The Balm Shady Lady Palette Volume 3 - Review and Swatches

I'm going to start the Shady Lady Palette reviews with the latest release, Volume 3. Shady Lady Volume 3 is housed in a print cardboard casing in line with the previous releases of the Shady Lady palettes, and this time its giraffe print!! I think some people are a little put off by the names and the picture on the cover but if you can get past how racy they are, you'll find that these gems are worth the price.

Cover

Back of the Palette

The pans are quite large. I don't believe I will ever use up even one of these colours (especially now that I have three Shady Lady palettes LOL). Do you think that 39.50 USD for one of these is quite reasonable? I think Australian readers would be shocked to hear that, because quite frankly, makeup prices here are ridiculous. For e.g. 39 dollars for a Dior Polish, and 74 dollars for a Chanel JC blush (seriously, no one would buy anything at these prices except me).

As usual, I have swatches for you below. Directly below is a swatch photo taken indoors, and following that, I have a swatch photo taken outdoors in natural light. It was an overcast day with light sprinklings of rain, but the photos turned out really well :)

Swatches - Indoor, Artificial Light

I have started with Volume #3 because this is my least favourite in terms of colour selection. My skintone is quite dark so I do need a darker colour to bring out my eyes. Light, frosty colours are not my best friend. In saying that, I am happy to have this :) I can always use this palette more in winter when I am really pale! Haha :)

The texture of these eyeshadows are so soft and blendable, definitely one of my favourite formulations out there! The longevity when worn with a primer or cream base is excellent, I get about 8-10 hours of wear out of them (but I have really oily skin so...). The colour payoff is also fantastic, very true to pan. This is probably due to the fact that 90% of the shadows are shimmery, and I find that shimmery/satin finishes always perform better than matte shadows which are often a bit more chalky and not as pigmented.

If I can nitpick, the downfall of this palette is the lack of variation of finishes. Because the majority of the shadows are shimmery, it does limit range of looks you can create (unless, of course, you don't mind having so much shimmer on your eyes). On the other hand, these are not *nearly* as shimmery as say, Illusion d'Ombres or Eyes to Kill Intense eyeshadows so its still more wearable in that regard. Like I said, I'm being really nitpicky.

Swatches - Outdoor, Overcast day

Hope you liked my review! This is definitely worth a look-see. My friends in the US have told me that Shady Lady palettes often are on sale on TJ Maxx or Marshalls for under 15 dollars. If they are, I suggest you pick them up because they are so. worth. the money.

Cindy