Too Faced Cosmetics’ “Glitter Bomb” Palette, Detonate or Dismantle?

Courtney Salinger

Too Faced “Glitter Bomb” Palette

Call the bomb squad because Too Faced cosmetics’ “Glitter Bomb” palette is sizzling. Too Faced released a brand-new glitter eyeshadow palette. When I first saw the palette on Too Faced founder, Jerrod Blandino’s Instagram, I was in shock. Blandino teased a gold glitter pic on his page. First of all, I love glitter. I love Too Faced. I love gold. I loooove writing about things that I love! I started seeing pictures around the social media scene about a new glitter palette from Too Faced. Put two and two together and behold, the “Glitter Bomb” palette.
Too Faced’s newest palette entails a black exterior with “Glitter” lettering. Each letter features a different color of glitter and moves within the palette every time you shake it. The words: “Too Faced” and “Bomb” are engraved in gold.
The “Glitter Bomb” palette features 8 glitter shadows and 2 base shadows. “Fairy Dust” is a very subtle pink with a white flip. “Confetti” is a light purple shade. “Hot Damn” features a deep purple shade. “Glitter Goals” consists of a black and purple duo chrome color. “Rose All Day” is a light pink shade. “Work It” features orange and gold glitter with a red shift. “Ok, It’s On” consists of true gold glitter. “Splash” entails a blue glitter shade with a green shift. The two bases consist of pure white and black shades. The white base is used to brighten the shadows. Whereas, the black base is used to darken the shadows.

Using “Work It”

When I first used this palette, I tried the shadows dry with a regular shading brush. The shadows appeared to be light in color, almost sheer. Also, the glitter didn’t last all day. The amount of disappointment I felt after trying these out almost led me to return the palette altogether. But, I decided to give it another try. This time, I used NYX’s glitter primer as a base. The glitter managed to stay on longer but the color still looked sheer. Ok, after this, I was certain about getting my money back. Then I thought, third time’s a charm, right? So finally, I tried using the shadows wet. I sprayed some of my highly coveted “Photo Finish Primer Water” from Smashbox onto the back of my hand. Using a flat eyeshadow brush, I dipped the brush onto the back of my hand and into the palette. As I rubbed my lids with the brush, I was in amaze! The colors popped and the glitter was bright. There was no fallout and the shadows lasted the whole day.

Using “Oh, It’s On!”

Overall, I think this palette works well if you use it wet. There’s too much fallout and the colors don’t pop if you use it dry. I found the darkening base to make more of a difference than the brightening base when it came to enhancing the shadows. The assortment of colors are unique and pretty…. Who am I kidding, anything sparkly will cause any makeup lover to holla! So, imma leave my money with Too Faced and keep this glistening palette in my collection. Ok? Ok.
The palette retails for $45 and can be purchased through Sephora, ULTA, and Too Faced’ website, just to name a few. The launch of the “Glitter Bomb” palette comes with a new line of “Melted Latex” liquid lipsticks.

Spree Time at Forever 21

Courtney Salinger

Newness alert!! I recently hit up Forever 21 for some fresh new threads! School had just ended and summer has begun. I drove over to campus to return my textbooks and later decided to meet up with a friend for lunch. Panera Bread enticed my cookie addiction, so we met up there. Of course, Panera Bread is located in the mall! So, we were persuaded to take a lovely stroll through one of my favorite shopping destinations; Forever 21!

“Millennial Pink” High-Neck One-Piece

As soon as you walk in (depending on which opening of the store you enter), you see the swim section. So many one piece’s!!!! I had to pick one up!! I went with this “millennial pink,” cross back one piece. The cut is a high neck with fish netting just above the chest. The chest piece reads; “mermaid” in a shimmer, copper, foil finish and has padding built in. One thing that’s cool about this particular piece of swimwear is that the material has spf 50+ in it! 😲 Super super plus when looking for a swim piece because it adds that extra protection from the sun. You can wear this by itself to swim in, or add some jean shorts with it to make an outfit. This one-piece retails for $19.90.

Tiger Head Muscle Tee

Next, we moved over to the indie, hipster vibe room. I normally don’t find anything in this area, but it’s always worth a little look 😃, and I’m glad I did! 😉 I found this muscle tee with two embroidered tiger heads on each side of the upper chest. I loved the vibes from the tigers staring at each other, I had to have it for that gym life! The fit is a little boxy, just knot the bottom of it to show off those natural curves. This tee sells for $14.90.

