Product of the Week: The Balm Shady Lady Volume 3 Overview with Swatches

The featured product for this week is The Balm's Shady Lady Volume 3. This palette includes a wide variety of shadows that are creamy, easy to apply and absolutely gorgeous on the skin. I said it in the video and I'll say it again, if you're going to buy any palette this seasons, I'd suggest this one. The Balm Shady Lady Volume 3 is $39.50 and available at Sephora and Sephora.com. All the colors are shimmer shades, but that doesn't limit the versatility of this palette. The Balm really got it right with this palette. It includes bright fun shades like Open to Offers Olwen (a bright teal-green) and more neutral shades like Come-Hither Heather (smokey taupe). Thus, this palette appeals to both those who love color and those looking for a palette with some maturity and wear-ability. When I sat down to do the first tutorial from this palette I was so overwhelmed with the color choices. I like the feeling of having an unlimited amount of color and creativity at my finger tips. This palette really offers a lot of bang for it's buck and is one of the best made palettes I have seen in a long time. It has impressed me from the moment I swatched it.

From Left to Right: Guilty Gwen, All the Way Annie, Open to Offers Olwen, Come-Hither Heather, Runaround Rebecca, Safe Bet Annette, Racy Kacy, Envious Erin, Lusty Lee

From Left to Right: Guilty Gwen, All the Way Annie, Open to Offers Olwen, Come-Hither Heather, Runaround Rebecca, Safe Bet Annette, Racy Kacy, Envious Erin, Lusty Lee

Nail of the Day - China Glaze Broken Hearted Crackle Glaze and Sephora's Hello Kitty Blueberry

I decided to pair China Glaze's Broken Hearted Crackle Glaze with a light blue. My favorite light blue pastel polish is Sephora's Hello Kitty Blueberry cream polish. I think the contrast of light blue and light pink is not only interesting on the nails, but reminds us all of the social norms associated with each color - girls like light pink, boys like light blue. As strange as this social norm may seem to us as adults, the fact of the matter is we often associate certain colors with certain genders. Since China Glaze's Crackle Polish in light pink is entitled Broken Hearted, I thought it was a bit poetic to pair the lacquer with a light blue polish. It is boys who break girls' hearts, isn't it? hahaha.

I applied Seche Base as a base coat and two coats of Sephora's Hello Kitty Blueberry, then I applied one coat of China Glaze Broken Hearted Crackle Glaze for this result. Enjoy!

Sephora's Hello Kitty Blueberry Nail Polish

Sephora Hello Kitty Blueberry Two Coats, China Glaze Broken Hearted Crackle Glaze One Coat

Sephora Hello Kitty Blueberry Two Coats, China Glaze Broken Hearted Crackle Glaze One Coat

Sephora Hello Kitty Blueberry Two Coats, China Glaze Broken Hearted Crackle Glaze One Coat

Mac Quite Cute Collection Preview

Mac Quite Cute Promotional Picture

Mac Quite Cute Promotional Picture

U.S./Canada Launch Date: April 7th, 2011
International Launch Date: April 2011

 

Lipstick ($14.50 U.S. / $17.50 CDN)

• Playing Koi Creamy white peach pink (Satin) (Limited Edition)
• Saint Germain Pastel pink (Amplified) (Permanent)
• Candy Yum-Yum Neon pink (Matte) (Limited Edition)
• Quite Cute Bright white lavender (Cremesheen) (Limited Edition)
• Play Time Intense violet (Cremesheen) (Limited Edition)

Plushglass ($18.50 U.S. / $22.00 CDN)

• Fashion Fanatic Creamy pale pink (Limited Edition)
• Bubble Tea Creamy pale nude (Limited Edition)
• Girl ♥ Boy Bright light blue pink (Limited Edition)
• I ♥ U Creamy mid-tone purple (Limited Edition)

Lip Pencil ($13.00 U.S. / $15.50 CDN)

• In Synch Bright yellow pink (Limited Edition) (Repromote)
• Naked Light neutral (Limited Edition) (Repromote)
• Boldly Bare Mid-tone red brown (Limited Edition) (Repromote)

Cutie Eyeshadow Quad ($36.00 U.S. / $43.00 CDN)

