*REVIEW* Sleek Creme To Powder Oil Free Foundation

Hi!

 

I have a review today that is quite overdue seeing as I bought this product ages ago!

This is the Sleek Crème To Powder foundation, which is oil free and has SPF 15!

 

 

 

 

The shade I have is White Rose 702 which to be honest is a little dark for me...which shows how pale I must be because on the website it's practically white. There are I think 2 shades that are lighter than this one and so I think on further reflection I should be shade Oyster or Linen.

 

Although this would be just too dark in the winter however I can get away with this in the summer months, it's not quite the right shade but isn't hugely noticeable.

I am pretty impressed with Sleek's shade range though because it seems to have some really great shades for darker skin tones so if you're looking for a foundation that is good for dark skin tones you may want to investigate this!

 

 

 

 

I really like the packaging of this; it looks nice and feels sturdy too.

This also comes with a sponge on the bottom compartment that does actually feel pretty good quality.

 

 

You get 9g of this product which is pretty good and it only costs £7 which isn't bad for a foundation.

 

First of all I feel I should mention that this product isn't the easiest to apply...

First I tried using the sponge but the foundation is pretty thick and also quite a dry formula to start with.

I also used various brushes before realising that the only way to get this foundation to apply nicely is to warm it up a bit before you put it on.

 

The best way to apply it (in my opinion):

 

To do this, I take 2 *clean* fingers and move them around in the pan to warm up the foundation. Then I dab it onto my face.

I'd recommend taking this one part of the face at a time (eg, forehead, then left side of face, then right etc) because otherwise you don't have time to blend it before it dries and you can be left with spots of foundation.

After dabbing the foundation on my face I've found it best to use my Real Techniques Stippling Brush to buff this into the skin.

This way because the foundation is warm and the brush buffs products in really well, the product blends in like a second skin.

 

This does take a little extra time than a normal foundation because first you have to warm it up, dab it on then blend it in with a brush but it does work well. I've tried buffing it in with various brushes and I honestly would recommend something like the Real Techniques stippling brush simply because it has dense bristles so it works the product into the skin.

 

Formula?

 

Once it's on, this foundation looks pretty great. It doesn't look cakey but be warned it can look a little oily so I would recommend setting this with powder. The coverage is very good, I'd say medium to full depending on how much you build it up.

 

Throughout the day I do tend to get oily on my t-zone wearing this but this happens generally with my foundations anyway. This does wear pretty well though and around 8 hours later I still have pretty good coverage. You could also use this product as a concealer if you wanted because it does have such good coverage!

 

Overall?

 

So generally...

Bad points:

Bad shade match for me (not necessarily Sleek's fault...although on the website the swatches do look a little misleading)

A little dry so you have to warm it up first

Too thick to apply with the sponge

Despite the name "crème to powder" you still generally have to set it with powder.

 

Good points:

Very good coverage, can be medium or full

Could be used as a concealer

Long lasting formula

Once warmed up and buffed correctly into the skin it looks pretty flawless

Forumula means that this looks pretty natural and not cakey

Good shade range generally

Not expensive.

 

 

So I do like this foundation and I feel I've been neglecting it recently...but I've worn it today and I think I'll be using it a lot more!

 

Thanks so much for reading! Have you tried any of Sleek's foundations?

Libby x

 

E.L.F: Hits & Misses!

Hi!

 

I recently did a "hit and miss" post for Benefit and decided that I really wanted to do another as I think its a good way of getting to know generally about the strengths and weaknesses of a brand!

You can read my hit and miss post for Benefit HERE if you want to :)

 

I have two or three of products for each "miss", "hit" and also a couple of products that are in between, ones that I like but I don't feel are necessary to own.

 

So lets start with the "misses" so we can end on a positive note :)

 

MISS:

 

 

 

1) Nail Polish

 

This isn't specific to a certain shade...I don't like any of the shades  that I have!

I thought originally I just had a dud, but after buying two more I realised that I really hated E.L.F nail polishes.

This is probably the biggest "miss" for me which is a shame because I love lots of E.L.F products but these are sticky, plastic and take forever to dry so I always end up smudging them even an hour after I've applied them.

I'll probably do a proper review on these one day with pictures of how they look on the nails because I'm really not a fan. I like the colours but the texture is just awful.

