One Month, One Palette... (March Edition)

theBalm The Nude'tude Palette

This month I chose to use theBalm's Nude'tude palette. I've had it for a while and never used it. I figured I couldn't go wrong with a nice neutral palette... Ohhhhh, how wrong I was... This was not a favorite. Point blank. And that took me by complete surprise. Here's why:

• There is no "brow-bone" shade. You know... A light, matte, nude-type shade used to highlight the brow bone and add emphasis to your arch... Yea, there's none of that here.
• There is only ONE true crease color. And it's pretty dark. Not good for the fairest of gals.
• The colors just don't "pop" on the lids. And they bored me.
• Some shades are very powdery and would end up dusting the tops of my cheeks as I applied them to my eyes. No, no, no EYESHADOW... You belong on my EYES.
• EmilyNoel83 (amazing YouTuber, check her out!!!) used to recommend this palette allllll the time. So I took her word as gospel.....

Don't get me wrong, this palette isn't terrible. It's just not what I expected. For this month's update, let's go shade by shade...

Sassy- Frosted White. I find that white is just too harsh to work with. I would use this (in combination with Stand-offish or Stubborn to tone it down a bit) as a brow-bone highlight or inner corner highlight. It didn't really work. But I tried. Snobby- Shimmery Yellow Gold. I don't gravitate towards shades like this. I only used this once as an inner corner highlight. Meh. Stubborn- Frosty Pink & Stand-offish- Shimmery Light Pink. These disappointed me. They just don't show up on the lids like Urban Decay's Sin or Stila's Kitten. Stand-offish is so light you can barely see it.

Selfish- Shimmery Taupe. This was my favorite shade. I just loved it. It stands out on the eyes and I couldn't find anything similar in allllllll my other eyeshadows. LOVE. Sultry- Matte, Medium Brown. I used this color in my crease every time but was surprised to see how dark it was. However, it blended easily. Sophisticated- Dark Brown with Shimmer & Seductive (aka Schitzo in some palettes)- Golden Brown with Shimmer. I thought these two were going to be similar to Urban Decay's Smog and Darkhorse. Negative. While Sophisticated swatches very similar to Darkhorse, it doesn't show up the same on the lids. It has no "oomph" (for lack of a better word).

Sexy- Burgundy. I liked this shade, especially to deepen up the outer corner. Silly- Red-Brown with Shimmer. I honestly didn't even bother with this one.  Serious- Black. This looks much darker in the pan than it is when applied. Sleek- Dark Brown-Black. My second favorite shade in this palette. I used this with every look I did. I smudge it under the lash line, in place of eyeliner. It is such a rich deep, dark brown. I love it. It's one flaw is how powdery it is, constant fallout when applying. I feel like such a Debbie Downer... But I just don't love this. Like I said, it's not terrible... It's just not amazing. And I want my shadow to be amazing. Especially for $36. If you have Urban Decay's Naked palette, skip it. If you aren't seriously into neutrals, skip it. Overall, I'd say skip it... UNLESS you see it on sale on Hautelook (they always have theBalm products at a discounted price), then maybe go for it. But don't be surprised if you are as underwhelmed as I was... xoxoxo.

Swatches Top to Bottom: Stubborn (theBalm Nude'tude),
Stand-offish (theBlam Nude'tude),
Sin (Urban Decay Naked),
Kitten (Stila)
Left side WITHOUT flash.
Right side WITH flash.

Swatches Top to Bottom: Sultry (theBalm Nude'tude),
Buck (Urban Decay Naked),
Cork (MAC)
Left side WITHOUT flash.
Right side WITH flash.

Swatches Top to Bottom: Selfish (theBalm Nude'tude)
Chrome (Lorac Pro2)
Left side WITHOUT flash.
Right side WITH flash.

Swatches Top to Bottom: Sophisticated (theBalm Nude'tude),
Seductive (theBalm Nude'tude),
Darkhorse (Urban Decay Naked),
Smog (Urban Decay Naked),
Half Baked (Urban Decay Naked)
Left side WITHOUT flash.
Right side WITH flash.
***Sidenote: In the palette Seductive looks closer to Smog, however, swatched it is more similar to Half Baked.***

Have you tried this palette? Disagree or agree?? Let me know!!! Next month's palette(s): My BareMinerals Quads in The Designer Label, The Soundtrack, The Dream Sequence, and The Happy Place. I need to get some use out of these!!!