First of all... So sorry I haven't been around the last few days. I finally returned back home from 9 weeks aways from home. I am so happy to be back home, but there is so much to do!! But I'm back now and I am planning to be a lot more focused now that life is returning to normal. So, please stay tuned!
Anywho... Today I wanted to share with you the new love of my life...
Balm-Jovi by
theBalm Cosmetics. I first heard about this little pocket rocket when my
Top YouTuber of 2012,
Jodik76 from Goo Roo Beauty, mentioned it in one of her amazing
Collective Hauls. I was intrigued by the concept; a complete face solution in one handy, compact palette. As a frequent traveller, I am always on the look out for an easy solution that I can quickly reach for as I'm packing at the last minute.
Lucky for me, I managed to pick up this palette in the after christmas sales. I was walking through David Jones in Adelaide and I noticed a Clearance Bin... obviously I stopped and to my absolute delight there it was...
Balm-Jovi on sale at a steal of a price, just $31.45!! How could I say no??? I rummaged through to find one in perfect condition, and I now have a new love in my life. I absolutely adore this palette, and I thoroughly recommend it to anyone who is looking for a great, versatile, high quality, value for money and unique face palette. Keep reading and I'll tell you why...
Let me break it down for you...
Presentation
The first thing that jumps out at you with this palette is the art work. It's such a clever design. Reminiscent of a Rock Concert Poster, your mind immediately filled with images of the music industry and the sounds of your favourite rock beats. Their attention to detail is second to none, right down to the clever play-on-words used throughout the entire palette. Now, I know that presentation doesn't make a palette, but I personally love that theBalm takes the time to design a product with such detail. It shows that they have pride in what they do and, more importantly, that they love what they do. They don't just pick a few colours and chuck them in a palette; there is a very thorough process at play, right from the initial concept idea through to the design and execution of their products.
As with all of theBalm products, the Balm-Jovi palette has a slip cover. I'm kind of 'meh' about these. They don't really make a huge difference to me; honestly, I could live without it, but I don't mind living with it. The palette cover is cleverly split in to two, with the top part opening to reveal the powder products and the bottom section protecting and separating the cream products. Both covers are magnetised and snap shut, which I love. Once again that adds to the transportability of the palette, so another big plus in my book! The palette also features a decently sized mirror which is in the shape of a love heart; A-dor-a-ble I know!!!! The bottom flap gives 4 look suggestions, which, in my opinion, is a nice touch.
Overall, for presentation I give this palette 5 stars. To be honest, It's hard to fault and theBalm should be very proud of their achievements.
Products
Eye Shadows
Heavy Metal Collection - Shimmers
Metal-ica is a beautiful snow-white colour which has a gorgeous sheen to it and almost a silver-ish shimmer. I love it as an inner corner colour; I find it is very blend-able and easy to work with. The only negative is that it can be slightly powdery, but if I just tap off the excess it's absolutely no problem at all, so kind of a moot point.
Iron Maid-In is probably one of my favourite eye shadows in the entire palette. It is a stunning neutral, almost nude colour with gold-ish undertones and sheen. Being a gold girl, I absolutely love this colour. I find it to be very versatile; I've been able to wear it all over the lid, in the inner corner, under the eye as an eye liner or even as a highlighter on the inner corner or the brow bone, depending on the look. The shadow itself is very buttery and is a pleasure to work with.
Lead Zeppelin looks lovely in the pan; a deep moss colour with gold shimmer. While its colour payoff is not the best, I still love this colour. I find that it works well and is very wearable. It looks nice all over the lid or as a crease colour. I enjoy the gold shimmer and I find that it works well will Iron Maid-In. It's brilliant as a transition colour to take a golden-glow day time look to a more dramatic night time eye.
Alice Copper is a sensational plum-burgandy colour. I love using it with my
Maybelline Color Tattoo in Pomegranate Punk. I recently used this colour in the crease to create a smokey plum coloured eye and it was absolutely gorgeous. In my opinion it is the perfect shade for those who love bright colours but are a little afraid to use them. It is a great shadow to work with and I find it blends seamlessly.
