Becca Balearic Love – La Isla Bonita!

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We review Becca’s spring/summer 2012 collection

Becca Balearic Love Collectionphotos: we heart this

Are you tired of the hot pinks and spring greens that are dominating the spring/summer launches? Then you will be very happy with the latest from Becca (long an all-star in our packaging inspiration category). It’s called the Balearic Love Collection. Decidingly different from the typical tropical color palettes, it’s an incredibly sexy u-turn to a different island all together.

Several islands actually. Named for the Balearic Islands in the western Mediterranean Sea (Majorca and Ibiza amongst them), the whole launch has a rich, sun drenched, almost boozy feel to it. Let’s dive in, shall we?

Becca Balearic Love Collectionjust in case there was any doubt to their packaging inspiration crown…

Becca Balearic Love PaletteBalearic Love Palette

There’s no denying that the Balearic Love Palette is the star of the launch ($45). Tyna and I both screamed out “I need that!” when we opened the box (the beauty editor’s version of “dibs”). I was victorious only when Tyna pulled out her Enigma Palette and we saw how similar the two are. How similar? Very, check out Pink Sith’s side by side comparison.

dark brown eyeshadow paletteAtlas

gray eyeshadow palette Romal

smoky brown eyeshadow paletteMarcella

Similarities aside, I love this palette. It’s smooth, nicely pigmented and the smoky brown/plum eye you can get with it is rich and beautiful. I can see it working on anyone, but it does wonders for people with light eyes. I swear, every time I use it I get a compliment!

Becca and I do have very different descriptions of the shades. They call Atlas a mauve plum, where it’s distinctly fawn brown to me. They describe Romal as bronze plum, I’d call it more of a deep chocolate plum. We meet on Marcella, a deep bronze violet. But they also deem the shades a demi matt finish, which makes sense except for the obviously shimmery Marcella.

Violet side of the Cabrera pencilViolet side of the Cabrera pencil

Bronze side of the Cabrera pencilBronze side of the Cabrera pencil

The palette’s BFF is the Line and Define Pencil in Cabrera ($23). As seen above it’s a dual sided, metallic-finished dark bronze brown and blackened violet that can bring out either the brown or plum side of the palette. Both shades are densely pigmented and long lasting.

Balearic Love Palette, Line and Define Pencil in Cabrera SwatchesBalearic Love Palette, Line and Define Pencil in Cabrera

I happily made both of these products mine and have had a hard reaching for anything else lately. The testers will be by in the comments with their thoughts on the other beauties in this launch…

Becca Romanticism Eye Tint in the palm of the handRomanticism Eye Tint

Romanticism Eye Tint ($24) creates a shimmery mauve taupe base. It has a creme to powder formula that feels ultra smooth, almost slick.

Romanticism Eye Tint Swatched

A hand holding a Bolero Mineral BlushBolero Mineral Blush

Bolero Mineral Blush ($32) is easily one of the most buttery soft blushes I’ve ever tried. It’s a medium nude, with the tiniest touch of rose, that can be used as a sculpt and contour powder or a blush. It’s understated shade really lets this (or any) palette shine.

Valentina Sheer Tint Lip Color with a nude pink shadeValentina Sheer Tint Lip Color

Valentina Sheer Tint Lip Color ($24) is described as nude pink. I’m not seeing much nude in the pretty medium pink shade or much sheerness in the formula for that matter. But I love the moisturizing formula with honey, shea and cocoa butter.

Romanticism Eye Tint, Bolero Mineral Blush, Valentina Sheer Tint Lip Color SwatchesRomanticism Eye Tint, Bolero Mineral Blush, Valentina Sheer Tint Lip Color

Two different nail polish colors with a dark wine creme and dark plum shadesTempranillo, Pasa Doble Nail Colour

And finally, if there was any doubt that this is not your average spring/summer launch, there’s the Nail Colors ($15). These two vampy shades are unexpected, gorgeous and incredibly glossy. I actually had a fellow beauty lover ask me how I got my nails so shiny!