• Moshi! Moshi! Pale white green gold (Frost) (Limited Edition)
• Goody Goody Gum Drop Light white pink (Satin) (Limited Edition)
• Boycrazy Pale lavender with silver pearl pigments (Lustre) (Limited Edition)
• Azuki Bean Mid-tone violet (Frost) (Limited Edition)

Mineralize Blush ($23.00 U.S. / $27.50 CDN)

• Giggly Light pink with pearly plum heart (Frost) (Limited Edition)
• Sakura Lavender with pearly deep magenta heart (Frost) (Limited Edition)
• Miss Behave Light beige with pearly mint green heart (Frost) (Limited Edition)

Nail Lacquer ($14.00 U.S. / $17.00 CDN)

• Ice Cream Cake Creamy blue pink (Cream) (Limited Edition)
• Little Girl Type Creamy pale lavender (Cream) (Limited Edition)
• Mischievous Creamy pale blue mint (Cream) (Limited Edition)

False Lashes ($14.00 U.S. / $17.00 CDN)

• #7 Lash Spiky, slightly separated, high glam lash (Permanent)

Penultimate Eyeliner ($17.50 U.S. / $21.00 CDN)

• Rapidblack True black (Permanent)

Zoom Lash ($14.00 U.S. / $17.00 CDN)

• Zoomblack Rich black (Permanent)

Source: Temptalia.com

Nail of the Day - China Glaze Purple Panic (Neon) and China Glaze Lightening Bolt Crackle Glaze

I was really excited about China Glaze Lightning Bolt Crackle Glaze because it's an opaque white cream that matte and crackles when it dries. Pretty awesome! I decided to apply China Glaze's Purple Panic (Neon) as a base coat in hopes of making China Glaze Lightening Bolt really stand out. The effect was awesome! At first I was a little disappointed that China Glaze Lightening Bolt was not more opaque so as not to show through any of the neon purple, but in reality I think China Glaze Lightening Bolt did a great job covering the neon purple. What do you think?

I applied Seche Base as a base coat, two layers of China Glaze Purple Panic, one coat of Seche Vite and one coat of China Glaze Lightening Bolt for this effect. Enjoy!

China Glaze Purple Panic Two Coats with Flash

China Glaze Lightening Bolt One Coat over Two Coats China Glaze Lightening Bolt with Flash

China Glaze Lightening Bolt One Coat over Two Coats China Glaze Lightening Bolt with Flash

China Glaze Lightening Bolt One Coat over Two Coats China Glaze Lightening Bolt with Flash

Elf President's Day Free Shipping

Another Nail of the Day - China Glaze's Cracked Concrete!

Right after I posted my OPI Black Shatter Nail of the Day, a package arrived with my set of China Glaze's Crackle Glaze Polishes! I was so excited I had to paint my nails with a shade! I chose China Glaze's Cracked Concrete - a deep, opaque gray! It's so beautiful! I decided to pair it with Butter London Blagger. I will purchased the entire collection, so I will continue to paint and show off the whole set throughout the week! I have to say thus far, I think China Glaze's Crackle Glaze Polishes are a much better formula than OPI's Black Shatter. I have found that my OPI Black Shatter wants to clump up and dry too quickly when applying to the nails, which is extremely annoying and makes the polish look chunky! I find China Glaze's Cracked Concrete to be a lot smoother formula and much easier to apply. I will update you if the rest of the colors have the same smooth formula as I use them.

China Glaze Cracked Concrete, like OPI's Black Shatter, dries with a semi-Matte finish. I did not apply a top coat so I wouldn't ruin the effect! I applied Seche Base as a basecoat, two coats of Butter London Blagger and one coat of China Glaze Concrete! Enjoy!

Butter London Blagger with Seche Vite as Top Coat - Two Coats with Flash

China Glaze Cracked Concrete - One Coat over Butter London Blagger - with Flash

China Glaze Cracked Concrete - One Coat over Butter London Blagger - No Flash

China Glaze Cracked Concrete - One Coat over Butter London Blagger - No Flash

China Glaze Cracked Concrete - One Coat over Butter London Blagger - with Flash

Another Nail of the Day - OPI's Black Shatter and American Apparel's Mac Arthur Park

I love this combo so much on my nails I couldn't wait another day to post it. I combined American Apparel's Mac Arthur Park (Friday's Nail of the Day) with OPI's Black Shatter for this amazing result! I am so in love! I love the idea of black and yellow together, but I didn't want my nails to look like a traffic sign or worse - a bumble bee! So I decided to go with American Apparel's Mac Arthur Park (olive-green-yellow) with OPI's Black Shatter! I am loving this result! It's still show stopping without being bumblebee-ish!

