The Balm 'Balm Jovi Rockstar Palette'

First things first, the only reason I purchased this palette was because of the name. I seriously didn't care what was in it, I just love the name of this palette and it makes me giggle every time I use it. Being a bit of a closet rock fan this palette literally 'sings' to be every time I look at it.

Novelty fun factor aside, this palette really is awesome and I just love how versatile it is. You can create a nice, subtle neutral/nude look as well as a more deeper smokey eye look depending on what you want to go for and it is a great one to take away for a few nights as it contains everything you'd need.

There are twelve eyeshadows in a great mix of matte and shimmery shades, a highlighter, a powder blush plus two lip/cheek creams.

It has a cute heart shaped mirror under the lid flap which is a good, decent size for using on the go. The shadows are easy to blend and buildable shades which don't seem to have too much fallout when applied.

It also contains four suggested looks on the bottom flap in case you are in need of a bit of inspiration on what look to go for.

The highlighter is out of this world in the shimmer stakes so a light hand is needed when using it but it does give a really pretty glow. I also love the powder blush shade as it's a great, everyday shade that goes with pretty much any look.

The cream lip/cheek shades are at both ends of the scale, with a nudish pink for everyday wear and a bright, intense red for a more playful makeup look.

(Eyeshadows - Metal-ica, Adagio, Blink 182, Iron Main-in, Allegro, The Stroke)

(Eyeshadows - Lead Zeppelin, Moderato, rem, Alice Cooper, Presto, Third Eye Blinded)

(Highlighter - Solid Gold and Powder Blush - Don't You Want Me?)

(Lip/Cheek Creams - Milly and Vanilly)

Overall, if you are a bit of a palette junkie like me then you will probably want this one purely for the novelty factor. I definitely get a lot of use out of it when travelling overnight as it's so easy to chuck in my makeup bag along with a mascara and some foundation and I know I have a complete makeup set at my fingertips.

Surprisingly enough, the cardboard packaging has stayed in pretty good condition too even after a fair amount of use and being knocked around in a bag. That's one thing that always concerns me with The Balm products but I haven't had any issues with the packaging on this one yet.

Does anyone else buy products purely for the novelty factor without caring what it actually contains or is that just me?

I hope you all have a lovely day!

Michelle xx

MAC Stroke of Midnight Lip & Cheek Bag in Pink - The Perfect Gift From a Guilty Husband

So my husband had to go to Macau for a week on a work trip a couple of weeks ago and unfortunately it just topped off a bit of a crappy time where he'd been away an awful lot for work. For any new readers that don't know about me, I work as an Accountant two days a week, run my own Bookkeeping business on the side from home the rest of the week all while juggling the care of our very active toddler. I pretty much work 7 days a week sometimes. 

Now, I admit that I do love being busy as I get too restless when I don't have much on, but sometimes this means that when hubby has to go away a lot for work I tend to get very frazzled and exhausted trying to keep up with everything that needs to be done on my own. As a way to say sorry and reduce my frazzledness this time my lovely man decided to buy me some MAC as a surprise in the form of the Stroke of Midnight Lip & Cheek Bag in Pink, as well as the Stroke of Midnight Eye Palette in Cool (due to not wanting this post to be too photo heavy I'll be showing this one separately in the next couple of days).

I do think he's a keeper!

Firstly, the bag you get with this set is so fancy looking that it could almost be used as a small clutch for a night out if one was so inclined. I'll definitely be swapping my normal overnight makeup bag for this one next time we go anywhere.

 

Inside the bag is an assortment of goodies as follows:

* Cremesheen Lipstick in How Darling!

* Lipglass in Soft Spoken

* Beauty Powder Blush in Formal

* 129SE Blush Brush; and

* Mirror

First up, I have to admit one dirty little secret........ This is the first time I have ever used any MAC products! Yep, for some reason I have just never bought anything from them before. Mainly because they're not easily accessible from where I live and I never really worried about going out of my way for it.

So, being that these products are my first ever experience with the brand, I have to say that I definitely am impressed.

The Cremesheen lipstick in How Darling! is a lovely shade of pink that is so versatile and wearable for everyday use.

I've been wearing this quite a lot over the past couple of weeks as it's not too drying on my lips and seems to last a good three to four hours before fading away. It doesn't bleed into my lip lines and has a yummy vanilla scent and taste.

The Lipglass in Soft Spoken is a very subtle pink shimmer in a clear gloss base. It doesn't really give the lips any colour but imparts a lovely shine instead and looks really nice when worn over How Darling! It also has a yummy vanilla scent and taste to it.

The Beauty Powder Blush in Formal is a gorgeous rosy pink that looks really natural on my pale skin. It's quite pigmented though so I only need to apply a very small amount but others might be able to get away with a bit more than me if their skintone isn't so pale. It's really easy to blend and lasts an entire workday without really fading too much.

The Blush Brush and Mirror are both very useful, although I wish to mirror had a frame around it as it gets very smudged with fingerprints the way it is. The brush is so super soft and really good for blending.

Last but not least are the swatches....

From Left to Right: Lipglass in Soft Spoken, Cremesheen Lipstick in How Darling! and Beauty Powder Blush in Formal (With Flash)

From Left to Right: Lipglass in Soft Spoken, Cremesheen Lipstick in How Darling! and Beauty Powder Blush in Formal (Without Flash)

So I am proud to say that my MAC virginity has finally been broken and I'm definitely more interested in trying out a lot more from this brand now. I just can't believe it took me so long to finally get on the bandwagon!

Has anyone else bought this set or any of the others from the Stroke of Midnight range yet?

I hope everyone has a great week!

Michelle xx