The Balm || The Nude'tude palette

Everyone looks at the in-flight shopping magazine on aeroplanes, right? I have always found myself looking through it to see what they offer in terms of souvenirs (my brother always collected the model planes and I always got a teddy when we travelled as kids). Now, as an adult I find myself drawn to the beauty and fragrance section... That is, after I've checked out the cuddly toys.

On the flight to Venice, my eye was drawn to The Balm's Nude'tude eyeshadow palette. The vintage pin-up girl artwork and retro fonts were just so gorgeous that I could barely turn the page. I'm a sucker for that style. I did need a palette that came with a good selection of nude and fair colours because my suitcase had stepped past the line of the weight restriction (the line was a dot to my suitcase!) and I left a lot of make-up behind and brought my Too Faced 'Natural at Night' eyeshadow palette instead as the shadows offered various and appropriate looks. However, I needed something that could transition day and night.

Cue, my purse coming out of my handbag.

The shades that the palette offers are gorgeous - classy and subtle and they are matched perfectly. The artwork is designed so that each pin-up looks as if she's wearing a two-pieced costume that the shades make up. Essentially, The Balm pair the colours for you to cater for whatever look you want. They all compliment each other so nicely and I find myself using the combination of 'Stubborn' and 'Stand-Offish' the most. I love a good pink eyeshadow and these two compliment each-other beautifully.

The palette comes with a two-ended brush (albeit a very short brush) that gives you a blending brush and an angled edge brush. That means that these shadows can be used as eye-liners too. In the combinations you can use either of the shades to line your eyes - I've used Stubborn to line my upper lashes just to make my eyes pop and then used Sassy to highlight the inner corners of my eyes and my brow bone.

I found that all the shadows that I used blended nicely, even if I did need to gather some more on my brush as some colours are more sheer looking than others on my skin tone. The pallette has a mixture of matte and shimmer shades so it caters for any kind of look whether you're wanting a natural look or a more glamorous look. 

The shadows themselves have a lovely texture to the touch but they do have a bit of fall out from the pan, I'm constantly having to swipe the excess away. You can probably see in the photographs included that it does have a slight grain to it and it doesn't have a smooth and creamy-looking consistency. But that is a small downside. I didn't notice any fall-out on my cheekbones from applying the shadows, just the pan.

All in all, I do love this palette and I find myself reaching for it an awful lot. It may get a bit messy from time to time but I would say for the colours available and the use I can get out of it, that it was worth the impulsive spend while stuck in a flying aluminium can.