I applied Seche Base as a base coat, two coats of American Apparel's Mac Arthur Park, Seche Vite as a top coat, and then a layer of OPI's Black Shatter for this awesome result! I love it! I hope you all enjoy!

Nail of the Day - Milani Gems

I purchased Milani Gems because I really liked Deborah Lippmann's Happy Birthday, but I couldn't justify the price of the polish in comparison to so many other alternative multi-colored glittered polishes. Deborah Lippmann Happy Birthday is $16 per bottle and Milani Gems is $4.00 per bottle. As you can see, Milani Gems is a clear coat filled with multi-colored glitter. I will admit, the glitter is not the smoothest thing on the nails. It requires a thick base coat to keep from feeling scratchy on the fingers. However, the effect of the glitter is really amazing! I found it particularly difficult to photograph Milani Gems because of the glitter's reflective properties.

I applied OPI's Original Nail Envy as a base coat, three coats of Milani Gems, and a super thick coat of Seche Vite. I literally stood steal letting my hands dry hoping not to ruin my awesome glitter nails. I hope you all enjoy!

Milani Gems - Three Coats No Flash

Milani Gems - Three Coats With Flash

Milani Gems - Three Coats No Flash

Not a Liquid??? I Can't Believe It!!!! Sonia Kashuk's Gel Liner!

Sonia Kashuk's Dramatically Defining Long Wear Gel Liner is pretty darn good!  I don't wear a lot of liquid eye liners, but this one is designed to look like a liquid eyeliner but is actually a gel.  The product is very easy to apply, goes on smoothly and allows you to create very definitive lines.  

The eye liner could be a deeper black.  While it is definitely black, it is not as black as some of the black eyeliners on the market.  

Product Details:

Sonia Kasuk's Dramatically Defining Long Wear Gel Liner 

03 Ebony

.18 oz or 5.1 g

Product comes in 6 Colors:  Black Noir, Black Blue, Black Tulip, black Cocoa, Deep Plum, True Teal

Product contains vitamin E and natural pigments.  It is paraben free, mineral oil free, preservative free and hypoallergenic.

Revlon Colorburst Lipstick - Burst of Color and Dryness!!!

I must say, when I first started applying Revlon's Colorburst lipstick, I was feeling pretty good about it. I thought it might be comparable to MAC's Amplified Cream.  It went on smooth and creamy and simply felt great on my lips.  However, as time went on and I wore it, it just kinda felt dry on my lips and left them feeling really dry after removing the lipstick.  You would definitely need to exfoliate well before wearing this one.  So, no, I'd have to say.."not a fan!"

Product Details:

Available in 20 shades, including 5 new shades

Price:  $5.84

Revlon uses "Elastic color technology that is to provide immediate color release and provide weightless color"

Left:  030 Fuchsia, Right:  085 Ruby

Left:  085 Ruby, Right 030 Fucshia

Left:  085 Ruby, Right:  030 Fucshia

Left:  085 Ruby, Right:  030 Fucshia

Revlon Fusica

Revlon Fuscia

Revlon Ruby

Revlon Ruby

Nail of the Day - American Apparel's Mac Arthur Park

Ok, I cannot even begin to tell you how amazing the American Apparel polishes are! They are incredible! I have had this polish sitting on my desk as a "To-Paint" polish for the past few weeks and I am so excited to finally get to put it on! This is American Apparel's Mac Arthur Park! Isn't it amazing!? I love how bright, unique and fun this polish is! American Apparel's Mac Arthur Park is almost an acid green with a hint more dullness. It's almost like a yellow-green apple color! I know, I am not very good at describing colors! I took photos with the flash and without in hopes you guys could help me come up with a better description! This color is a smooth cream that applies beautifully with minimal clumping and a super opaque finish.

I applied Seche Base as a base coat, two coats of American Apparel Mac Arthur Park (although I probably could have done one), and Seche Vite as a top coat. What are your thoughts? Have you tried the American Apparel polishes?

American Apparel Mac Arthur Park

American Apparel Mac Arthur Park

American Apparel Mac Arthur Park - Without Flash