theBalm Nude'tude Eyeshadow Palette Swatches and Review

     Happy belated Valentine's Day. I think I'm missing the date my a day or something. I wanted to do a really detail review of this palette today because I was in the mood. It's very "Temptalia" style, tell me it you like it.

     The "neutral" (brown tone) eyeshadow palettes have been all the rage for 2011 and now into 2012 (how has a month past already?) and theBalm recently released their very own version called Nude'tude. The packaging has the normal amount of sass you would expect from the Balm... This palette and the Meet Matt(e) palette are my first adventures into theBalm and let me tell you, I'm very impressed. Enjoy the swatches!

     The Nude'tude palette isn't want you would can a "naked" palette, after all the real Naked palette isn't really "naked." It comes with 12 wearable colors in really cute/racy packaging. There is a safe version if you don't like the women, but I think the characters give the palette personality. Personally, I felt that the palette could be easily split in two groups-lighter colors and darker colors. I've split them up into these two groups for swatches and review. I think you'll understand why I split the palette. For all these shadows I used either one or two swipes of the product.

     This is the lighter, more easy to wear section of the palette. It's made of 6 shadows- Sassy, Stubborn, Selfish, Snobby, Stand-offish, and Sultry.

Sassy is a icy pale cool white. It's definitely not an off-white, very true. The shimmer in the shadow is larger than the shimmer in the other shadows. It has great pigmentation and smooth texture.

Stubborn is sheerer pinky champagne. The shimmer is more of a sheen and though it is still smooth in texture, it's not as soft as the other shadows. I guess that could be good or bad. It's like Urban Decay Sin but with the finish of MAC Naked Lunch.

Selfish is a shimmery slightly goldened taupe. The shimmers are not too large and it has good pigmentation, and nice texture. It's definitely my cup of tea and my favorite color in the palette.

Snobby is a lighter yellow gold with larger shimmer particles. It's got very nice pigmentation and texture.

Stand-offish is a peachy tan champagne with larger shimmers. It's like MAC All That Glitters, but with larger shimmer particles. It is nicely pigmented and very smooth.

Sultry is a camel warm mid-brown with a matte finish. It's one of those crease colors and blending colors.

     The last six colors are obviously darker smokey colors. They include Sophisticated, Sexy, Serious, Schitzo, Silly, and Sleek.

Sophisticated is a darker cool brown with golden micro-glitters. This particular shadow is more sheer. What I like about it is that the glitters are thoroughly integrated into the shadow so it won't just disappear after a little blending.

Sexy is a very pretty matte maroon red brown. It has decent pigmentation, though it applies a bit unevenly. Still very smooth in texture.

Serious is a matte black. It's not the darkest black and it applies unevenly.

Schitzo is a warm bronzy gold with good pigmentation and texture.

Silly is a warm matte brown with rosegold/copper glitters. It's a bit sheer, but the texture is still good. The glitter in this shadow isn't as integrated into the brown shadow.

Sleek is a matte coffee brown that applies a bit streaky.

     Overall, the palette has amazing texture, but a couple of the matte or darker colors don't swatch evenly. Either ways, I really like the colors and it's one of the more versatile palettes. There is a wonderful balance between matte, shimmery, and glittery shadows. The last picture is the palette in all its glory.

Thanks for reading! Please leave a comment. Byebye. C:

theBalm Meet Matt(e). Eyeshadow Palette Swatches and Review

     Matte eyeshadows are essential to my everyday eyeshadow looks. Matte colors create realistic depth and shadows. The thing about matte shadows is that they're hard to perfect and a matte shadow that is pigmented, smooth, and blendable does not come by often. In terms of my favorite matte eyeshadows, I've come across a cople from MAC, a couple from NARS, and a few from Too Faced. This time around, I tried our theBalm when they came out with an all out matte palette. So let's Meet Matt(e).

     I'm actually very impressed with theBalm Meet Matt(e) Palette. The palette is of course the quirky kind of vintage theme the company tends to follow and I guess the idea is that all the shadows are named after Matt ________. The packaging is simple cardboard and it's extremely sleek; it has magnetic closure, a mirror, and a two sided brush.
     Now on to the actual shadows. (These shadows are all matte unless I say so.) Matt Smith is an off white cream. Matt Gallagher is a slightly grayed light brown. Matt Ramirez is a neutral to warm dark brown. Matt McDonald is a satin green-dark gray. Matt Horowitz is an almost satin, more matte, muted teal blue-gray. Matt Chung is a off-white baby pink. Matt Batali is a red-toned dark cocoa. Matt Schilling is a muted-murky green. Matt Patel is a taupe. Overall, this palette is great quality. Most of the shades are incredibly smooth and pigmented. I found all of the shades to be extremely blendable, perfect for a hazy smokey eye. The shadows also last all day with a good primer. Now the downfalls are first of all, Matt Chung which I find to be sheer and chalky. All of the shades are also so smooth that you get excess after placing a brush on the product. But other than that, all I have to say is that two of the nine shades in this palette are not completely matte to me.
     I've been testing out this palette for the past week and a half and I really enjoy it. Of course because I am a high schooler and an avid neutral color wearer, I tend to stick with Matt Smith, Gallagher, Ramirez, and Patel. But I have tried a couple colored smokey eyes with the other colors and I'm still impressed. My favorite colors have to be Matt Smith (to even out my lids) and Matt Gallagher + Matt Patel (because I love my taupey crease shades).
     I definitely recommend this palette to people searching for good matte shadows. (:


Thank you very much for reading! Please leave me a comment. Byebye. C:

Video: My Current Top 10 Blushes

     Blush is an essential to makeup if you wearing foundations. Because foundations tend to completely even out, meaning wipe out, the color from your skin, you must restore the color. Of course there are so many blushes, and each person will prefer different colors. For myself, I prefer my peaches and orangey-corals. So this video will show you my top 10 blushes right now. I do expect the list to change, but it won't be extremely drastic and quick, so that's why I felt that I should show you all for now.




So please tell me what your favorite blushes are, I would love to check them out and maybe try colors I've never tried before. In particular, I'm looking for a natural matte warm toned pink that suits light-medium skin tones (warm because I've tried cool tone pink blushes, and I don't love them) and also a more plum colored blush.

Thanks for watching! Please leave me a comment. Byebye. :D