School Makeup Bag Essentials

Hey everyone!

This will be the beginning of my "Back to School Week", with posts featuring back to school beauty tips. I'm kicking it off with some advice on what to carry in a makeup bag that you can easily stash in your backpack. This is stuff that you can use if you only have 5 minutes or less to do makeup in the morning, like if you've overslept your alarm, or pulled an all-nighter and you look like a hot mess. (I've been in both situations; trust me, not fun!!!) Here's some essentials to make you look wide awake and can easily be stored in a cute little makeup bag.

Counterclockwise from top left:

Concealer: You should have a concealer with you that can cover both blemishes and under eye circles. I like MAC Studio Sculpt concealer because it's thick and creamy, but easily blended out.

Powder: After you applied concealer, use powder to set it and also apply powder to any oily areas, no foundation needed! I use CoverGirl Clean Oil Control Powder.

Blush: A slightly shimmery blush will act as both highlighter and blush, warming up your face. This is MAC Plumfoolery, but a good drugstore one is Wet n Wild Pearlescence Pink.

Brush: A kabuki or buffing brush will work well for both your powder products so you can save space in your bag. This was in a Sephora Professionel brush set.

Mascara: This is essential to open up your eyes! It will make them look wider with just a few coats. This is my current favorite, CoverGirl Lash Blast Fusion. You can also use a lash curler to help your eyes look even more awake, but I don't have one so I can't picture it :(

Eyeshadow: I use the shimmery white eyeshadow in this palette and apply it on the center of my eye, on the inner corner, and under the brow bone which highlights your eyes and helps you look more awake. For application, you can use the brush included which saves space! This is one of the best trick I know; it really works!

That's it, but what school makeup essentials do you use? Leave me a comment below and let me know!

~Gabrielle~

PS Sorry for the quality of pictures, but I can't find my camera charger so I had to use my webcam. Hopefully after I finish cleaning my room tomorrow I will have been able to find it!!!

Random Nonsense- A question and a plea for help!!

Hey everyone!

I'm on a mini vacation, my last before school starts, :(. As such, I had an idea to do a couple of school-themed posts next week such as how to personalize a uniform, an easy back-to-school look, organization tips, etc. What do you thing?

Another thing, I really need all of your help! I have tried using my Wet n Wild eyeshadow palette, but alas, no cigar! I cannot make those shadows stay on my lid. Seeing as how I used primer and don't have particularly oily lids, what do you think I should do? Did I simply get a bad batch, or am I not using it correctly (I've used it with Almay eye base, Too Faced Shadow Insurance, and without anything; and I'm just using it normally!)? Any and all tips would be appreciated, thank you!

~Gabrielle~

Wet n' Wild Color Icon Palette Review + EOTD

Hey everyone!

It feels good to be here in Florida, though it is very hot. I have a spare moment to blog, so I thought I'd review my WnW Color Icon palette in Pride.

First of all, I had heard everyone rave about this product- it's lasting power, pigmentation, blendability, softness, on and on and on. So I put it on my wishlist and picked it up at Walgreens last week. First, the pigmentation- well, the blogging community was right about that. One swipe of the eyeshadow produces a highly pigmented color, and I often pick up too much on my brush! Which is a good thing, btdubs. So A+ for that! (I stand by my statement that the mattes are more pigmented than the shimmers, but both are excellently colored.)

Next, the blendability and softness. Not much to say on these areas, except, well, this palette has them. They aren't chalky or dry at all, and they blend easily which makes them ideal for creasework. Check!

Now for the last category- lasting power. This is the palette's one flaw. Every blog I have read that had reviewed these said the eyeshadows in these palette lasted all day, even without a primer. Unfortunately, that was not the case for me, and I don't even have particularly oily lids! These lasted about 3 hours without primer and about 4 with. I'm not sure why it's only me, but I will keep working with these and see if I can't figure out a way to make these last longer.

All things considered, these palettes are an excellent bargain and I want to buy the other 3 in the collection, because for the price, this can't be beat. I recommend these to people who want pigmented eyeshadows in a mix of colors that are easy to apply.

Now here's the look I made using the right side (shimmers) of this palette for a friend's party the other day.

I used Too Faced George and Weezie for all over the lid, then the green in the crease. I applied the blue above the green and along the lashline then connected it. I finished with a hint of brown eyeliner on the top lashline and Rimmel Sexy Curves mascara.

What's your take on this line of eyeshadows? Comment!

~Gabrielle~