Rocking with Balm Jovi

The Balm Balm Jovi Rockstar Face Palette

Here’s the thing. When this makeup palette landed on my desk for editorial consideration late last year, I’ll be honest. I did a fist pump and a “let’s rock” sign before even opening the palette. πŸ˜›

Now you’ll notice that I very rarely do reviews on makeup palettes here. In fact, upon searching my archives, I don’t think I’ve ever done one! See, I’m not really a big fan of overall makeup palettes (palettes that include eyeshadows, eyeliner, mascara, blush, powder, lippies, kitchen sink). I used to have a few but rarely do ALL of the colours work for me. So even with said initial fist pump upon receiving the Balm Jovi, I had my reservations. Quite a lot of them.

The Balm Balm Jovi Rockstar Face Palette

So, let’s see how the palette fares, shall we?

First of all, I love the name of this palette. The Balm is popular for coming up with funny (and sometimes very stupid) names for their makeup. Balm Jovi might be a silly name to some but I just found it downright hilarious. All they’re missing is a face of Jon Bon Jovi smacked in the middle of the palette circa 1990 (think Blaze of Glory)! πŸ˜›

The Balm Balm Jovi Rockstar Face Palette

The Balm Balm Jovi Rockstar Face Palette Ingredients

Like all palettes from The Balm, this one’s made out of cardboard. It opens and closes with a magnet close to the bottom. It comes with a cardboard sleeve to keep a better hold of the palette together.

The Balm Balm Jovi Rockstar Face Palette

There are 12 eyeshadows, one highlighter, one blush and two lip colours in the palette. The eyeshadows have a bit of a name-play going on with famous rock stars, e.g. Metal-ica, Blink 1982 (rigghttt), Lead Zeppelin, Iron Maid-in, Alice Copper (really?!) and so on. The lip colours are pretty versatile and can also be used as cream blushes.

The Balm Balm Jovi Rockstar Face Palette Eyeshadow Swatches

As for the eyeshadow shades, here’s what you get:

  • Metal-ica: Shimmery, frosty silver
  • Adagio: Matte neutral beige
  • Blink 1982: Mauve with gold shimmer
  • Iron Maid-in: Metallic gold
  • Allegro: Matte brown
  • The Stroke: Navy blue with bits of silvery shimmer

The Balm Balm Jovi Rockstar Face Palette Eyeshadow Swatches

  • Lead Zeppelin: Shimmery olive green
  • Moderato: Matte burgundy
  • rem: Slightly shimmery purple
  • Alice Copper: Shimmery red-burgundy
  • Presto: Matte dark brown
  • Third Eye Blinded: Frosty pale peach

The Balm Balm Jovi Rockstar Face Palette Highlighter and Blush Swatch

As for the rest,

  • Solid Gold (highlighter): Warm gold with slight shimmer
  • Don’t You Want Me (blush): Matte coral with warm undertones
  • Milly (lip/cheek colour): Pale pink
  • Vanilly (lip/cheek colour): Bright red

I’ve swatched them for you here, but I reckon Temptalia did it a lot better if you’d like to check it out as well. πŸ™‚

I had a good play with the eyeshadows and they really aren’t bad. Each shade has good colour payoff without being gritty as a lot of cheap palettes are. Some were quite powdery when swatched and lifted with a brush, especially the Adagio and Iron Maid-in. But when the eyeshadows are blended on the eyelids, said powderiness disappears. The matte shades are buttery smooth. In terms of longevity, they didn’t last very long on my primed oily lids. Then again, very few eyeshadows do and this lasted longer than a lot of them.

The Balm Balm Jovi Rockstar Face Palette

The look I did: Iron Maid-in as base all over the lids, Lead Zeppelin on the outer corners of the eyes, Moderator to blend inwards from middle of the lids, The Stroke to line the upper lids and half of the bottom lids and Iron Maid-in on middle of bottom lids to the inner corners of the eyes. I used the blush on the cheekbones and the highlighter on the tops of the cheekbones and browbone. Since the eye makeup is quite heavy, I kept the lip colour light with Milly.

FOTD with The Balm Balm Jovi Rockstar Face Palette

The palette has a good variety of colours without being too zany in colours or too neutral and boring. You can get a good combination of looks when you play around with the eyeshadows. The bottom of the palette shows you 4 colour combination examples you can use for the palette. They’re quite safe options but I say, hey rock it with better colour combos of your own πŸ˜‰

The Balm Balm Jovi Rockstar Face Palette Lip Colour in Vanilly

Rocking it with Vanilly

FOTD with The Balm Balm Jovi Rockstar Face Palette

The price point of the palette is what intrigued me to very almost buy this palette before this was sent to me. The entire makeup palette retails at AU$44.95 in Australia (The Balm values it at AU$101.70. In the US, this retails at US$39.50). I think it’s very good value for 16 colours, making it about $2.80 per item. Can somebody say bargain? πŸ˜›

The Balm Balm Jovi Rockstar Face Palette is available at The Balm counters in David Jones stores nationwide.

What I like about it: Cute packaging, good colour payoff on the eyeshadows, affordable

What I do not like about it: Some of the eyeshadows are pretty powdery (it can get messy on the palette)

What do you think of the Balm Jovi palette? Yay or nay? Are you also wondering if The Balm paid royalties to Bon Jovi for using his name? πŸ˜‰

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25 comments… add one
  1. Kaye

    Hahaha, lets rock!

