Make Up Look Using Sleek Nude Collection

Hi All,


So, as promised, here is one look using the new Sleek collection. Here I have used the Au Naturel Palette and Suede Blush. I wore this in the day but it can easily vamped up to night time with a slick of red lipstick and some false lashes, if you're partial.

I'm going to bed now, I have a coffee date and ebay items to post tomorrow!


A Bientot!


x

Sleek A/W Nude Collection

Buenos Noches Compadres!


Little review and swatch time for the new collection from my most favourite drug store make up company, Sleek Makeup.


Their latest offering is their first ever permanent collection which is a nude collection. Very clever on Sleek's part with everyone scrambling for nudes this season to be on trend, and also a shrewd move to give a bank balance friendly bit of competition to the mighty Urban Decay Naked palette (which is still my favourite, sorry Sleek) whilst throwing in a great blush and lipgloss too!

As always, this collection does not fail to impress. I was initially surprised when I opened the I-Divine palette and discovered more matte shades than shimmer shades. A bloody marvellous idea if you ask me, there just aren't many matte nude palettes out there and I have always maintained, as much as I love the UDN palette, it just needs more mattes god dammit! After nailing the shimmers many moons ago, Sleek keep on improving their matte shadows with these being the most pigmented so far.

Top : l-r nougat, nubuck, cuppucino, honeycomb, toast, taupe Bottom : l-r conker, moss, bark, mineral earth, regal, noir

Generally the pigmentation of all the shadows is really great, especially the black. Sleek black shadows are always some of the best out there but in the caribbean collection the black in the I -Divine was really disappointing (review to come). The palest shade, Nougat, is also really great as a highlight on fairer skins whilst I would imagine honeycomb to be good on a darker olive skin for example.

The Sleek blushes never fail to impress me. In my opinion they are some of the best quality blushes available, not just in drug store terms. Pigmentation, you cannot fault and a growing colour range is giving great choice for all skin tones. The blush in this collection is a nude tone slightly more towards an orangey base but quite neutral overall. Somewhere between a bronzer and a blush, great for contouring if you want to warm up your complexion.

Suede Blush

So it looks much more orange on my skin as I am very fair but it works great when blended in, gives a beautiful glow. I have been using it with a little Mac By Candlelight MSF on the top of my cheek bones, great fresh look.

Finally the Pout Polish in Bare Minimum. That is the perfect name as that is exactly what this gloss is. Gives a very sheer nude wash over the lips. For me its a little to pale as I prefer a little colour to my lips being pale and having quite pale lips I find I can look a little ill but I think its great for a sheer nude look for every day wear.

All together a very smart collection to release, its always going to be a popular choice and I know for certain I will be repurchasing the blush and palette in the future.

I have done 3 looks using this collection, a day look, a day-to-night look and a glam night look. They will follow in another post very soon...

A Bientot!

x

Harley Quinn Grunge Look

Hi all.

So today I was bored and stumbled across the fabulous Nymphette's FOTD Calendar for September and thought I would have a little gander.

To my delight I discovered today was 'Comic Book' day. Being a rather sizeable comic book nerd, this was a discovery of both joy and confusion. Which comic book character to choose. After much debate over Superman vs Spiderman, Watchmen vs V For Vendetta even down to Doom Patrol vs Umbrella Academy I had to choose my all time love...BATMAN.

So many characters to choose from, dilemma! Jokey, too 'done' already, Penguin, too Danny DeVito, Batman, too black. Then of course, one of my all time favourite nut jobs, little miss Harley Quinn. So to spare you all a sycophantic regale of how awesome this character is I will just show you my look...

And the original herself...

So yeah, there it is. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out (except the eyebrows I mean, WTF?) But not too bad for a 30 minute job before work. P.S. I didn't go to work like this, although I seriously considered it.

A Bientot!

x

Bargains! MUA Professional Eye Palettes.

Hey everyone!


Sorry again for being a very bad blogger and going totally M.I.A. Well actually in fact the reason I'm writing this is because I've gone totally MUA (urgh such a bad pun, I will continue)...


As many will know MUA (aka Make Up Academy) are an UNBELIEVABLY low cost make up range that is supplied in Superdrug stores up and down the UK. In the past they stocked all their products from lipsticks to glitter eye-liners for just £1 each. Crazy value.


They have recently launched a new line called MUA Professional which is slightly more expensive, but not much with the most expensive item being the eye shadow palettes in which you get 12 eye shadows for £4. Still a major bargain in my eyes. And this will be what I am concentrating on today...


