Review: Sleek | Face Form Contour & Blush Palette | 'Light'

Sleek MakeUP - Face Form Contour & Blush Palette - Light - £10

The other evening I was organising my photos - does anyone else have multiple digital albums which are all a bit of a mess? Anyway, I came across loads of photos I had taken for the blog from ages ago which I had kind of forgotten about. One set of these pictures was on this lovely palette from Sleek that I use at least twice a week and still love as much as I did when I first bought it and have been using it loads recently. So it is high time that I wrote a review on it!

One of the best things about this palette is that it is so travel friendly. You are sorted with a blush, contour/bronzer and highlight that are amazing quality and go with pretty much any look you need - I used this exclusively in Stockholm and didn't feel like I was missing anything. Plus you get a good sized mirror, and the pans are a really good size too. For the price point the quality of these powders are so good - really highly pigmented, easy to blend and no chalkiness in sight.

The bronzer is great for contouring as it is matte and more on the cool side, although you do need to make sure you blend it properly as it is very pigmented. The highlighter I wasn't sure on at the beginning, but applied with a denser brush like the Real Techniques contour brush, it looks so beautiful across the cheekbones and centre of the face. It gives a lovely glow without being glittery or really obvious. Lastly the blush is a fantastic dupe for Nars Orgasm and again is just as pigmented as the rest of the palette and lasts all day without needing a touch up.

The only thing to keep in mind if you have acne prone skin is that it does contain talc so if you have acne prone skin this may aggravate it.

There is also 4 different shades for varying skin tones from Light to Dark - so a palette for everyone! you can purchase this palette in Boots or Superdrug.

What is your favourite product from Sleek? xxx

Review: Nars | Orgasm Blush & Laguna Bronzer Duo |

NARS Blusher/Bronzer Duo // Orgasm and Laguna // £30

Two cult products in the beauty blogging world are the naughtily named blush 'Orgasm' and a bronzer in the shade 'Laguna' from Nars. I had wanted to try them for ages and was really lucky when my Mum picked me up the blush/bronzer duo a few months ago. They are my first Nars products and I'm pleased I got the duo so I could sample both products.

Housed in the iconic Nars packaging and featuring a large mirror that is great for travel, the aesthetics ticks all the boxes for me. Lets start with the blush - silky smooth and with a finely milled texture, you only need to dip your brush a tiny bit into the pan to give your cheeks a lovely flush of colour and is easily buildable too. In terms of colour, Orgasm is a light pink with a hint of coral shade, flecked with lots of golden glitter particles. That might sound really scary but these golden sparkles don't leave you looking like a glitter ball but offer a lovely sheen which means you can forgo highlighter. This blusher has really lived up to the hype for me  with both the quality and colour being worth the price. I can see this lasting me ages as you don't need a lot of product and think it will be perfect for spring/summer make up.

In regards to Laguna I'm not really sure how I feel. Like the blusher this can also be built up very easily which is great for heavy handed people, however I felt like you can't see a difference when wearing it unless you build it up quite a lot. I really like that it has no orange undertones so is very natural and I've heard that it is great for contouring too (I don't really contour too much) but for some reason I just haven't fallen in love with it like other bloggers have and prefer the Bourjois chocolate bronzer. Maybe I'm not doing it right - if you have any tips on what to use/how to apply it to see if I can make it work better that would be great!

Overall I think this was a great product to introduce myself to the brand. The blusher has definitely won me over and I'll be exploring into other shades, but the bronzer hasn't done much to wow me. I do have my eyes on a few eyeshadow duos and lipsticks though so hopefully I will be expanding my Nars stash soon....

What is your favourite product from Nars? xxx

The Weekend Face #1

As you may or may not know, Matt and I met at Uni but he has since graduated and got a big boy job in London, meaning our relationship has gone from seeing each other every day to every weekend. We are quite lucky its not too far to travel, however I am an appalling packer and find it virtually impossible to pack light. I've been making a conscious effort therefore to try and squeeze down my make up bag for the weekend and plan ahead (although I am still terrible at this!) Among making my case a little lighter (the amount of skincare I take is not ok) trying to condense my make up bag has lead to me using well loved things I had forgotten about again and mixing up my make up routine. So I thought it might be interesting to show you what I take as a mini series on the weekends I go down to visit, but leaving out the standard staples as that would get boring!

Lets start with the base. I chose Healthy Mix as it gives light to medium coverage, which is buildable and also helps to perk up and hydrate my skin in this horrible weather (review soon) with the usual culprits of Benefit's Erasepaste for under eyes and Collection's Lasting Perfection Concealer for any redness or blemishes. My new powder of choice - Rimmel's Stay Matte - was put to the test to set my foundation and keep oil at bay, but I'm not seeing much difference between this and my previous 17 Miracle Matte powder. Finally a dusting of 'London' from my Fashionista palette (amazing for travel) along my cheekbones combined a blush and highlight in one.

For my eyes, I chose to go for a natural look and began by lining the waterline with Rimmel's Scandaleyes Waterproof Kohl in 'Nude' and swept 'Naked' from my Urban Decay Naked palette all over the lid. This palette is amazing for travel as it has shades for every occasion so I take it with me everywhere as you can probably see from the battered packaging! I took 'Virgin' also from this palette as my brow highlight and used Bourjois Intuitive eyeliner to deepen my lash line - still not too sure on this one but a review will be coming soon. Lastly, lashings of my two favourite mascaras completed this look. 

For lips I took two lipsticks - Kate Moss for Rimmel 107, an amazing deep red which I have been obsessed with recently and wear for both the evening or day and Barry M lip paint in '101' - a milky nude shade. As my eyes were pared down I either went for a bright pop of red or combined both of these together in the style of Lisa Eldridge to brighten up 101 which can be a bit dead by itself.

