the Balm Meet Matt(e)

I already did a tutorial using this palette here at The Balm : Meet Matt(e)! - a crazy look nonetheless that i would never ever wear outside my house! - but i haven't actually talked about the actual eyeshadows themselves.

There are 9 eyeshadows in the palette and their colour upon first sight:



Matt Smith = wheat-coloured cream
Matt Gallagher = light brown
Matt Ramirez = dark saddle brown
Matt McDonald = a medium dark grey slate
Matt Horowitz = a dark blue slate
Matt Chung = light pink
Matt Batali = deep purple
Matt Schilling = moss green or light sea green
Matt Patel = taupe

All the colours are, of course, matte. My first impression of the colours? I don't think i can ever work with Matt Chung. And Matt Patel will undoubtedly be the most versatile colour in the palette.

The packaging is adorable. As are all the other The Balm products. Some people hate the cardboard packaging and call it kitschy but i adore it. I even love the handsome face of the Matt at the front!

I didn't love the shadows in the palette straightaway. I was sort of at a loss on what looks to create with the colours in this palette. But all it took was a few more tries and that's it, i'm hooked! Let me just clarify that my swatches below are not the best: i was going through a dry skin patch at the time this photo was taken from being coped up in air-conditioned hotel room for too long.



The colours are pleasantly very pigmented, but that is to be expected with The Balm's eyeshadows, they have an amazing colour payoff. And people always say matte colours are harder to blend compared to shimmery ones, but i really think with this one, that shouldn't be something to worry about. The matte colours are creamy to work with and i find that they are easy to blend.

Of course, like all palettes, there are some colours that you wouldn't love as much as the others. My least favourites are the two lightest colours, Matt Chung and Matt Smith. But then again i rarely use light colours for anything, i hardly highlight my browbones as well and even if i do i prefer to use a slightly shimmery colour. I personally feel like with the texture and colour of my skin, matte light colours would look pasty and chalky on me.

My two most favourites for now are Matt McDonald and Matt Batali. Again, i'm too much of a smokey-eyed kind of girl so it's natural for me to pick those two colours as the best ones in this palette. And they are so easy to use: i would smudge a creamy eye pencil on all over my lid in a similar colour as the shadow and then with the shadow, apply on top of the liner and just do more and more smudges. You get instant wearable day-time smokey eyes!

I haven't touched the brush like, at all. From its appearance, i don't find it will be much use, but anything that comes for free with a purchase, of courseee i'll keep it! If you're the kind of person who really needs touch ups throughout the day, then i can imagine you would fine the brush useful.

I will definitely agree with this palette being extremely wearable for a day look, like for work or a meeting. You can spice things up by adding a fun colourful blue or green liner on top of the lighter colour on the lids for example. The palette retails for RM 99 and that price for eight great shadows (i'm excluding Matt Chung on this), how can you not want it?

Of course, i should tell you that i am one of The Balm's biggest fans. I loveloveLOVE The Balm, it's probably my most favourite brand ever, and coupled with its affordability, i would definitely tell people to go for this product if they're in the tightening-purse mode yet are looking for amazing makeup products.

This palette is available at Sasa stores in Malaysia; go ahead get yours today!

The palette:



More swatches: