theBalm Cosmetics: Smoke Balm Smokey Eye Palette

Swatches & Review

After seeing theBalm's new eyeshadow palettes on Kohls online, I waited for them to show up at the retail locations so that I can see them in person. My local Kohls was able to get them in this week so I went to Kohls as soon as I could. I do not know when the official release of these are supposed to be or if it is exclusive to Kohls because I have not seen it on theBalm's website. The Smoke Balm has two separate palettes, but they are only named by "Set One" & "Set Two". The one with the grey packaging is Set One, and the one with the green is Set Two. Each palette has three eyeshadow shades.

As always, the packaging for theBalm is super cute. In Set One, it says, "Warning: Men may stop drop and roll" & in Set Two, it says, "Warning: May cause shortness of breath in men." Totally theBalm-like. This is also packaged in cardboard packaging with the design on the sleeve exactly like the design on the product itself.

Set One: These were swatched with my fingers, but I will also have swatches with a brush later on as well.
Blaze: Black with silver glitter
Spark: Matte grey-taupe
Flame: Shimmery pearl

Set Two: These were also swatched with my fingers.
Kindle: Shimmery blackened-green
Glow: Matte light brown
Combust: Shimmery beige

Set One & Set Two applied with a brush with two swipes, except Flame & Combust, which only required one swipe.

When swatched using my fingers, both of the first two shades in each palette apply a bit patchy. The third shade in both palettes, the shimmery pearl & beige were very pigmented and a little goes a long way. However, the eyeshadows itself felt like most of theBalm's eyeshadows I have tried, which are smooth and buttery.

When swatched using a brush, the eyeshadows applied better, which was not as patchy as when I applied it with my fingers. The eyeshadows are very smooth, so it did kick up a bit of powder, which may lead to some fall-out, so tapping the brushes used with these are definitely recommended.

Overall, I feel like both of these are pretty similar to actually purchase both. These are perfect for a simple little palette for a smokey eye and each eyeshadow contains 0.12 oz of product, which is like twice the size of a full-size Urban Decay eyeshadow. I also like how it has different finishes in the three eyeshadows provided in each palette because there's a glittery one, a matte one, and a shimmery one. These retail for $12 and can be purchased online at Kohls(link)--non-affiliated & at Kohls with an extended beauty department.

What do you think about these Smoke Balm palettes? Do you prefer Set One, or Set Two?

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theBalm Cosmetics Instain Blush: Pinstripe

Swatches & Review



Earlier, I showed quick swatches of the blushes I recently purchased from theBalm Cosmetics. After the quick swatches, I started focusing on the blushes individually. Pinstripe is described as a plum shade from theBalm.


Like all of theBalm Cosmetic's products, it has a cardboard packaging and a slip on sleeve that is designed like the product itself. Each of the names are patterns that you will see on the inside of the packaging surrounding the pan of the blush. All of the blushes from the Instain line are designed like magazine covers. Three of the blushes say Spring on it and three of them says Fall on it, which I assume are blushes for the seasons.


When I posted the quick swatches, they were swatches applied from my fingers. In these swatches, the swatch on the left was applied with a sponge-tip applicator and the one on the right was applied with a brush.
Both of the swatches were applied with one swipe.
In the outdoor and the indoor in front of the window setting, the blush appears to be a berry-plum shade. When it is indoors and in the shade without being in front of the window, it shows more of a darker plum shade.
To me, Pinstripe is more than just plum, it is a berry-plum with a golden sheen. In the pan of the blush, it looks like it will be glittery-shimmer, but once applied, it looks very smooth and has a nice golden sheen to it. The finish reminds me of Hot Mama's finish.


In the close-up picture, you can see the golden sheen a bit more.

Pinstripe was very smooth and pigmented. It applied very easily & it shows a lot in just one swipe! However, I find it hard to blend because once it is on, it stays on, so it is important to be careful & use a light-hand with this to avoid having clown-cheeks. I was surprised at how much I actually liked this blush. When I ordered, I knew that this was not going to be matte from the picture that they have shown, but the swatch that they had on their website of Pinstripe looked very... terrifying to be put on the cheeks, however, this shade is one of my favorite shades from the five that I have purchased.

