The Balm's "Balm Voyage" Palette

Cyber Monday nearly came and went without me making a single purchase. It's shocking. Then suddenly I heard a little something about The Balm having a 40% off sale and I immediately thought "Balm Voyage. Have to have." And so it was.  This is such a beauty of a palette. I love the shade selection - mostly neutrals with a pop of color here and there. Many times when you buy a palette, there are two to three colors you know you'll never touch; usually some outrageous pink or green. The great thing here is that these colors can be combined with all these neutrals to make a great look or to add a pop of color where needed. I can see myself using and loving all of these. 

The first thing that I was afraid of when I saw the palette was that they've put three cheek/lip stains in with eye shadows. All I picture is never using the three stains and watching them gather all kinds of dusty product from the shadows. We'll see how this lasts over time, but the magnetic flaps on this palette allow you to use one section at a time and they seal pretty tightly. I can imagine if you cover the stains while using the shadows, you won't have to worry about the powder collecting on the creams. Pretty smart design, The Balm!

When I pulled the palette out of the package, I was surprised at its size. For some reason, I was expecting something smaller with shadow pans about the size of  a MAC shadow, maybe smaller. Boy, was I wrong. This baby houses a lot of product. It's all housed in very thick cardboard, yet the palette is thin and there is little wasted space.

In total, there are 16 highly-pigmented shadows and three lip/cheek stains. Each color does not have a name, but instead a letter and number corresponding to the row and column in the palette. You'll notice that inside the palette the colors are travel-inspired and grouped together in little descriptions of a look for a location. Instead of putting them in quads inside the palette, they're listed together by their location. I'm actually a huge fan of this approach. I think it leaves a lot of room for creativity. You're not as influenced to always use the colors as the packaging suggests when they're interspersed.
On with the swatches!

A4 / B4 / C4 / D4

A3 / B3 / C3 / D3

The first two rows consist of neutrals but of all different finishes. I can see B3 being one of my favorite shades for blending out in the crease. The first row of shadows is a bit warmer in tone than the second.

A2 / B2 / C2 / D2

A1 / B1 / C1 / D1

The third row is where things start getting fun. Both the bright light blue and the deep teal have me super excited for the spring. I have ideas brewing! A2 is a stunning royal purple with a blue sparkle throughout. So pretty. The last row is back to mostly neutrals with the exception of the super bright golden yellow. 

I was quite impressed with the texture of the stains. I was imagining they'd be a bit sticky or tacky and that wasn't the case at all. They applied smoothly and blended out nicely as well. Captain, a bright pink, was the sheerest of the three, but the color is extremely similar to Second Officer, the red of the three. First Officer is an incredibly opaque coral color and will look phenomenal on the lips and cheeks when summer rolls around. 
All of the colors are gorgeous and blend out so easily. The options are truly endless with this variety of shades and finishes. If you're looking to invest in a new palette, this is not one you'd be disappointed with purchasing. It was worth every penny and more, really, since I scored it on sale for Cyber Monday. :)