If there’s anything to be learned from reviewing 44 eyeshadows individually, it is that even a “single” formula can vary! I wish theBalm Eyeshadows performed more consistently and consistently better, as when all the ratings were averaged, the overall rating was a B. I feel like the brand’s eyeshadows are better than that, particularly in some of their past palettes as well as the Shady Lady singles.  There were certainly high quality, high performing shades in the range, but there were far too many Cs and below.  Due to the very limited distribution (you can only purchase through their boutique, so while anyone can place an order via phone, it’s hard to test for yourself), it’s a real bummer that they weren’t better overall.  The majority of the range has a softer, more muted vibe to the colors–nothing really too bright or bold or rich–and a few of those more contrasting, richer shades would have been much welcomed. There were far too many variations on gold and beige that were just marginally different, so there was room for shades with bolder qualities.

• PERSONAL FAVORITES: #5, 9, 10, 17, 21, 25
• MOST UNIQUE: #5, 17, 25, 36

By Rating:

• As: #4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 14, 17, 18, 21, 24, 30, 34, 37, 38, 41, 42
• Bs: #1, #3, 11, 12, 16, 19, 20, 22, 23, 25, 26, 28, 35, 39, 44
• Cs: #13, 27, 29, 31, 32, 33, 36, 40, 43
• Ds: #8
• Fs: #2, 15

theBalm has said that some of the shades are ones that have been released in palettes, but there’s no list of which number lines up with which shade, so here’s a list of the new singles and their closest matches within theBalm family (including a few within the 44 shades that are very similar)…

• #1 ≈ Silly
• #4 ≈ #14, D2
• #5 ≈ The Stroke
• #11 ≈ Sassy
• #12 ≈ D1
• #14 ≈ #4, D2
• #20 ≈ A1
• #21 ≈ Manic Maribel
• #22 ≈ Sassy
• #24 ≈ B1
• #26 ≈ A4
• #31 ≈ Metal-ica
• #32 ≈ A1
• #33 ≈ A2
• #34 ≈ A3
• #36 ≈ B2
• #39 ≈ C4
• #40 ≈ D1
• #41 ≈ D3
• #43 ≈ C2
• #44 ≈ C3

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