Click and Make-Up Beauty Blog: sleek makeup

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Wednesday

Review | Sleek MakeUP Limited Edition Aqua Collection

It seems like a lifetime since I've had a Sleek MakeUP post for you, but this one was worth the wait. I was sent this collection in February and at the time the weather was so horrendous all the bright colours were a bit much to take. In the past week the warmer weather has made the possibility of bright Spring make up more tangible.

The collection is limited edition and has been available since mid March, so move quick if you want to get your hands on it. Purchase the Lagoon Eyeshadow online from www.sleekmakeup.com or at Superdrug for £7.99 and the Mirrored Pink Blush for £4.49.

The top shade from the Lagoon palette is definitely the pale bronze. I'm a Sleek eyeshadow evangelist because for the budget price the quality is great, more so with the metallic shades. This is a fun palette and if you're into bright eyes this will see you right through to the end of summer.

The Mirrored Pink blush is a masterpiece. It's their cooler toned answer to their infamous Rose Gold which caused such a stir a couple of years ago for being a straight up NARS Orgasm clone. After my initial fling with Rose Gold I had to face the sad truth that it just isn't that flattering on my pale skin. It turns up too orange and warmed toned, making me look ruddy rather than flirtily flushed. For anyone a MAC NC20 or under, Mirrored Pink is your answer. I've used it solidly every day for two months which says a lot considering I have literally a drawer of blushes to choose from. It's even dragged me away from my cream blush obsession. Aside from the beautiful colour, it's amazingly pigmented, so it will last you forever as you only need the tiniest bit. It's also very long wearing, with no need to touch up during a normal 9-5 day. The only drawback is it IS very shimmery which could rule it out for anyone with a sober job! I don't mind the shimmer as it helps me skip the step of going crazy on my cheekbones with a Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick.

I've got a few other new Sleek products up my sleeve and will be revealing all very soon!

Sunday

Last Minute Christmas Gift Idea #3 - Sleek MakeUP Sparkle 2 iDivine Palette

Sleek MakeUP eyeshadow palettes are an ideal stocking stuffer. Fun shades that are great quality on the whole, and a nifty little palette with a huge mirror great for reapplying make up on the go.

This second edition of a Christmassy Sparkle palette* from Sleek is even prettier than last year's offering and the shades are a lot more wearable. I'm happy to throw on a bit of glitter any time of the year, but Yuletide and NewYear make sparkly eyes a must have - without the judgement from more conservative make up types!

I'm actually in love with all of the shades in this palette but Chocolate Penny reminds me of a mix between MAC's Amber Lights and Mulch which is super pretty on blue eyes. Truffle, Starry Night and Illusion are also my top picks.

For £7.99 you can't beat it with a stick!

You can pick one up from Superdrug or if you're happy to wait until after Christmas, try online.

Saturday

Review and Swatches: Sleek MakeUP Limited Edition PPQ Shangri-La Collection - Respect iDivine Palette and Jazz Matte Lipgloss

Sleek MakeUP have teamed up for a second time with quirky London fashion label PPQ to create two eyeshadow palettes for their Shanghri-La collection and this time added complementary matte lipglosses.

This Limited Edition set channels a 1960s glamorous Motown vibe inspired by PPQ's S/S 2013 collection. The respect iDivine eyeshadow palette offers a warm selection of shades perfect for A/W while the Supreme palette is cooler toned.

The Truly Mattely Deeply matte lipgloss in Jazz is a perfectly retro pillarbox red while Soul is a cool toned baby pink. While I can't fault the colour or pigmentation of these glosses, I'm not fully on board with the matte texture. Although they go on creamy, I found it too drying and needed to follow up with balm or gloss over the top. However, they are extremely long lasting and vibrant.

Sleek eyeshadow palettes are renowned for their excellent pigmentation, but I found the eight matte shadows a little lacking on bare skin, particularly the lighter ones. Over an eyeshadow base however they are much more vibrant and durable. The four shimmer shades are where the palette excels and O'Jays is particularly gorgeous, almost like a warmer NARS Orgasm.

