I recently placed an online order for several items from the Balm cosmetics because there was an amazing one-day-only deal --> THREE eyeshadow palettes for the price of ONE. Best!
I picked out other stuff as well that amounted to a little over USD100 to be given free international shipping. :)
My cart contained three eyeshadow palettes, one blusher, one highlighter and one 3-piece set of eyeliner pencils.
- Shady Lady Volume 1
- Shady Lady Volume 2
- Shady Lady Volume 3
- Mary-Lou Manizer
- Hot-Mama
- Karate 3-piece set Pick-Up Liners
Here are the product images (Pictures do not belong to me. Credits go to their respective owners). I will show the actual photos in a proper haul post when I receive my items.
I am sooooo excited. I am really liking this brand of cosmetics.
There was a sudden craze for neutral eyeshadows ever since Urban Decay got the ball rolling with the Naked palette.
So the Balm came up with their own version of a neutral-themed palette, perfect for everyday use called Nude'Tude. I LOVE THIS PALETTE. All 12 eyeshadows are amazing - in texture and color. Plus, a brush is included (a bit rough and scratchy though). This is definitely my current favorite eyeshadow palette because it has a good mix of matte and shimmer eyeshadows.
It retails at RM115 (or USD36 on the website) but I got it for about RM80 after the store discount at Sasa, Queensbay Mall. What a deal!
If you share the same kinda love for eyeshadows like me, you will definitely want this palette. I do not own the Naked and Naked2 eyeshadow palettes from Urban Decay but I reckon this is much better because I personally own several other Urban Decay palettes and I must say that they aren't as smooth and creamy as the Balm.
I now leave you pictures of this awesome palette.
The front and the back of the hard cardboard packaging ...
The front part of the packaging has the exact same design as what is on the palette itself ...
A large lengthy mirror inside ...
Full view of the eyeshadows inside the palette. Something to note : the eyeshadow pans are not linear. Haha! If you are a little OCD, this may bug you like it bugs me!
Sassy - white (frost)
Snobby - golden yellow (shimmer)
Stubborn - pink-peach (frost)
Stand-Offish - light-bronze (shimmer)
Selfish - mushroom-taupe (frost)
Sultry - medium brown (matte)
Sophisticated - bronzed dark brown (shimmer)
Schitzo - bronzed golden brown (frost)
Sexy - burgundy (matte)
Silly - reddish dark brown with glitter (shimmer)
Serious - very black (matte)
Sleek - very dark brown (matte)
Close-up shots of the eyeshadows ...
I did not do swatches of the eyeshadows but really, what you see (from the photos in terms of the color) is what you get - highly pigmented, smooth and creamy eyeshadows.
Note : Serious (a very matte black) and Sleek (a very matte dark brown) can double up as eyeliners.
So, once in a while I will be publishing OTB posts to sort of break away from the beauty bit.
Today's OTB post is about the current musical TV show - Smash! I watched the latest episode last night and immediately fell in love with an original song from the show - The Secondhand White Baby Grand. Beautiful melody. Beautiful lyrics. Simply wonderful.
And I'd like to share this song with you... And also here's a picture of a white baby grand. Stunning! :)
My mother bought it secondhand from a silent movie star
It was out of tune but still I learned to play
And with each note we both would smile forgetting who we are
And all the pain would simply fly away
Chorus:
Something secondhand and broken still can make a pretty sound
Even if it doesn't have a place to live
Oh, the words were left unspoken
When my momma came around
But that secondhand white baby grand
Still had something beautiful to give
Through missing keys and broken strings the music was our own
Until the day we said our last goodbyes
The baby grand was sent away
A child all alone
To pray somebody else would realize
Chorus:
That something secondhand and broken still can make a pretty sound
Even if it doesn't have a place to live
Oh. the words are still unspoken
Now that momma's not around
But that secondhand white baby grand
Still has something beautiful to give
For many years the music had to roam
Until we found a way to find a home
So now I wake up every day and see her standing there
Just waiting for a partner to compose
And I wish my mother still could hear
That sound beyond compare
I'll play her song till everybody knows
Chorus:
That something secondhand and broken still can make a pretty sound
1. Would you rather go out with messy hair and nice make-up or nice hair and no make-up?
Nice hair and no make-up. How can one leave the house without at least brushing your hair? C'mon. Personal grooming. No comb also can use fingers.