Hope you all had a lovely weekend! Let me know what you think of these products xxx

Review: FashionistA Blush Palette

L-R: (top) Juicy Apricot - Blushing Coral // (bottom) London - Rose Shine

L-R: Blushing Coral - Juicy Apricot

L-R: London - Rose Shine

£5 for the Palette // Blush £4 each

I love the idea of creating my own palette and the choice of a red or black one from FashionistA seemed a great place to start. I already have a number of eyeshadow palettes and because of my love affair with blushers recently I thought the best quad to get would be full of some new blushers, although you can mix and match with bronzers, blushers and eyeshadows. You can buy the shades individually or buy a palette and 4 shades to fill it at a discount price (I think around £10-15 for all of them together).

I chose the colour red as it is a bit different and looks quite smart. The actual quad is very sturdy and sleek with a large mirror making it perfect for on the go. The individual blushes come in sleek black containers which you can use individually or pop them out to fit into your palette. I chose the colours Juicy Apricot, Rose Shine, London and Blushing Coral.

All the blushes I chose are very pigmented so a light hand is needed but this pigmentation also means a little goes a long way and therefore the product will last longer. They are also prone to fall out but this didn't bother me too much. I found each shade very long wearing, although I never really have a problem with blushes fading in the first place.

I think my favourite out of the blushes have to be the two peachier shades as I didn't have anything similar in my collection before. Juicy Apricot is a bright peachy shade with gold flecks in it but these don't translate onto the skin like a disco ball, instead it just gives a lovely glow. London is the prettiest out of them all consisting of a shimmering peachy base with veins of pink running through. Both of these have been reached for a lot on days when I want to perk up my complexion in a not so obvious way. Blushing Coral is a very dark pink which I reach for more on nights out as it is quite a bright colour. As you can see from the pictures I managed to make a big dent in it with my nail before I'd even used it when putting it into the palette - so annoying!  This blush is very easy to over apply due to being so pigmented, however a light dusting along the cheek bones can really pull a look together. Lastly is Rose Shine, which I wore in a recent outfit post. It gives a lovely soft pink matte glow to your cheeks which would look really pretty on the apples as well as cheek bones and gives a wind bitten flush to your face.

I think this quad is great value for beginners to fill up with what they would like to experiment with. It is great for travel and versatile due to being suitable for eye shadows, bronzers and blushes and the fact you can switch the items in the palette and replace with new ones depending on your mood or the occasion. The quality of the blushes are great considering how cheap they are and I recommend you all pop down to Superdrug and give them a go! 

What would you fill up your quad with? Do you have any other recommendations for do it yourself palettes? xxx

Take 3: Highstreet Blushes

In the last few months I've built up my lipstick/lip product collection and so thought now was the time to turn my attention to blushes. I already had a few Benefit box powders and most of my blushers are various shades of pinks so I thought I would have a look around the highstreet to find some new shades from new brands to try and add some variety to my collection. These three are the ones I decided on: the first on the left is 'Peach Melba' by Natural Collection, then 'English Rose' by MUA and finally 'Head Over Heels' by Topshop.

'Peach Melba' by Natural Collection: Natural Collection are a great brand for trying out new colours and products to see if you like them before splashing out on something similar from a more expensive brand as all their make up products are £2 or under. This colour is a matte warm peach shade which looks great for natural make up days or if you are wearing heavier colours else where. It brings warmth to your complexion without looking 'done' and is easy to apply due to the finely milled, soft texture of the powder. The shade looks lovely built up or with just one stroke from your brush. It may not be the most glamorous of packaging but it is great for travel and I've been very impressed with this offering. I would definitely try some other blushes from the range and has been a great introduction to peachier shades.

'English Rose' by MUA: This was a bit more expensive at £2.50 but still amazingly cheap for a blusher! I hadn't tried much from MUA when I purchased this but had heard a lot of good things about the brand. I chose this colour as it is quite 'me' and had a mixture of pinks and peaches. The two squares of purple were a little daunting but once the product is swirled together you can't notice it. The reason for a mosaic of colours according to MUA is because different skin tones highlight different colours, so by swirling them together it will adapt to suit your specific skin tone and therefore suit everyone. The pigmentation wasn't fantastic once it is on your brush - the colour looks a lot deeper when swatched. However, it can be built up and it looks nice combined with a little of peach melba too. This particular blush has a little shimmer running through it so it eliminates the need for a separate highlight - this may not be to everyone's taste but I'm partial to a bit of sparkle, and it doesn't leave you looking like a glitter ball. The only problem I had with this is because the pan is so big I had to use a larger brush to save me picking up way too much product and a lot of fall out and therefore precision was a bit more difficult. I wasn't wowed by this product but it is a nice one to have in the collection.

'Head Over Heels' by Topshop: Out of all of the blushers mentioned this is the most expensive at £6. After picking up an extensive amount of lipsticks from their make up range I decided to have a go at the blushers. It is my first cream blush (it is cream to powder formulation) and I found it difficult to work with at the beginning. My stippling brush didn't give me enough colour as I would have liked as the colour in the pan is so bright it wasn't translating to my face at all. Instead I pat it on and rub it in with my fingers which gives a much nicer flush. As I said the colour is very bright but once blended in well it isn't as shocking and gives a nice wash of colour. I love the packaging as it has a little mirror and is very lightweight and I really like the colour too, I'm just not so sure about cream blushes. I think I'm going to have to play around with it a bit more and see what works best for me.

Have you tried any of these blushers? Would you recommend any other highstreet blushers? xxx