Sheer Black Mesh T-Shirt with Blue and Green Reflects

We were walking in between rooms and I noticed this sheer black mesh t-shirt with green and blue reflects sitting on one of the racks getting ready to be put on the sales floor. I picked it up off the rack and I just knew I needed it in my life. I thought of so many different ways to wear it and style it with, I just knew that we were meant to be together! The shirt itself is very light and airy. It can be worn with a black bra and some black jeans, as a cover up over your swimwear, or even layered over a black or white cami. This t-shirt retails for $10.90.

Front and Back of White Lace Crop Top

Lastly, my friend and I walked over to the basics and clearance room. You always gotta hit up the clearance section guys. You never know what you’re going to find in there. As I was walking in between the racks of organized sale pieces, I crossed paths with a strapless, sleeveless, white lace crop top. The back of the top is laced with white string. When I saw this, it was only $7.99, I was like “the more the merrier!” I’m already buying these other really nice pieces of clothing, but after running into this crop top, I figured it was too cute and good of a deal to pass up. The price of this crop top was originally $17.99.

You guys! Forever 21 had some really cute new stuff! Of course, I couldn’t buy the whole store!! But the items that I managed to grab were some of my favorites from what I had saw. It’s the end of the semester, hard work needs to be rewarded!! Go all out and shop till you drop!!

   

“Treat Yo’Self”

Courtney Salinger

What’s fresh at ULTA?!?! Spring is here! When seasons change, fashion and beauty looks change. When a new movie comes out, new makeup themed palettes are created. (Hint, Hint 😉) New products are being packaged and sold! The theme here is new, new, new! So, what did I buy for my latest ULTA Beauty haul? Let’s take a peak!

First off, we have Lorac’s newest collection; Disney’s Pirates of The Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales Collection, which features the latest installment of the movie franchise. This collection features an eyeshadow palette, a cheek palette and dual ended lipsticks. I bought the eyeshadow palette and the cheek palette. The ULTA that I shopped at didn’t have the lipsticks in yet. The eyeshadow palette comes with 18 shades, a mirror, and a mini black eyeliner pencil. The cheek palette comes with 6 shades; 2 matte blushes and 4 highlighters. The cheek palette fits inside of the eyeshadow palette, in a secret compartment. I figured, I HAD to buy both of them. As a gift with my Lorac purchase, I received a mini sample of the Light Source Illuminating Primer. The eyeshadow palette runs for $52, whereas, the cheek palette is $30. Stay in touch for an upcoming review of this collection, coming up real soon 😊.

Next, we have a few new items from ULTA Beauty’s line of products. At the time of my purchase, ULTA had a sale going on; buy two ULTA Beauty products, get the third free. I took advantage of that and bought; the 3-piece liquid lipstick kit, the bronze gel eye liner, and the rainbow highlighter. The lipstick kit features three metallic liquid lipsticks; a red, a gold and a berry. This kit runs for $16. The bronze gel eye liner isn’t new, I just wanted to try it and was what I saw when it came to choosing three items for the deal. The eye liner is $10. The rainbow highlighter is really pretty. I have another rainbow highlighter from Forever 21 that’s comparable, but this one from ULTA swatches golden hues and is creamier. ULTA’s highlighter retails for $10.

Buxom recently launched limited-edition shades of their super popular lip-creams. I had never tried Buxom, prior to this purchase. As soon as I saw the diamond sitting on top of the bottle, I knew I had to have it. So cute! I bought the shade; “Blushing Margarita,” which is a pretty nude. Buxom’s lip products are known to plump lips. As soon as I put this on, my lips started tingling and looked fuller. I am so obsessed with this product, that I’ve been using it every day. This product sells for $21.

Tarte cosmetics launched a rose gold clay pot, which is an Amazonian Clay Waterproof Liner. This product retails for $21. The pigment is super smooth and creamy, it swatches pink with silver glitter.

Too Faced Cosmetics introduced their newest collection; Natural Love, which features and eyeshadow palette, melted matte liquid lipsticks, highlights and brow pencils. I bought a melted matte liquid lipstick in the shade; “Wicked.” “Wicked” is a deep forest green shade. These lipsticks sell at $21 apiece.