 

2) Volumising Mascara

 

Originally I thought I liked this but after some deliberation I've now had to put this on my "miss" list.

I've done a review HERE if you fancy a read; as you can see from the review I thought it was ok...but this mascara comes with a rather big problem.

I'd had it maybe a week before it dried out. Now, after only a couple of weeks (and it hasn't even been open a lot because I haven't been using it a load) it's unusable because the whole thing has just dried up.

Because I got about 2 uses out of this before it dried, and the fact that it isn't "volumising" in the first place....this has to go on the "miss" list for me..

 

3) Liquid Eyeliner in Plum

 

I'm not a fan of this and haven't ever really been since I got it...the packaging for this shows a...well...plummy colour but in a swatch it just looks similar to brown. The packaging also gives the impression that there would be some shimmer in this product which there isn't.

As a final note, the sponge applicator of this leaves a line on your lash line and it doesn't give an even, coated line...it just tends to look a little messy so I'm not a fan of this.

 

IN BETWEEN:

 

 

 

1) Compact Eyeshadows

 

I have a review HERE for a more in depth review of this but basically you buy a compact and then pick 4 shadows to go into it. The reason this is an "in between" product for me is because two of the shadows I like, two are mediocre.

I really like "Pink Ice" (top left) and Aubergine (bottom right)...however "Moondust" and "Golden Goddess" are...ok but not amazing. They are a little dusty and the pigmentation is a little patchy.

However I do use these shadows (all of them) every now and then!

 

2) Shimmering Facial Whip in Spotlight

 

Again...review HERE if you want more information :)

I find the texture of this is too watery which is my main reason for not liking it because sometimes it can end up smudging the makeup you have underneath.

You also have to shake it a lot because otherwise you just get some water and no shimmer at all...however this does make a good highlight if you apply it right so this does get some use!

 

3) Cream Eyeliner in Plum Purple

 

This is actually a really pretty colour because there is some purple shimmer in this which is really pretty! However this has dried up in the little pot...it's now a small lump which I can take out, play catch with and then put back again...

It's still useable but isn't as creamy as it once was...I still like to use this I just wish it didn't shrink and dry up like it did! I've heard other people talk about this so I know that it's a common problem.

 

HIT:

 

 

1) All Over Colour Stick in Spotlight

 

Review HERE if you want to have a read :)

This is easier to use than the Shimmering Facial Whip but it's a similar colour.

This is a creamy highlighter that just adds a really pretty glow to the tops of the cheekbones and I also use it below my brow bone a lot too!

 

2) Eyelid Primer

 

This costs only £1.50 and is SUCH a good eye primer for this price.

It's a little thin and like a lot of ELF products it can tend to dry up a little if it's old but this really enhances the vibrancy of your shadows and at such a low price, it's the ideal eye primer to use everyday. I'm on my second one of these and will definitely get another in with my next order from E.L.F.

I think this will be one of those products I just buy again and again!

 

3) Eyeshadow Cream

 

You know the drill...review HERE :)

I have two of these, in Coffee & Cream and Black Liquorice. These just come in useful because they make really great eyeshadow bases! Put these under your shadows and they often work so well to enhance the shadows and make them last longer.

They also come in lots of fun duos with different colours so I definitely want to get some more of these at some point!

 

 

So there you have it! There's my hits and misses for E.L.F products..is there a brand you'd like me to do a hits and misses post about?

Thanks so much for reading!

 

Libby x

 

P.S

Took the dog for a walk the other day and this fella came to say hello... :)

I also feel so lucky to live in the countryside!

 

 

*REVIEW* Sleek Storm Palette (+ Swatches!)

Hi!

 

It's no secret that I'm a massive fan of Sleek eyeshadow palettes...I really love them and I now have 5 and plan on getting more!

 

If you're interested I've already done reviews and swatches of the Ultra Matts V1 palette, and the Au Naturel palette.

 

I got the Storm palette quite a while ago and decided it was about time I did a review of it!

 

 

I love the "Sleek" packaging of these palettes! These cost £6.99 each from Superdrug and online and you get 12 eye shadows.

I also love the fact that you get a great mirror in this palette and even a semi-usable eye shadow brush!

 

This palette is kind of a smokey palette and generally has quite a few dark neutral colours mixed in with some smokey shades.

