When it comes to eyeshadow palettes, I am forever going to the one who wants the nudey-neutral shades, it is my comfort zone and let's be honest, you can never have too many palettes. New to my stash is the Alternative Rock Face Palette Boxsets from theBalm and it is a brand I am on a road to discovery with, one I am absolutely loving and one that forever surprises me with products I have somehow missed.
Featuring two volumes, these palettes are best described as being a bit of a multitasker because not only do you get 6 eyeshadows which are triple milled, you also get a bronzer, a blush and a highlighter. So with Volume.1 you have a palette which is the more cool toned palette while Volume. 2 is the one which is a little more neutral/warm. I have favourite shades on both palettes and given the theme of both palettes is 'Alternative' Rock the name of the shades are quite clever and kooky.
On Volume 1 you have a mixture of matte and glitter shades, so depending on your preference, you get a really nice choice of the two.
The formula seems to vary from shade to shade and as you can see, the variation between matte and a more glitter formula really stands out between the shades. So on Volume.1 we have the following:- Naughty Or Gneiss which is one of the matte shades and it is a light peachy beige and this is one I use as a primer or base shade on my lids
- Lead Astray is a light pink with a glittery finish and not a shade I expected to like, but it is just stunning.
- Take It For Granite is a medium silver with a shimmery, almost metallic finish. It isn't on par with Copper Attitude or Lead Astray for glitter. but this is one of my favourites on the palette.
- Copper Attitude is a coppery rose shade which also has a glittery finish and this is one of the shades I have used the most.
- Nice Ash is perfect if you like something a little different. This is a deep plum with a luminous, shimmery finish.
- All Ore Nothing is a more of an ash brown shade than a deep brown and it has a matte finish
- Iron More Than You is a warm brown shade with a matte finish.
- Of Quartz You Did is a mauve pink and it has a satin finish.
- Basalt And Pepper is a stunning frosty white but it also has a light pink sheen.
Shown below and completely unedited, are the glittery shades from the eyeshadows followed by the bronzer, blusher and highlighter.
What I really like about Volume.1 is just how easy it is to work with. Each one of the shadows is an absolute breeze to work with and with the matte shades, they work just as well dry as they do if you choose to wet them.
When it comes to Volume.2, most people won't be surprised to read that this is my favourite palette of the two, those warm nude and neutral shades just call my name. As with the first palette, Volume.2 features 6 eyeshadows, a bronzer, blusher and a highlighter and it is set out in exactly the same way.
Immediately with this palette, you can see there are some simply stunning shades, this has been one palette that has been constantly used since it arrived and the pigmentation on this palette is superb. As for the shades, well we have:
- Let Me Zinc About It is a light peachy beige with a matte finish and again, it works as a really nice bade shade for your eyelids.
- Don't Give A Schist which does make me chuckle as a name, is quite a pale gold shade with a sparkly metallic finish.
- Sodium Fine is a stunning neutral brown with a sparkly matte finish and this is the kind of brown shade I want to see without the sparkly finish too.
- Amirite? is a beautiful caramel brown with a matte finish.
- As Xenon TV is a coppery bronze shade and it too has a sparkly metallic finish.
- The Parents Argon is the one shade which scares me the most because it is a charcoal black with a satin finish and I'm not used to using such a deep dark shade on my lids
- None Of Your Bismuth which is the bronzer is a warm golden brown with a matte finish.
- Bare Minimum is a pinky peach shade with a satin finish.
- Nickel Buy You Dinner is really light golden ivory with a frosty finish.
Again, all of the swatches are completely unedited, I prefer to see how something looks straight off the palette without the need to add any highlight or contrast to the shades, these ones simply don't need it as you can see.
What I love about these palettes, other than that they are compact and fit in your handbag, you pretty much have everything you need on one palette and you can mix and match the shades as and how you feel. The shades that I have used the most are - Nice Ash, Take it for Granite, Let me Zinc about it and All Ore Nothing from the eyeshadows. Of the Bronzers I really like them both, so they have had a similar amount of uses but for the highlighters and blushers, I like to mix and match depending on how I am feeling.
Online these palettes retail for around £20 though I can't seem to find them for sale on many websites currently, so I do hope that changes because they are absolutely worth investing in.
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