Sun Bum creates sun care products. I’m obsessed with their lip balms! Each lip balm has spf 30, aloe vera and vitamin and ranges in different scents.  My favorite scent is Key Lime. These lip balms sell for $3.99 each.

Lastly, we have a Capelli New York set of 2 chokers. One choker features a string daisies, the other consist of white lace. These retail for $4.99.

As the saying goes; “treat yo’self!” Hauls don’t come often. It’s always fun and therapeutic to spoil yourself from time to time.

Dear Diary…

Courtney Salinger

Goodies!

Valentine’s day has approached us! Boxes of chocolates are bought, bouquets of flowers are given, reservations are made, and most importantly, fun and pretty Valentine’s Day beauty looks are created! I just so managed to get my hands on the newly and highly coveted; “Kylie’s Diary” from Kylie Jenner’s Valentine’s Day Limited Edition Collection, which I will be wearing for the occasion.

I first got a glimpse of the eyeshadow and blush palette from Kylie’s snapchat. She teased her newest collection over her Snapchat, back in January. When I first laid eyes on “The Diary Palette,” I just knew I had to have it! The bright pink shade, “Love Potion,” sold me!

Burgundy Smoky Look

The “Limited Edition” collection released on February 2 at 3pm. I waited about an hour after the initial launch time to actually check the website because I was in class. When I searched kyliecosmetics.com, the bundle, the minis and the “Head Over Heels” Lip kit were completely sold out. That’s ok! I really wanted the diary! As I added the diary to my cart, I looked around and read descriptions of other products, just to make sure there wasn’t anything else that I really wanted. I was close to getting the “Valentine” Lip Kit, as well, but realized that I have something similar to it. I ended up checking out with only the diary.

“Kylie’s Diary”

“The Diary Palette” cost $54 and included free shipping after you spend $40. Overall, I dished out $54, which is pretty standard for a higher-end eyeshadow palette. You do get a bonus because this palette includes two blushes. I had never made a Kylie Cosmetics purchase, prior to ordering the diary. So, I was pretty excited!

 

Pinky Pinks Look

I waited a little over a week for my Diary to come in. When I received the black box in the mail, I was overwhelmed with cheer and excitement! This was my first time purchasing from Kylie, so everything was very new to me. As I opened the box, I noticed that the box was all black, had the signature “Kylie” logo on the inside of the box, along with white dripping detail along the inner top layer of the box. The box included a handwritten note with holographic eye detail on the back of it and “Kylie’s Diary,” which was wrapped, and my confirmation papers, of course. The note read; “Eye couldn’t wait to share my new eyeshadows with you. Eye hope you adore the as much as eye do! Eye Love You.” And then she concluded with a smiley face.

As I opened the Diary, I noticed that it weighs pretty heavy, and consists of a good size. The front of the packaging entails red glitter “Kylie’s Diary” writing and shiny white hearts with red shiny trimming around the sides. The back of the packaging has the big “Kylie” writing logo along with the writing; “Pressed Powder Palette.” Below that, the names of the eyeshadow shades and blushes are shown, along with ingredients and specifics of the makeup.

“Heart Eyes,” “Romance,” “Loves Me Not”

When you take out the palette from the packaging, the same red glittered; “Kylie’s Diary” wording is on the front. There’s red glittered lining on the spine of the palette. When you flip it around, the wordage says; “XOXO, Kylie.” Below that, is “The Diary Palette,” featuring the names of each shade and again the specifics of the makeup.

As I opened the palette, I was just in amaze! The palette looks even better in person! On the left side, we have a square mirror along with the “XOXO, Kylie” wordage. And again, the shiny white hearts. On the right side, we have 6 eyeshadows and 2 blushes. Starting from the top left corner, we have, “Bae,” “Heart Breaker,” “Make Me Blush,” “Sweet Like Candy,” “Love Potion,” “Be Mine,” “Heart Eyes,” “Romance” and “Loves Me Not.” The Blushes are called “First Date” and “Virginity.”

“Bae” is a holographic, icy-bluish, with a hint of grey, shimmery shade. “Heart Breaker” is the perfect light shimmery pink. “Make Me Blush” is a shimmery mix of purple and grey. “Sweet Like Candy” is a coral pink shimmer with gold sparkles. “Love Potion” is a satiny hot pink shade. “Be Mine” is an orangey pink coral matte shade. “Heart Eyes” consists of a purple maroon matte color. “Romance” is a brownish shimmery shade with hints of red and purple. “Loves Me Not” consists of a bluish, purple, grey, lavender matte shade. “First Date” blush is a soft matte orange shade. “Virginity” blush is a soft bubblegum pink matte shade.

