Review: Dry Bar Prep Rally

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What It Is: Hair Primer

What It Does: Primes and detangles hair

Active Ingredients: Biotin, Vitamins B & C, and Sea Berry Oil

Verdict: It’s rare when I find a hair product that actually delivers on its promises. When I received this in my Fab Fit Fun box I wasn’t expecting miracles. Very few heat protectant sprays actually seem to work or at least provide me proof that they’re working. This is why I rarely wish to try new hair products because of my faith in them is so low. Fast forward to the first time I used this product. HOLY SHIT! This product not only delivers on its promises but goes above and beyond any expectations I may have had. All I used were three spritzes on towel-dried hair, and once I was done drying my hair I noticed a HUGE DIFFERENCE. First of all, it made my hair very manageable (it’s no easy feat for a product to do that when you’ve got unruly frizzy curls to work with) and also left them feeling incredibly soft. I don’t think I’ve ever had hair this soft in my life before and the feeling is euphoric to say the least. Now I can see why celebs rave so much about this company, and since this product worked so well I am very curious to try out anything else they have to offer. Out of all the products that I found in my Fab Fit Fun box, this is one that I will definitely purchase on my own once it’s done.

Price: $23

Where To Buy It: https://www.thedrybar.com/

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Makeup Haul: Glossier

Glossier is the kind of brand that has gathered devotees like a cult. When I did my first Glossier haul, I was impressed with their products but couldn’t quite understand the cult-like devotion. Fast forward to me purchasing a second Glossier haul, and soon after going for my third haul. In this post, I’ll be sharing products from both my second and third hauls (the only thing I didn’t include was Brow Boy, which I repurchased but already reviewed during my first Glossier haul).

Maybe it’s the fact that I’ve grown weary of seeing beat faces on my Instagram with exaggerated makeup as though we need to recreate a whole new face every morning. Being a makeup lover, I’ve always adored that aspect of makeup being used as a way of transformation, but I also do enjoy it as a means to enhance your own natural beauty. Which is where Glossier comes in. Their brand motto is, “Skin first, makeup second,” and I can get behind that sentiment.

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Brow Flick

Every since NYX discontinued their eyebrow marker, I’ve had to settle for sub-par semi-marker brow products from Revlon in the meantime, so of course, when I saw this product launching I simply had to get it! I know some beauty gurus out there are saying that the product is too sheer, however, I didn’t think that was the case for me at all. I got the shade Brown (to be paired with my Boy brow in Brown) and have never finished my eyebrows in such a short amount of time (two minutes!). Using only two products! (Brow Flick and Boy Brow) Before, I was using a total of SIX eyebrow products (and spending 10 minutes on each brow!), but the microfine tip on this maker makes it so easy to mimic hair strokes (something that I could never achieve with other markers or pencils before and sucked it up to just being a terrible artist, but turns out that I was just using terrible products!). And the sheer colour makes it so it doesn’t look too harsh. In other words, this product is my new ride or die and I BEG Glossier to never discontinue it cause I wouldn’t know what to do without it.

Generation G

I read so many reviews about (some people loved it others were outraged that they spent so much money on a product with very little colour pay off). Now, I’ve been using liquid lipsticks for the past three years and despite the fact that I DO love them, I have grown a little tired of their too makeup look and have been craving for something a little more natural. This lipstick is meant to be sheer and look blotted, so since my lips are naturally super pale, I went for the shade, Zip, a poppy red. Apart from the colour being really flattering on me, what I really loved most of all was the formula. It’s sheer but matte. It’s also moisturizing but not creamy, meaning that it actually is long lasting and doesn’t bleed (one of my bigger pet peeves). I definitely see myself wearing this for the summer months when having heavily lacquered lips may not feel the best when you’re trying to combat the heat and just want to be lazy (but still look pretty too!).

Lidstar

Feeling nostalgic for my teenage makeup days, I decided to select the shade Lily (it’s a sheer lavender hue). Now if you’re one of those people that want uber pigmented eyeshadows, then steer clear of the Lidstars, cause like with anything else from Glossier, sheer is the name of the game. The colour itself is very pretty, but I don’t know if I have personally outgrown the lavender eye look, but I wasn’t too crazy about it. However, I did love the formula and do want to try their other shades (especially Cub and Fawn) that seem more like the shades adult me has worn for the past decade. Maybe there’s a reason why we outgrow beauty looks, because they’re no longer a reflection of ourselves.

