GlamGlow GravityMud Firming Treatment Mask | Review

GlamGlow has a bit of a cult following and I’ve consistently heard good things about most of their products, especially the masks. It’s no different for the GravityMud Firming Teeatment Mask which was touted by many a beauty guru on YouTube as well as the skincare experts in Sephora. Needless to say, I was pretty excited to try it so try it I did. This is a deluxe sample size that I picked up with my reward points from Sephora, the actual product comes in a bigger jar. Since my skin is very sensitive, I like to try out new skincare products before I buy the full size versions. 

Here is what GlamGlow says about the product on their site:

"GRAVITYMUD™ is an Out of This World Innovative Peel Off Mud treatment that instantly leaves skin feeling firmer and more lifted. Mega-Targeted ingredients transform from White to Brilliant Chrome, delivering toned, sexy contours. Powered by TEAOXI™ Marshmallow + Licorice Leaf."

Notice it does say instant so I expect to see some immediate results now. My expectations were just raised even higher! Here's what my experience was like:

Thoughts running through my mind upon first use:

-          The smell is really very nice, very Pina Colada like

-          In order to peel it off, which is 80% of the reason I even wanted to try this mask, you’d have to really put on a thick layer. If I do this regularly, I’ll run out pretty fast.

-          Can I peel it off now?

-          This stings

-          I look like the tin man…tehe

-          It’s been a few minutes, the stinging is starting to fade

-          Can I peel it off now?

-          For $89 this thing better perform some miracles!

-          What exactly is this mask supposed to do again?

-          *lifts a tiny bit from a corner* nope, can’t peel it off yet

-          *paces around like an expectant father until it’s time to peel it off*

-          Oh wow, it feels like such a thin layer now but it’s not breaking apart

-          This peeling off situation is both satisfying and weird…

-          Huh…I can see the imprint of my pores in there

-          My face looks red…is it supposed to?

-          I don’t notice much of a difference…

That last thought pretty much sums it up. It was fun to peel off but I really didn’t notice any difference in texture or firmness or anything. I got multiple samples and gave this mask numerous tries but every time, my face turned red and I never noticed anything even slightly better let alone miraculous about my skin. It’s a popular product and I'm happy if it works for other people but for me this was a bit of a fail.  

How do you feel about widely touted products? Do get excited to try them or do you become cautious, thinking it may be all hype? Let me know! I'm kind of halfway. I get excited to try it but the more popular it is, the more I expect from it.

Update | Random Chatter | I'm back!

Well hello! Hi there! How are you?!

Wow, it's been a minute and a half since I've posted and I'm quite ashamed of myself, to be honest. I love blogging and this blog is precious to me, it's like my own little corner of the internet where I can just be me, rant about beauty and connect with other like minded beauties/weirdos. I got a bit busy but I'm back and excited to be blogging again!

Before I get back into regularly scheduled posting, I thought I would do a little bit of a life update. Share some bits and bobs, just for fun. I love reading these on other blogs and getting a glimpse into someone's life. I don't know, isn't it fascinating to see what's going on in another humans life? Since we're all playing this game called life together. While there's nothing particularly fascinating going on here, I hope you'll enjoy all the same!

So since I last posted, here is what has happened:

I went back to my homeland (Pakistan) to shop for my wedding dresses. I hadn't been back in almost ten years and I didn't know how I would feel going back. I love living in America and I don't think any other place could ever feel like home to me but where we come from will always be a part of us I suppose, regardless of how we feel about it.
 

So when I stepped off the plane, I was full of this weird, nervous trepidation. I didn't know how to feel or what to feel. When I walked out of the airport and looked around at all the people standing there, waiting for their loved ones, I didn't feel much of anything. Or perhaps I was feeling so much that my mind was simply shutting it out. I just remember being very blank and then out of the crowd, I saw my aunt coming towards me. This aunt is my father's little sister and she helped raise me, she and I have the same philosophies on a lot of things in life, we're kindred spirits. When I saw her walking towards me, I have no clue what happened. Something broke and I put my arms around her and burst into tears. I still can't explain what exactly happened, I rarely cry and absolutely refuse to do it in front of people! Yet there I was, standing outside a packed airport, with people gawking at me, sobbing into my aunts shoulder. My aunt, my cousins, my grandparents were all there and I couldn't believe it had been ten years since I had seen these beautiful faces. We cried and we laughed and we hugged. It was one of the most beautiful moments of my life.

I had initially scheduled a one week trip but ended up extending it another week. It was an amazing, beautiful, humbling experience. There was so much love, so much positive energy, it was a completely different world. I could write an essay about it but for the sake of time and space, I'll stop here. Perhaps I'll write another blog post about it. Oh and I found my dresses! (pictures to come)

On the way back, I had a 13 hour stop in Dubai, which sounds daunting but it was amazing. I had booked a hotel room so I slept for quite a while, ordered room service and shopped!! The airport is beautiful and huge and has so many shops, you could wander for hours and hours. By a stroke of good fortune, they were having a rare sale on cosmetics when I was there so of course, I went a bit crazy. I also got chocolates. Lots and lots of chocolates.

I took very few pictures but this creme brulee was the most delicious thing ever!

Once I came back, I had a qualifying exam to look forward to for my PhD. In order to continue in the doctoral program, I had to get an 80 or above. If a student scored between 70 and 80, they got another chance at it. 70 and below, you're out, no second chance. Now, when I'm of sound mind, I can tell you that an 80 really shouldn't be so hard to achieve. During exam time though, reason and logic go out the window and you start believing that you're a complete imbecile who doesn't know a thing. I felt both ready to take it and completely unprepared at the same time. It was an eight hour exam and I almost broke down at least three times out of sheer nerves.