“Sweet Like Candy,” “Love Potion,” “Be Mine”

After swatching the shades, I was so impressed. The colors are beautiful and well thought out. I like the mix of mattes, shimmers, and satin. I love every color! One of the first looks I tried, I used the shades; “Sweet Like Candy,” “Love Potion” and “Be Mine, along with a mix of both “Virginity” blush and “First Date” blush. So, the whole second row of the palette. I started off with that orangey, pink coral matte shade, “Be Mine.” I colored my whole eyelid with it. Next, I blended in the coral pink shimmery gold shade, “Sweet Like Candy,” all over the eyelid. After, I took the satiny hot pink shade, in “Love Potion,” and blended that into my outer corners for definition. Then, I took a clean blush and blended those together to create a pinky orange sunset! Finally, I lined my lower lash line with “Be Mine,” to tie everything together. I added Benefit’s “They’re Real” mascara on both my top and bottom lashes and lined my waterline with NYX’s “Faux Whites” eye brightener in “seashell.” After I finished my eyes, I tried the blushes! I started off with the pink blush, “Virginity,” then I added the orange blush, “First Date,” to incorporate the balance between the pink and orange hues on my eyes.

The second look I created was more of a burgundy smoky eye look. First, I covered my eyelids with “Heart Eyes.” Next, I added “Romance” on top of “Heart Eyes,” and blended that all over the lids. After, I brushed on “Loves Me Not” on the outer corners of my eyes to give some definition to the look. Then, I lined my lower lash line with both “Heart Eyes” and “Romance.” Finally, I blended all the colors together to get this rich and fresh burgundy look.

After looking at the finished products, I noticed that the colors are very easy to apply. The shadows blended nicely and really popped. The colors were very vibrant and they lasted all day, with no creasing. I noticed that these colors really made my eye color pop! They really brought out the gold in my eyes, and brought the light to my eyes, which I love! The blushes are very subtle and easy to manage if wanting to go from a sweet look to more dramatic.

Overall, I am impressed with the colors and creativity of this palette. The pigment is so fresh and bright. I just love it! The blushes are very easy to blend into the face and are very buildable. Like I said before, this was my very first Kylie Cosmetics purchase. After this write-up, I will probably be buying more stuff from her. I was very pleased with the outcome of my purchase!

“Should I or Shouldn’t I?”

Courtney Salinger

There comes a time when a fashionista has to make a very important decision. A decision that involves life or death, richer or poorer and full or hungry, all leading up to the thought of: “should I buy or shouldn’t I buy?”

Right now, I’m at a loss for words. I spent the last few days savoring over the cutest pair of denim booties from one of my favorite online retailers, only to realize that I was wasting my time. I never bought the boots! All those man hours spent searching the website, checking to see if the online retailer had my shoe size, zooming in on every picture and focusing on every angle, thinking about ways to wear the booties, looking at how I would incorporate them into my outfits and eyeballing every detail that the booties had to offer. Guys, here me out here though. It wasn’t completely a waste of time because I learned something very important in the end analysis. I learned that there’s a time and place for everything, even when it comes to purchasing items.

Right now, I’m in college. I have to think about a new semester of course fees, buying books, and other costly essentials a college student endures. Before I can think about buying super cute booties, I need to look at the bigger picture and put money into things that are going to help me succeed. I have my whole life to buy different fashion accessories. Focusing on the present and getting my degree is what’s at the top of my priorities. Don’t get me wrong, the booties would have totally complimented me and would help make any of my outfits that much cuter, but there will be others.

When it came to making my decision; “should I or shouldn’t I buy the booties?” I almost lost myself and was about to cave in. But then I thought, this is my moment to be strong. I am going to save my money for school, and if the booties are meant to be, maybe I will have some spare cash in the future to spend on and I will think of those babies. Until then, I’m going to focus on building my empire, starting with my education.

Holiday Advent Adventure

Courtney Salinger

NYX “Box of Goodies”

‘Tis the season for hot chocolate, candy canes, holiday music, and advent calendars! Count down to the holidays with a beauty advent calendar. NYX’s “Box of Goodies” advent calendar, to be exact.

