Review: [theBalm] Instain Long-Wearing Powder Blushes + Mary-Lou Manizer + Bahama Mama

So today I will review some famous products from theBalm. I've finally completed my theBalm Instain Long-Wearing Powder Blush Collection by adding the last 3 shades - Lace, Swiss Dot and Pinstripe - into the previous shades that I already have (Review: Argyle, Toile and Houndstooth). I also got their highlighter Mary-Lou Manizer and bronzer Bahama Mama. I got these theBalm makeup when HauteLook had a 50% off event on theBalm products and if you've ordered from HouteLook before, you would know I had to wait > 1 month for my order to arrive. However, they are absolutely worth the wait!!!

1. Instain Long-Wearing Powder Blushes

I love all 6 shades, all of them! I like to use Argyle + Lace for Spring, Toile + Swiss Dot for Summer, and Houndstooth + Pinstripe for Fall/Winter. This is just my preference so if you want, you can follow their suggestions. On the outside, the blushes only have either Spring or Fall, so I assume they meant Spring/Summer and Fall/Winter. According to this suggestion, Argyle + Houndstooth + Lace are for Spring/Summer and Toile + Swissdot + Pinstripe are for Fall/Winter.

Left to Right: Argyle, Lace, Toile, Swiss Dot, Houndstooth, Pinstripe, Bahama Mama, Mary-Lou Manizer

Rating (out of 5): 

The packaging is just as adorable as usual with the magazine look and the inside patterns as named. Like the other 3, these shades also have a staining effect and are pigmented so you might want to apply with a light hand. These blushes are not the softest powder I've ever used but they are definitely not grainy or chalky. I just wish Swiss Dot was more orange; honestly, I was looking for a true-orange blush, but this shade is still a very beautiful peach. Lace is a bright pink and also the most pigmented one (at least on my skin). Pinstripe is more wearable than I thought - a toned-down purplish pink, pretty!

2. Mary-Lou Manizer and Bahama Mama

If you don't know, theBalm has 3 products in their Manizer collection: Mary-Lou is a champagne highlighter, Betty-Lou is a shimmery bronzer and Cindy-Lou is a shimmery blush. These products are also advertised to be used as eyeshadows because they're pigmented, super soft and the powder is finely milled. My second guess for the Betty-Lou is to be used as a highlighter on darker skin tone because it has a very beautiful golden shimmery shade. I'm not interested in Betty-Lou and Cindy-Lou because I prefer matte blushes and believe contouring powder should be matte. That is the reason I got Bahama Mama which is a very popular bronzer from the brand.

Rating (out of 5): 

The packaging is just plastic so it's light but it's so pretty and I appreciate whoever gave the idea for the Manizers' packaging. They're girls who are charged for some crimes they committed. Mary-Lou is charged for being "too pretty, too popular" and the back of the box even has her fingerprints on it, lol.
This is the smoothest powder highlighter that feels like butter! So, so soft and pigmented! The shimmer is not chalky but so smooth that it blends beautifully on skin, giving skin such a natural glow. I went shopping for 9 hours and was walking around the mall a lot, when I got home it was still there on top of my cheeks! I know it's the best highlighter I've seen.

Rating (out of 5): 

It has the same cute cardboard packaging as the Instain blushes that reminds me of a vacation full of sunshine in a hot Summer. This bronzer is pigmented yet not to the extend that you're afraid there's no way you can control the intensity. That being said, the product is build-able so you can use with a light hand and build up the intensity. Like most of theBalm's powder products (except for the Manizers), the powder is not the softest but it blends very well and my brush can pick up the product easily. What I like the most about it is the shade doesn't make my skin look orange like most of other bronzers. Contouring is creating shadow and shadow should be a little grey, not orange, right? Absolutely my go-to for the time being!