theBalm Balmsai Eyeshadow Palette Review, Photos, Swatches
theBalm Balmsai Eyeshadow Palette
theBalm Balmsai Eyeshadow Palette ($39.50 for 0.50 oz.) that features eighteen eyeshadows that range from beige to blue to black with a variety of finishes. The palette gives off a more muted vibe–none of the colors are really bold or bright, they tend to have a softer, more muted quality to them. Some shades are good color payoff while others were just so-so, but many of them were powdery and a little dry (not stiff, just a drier, powdery consistency). I noticed many were prone to fading, and I felt like it was difficult to apply these without a primer underneath, as the powdery, drier texture made the product less inclined to stick to bare skin. This primer absolutely needs a primer to be workable in order to combat the under-pigmented eyeshadows along with the more powdery textures that they have.
Wipe Out is a light, warm beige with a satin finish. It had good color payoff with a soft texture that was somewhat powdery. It lasted for seven hours on me. See comparison swatches / view dupes.
High Tide is a light, warm-toned beige with a soft, frosted finish and yellow undertones. It is a lot like Wipe Out, just more shimmery. It had good pigmentation with a soft but lightly powdery consistency. The color showed signs of fading after seven hours of wear. See comparison swatches / view dupes.
Hang 10 is a muted, golden beige with subtle, warm undertones and a satin finish. It had so-so pigmentation with a soft but powdery texture. The color lasted for seven hours. See comparison swatches / view dupes.
Dream Boat is a light-medium, pinky-peach with warm undertones and a soft, frosted finish. The color payoff was decent but could have been better, while the texture was noticeably powdery, which made it seem prone to fading on the lid. It only wore well for seven hours. See comparison swatches / view dupes.
Sandbar is a murky, green-gray with a pink iridescence sheen. It seemed warm overall, but it’s one of those colors that can lean either way, depending on what else it is paired with. It had nice color payoff, and it wore well for eight hours. See comparison swatches / view dupes.
Tubular is a soft, medium-dark brown with a golden sheen and subtle, frosted finish. It had good pigmentation with a texture that was just slightly powdery, but it did wear for almost eight hours. See comparison swatches / view dupes.
Epic is a muted, medium brown with warm, reddish undertones and a frosted finish. It had fairly good color payoff, though the texture was a bit powdery to work with. The color lasted for seven and a half hours applied. See comparison swatches / view dupes.
Surf’s Up is a medium-dark gray with a frosted finish and cool undertones. The color had nice pigmentation that went on smoothly and evenly. It was a bit powdery but less so than other shades in the palette, while the color didn’t start to fade until after seven and a half hours of wear. See comparison swatches / view dupes.
Big Kahuna is a medium-dark, aqua-blue with a golden sheen. It seemed to have good color payoff, but this was a shade where its drier, more powdery consistency made it difficult to apply to the lid with intensity. I kept packing it on, and it kept disappearing/fading. It wore well for about seven hours, though I couldn’t get it to look as bold swatched on the lid. See comparison swatches / view dupes.
Kawabunga is a warm-toned, olive green with a soft, frosted finish. It had nice, mostly opaque pigmentation that went on smoothly with a softer, more buttery texture that wasn’t powdery. This shade stayed on well for eight hours. See comparison swatches / view dupes.
Surfari is a medium-dark, plummy purple with warm undertones and a frosted finish. It had good color payoff, though the texture was somewhat powdery, which made the color prone to fading before the eight-hour mark. See comparison swatches / view dupes.
Pipeline is a muted, medium-dark bluish-purple with cool undertones and a frosted sheen. The texture was a little dry and powdery, so it didn’t go on as evenly as would be ideal. It lasted for seven and a half hours before fading. See comparison swatches / view dupes.
Score is a muted, medium brown with subtle warm undertones and a matte finish. It had so-so pigmentation, though the texture was silky and finely-milled. It wore well for seven hours when I tried it. See comparison swatches / view dupes.
Dig It is a medium-dark taupe with subtle, warm undertones and a mostly matte finish. It had decent color payoff, and the texture wasn’t powdery but was still soft and blendable on the lid. The color lasted for seven hours. See comparison swatches / view dupes.
Woodie is a muted, dark brown with subtle, warm undertones and a matte finish. It had semi-opaque pigmentation, while the texture felt soft, it was slightly powdery as well. On me, this shade showed signs of fading after seven hours of wear. See comparison swatches / view dupes.
Stoked is a blackened burgundy with warm undertones and subtle lighter burgundy pearl shimmer over a matte finish. It was sheer whether applied wet or dry, though it was slightly less sheer applied damp. The texture was drier and harder to blend/work with on the eye. The color lasted six and a half hours before fading. See comparison swatches / view dupes.
Ripper is a dark, gray-ish brown with warm, olive undertones and a semi-matte finish. Applied dry, it had mostly opaque color coverage, but it was fully opaque when applied damp (and it appeared grayer). It lasted for seven hours on the eye. See comparison swatches / view dupes.
