Sleek Swatches

A better look at the lovely palettes I received from Sleek. I have to say that at first look I definitely prefer the Safari palette as the shades look more flattering for me. I am totally intrigued by the metallic blue and silver shades in the Acid palette though...

I swatched both palettes below and my first impression was that the metallic shades were ALOT more pigmented than the matte ones. Luckily the metallic ones were my favourite so I'm glad they turned out to be the really impressive ones.

So that's the Acid palette swatched on the right. As you can see the purple shades are very pigmented and gorgeous...I may have to soften them a bit to get them to suit me. The white shade hardly show up at all which I was surprised at. The neon shades weren't as pigmented as I thought they would be. But by far my favourite shades are the two metallic blues, silver and black at the end...lush, highly pigmented, sheeny (not glittery) and very 'creamy' to apply. Love them! I would have bought this palette just for them alone.

Man oh man, check out those colours...as with the Acid palette, the matte eyeshadows in the Safari palette on the left don't have the same pigmentation as the metallic shades. The black would be great to add soft definition, it's like a 'creamier' version of Mac Carbon. I was surprised at house wearable and lovely the two green shades at the top were...especially the one next to the bronze. A really unique colour that I haven't seen before, it's like a mossy silvery green. The taupey colour at the left on the bottom row didn't show up as much as I thought but what makes up for it is the metallic silver/gold shade next to it...beautiful! The bronze and gold shades on the right hand side are what makes this palette a must have. Once again the shades are so dense and pigmented...I can't stress this enough people! The pale gold on the bottom row is just a perfect shade that I have been looking for for ages. It will make an amazing highlighter for the brow bone and inner corner of the eye...bring on the bronzed look! One of my favourite looks as you know.

So all in all, my overall impression is...matte shadows? disappointing and a bit blah...metallic shades? Love, love, love. If I had to choose a palette it would be the Safari one as it's very versatile and there's alot of choice in combinations that would be approriate for day or night.

The Wonderlast lipgloss I got was a bit dark for me, it was sent to me in a dark Berry shade which isn't great with my complexion but maybe I can pale it down with Gosh Darling or something. They do a nude shade and a pale pink which I would be interested to try.

The colour gloss on one side dries pretty quickly and this is what locks in the colour. Then you apply the clear gloss and the idea is that it lasts for hours on end. Well I applied this colour and 2 hours later it hadn't budged and when I did try and take it off before I went to the gym, it definitely didn't want to come off. So I would say this would last for a long time, it didn't feel drying but I think it needs a longer test to make sure it doesn't dry out my lips. I like the idea though and as always, I will be looking at the nude and pink shades since they would look better on me.

FOTD Canadian Style

This was what I wore today...a very natural look coz I was rushing. But in rushing I didn't take a very good photo...apart from the fact I look very tired...the pic doesn't show up alot of the products as they actually looked. It also looks washed out but hey ho...take my word for it that the Canadian stuff I used was really lovely.

I used my usual base of Revlon Colourstay in True Beige, Mac Select Cover up in NC20, Quo Shimmering bronzer (adds alot of dimensional coz of the different shades of bronze in the compact), Joe Fresh Cheek Tint in Bronze (which gave a lovely light bronzed glow, it blended in really well) and Mac Lustre Drops in Sun Rush on cheekbones and brow bones. I used the Annabelle Suedine eyeshadow on lid, Famous By Sue Moxley Eyeliner in Citrine along top lashline and YSL Faux Cils in Black to finish it off. I also used Mac Hue for my lips.

A very simple natural look all in all but sometimes I like to pair it down a bit, it kinda makes me feel fresher, if that makes sense...also I can kinda fool people into thinking I look like this naturally!ha ha.

Blue Eyeshadow...hot or not?

Hey girlies, just a quick post (I'm always doing that!) to get your opinions on whether you like the blue eyeshadow look that's all over the catwalks at the moment with designers like Gucci. I used to avoid blue eyeshadow like the plague coz I wanted to swerve that horrible tacky blue eyeshadow/frosted pink lipstick look. Yuck.

But lately, after seeing different variations of blue tones on models and celebs, I'm really warming to this cool colour! The catwalk version of this trend, as always, is dramatic and vibrant, but as it has filtered down through the models to the celebs to the magazines to real people, the looks that have been born from this trend are really wearable and pretty.

There are so many differentvariations on the colour blue that I'm sure there's a shade out there to suit everyone.

One example of how to wear this trend in a soft and subtle way is the metallic pale blue lined eyes that Eva Mendes is rocking in the pic. This just adds a really hazy pop of colour to the eyes and I think it would work with any colouring. The fact that she (or rather her make up artist) has teamed it with bronzed skin, peach blush and a neutral nude lip just makes the whole look so wearable and summery. I love it!

The other variation on the look is a bit more dramatic and would have to be a night time look for me. The pic of Kerry Washington below shows how you can create a smokey eye with intense blues using bright blue, navy eyeliner and shadow to smoke out the eye. Once again, the rest of the face has been kept neutral which I think is essential to make sure you're not overdoing it and trying to cram in too many colours.

So guys, what do you reckon to these looks? Will you be trying them yourselves or have you already done something similar? Let me know if you recommend any products to achieve these looks. I'm going to try a blue smokey eye with my newly attained Sleek Acid palette!

Sleek Palettes and Wonderlast lipgloss

Hi everyone, the lovely Leon at the Sleek PR department was kind enough to send me these three things to test and review on my blog for free! I love getting free stuff! It's made my day. The first product is the new I-Divine Safari eyeshadow palette and I can see that all the colours are wearable and there's a good mix of neutrals and splashes of colour to play around with. I can't wait to try this one out! I love the four shades on the right hand side...gorgeous! I will have to do a FOTD with some of the shades. These are my first Sleek make up products and after all the buzz from other bloggers, I'm looking forward to jumping on the bandwagon!

The next thing they sent me was the I-Divine Acid eyeshadow palette and I have to say that, being a neutrals/metallics/pastels kinda gal, the four neon shades in the middle scare the bejesus outta me but in the name of beauty blogging I will attempt to make at least one of them work for me! I reckon I could do a nice smokey eye with the blues and black and maybe a brighter fun look with the purples. It's great that they give you a highlight colour and black defining shadow in each palette. Apologies for the pic from the net, I only had time to take a pic of the Safari palette.

I was also sent a Wonderlast lipgloss in Eternal Jewel which is a double ended wand with a lipgloss on one side and a sealant gloss on the other. It's alot like the ones you get from brands like Maxfactor or Revlon. I will be also testing this product out. Swatches of all palettes and the lipgloss will follow tonight my lovelies so you can see for yourself what the shades look like.

If anyone has tried these already and has any recommendations on what colours combinations go well together, please feel free to leave a comment. I love hearing from all you guys!