The Instain Blush line retails for $22 and can be purchased on thebalm.com & aveyou.com

What do you think about Pinstripe? Do you like your blushes matte, shimmery, glittery, or with a nice sheen?

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theBalm Cosmetics Instain Blush

Quick Swatches



Last week, theBalm Cosmetics were launching their new website. With the new website, they were offering 50% off for 24-hours. However, their site crashed almost immediately, so they are still working on it for the actual 24-hour 50% off deal. I was lucky enough to get an order through a bit after the initial launch time, so I ordered five of the six new Instain blushes.


The five shades I picked up are: Swiss Dot, Argyle, Toile, Lace & Pinstripe.


Swiss Dot: Matte coral.
Argyle: Matte baby pink.
Toile: Matte strawberry red-pink.
Lace: Matte bright pink.
Pinstripe: Plum with golden shimmer/sheen.

These are quick swatches because I will be reviewing the blushes individually.
These contain 0.2 oz of product & they retail for $22.

Which ones do you like from the quick swatches so far? :)

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theBalm: Meet Matt(e) Nude Palette

Swatches & Review

When theBalm announced that they were coming out with another Meet Matt(e) palette, I was excited especially since it was going to be a all "nude" palette. theBalm is one of my favorite brands of cosmetic products because they have the cutest packaging/names & very nice blushes/eyeshadows. When Hautelook hosted theBalm event on February 1st, it had their newest Meet Matt(e) Nude palette so I had to buy it!

Like all theBalm products, it is packaged with cardboard packaging.

I was super excited when the package finally came, but to my surprise (again), the palette had fingerprints on it!

In this palette, it seems that three of the eyeshadows were tampered with. When I ordered from theBalm's event the first time on Thanksgiving, one of my palettes came just like that too. Honestly, I do not know if it is because theBalm is sending out "defective" palettes, or if someone at Hautelook is going through the palettes before sending it out. When I order any items, I expect it to be brand-new & that I do not have to sanitize it before using. I have ordered multiple times from Hautelook from various cosmetic events and only theBalm products have been having this problem. I contacted Hautelook and they refunded me for the product & they said they will look into it considering it has happened before as well.

Anyway.. swatches!

First row:
Matt Johnson: Matte grey. Pigmented and smooth.
Matt Garcia: Matte red-brown. Smooth, but it applied sheer. Pigmentation is build-able.
Matt Malloy: Matte white. Chalky & applied sheer. Pigmentation is build-able.

Second row:
Matt Rosen: Matte medium brown. Smooth and pigmented.
Matt Wood: Matte dark brown. This was the smoothest and the most pigmented one in the whole palette.
Matt Singh: Matte beige. This was smooth, but it took a bit to show up because the first few layers blended into my skin.

Third row:
Matt Abdul: Matte taupe. This was chalky & stiff. It was not very pigmented, but it is build-able.
Matt Lombardi: Matte pale yellow. This was stiff & did not apply well with a brush. The pigmentation of this was okay, but it was pretty sheer.
Matt Hung: Matte light plum. This was smooth & pigmented.

All of these were swatched on Too Faced's Shadow Insurance. From this palette, I liked Matt Rosen, Wood, Singh & Hung the best. Matt Lombardi looks like it could be a good color, but it was a bit hard to get the color out of the pan for me.

Although some of the colors from this palette is chalky, it is build-able. Most of the eyeshadows were very smooth to the touch. This is definitely a good option for an all-matte palette considering the price (which is 50% off at Hautelook whenever theBalm has an event), BUT I am definitely having a problem with getting my theBalm products from Hautelook since it comes looking like it has been tampered with, which is not okay at all. I like that Hautelook has refunded me for this, but this should not happen to anyone. This happened to be twice & I know of a few people who have also experienced this from theBalm's event.

