theBalm Shady Lady Vol. 2 = DA BOMB

So I was perusing around TJ Maxx last week, as I was in need of a new pair of Oxfords since the soles on my Target ones finally gave out - and I spotted this bad boy hidden amongst all the Elizabeth Arden mature skincare.

And guess how much it was?

$9.99! At Sephora this palette is $39. That is like...75% off or something. Easy to say - I freaking love TJ Maxx, and now I love the Balm. They had both Shady Lady Vol.1 and Vol. 2, but I didn't need both, and this one I thought was prettier.

Onto the swatches!
All of these are without flash, and I have used the shadows since buying this, so yes, there are some smudgies around the edges.




From left to right: Devilish Danielle, Tempting Tara, Mischievous Marissa, Just This Once Jamie, Makeout Mary, Bossy Bobbi, Insane Jane, Feisty Felicia, Caught In The Act Courtney.

And a couple with flash.



I LOVE these colors. It's almost like a neutral palette but just a little bit better. As you can see, the middle green and blue aren't necessarily neutrals, but they are muted so it's an easy way to wear green or blue. I wore both of them together today, creating a cool teal gradient in the crease.

I'd prefer if there were one or two mattes, that way it could be an all-in-one palette, but I don't like to do all shimmer on the eyes, and the white - Tempting Tara - is VERY shimmery. It works great as an inner corner highlight, but not so much for the brow bone.

All of the colors are well pigmented, but darkest two colors being the least pigmented of them all, but I'm not complaining one bit. Marissa and Jamie are my favourite colors, and Courtney is a really pretty shimmery brown color. Felicia is also much blacker swatched than in the pan.

Overall, I love these shadows. And for $9.99, you can't really go wrong. And as far as a brand goes, theBalm is so adorably nostalgic and girly, kind of like if Too Faced and Soap and Glory had a baby.

For more on theBalm Cosmetics, head over to http://www.thebalm.com/

Cheers!
A
xoxo

Review and Swatches! NARS Lhasa from the Spring Collection

I got a couple new eyeshadows awhile ago, and I took pictures of them the other day - so I'm gonna do a blog post darnit!

Since this was my favourite, I'm going to start with Nars Lhasa, which I caved and bought after Cami from Camiloveskiwi did a rather large haul including this beautiful eyeshadow. She actually did a blog post about the Spring Collection that this was a part of. It doesn't particularly look springy, but Nars has blushes called Orgasm and Deep Throat, so they don't really give a shit what people think.

Lhasa is a medium gray lavender taupey color with sparkle, and it's so pretty over a taupe base. It's a great everyday color, and quite wonderfully pigmented. It just makes me feel fancy.
As much as I love taupe colors, they don't compliment my eyes very well or my skin tone that well either (I'm pink toned and have green eyes). Warmer color eyeshadows tend to look better on my eyes, but this is a nice little purple tinged taupe so it's better than a lot of other similar colors I have seen.
It's well pigmented, and soft but not too soft. I don't regret buying this eyeshadow, because it's so damn pretty, but it was quite expensive. And it didn't outdo my love for Urban Decay or Stila, so I probably won't buy any more Nars eyeshadows, at least not anytime soon. It was $24, but you get a TON of product - 0.07 oz, almost 2 grams (MAC eyeshadows are 0.05 oz, 1.5 g for comparison).

I was very tempted at the time to pick up Valparaiso pure matte lipstick from the Spring Collection as well, because it was the greatest matte formula I have ever tried. And it lasted for FOREVER, but when I put it on I felt like the colour was really similar to MAC Rebel, and it was, so I opted out. But the finish on the Nars lipstick is way nicer than the Satin MAC finish.

I'll be back with another new eyeshadow post tomorrow, and I promise sometime this week I will post my blog sale. I just have to take A LOT of pictures.

Cheers!
A
xoxo

Weekly Etsy Roundup

Here are some of the new listings I've put up this week on Etsy. There have been quite a bit. I have a bunch more to do next week too!

Vintage 1970s Nordstrom maroon argyle sweater (Size S)

Vintage 1960s Pendleton Plaid Turnabout reversible skirt (Small)

Vintage 1960s tartan navy and green plaid pleated skirt (Small)

Vintage 1980s London Fog blue rain coat (Size 6)

Vintage 1950s red wool coat (Medium)

Vintage 1970s Salvatore Ferragamo Italian leather slingback kitten heels (Size 8.5)

To check out all of these items as well as tons of other vintage treasures, check out Haute Mess Vintage on Etsy!

Also, I think I'm going to start a blog sale this weekend. I am going through all the things I don't need - including clothes and makeup - and looking for good homes. I won't be selling the clothes here, but expect a bunch of cosmetics up for sale this weekend at some point. Lots of Revlon lipstick, and couple of Mac lipsticks, some eyeshadow, a foundation, and completely unused liquid eyeliner and mascara. Literally - never used the stuff.

Cheers!
A
xoxo

Small Haul from the Body Shop!

I stopped at the Body Shop the other day to replenish my night cream, and I came upon the GREATEST SALE EVER.

Not only do I get my 10% Love Your Body discount, but they had a buy one moisturizer, get one cleanser or toner for FREE!

And I was looking for a new toner anyway, since the L'Egere one from Imomoko is $25 (and I am cheap) and I didn't want to repurchase unless my skin was like dying.

