the Balm Autobalm Palette – Hawaii

I flew to Melbourne for a short holiday a few weeks ago, and it had me thinking about travel-friendly makeup. I wanted something small, compact, with multiple uses (if possible). theBalm has two tiny palettes that meet these expectations – the Autobalm palettes (Hawaii and California)! I picked Hawaii, as I felt the shades would better suit my skin tone (classic pink blush, and a pretty shimmery eyelid shade…I’m already sold!)

Autobalm, like all of theBalm’s palettes, comes with a generous sized mirror (for it’s size anyway!),  making it even more useful for touch ups. It also has a headshot of a gorgeous pin-up-style model, keeping it in line with other packaging from theBalm. To give you an idea on size – it’s a little bigger than a driver’s license – which just so happens to be the cover art!

The blush is your standard suits-all-skin-tones pink (which I love!) and has good, but not overly strong, pigmentation. The pan, like the palette, is a little on the small side, so that’s something to keep in mind when using bigger brushes. I experienced fall out when using this – but it’s something I expect with soft powders.

The highlighter was a bit of a let-down for me, especially after trying Mary-Lou. It’s a matte highlighter, and it does have a bit of fall out. I probably wouldn’t use this as I would a shimmery highlighter (cheeks, cupid’s bow, etc.), but instead would use it as an all-over base for my eyelids, and on the brow bone for matte eye looks.

This is a pewter shade (it might look a tiny bit olive in the photo – sorry about that) that is packed with shimmer and is super soft. You will have fall out when using this one, as it is a shimmer shadow, and it’s so soft. For best results, use your finger when placing this on your lids.

The last shade is a blackcurrant deep-purple shade, with a tiny trace of shimmer (not obvious). It’s meant to be used on the crease of the eyelid or as a liner. If you’re not into heavy smokey eyes, use it in the crease, rather than as a liner. Again, like all the other shadows, you will have fall out during application.

I’ll see how I go in making this whole palette work together more, although I’m not sure if I’ll purchase the California one. I’m really hoping they come out with more of these miniature palettes in the future though…they are the perfect size to keep in your bag or take on short trips.

What do you think of the colour selection? Which is your favourite element to the palette?