Shakeup Your Makeup

Another Halloween mani with the pumpkin polishes.  This time I layered the Pumpkin polish with orange and black confetti glitter on top of OPI Designer Series "Mystery".  The OPI is the most unique color, and so hard to capture on film.  Unfortunately it's been rainy and gloomy out so I couldn't go outside and take a picture either.  The color is a deep purple/almost black with gold micro glitter. 

If I could do this again, I would use a lighter shade underneath because you lose the black confetti in the dark color of the base polish.  Instead, I might choose a similar base shade, but something more purple and less black.   Regardless, the OPI is gorgeous on its own.  Too bad the picture can't capture it.

What is your Halloween manicure going to be?

Today's swatches are of The Balm's Shady Lady eyeshadow in Jealous Jordana.  I received this as a birthday gift as well.  This is my first go with The Balm, although I have heard very nice things about the brand. 

Jealous Jordana is a deep almost black green with evergreen shimmer.  This can be used as both an eyeshadow and an eyeliner.  The consistency is very smooth and silky.  The blending power was very nice as well.  Pigmentation is also nice, but to get the most out of it I would definitely suggest using a primer.  Using something underneath the shade really makes the color pop.

Swatched below are with (left) and without (right) primer.  I used the LA Splash Eyeshadow Primer/Sealer underneath and got really nice results.  I think if you used one of the UDPP in Greed or Sin you would get a really nice amplification of the shimmer.  It really depends on what type of look you are going for.

The Balm can be found online or in store at Sephora.  The eyeshadow singles retail for $16 a piece, but they do have sets quite often that are even more affordable.

Have you tried the Shady Lady shadows?  What about any other Balm products?

I think I mentioned a while back that they were renovating the Walgreens near me.  Well, while doing so, I was wandering through the aisles and found a section of clearance items.  These weren't just old products, or broken products, these were perfectly good products that were marked down substantially.  Case and point:  Maybelline's Limited Edition Fall 2011 blushes below...marked down to $1.75 a piece, and then Maybelline was BOGO50% off, so I got one of them for $0.87!  The moral of the story?  Go check out the clearance!

The three I found were Stage Glow, Pressworthy Pink and Ravishing Rouge. 

First, Stage Glow.  This is a beautiful highlighting shade.  The palest of nude pinks, there is beautiful pearl shimmer throughout. 

Pressworthy Pink is a true bubblegum pink.  There is also shimmer in this blush, but not as much as the Stage Glow.  The shimmer is a bit more silver as well, or it could just be because it is against the pink so it stands out more.

Ravishing Rouge is a deep brick/plum shade with a slight pink shimmer.  Yes, this is probably a bit dark for me, but I'm hoping with a light hand and a light brush, I can pull it off.  Otherwise, this is going to my sister.

All three swatched below - natural light, no flash.  The Stage Glow is just beautiful!  The textures are creamy, not chalky at all.  They blend very well into the skin and the shimmer left behind is a really nice glow in the cheeks. 

Have you tried any of these LE shades?  How about finding some great bargains like this in your local clearance?

(natural light)

(Flash)