I first saw the NYX “Box of Goodies” advent calendar in ULTA’s weekly catalogue. The Black Friday edition catalogue. Right when I saw it, I knew I had to have it!

It was the day after Black Friday. I drove right up to my nearest ULTA and picked up the “Box of Goodies.” ULTA had quite a few left at the time. It retailed for $50, but was on sale for $25.

As I entered ULTA, I saw the calendars on display in one of the shelves right between the skincare and fragrance products. I went back to my house and pulled my advent calendar out of my bright plastic orange ULTA shopping bag. Here’s what I had experienced…

First, I acknowledged the boxing of the calendar and made some distinctions… The advent calendar is folded into a box. The detail of the box is very pretty and sultry. When you open the box, you can see that it lays vertically. The inside of the calendar has a light pink shade of black lace with flowers and leaves swirled around the area. Each side of the calendar has 12 pockets. The outside of the box is black and has pink lace wrapped around it. The front of the box explains what is in the advent calendar. The back of the box shows the exact colors and names of each item you find within the calendar.

Content in Advent Calendar

Then, I investigated the products that the calendar entails… The calendar contains 12 limited edition eyeshadows and 12 Lip Lingerie lipsticks. As I opened each cut-out by numerical order, starting with number 23, I realized that the eyeshadows and lipsticks coordinate with each other. When I opened number 23, I found an eyeshadow in the shade “Honeymoon.” Next, I opened number 22 and found a lipstick named “Honeymoon.” Is it more than a coincidence that the shades of the lipstick and eyeshadow have the same name? I think not. So, then I opened number 21, which was an eyeshadow named “Teddy.” Next, was a lipstick in number 20, named “Teddy.” The shades of the lipsticks and eyeshadows of the same name match each other. “Ruffle Trim” eyeshadow has a very similar color to the lipstick in “Ruffle Trim.” Next, I noticed that every other box has a lipstick. For example, I started off with number 23, which had an eyeshadow in it. Then, number 22 had a lipstick in it. Next, number 21 had an eyeshadow in it and number 20 had a lipstick in it, and so on.

After trying out the colors and checking out the packaging, I have to say I think NYX’s “Box of Goodies’ advent calendar is the cutest! The joy and excitement of carefully opening each “day” in the advent calendar makes for a fun little surprise. If it’s still on sale, I would suggest purchasing it. A normal sized NYX ‘Lip Lingerie” liquid lipstick runs for $7. This box gives you a smaller version of every color available in the “Lip Lingerie” collection, plus 12 limited edition matching eyeshadows. It’s truly a treat!

See Swatches Here:

“Go, Fight, Win!”

Courtney Salinger
Stickers and Cute Tops

Stickers and Cute Tops

It’s officially tailgate season! Time to throw on your cutest school spirit wear. Tailgates are all about spending good times with friends, eating food, drinking beverages and most importantly, repping your school in the cutest outfit. So, get ready to “rep, rep, represent your school!” Here are a few ways to show some school spirit.

go-fight-win-3

“Rep, rep, representin'”

Coordinate the outfit around a cute top that features your school, whether it be the mascot, the name of the school, or just the school’s colors in general. Pair the cute top with some cut-offs, jeans or leggings, depending on the weather. Keep the bottoms neutral so that you can later accessorize, and not overdo it on school spirit. If you decide to wear cut-offs due to warmer weather, try pairing them with gladiator sandals or tennis shoes. The gladiator sandals add fierceness to the outfit. Whereas, tennis shoes add laid-back, chill vibes to the look. When wearing jeans or leggings, pair them with over the knee boots for cooler weather. Over the knee boots accentuate the legs and keeps you feeling warm while socializing with friends and cheering your team on in the stands.

Top everything off with some accessories. Try wearing the same shade of lipstick as your school’s colors to enhance the spirit and make the outfit pop. Cute stickers and face and body glitter amp up the school spirit to any outfit and adds some flair. Snapbacks and hats allow for some shade from the sun and add that extra sporty touch to the ensemble.When it comes to repping your school in spirit wear, it’s all about being confident and having fun. Spirit wear should be comfortable and chic, yet sporty and flirty. Just have fun with it. We came to win, so why not show off them threads and stand loud and proud for your school.

See it in action here: