Something a little special

Sleek MakeUp seems to be going a little palette crazy recently with three new additions in the past month or so.

Not that I'm complaining, I love my Sleek palettes, but I was a little confused when this popped through my letterbox.

Anyway, confusion aside, OMG, OMG!!

A palette I can finally use and not just stare at.

Oh So Special is about as close as Sleek has got to creating a neutral palette for all us cautious colour wearers and I frickin love it!

Most of the twelve shades are very wearable and would be flattering on all skintones; the only shades I'm not overly keen on are the pinks but hey there's only two so overall I'm pretty impressed with the shade selection.

I've reached for this palette everyday over the past week to create the perfect neutral eye using Bow as a highlight, The Mail as an all over wash colour and Gift Basket in the crease.

I'm also a little partial to a purple smokey eye so when I went out at the weekend Wrapped up and Celebrate were perfect.

Swatches of top row

Left to Right

Bow - a soft cream shade (matte)
Organza - a midtone champagne pink (shimmer)
Ribbon - a peachy pink (matte)
Gift Basket - a bronze shade (shimmer)
Glitz - a deep silvery blue (shimmer)
Celebrate - a deep plum (shimmer)

Swatches of bottom row

Left to Right

Pamper - a soft but bright peachy pink (shimmer)
Gateau - a champagne lilac (shimmer)
The Mail - a midtone tan (matte)
Boxed - a dark brown (matte)
Wrapped Up - a deep plum (matte)
Noir - black (matte)

Like all Sleek MakeUp I-Divine palettes the quality is high, all have great colour payoff and are mineral eyeshadows so extremely soft and easy to blend.

I believe this is a permanent addition to their range which gets a big thumbs up from me, I have a love/hate relationship with LE (Limited Edition) products.

Oh So Special is available now in Superdrug stores and online at SleekMakeUp for £6.49.

Have you spotted Oh So Special yet? What did you think?
xx

A (Nars) Deep Throat Dupe

I'm no psychic but I predict this week I'll be getting record traffic numbers thanks to the title of this post, lol!

Although the boys may be left a little disappointed with what they find on here, I hope your not, as this happens to be one exciting find.

These days I rarely walk out of a drugstore with anything more than cotton pads and babywipes, but last week while swiftly scanning the shelves in Superdrug this blush caught my eye.

From afar, first impressions were good; Looks wise it had a Givenchy Prisme thing going on mixed with a hint of a Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick.

An interesting combination that had me intrigued instantly so I swatched the pink version, Blushalicious and almost squealed with delight at what I saw (sad aren't I).

I lay my superficiality aside a little at the till and you can see why above, the packaging just ain't that pretty but who cares when the product is beautiful right? And costs less than a fiver!

Blushalicious is made up of four gorgeous complimentary colours, a bright peachy pink, a mid tone mauve, a soft pink with a hint of lilac pink and a true peach.

This is my dream blush palette, I just love it.

L-R - Top two shades followed by bottom two shades.

So we've established I like the shades but what about the colour payoff?

Surprisingly it's really, really good. As good as any high end blush and the formula is just as soft too, a real winner!

Now, the name Shimmer Shades would suggest a slightly glittery product but luckily this isn't the case, the powder does have a slight pearlescent finish but no chunky sparkles!

So you must be thinking why the comparison to Nars Deep Throat, one of my favourite ever blushes btw?

Well, the first time I applied this I loved it but I couldn't put my finger on what it reminded me of until I got my Deep Throat out the other day.

Blushalicious and Nars Deep Throat.

When all the colours are swirled together it makes the above colour, a true pinky peach which as you can see is almost identical to the colour of Deep Throat.

If the Nars blusher at a whopping £21 is a little out of reach at the moment then Blushalicious is a great dupe for less than a quarter of the price!

The other great thing about this blusher is the fact that Collection 2000 has been practical in their design, unlike other brands, *cough Chanel, *cough Guerlain, that tend to make powders with several colours impossible to use each shade alone.

The four shades are designed to be used easily with a normal blush sized brush alone, in pairs or mixed in whatever colour combination you like, big thumbs up from me!!

Personally I love the bottom two shades mixed together the best.

The funny thing about this product is that I guarantee if a high-end cosmetics company had bought this out I'd have paid serious cash for it but this cost just over £4 making it a seriously good buy!