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Primer

Since I don’t wear foundation, I only use primer around my eye area to keep it hydrated before I apply concealer. But I was curious about how my skin would look with their primer since it’s advertised to give a healthy glow. I’ve always been a fan of dewy skin, however, having oily skin means that I can’t really use products meant to enhance dewiness as it just turns into an ugly oil spill on my face. But I don’t know what kind of sorcery they’ve concocted when they made this primer, but this delivers a healthy glow without the extra oiliness. And it does keep the skin hydrated the whole day. And if you’re wondering how much you need to use, a dime size is enough to use on your whole face (maybe two if you’re on the dry side).

After three Glossier hauls, I can totally understand the cult-like following. If you’re someone who simply wants to enhance your own features with a “woke up this way,” vibe to it, then Glossier is your go-to brand for this. And honestly, we could all use a break from having a beat face, cause laziness has never looked so pretty before.

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Review: Yves Saint Laurent – Touche Eclat Blur Primer

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I was really excited when I received this in one of my Allure Beauty Boxes, because the packaging for it was incredibly elegant that I was certain that the product inside would also be of excellent quality. This primer is to be primarily used before foundation, but since I don’t use foundation, I actually use primers as a base for underneath my eyes before I apply concealer as it helps keep my eyes hydrated as well as help the concealer glide on the skin without any problem.

What It Is: Blurring and Illuminating Primer

What It Does: Maximizing Skin Radiance

Active Ingredients: Corn Oil, Apricot Kernel Oil, Rice Bran Oil

Verdict: I absolutely LOVE this primer! If there’s one word that best describes this primer is luxurious. When you apply this on your skin it just feels so opulent and hydrating. Upon application, you instantly see how it helps create a blurring and radiant canvas on your face (in my instance, it truly helps with brightening up and blurring the dark under eyes I have). The primer has tiny gold flecks that help capture the light and brighten up any dull skin. It’s very rich and nourishing feeling. Not only that, it seems to erase pores, creating an even, smoother skin. If you really wish to have a top-notch primer, I suggest investing in this one, because it’s truly one of the best!

Price: $52

Where To Buy It: https://www.sephora.com/product/touche-eclat-blur-primer-P397615

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Review: Yves Saint Laurent Touche Eclat Blur Primer

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What It Is: A gold-flecked primer

What It Does: It instantly creates a smooth skintone

Verdict: Being someone who loves primers, I was absolutely ecstatic at the thought of getting to try this one. This product goes on extremely smooth. Your skin will look ten times better than it initially did. It’s the sort of skin you’d give yourself with an instagram filter. The shimmer is subtle, and catches the light in a very flattering way. So it’s more like inner glow than say, raver-girl circa 1999. This product is perfect to use as a base before foundation or concealer (I personally used it as a base for my undereyes concealer). It’s an extremely light formula and helps reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles without feeling cakey or heavy. I don’t have words to explain how amazing this product is, but it’s hands down one of my absolute fave of the year. I absolutely recommend giving this product a try!

Price: $52

Where To Buy It: Yslbeautyus.com

By: Azzurra Nox

Review: Clinique Pep-Start HydroBlur Moisturizer

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What It Is: A lightweight, 24/7 hydrating cream that provides a matte finish, and prepares the skin for makeup.

What It Does: Instantly blurs imperfections.

Verdict: I’m still unsure whether this is meant to be a full-fledged moisturizer or more of a face primer. And I have a feeling that when they were making this cream, they were trying to combine both of those elements together. However, the problem is that it doesn’t deliver on either accounts. It’s not so soft as a face primer should be (or maybe I’m just used to using Smashbox’s Photofinish Perfecting Primer so much that I prefer that consistency over any others). I’m not crazy about moisturizers because I have oily skin and it often means that any cream is going to add to the oiliness. Maybe this product is best suited for those that have dry skin or are in need of blurring fine lines. I wasn’t able to thoroughly judge that as I have neither. I found this product in one of the Allure Monthly boxes, but probably wouldn’t have tried it otherwise. It’s not that I hated product. It was alright, but I wasn’t crazy about it either. When I put it on the cream felt wet, which maybe is the point of it. The only problem is that it continued to remain wet and since I don’t use foundation, trying to place powder on top of it didn’t make for the best application. Overall, I don’t think this product was right for me. Maybe this product is best for anyone who’s in need of extra hydration.

Price: $34

Where To Buy It: Amazon, Ulta, or Sephora.

By: Azzurra Nox