Shopping my Stash Series: Sleek Contour Kit in Light

I am such a last minute packer. I absolutely loathe packing and always end throwing stuff in a suitcase a few hours before I leave.

Lucky for me, this Sleek Makeup Face Contour Kit somehow made it with me on my trips this summer! I hadn't been using this product much, but I must have had a wise voice in the back of my mind telling me this would be useful! And indeed, it was useful. This Sleek Makeup Contour Kit was the perfect addition to my travel makeup bag - it is the perfect shade for contouring, and the highlighting shade is gorgeous! I'm not really one to wear highlighter during the day time, but I went out at night a few times on my vacation(s) and found it really convenient to have both shades in one compact case.

So there, I inadvertently shopped my stash while packing, and re-discovered an old favorite!

I forgot how pigmented this duo is - you only need a touch of it for contouring. The powder blends smoothly and I usually use my Real Techniques Expert Face Brush for application. Because this powder is so pigmented, I wouldn't recommend using this all over the face as it could come out a bit patchy. I much prefer my Dior Skin Nude in 002 for that!

I own the shade Light and it is perfect on my skintone, but Sleek also make a Medium and Dark version. At $8.49 and available online, I think it's a pretty good deal! For swatches and comparison of this Sleek Contour Kit, check out my Battle of the Bronzers post!

Thank you for reading! What's your latest stash re-discovery?

The Sleek Storm palette and why you need it! Review, Swatches & Comparisons.

I've reviewed Sleek palettes before (Oh So Special and Sunset in case you're interested) and I've said it before, but I'll also say it again: these babies are excellent value for money. Sleek palettes offer 12 pigmented (mostly) eyeshadows for $9.99. WIN.

Sleek is a makeup brand available in UK drugstore. However, their products are also available for international purchases on their website. I'm a big fan of these shadows - they are smooth and pigmented, and last all day on my primed eyelids. Bonus: Pixiwoo uses these palettes all the time in their makeup tutorials.

The colors look a bit washed out in my swatches, but I promise that these shadows are very potent.

For fun, I compared some of these shadows to what I already had in my collection to see if there were any dupes. Surprisingly, nothing really matched!

Sleek #4, MAC Woodwinked, Bare Minerals The Playlist Palette shadow in Louder, L'Oreal Infallible in Sahara Treasure. As you can see, none of them match up at all. And they're definitely the closest match as everything else I own is much yellower than #4.

Sleek #5, MAC All That Glitters, Bare Minerals The Happy Place palette shadow in Imagine, Estee Lauder Violet Underground's pale pink shadow. Sleek's #5 shadow pulls a bit more mauve than most of my pinky shadows. This shadow is really gorgeous on the lid.

Sleek #7, MAC Bronze, MAC Mulch, Dior Aurora palette the brown shade, L'Oreal Bronze Taupe. (sidenote: I need to use Bronze Taupe STAT it is so beautiful). Sleek #7 is absolutely GORGEOUS. This is definitely my favorite from the palette. It applies so smoothly and doesn't crumble like some of the softer shadows. I think MAC's Bronze is the most similar to it, but Bronze has a dryer texture than Sleek's #7 shadow. Seriously, #7 is one finger swipe. It's awesome.

And finally, Sleek's #10, Estee Lauder's Violet Underground palette in the blue shade, and MAC's Contrast. #10 is quite similar to MAC's Contract, but Contrast was pretty much 15 vigorous finger swipes to make it look even. #10 wins by far.

Now there are minor disadvantages to the shadows. For one, they do have a bit of fall-out if you're not careful when applying them. They do not fall out during the day, but application can be tricky with the softest of shadows (#5 is a bit problematic) as they can have a tendency to crumble. For me, a bit of fall-out is nothing a swipe of foundation brush can't fix. Also, most of my Sleek palettes, including this one, have duds. The duds here are #3 and #7. They're not horrible, but they're not as pigmented as the other shades, and they apply a bit patchy and dry. I don't love MAC's matte shadows, but they are much better than the two Sleek mattes in this palettes.

Favorites in this palette include #1, #5, #7, #8, and #9. Based on these shadows, I think the palette is worth it. Especially at such a low price point. Some of these shadows aren't colors I would consider wearing on a day-to-day basis, but are really great for a dark smoky eye on a night out.

Hope this review was somewhat helpful in helping you decide whether it's worth it!

Battle of the Bronzers/Contour powders! A peek in my collection!

While some people think of them as an absolute must in their daily makeup routines, the use of bronzer or contour powder is usually done when thought of, or for a special occasion on my part. I just don't always think to put it on, even though with my round-ish face, it would do me a favor to remember.

My skin tone is so pale and pinky/neutral that I find they often make me look yellow. It took a lot of research and reading up of reviews in order to be satisfied with the small collection I've acquired. I must say, I really love every one of them in a different way. 

From bottom left to right, clockwise: Dior Diorskin Nude Tan 002, Sleek Face Contour Kit in Light, NYX Blush in 11 Taupe, Illamasqua Powder Blusher in Disobey, NARS Laguna Bronzer, MAC Pro Pan Blush in Harmony.

 NARS Laguna is showing pan!

From left to right: Sleek Contour Kit in Light, Diorskin Nude Tan in 002, NYX Taupe, MAC Harmony, Illamasqua Disobey, NARS Laguna.

As you can see from the swatches, they are quite different from each other. I tend to prefer the look of ashier or neutral brown powders on my skin tone such as the Sleek Contour Kit, and NARS Laguna for contouring the cheekbones. Laguna is my only contour/bronzing powder with significant shimmer but as stated by many bloggers before me, this shimmer is actually quite subtle on the skin, and does not interfere with its function as a contour powder. If not blended properly, especially since it is so pigmented, NYX Taupe can look dirty on my skin tone. I really like it for a night out because it gives a realistic and quite deep looking shadow to the hollows of my cheekbones - however, I don't think I'd use this everyday other than with an extremely light hand. I use the Diorskin Nude Tan Powder to create an overall glow (as it does contain a bit of light shimmer), rather than a specific contour. It's excellent for that purpose since it isn't too pigmented, and blends wonderfully into foundation. MAC Harmony works very well as a contour powder, or as a blush. It is a bit pinker than most of my contour shades, but I find this works especially well if used to contour without any blush to my face - it adds a bit of healthy color to it. Illamaqua Disobey tends to lean more yellow and is more suitable for my skin tone in the summer - the softness of this powder is amazing, and incredibly easy to blend. It's also a great color to blend in the eye socket to soften the edges of a dark eye makeup look.

Hope this comparison was somewhat helpful for you! Bronzers and contour powders are tricky - not every bronzer/contour shade will suit every coloring! The best thing to do is to test them out before purchasing - and don't be afraid to return something if it doesn't work for you!

What are your favorite bronzers/contour colors?  I'm curious to know what works for you!

Fall look with OCC Lip Tar in Strumpet + Sleek Sunset palette

I'm sure you're all tired of hearing how fall is wonderful, and how beautiful the trees are. But seriously, I love fall. First off, it's the season of my birthday (it was two days ago!) AND the trees ARE beautiful. You can't deny that! So I got inspired by Sleek's Sunset palette and created a fall look. It's quite a bright and fun look, and is super easy!

My sister is getting married tomorrow! So I thought I'd slip in this post before all madness ensues. I'm so excited for her!

I recently purchased an OCC Lip Tar in Strumpet when I saw that my local Sephora started carrying them. I thought it might be fun to try a bright lips + bright eyes combo with it!

Face:
- Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer in Nude
- MAC Moisturecover on blemishes in NW 20
- MAC Studio Finish concealer in NW15 under my eyes
- Estee Lauder Pure Color Blush in Audacious Plum
- Jemma Kidd Dewy Glow in Iced Gold

Eyes:
- Marcelle Accent Eyebrow Crayon in Brun Tendre
- Make Up For Ever Eye Prime
- Sleek Sunset palette on eyes (#7 all over lid, #2 in crease, #10 inner corner, #1 black at the lashline). For reference on these numbers, check out my review here.
- MAC Teddy Eye Khol in waterline
- Annabelle Le Big Show mascara

Lips:
- OCC Lip Tar in Strumpet

And here's a swatch on my hand:

The OCC Lip Tar wore amazingly! No flaking, no budging. It wore for 5 hours, which included lots of water drinking, and eating. Plus, it left a significant stain as it wore off. And I loved how lightweight it felt on my lips - it didn't feel like I had anything at all on my lips! It's a winner in my books!

Are you inspired by fall with your makeup? Do you change your routine with the seasons?

Sleek's Sunset Palette - Review + swatches

Today, I'm bringing you a short but sweet review of the Sleek Sunset palette. Always a winner with the Pixiwoos, Sleek is a "drugstore" or "highstreet" brand of makeup mostly sold in the UK. However, they do ship to Canada from their website! Of course, this was a great excuse to try a few palettes!

This palette's name really does suit its style - the colors are truly resemblant to a beach sunset. The general warmness of the palette is stunning. I'm not usually one to go for warm colors (especially oranges!) but this palette intrigued me. I was wondering if it would be a day-to-day palette, or more of a special occasion palette. I was pleasantly surprised to see myself wearing these shadows to work on many occasions (just not the bright red and blue!).

Swatched on my arm.

I love this palette. The colors are truly pigmented and a breeze to blend. Some of them do produce fall-out so you have to be a bit careful of that. I'm especially smitten with shades 3, 7 and 10. 7 is a truly unique burgandy/bronze/mauve color - I can't say I have anything quite like it!

Here's a quick look I've done using shades 7, 2, 10 and 1 (the black at the lashline).

If you're a fan of bright shadows, I'd definitely recommend this palette. Its pigmentation is in my experience as good as, if not better, most MAC shadows. And at $9.99, you are definitely getting a bang for your buck. If you like your neutrals, I'd say skip it, and go for their Oh So Special palette (reviewed here). But then again, venturing into brights have never been cheaper than this!

Only one week until my sister's wedding. There is so much stuff to be done before Saturday! And don't even get me thinking about work... if I get out of this week alive, I'll be happy.

