Review: Sleek | Matte Me Lip Cream | 'Brink Pink'

Sorry for the not so great picture-  best of a bad bunch!

Sleek - Matte Me Ultra Smooth Matte Lip Cream - 'Brink Pink' - £4.99

Sleek is a brand that I've wanted to delve into for a long time and everyone knows I have a penchant for lip products, so when the Matte Me lip creams were released it was the perfect time to pick up a few colours to test out (along with a few blushers which will be reviewed soon!)

Today I'll be talking about 'Brink Pink' - a bright magenta colour that is almost fluro in real life but difficult to capture completely on camera. Take my word for it though, its beaut! The formula is really smooth and easy to apply, especially due to the firm doe foot wand, and is really opaque which is a massive plus point. I've found the best way to use this product is to apply one thin layer, wait around 30 seconds for it to dry and then add another layer on top. If you try and add layers too quickly it just spreads the product around your lips. 

The formula dries down to a matte finish in less than a minute and has great sticking power. Tested during a normal day this stuff doesn't budge even when drinking. It even survived a three course meal really well with only slight wear at the very centre of my lips, which was rectified with a quick slick of lip balm to blend everything together again.

As you would imagine, due to the nature of the matte formulation you need to make sure you have exfoliated your lips well as it will cling to any dry patches. I always apply a lip balm before doing my make up so when I get to my lips they are nourished enough for the lip cream. I also find that after a while it can feel like there is a coating on your lips, so it isn't as comfortable as a normal lipstick but this has been true of all the lip creams I've tried, not just with Sleek's offering. Another plus point is when it has started to feel a bit dry I've been able to slick on some lip balm without disturbing the lip cream at all.

Overall, I've been really impressed with this product from Sleek. Everything from the colour to the formulation ticks all the right boxes and I can't wait to pick up some more colours!

What are your favourite lip creams? Have you tried anything from Sleek before? xxx

Wishlist Wednesday #4

Origins High-Potency Night-A-Mins (Oil free): I've already harped on about my love for Origins on this blog but that won't stop me from doing it again! There are a lot of products I want to try from this brand and this one is quite high on my list. I don't actually own a night cream (serious beauty sin?) and would like to add one into my routine. I loved the look of this one as it is oil-free and is meant to aid radiance, something that my skin could benefit from.

Women's Institute Complete Christmas: Whenever I do these posts I always seem to slip a random anomaly into them! This isn't that random though because I've heard the Women's Institute have some great cooking secrets and tips and I love baking and Christmas so all 3 in one book is something I would like :) This would be great to purchase before Christmas so in the festive period I can cook up a storm!

REN ClearCalm 3 Clarity Restoring Mask: Ren have had such a lot of praise recently and are a brand I am keen to delve into. At the moment I am sampling a lot of different masks to find the best ones for me and my skin 'issues' and this looks like a great one to try. It tackles excess sebum so would help with oiliness, the build up of dead skin cells which would aid radiance and also tackles blemish-causing bacteria to help with breakouts. All in all it sounds like a dream and would love to try it!

Rouge Dior Lipstick in shades 435, 638 & 757: Who am I kidding, I want them all! But if I had to choose these would be my favourites. I spent a good while dragging Matt around the beauty counters and swatching away which I think is a much better way to gague the true colour of products like this as the photos never capture exactly the same shade as in person. I'm obsessed with lipsticks/lip products at the moment and would love a few more high end shades to add to my growing collection.

The Body Shop Seaweed Mattifying Cream: I recently just purchased the scrub in this range but have also heard good things about other products from it too. This would be a great day cream to wear to control excess sebum that I suffer from. Since browsing in their new shop in the Bullring the other day I have fallen in love with the Body Shop again and have added lots more to my wishlist!

That's it for this week's Wishlist, what do you think? Have you tried any of these products before? xxx

My 'Summer Face'

Today I thought I would try a different post as I have been doing a lot of reviews lately and thought it would be nice for you to read something a bit different. Even though the weather this Summer has been quite temperamental, I've shyed away from heavy and time consuming make up and updated my make up regime to easy, quick and lighter make up suitable for warmer weather. The above picture are the products I have been using on a daily basis as a standard summer face. I sometimes switch up my eyes or lipsticks depending on my outfit and mood but overall this is my staple make up at the moment. Sorry in advance about the quality of the picture, the natural lighting isn't great due to gloomy weather and some of my products are a bit battered from traveling and everyday use!