What good dupes have you come across recently? I'd love to know, there's nothing better than finding one!!
xxx

Summer with Sleek- Mediterranean and Caribbean swatches

WARNING! Before you read on you might just want to go and grab your sunglasses as the swatches of Sleek's Limited Edition summer collection are seriously bright!

Released last week (June8th) and available at your local Superdrug counters now, their Caribbean and Mediterannean mini ranges promise to bring the holiday to you; A small but thoughtful consolation for those of us with zero holiday plans this year.

Top L-R, Santorini blush (Mediterannean), Bonaire Pout Polish (Caribbean) and Monoco IDivine palette(Mediterannean)

These collections are far from subtle and as you can see, may not be for the shy or for those of us that like to stay fairly neutral with our make-up no matter what the weather is.

But if you do like to experiment with colour then the shades Sleek have created in these collections are perfect for injecting some fun into your make-up.

Santorini and Bonaire swatched!

Santorini (£4.29) is a fabulously bright, almost neon fuschia. It's a stunning shade which surprisingly I have attempted to wear over the past few weeks and loved.

Like all Sleek products Santorini is super pigmented so a very, very light hand is needed with its application.

I recommend using a duofibre like Mac's 131 or a fan brush if your as pale as me or just don't want clown cheeks! Also as it's a bit of a statement blush I've found wearing very little eye makeup and using this 'pop' of colour as the focus works really well.

Bonaire (£4.29) may look scary in the pot but when applied the shocking orange turns into a pretty, coral wash of shine on the lips.

Pout Polishes are very similar to Mac's Tinted Lip Conditioners so they offer hydration and shine with a touch of sheer colour for a fraction of the price. I do like these but I don't use them often enough as I really hate using my fingers to apply them.

Top row - Bamboo, Aquamarine, Midnight Garden, Sunset, Washed Ashore, Magenta Madness.
Bottom row - Summer Breeze, Sand Walker, Kiwi Zest, Lotus Flower, Hummingbird, Moors Treasure.

For me the most exciting part of any Sleek collection is the palette; Nowhere else on the high-street offers such great quality eyeshadows and astounding array of shades for the tiny price of £6.95.

L-R - Bamboo (matte), Aquamarine(matte), Midnight Garden (matte), Sunset(shimmer), Washed Ashore(slight shimmer), Magenta Madness(matte).

The Monoco palette inspired by the blue seas and bright skys of the Med is stunning to look at, but unfortunately that's all I'll be doing with it.

Although there are some unique and unusually gorgeous jewel colours in this palette as you know I play it safe and probably will never wear most of them.

Having said that, I have been using Bamboo (soft cream) as an all over wash colour and Sand Walker (light taupe) in the crease a lot.

If I'm feeling a little braver I've also enjoyed adding a touch of Washed Ashore (mid-tone orange) to the centre of the lid but that's as far as I'll go!

L-R - Summer Breeze(matte), Sand Walker(matte), Kiwi Zest(shimmer), Lotus Flower(shimmer), Hummingbird(shimmer), Moors Treasure(matte).

Sleeks latest shades would look amazing teamed with a tan this summer so if you are interested they do tend to sell out fast so run to your nearest Superdrug or order online not to be disappointed.


Too bright or just right? What do you think?
xxx


Samples were kindly sent to me by their PR.

Blame it on the weather

Shopping wasn't supposed to be on the agenda this weekend (I'm trying to be good) but the rotten rain ruined any of my good intentions and I quickly found myself sheltering among the shops.

It seems fair therefore that I blame this impromptu haul on the weather and not on my weak willpower!

However, laying blame aside, shower shopping proved fruitful and I'm really happy with my new wardrobe additions.

Bandage skirt (Topshop £22), Over sized blazer (H&M £19.99) and Halterneck top (Warehouse £14)

My style doesn't seem to have changed a whole lot in the past few years, dark skinny jeans have been a daily essential and my drawers are overflowing with camis and cardis.

But yesterday I threw caution to the wind and adopted a slightly different approach to shopping by trying trends I'd previously dismissed.

I've always completely written off the whole bandage dress/skirt craze thing as a style I just wouldn't feel comfortable wearing but for some reason recently I've been craving a skirt to wear.

After asking the twitter fashionistas where to find the best one, the answer was unanimous and off to Topshop I went. I tried, I loved and I left with one.

As usual H&M never fails me.

I've been on the hunt for a light summer jacket for weeks now and I found 'the one' yesterday.