I love everything about Tea Tree Oil, and this night moisturizer is so light and lovely and works well for preventing blemishes. So with this one I picked out my free cleanser.

I have yet to use it, but I'm excited to use it tonight. It smells wonderful and medicinal and for some reason I'm having a breakout on my chin, so I hope this works.

My day cream isn't out yet, but I figured since I was close to having to replenish, I'd just take advantage of the sale while I was there. This moisturizer is perfect for wintertime, especially since I have dry skin. I was debating getting the "Intense Moisture Cream," but I stuck with the old faithful. I love this day cream because it doesn't have SPF. My foundation has SPF in it, and all the SPF moisturizers I have tried before this have broke me out. Damn you SPF! With this one I picked out a new toner.

I used this one last night, and it smells so clean and fresh and I love it! Depending on how it works after a week or so, I may stick with this one, rather than switching back to my Boots Botanics Face Rosewater Toner.

And since it was Valentine's Day, they had all the Chocomania stuff still on display, and I couldn't resist picking up the body butter.
Why have I never used their body butters before? HALLELUJAH is all I can say. I've maybe reapplied twice today, it's it 7:45 as of writing this. SEVEN FORTY-FIVE. That is uncalled for with my skin. I usually am reapplying at least once every two hours. This is amazing, seriously, and I'm so glad too. I love my Lush, but it is EXPENSIVE. So if I can find a cheaper alternative to my beloved Lush products, I am sold. Plus, this smells orgasmic and chocolatey.

And the price of all of these products? $46.73. I saved over $30!

Overall, I really recommend the Body Shop. They have stuff for all skin types - but I especially love their products for dry skin. And they have sales ALL THE TIME. Literally, I get emails all the time about a new sale going on. And who doesn't love sales?

Thank you all for subscribing to this blog, and I greatly appreciate it. I have lots more things to post in the coming days, so expect an influx!

Cheers!
A
xoxo

Photoshoot Friday: Plaid, pleats, and polka dots

This Photoshoot Friday may turn into a thing. Do you like that idea? I am doing the 365 Project, so it would be doable, especially since I don't work Fridays.

So today's photoshoot with one of my best friends Andrea happened for two reasons.

The first reason being for this contest happening over at Come Junk With Us, a vintage market blog. Every year, they have two big markets in the NW, Ruffles and Rust. This spring's show will feature a poster from one lucky winner that submitted the best artwork for the show. My mom, being an antique dealer, had access to plenty of nice old ruffly dresses. And my best friend Laura has perhaps the greatest yard ever created for vintage type photoshoots. And Andrea is tiny, so voila! We did the shoot today in the almost rain, as well as took some shots for my Etsy page, since I haven't listed anything in WAY too long. Expect plenty of new things this weekend. If you haven't checked out my Etsy page, WHY HAVEN'T YOU YET?

This was the dress mom had for the Ruffles and Rust poster shoot, and none of these are actually the shot I'm choosing to use. I need to keep that one under wraps because I submit next week. Wish me luck though. I'm excited.

This is a sweater mom found at an estate sale, and I originally thought of it as a men's sweater and I was going to have Andy model it, but I love the idea of women in menswear. It is just so much more comfortable! Darn you modern fashion industry and your low waist pants and ill-fitting tops.

My mom and I actually found these earmuffs yesterday when going through old boxes under the house to bring stuff to the Goodwill. I figured these earmuffs might be useful. And they certainly were! Perfect accessories for this swanky little red coat.

I particularly like this outfit. It felt very Rydell High circa 1955. And that tiny motorcycle was totally just sitting there. I didn't even plant that.

I just can't get enough of this hat on Andrea. It doesn't fit me or my sister, but it suits Andrea perfectly. Her hair is very fine and quite flat, so the hat isn't overpowering at all.

So expect a bunch of these items on Etsy this weekend (psst, the fuzzy hat is already on sale).

Cheers!
A

Nail of the Day: Berry Graphic

See what I did there? Berry, very? Hah. Puns are fun.

I really liked the manicure I did a couple of days ago, and I figured I'd photograph it before it starts chipping.

I used China Glaze "White on White" and OPI Nicole "Razzle Dazzler" - two coats each, for half of the nails. Then two thin coats of BarryM "Berry" to cover up the seam between the black and white. And of course two thin layers of Seche Vite fast dry topcoat. I love the OPI black, but the brush is really large for doing any sort of artistic manicure, so I had to be delicate in applying it. And I like the China Glaze polish, but it's a bit gunky and thick, so it doesn't apply as smoothly as I would like. However, the BarryM polishes still amaze me.

I didn't even intend on making my nails look like this. I just planned on doing stripes, but once it was done, it reminded me of the graphic novel art aspect of Sin City and Watchmen - very Frank Miller. Like Mod but still kind of subtle. I'll probably repeat this style with a different center color come spring and summer. A bright girly pink would look pretty, or even a yellow. Wait, that might look like a bumble bee.

And just a reminder about my giveaway - it's now closed so if you comment on my video now, it won't count for the giveaway. I'll be picking the winners either tonight or tomorrow morning, so stay tuned!

Thank you all so much for following my blog. I really appreciate it, and now I have more of a reason to update this thing more often. :) I'll hopefully start doing some outfits of the day soon, but I never get anyone to actually take my picture in my stylish duds.

Cheers!
A