I bought 2 palettes, the Glitter Ball palette and the one I just HAD to have (so much so I bought 3 of them) the Heaven and Earth palette.


The Glitter Ball Palette has 12 shades in various shades with no particular shade theme other than fun!

Here as you can see there are a couple of similar shades in the green/blue type of colours but other than that a great and varied selection. All of the shades have a high shimmer/glitter finish, but come on, did you expect anything else from a palette called 'Glitter Ball'? The colours are just like the MUA single shadows, which I am a huge fan of, in that they are very pigmented and with a primer can easily last all day or night.

Swatched over Urban Decay Primer Potion Original

The other palette I managed to pick up was the Heaven & Earth Palette and, as mentioned previously, felt the need to pick up 3 of these. Not all for me I'm not greedy, one backup and one for my case for jobs as my UD Naked Palette is wearing out quickly. And boy is this an alternative. It has many similar colours to the UD palette and I would say that the quality of the shadows is pretty much on par in terms of pigmentation and longevity (and miles above par on value!).

There are a few similar shades if I am being picky (eg 4th from left top row and 3rd from left bottom row) but they aren't the same they have slightly different undertones and as many people will know this can make or break a look. I think my favourite colour is the true gold shade top row, 3rd from left. It looks amazing on all skin tones and eye colours.

Swatched over Urban Decay PP Original

I did a look with the Heaven and Earth palette on Saturday night, so snapped a quick picture before my eye shadow ended up on my chin after one too many Long Island Ice Tea's...

So, all in all, I bloody love these palettes and I'm looking to get my paws on a few more as soon as I get the time and they're in stock! As soon as I do I will review them too. Overall I think, particularly for a bargain company, these palettes are incredible quality and I am so so glad MUA managed to maintain their great quality eye shadows and bring us more variation in the form of palettes, which for me is always the best way forward I am a sucker for palettes (ahem Sleek Make-up addiction).

Go and buy these now or forever have sad eyes and an empty bank account!

A Bientot!

x

Sleek Avoir La Peche Collection Review & Swatches

So I have been a naughty blogger and have neglected my poor little blog for many months! I have been working on another blog (blog slut I know!) which has been taking up a lot of my time.


So anyway, apologies over and my inspiration for re-starting this blog is the fact that yesterday I purchased 2 thirds of the new Sleek Avoir La Peche collection! I'm going to take a stab in the dark here and assume the 'peche' means peach and not fishing. Wow a rare occasion to put my french GCSE to use. But I digress. 


I went to Superdrug and they had the I-Divine palette and the blush but not the Pout Polish in stock (boo) but I quickly headed to the internet to order the pout polish, along with £55 worth of other goodies, which should be here by Monday.


So firstly, the I-Divine palette in Paraguaya. The I-Divine palettes are a HUGE favourite of mine, amazing value for amazing product and this one is no exception. It is made up of mainly peach and apricot tones (go figure) with a couple of neutral shades as well as 2 taupe based contour shades. There is a mixture of matte and shimmer finishes with maybe a satin finish thrown in there for good measure.

 I thought the box packaging on this was beautiful but unfortunately, unlike the blush, the actual palette is the usual plain black.

Colours L-R Top Row - Parfait, Blush, Cameo, Persian Orange, Peach Gold, Sandstone

Colours L-R Bottom Row - Bellini, Redstone, Persimmon, Tangelo, Bittersweet, Stone

Parfait is a beautiful sparkling pink lemonade type of shade. It applies like a dream (as do all Sleek shimmers) and the payoff is second to none.

Blush is a baby pink that leans more towards being red toned than blue, as do most of these shades. This is a matte finish and with every palette they release I see Sleek getting better and better with their matte shadows. This applies really smoothly and it incredibly easy to blend.

Cameo is basically Blush with a tan. Same formula and finish, just as easy to work with but a couple of shades darker.

Persian Orange is AMAZING, it is one of them colours that looks scary but actually is really wearable. Once on the eye the gold shimmer kind of takes over and leaves a fantastic burnt gold effect. Gorgeous.

Peach Gold actually really reminds me of their Rose Gold blush if it were a few shades darker and more orange. It has that golden sheen running right through it and when it catches the light it just glows.

Sandstone is basically a highlight colour. A matte off white colour slightly pinky toned. Works well as a brow highlight on fair/light skins.

