Venturing into theBalm

I’m a complete newbie to theBalm. I’ve heard bloggers rave about their products but as they only seem to be available online or in &OtherStories in London, I was always a bit apprehensive about buying without actually seeing any of their products. Being as pale as I am, I tend to find some colour products are just a little bit much for me so I’m a lot more reserved with makeup purchases online than I am with anything else.  

I’d been eyeing up Mary-Lou Manizer on Feel Unique for a while now. I’d lost count of amount of blog posts I’d read talking about how gorgeous a colour it was so when Feel Unique were offering 25% off of theBalm (their Unique Treat offers have been amazing) along with the usual samples, I leapt for my bank card.

Mary-Lou Manizer is described as giving your skin a “subtle glow”. Now I don’t really think subtle is the right word. It’s by no means disco ball sparkly - it doesn’t actually have any glitter through it at all - but it is extremely pigmented and it’s very easy to go overboard (as I found out after I’d left the house…). It’s a warm champagne colour, which is very flattering on all skin tones. I normally opt for cooler colours but I find this adds just a touch of warmth to the skin without looking overwhelming. With highlighters, I would normally lightly dust my cheekbones, brow bone, on the bridge of my nose, little bit on my forehead and on my cupids bow, but for this I think Mary-Lou Manizer is a little bit too much for this. It’s perfect for cheekbones and brow bone, and I think I’ll stick to a highlighting face powder for the rest. I’ve been using the contour brush from the Real Techniques Duo Fibre Set as it’s great for a lighter application, and like I said, it’s so easy to go overboard.

I also decided to add FratBoy to my basket, another blogger inspired purchase. This is such a pretty peachy/pinky colour which is perfect for summer and once again, it’s extremely pigmented. Although it is a matte blush FratBoy has a lovely buttery texture and it blends naturally into the skin. In fact, I’d probably say this compares to cream blushers in terms of just how well it blends.  I’ve found the RealTechniques Stippling Brush is perfect for applying this blush as it’s a bit lighter and blends well.

Compared to other brands, theBalm is also pretty reasonably priced at £16 for Mary-Lou Manizer and £14.50 for their blushers.

Have you tried anything from theBalm?