Click and Make-Up Beauty Blog: swatches

Showing posts with label swatches. Show all posts

Monday

Review | L'Oreal Nude Magique BB Blush Universal Rosy Blush

L'Oreal Nude Magique BB Blush Universal Rosy Blush*

£7.99

This works in the same way as Smashbox's O Glow Intuitive Cheek Colour but is nearly a third of the price. It's a clear blush which turns pink on contact with skin to give a natural glow. While it's totally faddy, I love it. It wouldn't matter to me if it came out of the tube already pink, in fact it would help me avoid applying too much!

This works best on pale to light medium skintones as it is very Barbie bubblegum pink. The gel texture is even easier to blend than a cream formulation. I keep it in my make up handbag kit and it doubles up as a lip tint if I need a bit of perking up.

The only issue I have with this blush is why they've called it a 'BB' blush. What on earth?! 'BB' stands for Blemish Balm and there's nothing about it which suggests it contains any ingredients which could perform a skincare role. It's just a good example of marketing gone wrong. How they got this past the advertising watchdogs beats me.

I've been using this daily for almost two months and it's still going strong, so it's a definite future repurchase.

Sunday

Review | L'Oreal Glam Shine Stain Splash in Lolita, Princess and Milady

L'Oreal Glam Shine Stain Splash in Milady*

£7.99, available in 8 shades

One of the most exiting new products launched at the L'Oreal Spring/Summer 2013 Product Showcase I attended in February were these Glam Shine Stain Splashes. They've been compared to YSL Glossy Stains in that they are the perfect mix of colourful pigment, glossiness and stain-like durability.

I've worn Lolita almost everyday, it's one of those pinky nudes which looks different on everyone depending on your underlying skintone. One coat gives me a hint of glossy blush, but it can be layered into a 'my lips but better' stain with two or three.

If you're not sure about splashing out on YSL's offering give these L'Oreal dupes a go first because the texture might not be for everyone. They start off feeling very wet, then go sticky as they dry, afterwhich they won't budge for at least 4 hours. They do however struggle with food and drink.

I'll definitely be picking up a few more shades as these have become my Spring lip staples.

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.

Thursday

Chanel Rouge Coco Hydrating Lip Colour - 35 Chintz

This Rouge Coco lipstick in Chintz lurked around my wishlist for a long time, but I made it mine last time I passed through airport duty free. Five years ago if you told me I'd one day fork out over £20 on a lipstick you would have been met with hysterical laughter, but such is the lure of Chanel and the madness of a beauty blogger.

Being so pale I struggle with nude toned lipsticks - MAC Creme d'Nude looks comical, and totally freaky on me. Chintz is a peachy rose nude with a hint of golden shimmer (hello plumping effect!) which is the ideal choice to pair with dark smoky eyes or bright cheeks - I'm loving statement cheeks at the moment. On darker skin tones it would show up a bit more of a pale nude pink, so I think it's one of those great all-round lipsticks. If you're looking to make your first Chanel lippy purchase this is a great option. I chose it over Boy which for me seemed a little too dark.

The texture is smooth and creamy and the wear time is a couple of hours, but it doesn't do very well if you eat or drink during that time.

I picked mine up for just over £20 at the airport, but you can get it at Boots or most department stores for £24.

What's your favourite Chanel lipstick?

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.