IG.

Evidenced below in this short video: {there is sound on this one}

Aveeno Brunch NOLA from Danielle Gray on Vimeo.

THE FOOD WAS SO GOOD and so was the company—I had an amazing time. I left the brunch with two bomb products from Aveeno: Skin Relief Gentle Scent Body Wash Nourishing Coconut and Skin Relief 24HR Moisturizing Lotion. While traipsing around all day, it’s important to make sure you’re properly protected with SPF and that you reapply it every two hours when you’re out for extended periods of time. But it’s also important to make sure your skin is pampered as well (our skin IS our largest organ, hellooooo), which is why I’m excited about these two Aveeno products.

Clearly I’m in love…lol

The Aveeno Skin Relief Body Wash is made with oat and rich emollients—it gently cleanses and leaves skin feeling soothed and moisturized. It has a gentle coconut scent that thankfully isn’t overpowering but there’s also a fragrance-free option. The Aveeno Skin Relief 24HR Moisturizing Lotion is made with soothing oat, natural shea butter, and emollients—it helps to restore hydration and helps keep skin moisturized for 24 hours. During Essence Fest, Aveeno also treated us to massages in our hotel rooms. My massage therapist used the Skin Relief lotion during my appointment and when I tell you, between her healing hands and that bomb lotion, I immediately went down for what was supposed to be a 30 min nap and woke up like four hours later…lol. I was refreshed, feeling good, and most importantly, a girl’s skin was on a thousand trillion.

The rest of July was amazing, too: Nashville, Tennessee for a fashion conference where my part in their fall 2019 campaign was blown up on a HUGE billboard. I didn’t have a ton of time, but got to see some Nashville highlights thanks to my boo Kenya aka Halfie Truths and got to meet India Marie. Listen, I need some more Biscuit Love and Cupcake Collection in my life ASAP.

Hanging with my boo celebrity makeup artist Tia Dantzler

Later in July I was off to another press trip, this time to Chicago. It wasn’t planned, but I wound up front row at a special Chance the Rapper concert (and was so close I got to shake his hand) thanks to my boo and his MUA Tia Dantzler. Chicago is always a MOOD especially in the summertime.

I spoke on a panel at CurlFest and got to catch up with Jacque Reid and meet Joy Ann Reid.

And in the midst of all of this, I had TWO TV beauty segments.

July and August were amazing! I just came back from The Bawse Conference in Miami—a weekend filled with networking and female entrepreneur empowerment AND a yacht was involved with one of the activities. And I might as well continue this hot girl summer into the fall: I’ll be at Paris Fashion Week with a group of my blogger homies. I CANNOT WAIT. I already started planning outfits a few weeks ago.

All of this is amazing and fun, but being out and about can take its toll on the skin. It was really nice to come home to a nice shower with the Aveeno Skin Relief Body Wash and then treat my skin to the lotion. A GIRL IS TIRED and all I want to do is lay around well lotioned up with my Aveeno 24HR. It’s a whole vibe sitting in your living room doing absolutely nothing with your skin cloaked in the finest of Aveeno soothing oats and shea butter ;)

You can grab these two Aveeno products at Walmart. Let me know if you plan on picking this up!

How has your summer been? Tell me in the comments!