I’ve never tried TheBalm cosmetic products before. But I was always longing to have such amazing book palettes in my stash. Moreover, the reviews of their products were so raving.
Most of all I was captivated by the highlighter shade from the In TheBalm Of Your Hand Greatest Hits Volume 2 Palette, which is known for making the skin glowing but not shining.
I have a similar eyeshadow shade from some other brand, which is said to be a dupe of the Balm product. I read that they were absolutely similar, with the only difference in color and believed that they were total swaps. But in fact, I don’t agree with those reviews. The Balm highlighter looks darker and has a more golden undertone, while the eyeshadow from that brand looks more off white. It’s well visible over my tanned yellow undertoned skin, have a look.
A comparison of my Mary Lou Highlighter with an eyeshadow from my collection
The highlighter over fair skin
The Mary-Lou Manizer highlighter appears really glowing on the swatches. But it has only a hint of this intensity in reality. When I apply it over my face, I can never see any shimmer or glistening particles. The area I apply it to just looks as though glowing from within and this is gorgeous!
A comparison of my Mary Lou Highlighter with an eyeshadow from my collection. The Mary Lou is lower and the eyeshadow is upper
The highlighter over tanned skin
Characteristics-wise, the highlighter is dry, dusty but it still translates on my skin nicely. I have only this mini from the palette and I’m not planning to buy a full-size ever because I’ve already gotten two more minis for purchases. By the way, I don’t appreciate the packaging of the minis. I wish it also looked like a book. Maybe that way, I’d even bought the full-sized product then.
The highlighter mini
The highlighter mini
One more product that made my heart beat faster was the bronzer. Guys, I could have never expected such results from it at all. I started to meet the world of bronzers very recently. I like how harmoniously they look over my skin. It gets much more complicated and difficult for me when it comes to blusher.
The Bahama Mama bronzer is also a legend. But I could have never guessed that I’d fall for it so much. (even more than for the Mary-Lou highlighter). I use it to define my cheekbones and I like how natural it looks over my skin. I deem that it’ll still work better as a bronzing powder for those with pink-toned skin, since it does have a true yellow pigment to the formula. It’s an enjoyable brown shade, I’d say. It applies well over my skin, but still, it dusts because of its dry texture. It’s easy to pack and impossible to stain your skin with. I bought a full size of this bronzer. I just couldn’t resist, you know.
Over fair skin
Over darker skin
All the other products from the In TheBalm Of Your Hand Greatest Hits Volume 2 Palette are blushes and eyeshadows. I wasn’t impressed with the eyeshadows, because they are pretty dry texture-wise and don’t want to sit over my non-primed skin. A sticky base saves the situation. They always dust and hence disappear from my skin. The darker shades offer a better color payoff, but once I try to blend them out into a light smokey effect, they quickly dust away, leaving no color on my eyes at all.
The eyeshadows over fair skin
The eyeshadows over tanned skin
with an eyeshadow primer
with an eyeshadow primer
Blushes- There are actually three of them in the palette. They are well packed with the pigment, they seem matte and really pretty.
Downboy will flatter fair skin. I anticipate wearing it in winter.
Fratboy is warm-toned and peach. It nicely refreshes my complexion and really works like a versatile product.
Instain- This shade is rather dark and pigmented. I don’t know how to tame it yet. In my book, it looks more harmonious over fair skin.
The fairest blusher shade looks lilac-white over tanned or swarthy skin.
The blush over fair skin
The blush over fair skin
The blush over tanned skin
My verdictIf you want to try all the legendary products by TheBalm at once, then you should definitely pay attention to this palette.
It’s good in all respects - design, color selection of eyeshadows and blushes, there is an excellent highlighter, plus a magnificent bronzer.
If you decide to buy all these products separately, then they’ll cost you a fortune. While here you can test this or that product out and make out whether it suits you or not, which one to buy packed with a full-size.
My skin is fair and has yellow undertones. This year I became tanned, that’s why I decided that the swatches of the products would look more interesting over both - tanned and fair skin.
I have to take off a star for the dry texture of those eyeshadows, which don’t want to show any pigment even over an eyeshadow primer. In the photo, you can see how dusty they are. The sticky primer makes the shades work better. But considering the price of the palette, it is unallowable. But this is my own subjective opinion and experience. The thing is that I have more affordable price-wise eyeshadows, which are creamier and brighter. Besides they don’t crease even over my oily skin at all.
_______________
I’ve already mentioned that I couldn’t resist and bought a full-sized bronzer for me. But I’ve noticed that there’s a difference between these two products that I have.
1. The color: In the palette, the shade looks more red-toned, yet it’s more brown-ish. The full size appears more reddish. But this difference is detectable only if you look very close at the skin. However, I still wish that the full-size would be more right and brown-toned.
2. Consistency: In the palette, the bronzer is drier and rougher. I have to pack the color to make it more visible. It eliminates red and patchy applications. The full size has a nicer grain, hence the shade is chunkier, it’s easier to pick up with a brush and it does dust. This one is really easy to overdo.