Anyway, what do you think of this palette? Have you had problems with your theBalm products whenever you order online directly from them, or from Hautelook?

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theBalm: Shady Lady Vol. 2

Swatches & Review

Since my last final was today, I was able to go through some folders of swatches that I still had to review. It's currently around 50 degrees in San Jose right now & my feet/hands are freezing, but I don't like wearing socks so.. :( Anyway, theBalm has three Shady Lady palettes and out of the three, I liked the color choices in Volume 2 the most, though I liked the giraffe print from Volume 3 (Giraffes are my favorite animals). My boyfriend bought me this last Christmas, but I never actually used it until a few weeks ago.

Shady Lady Volume 2 has shades that go from dark, to light. All of them seem to have either a frosty/shimmery or glitter finish.

Caught in the Act Courtney: Dark brown with bronze glitter. This applied patchy.
Feisty Felicia: Dark purple with purple glitter. This also applied patchy and was not as smooth as the others.
Insane Jane: Frosty taupe. This was very smooth and was very pigmented.

Bossy Bobbi: Frosty medium blue. This was very smooth & pigmented.
Makeout Mary: Frosty light green. This was very smooth & pigmented.
Just This Once Jamie: Frosty light purpleish-pink. This was very smooth & pigmented

Mischievous Marissa: Frosty orange. This was very smooth & pigmented.
Tempting Tara: Frosty white. This is like a more pigmented version of Metal-ica, which was in the Balm Jovi palette.
Devilish Danielle: Frosty beige. This was very smooth & pigmented.

Overall, most of the shades in this palette were consistent in texture (all the frosty ones). The two with glitter finishes are a bit dry and kind of hard to apply, but tapping it instead of swiping it would help. I like how all the Shady Lady palettes have names of people who actually work for theBalm cosmetics! The palette itself is small so it is very travel-friendly. This retails for $39.50 and can be purchased from thebalm.com & nordstrom.com.

What do you think about this palette? Do you own the other Shady Lady palettes?

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theBalm: Balm Jovi Face Palette

Swatches & Review

When theBalm was on Hautelook on Thanksgiving, I purchased two items. One was the Nude'Tude palette, which I have reviewed (here) & the other was their Holiday Balm Jovi face palette. The packaging on it was so cute, I had to get it.

The Balm Jovi palette includes twelve eyeshadows, one highlighter, one blush, and two lip colors. The colors are divided into three music genre's: Heavy Metal, Classical, & Alternative.

The first genre is Heavy Metal. Heavy Metal consists shades that have a frosty finish to it.

Metal-ica: Frosty white. Kind of powdery & applied sheer.
Iron Maid-in: Metallic gold. Like Metal-ica, it applied sheer, but it is build-able.
Lead Zeppelin: Dark olive green with gold glitter. Kind of dry.
Alice Copper: Frosty burgundy-red. Really smooth and pigmented.

The next genre is Classical. In this genre, all the shades have a matte finish.

Adagio: Matte pale beige. Very soft and not powdery. Had a little bit of fallout, but the color payoff was good.
Allegro: Matte medium brown. It's soft, but it applied patchy on the first swipe. The color builds into a gorgeous brown.
Moderato: Matte eggplant purple. Kind of dry & applied patchy.
Presto: Matte dark brown. Kind of dry and hard to apply & blend.

The last genre is Alternative. It has one matte shade while all the others are shimmery/frosty.

Blink 1982: Shimmery plum-bronze. Was very soft and pigmented.
The Stroke: Matte dark navy blue. It was soft and pigmented.
rem: Shimmery golden-purple. Was kind of patchy, but buildable.
Third Eye Blinded: Frosty light peach. The texture was soft and easy to blend.

Solid Gold: Shimmery highlighter.

Don't You Want Me?: Matte pink blush.