So to begin with, I mix my 17 BB cream in 'Light' mixed with a pump or two of Soap and Glory's Hocus Focus to brighten up my dull complexion and blend all over my face with my fingers to melt it into my skin. The BB cream has relatively good coverage but I cover up my under eye circles and any blemishes with Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer. I then dust 17 Miracle Matte pressed powder over my face lightly as I am on the oily side with a large powder brush and then blend Bourjois Chocolate Bronzer all over my face with a MAC blending brush. This powder is great as it gives my face a bit of warmth without dulling down my complexion with a light, silky texture. I dot some extra Hocus Focus on my brow bone and top of cheek bones for a highlighter, a product which I have really grown to love as it is multi purpose and gives a lovely natural glow. I then give a light dusting of Benefit's Thrrrob powder on my cheekbones with a stippling brush to give a flush of colour.

For my eyes I fill in my brows with Bobbi Brown Mahogany eyeshadow (not pictured) then using my finger blend a thin layer of Maybelline Colour Tattoo in 'On and On Bronze' over my lid, which is a great natural colour for blue eyes that is easily buildable into a stronger colour if you so wish. To finish my eyes I put a few layers of my favourite mascara of the moment, Masterpiece Max by Maxfactor.

Finally, a few coats of a Revlon Lip Butter in shade Creme Brulee and I am good to go!

I have done a few reviews of the products mentioned which I have included links for. What do you think of my 'Summer Face'? Do you include any of these products in your every day routine? xxx

July Favourites

This is my first ever favourites post! I love reading other people's posts and watching YT videos like this as it makes me confident at trying products I've been thinking about sampling and also gives me some new suggestions to have a look at. This post features a mixture of skin care and make up :)

Skincare

Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish: Ever since purchasing this last month I have loved it! From the packaging to the product it hasn't let me down and I understand now why there were so many rave reviews. I may be late on the bandwagon, but now I've got this brand on my radar I'm looking forward to trying some of their other products and will be keeping this as a staple in my skincare routine. I'm not going to go into too much detail as I have an upcoming post dedicated to this lovely product. (Edit: see review here!)

Neutrogena Grapefruit Facial Wash: Again, there is an upcoming review of this on my blog and is a new item in my facial skincare regime. I'm really enjoying using it in the mornings as the scent and formula wakes me up and refreshes my face nicely. 

Make Up

Revlon Lip Butters: I've just done a post on these so you can see how much I love them and why here! An update since then though is that I have recently purchased my third in the shade 'Creme Brulee' and I love it just as much as the others! I've been getting into my nude lips recently and this is a wonderful addition - it is a lovely soft nude, which is sheer enough to let some of my natural lip show through while still giving shine and a wash of colour with lots of nourishment. If you aren't that big into lipsticks and colour but want to dabble in lip products this is an excellent way to introduce yourself to both.

Urban Decay Naked Palette: This has been such a good investment purchase. Since buying it I've used it nearly every day and love the selection of matte and glittery shades, the quality of the eyeshadows and their colour payoff. You can create so many looks for day and evening by combining the different shades and I suggest it is a good palette to buy if you are into the natural look or are wanting to experiment. You can see my full review here. 

17 BB Cream: This has been a key staple in my every day make up routine this summer. I've been shunning foundation for the summer and this has to be my favourite BB cream that I have tried so far as it has good oil control, added SPF and good coverage. Every time I use it I like it even more :) If you want to read my full review for this you can read it here. I am looking forward to trying some other BB creams and am going to do a post soon on all the ones I have tried and what I think of them.

Hope you enjoyed reading my favourites :) Are any of these featured in your favourites post? xxx

Review: 17 Blemish Balm

       

This is one of the items I received in a recent blog sale (see what else I got here). Although I already owned a BB cream prior to purchasing this, I have been wanting to test out a few different types and brands available to find the best one out there for me i.e. my skin type and coverage-wise because I have been using them a lot more, choosing them for every day wear over foundation. This is the second BB cream I have tried and I think I prefer it to my Garnier one, although I would like to try the new oil free version of this for a better comparison, which was not available when I purchased the original as I got it when they had just come out in the UK. At £6.99 it is 3 pounds cheaper than the Garnier BB cream although you do get 20ml less.

The shade I have is 'Light' and it is a good match for my skin tone. I don't use moisturiser after cleansing and toning in the morning when using a BB cream as my skin is already on the oily side and BB creams are normally very moisturizing anyway. I apply it with my fingers to help it melt into my skin and blend better, and also mix it with my Soap and Glory 'Hocus Focus' (see a review of that here) but I would also like to try it with the real techniques buffing brush. The main concerns with BB creams is that the staying power isn't effective but I have found this product to last all day, although the mattifying effect doesn't and so I do have to touch up with powder, however nowhere near as much as with the Garnier BB cream. The formula of this is a bit thicker than that of the Garnier and therefore gives a thicker coverage, however it is still light enough for my freckles to show through but not my pores! I've tried this both with and without a primer and it works well with both - I don't think using one changes the product. I also really like that it has added SPF 25 to it which I have become more conscious of recently in my face products.