 

 

For some reason only some of the Sleek shades seem to have names and I think it's only the newer palettes that have the plastic insert that has names of the shadows on it. This palette has been in the permanent line so these shades don't appear to have names.

 

Here are swatches of the first 6 shadows!

 

 

For sake of ease in describing these colours I'll just call them Shade 1, 2 etc!

 

Shade 1:

Metallic mid golden brown shade...reminds me of toast. (?)

This shade is really well pigmented and blends well too as do most of the metallic in Sleek palettes.

 

Shade 2:

One of my favourites. This shows up a little more golden in real life than in the swatch above but it is a light, creamy golden metallic shade again with plenty of shimmer and pigmentation.

 

Shade 3:

Matte mid brown. Not one of my most used shades as I don't wear a lot of mattes unless they are an obnoxiously bright colour. This shadow is harder in texture than the others so far and is perhaps slightly harder to get full pigmentation.

 

Shade 4:

Metallic golden brown  colour with a hint of taupe and quite cool tones. Again, very pigmented like all the metallics here.

 

Shade 5:

Pearly, dusty rose gold metallic shade. This actually looks really good for creating a rich pink & burgundy smokey eye.

 

Shade 6:

Deep, metallic, burgundy/wine red colour. Works great blended in with the previous colour (the rose gold) and makes any eye look appear very rich and sultry. Again, very pigmented. I just love the texture of these metallic shades.

 

 

Here are the next 6 shades!

 

Shade 7: 

Deep metallic bronze shade. Almost similar to Shade 6 but with a lot more bronze instead of wine red. Beautiful colour for creating a bronze smokey eye with the lighter golden shades in the palette.

 

Shade 8:

Blue toned silver colour that reminds me of Urban Decay's Gunmetal shade. Again, metallic and creates a very smokey eye.

 

Shade 9:

Deep, metallic forest green colour, similar to UD's Loaded. Unfortunately my shadow was partially broken but I've still got enough of the shadow left luckily!

 

Shade 10:

 Very dark metallic navy blue colour with hints of lighter blue shimmer in it. Works really well with Shade 8 to create a blue toned smokey eye. One of my favourite shades here as it's not often you get such a dark blue shimmery colour.

 

Shade 11:

 Matte dark brown, still cool toned but darker than Shade 3. Like the other mattes in this palette it is slightly harder in texture and harder to blend.

 

Shade 12:

Matte plain black. Harder in texture etc and not a shadow I tend to use a lot despite the fact that Sleek usually puts this matte black in their palettes. As much as I like this black I feel it is slightly hard and so I tend to reach for slightly softer black shadows!

 

 

Wow that took a while to write out!
Generally this palette has seen good use from me and I love the well pigmented, long lasting shades. I feel you can create a lot of smokey eyes with this palette, a bronze one, a pink/burgundy one, a blue one...the possibilities are quite endless!

This palette is something I reach for very often so I think that it's well worth picking up if you can, especially for the price!

 

Have you tried any Sleek palettes yet?

Thanks for reading!

Libby x

*REVIEW* Collection Extreme 24 Hour Felt Tip Liner

Hi!

 

Today's review is for the Collection (previously Collection 2000) Extreme 24 Hour Felt Tip Liners...I have two of the four shades available!

 

 

These cost £2.99 each and you can get them in Boots as well as Superdrug and certain supermarkets.

 

It says on the website:

 

"Easy-to-apply felt tip nib for all day long lustrous looking eyes"

" The fast-drying versatile felt tipped pens give your makeup look an instant burst of colour"

"Set trends with four intense, high powered hues including purple, blue, teal and black."

 

 

I have both the shades Purple and Blue and there is also a Teal and a Black shade.

 

So how did these compare to their claims?

 

 

Easy to use?

 

I do agree with the fact that they are easy to apply because I do have a bit of a love for felt tip liners, it makes putting on liner so much easier and quicker! I don't feel the nib of these pens are too small or big so these are definitely good for people who are wary of using liquid liners.

 

Long lasting?

 

In terms of lasting all day...I don't think these lasted quite as long as their "24 hour" claim.

I've worn these on several occasions for around 12/14 hours before and whilst the liner was still physically there after this amount of time it had often smudged or transferred onto different parts of my eyelid.