2. Would you rather shave your eyebrows or have your eyelashes fall out?
Shaved eyebrows! At least I can draw them on until they grow back on me.
3. Would you rather be forced to shop at only MAC or Sephora for the rest of your life?
Sephora! So much variety. MAC is just overrated.
4. Would you rather wear lipgloss/lipliner look or 80′s perm?
I'd do the lipgloss/lipliner look. No perm for me! Hair is already ruined.
5. Would you rather leave the house with an obvious foundation line or overdone blush?
Wow! Haha! Erm... Overdone blush. Just cause I'm fair and people might think that I need more color.
6. Would you rather wear MC Hammer pants or biker shorts in public?
I had to Google what MC Hammer pants are... Haha! And yes, I'd wear that in public. No biker shorts! No no no!
7. Would you rather have a bad orange-y spray tan or really weird tan lines that can’t be covered?
Weird tan lines. I already had that when I was younger like my legs would have the sock-line around the ankle, my wrist would have the watch-line around it... No biggy.
8. Would you rather have a bad haircut or bad hair color?
Erm... Bad haircut. A bad hair color is just too obvious.
9. Would you rather have YouTube or Twitter taken away forever?
Twitter. Too much stalking. YouTube is better.
10. Would you rather give up using makeup brushes or mascara?
Oooo. This might surprise many but I'd give up my mascara! I need my makeup brushes. Really. :)
Believe it or not. I wore this look for a dinner with a friend. With my glasses on. Yeah!!!
The main focus of this look is the Urban Decay 15th Anniversary Eyeshadow palette. If you read my previous post here about my beauty dilemma, I asked a question whether I should review two eyeshadow palettes or just share the looks I do with them. I then received a comment from Ngaku, asking me to share the looks I create with the palettes so here's the first - a bright purple and pink look!
My EOTD posts are no longer tutorial-ish where I show you how to place the colors and etc because I am using a terrible camera which distorts the eyeshadow colors and I hate it! Because of that, I find it difficult to take photos of every step I do to achieve a look hence I post only pictures of the final look taken with my iPad.
I do hope this is temporary but... we'll see.
Face
Nothing. :( It's only because the picture below ain't clear. If not... my pores and scars will scare you away. Not kiddin'.
Brows
Shiseido Natural Eyebrow Pencil in Natural Black
Eyes
Stage Prime Time Eye Perfecting Base in 01 Vanila (to prime the eyelids and even out my skin tone)
NYX Jumbo Eyeshadow Pencil in Milk (matte white)
Tony Moly eyeshadow in Light Pink
Urban Decay (UD15 palette) eyeshadow in Junkshow (bright cool pink), Evidence (shimmery navy blue) and Omen (shimmery violet)
(Disclaimer: I got the Guerlain Meteorites as a gift for my birthday. Thank you, Meshuga!)
2. WRATH : What beauty products do you have a love/hate relationship with? What product has been the hardest to get?
I have a love/hate relationship with false eyelashes. I really do. And it's sad. Because I love what false lashes do to complete an eye look but I have the worst time putting them on. I.TAKE.FOREVER. And I get glue all over my eyes. Most of the time, I get so fed up that I just chuck them back into the box at the end. Gah!
The product that has been hardest to get is probably the Urban Decay 15th Anniversary Eyeshadow Palette. This is a limited edition product and when I got to know about it, the stock at Sephora Malaysia was already sold out. I had to get it from the United States and that took a while because I had to get someone to purchase it in the US and ship it out to me.
3. GLUTTONY : What are your most delicious beauty products?
The Body Shop Born Lippy Lychee Shimmer Lip Balm. OMG. You don't even need to uncap the stick to smell it. I love fruity scents in anything. And this is no exception. Lychee. Oh-em-jee. That's all I have to say. The plus side, this product does wonders to my lips. I own two Born Lippy sticks - Lychee and Strawberry. The Lychee is more delicious though. :)
4. SLOTH : What beauty product do you neglect due to laziness?
Looking at my stash of beauty items, I kinda neglect my mascaras. The 'lazy' factor is not when putting the mascara on but the removing part. I usually wash off my makeup when I am in the shower with my facial cleanser. And some mascaras just don't come off. Even the non-waterproof ones. This bugs me. And my eyes. Therefore, I don't wear mascara. Hence the neglect. And if some of you think "Hey, just wear false eyelashes then. Easy peasy. Easily removed." Okay, please go back to question 2 and read my answer! WRATH I tell you!