Colours L-R Top Row - Parfait, Blush, Cameo, Persian Orange, Peach Gold, Sandstone

Colours L-R Bottom Row - Bellini, Redstone, Persimmon, Tangelo, Bittersweet, Stone

Bellini is a creamy coloured shimmer, I have found it to work best on the inner corner or as a highlight but it could be a good all over lid colour blended out with maybe Persian Orange or Peach Gold.

Redstone is another matte shade which is once again well pigmented and very smooth. Much more orange based than the 2 shades above it, would look amazing on a bronzed skin.

Persimmon is a fantastic matte coral. I haven't seen many shades like this, usually a coral shade is shimmery so this is a refreshing change and I think it really works.

Tangelo. Wow. This is a crazy shade! Unbelievable pigmentation for a matte shadow and ridiculously bright. This shade wouldn't look out of place in the Acid palette. A total summer shade.

Bittersweet is a sort of cool toned grey taupe colour which really compliments the warm shades in this palette. It gives great definition to the eye socket without being too heavy.

Stone is the token dark shade, however unusually it is not a black. It is a dark browny taupe colour and again compliments the peach tones really well. I think it is a really great choice for Sleek not to just throw in a black to finish the palette with this one, it shows they have really thought about what colours will co-ordinate the best here.

Colours L-R Top Row - Parfait, Blush, Cameo, Persian Orange, Peach Gold, Sandstone

Colours L-R Bottom Row - Bellini, Redstone, Persimmon, Tangelo, Bittersweet, Stone

Overall I think this palette is perfect for spring/summer as it is different to the usual offerings of neutral colours and coral shimmers with a pop of blue thrown in. There are colours in this palette that will suit all skin colours, but in particularly I think on tanned/asian/black skin they will really pop out.

Paraguaya Palette is available at Superdrug stores in the UK and online at www.sleekmakeup.com for £6.49.

The other item I managed to nab from this collection is the blush. Sleek blushes are my favourites. Seriously, my MAC blushes stay untouched when these babies are around. Pigmentation, amazing, colours, amazing, price, AMAZING! What more can a girl want?

The blush in this collection is an apricot colour called Pan Tao. It is a matte blush that is very orange toned.

Love the fact the packaging on the blush has the artwork. I'm a sucker for pretty packaging, why else would I watch a Jake Gyllenhaal movie? 

So the blush, as you can see is a corally apricot shade. The shade can be built up so it suits all skin types. I have very fair skin and so a little of this goes a long way but I think for darker skins a little layering, this will make you glow.

Left - Swatched straight from pan

Right - Blended into skin

So as you can see the straight swatch looks really orangey but once blended becomes more of an orange based coral instead. Again, perfect for summer to warm up the complexion.

The blush once again didn't disappoint, pigmented, beautiful colour, easy to blend, perfect for most skin tones.

Pan Tao blush  is available at Superdrug stores in the UK and online at www.sleekmakeup.com for £4.30.

I am waiting on the Sugar May Pout Polish which was also released with this collection and as soon as I have it I will post a quick review on that too. I also have the Primer Palette to review, the Bad Girl palette and the Molten Metals on their way along with a few other bits from Sleek. I'll try keep the blog a bit more alive from now on, stick with me!

Ciao Bella's  x 

World Cup Series: South Africa

Oh how I do love that South Africa flag! So many colours to choose from. Then again, why bother trying to choose when you can do them all, which is exactly what I did!


Flag

Make Up Look

So because today was day 1 of the World Cup I thought it only right to do a look inspired by the host nation of South Africa. I love the flag it is so colourful, even if I did make it even more so by using super bright shadows! =D


Bit disappointed I failed to incorporate white into the look except for in the highlight and in the outer corner V shaped eyeliner (based on the design of the flag). Maybe I will try it again, see if I can work some white in there too!


Once again here the products were really simple, just Coastal Scents 88 palette, Sleek Sunset Palette, Stargazer e/s, Nars Polar White (my favourite matte white) and then just some MAC Blacktrack Fluidline and UD 24/7 pencil in Yeyo and Zero. 
Kept the lips really simple because, I mean, come on! Just a slick of Pop gloss in a neutral peachy pink tone.


Oh and by the way I am aware my last post said Germany was next but it went seriously wrong so I will have a crack at that again soon but...


Next up...ENGLAND!

World Cup Series: Brazil

Next up is the legendary team itself...Brazil. The most successful team in World Cup history. And, lucky for me, a team with a yummy bright kit =D
Again here I looked at the home and away kits, I was just going to focus on the traditional yellow and green until my boyfriend showed up at my house wearing the blue shirt and I kind of love it.