Classical Collection - Mattes
Adagio is an amazing matte skin tone colour with a subtle pinkish undertone. It is a lovely brow bone or inner corner colour; I also enjoy using it on the inner third as, with it's buttery consistency, it blends like a dream! It's not even funny how much I've been using this colour since I got this palette.
Allegro is an impressive mid-tone matte brown which is similar to
Buck by
Urban Decay. I actually think I prefer Allegro as it has more of a gold undertone and therefore works nicely with gold-tone colours such as Iron Maid-In or
Half Baked, which is my all time favourite and most worn eye shadow, period. I love Allegro as an all over the lid colour, in the crease or as a blending out colour. Let's be honest, you can never have too many matte browns...
Moderato is a deep purple-brown matte colour which is lovely for creating a deep brown smokey eye. It looks amazing in the outer corner or in the crease. Colour pay-off is not exceptional but it's very build-able, which I like; once again it means that I can work with it with confidence, slowly creating the deeper look I'm after.
Presto is an elegant deep reddish-brown with a similar colour payoff to Moderato. Fabulous in the outer corner, in the crease or all over if you're wanting a more dramatic look. In my opinion it's a very wearable colour; it looks more intense in the pan than it does on the lid. Love it.
Alternative Collection - Shimmers
Blink 1982 is a stunning mauve colour with the slightest gold shimmer, that is so amazingly beautiful on the lid. I have literally used this to bits already. I adore it. It looks dazzling all over the lid, in the crease, as a liner, in the inner, middle or outer third, pretty much any where you want to use it and how ever you want to use it. What a colour, what a texture, WOW, love it.. my pick of the palette.
The Stroke is a deep navy blue, almost black colour with a hint of blue shimmery glitter particles. Great for creating a smokey eye or for using as a liner; it has exceptional colour payoff and is an all round good quality shadow.
Rem is a spectacularly soft lilac colour which has the slightest sheen. I've really been enjoying this colour on the inner corner when using the purple tones in the palette to create a smokey eye. It's a great colour to work with and it's very blend-able. Watch out for fall out though; it is quite powdery. I tap it off on my hand before applying to the lid to avoid any messy situations.
Face
Disco Disco Solid Gold is my new favourite highlighter. Its a gorgeous gold tone luminizer which just gives the most sensational glow to the top of your cheek bones. It blends seamlessly and sits beautifully on the skin, not looking powdery or cakey. It is fabulous as an inner corner or brow bone highlight if you want to give those areas a glorious gold glow. It works well with my skin tone and is extremely pigmented, a definite winner and a new go-to product.
Pop! Pop! Don't You Want Me is the most pigmented blush I think I have ever used- you literally need the tiniest amount to give your cheeks a healthy, luscious glow. It blends well and easily buffs in the the skin. As with all Balm blushes it can also be used as an eye shadow, and I have really been enjoying it to add some warmth when blending out the crease.
Lips
Milly is the perfect nude lip colour. It provides just the right amount of pinkness to the lips while still maintaining the beauty of the natural lip. I have been wearing it endlessly; it has decent staying power, is extremely moisturising and give the lips a subtle glowing sheen.
Vanilly is a rock star worthy bright red; it has the same formulation as Milly, full of moisture and feels beautiful on the lips. In my opinion it looks very different swatched than in the pan, but still a great lip colour.
What I love most about these lip products is that you can layer them and create your own unique colour to perfectly match you look. Also, they are also usable as creme blushes. I am yet to try them out, but given their creamy consistency I am confident that they will blend nicely and look lovely on the cheeks.
The Final Cut
A definite winner for me! The whole palette is well thought out and executed. It is very versatile, there are so many different looks that you can create with this palette; the possibilities are endless. If you're a person who love makeup and enjoys playing around with different looks then you definitely need to check this palette out. Similarly, if you are looking for a great all-in-one solution then this baby is worth a look. I can't recommend theBalm's Balm-Jovi Face Palette enough and I am actually thinking of grabbing a couple extra for presents for family and friends. At just over $30 at David Jones you can't go past this palette in terms of quality and value for money.
Thanks so much for reading. If you enjoyed this blog please follow me, much more to come.. I'm just getting started!!
xo Lisa xo
