Friday, August 2, 2013

Back To School! Locker & Backpack Essentials.

I know for some, back to school is dreadful. But for me, I always loved coming back and seeing all my friends and meeting my teachers, mock me I know :)

But I thought it would be fun to do a back to school series, and this is my "Locker Essentials." 

For beauty first, I never was and will not ever be someone who will say "bring all your makeup to school." Nah. Nope. It shouldn't be done. Honestly no one has time to reapply their makeup during the day, and if ya put it on in the morning you shouldn't need to lug your foundation, brow products, mascara, and blush to school. And even if you do have time, don't be that girl doing her makeup in the girls bathroom. 

That being said, I do think there are a couple products worth having on hand just in case.

1) Powder. If you get shiny through out the day powder can wear off. I always find myself reapplying powder so I always keep it with me. 

2) A concealer. Concealer can wear off during the day (especially if it's applied over a blemish) and it's good to have one for when you need touching up. 

3) Hand sanitizer. This is absolutely necessary for me. I love the Bath and Body Works Pocket Back hand sanitizers. They are great and they smell super awesome. 

4) Tweezers. I just find these handy to have when needed. They serve a variety of functions and you never know when you might need them!

5) Lotion. My hands always get dry. I keep lotion with me so I don't have that tight feeling all day long. 

6) Mini Deodorant. This is a life saver. Always want one of these close by! 

For the more academic related tips:

1) Have a planner/agenda. I have one of these and I would die without it. I'm a very organized person and I adore having all my lists, tasks, assignments, and reminders all in one place.

2) Stock up on led. (if you use mechanical pencils) No one wants to give away their led, so make sure you have enough that you won't run out

3) Keep a hand held pencil sharpener with you. 

4)Phone charger. My phone always dies when I need it, so having a charger is helpful.

Have a great first day of school and keep and eye out for more back to school posts!

xoxo,
Glimmer

Thursday, August 1, 2013

July Loves and Let Downs!

I'm gonna start with the trash... because who likes to end things on a negative note!?

But first I have to say this, just putting it out there (annoying I know). But just because these products didn't work out for me, doesn't mean they won't/don't for you! Everyone has different tastes, preferences, sensitivity, skin type, hair type, lash type, likes, dislikes... I could go on for ages. So please know these are MY personal opinions and I just want to share them with you so if we have any of the above personality traits in common, you know what products to stay clear of! Not trying to offend anyone. 

Whhheew! Glad to get that out of the way! Moving right along...

Let Downs:

It's so frustrating when you try a product that you really hope to love and you just don't! That's why I'm so upset to say I simply hate the NYX Cream Eyeshadows. The ease of this product drew me in and I thought to myself... "How cool would it be to have an eyeshadow like this, that u swipe on, then smooth in, then be done!?" So cool would it have been! But this just didn't work for me. The product separates and clumps up when you blend it. And you have very little time to play with it because it dries quickly. I just don't love this. *Sigh* 
Loves:

Ioni 8hour Wear Eyeshadow Primer:
Okay, can I just say how excited I am about this! I'm tingling inside. Whilst I was on my mini vacation last month I discovered a new love. I have an entire post on the brand and such here. But the product I speak of is the BEST eye primer I have EVER tried. Ioni's 8hour Wear Eye Primer is magnificent. I have an entire review of me doing nothing but raving about it. If you can't find this product near you, I urge you to place an order over the phone. Did I mention it's $2! TWO. It will be the best $2 you ever spend. 




Bare Minerals Pure Radiance:
I actually got this product as a sample size, but I have a feeling it will last me a while.
Bare Minerals describes this as an all over face product that provides skin with a "golden peach sheen." They say you can use it to "illuminate you cheeks, forehead, and chin for an instant goddess glow." I personally don't use it on my forehead or chin, but it's a beautiful summery highlight on the cheeks, and I also like dusting it on my eye lids when I don't wear shadow. It looks beautiful when it catches the light and it's the perfect golden shade for summer! I shot the pics in 2 different lightnings so you could see the different effects. 

                                 



I have been loving the very new PONDS BB Cream. I would have to say this is one of my favorite BB Creams thus far. It offers coverage, but it's still light and the finish is gorgeous  It blends like a dream and last on my skin all day. As always I have to set my makeup with a power to keep shine free, but I also feel like this hydrates my skin without a dewy finish. It's not shiny or greasy and I can't say enough good things about it!


Lastly is a non-makeup but still totally worth mentioning favorite. Bath and Body Works fall candles are now out and about! Although summer is not over I'm so excited for fall! (as I have mentioned more than once!) And my all time favorite fall candle is Bath and Body Works Pumpkin Cupcake. I can't even describe how delicious this smells. I swear I burn this from August to January. It's sweet but not too overpowering, it has those notes of spices fall is all about, of course a pumpkin like essence, and I swear if i was eating a home-made pumpkin cupcake it would smell just like this! 



Do Recommend!!

Talk to you soon, 

xoxo,
Glimmer 



Review: The BEST Eye Primer EVER (IONI 8hour Wear Eye Primer)

Long time no talk! I missed writing and I'm glad to be be back! I have a few very fun posts coming up for you guys, and I apologize for my absence. I guess life just caught up! 

But while I was overwhelmed with less Glimmer related subjects, I discovered a new love! I did a haul and an explanation post on the IONI makeup line. This was one of the items I hauled and I'm so excited to finally get to sit down for this review! 

I love this eyeshadow primer. Dare I use the words... Holy Grail!? 

I think I do.

                           

I am so in love with the performance of this primer. But I want to start off by saying I use this for POWDER PRODUCTS ONLY! 

This product has a white doe foot applicator, which is nice for easy application. I know some people prefer squeeze tube type products but I myself am fine with either.

                                

The product inside is a smooth clear formula that leaves no color behind what so ever! 

This claims to be an 8hour wear product but I've worn it for 10 and it still looks as amazing as it was when I first applied my eye makeup. And even then I'm sure I could have worn it on for longer.

The consistency of this product is really smooth. Once it sets on your eye for a few seconds it develops a tacky feeling. At first I thought this might be an issue, but that's what makes this so amazing! The shadow instantly clings to the primer and it stays ALL DAY. It also doesn't crease or fade and even though the primer is clear, it still intensifies the shadow! 

I think this is also one of the best primers for loose pigments. Nothing can make applying a pigment product to your eye than this.

Now the only con to this product, as I mentioned before, is I can only use it with powder products. It's very hard to blend a cream shadow over your lid, because of that tack it has. The primer will move with the cream product and then it looks cakey. Although this is an amazing powder shadow primer, I skip it when I want to use creams.

Top: Shadow with Primer
Bottom: Shadow NO Primer
As you can see below, this primer doesn't let the shadow budge. In the smudge test below, I rubbed on my hand pretty forcefully and the swatch with primer barely moved.

(I used the shade Serious from The Balm's Nude 'Tude Palette.)


Top: Shadow with Primer
Bottom: Shadow NO Primer

I loved this product so much I purchased a back up before I left Texas!

Definitely Holy Grail! Do Recommend!

xoxo,
Glimmer