theBalm's BalmJovi & Meet Matt(e) Nude Palette Review and Swatches

Imagine my surprise when theBalm reached out to me after posting about the fake Nude 'tude palette I purchased on eBay. Turns out Marissa, the CEO herself, read my post. In an effort to track down the jerks behind the counterfeit products out there, I sent them my fake and, in exchange, they sent me two of my most highly coveted palettes. The internet is so cool, you guys!

Almost as cool as these palettes!
As with most new makeup I get, I freak out and convince myself it's way too precious to touch. It took me weeks to finally dip into these bad boys because I am ridiculous.

BalmJovi Rockstar Palette ($39.50) is jam-packed with twelve eyeshadows which are divided into different music genres (heavy metal, classical, and alternative rock), a highlighter, a blush, two lip/cheek colors, and enough puns to last you a lifetime.


Overall the eyeshadows are awesome, pigmented and mostly buttery soft. I did find Metal-ica (first column, first row) and Lead Zeppelin (first column, third row) to be a bit powdery though they swatched beautifully. Moderato (second column, third row) and The Stroke (third column, second row) were both a little dry as well.


Solid Gold luminzer is a gorgeous golden color which will totally hold me over until I get my hands on the Mary Lou-Manizer illuminator, and Don’t You Want Me is the perfect pinky-coral blush (theBalm also sells this individually as Frat Boy).


The lip colors double as cheek color and sheer out nicely. Milly is a muted pink-rose and Vanilly is bright cherry red, both with a nice shiny finish.

Being that this is my only face palette, I have nothing to compare it to really, but that doesn't mean I don't love it! It's nice and compact, has a great variety of colors and textures to paint your face with, and the packaging is absolutely adorable.

Meet Matt(e) Nude ($42) offers nine creamy matte eyeshadows which are named after nine dudes that share the first name Matt, and come in cool and warm tones.


The eyeshadows in this palette are all really amazing. They're super buttery and quite pigmented, though I found Matt Malloy (top right) to be a little on the chalky side. I really enjoy this palette and see myself using it a lot in the future. The pans are HUGE and pack in a lot of product, so they will really last.

I promise the color payoff is great with these products, though some match my skin so closely it's difficult to see the swatches. I suggest, as with all photos on this blog, that you click-through to enlarge.

If you're impatient, you can snag these palettes at flagship Walgreens locations or on theBalm.com. Alternatively, you can sign up for HauteLook and wait till they appear again (you just missed the last theBalm event). Meet Matt(e) Nude and Nude 'tude are usually 50% OFF when offered on HauteLook!

The Walgreens LOOK Boutique minutes from my apartment is an enabler...
I would love to hear what you think of you these palettes if you already have them in your makeup collection. Even if you don't, let me know what you think and if you're planning to pick them up! I'll be posting looks with these soon so be sure to keep an eye out!

ETA: Get the Look with Meet Matt(e) Nude

UPDATE: theBalm is back on HauteLook today (6/20/14) through Monday (6/23/14) 8AM Pacific! Get both of these palettes for 50% off!