Righteous is a cool-toned, medium-dark black with a matte finish. It was slightly powdery, though very soft to the touch. The color payoff was decent when applied dry, but it was better applied damp. This shade wore well for seven and a half hours on me. See comparison swatches / view dupes.
Balmsai
LELimited Edition. $39.50.
Wipe Out
LELimited Edition. $16.00.
Kawabunga
LELimited Edition. $16.00.
Surfari
LELimited Edition. $16.00.
Pipeline
LELimited Edition. $16.00.
Score
LELimited Edition. $16.00.
Dig It
LELimited Edition. $16.00.
Woodie
LELimited Edition. $16.00.
Stoked
LELimited Edition. $16.00.
Ripper
LELimited Edition. $16.00.
Righteous
LELimited Edition. $16.00.
High Tide
LELimited Edition. $16.00.
Hang 10
LELimited Edition. $16.00.
Dream Boat
LELimited Edition. $16.00.
Sandbar
LELimited Edition. $16.00.
Tubular
LELimited Edition. $16.00.
Epic
LELimited Edition. $16.00.
Surf's Up
LELimited Edition. $16.00.
Big Kahuna
LELimited Edition. $16.00.
See more photos & swatches!
theBalm Balmsai Eyeshadow Palette
theBalm Balmsai Eyeshadow Palette
theBalm Balmsai Eyeshadow Palette
theBalm Balmsai Eyeshadow Palette
theBalm Balmsai Eyeshadow Palette
theBalm Balmsai Eyeshadow Palette
theBalm Balmsai Eyeshadow Palette
theBalm Wipe Out Eyeshadow
theBalm Wipe Out Eyeshadow
theBalm High Tide Eyeshadow
theBalm High Tide Eyeshadow
theBalm Hang 10 Eyeshadow
theBalm Hang 10 Eyeshadow
theBalm Dream Boat Eyeshadow
theBalm Dream Boat Eyeshadow
theBalm Sandbar Eyeshadow
theBalm Sandbar Eyeshadow
theBalm Tubular Eyeshadow
theBalm Tubular Eyeshadow
theBalm Epic Eyeshadow
theBalm Epic Eyeshadow
theBalm Surf’s Up Eyeshadow
theBalm Surf’s Up Eyeshadow
theBalm Big Kahuna Eyeshadow
theBalm Big Kahuna Eyeshadow
theBalm Kawabunga Eyeshadow
theBalm Kawabunga Eyeshadow
theBalm Surfari Eyeshadow
theBalm Surfari Eyeshadow
theBalm Pipeline Eyeshadow
theBalm Pipeline Eyeshadow
theBalm Score Eyeshadow
theBalm Score Eyeshadow
theBalm Dig It Eyeshadow
theBalm Dig It Eyeshadow
theBalm Woodie Eyeshadow
theBalm Woodie Eyeshadow
theBalm Stoked Eyeshadow
theBalm Stoked Eyeshadow
theBalm Ripper Eyeshadow
theBalm Ripper Eyeshadow
theBalm Righteous Eyeshadow
theBalm Righteous Eyeshadow
High Tide (inner lid), Sandbar (inner lid), Big Kahuna (outer lid), Pipeline (crease),
Wipe Out/Dream Boat (brow bone), Marc Jacobs Intro(vert) Eyeliner
High Tide (inner lid), Sandbar (inner lid), Big Kahuna (outer lid), Pipeline (crease),
Wipe Out/Dream Boat (brow bone), Marc Jacobs Intro(vert) Eyeliner
Hang 10 (inner lid), Tubular (middle of lid), Epic (outer lid), Kawabunga (crease),
Wipe Out (brow bone), Marc Jacobs Beauty O(vert) Eyeliner
Hang 10 (inner lid), Tubular (middle of lid), Epic (outer lid), Kawabunga (crease),
Wipe Out (brow bone), Marc Jacobs Beauty O(vert) Eyeliner
Score (inner lid), Kawabunga (middle of lid), Dig It (outer lid), Woodie (crease),
Dream Boat (brow bone), Urban Decay Roach Eyeliner
Score (inner lid), Kawabunga (middle of lid), Dig It (outer lid), Woodie (crease),
Dream Boat (brow bone), Urban Decay Roach Eyeliner
I really think the palette is beautiful, both the shadows and the packaging. But I will pass on it since I have those colours, or a lot of them, and I just don’t need another palette.
… since I caved and bought Amrezy when it magically showed up in Ulta somehow lol
Hope you like Amrezy!
Some of the shades look pretty but a little underwhelming overall!
Agreed!
I like Big Kahuna, Kawabunga, Score, and Dig It. Would be a nice quad. 18 is too many shadows for me lol.
I was like, “There are 18… EIGHTEEN?”