These do tend to stain quite a bit which to me suggests that they would physically still be there after 24 hours but they do smudge and bleed quite a lot. The liner wouldn't look anything like as nice after a few hours as it did when you first put it on.

 

Colour?

 

I think one of the biggest problems with these is the bleeding problem I mentioned earlier.

Even in the swatch above which had just been applied, the ink is bleeding into the tiny crevices and creases in my skin. Unfortunately these liners do that as soon as you apply them and this doesn't get any better as the day goes on. Often after wearing these for a while they have bled into the skin even more.

 

I do have to agree with their claims about good colours though, you can build up these liners to create quite an intense colour.

 

So overall I do like how easy these liners are to use and also their pretty good pigmentation.

However I'm not fond of the fact that they bleed into the skin and don't necessarily last as long as they say they do.

 

Have you tried these liners yet?

Thanks for reading!

Libby x

Benefit: Hits & Misses!

Hi!

 

 

I thought I'd start this maybe as a little mini series doing the hits and misses of various brands! Stay tuned for more of these in the future!

I thought I'd start with Benefit as I think that Benefit is maybe fairly well known for having hits and misses more than perhaps other brands.

 

I've got hits, misses and then some...er..."in between" products..ones that I feel are nice but not necessary.

 

Let's start with the misses and work our way up!

 

MISSES

 

 

I actually have 3 products from Benefit that I feel aren't worth the money.

Unfortunately one of these products I don't even have anymore so lets start with that one.

 

1) Ooh La Lift

 

This did nothing. I got this as a mini version in a Benefit kit (I get lots of those because I like seeing which products I like enough to get a full sized version of) and I'm so glad I didn't spend money on a full size.

Ooh La Lift was a white creamy substance that supposedly reduced under eye bags and "de-puffed" the eyes. Unfortunately it did nothing of the sort so I ended up binning it.

 

2) Boi-ing Industrial Strength Concealer

 

I still have this knocking around on occasion when I need something to mute out the natural colour of my lips.

But this does nothing as an actual concealer. This is greasy, looks shiny as hell and the worst thing: it doesn't even cover up. It doesn't have very good coverage and this just isn't a good product for me.

I wrote more about this HERE in a comparison of this and the Erase Paste concealer.

 

3) Lip Plump

 

Um...I'm not really sure why this is called Lip Plump as it didn't plump my lips at all and after looking online it's not just me who was confused by the name.

Why call something Lip Plump when it doesn't plump? Confusing.

Anyway. The only use I found for this was putting it on before a lipstick to mute out the natural colour of my lips...but as I previously demonstrated with Boi-ing ....I can just use a concealer to do that as long as I put it on lightly.

So I really don't see why you'd spend so much money on this when you could use anything else that you already have to mute out your lip colour.

 

 

IN BETWEEN

 

 

These are products that while they are nice, they're not totally necessary or essential.

 

1) Girl Meets Pearl

 

This is a nice highlighter, although the golden tones of this doesn't works so well with my fair skin. On darker skin tones this may look incredible.

This is in the "in between" section simply because it doesn't show up a whole load and it just isn't very noticeable on my skin. It looks nice occasionally when the light hits it, but this isn't a must-have for me.

 

2) Posie Tint

 

This is a pretty colour and makes a nice pink blush but you have to blend this in really fast so that it doesn't leave dots or streaks behind.

Again, this isn't super noticeable on my skin and while you can build it up, it takes time and this just isn't something I reach for often.

It's nice to have and I use it now and then but it isn't something I use every day.

 

HITS

 

 

1) Erase Paste

 

Originally when I got a small size of this I didn't like it. I now know that this was partly due to the fact that it was in the wrong shade and partly because I just wasn't using it too well.

I went out and bought a full sized version in the right colour and tried using it a little differently.

I have really bad under eye veins and so after applying a thin concealer to even out the skin tone (I tend to look a little red round there) I then use my finger to warm this up and dot it where I need to cover the veins.

This is very creamy and so blends in well and covers up the veins and brightens at the same time.

I've been using this every day since!

 

2) High Beam

 

I much prefer this highlighter to Girl Meets Peal because it's a pearly pink colour and just suits my skin tone so much better!

This shows up better on my pale skin and just generally looks a lot better and more noticeable. I love the glow this gives the tops of my cheeks.

 

So there you go!

There are my hits & misses for Benefit...are there any other brands you'd like me to do a post on? Let me know in the comments below!

