The Balm!

Okay so there is a brand of makeup that I discovered this summer that I believe is worth posting about!

The balm is a cosmetics line that is sold places like birchbox.com or sephora (so obviously good quality makeup!). The products are priced similarly to most of the stuff you'll find in sephora ( $18 for a lipstain, $20 for a blush...etc) but I've really enjoyed the products I've tried!!

My introduction to the balm came from my July Birchbox. I recieved a sample of the staniac lip/cheek stain which they make and it was love at first sight. We all know how crazy I am about a nice lipstain!! I received the shade "Beauty Queen" and let me tell you, this was an awesome sample! The formula is a sort of gel, but it goes on really nicely. It leaves lips a nice pink color!

Next is my new blush! I spent some of my birchbox points and ordered the balms "Hot Mama". This is a $20 blush/eyeshadow. It is multipurpose, although I doubt I'll use it for a shadow. Its a shimmery peach color that many people compare to nars orgasm. I think its slightly less shimmery than the nars variation but it is equally wonderful!!

Let me know if you've tried any other products from the balm! I'd love to hear about it!

NARS velvet matte lip pencil- Damned

Ok guys so I have a clear shopping problem...but today was the last day to use my $15 from sephora (I got an email a while back saying that if you spent $50 you could redeem this $15 gift card). I almost bought the Naked 2 palette with it, but then decided that was still too much to shell out right now.

So I wasn't going to use the $15...but I read today that if you used it online, there was no minimum. SOOOO the second, less expensive, product I've been lusting over is now ordered and on its way to me.I did have to pay for shipping, and since this lip pencil is regularly $24, it wound up costing me about $16...not bad though! thats $8 off!! I'm so happy!

I visited a friend who goes to the fashion institute over thanksgiving break, and of course we wound up on 5th avenue and in sephora. That is where I fell in absolute LOVE with the nars velvet matte lip pencils. I was instantly attracted to the shade "damned"...its this deep magenta color that I haven't been able to stop thinking about since I left.

These pencils are awesome because they are not only matte, but they also have incredible precision. They are a pencil, and can be used as a lip liner as well as an all over color. Because of this, there is no running or smudging. I love how defined they make your lips. It doesn't feel super dry or cakey either. UGH let me stop because I sent it to my house in New York and I wont be back for at least 5 more days. 

So heres a little picture I took while trying the product in sephora. Let me know what you think!