theBalm ‘Nude Beach’ Eyeshadow Palette – Review, Swatches, and 2 Looks

You know, it’s kinda nerve-wracking to type “theBalm Nude Beach” into a google search, because it’s a toss up as to whether you’ll see makeup or have some very racy pictures pop up.  Luckily for me, it was the former and not the latter!

I can happily say that I am the proud owner of all 3 of theBalm’s ‘nude’ palettes – the original Nude ‘Tude Palette, the Nude Dude Palette, and now the Nude Beach Palette.

TheBalm is one of those brands that I can’t get enough of.  They lure you in with the cute and detailed packaging, and they keep you with the product quality.  They are without a doubt my #1 fave brand for blushes – I know my girl Samantha Jane swears by their ‘Swiss Dot’ Instain Blush, and I can’t get enough of my ‘Hot Mama’ and ‘FratBoy’ blush.  And their ‘Mary Lou-Manizer’ is my ride or die, tried and true highlighter.

The ‘Nude Beach’ palette comes in a sleeve featuring a scenic background, complete with a beach ball.

The palette features men and women in the buff (as theBalm’s ‘nude’ palettes do) censored by the eyeshadow pans.

The shades in this palette follow the warm and rusty trend, featuring browns, coppers, and red mattes and metallics.

For my first look I started with ‘Bodacious’ as the transition shade, and started to build a halo-style eye by applying ‘Braniac’ to the inner and outer corner of my eyelid.  I then applied ‘Brilliant’ into the center of the lid as a base shade and topped it with ‘Built’.  Finally, I applied ‘Babe’ to the browbone, and ‘Breathtaking’ on my lower lash line.  I had gone to an event wearing this makeup and had about four people ask me if I was wearing the ABH ‘Modern Renaissance’ palette, since I stuck with the reds and golds.

For my second look I started with applying ‘Bold’ as my transition shade.  Then I applied ‘Brilliant’ in the inner 1/2 of my lid, ‘Bright’ on the outer 2/3 of my lid, and darkened up the outer 1/3 of my lid by blending out ‘Brazen’.  I finished the look by applying ‘Breathtaking’ on my lower lash line (What can I say?  I thoroughly enjoy a shimmery metallic shade to pop through my lower lashes).

I have a mixed review for this palette.  While the packaging design is fun and cheeky, the shadows were hit and miss.  The matte shades like ‘Bodacious’ and ‘Brilliant’ were smooth and really easy to work with, however the formula of the darker shades like ‘Brave’ and ‘Brazen’ weren’t as buttery.  I found the darker shades were tough to blend into the other shadows.  They had a similar formula to MAC ‘Carbon’, because both brand’s shadows swatched sheer and settled into my pores, giving it a “spotty” look.  While I like how theBalm is trying to deliver on the regal red and gold eyeshadow trend, I just think that the formula just didn’t stand up palettes like an ABH ‘Modern Renaissance’ palette – the shadows just didn’t pack quite enough punch, as far as the pigmentation – I’d consider this palette a more toned down version of the ABH palette (which isn’t a bad thing, as tons of people don’t want insane pigmentation in their eyeshadow).  This might be a good option as an introductory palette for people who want to try rocking the red shadows, but don’t wan’t the look to be too bold.

If looking at all 3 of theBalm’s ‘Nude’ palettes, I’d rank them in the order that they were released:  the first Nude ‘Tude Palette, the Nude Dude Palette, and the Nude Beach Palette as third place.  But just because this palette ranks third place, it definitely won’t deter me from buying more products from theBalm.  Their new Lou-Manizer shade looks fab!