A few months ago, I helped fill up a Balikbayan box with Sarie and my brother, Luis. At that point, I was not into makeup a lot, but I had started exploring by then. One of the items that caught my eye was theBalm’s Nude ‘Tude Eyeshadow Palette. I didn’t really bother surveying other palettes, since I didn’t think I would ever venture into the world of shimmery shadows. It’s why I opted for this palette, instead of the beauty nut staple, Urban Decay’s Naked.

(You are going to be wrong at least one more time in your life, Carina.)

Nude ‘Tude swatches on my arm. I have a bad habit of starting a row in the middle of my arm, leaving no room for the next row of swatches.

Nude ‘Tude contains twelve shadows, covering the delicate parts of six pin-up girls. I mentioned before how I liked it when palette colors have individual names. Included in this palette are:

• Sassy: a frosted white
• Snobby: a sheer, shimmery yellow
• Stubborn:a pale shimmery pinkish peach
• Stand-Offish: a pale glittery pinkish brown
• Selfish: a light frosted taupe
• Sultry: an almost matte (but more satin) ochre
• Sophisticated: a medium brown with bronze shimmer
• Seductive: a pearly frosted golden brown
• Sexy: a deep matte burgundy
• Silly: a coppery dark brown with reddish undertones
• Serious: a matte black
• Sleek: a deep pure brown, matte

Phew! Clearly, I am not an eloquent person when it comes to neutrals and nudes. Are you ready for some swatches?

Color pay-off and pigmentation are decent across the board, but not stellar or exceptional. The darker mattes seem to be the heavyweights here. I had trouble with the swatches, because the double-ended brush it came with seemed to retain a lot of product.

Here’s where I deposited excess colors before jumping onto the next color:

It was tons easier when I tried them on my eye with a different brush, though. I used a RealTechniques eyeshadow brush, which I will review after a few more test runs.

Anyway. I know this is a beauty blog, but I’ve been sick since Saturday night, so all you get is a bare (clean!) face with eyeshadow and a t-shirt. It’s Battle Royale but you can’t really tell.

I used different shades for each eye. 🙂

• RIGHT: washed the lid with Selfish, Sexy blended into the crease and outer corner, Sassy for highlights, lined with Serious
• LEFT: washed the lid with Seductive, crease & outer corner with a little extension outside with Sultry, highlights with Snobby, lined with Sleek

Overall, I like the palette, especially that they thought to mix light, pretty colors and a bit of the darker shades. The color goes on sheer, but they are pretty much buildable—a great way to go from day to night! Since they’re neutrals, it’s very wearable, but the selection of shades isn’t so boring and predictable that you can’t play!

The formulation is also quite nice, with the majority of the shades having a buttery smooth texture. The shimmer shades have minimal fall-out. I have yet to test these, though, for a full day outside, but I don’t think bringing the palette along for touch-ups would be that much of a hassle, since it’s so light.

The Nude ‘Tude case is a slim cardboard book-type thing that’s got proportions close to a Hershey’s chocolate bar. It’s got a slip case, like a chocolate bar also. The cover opens and closes with a magnetic snap. There’s a pretty sizable mirror on the inside cover, as well as a dual-ended brush, both angled just varying in fluffiness and length of bristles.

It’s lightweight and can absorb impact from a fall better than plastic compact. (Or so I would imagine.) Very ideal for traveling or just a good go-to nude/neutral palette.

Plus, wouldn’t this be really, really cute inside your makeup bag?

Like I said, I bought this online (on Amazon, to be precise!) for about $33, but fear not Manila-based peoples! theBalm’s Nude ‘Tude Eyeshadow Palette has been made available at Beauty Bar this November. Seriously, how timely is this?

You can check all Beauty Bar outlets, according to this Facebook announcement, or get the palette online. 🙂

VERDICT: Quality 12-pan eyeshadow palette with wearable colors and enough stretch for play.
Will purchase again? Too soon to tell, but it’s a great palette of neutrals in finishes I quite like.
How much? I got it at $21.95 (+SH) from an Amazon reseller, but Beauty Bar sells it for Php 2,195 for 0.382 oz.
Where to buy in Manila? Beauty Bar branches or online!