The collection launched on 26 September and the palettes are available for £7.99 at Superdrug or from Sleek MakeUP's website for £11.99 where they're packaged with one of the matte lipglosses. The lipglosses are also sold separately for £4.99 each.

Monday

Not Another 2012/Olympics Themed Product?! Sleek MakeUP 2012 Collection Glory iDivine

Oh yes, it's indeed another 2012/Olympics/Isn't Britain just great make up product. While we all like to get our patriotism on sometimes, the beauty world has gone just short of jingoistic in the past few months. It's a bit of a cash in, but I can't begrudge Sleek this new collection because they always bring out a few summer collections anyway and this one has been very well thought out.

This eyeshadow palette is a great mix of brights and neutrals and I've got my eye on 'District' - a beautiful shimmering emerald green for next St. Patrick's Day. I love the naming of the shades, Central Line is my morning ride but I doubt I'd ever let that crazy pillar box red anywhere near my eyes! As you'll see from the swatches below the left side of the palette seems less pigmented than the shades on the right. Notable mentions are Overground, Bakerloo (both shown below in all their glory), Jubilee, Northern, Picadilly and Victoria. Really wearable pretty shades.

Overall, there are some pretty shades in this palette that we've not seen from Sleek before, but I think the quality of the shadows overall is just a little below par compared to previous iDivine offerings. Mattes are always difficult, especially budget friendly ones, so I think they should have concentrated on shimmery shades if they can't deliver on them.

The 2012 Collection also comprises a rose bronzer called Honour (£4.49) and Pout Polish called Pride (£4.49) which from the press release looks like a peachy orange with gold shimmer. While still budget friendly, I notice prices are creeping up, and the Glory iDivine* comes in at £7.99 and will be available in Superdrug and online at www.sleekmakeup.com from 4th July (American Independence Day!) for a limited time only.

Are you tempted by this collection?

Friday

Sleek MakeUP Ultra Mattes V2 Darks iDivine Palette

This is my nth Sleek MakeUP post this week but I know how much you all love the brand so I'm sure you don't mind! I have lots of amazing things to review which will be going up in the next few weeks but this weekend I'm off to sunny Essex to visit a friend so there will be no time for blogging...booo!

A couple of weeks ago I tweeted this new ultra mattes v2 dark palette and it seemed to get your juices flowing, so here are some more close ups and swatches for you. Being a magpie, I'm drawn to shimmering shadows *hello Urban Decay!* but as the years pass and gravity and weakening collagen bonds take their toll on my eye skin it will soon be time for me to put away childish things and accentuate my eyes with grown up, subdued mattes. Le sigh...

But all is not lost because look at this stonking beauty! Drugstore brands have long had a patchy reputation when it comes to pure mattes, but Sleek have gone and pulled it out of the bag with this palette. As you'll see in the swatches below, it does slip up on some of the lighter shades: Dune, Pillow Talk and Thunder, but on the whole for £7 (online) you can't beat this with a stick for some quality mattes.

Favourites are Villan, seen below in the sloppiest application of all time - it was after work, I had an oily lid situation, the rest of my make up had melted off, you know the drill - and also Paper Bag which could be a great brow shadow or flattering crease definer. Ink and Highness are very pretty too and would look amazing on brown eyes. Orbit is almost the exact colour of the Topshop Kohl pencil in Petrol I sometimes use on my waterline or lower lash line to make my eyes look bluer and to jazz up an otherwise neutral eye, so I'm thinking Orbit will help me create a more smudged, sophisticated version of this. Everyone needs a matte black, with Noir fitting the bill nicely as it's not too pigmented, but enough to create definition and even the lighter less pigmented shades like Pillow Talk work ok as a subtle eyebrow highlight as too much shimmer there can look overdone.

There is also a Brights matte palette and this launched along with the Darks on 9th May in Superdrug and online at www.sleekmakeup.com.