Review -- The Balm Smoke Balm Eyeshadow Palettes

You know you're a beauty junkie when you're doing some online shopping for something fairly practical and still find yourself perusing the makeup section just to see if anything catches your eye.

That's what happened recently when I was on Kohl's website, shopping for some new workout pants (Am I the only woman in the world who wants workout pants with pockets? I can't find a decent pair anywhere.  But that's another story...) and somehow wound up looking through the offerings that they had from The Balm.

While I have virtually every product from The Balm that I want, I always find the little sets that Kohl's puts together interesting (for example, right now you can get the Hot Mama, Bahama Mama, and Sexy Mama Powders all for $38.50) and sometimes pick them up for gifts or giveaways.

Imagine my surprise when Kohl's had products that I'd never seen before -- the Smoke Balm Eyeshadow Palettes.

These are small, three shadow palettes that are designed for creating sultry smokey eye looks.


They are available in two color combinations, which are named Set One with Blaze, a satin-y black/charcoal shade; Spark, a matte cool mid-tone brown; and Flame, a shimmery pale champagne, and Set Two with Kindle, a satin-y hunter green; Glow, a warm mid-tone matte brown; and Combust, a shimmery pale gold.

The Balm Smoke Balm Palette in Set One

The Balm Smoke Balm Palette in Set One (l. to r.): Blaze, Spark, Flame

The Balm Smoke Balm Palette in Set Two

The Balm Smoke Balm Palette in Set Two (l. to r.): Kindle, Glow, Combust

The palettes come in The Balm's usual cardboard packaging with their trademark vintage style artwork. There is a small mirror on the inside and the back of each palette features a diagram with a suggested eye look using the shadows inside.

The back of each palette also offers step-by-step instructions to create a smoky eye using the shades in each, which is great if you're not an expert at creating a smoky eye look.

Back of The Balm Smoke Balm Palette in Set Two

Back of The Balm Smoke Balm Palette in Set Two

Like all of The Balm's shadows, the formula is top notch. All of the shades are smooth, creamy, and easy to blend.

While I like both palettes quite a bit, Set Two probably gets the edge as my favorite simply because I like that the smokey shade is a green to kind of mix things up.  But I do love Set One too. Spark isn't exactly an exciting color, but it's hard to find a matte cool brown like that and I find it so versatile.

And while they're meant to be used for smokey looks, I've also used both to create soft, natural looks using just the two lightest shades and the dark shadow as liner.

What's great about these palettes is that they're small so they're easy to toss into any bag when you're headed out -- which means they're great to bring along if you're headed out after work or school and want to bump up your daytime look to something more evening appropriate.

Or if you're going on a trip and know that you're going to be wearing no or light makeup 95 percent of the time but want the option of a sexy smokey eye for one or two evenings out, these palettes won't take up much space in your makeup bag at all.

Best of all, they're only $12 each for 10.2 grams of product. As far as I can tell, they're exclusive to Kohl's, though.

I definitely recommend these palettes. Even if you're not a fan of smokey eye looks, these babies are great quality, affordable, and can be used to create softer looks if that's more your style.

Have you tried The Balm's Smoke Balm Eyeshadow Palettes? Which is your favorite?