It seems that I'm on a roll with these palettes reviews! I love trying new pigment formulations and finding out which ones I enjoy the most.
theBalm is one of those brands that are new to me. I've never tried anything from them before. I mean I noticed them in our drugstore - with their quirky packaging. I mean guys on a palette? That's fun, isn't it?
Notino kindly sent me the Day 2 Nite palette for an honest review. Let's see how the testing went.
theBalm - DAY2NITE Palette
Let's set the atmosphere:
It was a sunny day when the mailman buzzed. Oh, I got a package from Notino - how exciting!
I opened the package and found this beauty.
A majestically small palette packaged in a metal case. It's a sturdy palette, alright. And later when you're over and done with the colours, you can just remove the cardboard insert and use the metal case. That's handy and somehow on the "less waste" mentality. I like that!
The theBalm Autobalm Day2 Nite eye makeup palette opens up possibilities for you to create incredible variety in your eye makeup.
The palette comes with 7 eyeshadows (2 matte base ones) and 1 eyeshadow primer.
The pans are small, so small I have a bit of a problem with spillage on the sides, but not small enough that I'd have problems with picking up the colour.
The cardboard base (with a plastic top?) is easily stained and the biggest culprit for staining is the colour Lombard ST. And also the black primer kind of sticks to the palette.
I don't mind but after a couple of uses, the palette may not look as pretty as before.
SWATCHES
I created the swatches with my clean finger on bare skin. No extra primer was used. I know that a finger swatch isn't the most reliable thing (as the oils from the skin make picking up the colours easier than with a brush). But I like finger swatches. They are fun!
THE COLORS
The colours are well pigmented. They are also soft and easy to work with. They aren't buttery soft with a lot of fallout, but they are good.
The lightest matte - Las Vegas BLVD is a base colour. It mostly turns translucent on my eyelids and I'm okay with that. I use it as a base for easier blending.
BLACK PRIMER
I was worried that the black primer would make my eyelids oily and that the eyeshadow wouldn't stick to it anymore. But I was wrong. I used it over my regular eye primer (Wet'n'Wild Photofocus) and it lasted the whole day. Without it shifting to the crease. That's a big deal for me!
I like how it transforms the shimmery shadows - I especially like the shift Beacon AVE does. From a cool-toned lilac with light blue micro glitter, it goes to straight metallic blue. Awesome!
As the name implies the palette can be used for day or night makeup. It's not that I ever let a palette dictate how I do my makeup - but it's good to have everything in one small palette.
PROS:
+ Sturdy, travel-friendly package
+ Good choice of colours
+ The shift from day/night is good!
+ The black primer is actually decent
+ pigmented colours that are soft
+ The colours stay put without fading (with a primer)
CONS:
- it's on the expensive side (26€)
For this look I used the black primer all over the eyelid, Lombard ST (brown with glitter) in the outer V and crease, Beacon ST on most of the eyelid, Haigh ST and Madison AVE in the inner corners of the eyes.
OVERALL:
This is a well put together palette. It's lovely, travel-friendly and the colours are soft. Because they are soft they are also easy to blend. Plus the black eyeshadow primer is actually good and holds the eyeshadows well! I don't think I've ever come across such a well-rounded palette before.
I think it should be a staple in most cosmetics collections.
What do you like about this palette? Let me know in the comments below!
