Smashbox and Hard Candy Reviews

Hi Guys,
  Thanks a lot for popping over to read my wee little bloggie!!  If you've watched my latest video on YouTube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lpy92ODdtn4 you already know I've been to Ulta and Walmart.  Two very dangerous places for a make up junky such as myself.  ;0)  I normally only go in Ulta once a month and try to only spend about $20 when I go.  Well...this time it didn't happen exactly that way.  Ahem....you see, I am still building my kit for freelance make up artistry and I am in need of so many things I don't really even know where to start.  On top of the fact that I'm not making any money doing this yet so I'm basically just spending............which is fun but not the best thing to be doing at this moment in me life.
  And now on to what I got.  I was wandering around aimlessly trying to find some sort of palette that had as many eye shadows in it as possible without it costing me $200.  I had picked up a couple of NYX palettes but I knew that there would be several in them that would be pretty much unusable due to chalkiness etc.  (Not all NYX shadows are that way, in fact it's only a few of them)  And then-my Husband spotted it.  Yes, my Husband was with me.  He didn't seem to mind me walking around with a basket on my arm looking like a dear in the headlights too terribly much anyway.  He said these words "hey, what's this thing?" and that's all it took.  I fell in love with the Smashbox Wish For the Perfect Palette.  49 eyeshadows, 10 cream eyeliners (of which I previously only owned one which is NOT enough by far), 6 brow powder shades, 1 brow wax, 8 lip glosses, 2 blush, 1 bronzer, 1 highlighter and 4 mini brushes.  WOW.  Can we all just have a moment of silence in honor.......and all that for only $59!  It's a $260 retail value and it's so worth it.  Another great thing about it is that the proceeds go to the Children's Miracle Network.  I really love that aspect.  We have a Son with severe Autism and mild Mental Retardation so any time we can help build funds to go towards research, treatments and the like for kids we like to do it.
Here are the photos I took of the kit:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/10769175@N00/sets/72157625302656117/
  I also did a wee bit of shopping at Walmart.  They sell a brand called Hard Candy which is quite good actually.  I reviewed a small set that I bought so I could try out some of their things other than the powder my Sister gave me.  The photos are also included in the link above.  This tiny kit was $8.00 and came with a small baked bronzer, lip gloss, a glow cream that actually has 24 karat gold dust in it, and a face primer.  They are all in trial size that should last, if used every day, about 2 weeks or so.  So far I love the bronzer and glow cream the best.  The gloss is a bit sticky for me and the primer is too "sheer" for my aging skin.  But that doesn't mean it's not a good primer, I just need more assistance in that area than others.  Such is life........I also picked up a black pencil liner from Hard Candy but I'll review that in the next lot with a few lip liners and a Loreal blusher I picked up on clearance at Ulta.
  Hopefully this review is helpful to you.  If you're in the market for lots of shadows and some eyeliners to play with and a few choices of blushers and glosses the Smashbox kit is perfect for you.  It would also make a GREAT gift for anyone who enjoys make up at all.  I'm not sure how long the sale will be on so check it out if you're interested as soon as you can.
  Have a great weekend to all of you.  Thank you SO very much for stopping by to read my blog, watch my videos and check out my photos.  I will be continuing to attempt to make all of these things better for you and as always if you have any questions or would like to see anything in particular please leave me a comment either here or on YouTube and I'll definitely give it a go.  Good night and God bless you.
Nicole