A hand with dark wine creme coated nails holding a nail polish2 coats of Tempranillo

Tempranillo is a dark wine creme.

A hand with dark plum coated nails holding a nail polish2 coats of Pasa Doble

Pasa Doble is a plum so dark it’s essentially black…but not. Just beautiful!

A blonde woman looking at the camera wearing makeup

I take my Balearic Love palette for a spin

A close-up image of a blue-eyed woman wearing gray eyeshadow

So readers and testers, do you like Becca’s take on a pretty island look?

Disclosure: This review includes products that were provided by the manufacturer/PR firm for our consideration. For more info, or any questions, please see our disclosure policy.

Author

  • A woman with blonde bangs smiling for the camera.

    Stef is a plethora of things. Amongst them: co-founder of we heart this, photographer, condiment connoisseur, Philly girl in the California desert, borderline hoarder and a hardcore beauty junkie. She also has a touch of wanderlust and, arguably, the cutest dog in the whole world... skin tone: NC 25/30 skin type: oily with a fear of rosacea favorite beauty product: high end skincare and lip products

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13 Comments

  1. Oh my, I want this palette and lipstick! Gorgeous colors and the packaging is spectacular.

  2. This entire collection fills me with longing! I need the palette and Pasa Doble for starters…

  3. Wow, those are some purty eyes you’re sportin @stef! Itested and love Becca’s Romanticism Eye Tint and would gladly pay $24 bucks for this little gem again. Its color is perfect for this time of year and frankly, would be great all year round.. I like how it shows a bit of shimmer but not tooo much.. just right. A fab base that can be built on. It is creamy and goes on super smooth.. and when going on turns to a lovely powder showing off its mauve taupe base. Five stars! I like the little container it comes in with the exact amount needed with just slight squeeze.

  4. I got to try out the Mineral Blush in Bolero. The texture is silky and smooth and applies like a dream. However, the muddy brown shade is a little too brown on me–it looks like I didn’t blend bronzer in enough. This reads as a straight-up brown on me, which looks a little strange on my very pale skin. I have a few blushes that are brown, but those are cut with a hint of peach or pink, which makes it work, but this wasn’t tempered at all. I found that I could make this work if I used a gel blush in a pink or peach shade (I tried this method with Becca’s Beach Tints in Watermelon and Peach, which are two of my favorites) and then layered Bolero on top of it–it made me attain the beachy/island look this collection is going for.
    That being said, I think if you were someone who had even slightly darker skin than me (I am the absence of color), this would probably be very flattering without the extra step. This is getting 4 stars from me.

    Btw, that Valentina lip tint is calling my name…and the eye tint…

  5. smiledearest says:

    Do I need anymore blushes? Probably not but I might just cave in and buy it anyways. And that palette looks gorgeous! I just splurged on Urban Decay eye shadows but this is going on my wish list

    1. Oh, one more little blush never hurt anyone! :)

    2. I am living proof that there is no such thing as “too many blushes”. I have a sickness. :P

  6. OH MY GOSHHHHHH The packaging is AMAZZZZIIIIIIINGGGGGG! I actually whispered that out loud when I saw the picture of the packaging! I got even more excited when I realized the blush compact lid looked kind of like Capain America’s shield.

    1. Oh, it does like a shield doesn’t it? The packaging is just divine. It’s got rubbery feel too (that never gets gummy like I’ve had other lines do). Rubber and metal – it’s very tactile!

  7. Wow, I’m loving the Balearic Love palette! Marcella is calling my name, and hard. Count me as another fan of the Becca packaging. There’s just something about it that feels so sturdy, so strong, it sort of belies the beautiful, soft products inside! It really does add to the experience of applying makeup, having a great product and packaging to hold.

  8. This post makes me salivate for Becca. A must-have for moi.xo

  9. This collection is gorgeous!! All of it!! Becca really does make great products! I am super impressed with all of the eye products. The polishes are beautiful. But I am in love with the Valentina Lip Tint. It must be mine. It looks AMAZING!!!!!!!!!

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