13 October 2012

{ Review + Swatches } Mini Haul : theBalm

I've wanted to try the cheek products from theBalm for the longest time and luckily for me, OzSale (a flash-sale site similar to Hautelook etc.) were selling these some time last month at such an affordable price! I think I spent around $50AUD for all of these when usually one of their blushes/bronzers costs $20AUD each! A ridiculously awesome deal : D

I purchased two of their shadow/blush products in 'Frat Boy' and 'Down Boy', their bronzing powder in 'Bahama Mama' and a lipstick in 'Classified'.


So far so good. I've been so impressed by their cheek products which I think that theBalm is most famous for, and righteously so. Although they can be a bit powdery when you take some product from the pan onto your brush, they apply and feel really silky and smooth. They all have superb pigmentation too!

L-R: Down Boy, Bahama Mama, Frat Boy

I was also impressed by how sturdy the packaging was. Their cheek products are enclosed in a cardboard box with a magnetic closure and because of this I thought the blushes/bronzers would be more prone to breakage if you dropped it. I remember receiving my package with less than standard packing (hardly any foam padding or bubblewrap inside!!) and to my surprise, none of the products were damaged!

Another plus is its value for money. A standard MAC blush holds 6g/0.21OZ of product whereas theBalm's cheek products range from 7.08-9.9g/0.25-0.35OZ of product. FYI: MAC blushes in Australia costs around double as much as a blush from theBalm. Need I say more?!

Here are some close-ups of each of the cheek products and their swatches! I have no idea why they have tiny microglitters in there- either it was originally there and I didn't notice them or I accidentally transferred them using different brushes. Either way, they all basically apply matte : )

Shadow/blush in 'Frat Boy' (peachy-apricot pink)

Shadow/blush in 'Down Boy' (cool-toned pink mauve)

Bronzing powder in 'Bahama Mama' (matte medium brown with no orange undertones)
 L-R: Frat Boy, Bahama Mama, Down Boy


Pros:
  • Great value for money- a lot of product for a reasonable price!
  • Silky and smooth to apply
  • Sturdy packaging and not bulky to carry
  • Cute packaging design
  • Suited to many skintones
  • Amazing pigmentation
  • Added mirror
  • Bronzer in 'Bahama Mama' doesn't have any orange undertones
  • Good longevity, stays in place all day

Cons: 
  • Quite powdery when you try to pick up product with your brush- be gentle!
  • Not accessible in-stores in Australia (that's why I love online shopping <3)

Now onto the not so good part of my review. The lipstick. Usually when I try a new cosmetic brand, I want to choose a shade/colour that I would wear often hence the neutral nudey-brown lipstick I picked up called 'Classified'. Although, I have to give props to the packaging since it's sooo cute and unique!- adore the newspaper design!


The lipstick was TOO sheer for my liking. There are some fantastic sheer lipsticks out there which are sheer but buildable but this one did not build up to the opacity I would have liked. I also think it was because it was too close to my natural lip colour therefore the colour wasn't able to show through very well.


Pros:
  • Awesome design and packaging
  • I really like the minty/cool feel it has on the lips
  • Smooth to apply

Cons:
  • Not available in-stores in Australia
  • Too sheer and heaps of layers required to get some opacity- not sure if their other shades are like this or maybe it's just this colour? 
  • The nude shade leaned too much 'brown' for my liking

That's all from me for now AND for a while since I have to start studying hard for my final exams EVERR in uni! It doesn't even feel like I've finished uni yet until I've completed and passed all my exams. T_T *soldier on!*

Wish me luck! and thanks for reading! Leave any questions or suggestions etc. you have in the comments section and I will get back to you when I can!

xo Laura


* Disclaimer: This is a non-sponsored post and I am in no way affiliated with theBalm or OzSale. The products mentioned were purchased with my own funds and as always my reviews are 100% my honest opinion. *

20 comments:

  1. We both bought theBalm products from Ozsale! I hated the shipping time, it felt like it took forever to arrive. But that's how these sites work :( oh and I just wanted to let you know, theBalm is available in major David Jones stores! :)

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    1. hahaah yes i just read your post on it :D i know! took like a month I think but it's ok since the prices are reasonable! thanks for letting me know! i just got told that as well but I haven't seen any of theBalm products in the DJ's near me..haven't properly looked anyway.

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  2. ooo these are really pretty colours! thanks for sharing these swatches! :)

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  3. ooh down boy looks so delicate and pretty

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  4. Nice haul! The products look great.
    However I couldn't find them on the website, can you only buy them if they happen to be on sale at the time? Not sure if that's how that site works :P

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    1. yupp only can purchase once they go on sale. just subscribe to them and you'll get email notifications : )

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  5. I saw theBalm products from 'buyinvite' and purchased some products, but the shipping has taken longer than a month and I still havent received my parcel til now :(

    BTW, I found theBalm available from David Jones but a blush cost like $30 :S!

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    1. oh cool. never heard of that one before! yeh these kind of flash sale sites take longer compared to usual because i guess we have to wait until the sale finishes before they ship everything out :(

      yes thanks for letting me know! lots of people have been telling me that they're being sold in DJ's though I haven't seen it myself! will defs check it out! so expensive though!

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  6. Ohh i really like how neutral these colors look. Perfect for wearing for daytime to work! :D

    Joyce @ carouselstreet.com

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  7. I love the packaging of this brand! I am such a sucker for good packaging and blushes so I could hardly resist if these were available in my country :)

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    1. you can always search for these online in ebay, amazon etc.! that's why we love online shopping ;)

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  8. Awww man! How did I miss on this Ozsale thing! :( I've just seen another blogger do a post on it! I've definitely signed up now though! :D

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    1. yayyy :D you can find some awesome sales going on there!

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  9. such a great deal! I need to jump on Ozsale sometime, I always hear people raving about it haha. it's a shame about that lipstick...but how can you say no to that cute packaging :P

    metallicpaws.blogspot.com

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  10. I love that blush 'down boy' It is such a pretty colour! I got the Mary-louamaniser from this sale. TheBalm products are such good quality!

    x

    https://bellambeauty.blogspot.com

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