Thanks so much for reading :)

Libby x

*REVIEW* Sleek Ultra Matts V1 Palette (+ swatches!)

Hi!

 

I have  another review for Sleek today...I have quite a few of their I-Divine eyeshadow palettes (5 in fact) and this is my latest addition. I showed this in my latest haul post which you can see HERE.

 

I love the packaging of these palettes they look so Sleek. I guess that's the point. :)

 I like the fact that it comes with a great mirror and an eye shadow brush that is actually semi-usable!

 

I was originally looking for the Acid palette but couldn't find it in my Superdrug so I got this one instead...there are two Ultra Matts and this is Version 1. Version 2 has some darker, smokier colours I think.

 

These cost about £6.99 each.

 

Also apologies for the sideways photos. Hopefully it doesn't detract too much from the super bright colours...for some reason when I transfer photos over to my computer sometimes they get flipped somehow!

 

Here's a run down of the colours!

 

 

 

These are the first 6 colours...

I'm not going to say matte each time because all of these colours are matte!

 

Chill: Light, sky blue

Pout: Bright hot pink (I'd say a Barbie pink!)

Sugarlite: One of my favourites...a bright medium purple

Dragon Fly: Dark forest green

Pucker: Similar to Pout...slightly cooler toned?

Bamm!:  Bright, obnoxious yellow

 

 

And here are the final 6 colours...

 

Cricket: Slightly lighter green than Dragonfly

Bolt: Bright electric blue

Strike: One of my favourites...apologies for the smudge on the left side of the swatch I didn't clean my brush that well..anyway this is a bright medium orange

Floss: Baby, pastel pink

Crete: Pale, concrete grey

Pow!: Pure white (sorry you can't see this swatch too well because it blends in with my skin tone!)

 

 

I find that all of these shadows are...decently pigmented.

My favourite shades are Sugarlite, Bamm!, Bolt, Strike and Pow!.

All of these are pretty well pigmented.

However there are some which let the palette down slightly..

 

Cricket, Chill, Floss And Crete were slightly harder to build up the colour on and they just weren't as pigmented.

 

Colours?

 

Also one downside of this palette is that they haven't thought through the colour selection too well...let me explain.

Pout and Pucker are VERY similar. In fact at a glance, in the palette looking now it seems as though they are the same colour.

Also, Dragon Fly and Cricket are also a little too similar for my liking.

There is difference in these shades, but it isn't hugely noticeable. I feel that Sleek could've taken out one of the bright pinks and one of the bright greens and replaced them with something else...maybe a bright red would make it more interesting, or just a lighter green or really deep burgundy.

I just feel that they didn't do too great on the colour selection here. They have a good highlight in Pow! (as long as you are fair skinned like me) but there also isn't a really dark colour that you could use for a liner or to darken a look.

 

In saying that it is fun to use this palette because there are so many bright shades...I think Strike and Sugarlite are what drew me into getting this palette.

 

Pigmentation?

 

I think that in terms of the shadows they are good, but not fantastic. Some of them feel a little chalky and just don't quite have the amazing pigmentation that we've come to expect from Sleek. But then I know that it is harder to formulate matte colours and Sleek's shimmers and metallic have always been their highlights.

 

I swatched the shades above just using a primer and after using these shadows I now know that they work best over a sticky base, something like the NYX shadow bases would work well, or the Jumbo Eye Pencils. They just work better with something to cling to.

 

 I created a look using this palette after getting it so I thought I'd show you!

 

 

 

I used Sugarlite, Bamm!, Strike, Bolt and Pow! to create this look.

 

 

Overall?

 

So generally while I do like this palette I don't feel like it's an essential item to have in a collection.

I like the bright colours and although it's not a wearable palette it is fun to create different bright looks when I'm feeling creative!

However some of the colours are lacking slightly in the blendability and pigmentation department and I feel the colour selection isn't great.

 

This is a fun palette to have and I'm sure I'll be using it especially for fun, colourful looks but I don't feel that you'd need to rush out to get this.

I still ADORE Sleek shadows though because they are great for the price, it's just that matte colours aren't their speciality.  

I'm still looking for the Sleek Acid palette....wish me luck!

 

Thanks so much for reading!

Have you tried any of the Sleek Palettes?

Libby x