TheBalm 'Balmsai' Palette | Review

TheBalm Balmsai Palette - £26

 In the Buff (Basics) - Left to Right: Wipe Out, High Tide, Hang 10, Dreamboat, Sand Bar, Tubular

 Mavericks (Splash of Colour) - Left to Right: Epic, Surfs Up, Big Kahuna, Kawabunga, Surfari, Pipeline

 Curve and Angle (Brow/Shadows) - Left to Right: Score, Dig it, Woodie

Catch A Wave (Use Wet or Dry) - Left to Right: Stoked, Ripper, Righteous

After mentioning this palette in my recent 'What I've Won' post, a few people contacted me and said that they would like to hear more about it and they were curious to see what this palette has to offer.  I was waiting to play with this palette properly before I gave you a review, just so I could be sure that the opinions I put across are as accurate and certain as possible.  I have been using this palette for well over a week so I thought I would spill the beans on what makes this palette one of my favourite palettes (trust me, you know its good if it's in my favourites, I am reasonably difficult to impress).

Pictured above are the swatches of every single shade in the palette, as you can see they are all highly pigmented after just one swipe.  The formula of these shadows are beautifully buttery and easily blend able, even the mattes.  My only criticism would be the amount of fall out left behind after, but I can work around that and it doesn't end up causing too much of an issue for me.  This palette has an amazing variety, making it perfect for travelling, you have neutrals, colours, mattes, shimmers, glitters and eyebrow shades all in one slimline palette.  For me, this palette has everything I would ever need and the colours are easy to work with, coming from a neutral lover who never fails to shy away from colour and anything 'Out there'.  You can easily create every day looks, subtle hints of colour, smokey eyes and massively colourful looks easily without having to use too many eyeshadows.  As mentioned before, everything you could ever need is in this palette, the possibilities are endless!

I will go through each shade individually, giving you an idea of the colour (some aren't depicted accurately in the pictures, damn you english weather) , the formula and the overall finish so you have an overall idea of what you can do with this palette.

In The Buff - Basics:

Wipe Out // A light flesh toned shade with a slight sheen running through.  Perfect as a subtle highlight or all over the lid to create an even canvas.

High Tide // An off white/cream shimmer.  Very buttery in texture and has quite a lot of fall out, put is gorgeous as a highlight all over the lid.  You could also use a very small amount as a highlight on your face as well.

Hang 10 // Not dissimilar to mac's Patina, very understated and looks quite boring but is beautiful as a quick wash of colour on the lid.  Almost has a hint of mustard and would suit all eye colours and skin tones. It has a very slight sheen, not completely matte.

Dreamboat // There is a slight hint of rose gold in this colour.  Similar to Hang 10, with just a bit more of a pinky peachy hint to it. Again, it has a slight sheen to it, not completely matte.

Sandbar // This is a very unique shade, it sort of reminds me a bit of mac's Retrospeck.  It is a greyish silver, with subtle hints of gold and some khaki green.  It also has a strange iridescence to it which appears a vibrant purple in good lighting.  This is a beautiful shade and is unlike anything else I have seen before.

Tubular // Your typical bronzy brown.  The sort that I just chuck on, blend out and apply some mascara and I'm done. What makes this slightly different to other bronzy shades, is the slight hint of amber/copper running through it which adds a bit of warmth to what is otherwise a cool toned bronze.  I have gotten a lot of use out of this shade already!

Mavericks - A Splash of Colour:

Epic // A light matte brown, with a hint of a dusky pink colour.  It can be used all over the lid, or through the crease for a bit of definition. I personally love using it as a crease colour when I am using tubular and it creates the perfect every day eye for me and requires minimal effort.

Surfs Up // This is a dark charcoal grey, with a hint of purple running through it.  It reminds me of 'Dark Side' from the Naked 3, just with glitter! I can't wait to use this for a really dark and dramatic smokey eye!

Big Kahuna // This shade is what I would describe as a mermaid green.  It is a shimmery turquoise bordering on duck egg blue but I think it would be so easy to wear.  I definitely think it would come under the umbrella of 'muted' shades.

Kawabunga // This is a very golden khaki green colour.  This is definitely a neutral shade with just a little bit of colour and is the perfect way to slowly start adding a pop of colour to your looks.  I can imagine creating a beautiful smokey eye with this and I can't wait to use it!

Surfari // This is a very vibrant matte purple!  In the pan, it has blue glitter running through it but only a small amount transfers on to the lid so I suppose you could get away with calling it a matte.  This again is a very unique shade, you can put a small amount on your lower lash line for a subtle pop of colour, or you could go all out and do a full on purple eye! It all comes down to personal preference.

Pipeline // This is a beautiful indigo colour with a slight shimmer. Most places have described this as a royal blue, but I think it has a lot more purple than royal blue.  This again is a very versatile colour, and I would love to be brave enough to do a dramatic eye with this as I think it would look amazing!

Curve&Angle - Brow/Shadows:

Score // A very light matte brown, perfect for blonde brows or as a transition colour for eyeshadow.

Dig it // A medium ashy toned matte brown, perfect for medium-dark brows or as a crease colour for eyeshadows.

Woodie // A dark matte brown, perfect for dark brows, a liner or an outer corner colour as an eyeshadow.

Catch A Wave - Use Wet or Dry:

Stoked // A deep muted purple, with a subtle magenta glitter running throughout.  A very dramatic colour in my opinion, but could be dressed down when paired with a fairly neutral eye.

Ripper // This is simply a very dark matte brown which on close inspection, I would say could be slightly warm toned.

Righteous // This is simply matte black, but it is one of the most pigmented I have ever used! Just a tap of the brush picks up more than enough product, so proceed with caution!

Well that was a rather long post, I think that could almost be classed as a small novel!  I hope you found this helpful, and send me pictures of any looks created using this palette to give me a bit of inspiration!

Emily xx