I’d heard a lot of raves about TheBalm Shady Lady eyeshadow palettes for a long time. I never tried them because, well, a bit pettily, I had a bit of bad run-in with the brand when they came in last year, so that quite clouded my perception of the brand. A brand with good products can sometimes really spoil it for themselves with crappy PR but there you go. Rants aside, I finally put prejudices aside, and took the plunge recently with some of their products and I must say that I have liked what I have tried thus far. Pettily however, I get my stuff online so local prices are quite unknown to me :P
TheBalm Shady Lady Eyeshadow Palette Vol. 2
Now, Shady Lady Eyeshadow Palette Vol. 2! I think Shady Lady Vol. 3 is already out and Vol. 2 is getting hard to find, so this one is going to be kept short. I don’t usually like reviewing discontinued stuff, but I have to with this one because I much prefer the look of Vol. 2 to Vol. 3. The latter contains too many light shades while I think Vol. 2 is a more well rounded balanced palette.
In terms of value, you get excellent value with the Shady Lady palette. Each eyeshadow is about the size of a MAC Eyeshadow and you get 9 in there so its pretty much a steal.
I do find the colours a good mix of cool and warm shades although I’d say that they tend towards being very safe colours. The most exciting shades are the blue and green and that really, is about as exciting as it gets I’m not very good with colour descriptions so let’s let the swatches do the talking.
Left-Right: Caught in the Act Courtney (dark brown with shimmer), Fiesty Felicia (deep purple with shimmer), Insane Jane (silvery metallic taupe), Bossy Bobbi (metallic blue), Makeout Mary (metallic lime green)
All these 5 shadows are darker and can be also used as liner or crease colours.
Left-Right: Just this once Jamie (light taupe with purple tones), Mischievous Marissa (warm peach), Tempting Tara (metallic white), Devilish Danielle (metallic pale beige)
These 4 shades are more neutral shades and serve better as shadow colours or highlight. I find Mischievous Marissa and Caught in the Act Courtney too warm for me so I use them sparingly. the other colors are all very lovely.
Each of the colours have been layered twice and you can see that they are very pigmented. They are also all metallic/shimmery in texture although I find Fiesty Felicia swatches a bit patchy and there is a little bit of fall out of glitter. I have no complaints about the rest which are wonderful and velvety in texture.
I took this palette with me on holiday and it performed beautifully. You can use your fingers to apply or a brush and it works well enough both ways. There is a good mix of light and dark shades in here and on an overall basis, I’d say this is an excellent palette, both for everyday use and for travel.
Pros: Very good quality, Smooth texture, Good mix of light and dark shades, Colours are safe for most, Value for money
Cons: Vol. 2 is discontinued but may still be available
Lyn has a picture of Vol. 3 which as I have noted, I don’t quite like as much because the colours in there don’t suit me – purples and pinks? Erm… no thank you! – and I find it lighter overall. But if those are your sort of colours, do check them out. If the texture is similar, it would be a real steal.
Should you get this one? Yes indeedy! What are you waiting for? :P
If you already have this, do share your thoughts on it. I love it when others chip in because the more opinions we get, the easier it is for others to form a view :D
Paris B
TheBalm Shady Lady Vol. 2 eyeshadow palette retails at US$39.50 or RM120 at Sasa stores locally. I got my palette from StrawberryNET.com where I noticed they still have some in stock.
God, these shades all look absolutely incredible! theBalm’s palettes always catch my eye, but I’ve stuck very steadfastly to my no-buy thus far :P
Rae, I think these are right up your alley to be honest. You’d come up with such great looks for them! And they are great value ;) *tempt tempt*
I’ve been lusting overe these for quite some time now, hehehe. But, my eyeshadow collection has grown to unjustifiable heights so yeah…
One thing I’vr noticed is that the Balm is not marketed to be somewhere near MAC or Urban Decay status here compared to the US. I wonder why…
Blame the local distribution channels :P When I try to check out theBalm in Sasa, they try to push me other in-house brands. I personally prefer the texture of theBalm shadows to MAC (just don’t like) or Urban Decay (too glittery) but then that’s me :)
I will try to do an EOTD with Vol. 3 one of these days :-) I don’t mind pinks and purples but on my sisters, these colours make them look like they have bruised eyes. I agree the texture of these shadows are lovely, so smooth and soft but not powdery.
Sasa HK (the actual shops) still have stock of both Vol. 2 and 3. If not mistaken, they were a wee bit more expensive per palette than Sasa MY. If anyone’s interested, run to Sasa in Subang Parade because there were a few palettes available the last time I checked (21st May).
With your skin colouring, I think you’d pull off pinks and purples very prettily! I’m more like your sisters – I’d look bruised so I’m very very careful with pinks and purples :) But do share your look soon and thanks for the update on availability
Nice palette! Thanks for the swatches Paris. I’m more of a neutrals girl so I’m liking the second set of swatches :)
This has a good mix of neutrals and colour and it’ll be a nice way to work colour into your looks if you like that ;)
I noticed that you place a lot of orders at StrawberryNet. Are you aware of the numerous people that have shared their stories online about being heavily scammed but that website? Just wondering, because the products you bought seem to be fine!
Yes I do shop a lot at Strawberrynet and so far *touch wood* everything has been fine for me and my friends. I’m not sure about other people’s experiences and I’m sorry it happens to them, but so long as I don’t have a problem, I’ll keep shopping there :)