primer

It has occurred to me in all this time that I’ve been writing “Glam Bag” as “GlamBag” and I am embarrassed… onto the products! (I don’t have a ton of photos of every product this month because I’ve been busy (read: lazy) and opened it all and got too excited to take photos before using everything. So you get the photos from the ipsy website. Some of them have my photos though!) Also, I’m trying out a slightly different format for these that make it a little longer but you get to see everything individually and separated, so let me know if this is better or worse and we’ll go from there!

 

The September Glam Bag

Hello September Glam Bag. It’s pretty. It is black and studded witha  gold zipper and is right up my alley. The theme they were pushing with it is professional. I know black and professional are synonymous for some reason, but the studs give it the extra edge that I need for it to be something I would use as a young “professional” out in today’s world. That said, I don’t use a lot of the Glam Bags I get for anything other than make-up and most of them don’t leave my house. I have two in my purse right now- the Gudetama bag and the clear one with ice cream cones on it, because I can bring that one to Ulta. I have a number set aside to use as clutches should I find myself going out on the town and in need of a small bag for my phone and ID, but we all know I stay in most nights. Still, this one will be added to the pile of “usable” Glam Bags.

 

SKINFOOD Black Sugar Mask Wash Off

I love exfoliants! Exfoliants are 100% my favorite product to receive from ipsy because I love trying new ones and learning about what works with my skin, especially when it is one like this one that I have seen before but never tried because I’m cheap. This stuff is great. To start, it smells like a can of Coke with a lemon wedge in it- my favorite way to drink Coke. The downside to this is that it makes me want one, but as I’m usually using it at night and we don’t have Coke in the apartment anyways, that’s pretty irrelevant. It is also suuuper thick. This is a good thing though, because it’s thick because it’s just full of stuff that is going to clean your face. As you could guess from the title, the exfoliating particles are sugar, something that I love because they dissolve as you scrub and won’t be washed down the drain to be consumed by marine life. It also uses shea butter and macadamia oil so after scrubbing all the grossness out of your face, it won’t be left dry. That’s one of my biggest problems with exfoliants but this one has not had that issue at all.

According to the ipsy website, you’re supposed to apply the product, let it sit on your face for 10-15 minutes, and then wash it off. I don’t follow these directions. I use it like any other facial scrub and apply it in the shower, the only place I wash my face, and then wash it off when I feel like I’m done being so abrasive to my face. I’m sure if you do it the way they say your skin will be even softer because you’ll give it more time to sink in, but I’ve honestly been super happy with the moisture and softness of my skin after using this the way I do, plus I still have a good coconut milk moisturizer to use if I need it.

 

Smashbox Cosmetics PHOTO FINISH RADIANCE PRIMER

I was very excited to try this primer. I love my L’oreal Magic Perfecting Base primer because it makes my skin so soft but I’d heard so much about the Smashbox primers. I also tested the original Smashbox PHOTO FINISH FOUNDATION PRIMER on my hand one night at Ulta, and it felt like it had a finish similar to the L’oreal, so I was pumped that I was receiving one in my Glam Bag.

This one is not like the original. It squeezes out of the tube more like a cream than a gel and the application doesn’t leave the same finish on your skin, even after letting it dry. The ipsy website says that you can apply it to you T-zone if it starts to get shiny during the day and it will mattify it, but with the shimmer that is in this (hence the “radiance”) and the feel of the formula, I think I would rather use blotting sheets and a powder. I also think I’m going to stick to the primer I use now, L’oreal hasn’t let me down yet.

 

Teeez Cosmetics Eve’s Ready to Wear Lipstick in Romantic Red

You get a real photo of this one! I have less to say about this. It’s just another red lipstick in my opinion. The color isn’t really a true red, as you can see in the photo. The lighting in my bathoom still doesn’t show you its true color either, but it is rather pink.

It stays on alright. After it dries it doesn’t really transfer but it also looks more like a stain at that point. When I wore it to work the first day I got it, I received a couple compliments on it. Luke thought I’d over drawn my lips but it actually just made them look super full.

My favorite thing about it is definitely the container. It’s that fun all the way around, unlike other lipsticks that are too sophisticated to be fun and instead are just black… and boring…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ColourPop Cosmetics Brow Boss in Dark Brown

Brow products are another thing that I love getting in my Glam Bags because, as Luke learned quickly, I don’t like to leave the house without my brows done. Ever. Instead of give you a picture of the product, it’s a white tubed, brown eyebrow pencil with a spoolie on the other end, I just went with what it looks like on instead. I used it rather lightly because the tip is super thin and usually, that means you’re supposed to use it to make small strokes that look more like hairs to make your brows look more natural. On a day that I’m only wearing eyebrows, I could definitely rock this look. My brows still look pretty natural but are fuller and that’s what we’re all after- fuller brows. The color matched perfectly to what I usually do too. On days that I have a full face of make-up on however, like when I am working at Ulta, this just won’t cut it.

 

P.R.M.I.T. Beauty GELlusion in Virgo

Back to the ipsy photos. I could have taken a photo of my nails after I painted them using this, like I usually do, but I didn’t. No idea why. I am a big fan of this nail polish though. It’s a really nice dark blue, deeper than it looks in this photo or even in real life, but takes two coats to get to said richness. It also dries pretty quickly and keeps a really nice smooth and shiny finish without a top coat. I would still, however, suggest using a top coat because I didn’t, thinking it would stay since it’s supposed to be “gel effects”, and it started chipping off the next day. Of all of the nail polishes that ipsy has sent me so far, I think this is probably my favorite.

 

 

Next month’s Glam Bag will be for October and while I’m not super impressed by the bag design, I’m excited to see what new fun products I get! Until next time!