5. PRIDE : What beauty product gives you the most self confidence?
Oooo... definitely my concealer. I am pretty fair and this just makes my acne scars super visible. And my face gets pretty scary during the time-of-the-month where I not only deal with acne scars but acne as well! Lots of little bumps around the chin area. And so I need my concealer. It is a choice that I make to want my skin to look good. I CAN go out without having to conceal my imperfections and still be confident, okay!
6. LUST : What attribute do you find most attractive in the opposite sex?
Wow. This is hard. Physical attributes? A chiseled jaw, nice teeth and smoldering eyes are definitely attractive. But these are not all I look for in a man. He has to have more than that. More as in character-wise.
7. ENVY : What beauty items would you like most to receive as gifts?
Oh dear. Too many. Haha! But generally, I would love to receive items that are not available in my country. I definitely want to try Japanese makeup brands.
I was graciously given the Urban Decay palette and then purchased TheBalm palette at a really great deal last Christmas.
The question now is, should I do a product review for these two palettes? Or just show different looks I put on with these palettes? What do I do? What do I do? But really, these palettes have been out for some time. There are tons of reviews and swatches out there in the beauty-blogging world. I, personally, would rather show you looks I achieve with these palettes.
Anyways, here are pictures of the palettes. (Pictures do not belong to me. Credits go to their respective owners.)
GORGEOUS, aren't they? LOVE LOVE LOVE! These two palettes are definitely daily makeup staples for me.
Do let me know if you want to see pictures of looks I do with these palettes. I would love to share! :)
If you had read my last blog post dated January 26, you would have realized that I lied about blogging the next week, and I apologize right here, right now. Heh. It's almost a month after and here I am with a fresh new product review blog entry!
To my faithful readers/followers, thanks for sticking with me. :)
The product name is really a mouthful so let me just call it the Maybelline Swirl Gel Liner, alright? I have had this gel liner and used it for about four months now and it is high time I share my thoughts about this product.
Simply, this gel liner is AWESOME. Haha! The end.
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C'mon, keep reading.
I first heard word about this 'swirl' gel liner from Tinkerbell because she first spotted it at a Watsons store. After that, I was searching high and low for it - visiting four Watsons stores before I got my hands on this gel liner gem. And when Tinkerbell mentioned 'swirl', it was difficult to picture what it really meant until I saw the product itself and was pretty amazed.
COLOR
The gel liner I got consists of two colors - black and silver, swirled together like a lollipop. Very pretty in the jar, really. It is like having three colors of gel liner in one jar for one price. I could use only the black, only the silver or mix those two colors for a shimmery grey. Very very cool, Maybelline. Good job! I usually wear only the black because it is such an opaque matte black which I really like. I also have the MAC Blacktrack gel liner which is like the best of the best gel liners in the market and I dare say that Maybelline is almost there. Just a few more tweaks in the formula and I guess it will be as great! For me, MAC wins over Maybelline because its gel liner dries faster on my eye lids.
LASTING POWER
And yes, this gel liner is very water-proof and smudge-proof on my eye lids. The lasting power of 24-hours I have yet to test and will never get to it. That is a pretty big claim by Maybelline but I will never wear make-up for 24-hours to test the product. So if any of you want to try it out, let me know! :)
The added advantage that Maybelline has with its gel liners over other brands is that each jar is sold with a brush. This is such a brilliant idea and mind you, the brush is really of good quality. It is densely packed and slightly stiff, just nice for gel liner application. This would definitely ease the use of the gel liner for beginners. And also, the brush head is protected with a transparent cover which really is the winner for me.
I now leave you pictures of the Maybelline Swirl Gel Liner in S01 Black & Silver... :)
L-R: Black only -- Silver only -- Black & Silver mixed
(The lighting of the photo somehow washes out the color. Trust me, the black is black!)
My hooded-lid-eye wearing the black & silver liner
I end this blog entry with a tip on maintaining gel liners : make sure the caps are screwed tight and jars overturned after use to avoid gel liners from drying out too quickly.
