Review: Sleek MakeUP Storm Palette

Behold my first sample of what Sleek MakeUP has to offer! 

I bought this palette ages ago from Superdrug for £6.49 which, for 12 eyeshadows has got to be a bit of a steal, but I've never got around to using it, or even swatching it - but the time has come to put it to the test! 

I've got to admit that I'm a bit phobic of eyeshadows that crease, or have a lot of fallout, and therefore I've become a little addicted to MAC eyeshadows; they are just so easy to work with, they are highly pigmented and they stay put, so I was a little apprehensive about this palette - you get 12 eyeshadows for half the price of one MAC eyeshadow so surely there has to be a quality compromise?

 Top swatches - natural lighting, Bottom swatches - with flash

To tell you the truth, I was shocked by the pigmentation of most of the shades in this Storm neutrals palette.  Of course there were a couple of exceptions - the matte shades were pretty powdery and lacking in any depth when swatched, which is a bit of a shame as these are really the staples to any good neutrals palette, and without them I worry how much use I would get. 

Matte colours aside, the pigmentation and texture of the shimmery/glittery shades was amazing, they feel really creamy and rich and the colour payoff is great.  I am really impressed with the range of colours as well, I think there is something there for everyone really. 

Despite my disappointment with the matte colours I decided to put them to the test this morning.  I applied my Urban Decay primer potion all over the lid, then I used the lightest matte shade all over the lid, up to the socket, and then the darker matte brown in a triangle on my outer corner (I finished up with Teddy eye pencil by MAC along my lash line and lashings of my favourite mascara L'Oreal Double Extension Beauty Tubes) to finish it off I popped a little bit of the champagney coloured shimmer in my inner corner to brighten my eyes a bit. I was pleasantly surprised by how well these applied and blended - I was expecting it to be a bit of a crumbly mess but it wasn't, and even more surprising is that 7 hours later it still looks ok! I don't know if this is due to using a primer or not, so maybe I will do a comparison another day.

All in all, for £6.49 I don't think you can go wrong.  Sure they're not high end quality, but neither is the price and they are certainly aren't BAD quality either. A thumbs up from me! 

x

Essie Super Bossa Nova vs. Rimmel Shocker

I'm quite fussy about the colours I like on my toes, I like brights and mostly pinks or coral, having said that, I very rarely deviate from my favourite ever toe nail colour which is Rimmel 270 Shocker, I have been painting my nails with this vibrant blue toned shimmery pink for about 6 years, and I never ever intend on giving it up.  I have repurchased this colour numerous times, but occassionally I've found that it just hasn't been stocked - not that it has sold out, but there just wasn't a space for it.  This gave me palpitations, because a life without Shocker would be a sad life indeed.  I hope the day will never come that Rimmel takes my beloved colour off the shelves, but if it does happen I feel I need to be prepared so my search for a dupe began.  So when I was going a little bit wild for Essie colours I spotted this, Super Bossa Nova, and I couldn't believe my luck - it looks exactly like Shocker! Without so much as a backwards glance I made my purchase and couldn't wait to try it out.

Essie: Cute As A Button

I am utterly obsessed with corals and pinky peachy tones at the minute; I think they just capture summer on your nails! This has lead me to own quite an excessive number of aforementioned polishes so I'm slowly trying to work my way through them and do a bit of a comparison. 

This is my first try of Essie nail varnish, and I was so excited to try it after reading so much on beauty blogs and hearing my idols such as Tanya Burr and Louise from Sprinkle of Glitter rave about them! Tanya inspired me to go for Cute As A Button as it just looks so gorgeous on her! 

As you can see from the pictures I went a little bit overboard on the coral yesterday, but Cute As A Button matched my skirt PERFECTLY so it had to be done! 

I used Sally Hansen Double Duty as my base coat and top coat (available at boots) because  I think a base coat is essential when you paint your nails regularly and with bright or dark colours...nobody wants to look like they've been smoking 40 a day! I applied two coats to my toe nails and didn't bother with a top coat (I rarely do on my toes) and the result is a gorgeous milky peach tone which I adore.  The addition of a third coat and a top coat added extra vibrancy and depth and the result is lovely.  I did wake up with sheet marks on my nails this morning though which is very irritating as I painted my nails hours before bed, but maybe I rushed into putting the top coat on?! 

