theBalm Shady Lady Vol.2 // swatches, photos, review

 The first thing I indulged in when I saw that TheBalm had hit Australian shores was their Shady Lady palette in its second volume, which contains a mix of different shades without too much direction.

I loved how many possibilities this random grouping presented to me, and because of that I would recommend this as a travel palette if someone was a fan of the shades included. There aren't any matte shades in the palette, so some may feel the need to bring along some blending or highlighting shades if they were taking this away with them. The packaging is light and slim, which is another plus in my opinion.

Of these three darker shades I have worn Insane Jane quite a bit by itself all over the lid. I love the chocolately tones of Caught in the Act Courtney and now that I'm getting into purple eyes, I am planning on wearing Feisty Felicia in the crease with some of my favourite pale purple shades.

Though the first two glittery shades seem quite sheer, they can be built up easily and appear much nicer in person than these swatches would have you believe. Insane Jane is a satin finish and glides on the lid really easily.

The shades begin to lighten as you move down the palette, and I like having a deep blue shade like Bossy Bobbi in the palette as I lean towards blue shadows when creating smokey looks. Makeout Mary is something I wear during the day quite a bit, and Just This Once Jamie is getting me onto the purple shadow bandwagon, it is such a wearable taupey shade.

Looking at these swatches makes me want to pair Jamie and Mary together, for reals.

 The lightest shade sit at the bottom of Shady Lady Vol.2, and I find these good to mix in with the brighter shades to create a whole look. I like to use Mischievous Marissa all over the lid or with the khaki Makeout Mary (this FOTD is coming up tomorrow!) I generally use Tempting Tara as an inner corner highlight, and Devilish Danielle either as a brow highlight or all over the lid.

Mischievous Marissa is really beautiful when swatched, I wasnt't expecting to like it as much as I did.

Overall I think this palette is a beauty. If I were to hand pick the shades, I may swap in different finishes for the first two shades and the last two (Courtney, Felicia, Tara and Danielle) as I find them to be less wearable and not as silky as the rest of the bunch. I also love the risque names of the shades, there is nothing more frustrating than not being able to name the shade you are raving about and I think this type of cheek is better than the flat out sexual Nars style.

 

TheBalm's Shady Lady Volume 2 retails for $49.95 AUD and is available from David Jones nationally. Get ready for more TheBalm posts as I placed an order on Ozsale and am eagerly waiting for it to arrive.

 

Have you tried anything from TheBalm?

Which shades stand out to you from this palette?

 

 

 

 



theBalm hits Australia! // collection, launch, photos

I was so excited to see that theBalm has reached Australian stores! I have purchased one of my theBalm items online and another overseas, and am happy to now be able to build up my collection of these great products closer to home (at David Jones!)

 My very first theBalm purchase was the Hot Mama! blush which I bought online. I find it really pigmented and only wear it every now and again, but I adore the slim cardboard packaging and beautiful imagery. Next up was the Meet Matt(e) palette, which was a gift from Chris (after much hinting) when we were in Thailand earlier in the year. I've grown to love matte shades as I am always complemented when I wear them! The first purchase from David Jones in Australia was the eyeshadow palette Shady Lady Vol.2, I am yet to try all of the shades but am happy with the ones I have used thus far.

The most exciting theBalm purchase for me was definitely the Mary-Lou Manizer, a beautiful champagne toned highlighter that has been on my wishlist for what seems like an eternity. When I popped into David Jones last week (before interviewing Michelle Phan!) I saw that they had a GWP running. If you made any purchase over $27.95 you received the Balmbini Vol.2 palette, which is on sale now for $49.95! I couldn't pass up this amazing deal, so I now own both of these beauties.

I will have full reviews (with swatches) of all of these coming up, so please let me know in the comments below which you are most excited to see!

Have you tried anything from theBalm?
Will you be visiting them at David Jones?

*All of these products were purchased by me. Honesty, always.

Beach House

Some old favourites, some new products from my collection and a free morning at the beach house.

Chopped the poor fiance out of this one, cheeky!

Flamingo was one of the lipsticks I purchased from the Iris Apfel for MAC collection, and a few of you mentioned that you wanted to see more of it so here you go! My original post with swatches is here.

The pas des copper eye souffle from essence (haul here) is something I've been using under my neutral eye looks quite a bit, and I think it's going to look great underneath the new Illamasqua neutral palette as well. (Click here for a FOTD with the eye souffle paired with Bronx from Illamasqua.) This time around I used the eye souffle by itself with a lick of mascara, liquid liner and a shimmery shadow for a highlight, because I couldn't be bothered doing anything complicated while we were away.

Benefit Hervana was the only blush I took away with me, and I was hoping it would become my new NYX Peach, aka staple in my collection. I like it, but I'm not sure whether or not I love it on my face yet. It sure is pretty though! The Garnier concealer is actually Chris', and he stole it back not long after I took these photos. His skincare products are really appealing to me lately, they're just so quick and easy to use!

pas des copper is really pretty, I think it's a great product for a subtle eye look as well as the full on bronze smokey eyes I like to do. Nice and versatile, and worth grabbing if you can find one in store.

Do you wear makeup when you spend lazy weekends away?

Do you play around with crazy looks, or go bare faced

*All products mentioned in this post were purchased by me, except for the Face of Australia liquid liner. Honesty, always.