Solid Gold: Frosty champagne. It is supposed to be their Mary-Lou Manizer. When compared to the full-sized, it seems that Solid Gold in the palette is not as smooth as the individual Mary Lou-Manizer.
Don't You Want Me?: Matte pink blush. This is smooth and is easily blend-able. It is supposed to be theBalm's FratBoy blush, but when compared to FratBoy, FratBoy seems more of a peachy-pink while Don't You Want Me? is more of a bubblegum pink. The texture on it is really good.

Overall, this is a good palette. There were a few shades that were not as smooth and as easily blend-able as others, but they are workable. My favorite shades from this is Alice Copper, Adagio, Allegro & Blink 1982 because they were the smoothest and the easiest to work with. I wish they included another blush in there instead of FratBoy though. FratBoy is my go-to blush, but I already have too full-sized versions of it, but I guess it is okay since it is a bit pinker? I really hope that theBalm will come out with a matte dusty-mauve blush someday because their blushes are really nice. I like how there is a variety of matte and shimmery/frosty shades in this palette because I like to mix and match finishes when I use them. I did not include swatches of the lip shades because I normally do not use them so I do not plan on touching them anytime soon. I really like theBalm's packaging because they also have a separate flap for lip/cream items so that powder will not get into it. This palette retails for $39.50 and can be purchased on thebalm.com, though it appears on Hautelook pretty frequently.

What do you think about this palette? Do you like theBalm cosmetics?

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theBalm Nude'tude Palette

Swatches & Review

When theBalm released their Nude'tude palette last year, I have been wanting to get it, but I never did because I wanted to use up some of my items first. When theBalm was on Hautelook on Thanksgiving, I caved and my boyfriend bought it for me(after the many times it has been on Hautelook).

The Nude'tude palette comes in two designs, Naughty or Nice. They both have the same colors in them. The palette I chose was Naughty because I love how they used the eyeshadows to cover the women's "nude" parts.

Sassy: Frosty white. Chalky, but buildable.
Snobby: Frosty yellow-gold, applied sheer and was powdery.

Stubborn: Frosty light-peach very soft and pigmented.
Stand-offish: Frosty metallic champagne-bronze, very soft and pigmented.

Selfish: Frosty taupe, very soft and pigmented.
Sultry: Matte medium-brown, very soft and pigmented.

Sophisticated: Shimmery dark brown, very soft and pigmented.
Seductive: Shimmery-pearly golden-bronze.

Sexy: Matte maroon/burgundy. Not as soft as the others, kind of dry.
Silly: Sparkly/glittery red-brown. Had fall out & applied sheerly.

Serious: Matte black. Was kind of dry like Sexy, and applied patchy.
Sleek: Matte dark brown. Soft and pigmented.

This palette has frosty shades, matte, shimmery, and one glittery.
A majority of the colors were very very soft and because it was so soft, there were a bit of fallout, but tapping the brush on your forearm before apply would definitely help with the fallout. I found that swatching from my finger and a sponge-tip applicator did not work too well with these because they apply sheer with those, but they definitely apply better with a brush. I found that the darker shades were drier so the first swipe of those applied sheerer than the rest, but after a few swipes, the colors are intense and left stains on my arm (Sexy, Silly, Serious & Sleek). Overall, this palette is a nice neutral palette. You don't really need it if you already have Urban Decay's NAKED and/or NAKED2, but if you love neutrals, this would be a good addition!

What do you think about the Nude'tude palette? Do you like the design? What is your favorite theBalm item?

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theBalm The Body Builder Mascara

Swatches & Review

In this review, I will also review two eyeliners:
Kat Von D's Tattoo Liner in Trooper
&Be a Bombshell's Eye Liner ins Onyx

I received theBalm's The Body Builder Mascara in my October Glam/ipsy Bag and I have been trying it out this week. Normally, I do not wear mascara because it does not hold my curl for me anyway so I feel like it is pointless, I was hoping for theBalm's mascara to hold up, but does it?

In the first photo, I am using theBalm's The Body Builder mascara and Kat Von D's Tattoo Liner in Trooper. I purchased the Draw the Line set from Sephora so I decided to try this one first. Kat Von D's Tattoo Liner is a pen liner. It is thin enough to draw a thin line, but I drew a thicker line on to make it look similar to Be a Bombshell's eye liner.