Hope you all had a great weekend! :)

Oh So Special, you sure are Sleek

Sleek has been impressing the heck out of me lately. It's not that I thought it wasn't a good brand, it's that I have limited access to it in Canada, which means I have to order online. This means I can't test it in stores and have to rely on online swatches to see if I'll like Sleek products. Since the Pixiwoos use Sleek eyeshadow palettes constantly in their tutorials, I figured I couldn't go wrong with this Sleek Oh So Special palettes.

I am so impressed by this palette. Seriously, it is amazing. The shadows are (almost) all very pigmented and apply beautifully. Only a couple shades gave me some issues (namely, Gateau and Bow) but I will explain why - I don't think this affected the overall quality of this palette. Plus, I find the colors unique - I can't find exact dupes in my collection. I also think this palette strikes a good balance between matte and shimmery shadows. Most colors you would use in your crease are matte and most shadows you would use on your lid are shimmery - well done Sleek!

I love Sleek's packaging. Simple and classic. And black - that's always a bonus in my book!

Swatches, left to right: (barely visible) Bow, Organza, Ribbon, Gift Basket, Glitz, Celebrate, Pamper, Gateau, The Mail, Boxed, Wrapped Up, Noir

Swatches, in daylight, left to right: (barely visible) Bow, Organza, Ribbon, Gift Basket, Glitz, Celebrate, Pamper, Gateau, The Mail, Boxed, Wrapped Up, Noir

The Noir shade really impressed me in this palette - it is POTENT. This is a swatch of Noir beside MAC's Carbon. Bet you didn't think Carbon sucked until now! I definitely do!

MAC's Sketch on the left and Celebrate on the right.

Now for the tiny disadvantages of this palette. The Bow shade is very chalky and not pigmented - it's barely visible and you could basically use invisible loose powder in its place. I don't know why this was overlooked by Sleek but the only way I can even imagine using it is for blending out shadow. Even then, I'm not sure I would use it. Also, the shade Gateau was VERY soft to the point that I pretty much dented the shadow and had to push it back in the pan because it was crumbling. I'm not sure if that's just me or it's because the shadow is so shimmery. Either way, it's not a huge deal, I just have to be careful when applying it. Consequently, there is a bit of fall out with this shadow as well. Actually, don't load your eyeshadow brush with product as there will be fall out with most of these shadows.

I hope this was helpful to you! I'll hopefully be reviewing more of these palettes - I'm very happy with the quality of them!

Have you been trying any Sleek makeup? What do you think of the shadows? Do you find fall out troublesome with these palettes?

Hope you've had a great start to your week!

Sleek Sugar Palette!

Sorry for being a bit absent from this blog! My life is super busy right now with moving, work and various other pickles I've gotten myself into. I promise to TRY to stay on the bandwagon but posting may be a bit sporadic!

Today, I'd like to share a very special palette: the Sleek Blush by 3 palette in Sugar!

I was very excited to receive this palette because of a) the rave reviews it has been receiving b) Getting Cheeky's post on it and c) the blushes in this palette aren't super common (AKA, Coral are everywhere lately!).

Here's the palette in all its glory. The colors from left to right are Turbinado, Muscovado and Demerara.

I love the compact and clean design of the palette. It makes it perfect for traveling.

Swatched lighty, left to right in Turbinado (very light shimmer), Muscovado (shimmer) and Demerara (as far as I can tell, matte).

Swatches more heavily, same order.

These blushes are excellent. They stay on all day, and I've personally been taken with Demerara as a neutral cheek color. I usually wear it with a smokey/heavy eye and it is perfect. While my Pumpkin Pie palette is more pigmented than the Sugar palette, I find the Sugar palette easier to work with and the colors more wearable. I get the feeling that Turbinado will be my go to in the fall!

I also love that this palette is a blush palette - it's quite difficult to find a blush palette on the market that is compact and has quality blushes. This is definitely the best I've encountered and will be very handy when I'm traveling.

Have you discovered any beauty palettes lately that you like? Let me know - I can't get enough of them!

Hope you all had a great weekend! 

Sleek Face, yo.

Hi everyone! I thought I'd post a quick look I've done this morning with my new Sleek products. Reviews will be up as soon as the products have been properly tested!

Foundation: Testing out Estee Lauder's new Invisible Fluid foundation. So far so good! I'm not wearing any concealer in this picture, partially because I ran out of time/forgot about it. Hence the blemishes!
Eyebrows: MAC Brun to fill any gaps.
Eyeshadow: Sleek's Oh So Special Palette. I used the shade Gift Basket all over the lid, Boxed in the crease/outer corner, The Mail for blending the edges, and Noir in the outer corner/lashline (which, FYI, is 10X more black and awesome than MAC's Carbon). I used Revlon's Grow Luscious mascara and MAC's Kohl in Feline in the waterline.
Blush: Sleek by 3 palette in Sugar. I used the Demerara shade (the furthest to the right)
Lips: Remnants of MAC's Party Parrot, after being washed off, and Maybelline's Baby Lips in Peach Kiss

For color reference on the Oh So Special palette, this picture will help.

Hope you're all having a great day!