Not so NAKED Shady Lady

My latest beauty find that I am so excited about actually happened at TJ Maxx. I popped in there with the hubs to check out some furniture, we are looking for that perfect cozy arm chair to snuggle with our kids and read. We have a bonus room at our place that I keep calling the library even though we have yet to assemble the bookcases.  (Ahem husband, this might be something you can do while watching collegiate football all day Saturday, during Sunday NFL games or Monday night football! Just sayin'...)

Ok where was I? Ah yes, TJ Maxx,  I went to check out their beauty aisle.  While the selection is really sporadic, ever since I stumbled on NARS lipglosses there at a whopping $10 only, I am always hoping to find something equally fab.  At the end of the display, mixed in with all their E.L.F. gift sets were three slim giraffe print cases that caught my eye. It was theBalm Shady Lady Vol. 3 eyeshadow palette.  Woohoo!

I love makeup palettes, I just find that it's the best way to get the biggest bang for your beauty buck. Also, because you get a whole range of colors, it forces you out of your comfort zone to try new colors that you probably wouldn't have bought separately.

I've tested out theBalm eyeshadows at Sephora before and I liked it but not enough to switch over from my beloved Urban Decay. But since TJ Maxx was selling this palette for only $12.99 for 9 shadows and liners, it was the perfect opportunity to try out the brand. (Sephora still has this on sale for $39.50!) These eyeshadows are very versatile, they can be worn dry over primer or applied wet as liner.

They have great color payoff and not a lot of fallout despite being so shimmery. My favorite color is the copper brown color "racy kacy", it actually made my eyes pop when I paired it with a matte brown color in the crease. At this price, it's a total win win win all the way around, so next time your are at one of the designer reseller stores, make sure you check out their beauty section. You never know what you might find there.

Speaking of eyeshadow palettes, has anyone got their hands on Urban Decay's NAKED 2 palette yet?  I have the original NAKED palette which has gone on to become a cult classic. While I probably will be picking up the new NAKED 2 palette as well whenever it comes back in stock at Urban Decay (sign up to stay updated), I really have to hand it to the marketing geniuses over there.  They are creating instant hype for their product by making it so exclusive and only releasing a few batches at a time. It's annoying for us as consumers but of course we all want what we can't have!

Black Friday & Baby

Well I am finally back from my "just-had-baby-number-3-and-now-don't-have-time-to-scratch-my-head" hiatus. The one thing I have learned now that the husband and I are outnumbered is that I have to multi-task in order to just get half the things on my daily to-do list done. This blog is being written with 2 out of the 3 kids snuggling up to me. How many years till I can send them off to college? Just kidding....sorta. ;)

Since I was homebound with the newborn (except for the occasional party), my Thanksgiving celebration included lots of online black Friday shopping. With all the free shipping offers that swirled around, I was able to indulge in a lot of guilt-free shopping. While most of my purchases were about the kids, (yep when you become a mom, your first impulse is to buy something for the kids), I treated myself to some great beauty finds.

Sephora's black Friday $10 door buster deals crashed their site, but once they went back up, I was able to get the limited edition Tarte for True Blood eyeshadow palette for a hugely discounted rate. There are 17 (!!!!) beautiful jewel tone colors in this palette and they are highly pigmented. I am totally a sucker for eyeshadow palettes, I just find that it is a great way to get the biggest makeup bang for the buck.

While the corset inspired packaging is a little tacky for my taste, the eyeshadows are set in a diamond angled pattern that gives it a good visual interest.  There is a bonus primer, mascara and a full size black eyeliner lurking under the eyeshadow tray.  Great thing about ordering online from Sephora is that I totally scored this cute Hello Kitty bag filled with samples. Of course my 2 year old pounced on the bag as soon as she saw it "My kitty cat purse!"

I am loving the shimmer eye shadows of this palette. Because let's face it there are going to be days when I will need all the help I can get to look semi-awake. The shadows are really silky and glide on very smoothly.  I was able to get great color payoff without using a primer, so this is definitely going to be my go-to palette for a special look on those rare nights I'll get to go out for some grown up time.

P.S. Stay tuned for my crazy beauty find at (of all the random places)... TJ Maxx