The Balm Cosmetics How 'Bout Them Apples? Review

There are GOOD apples. There are BAD apples. The Balm Cosmetics states "there are NO bad apples in this bunch!" Oh Contra-ire The Balm! Not so fast! I tested your How 'Bout Them Apples Cheek & Lip Palette ($32) Oh yes I did! And there's a mix of both good and bad apples. This is my first time trying cosmetics from The Balm (I always want to say THE BOMB! HaHaHa). FYI: The Balm Cosmetics started in San Francisco, California USA. They're paraben, cruelty free and can be found worldwide. Now, let's take a closer look at these apples ;)

Let's talk packaging! THE GOOD: Really cute front and back cover. The covers are really sturdy cardboard (more like a board), so it won't bend. It also has a protective slip cover. Open it up and the inside has a mirror (nothing plastic or faux about it). Each cheek & lip cream pot, sits within an "apple". THE BAD: The guys pictured inside! I can't believe I'm saying that, but it's true. I didn't expect, Leonardo DiCaprio, Bradley Cooper, Morris Chestnut, Jason Momoa, Ken Watanabe or Matthew McConaughey (ok, maybe I did LOL), but where did they get these yo-yo heads? I could've pulled guys off the street blind-folded and would've done better than that. I mean one guy (Caramel) has some man's head and another man's body (super freaky-weird). The other bad about this palette, is you have to be careful not to get cheek and lip cream outside of the apple lines (well, maybe that's not a bad thing, because most of the guys are ugly. LOL).

Let's talk color! THE GOOD: All the lip and cheek creams have really cute names! Cider (dusty rose peachy pink*), Cobbler (cherry pie red*), Pie (dark coral pink*), Crisp (sparkly coral*), Candy (light pink*), Caramel (toffee*). *At least that's how I visualize the colors. THE BAD: Some look really good as lip creams. Some look really bad as lip creams. Some look really good as cheek creams. Some look really bad as cheek creams.

COBBLER is a cherry-pie red. It's highly pigmented, so if you use it on your cheeks, dab lightly (4 dabs/dots) or risk looking like Ronald McDonald. What's great about these, is that you can powder the color down if you put on too much. This shade is ok on the cheeks (a little too red for my usual taste). I definitely prefer it as a lip cream (they really should've made all of these into lipsticks). Apply it to your lips full blast. It's a yummy red and very moisturizing. The problem is re-applying. Who wants to carry this palette all day in their purse? Or a night out? You bust out this palette in a powder room, and I bet you'll get all kinds of looks. LOL >.< The first thing someone would say is, where did they get those busted-ass men. HaHaHa Cut this palette in half (long ways). Make each apple smaller. Make it snap. Add a lip brush. Wallah! It's now purse friendly! If The Balm does it, you guys are more witness they took my advice. :)

PIE is a dark-coral pink.What amazes me about these palettes is how different the color looks on your cheeks vs. your lips. Truly amazing. I like this color on both my cheeks and lips. It's very soft on the cheeks and punchy pink on the lips. It's also very moisturizing. It's definitely a shade that will lift you up. Great for Spring and Summer!

This guy wasn't too bad. His hat looks wrecked as hell. It looks like they added a hat to his head. I'm no Photoshop expert, but I could've added a better hat than that. Do you like muscular men? I'm not a big fan. I know! I know! I'm moving on. Next color!

CRISP! Crisp is a sparkly peachy coral. It's the unique shade out the bunch. I couldn't capture it too well on camera, but it has a shimmery tone to it. I think you would love this for your lips! It's different. Why oh why, didn't they make these into lipsticks. When applied to the cheeks, most of these colors look the same. I think they look so much better on the lips. That's where you see the difference. Just my assessment.

I think this is the best guy out the bunch. Awesome arm tattoo. I think one major arm tattoo on men is sexy. The shovel and him barefoot kind of bothers me. I mean, who shovels barefoot? HaHaHa I over-analyze everything. Ok, I don't like him. He might be some Stephen King crazy killer character. LOL :S

CARAMEL was a surprise to me. I didn't expect to like it. Brown (clay) cheek color usually leaves me looking bruised. This was not the case. I REALLY LOVED it as a cheek color. It blends in well and gives off a natural look.I could use this as an everyday blush. As a lip color, it's nice. It has a tinge of pink, brown and red in it.

This is the really BUSTED guy out the group! C'mon! Some man's face on another man's body? Whoever signed off on this for final print should be FIRED! F-I-R-E-D! That's a damn shame. Looks like Mr. Bean's face on a Matthew McConaughey body! Let me stop!

CANDY. This shade didn't work very well with my skin tone. The pink just kinda sat on my cheeks, looking pale and doing nothing. HaHaHa I think this would look better on someone with porcelain to very fair skin. It's a pretty light pink, and can come across ashy or powdery on darker skin tones. Great for Spring and Summer. Just too light for me to pull off. I need COLOR! HaHaHa But here it is.

This guy looks pretty normal. I can't think of anything to say. LOL Moving on. 

Finally we have CIDER. Cider is a dusty rose, peachy pink color. For some reason, the formula for this shade is shiny oily. It just sat on top of my skin.  Look at me glow and I have DRY skin! LOL I powdered it down and I'm still glowing. It also comes across chalky, splotchy and glazed powdered dough-nutty on the lips. This guy is ok. Ok, so only 3 guys are totally busted and 3 are ok after looking at them again. HaHaHa 

Overall, this palette is ok. Nothing really got me excited, except for the packaging minus the busted men LOL. I collect themed beauty products, so that was the reason I purchased this palette. Plus, my goal this year is to try NEW-to-me beauty brands and products. Personally, save your money. You can find plenty of dupes for these (except CRISP...it's marvelous!). Plus the formulas are just ok.

Sweet-Bittersweet-NotSweet

supersweet(run & buy it) sweet(really good,buy it) bittersweet(ok, issues)not sweet(not good,don't buy this stuff)

  The Balm Cosmetics' How 'Bout Them Apples Lip & Cheek Palette is Bittersweet

FYI: My foundation is Urban Decay's Naked Skin #6. My concealer is Benefit's Boi-ing #3. 

I'm wearing CARAMEL for all the LIP pictures. I'm wearing Mally Beauty Super Natural on all the CHEEK pictures.