All posts tagged: thebalm

Top Five Eyeshadow Brands (Cruelty-Free)

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I’m a big eyeshadow fiend, which I think is pretty obvious by now. Here are some of my favorite cruelty-free eyeshadow brands, in case you want to start wearing eyeshadow also, but don’t know where to start. Please note that by cruelty-free, I mean brands that do not themselves test their products and ingredients on animals. For that reason, I have included cruelty-free brands that are owned by parent companies who test. I will state which ones are owned by whom. 1. Le Métier de Beauté Le Métier de Beauté is a beautiful brand from New York City. They make small quantities of their exquisite inventions, which makes me want to buy them ASAP. One thing I have a hard time saying ‘no’ to is their limited edition Kaleidoscope Eye Kits ($95), four-tiered eyeshadow palettes that are especially designed to be layered on. Sometimes, the pigmentation of these shadows leave a lot to be desired, but they blend like a dream. I never really understood how “blendability” can affect how much you love an eyeshadow …

Softly Special: My Top Five Favorite Eye Palettes

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I know I did Lipstick Week not too long ago, but the truthiest truth out there is that I’m an eyeshadow lady. I fricken love the stuff. I think that’s really where it all went downhill. I can remember the first eye product I purchased that changed everything and how I looked at eye makeup (i.e. bareMinerals’ READY 2.0 in The Scenic Route). And then I was doomed to a life of swatching. I don’t know if I want to make a whole week’s worth of celebration out of this, because eye swatches are much, much harder to do than lipstick swatches, but I’ll begin by outing my favorite eye palettes for all of you. What I basically look for in eyeshadow palettes is versatility, which I feel like entails a good variety of tone, texture, and shade. With that little checklist in mind, I looked at my palette collection and picked out a few favorites. Here goes nothing! Honorable Mention: Guerlain Ecrin 4 Couleurs in Turandot (Review) This was the first high-end palette I …

FOTD: Gold-Aubergine Gradient & a Nude Lip

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Hello everyone! I just thought I’d write about today’s look, just because I worked with mostly cream shadows today and that’s a first for me. 🙂 I also dug up one of my first and favorite lipsticks—MAC’s Jubilee. This is just a simple look I wore to lunch with my sister Isabel, and Sarie. My base consists of Benefit Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow Liquid Foundation in Cheers to Me Champagne and bareMinerals Mineral Veil. Part of me wishes I got the Mineral Veil with SPF, so I can go out without foundation but still look polished. Ah, well. For the eyes, I patted on MAC Paint Pot in Rubenesque all over the lid. On the outer v and outer half of the crease, I applied Benefit Creaseless Cream Shadow/Liner in Stiletto. To deepen said crease, I put on a little bit of Sexy from theBalm Nude ‘Tude Palette, and then I blended out any remaining harsh edges. I lined my eyes (pretty shoddily) with K-Palette 24H Real Lasting Eyeliner and did my brows using The …

November Favorites

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I didn’t want to go overboard so I tried to keep it under 10—here are my favorites for this month! ❤ For lip products, I have three favorites this month, all of which offer a good range in terms of price. First up is a lipstick from the shu uemura x Karl Lagerfeld collaboration—a Rouge Unlimited shade called Celebrity Beige. Here it is used as a FOTD. I love that it’s a light coral, almost-nude color with just enough sparkle and shine. The formulation is also incredible, and the staying power is decent, for an ultra-slick lipstick. Read the review here. Next up is from the NARS x Andy Warhol collaboration, a Larger Than Life Lipgloss in Viva! I have yet to review this (though, I’ve taken the pictures already), but it has changed my relationship with glosses. We are very, very good friends now. Last from the lip products is the Revlon Lip Butter in Sugar Plum. Though I was met with a quite ghastly shade in the same purchase, I rather think that …

theBalm’s Nude ‘Tude Eyeshadow Palette

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A few months ago, I helped fill up a Balikbayan box with Sarie and my brother, Luis. At that point, I was not into makeup a lot, but I had started exploring by then. One of the items that caught my eye was theBalm’s Nude ‘Tude Eyeshadow Palette. I didn’t really bother surveying other palettes, since I didn’t think I would ever venture into the world of shimmery shadows. It’s why I opted for this palette, instead of the beauty nut staple, Urban Decay’s Naked. (You are going to be wrong at least one more time in your life, Carina.) Nude ‘Tude swatches on my arm. I have a bad habit of starting a row in the middle of my arm, leaving no room for the next row of swatches. Nude ‘Tude contains twelve shadows, covering the delicate parts of six pin-up girls. I mentioned before how I liked it when palette colors have individual names. Included in this palette are: Sassy: a frosted white Snobby: a sheer, shimmery yellow Stubborn:a pale shimmery pinkish peach …