Yeah I’m much more intrigued by palettes with six or so eyeshadows, where the effort was put in to make every shade great (btw thanks for your advice on the Naked2 Basics palette, I love it so much, every shade blends great for me and it’s foolproof) 🙂
YAYYYY! So glad I could help 😀
Agreed. I think I would be overwhelmed by 18 shadows….
Well, another subpar palette!!! I feel like it must be frustrating for you to spend so much time and money on these underachievers!!
It’s all good! 🙂
The shades are really muted down, especially the mattes. At least I can skip this palette and wait for Lorac Pro Mega and UD Vice 3 palettes 🙂
Phew!
She said it, Christine, I didn’t! No time for XMAS shopping with 32 in the theoretical Lorac Pro Mega! (see pic on Vintage or Tacky instagram sidebar, folks) Better rest up now! It’s going to be shorter than Nars audacious, though, no what’s where, etc. With any luck, some of them will be dupes from previous palettes, so you’ll have some experience + expectations. But I know you’ll do each + every color, comparing it to other renditions. OMG, we get so excited at seasonal palettes + offerings. You must almost dread it. You’re going to need a lot of TLC + support from Mellan, for sure! Good luck with this heavy season…
Thank you, KJH 🙂 I’ll need it!
Yeah, I will certainly pass on this!
I wish it was better!
I really like that some of these are sheerer. I’m really excited about it!
Woohoo! Glad it’ll work for you!
I like palettes from TheBalm but the colours in this look so similar to shades in their previous palettes and a lot of them look quite like one another too, so unless I see this on sale at some point, I’ll probably pass on it.
I feel like they need to branch out their colors/finishes or maybe do more color-based themes, rather than a naming theme.
Most of these are pretty. It’s a shame about the color payoff. I was going to pass on this anyway, seeing how none of the colors are terribly unique.
Did you try the stencil?
The stencil’s shape doesn’t really work with my brow shape!
Bummer. I was curious if really worked for great cat eye or was just a gimmick.
There’s a lot of pretty colors but the formula and packaging just don’t do it for me. If all of the shades had decent pigmentation and a softer formula I would have probably picked this up.
The formula wasn’t impressive here 🙁
I like theBalm, and have been excited to see what their next palette would be, but this is underwhelming and boring to me.
I was disappointed, too!
Really like this neutral themed palette with a pop of colour! I’ve yet to try any of theBalm’s eye products but this got me curious!
I like a lot of their products, but this one wasn’t my favorite!
Er, well, there are a couple of really pretty colours in here (Surfari, Big Kahuna, etc), but the performance is pretty weak 🙁 I’ll also echo the others that are doing a double take at the EIGHTEEN shadows here. It almost kind of makes it worse that there are so many…and yet still so few that are up to the job, LOL!
Kind of an ‘the odds were good but the goods were odd’ situation, perhaps? 😀
I think it’s because they look so small that somehow they feel so numerous? I don’t know. Urban Decay’s Vice3 has 20 shades!
Really loved the look of this palette… But that rating is just not where I want it to be in order to justify the purchase. I have so many great palettes as it is so I’ll have to pass!
It’s not as good as I had hoped!
I really liked the look of this palette when I first saw it. After the initial swatch post and now this review it’s not a thing I’ll spend my money on. Pity because it did have potential. I have enough of underwheming, underperforming palettes in my stash. ( I have a lot of Dior 🙂 )
I have such a soft spot for theBalm, but I haven’t fallen in love with their recent eyeshadow palettes like I have with their older ones!
I really wanted this to get a high grade even though I wasn’t going to buy it because I love thebalm and want them to succeed. Other than the bad grade 4 blackish colours in one palette is too many for me.
Awwww! 🙁
To me, Balm went downhill after their gorgeous Balm Shady Lady 1-3 which had eyeshadows in full size. Then, they come out with all sorts of tiny eyeshadows. I got BSL 2, waiting for a chance to grab 1 and 3 when they go on sale again.
I truly thought this palette was 3 times bigger!
Thanks so much for the pictures 😉
Safiya
I’ve had this for a while now, and quite like it. Excluding the three brights, Big Kahuna, Surfari and Pipeline, Balmsai could be considered a nude palette – with interesting tonal range, some quite complex and interesting nude shades (Sandbar, Tubular & Kawabunga are the stars) and very neutral overall feel. And the not-so-bright brights are a nice plus! The brow shades can look unimpressive on swatches, but they work very well on brows – and can be used easily on crease/outer corner. Shades blend well – and like you said, these work well with a primer. I also like the shimmer in these, they don’t give that metallic impression like… …say Urban Decay shades do, so they are workable even on mature skin. Definitely considerable choice for someone with a pale, neutral or slightly yellow/olive tinged skin! Also my blue eyes and dirty blonde hair mix well with Balmsai color scheme.
Happy to hear you’re loving it, Lila!
Appreciating your great swatches – thank you, Christine :). You have saved me from good deal of bad purchases.
Always my pleasure, Lila!