Monday, March 17, 2014

the Balm 'How 'Bout Them Apples?' Cheek & Lip Cream Palette: Thoughts, Swatches, and Review

First, Happy St. Patrick's Day. Are you doing anything fun! I am only wearing green eye shadow and liner today because I have no green clothes!

Today's post is about the relatively new the Balm 'How 'Bout Them Apples' Cheek & Lip Cream Palette ($32). I picked it up during their 50% off sale a few weeks ago...the one that kept shutting down. Miraculously, my order went through, but if yours didn't, they are having another one to make up for it soon...and this should be on your list!


This palette is big, and housed in a sturdy cardboard casing with a cute picnic pin-up girl on the outside. Too adorable...and I am pretty sure that pug is Wheezie, the Balms' chief pet officer. Cute!


The back shows all the colors and the ingredients, but honestly, there is very little difference on the colors, as you can see, kinda unhelpful, but that's okay...just open it up!


This features a full-size mirror and the pans are very good size, maybe just slightly smaller than a stand-alone cream blush. But my favorite part? You guessed it---the hunky guys representing each shade! Too funny!

Let's get onto swatches and more detail!


 'Apple' Cider is the first shade on the top left of the palette. It is the lightest-- a cool pale pink with just a bit of dustiness to it. The most creamy of them all, which causes a bit of patchiness in the swatch, but nothing that can't be smoothed out on the cheek. Cider is accompanied by a brooding cowboy with some tattoos. Also, there is no smell to any of these cheek creams.


'Apple' Cobbler is the red of the bunch. This is such a juicy shade, and really reminds me of a red delicious. Creamy and great on both lips and cheeks, but be warned, a little goes a long way! I use a stippling brush to make sure I don't overdo it. Cobblers' cowboy looks all chivalrous tipping his hat at us, doesn't he?


'Apple' Pie is the closest this palette comes to a hot pink, but it has just a hint of coral. A universal shade, in my opinion. And I think this cowboy looks a bit like Cillian Murphy if you squint?


Oh 'Apple' Crisp, you might be my favorite! While all the other shades are luminous creams, this has some gold shimmer to it. It really is gorgeous. This one is very easy to blend and gives the prettiest sheen to cheeks. A great shade to dab on the middle of the lips to work your pout as well! And you definitely want to work it, because Crisps' boy is very cute!


Not only handsome, but also sweet--- Candy 'Apple' is a lighter than Pie but still vibrant pink/coral that runs just slightly cool-toned. A little bit of this and some beachy hair would be the perfect summer look. These last a long time on the face, just as the Balm powder blushes do. I get about 8+ hours of wear, depending on how hot the day is. Since these are creamy, I set them with translucent powder on hot days. On the lips, I only get a few hours wear, but they are non-drying.


Caramel 'Apple' is a dark rose/brown shade that is simply gorgeous and rounds out the palette nicely. This is a 'my lips but better' shade on lips and gives a slightly more dramatic cheek. My only problem with caramel is that this cowboy looks a little bit awkwardly photoshopped... ;).

Overall, I would pay the $32 for this palette, but getting it half off is even better! The concept is fun and will make you smile every time you open it, the product is quality, and if you are new to cream blushes, this is an entire wardrobe all in one palette, and they can double as lip creams.

So, 'How 'Bout Them Apples?'

Tell me who your favorite cowboy is in the comments!

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Sunday, March 16, 2014

Ipsy March 2014 Glam Bag: Destination Beauty

It is the middle of the month and that means it is 
'Ipsy Glam Bag Review Time'!
March's theme is 'Destination Beauty' and the bag came with 4 deluxe and full-sized products for $10, as always. Some people were hardcore complaining that we only got 4 products instead of 5, but this was one of the best bags yet! No complaints here!
What I got:
Deluxe sample of bareMinerals Marvelous Moxie lipstick in the shade Get Ready ($8): Pretty rose color, lovely vanilla smell, feels great on lips.
Full-sized NYX 'Love in Rio' eyeshadow trio in 'Bikini Bottom' ($6): A neutral trio, light color pay-off but very wearable colors.
Deluxe sample of Pixi Flawless Beauty Primer ($9): A new product from Pixi. Glowy and has Vitamins A, E, & C.
Full-sized Chella eyeliner pen in Indigo Blue ($24): Water-proof and paraben free stunning blue felt tip liner!
Total value: $47!!

And lets not forget the gorgeous bag! The print was done by artist Klari Reis!
Above are some swatches. 'Get Ready' is gorgeous and pigmented, and the Indigo Blue liner is so precise! The Flawless Beauty Primer has a hint of color, but it is negligible on the skin and face and just creates a dewy look. 'Bikini Bottom' makes me smile, just because of the name (calling my fellow Spongebob fans!) but the pink and beige give little payoff. They are great blending colors though!

Here is a pan shot of Love in Rio 'Bikini Bottom'. Excuse the cuticle line on my mani...its being going strong for over a week (Color is A-England 'Jane Eyre' if you were curious).


And here are the tips of the blue liner and the lipstick. Overall I am so happy with this month's Ipsy bag. A great value and items I will use!

And so...because the second I received the bag and saw the shade of the moxie lipstick was 'Get Ready'...I haven't been able to get this song out of my head...



The Temptations 'Get Ready' covered by one of my favorite bands, Molotov Jukebox. Enjoy!
I can already feel summer...its 90 degrees here!

And if you are looking to join Ipsy....click here!

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Sunday, March 9, 2014

TMI Tag! Get To Know Me!

I'm not a YouTube expert, and my videos aren't fancy, but come get to know me and watch me answer the TMI Tag questions!


Visit me on YouTube

Let me know if you have a channel so I can check it out! All of you should do the TMI Tag!


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