theBalm Special Edition Lip Gloss Review and Swatches

The final review for the Balmbini palette has arrived!  Took me long enough, sheesh.  The last piece of the puzzle is a lip gloss, Special Edition.  theBalm has two lines of lip gloss: a plumping gloss, Plump Your Pucker, which is $15 for 0.25 oz (though most of the shades are on All Cosmetics Wholesale right now for $7.99), and a gloss with SPF, Balm Shelter SPF 17 Tinted Gloss, $19 for 0.19 oz (also on ACW for $7.99).  There's no indication about which type Special Edition is, since it's not a color that's present in either of the lines (Special Edition is special edition, WOW).  So this is probably another review I should not do separately, but I'm a stickler for continuity, so I'm going to review it in full anyways, even though you can't buy it on its own.  I'm sorry!  I've read many reviews for their other glosses (I was thinking about ordering some from ACW, but have so far managed to convince myself it's not worth the money), and they're overwhelmingly positive, so if you're wanting to try a new gloss, it seems like theBalm is a good bet (you just can't get this particular color, though there are others that seem similar: Girly Girl, from the Balm Shelter SPF 17 line, and Water My Melon, from the Plump My Pucker line).

Special Edition gloss, on the right

theBalm Read My Lips lipstick in Wanted Review and Swatches

And we've gotten to the last section of the Balmbini palette: the lips!  First up is Wanted, a sheer red lipstick.

Read My Lips in Wanted on the left

theBalm ShadyLady Eyeshadow in Jealous Jordana Review and Swatches

The second ShadyLady eyeshadow included in the Balmbini palette is Jealous Jordana, a blackened green with slight shimmer.  Unlike Insane Jane, JJ is available for individual purchase, so if you decide you love it, you don't have to buy the whole palette!  Now the question is: would you want to?

Jealous Jordana (far right)

theBalm ShadyLady Eyeshadow in Insane Jane Review and Swatches

Taupe is a color that fascinates beauty bloggers.  A look at the taupe eyeshadows in the Temptalia Swatch Gallery gives a clue why: the scope of taupe is extremely wide.  The official definition of taupe is "grey with a tinge of brown", but there's a lot of ways to define that.  Some are more grey, others are more brown, some are warmer, some are cooler, some lean purple, some are dark, others light, some are matte, some have shimmer...it is truly a chameleon color.  I previously reviewed a purpley-taupe from a Wet N Wild trio, and I'll be talking about another today! Yay!

ShadyLady eyeshadow in Insane Jane, in the middle

theBalm Mary-Lou Manizer Review and Swatches

Being the oily-skinned creature I am, I've never really given much thought to luminizers.  Why would I want to make myself look shiny?  But as I've become more makeup-obsessed and started reading more beauty blogs, my horizons have expanded.  Luminizer (also called highlighter) is used to accentuate the places on your face that the light would naturally hit: tops of cheekbones, nose, browbone, cupid's bow.  It's still not something I would wear regularly, because my skin is more than capable of drawing attention to itself, but for special occasions (where I redo my makeup beforehand and know I won't be sweating or getting too oily!) it's a nice touch.  I've tried using Benefit's High Beam (review to come, my GOD I say that a lot), but the first powder luminizer I've used is the lovely Mary-Lou Manizer, which came in the Balmbini palette.  I'd read many good things about it before, and was very excited to give it a try!

From left to right: Mary-Lou Manizer luminizer, ShadyLady Eyeshadow in Insane Jane, ShadyLady Eyeshadow in Jealous Jordana

theBalm Down Boy Blush/Eyeshadow Review and Swatches

Down Boy by theBalm is, I am starting to think, the quintessential pink blush.

Down Boy on the left

theBalm Hot Mama Blush Review and Swatches

The first things I heard about theBalm were about their blushes, particularly Hot Mama, which was touted as being a good NARS Orgasm dupe with more product, less shimmer, and a lower price.  At $19 for 0.25 oz, it's $8 cheaper than the NARS, with 0.09 oz more product, but still well out of my comfort zone for a blush.  I was thrilled to see it included in the Balmbini, and thought it would be a fitting way to start off my series of reviews.

theBalm Hot Mama blush/eyeshadow on the right

UPDATED: theBalm Balmbini Master Post

theBalm was having a 5 hour 50% off sale last Thursday, so I took the plunge and ordered one of their palettes, which has 2 of their most popular blushes, their beloved highlighter, two eyeshadows, a lipstick, and a lipgloss.  I've long been lemming the blushes and highlighter, and Temptalia had given their eyeshadows fantastic reviews, so for $14 (and free shipping!), I was super psyched to try them out.

theBalm Balmbini Babies of theBalm Face Palette