It's a neutral coloured, lightweight boy blazer which has a smart but casual feel to it with it's rolled up sleeves and slightly over sized fit, a good alternative to the granny cardis I feel!

£14 Accessorize

Accessorize have been a little disappointing lately as they seem to have some sort of obsession with diamantes and slightly tacky styling at the moment but I spotted this one off necklace and had to have it.

Simple, gold and tortoiseshell - perfect.

Seeing as I rarely wear silver jewellery anymore I thought my Thomas Sabo charms circa 2005 would never see the light of day again but the designers new wrap bracelets have reignited my love for them.

I know it's a little Kabbalahesque but strangely I like it.

The silk wraps come in about ten colours and can be worn as an anklet, hairband, belt, necklace etc as they are a metre long.

They cost £6.95 each which isn't bad but personally I reckon you could nip down to your local haberdashery and buy some silk cord much cheaper.

Anyway, it's a nice new way to wear your old charms this summer if you have any lying about.

And finally, a haul just wouldn't be a haul without a few beauty purchases now would it?

I've been using a sample of Clarin's Wonder Perfect mascara for the past week and surprisingly I love it. The wand looks very generic but somehow this stuff works wonders quite literally on my lashes, a review to come soon.

And as there was an offer at Debenhams where you got 1000 (£10) of points if you spent over £25 I couldn't resist their undereye concealer stick too which I can't wait to use, the colour looks perfect for erasing circles.

Did you find shelter in your shopping centre this weekend and do a spot of shower shopping?
xxx

Spring Cleaning Blog Sale

If your a savvy bargain hunter and like the odd blog sale then check out my latest one here.

xxx

Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-on Shadow Pencil - An everyday essential

I've been meaning to blog about these beauties for months now but somehow it always seems that I never quite get around to talking about the products I really rely on.

The one's I use, day in and day out.

These most definitely fall into that category and they have done for months now so it's only fair they get a mention and some well deserved attention from me on here.

If you were wondering what product I was talking about then it's the 24/7 Glide-on shadow pencils by Urban Decay. A chubbier, more diverse version of their infamous 24/7 eyeliner pencils.

I was a bit late on the whole 24/7 eyeliner bandwagon thing as I only discovered them myself when I purchased the Naked palette last year but needless to say I fell head over heels in love with them!

Who wouldn't? They're an eyeliner that offers the softest application, an amazing range of colours and a waterproof formula that's completely smudge proof.

Anyway, onto the shadow pencils which are essentially the very same thing only fatter making them much more diverse to use.

I have two. Sin, a champagne pink and Rehab, a deep brown with a purple undertone and use them pretty much everyday as my eyeshadow, base, eyeliner and highlight.

The formula of these is simply amazing, they are so soft that you can barely feel them when applied with absolutely no dragging on the skin (Mac shadestick *cough) and they last, like really last.

The waterproof formula ensures that once they are on, they stay on!

Above is the shade Sin which I use in several ways everyday, most of the time I apply it all over my lid and wear it alone for a neutral but very basic look.

It's also a good base for other powder eyeshadows as it just doesn't crease and is a great inside eye/waterline highlight colour which stays put all day long.

As you can see even Sin which is one of the lightest shades in the range is very opaque in colour, the colour payoff is very strong and not wishy washy like other cream eye shadows.

Out of all the shades of which there are around ten Rehab was the one I NEEDED in my life, as you know I love brown eyeliners but sometimes they can be a little, well, bland and flat.

Rehab is anything but bland, it's part brown, part deep purple with a touch of copper which creates the most stunning and flattering brown shade.

Although Rehab is supposed to be an eyeshadow I use it predominantly as an eyeliner, it's so easy to apply due to its texture, gives just the right sized line which can be precise or smudgy depending on how you feel.

This shade is perfect for creating an instant everyday smokey eye that's subtley sexy but not OTT. I do this most days as it takes no time but gives an amazing effect.

The shadow pencils are blendable for about 20 seconds before drying so as soon as I apply my line I just go over it with my finger and lightly smudge it out at the edge to give a softer look.

Generally Urban Decay is not a brand I'm overly keen on but you can't fault the fact they do make the best eyeliners in the business and having tried so many cream products over the years in sticks, pots and pencils none come close to these.

The intense pigmentation, lightweight, silky soft texture and lasting power make them a real winner and well worth a try if your looking for a multi-use eye product that's well worth the money.

They cost £14 each and offer twice the amount of product when compared to the 24/7 eyeliners for just a pound more.

xxx