Beauty Review: TheBalm NUDE'tude Eyeshadow Palette

A few weeks ago, myself and Tara gatecrashed a blogger party from which we were given a rather wonderful goodie bag from HQ Hair. In this goodie bag was an impressive looking palette I thought I'd share with you all - theBalm NUDE'tude Eyeshadow Palette*. Here's my review...

For those of you unfamiliar with theBalm, they are a paraben free, cruelty-free cosmetics company specialising in makeup, skin, hair and nail care. As well as being available on their own website, the NUDE'tude palette is also available through HQ Hair, a premium online beauty store whom kindly allowed me to give it a go. The palette is made up of twelve shades, all of which can be used separately or easily blended for a range of day to evening looks...

Besides an extensive palette, the set also comes with a double-ended brush and a 3.7ml eyelid primer. One of the first things I noticed about the palette is the stylised packaging. Similar to Benefit with 1950s, vintage illustrative branding, each shade has it's own individual name and is decorated with pin up girls. Some of the names are a little questionable, for example, "selifsh", "snobby" and "stand-offish" are a little random as, in my personal opinion, they translate as "bitch" and don't have particularly positive connotations. Random names aside, I immediately liked the look of the colour range and was excited to try out the shades and get blending. 

The primer needs a little bit of squidging before use as it comes out quite watery at first but afterwards, it is very creamy and instantly softens the skin - an excellent and cruelty-free alternative to the POREfessional primer from Benefit (which, just to clarify, is not CF). Having applied my primer, I tried out the brush. Personally, I would recommend using your own quality brush as the bristles are not that soft but the standard quality you would expect from a set. Though perfectly acceptable, I prefer my own professional brushes when blending. 

Whilst the pigment is clearly evident, the texture is quite chalky meaning there's quite a bit of wastage. The photos above show each colour after just a few brushes on the skin and so there is certainly a lot of colour for minimal effort. Some are matte whilst others have a metallic finish which make the palette ideal for day to night and pretty much any occasion. I don't wear eyeshadow very often but this did seem to last a reasonable amount of time. It does, however, come off really very quickly with wet wipes which makes me wonder if it is meant for all day wear as the slightest bit of moisture would see this disappear. My favourite colours are definitely the brown hues which I can see myself using up more quickly than the rest though the pale pinks are sure to come in handy for everyday. 

Overall, I think theBalm NUDE'tude palette is very good value for everyday wear although I'd perhaps consider blending it with a more premium product to ensure a longer last finish. I love the range of colours as I think they're ideal for my style and suit my existing makeup collection. I'm excited to play around more with the different shades and experiment with the different palette options. 

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That's it for another beauty review. Thanks so much to HQ Hair for having us, our lovely gift bags and allowing us to gatecrash your wonderful party. I look forward to trying more of their products in the future. Have you used the NUDE'tude Palette before? What's your favourite cruelty-free eyeshadow palette? As always, I love reading your thoughts so please do leave me lots of lovely comments below. 

Until next time fellow beauty lovers, 

*Disclaimer - This item was gifted to me by HQ Hair although the choice to review it was my own. All views expressed in this post are my own and do not reflect the opinions of the brand.