BB Cream rubbed in

Overall I was pleasantly surprised by this product and would purchase it over the original Garnier BB formula, however I will update as to whether I prefer the oil free version! So far, this has been my favourite though. Other BB creams I would like to test out in the future include Clinique's SPF 30, Maybelline Dream Fresh, Ginivera Green Tea and Origins A Perfect World and Vitazing.

What BB creams have you used and would you suggest? Have you tried either of these? xxx

Dalliance in Duty Free

When we were off on our holiday to Turkey, upon arrival at the airport we were told that our flight was delayed for around 2 hours. I of course therefore spent the majority of that time having a look round duty free. I only got a few bits and bobs which were Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection concealer, Erase Paste by Benefit, 17 Miracle Matte pressed powder and Max Factor Masterpiece Max mascara. All the products I bought needed to be replenished as they had been used up and they were also all different brands to the ones I was using before, mainly due to hearing good reviews.

Benefit Erase Paste: This product was a bit of a risk as it normally retails for £19.50 and even though I got it for around £15, I still think it is a lot to pay for a concealer, especially as it is a tiny pot. I had previously been using Rimmel's Hide the Blemish in Sand, but it was pretty rubbish especially under my eyes where it would wear off really quickly so I bought Erase Paste as an alternative due to it's claim of being a 'brightening' concealer and because of the thicker, creamy formula. It came with a little spatula and instructions of how to use it which I thought was great and is always an added bonus with Benefit products, however I never really used the spatula after a few tries as I think it is more of a marketing way to use more product than you actually need. Another plus was the cute pink packaging, which I am a sucker for anyway as I think the presentation of Benefit products is great. There are 3 choices of colour and I went with no. 1 fair which was the right choice for me. Overall, I enjoy using this product as it gives good coverage and will last a long time, although I'm not sure of it's claim to 'brighten' and I would recommend using this with foundation when you are looking for more coverage rather than with a BB cream or tinted moisturiser. I will have to use it over a longer period of time to determine whether the quality deserves the price tag. 

Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Ultimate Wear Concealer: After hearing loads of good reviews for this from my favourite bloggers and youtubers I thought I would give it a go, especially when it is the bargain price of £4.19. I have the shade 1 Fair and am pleased to say that I really like it too :)! Yay! The shade matches my skin tone and although it is a liquid formula, which I was a bit wary about, it gives really good coverage on blemishes and under-eye circles without being too heavy, and enables you to layer it if needs be without being obvious. I have been using it with my BB cream as for the moment I haven't been using foundation at all, so it will be interesting to see how I think it fairs with my regular foundation (Maybelline's Dream Matte Mousse). I would definitely repurchase this and recommend it to others.

Max Factor Masterpiece Max Mascara in Black: I am a massive fan of Max Factor mascaras as I think they are really good quality for the price. The one I normally buy is Xperience as I recieved it for my birthday and loved it ever since, although it is meant to be volumising I think they are better for definition and length. I decided on the Masterpiece Max mainly just because it was a pound cheaper at £9.99 and I used to use it a while back. Since using it, I don't know why I ever stopped because I love it and is my new go to mascara. The Xperience is great for a more day time look, however I think the Masterpiece Max is great for day but can also be layered effectively for evening looks too without the aid of another mascara, therefore putting it above the Xperience for me. I would be interested if you have used any other Max Factor mascaras/products and what you think of them :)

17 Miracle Matt Pressed Powder in Ivory Porcelain: Previous to purchasing this I had been using MAC's Blot Powder in Medium and to be honest I was really underwhelmed :( It was my first MAC purchase in a while and I so wanted it to be better than the drugstore brands and worth the higher price, however I can't really tell the difference between the two powders (which is a good thing for 17!) This powder was £3.99 and for the quality and the packaging I thought it was a great price. It includes a compact mirror and a little sponge too which I thought were lovely added extras. One of the main features I like is that it is oil free, and as I have oily/combination skin this really appealed to me. The only downside is that it says up to 16 hours shine control but I don't think it comes near to this. I have been using it with a BB cream though which make me more oily anyway, so hopefully once I have tested it with foundation it will give me better results. Overall, I think for a drugstore powder it is great quality for the price and it does the job.

If any of you have some advice/recommendation on powders I would love to hear them! xxx