THE BALM COSMETICS Alternative Rock Face Palette Vol. 1

You may have already seen my post on the Alternative Rock Face Palette Vol. 2 (if not, be sure to check it out), so it may seem that I am posting these out of order. 😉

I love this series of palettes that each include all the face colors you need for a look and incorporate fun ‘rock’ and mineral types in the color names (you’ll see what I mean). Plus, it plays on a ‘rock’ music theme too. Very clever, #theBalm, very clever!

Today, I am going to review Alternative Rock Face Palette Vol. 1. Each of these run about $27.50 USD and be found at thebalm.com as well as Kohls (at least).

The roughly 4.25″ by 4.25″ square palette has a magnetic closure, is made of ultra-sturdy pressed paper and has a ‘full sized’ round mirror set in the lid.

It contains 2 matte eyeshadow shades and 4 frost eyeshadow shades, plus 3 versatile face colors meant to work as bronzer, blush and highlighter. All shades are powder based. And, as always, I use an eyelid primer with any of these eyeshadows although the frosty shades are the most likely to have a bit of fall-out.

Here is a run down of the colors:

6 eyeshadows:

• “Naughty Or Gneiss”— matte, warm beige (almost the same color as my skin)
• “Lead Astray”—frosty rose-hued violet with silver micro-glitter
• “Take It For Granite” (classic pun)—shimmery, sheer cool lavender
• “Copper Attitude“—sparkling magenta/rose frost
• “Nice Ash“—almost metallic purple/burgundy, with excellent color payoff
• “All Ore Nothing“—soft matte medium brown with cool undertones

3 face/eye colors:

• BRONZER/SHADOW: “Iron More Than You”—matte soft bronze
• BLUSH/SHADOW: “Of Quartz You Did”—matte medium cotton candy pink
• HIGHLIGHTER/SHADOW:  “Basalt And Pepper”—iridescent sheer white

I used this palette to create two possible different looks for you. Note, I usually put eyeshadow on before foundation so it will be easy to wipe away any eyeshadow that falls onto my face in the process:

LOOK #1 (please ignore the wet hair in this set of photos)

The red lipstick is Loreal Paris in the color Blake.

LOOK #2:

Voila!:

Generally, this is how I best found to use each pan:

I found the bronzer shade a little too light as a bronzer (even for my fair skin), BUT, I thought it worked great as a lid crease color or lid crease transition shade.

This petit palette seems like a great candidate for throwing in my purse for a day or weekend trip, and I think it is also a perfect option for tucking in your gym bag.

Let me know if you guys like this sort of palette that also includes face shades. And, as the packaging notes, remember that the three large pans of color can be used a supplemental eyeshadow shades instead of face color if you like (try the “Basalt And Pepper” for the tear duct and “Quartz You Did” for a ‘no-makeup’ eyeshadow color.

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xoxo,

Jen