    Hmm, that’s a tough call as to whether I would get it or it. The packaging is hilarious, but the colours seem so so.
    Kaye recently posted..What’s In Store For Beautiful Kayekie In 2013My Profile

    1. Tine

      Hahaha I know! ROCK IT BABY! Hee hee. The texture of the eyeshadows are actually quite good (except for the Adagio – the matte nude – which I found very powdery). Packaging’s funny πŸ˜›

  2. Paris B

    I have a theBalm palette – one of the Shady Lady ones and while its ok, I haven’t been intrigued enough to get another. Their blushes aren’t bad but while I love the cheeky name of this palette, I wasn’t in the least bit interested. Mostly because like you, I don’t hold any truck with all in one palettes – just too bulky & messy overall. That said, I think you managed to rock it πŸ˜‰
    Paris B recently posted..Facelift in a Bottle: That’s the La Prairie Skin Caviar Liquid Lift promiseMy Profile

    1. Tine

      Awwww thank you! I tried πŸ˜› How does one do a rockstar look, I’d like to know. Time to check out Youtube πŸ˜›

      1. Paris B

        Easy peasy. Wear lots of black liner, fall asleep. Wake up, look in mirror at smudged eyeliner. Done! πŸ˜€
        Paris B recently posted..Facelift in a Bottle: That’s the La Prairie Skin Caviar Liquid Lift promiseMy Profile

        1. Tine

          HAHAHAHA clever! Well, in that case, no need for this palette, just heaps of eyeliner would do the trick. Hah! πŸ˜›

  3. beetrice

    The names made me giggle πŸ˜€ Love The Balm packaging, but I have waayyyy too many already! I think Presto and Blink 1982 would look pretty good together as a neutral-ish match though πŸ™‚
    beetrice recently posted..2012 – What. a. year!My Profile

    1. Tine

      Haha funny right? Do you reckon The Balm has to pay royalties for the use of Bon Jovi’s name? Even though it’s not technically his name but they are using the likeness to sell the palette. Hmmmmm πŸ˜‰

  4. Renee | Beauty Fool

    Oh wow, I like it! What a cool palette and your subtle smokey eye is beautiful. Would you know if they sell this brand in Singapore?

    And lol at Blink 1982 – made me chuckle since I’m a huge fan of Blink 182 :p

    x Renee
    Renee | Beauty Fool recently posted..Where to Get: Renee’s BlendMy Profile

    1. Tine

      Thanks Renee πŸ™‚ I think it’s available at Sasa stores in Singapore. You can definitely get them at Malaysian Sasas πŸ™‚

      Btw, Beetrice sent me a tube of your blend of hand cream. Well done on the fragrance, I love it! πŸ™‚ x

      1. Renee | Beauty Fool

        Ah thanks Tine! Sasa it is. πŸ™‚

        Ahh yay! I’m so glad you like it πŸ™‚ Thank you so much for your support xxx
        Renee | Beauty Fool recently posted..Where to Get: Renee’s BlendMy Profile

  5. Nikki

    Super cute title! you made me smile!
    I am loving how tiny the shadows are as I can never finish them up! I love how you did your eye makeup, you look so gorg Tine!
    Nikki recently posted..AMW Reviews: Colgate Sensitive Pro-ReliefMy Profile

    1. Tine

      Awwwww Nikki that’s so sweet coming from you πŸ˜€

      ROCK ON!

  6. Jyoan

    I haven’t use mine. But I like it from reviews so much that I got mine off eBay because I waited so long and it hadn’t yet arrived in Singapore. I knew it would come, but I never know when Sasa will bring it in. So I waited and waited and couldn’t stand it, succumbed to online. haha.
    Jyoan recently posted..Maybelline Colour Sensational Lipsticks – Big Review!My Profile

    1. Tine

      Hehehehe oh how I know what you mean. That’s exactly how it is with makeup in Australia. I can wait and wait and wait and wait some more for the darn things to be launched in Australia OR I can get them cheaper and quicker online overseas. Hmm…not difficult to decide which one, eh? πŸ˜›

  7. gio

    The packaging rocks! But the colours aren’t doing anything for me. I guess I was expecting darker, sultrier shades considering the theme of the palette. But I love the look you did with it.
    gio recently posted..QOTW: How Do You Decide What Makeup To Bring With You On A Trip?My Profile

    1. Tine

      Aww thanks Gio πŸ™‚ I do like the quirkiness of the palette but yeah, like you, I did expect darker shades since it’s supposed to be all rockstar and things πŸ˜›

  8. Karen C

    What a novel idea! I’d love to buy that for my hubby – not that he wears eyeshadow!

    But I think he’d appreciate the funny side of the shade colour, then give it to my daughter. Actually it’s her birthday next month, so will check it out when I’m next at DJ’s.

    Think it’s very good value, although if some of the shadows are very powdery, that’s can be wasteful.

    1. Tine

      I think your daughter will like this palette. It’s a cute one. Other than the Adagio which is quite powdery, the rest are good. Plus it’s value for money for so many shades πŸ™‚

  9. Issa

    you rock the look Tine! this seems a very nice palette too. I am loving the Nude ‘tude Palette that I won from you! πŸ™‚

    1. Tine

      Hahah thanks Issa. So glad you like the Nude ‘tude palette! πŸ™‚

  10. Michelle Beh

    Hi Tine! I love this the Balm Jovi palette! All the colour you swatched on your hand looked nice! I had been always thinking whether to buy the Balm palette or not. Lol. Guess I can give them a try:)

    1. Tine

      It’s a cute palette to have. The shades are pretty easy to work with and with the exception of the Adagio (the matte nude shade) which I don’t really like for its powderiness, the rest are good πŸ™‚

  11. Jennifer

    Haha, trust them to come up with such quirky and catchy design for eye shadow. Looks like a wearable palette for day and night πŸ™‚

    1. Tine

      Hahaha I know right? Clever of them to do word play with other rockstars’ names too πŸ˜›

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