In the second photo, I am using theBalm's mascara and Be a Bombshell's Eye Liner in Onyx. Like Kat Von D's Liner, this is also a pen liner. The tip of this eyeliner was thick, so it was hard for me to draw a very thin line so I made it thick.

Both of the eyeliners look similar in color, so no one can even tell that I am wearing two different eyeliners. Comparing both of them, I definitely like Kat Von D's more because it is thin so I would be able to draw a thinner liner than Be a Bombshell. However, both of them last a very long time, which is good. You will need makeup remover to remove both of these eyeliners.

For theBalm's Mascara, I love that it is not clumpy, it makes my eye lashes look a lot darker. Does it hold up my curl? Not really. I was hoping it would hold up my eye lashes, but it does not. I am not disappointed because I have the hardest time with mascaras holding my eyelashes up, so it was expected. The mascara held up my curl for a good ten minutes until it started to go back to being stick straight. The mascara itself does stay on the lashes for a good amount of time & I have not seen any flaking from it, which is also a good thing. Sadly, it is just not for me.

What do you think about these products? Can you tell a difference between the eyeliners? How do you feel about mascaras? Any recommendations for me? :)

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theBalm Plump Your Pucker: Cocoa My Coconut

Swatches & Review

I purchased theBalm's Cocoa My Coconut a while ago, but I haven't opened it until recently. After purchasing it, I was debating on whether or not I should keep it since it looks like it might be too "nude" for my lips. theBalm's Plump Your Pucker Lip Gloss line is slightly tinted and is supposed to hydrate and make your lips look fuller.

Cocoa My Coconut is described on theBalm's website as a Coco-nutty Nude. Before opening it, I was afraid that there would be a strong coconut scent to it, but it was not bad. It smells like coconut, but not too unbearable. It is kind of like a coconut scent leaning more to a slight scent of hot chocolate & I actually like it.

This shade of this is definitely not too nude, like a sand-ish nude, but it is more of a warm pink nude. This is only slightly tinted and it has a creamy finish so it does not have any glitter/shimmer in it, which I love!

Although these claim to be "plumping" and "hydrating", I did not really feel like my lips looked fuller after using this, and it was drying after about an hour of wearing it. There was a slight tingling effect and cooling sensation on my lips after applying it, but it went away pretty quickly. The tingly feeling of this is not strong like Buxom, so if you do not like how Buxom's are, this may be a good alternative lip gloss for you! I like that this lip gloss was not sticky. It reminds me of Wet N' Wild's Bare it All, but in gloss form. I have used this with Bare it All and it matches with it perfectly. This retails on theBalm's website for $15.

What do you think about theBalm's lip glosses? Have you tried it? Or do you prefer the other makeup they offer?

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theBalm FratBoy Blush

Swatches & Review
theBalm's FratBoy blush is one of my favorite blushes of all time. I have had mine for a bit over a year now and it is almost my everyday blush. The reason I say almost is because I don't wear blush (or any makeup) on a daily basis, so when I do wear blushes, I normally go for FratBoy.
Oh how I wish I had a FratBoy..
Lol, nah. I'm content with my boyfriend so this FratBoy is perfect!

On theBalm's website, FratBoy is described as a Peachy-apricot.

On my skintone, it is more of a peachy-pink since it means more pink than apricot for me. The pigmentation on this is amazing! I always brush it on with a light-hand since it can easily be overdone.

This is how it looks when it is in sunlight.

This is how it looks when I am indoors.

For this blush, I get about an average wear for 5 hours on it with minimal fading (unless I'm rubbing my cheeks all day o__o). It is a gorgeous color and does not look too overwhelming on the cheeks.

This is one of my favorite blushes hands down. I have been using it for a year and I still love it! Like I always say, a little bit of FratBoy on your face will give you a healthy glow for the day :)

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