Check Out theBalm Nude 'Tude! <3

October 24, 2012

Earlier in the summer, I was lucky enough to win this eyeshadow palette from theBalm on Twitter. YAY. Sometimes I just love Twitter. If you don't follow them already, please do! You can tweet daily to have a chance to win! (Don't worry, I'm not associated with the company or the contest in any way, but hope you can win something if you really want to!) But seriously though, I just love this palette! Look at the pretty shades- they are all quite wearable, I think!Many people would compare this palette to Urban Decay's Naked palettes, and I suppose the idea here is similar enough to warrant the comparison. I am alarmed to admit that I own both Naked palettes as well, and I don't think any regular person needs to have all three - one (or two if you can't help yourself!) of the options would do just fine. I do feel that this palette is more neutral/cool toned, so if that is something you're looking for, do check it out! I think all of the shades are quite nice. I was surprised by how smoothly they swatched in one go, and how creamy they felt overall. Even the more matte shades felt quite creamy, and the only one shade that wasn't up to par and felt a bit gritty was Silly, and you can see in the swatch (2nd to last) that it doesn't look as smooth or even as the others with one swipe. I was happily surprised at how wearable Stubborn is, and I really just love Selfish as an everyday sort of shade.

The double ended brush included isn't the best, but you can use the shadow end if you need to. I had a tough time with the liner end, but I'm not sure if I just felt that it was too rough yet not firm enough. Perhaps I just don't prefer that style of eyeliner brush overall, though?

On me, I was able to wear these without primer for 12 hours before I removed it with very minimal, if any fading. Even on a day with massive allergies (watery, itchy eyes that I kept rubbing, oops!), the shadow on my lids made it about just as long. The shadow on my lower lashline didn't, which is to be expected with all the watery eyes and me rubbing them. On one of these occasions, Milani Liquif'eye eyeliner smeared/creased some in the hooded part of my eyelid, but these shadows from theBalm didn't! Wohoo!

I was seriously impressed by this palette, and I think it is a great palette for every day looks. The darker shades allow you to make some smoky evening looks as well, so this feels like a very versatile kit to me! I was definitely obsessing over this palette, and still would be if I hadn't fallen hard for Burberry eyeshadows. :)

What do you think of this palette from theBalm? Have you tried this or any other theBalm product? :)

Review: theBalm "You're Giving Me a Complexion"

June 3, 2012

In the beginning of May, I picked up this cute set of theBalm products. I am a fan of theBalm in general, and did enjoy their concelear back in the day. I spotted this set at T.J. Maxx for $29.99 and figured it'd be worth a try, even though I thought the shades might be too light.

thebalm tinted moisturizer, thebalm timebalm

The products in this set are all full size, and include TimeBalm Concealer, SexyMama Powder, Liquid TimeBalm concealer, and BalmShelter Tinted Moisturizer. Here are a few swatches of the products included.

I did not test the powder, as I do not typically use powders for mattifying or setting purposes. As you can see from the swatch, it didn't really show up on my arm, which is probably a good thing for a mattifying powder. I was surprised to find that the shades were a bit different between products, even though they were all the "light/medium" shade. TimeBalm appears more peachy/pink when swatched on my skin, whereas Liquid TimeBalm had more yellow, which I prefer. BalmShelter was also more peachy than I would normally choose.

In terms of the products themselves, TimeBalm has a smooth, creamy texture that is great for under the eyes. It reminds me a bit of Laura Mercier's Secret Concealer, in terms of texture and application. Liquid TimeBalm is meant for acne spots, and contains tea tree oil and is paraben free. This worked well for me, and helped to cover the redness of spots that I had at the time, while giving it a mild tea tree oil treatment. While this didn't heal my pimples magically (and I didn't expect it to!), the breakouts I had never got worse when I wore this. Just a note as well, Liquid TimeBalm does smell like tea tree oil, so if that bothers you, you may want to skip this! I didn't time the exact length of wear, but it seemed to last the majority of the day.

I love the name of the BalmShelter Tinted Moisturizer, and this is a nice product as well. I love my Nars Tinted Moisturizer, so it is becoming increasingly difficult to impress me with regular tinted moisturizer formulas. This product has a slight makeup scent (like old school lipstick smells, almost?) that does go away a few minutes after application. The coverage is relatively sheer, but does help to even the complexion.

In the end, I decided to save my $32 and return the set. Yes, it was such a great value and I almost kept it, but the shades being not quite right for me tipped the scales. Besides, $32 is a good chunk of money to put towards my wish list instead of an impulse buy.

I hope you can find this great value set if you are interested! I will definitely try other shades of these products to see what shades fit better. What do you think of these products from theBalm?