The Kits

The Look

I must admit the Sleek iDevine palettes are coming in quite useful for these looks so far...
Here I used the Sleek Acid Palette for the yellow then a little of the golden yellow from the Sunset palette over the top to tone down the brightness of the first yellow! It's kinda crazy, and I had to go to work in this make up =P
Then for the blue I used the blue from the Sunset palette initially then a Stargazer blue eyeshadow to give it more punch.
Underneath the eye is just a bright green shadow from the Coastal Scents 88 palette and the blue liner I added is a liquid liner by GOSH.
So all in all a really cheap look to dupe (thats if anyone even likes it!). No expensive products used here all drugstore!


Next up...GERMANY!

World Cup Series: Spain

To start off my World Cup series, I kicked off (pun intended) with my favourite team, Spain.


I took inspiration from both home and away kits for this look and I kind of like it but kind of don't =S. I think I will re-do it soon see if I can make it any more interesting...


The Kits

      

The Look

So for this I used the Sleek Sunset Palette for the red and golden yellow and the Original Palette for the navy blue under the eye.

The lip I just used 2 random MAC lipsticks in a darker and lighter red, darker around the outside with a lighter pop in the middle of the lip.

Really simple but I think its pretty spot on in terms of the kit!

Next up...BRAZIL! 

World Cup!

So now that the World Cup is nearly upon us (so excited by the way!) I am going to do what will be essentially 'themed' make up on a daily basis for the next month. Each day I'm planning on doing a look inspired by a team in the tournament. I kinda got the idea in the Champions League semi finals when I went out to watch the Inter v Barcelona match and did my make up dark red and blue in support of my second favourite team, Barca! 


So basically I'm going to be a good blogger and hopefully post daily, or at least more than once a month! *Hangs head in shame* I did a trial run today with a Spain look because I'm a weird English person who supports Spain rather than my own national team (but many people from England should really see my point of view after one word...penalties!) But I will still be supporting England of course, I just prefer Spain.


But I digress, I'm basically just giving a quick heads up to all of my dear 11 followers that you might actually see a post from me on your Dashboard over the next week! I just didn't want anyone to die of shock when said posts appear really =P


Posting soon! 


xoxo 

Kind of Kim K Unintentional Rip Off!

Make up look for today, I received a couple of new things in the post. I got 2 MUFE Diamond Creams in Shades 3 (Blue Pink) and 4 (Flesh). I tried out flesh today as a highlight on top of my cheeks and on my brow bones and found it to be rather good. It gives a very subtle natural sheen to the skin, not at all glittery like the MUFE Shine On Loose Powder that I have, so it is great for the day. I'm sure it could also be mixed with a moisturiser or matte foundation to be used as a sort of skin 'pick me up' illuminator. 


I also got Bobbi Brown's new eyeshadow colour, Caviar. I really like Bobbi Brown shadows but actually don't have all that many, mainly because we have only just got a proper Bobbi Brown counter here in Liverpool in the new Debenhams. So I decided to try that out today too. Its really more of a crease colour for most people if I'm honest but I'm not most people, and I was in a hurry, so it just kind of got slapped on. But its nice, matte finish, not chalky like some mattes can be and really really pigmented. I did find it wasn't the smoothest to apply, it seemed to catch on my primer more than some other shadows but once on it looks great, really intense and smooth.


Finally another of my recent purchases is the MAC lipstick in Up The Amp which I have been toying with the idea of getting for a while now and decided to just go for it. Its an amplified cream formula (which are my faves from MAC) and so it applies really smoothly and evenly and isn't at all drying on my lips. The only thing I found was that because my lips are naturally quite pigmented, applying the lipstick directly onto bare lips it comes out much more pink than I expected. I have since tried it with a lightly concealed and powdered lip and the colour looks much more 'true to tube'.


So here is my look

Extreme Close Up! Woooaaaahh!

So this is what I ended up with. And after I'd finished I realised its looks a little similar to the famous Kim Kardashian look that everyone likes to dupe with the dark kohl rimmed eyes and pink lips. But, while I didn't intend for it to be a dupe of that, I do like the finished outcome and I am pretty impressed with all of my recent purchases.

Oh yes and before anyone asks, I go to work in this makeup, in an office setting call centre. Some say inappropriate, I say I buy my make up to use not to sit in a draw for 'special occasions'! But that's just me I guess!

So thanks to anyone who took time to read my ramblings, I am going to try post more of these if people want me to that is! 

Ciao!