I think the photos make it seem more orangey/red than it does in real life, but the photos were taken on my iPhone I'm afraid so not a lot I can do.

The consistency of this nail varnish is lovely, and I am really looking forward to trying out some other shades from Essie. 

Essie is now available from Boots and Superdrug and I would highly recommend Essie as a brand if the other shades are as luxurious as Cute As A Button.

I think that this polish is pretty comparable to Pink Flamingo (blog post about it here) from Barry M, and at £2.99 a pop it is a cheaper alternative (Essie is retailing at £7.99). 

Have you tried out any Essie polishes? Which is your favourite shade? And what is your all time favourite coral?

I hope you're all having a great day

xxx

the maxi skirt is from Fat Face, and I love it! 

123 Perfect

I know this might seem awful, but it has been YEARS since I bought a 'low end' foundation, and even this at £10.99 isn't cheap (although I did take full advantage of the 3 for 2 across all beauty that Boots were running last month!) 

I had heard everyone raving about the Healthy Mix range by Bourjois so I thought, for some deluded reason, to go for this instead (probably because it was new and put at the front, and like a magpie to a broach, I couldn't resist), but then I read Fleur's review on it, and I was literally too scared to try it.  All she'd said was that she didn't like it, it's not like it was going to make my face to melt away anything, but anyway I put it off and put it off, but now I've faced my fear and wore it, and you know what, I like it!! It just serves as a lesson to me not to believe everything I read as if it's the holy grail, it's just personal preference, and everyone is different! 

On to my thoughts about the foundation itself.  It glides on so smoothly, it really is so lightweight and makes my skin feel really soft (which I think we'd all agree has got to be a good thing).  This colour, 53, blends really well into my skin tone, it really does look as if I'm not wearing foundation.  As for the three different pigments working their magic to reduce circles around the eyes, brighten complexion and reduce redness, I'm not so sure, but then the dark circles under my eyes resist every product I throw at them, so I wasn't shocked that this failed to do the trick! 

I'd say that on the most part it wears well, although my t-zone needed to be touched up after a few hours as the make up seemed to have slipped, so I don't think, for me anyway, I'll be getting the 16 hours of wear it claims...what a shocker!  It does wear off a lot quicker than my Mac Pro Longwear for instance, but if you're not planning to wear it for a long day then I don't think you'd have too much of a problem.

I have found that on my chin (a problem area for me, with drying breakouts) this foundation looks a bit flaky, but then even my MAC foundation sometimes does so that's not a big disappointment either. 

Overall, I'm pleased I bought it, it's nice to have something that feels more lightweight than my usual MAC Pro Longwear. I'm a happy shopper with this one! 

Have you tried either 123 Perfect, or Pro Longwear? If you have, what do you think? And if not, what's your favourite foundation? 

xxx

NOTD: Indigo

After a weekend of moving my friends into their new flat and being a DIY goddess my nails are looking utterly horrific.  Only my little finger nails have survived to tell the tale, the rest gave up and jumped ship at the mere sight of flat packed Ikea furniture!  I decided that the best thing to do with them was hide them.  I really should give them some real tender loving care and apply base coats daily etc to give them a fighting chance, but I just don't want to have to look at them so they are well and truly hidden now! 

I don't often go for this colour Barry M shade 312 Indigo, but I'm really glad I have, I love it and I think it actually looks good on my very short nails.  It seems to have smartened them up and makes me look, dare I say it, sophisticated and perhaps professional?! 


I have included so many photos (too many most probably but oh well you can pretend you haven't seen them) because I really do think that this nail varnish is magic.  It looks so different depending on the light, sometimes it looks midnight blue, verging on a blackblue and other times it looks a very royal blue with a hint of purple.  


The application of this colour is lovely, it glides on and in two coats it looks rich and shiny and just generally lovely. And at £2.99 from Boots or Superdrug there really isn't any reason not to go for it, once again I think Barry M has produced a nail varnish that looks far more expensive than you'd expect for such a bargain!


I'm off to the cinema tonight to see 21 Jump Street, I really hope it's as good as it looks in the trailer as I'm in the mood for a good old laugh! Have any of you seen it and thought it was worth a watch?


xxx