The week that followed was worse still because of the waiting. I alternated between telling myself it'd be fine and questioning why on earth I cared so much about a silly exam anyway when I was and am happy, healthy and blessed with so much. In the grand scheme of things, a silly little qualifying exam shouldn't be something that I give so much power over my peace and happiness. This thought would linger for about thirty seconds before the crushing doubt and anxiety would settle back in. Thankfully, joy of joys, I passed! So I'm one year into it with a little over two years to go! (Pray for me)

I am also now only 23 days away from my wedding! Eep! Any of my married readers with wedding/marriage tips, please leave them below! Goodness knows I need them because right now, if anyone asked me for advice I'd tell them to elope. Just elope!

And that's about it, now you're all caught up with my life. I hope I didn't put you to sleep! Tell me what you've been up to, what is your absolute favorite memory from this past month? I want to know!

I'll see you in my next post, my beautiful, amazing reader. :-) 

P.S. I decided to finally catch up with the times and make an Instagram! It's llbeautiful.blissll if you'd like to add me. I also made a beauty related instagram with my best friend/sister in law if you'd like to check that out as well (llsparklyglowll). I included some pictures from there below...I have a slight obsession with Chanel, you'll see that a lot on my social media. Now, I'm off! I hope you have a wonderful day/night.

Beautiful Quote - Never give up!

 “No matter how you feel today, get up, dress up and show up.” - Paulo Coelho

This is one of those quotes that keep me motivated on days when I feel drained. I’m in my first year of a doctoral program and I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve questioned what I’m doing, not because I don’t want the PhD but because the work is just too much sometimes. There’s quite a bit of self learning involved in grad school and the learning curve is incredibly steep at times. Quotes like this tell me to push forward anyway because I know these feelings are temporary and because I know that my goal is worth fighting for.  

Personally, I believe that it’s simply not possible to remain a hundred percent motivated at all times. We’re human and we do not stay in the same emotional state for very long, we flip flop around and move through a number of emotions on a daily basis. To me, that’s ok. 

It’s ok to not be one hundred percent motivated every second of every day. As long as you don’t stop trekking forward in those moments. Don’t let your emotions become your excuse. 

It’s ok if you feel tired or cranky or bummed some days. It’s not ok to stop trying those days because those feelings will not last, your old motivation will come back and you’ll be glad you didn’t stop. As Mr. Coelho so beautifully tells us, just get up, dress up and show up. 

Sometimes life will happen, sometimes you’ll just wake up in a bad mood, sometimes those around you will tell you to quit. Forget it all. If you think your goals and dreams are worth fighting for, then get up and get going.

That's my quote for down days, what words do you look to if you're feeling down? :-)

My Favorite Blogs - Let's share the love

So Valentine’s Day just passed and while I don’t celebrate it as a rule, it got me thinking of all the things we like to celebrate. Love, family, birthdays etc. Somehow I got to thinking that I’d really like to celebrate some of the blogs I enjoy reading. I’m not quite sure why Valentine’s Day made me want to do this but I’m well into my second semester now for this dang PhD and I kind of don’t question my minds craziness and ramblings anymore. (If you’re considering going to grad school, don’t. Jokes, jokes, it’s not that bad I promise. I’m just exaggerating because it’s also that time of the month).

My blog is a place where I share the things that I like and there are a few blogs that I regularly peruse and thoroughly enjoy so in honor of Valentine’s Day, rather than celebrating love (which I like to do every day anyway) I would like to celebrate a few of my favorite blogs and share them with you, dear reader.

Don’t Burst My Bubble – Marianne has quite possibly the sweetest blog I’ve ever stumbled upon. She does these weekly positivity diaries where she tells her readers about all the positive things that happened in her week and invites them to share their own favorite moments. I left her a whole essay sharing my moments once and she didn’t even get annoyed hehe. Her blog is a great place to go if you’d like to just visit a place brimming with light and positivity. I always look forward to her weekly positivity diaries and her commitment to seeing the bright side of everything inspires me to do the same in my own life. 

Linda, Libra, Loca – You know how some people just radiate a certain…goodness? And even though you don’t really know them you can’t help but love their spirit because it just calms you and relaxes you? That’s what this gorgeous lady and her beautiful blog are for me. Might be that her name and my name are separated by one letter haha but I just love Anne’s blog and whether she’s talking about skin exfoliators or showing us her favorite photographs, I just feel so calm watching her videos and reading her posts. One of my favorite blogs to peruse when I’m feeling anxious for no reason and need to escape into the world of beauty. 

Beaumiroir – Lulle is after my wallet. I know it. I just know it. Either she and I have the same taste in products or the way she describes everything just makes you want to throw your money at retailers. Not to be dramatic but her blog literally speaks to my heart. I love all things French and yet I’m so completely ignorant on most of it. Not only is Lulle’s blog a great learning place for me but the product recommendations and spring makeup posts have my wishlist ballooning to gigantic proportions. If you like feeling fancy and oo lala ish, go visit Lulle. :-D

Carol in a Page – Ok when I first came back to blogging, Carolina (see the clever word play in her title?!) was something of a celebrity to me. I kept reading her name on other blog posts so I went to check her out and of course she’s gorgeous and when she commented on one of my posts I had a mini moment. Seriously though she’s just so sweet and classy and it shows in her content. Her reviews are quite thorough and I like that her makeup looks are always very classic and not at all mask like, I love that her natural beauty is always shining through. I’m currently considering buying a heart shaped makeup brush because of this girl. Do I need one? Nope. Is that stopping me? Nope! :-D 

 I hope you enjoy these blogs just as much as I do and if you have favorite blogs of your own, leave them for me in the comments. I would love to check them out!