Review and Swatches: Sleek Oh So Special Palette

After a few tutorials, I am coming at you with a review of yet another Sleek palette that my husband spoiled me with the other day. The Oh So Special palette has quite the following online and with it's pink tones is great for very feminine, romantic looks. Let's get to it!

The packaging is as usual very pretty, very "sleek" (See what I did there?!) and classic. The box is covered in the colours you see in the palette itself and the actual palette is a matte black with a shiny relief. The only major downside to Sleek packaging is that it is a BITCH to open and they break fairly easily. But then again, it is a €9.99 eyeshadow palette, can't expect the world from it. As long as the shades are good.

And by golly they are! This palette has a great colour scheme for both a soft, defined eye and even a heavy smokey eye. I am loving the pink, romantic theme of this. It's stunning.

Let's look at the colours!

This palette actually comes with a nice, plastic inlawy that names all the colours, which makes it easy to reference the different colours when decscribing it, I like this!

Bow is a matte, cream-nude tint. Great for highlighting, not so much for swatching. Slightly powdery.

Organza is a very shimmery, almost metallic rose-gold colour.

Ribbon is a matte coral shade. It's a bit smoother than Bow, less powdery.

Gift Basket is a shimmery, golden copper colour. 

Glitz is a metallic, blue gun-metal. 

Celebrate is a shimmery aubergine colour, that in certain lighting almost looks black. It's stunning.

Pamper is a matte, light peachy-pink. Slightly powdery.

Gateau is a light purply.pink with a golden shimmer. It's a yummy looking as it sounds!

The Mail is a matte, light camel colour. Smooth, for a Sleek matte shade.

Boxed is a matte, mid-to-dark tone brown with a slightly warm undertone.

Wrapped Up is a matte, taupe-y aubergine colour. Very smooth, for a matte.

Noir is a slightly misleading shade. It might be called Noir, but it is not a proper black colour. It's more of a very deep, dark, matte charcoal. Beautiful colour, none the less.

I noticed that on the back of the box, Sleek provide you with tips on how to apply the eyeshadows, just in case you have doubts. This doesn't really apply to me, personally, but I can imagine that it is helpful to people just starting out with using makeup.

Conclusion: I like this palette a lot. If you're considering getting one of the Sleek palettes, I would advise this, if you're not just looking for browns, but maybe a bit more colour while still keeping it neutral. It is not a dupe in any way for the Naked 3 palette, but if you like a bit of pink, getting this palette surely is a cheaper option! It provides a (matte) highlighter, and several matte crease colours, I am very happy with this palette.

Pros:

• Pricepoint, at €9.99 for 12 colours, there is really no faulting these palettes.

• More matte shades than we normally see in these types of palettes, I like!

• Shadows are well pigmented and easily blended (save a few of the mattes).

• Availability! Sleek is finally available in stores here, they are sold in select V&D warehouses, and luckily one of those in my city, Dordrecht.

Cons:

• I am having a bit of a hard time finding some, but I guess I wouldn't mind a shimmery highlight for the inner corner.

• Packaging is hell to open and can easily break a nail or three in process.

• Some of the matte shades can be a bit tricky to blend, but it's not really the end of the world, just takes a bit more work.

Do you own any Sleek palettes? Other Sleek products? What are your thoughts on them? Let me know down below!

Thank you for reading and until next time!

XXX

Review: Sleek Vintage Romance

Oh, hello there! I know, I'm a bad blogger and I should feel bad. But hey, I do this for my own pleasure so if I don't feel like blogging/have nothing to blog about I won't, really.

Christmas has come and gone and the loot was aplenty and I am about to share some of it with you.

Vintage Romance is the newest Sleek palette and was also released with a blush and today I will review both of them!

A romantically themed palette, which just like all other Sleek palettes is only € 9.99. We're starting off good, it's budget-proof!

The packaging is the same as all Sleek palettes, it's black and matte with shiny print.
It's a really nice mix of cool- and warm-toned shadows, ranging from neutrals to plums and burgundy type colours.

A major plus for me is that, unlike my Storm Palette, the colours in this palette have names. And REALLY cute ones too! At first glance some of the colours in this had me a bit nervous, especially the mattes with glitters. On to the swatches!

L-R: Pretty in Paris, Meet in Madrid, Court in Cannes.

Pretty in Paris is a bright, light silver. It's very metallic and brightening. Not as pigmented as I'd like, but it's a good inner corner highlight for instance.

Meed in Madrid is a medium, neutral gold. It's a very smooth colour and applies nicely. Pigmentation is good!

Court in Cannes is a warm-toned medium brown. It's very frosty, but an amazing lid or lower lashline colour, swatched lighter than it looked in the palette. Pigmentetion was again good.

L-R: Lust in LA, Romance in Rome, Propose in Prague.

Lust in LA is a frosted chocolate with a sort of orange undertone. Very smooth and blendable. Good pigmentation!

Romance in Rome is a medium purple, with a blue duo-chrome. The texture of this was very dry, which I think shows in the swatch. Pigmentation wasn't amazing, but the colour itself is pretty.

Propose in Prague is a matte, medium to dark brown with a very warm/reddish undertone. The pigmentation is good, although the formula on this is a tad dry and makes it a little tricky to blend.

L-R: A Vow in Venice, Marry in Monte Carlo, Honeymoon in Hollywood.

A Vow in Venice is a medium to dark berry colour with a slightly frosted finish. Good pigmentation and blended wonderfully.

Marry in Monte Carlo is a medium berry colour with a fuschia duochrome. Wonderful pigmentation and a very smooth and butter-like forumula.

Honeymoon in Hollywood is a deep, dark berry-wine, cool-toned, colour. In the palette you see silver glitter shot through the colour, but applied you barely see it and I expect that while wearing it, it would just fall down. Formula wise it is again a little dry which makes it a bit trickier to blend than I'd like,

L-R: Bliss in Barcelona, Forever in Florence, Love in London.

Bliss in Barcelona is a dark, cool-toned, violet-purple with a frosted finish. Pigmentation was good, not quite as smooth a shadow as some of the other frosts in the palette but still blendable.

Forever in Florence is a mostly matte, deep burgundy. It has a touch of silver sparkle, but it doesn't really show up much, which I personally don't mind. It's a touch drier than I'd like, but with some effort easy enough to blend, pigmentation wasn't AMAZING but still more than decent.

Love in London is a charcoal blackish gray with a satin finish. Good pigmentation and a soft formula.


I love the purples in this palette and I feel it's a very well rounded palette for a night out. Personally I would have liked to see a lighter matte colour as well, but Sleek wanted to go for a romantic theme and I feel like they nailed it with this. Personally I would have liked a neutral highlighter in here as well.

Pros:

• Pricepoint (€9.99)
• Shadows are overall very high quality.
• Generally very easy to blend!

Cons:

• Availability. The brand is almost exclusively found online in Holland, except a few stores spread through out the country.
• Not enough for a full look.
• The glittery shades pretty much lose all their glitter when applied and become satin/matte.

On to the blush!

 The packaging on this is just like a tiny version of the eyeshadow palettes, I think it's adorable. It CAN be hard to open, and did kind of ruin my manicure, but once you get a hold of how to open it, it's easy.

The blush is called Antique and is a deep reddish-brown brick colour with silver glitters. It is very pigmented, so for the fair ladies like myself: less is more! It's a beautiful colour, but it IS very glittery, so it's (for me) an evening time blush.


Conclusion: Both of these products are great and I would advise them to makeup lovers. If you love a neutral, fresh faced look, neither of these products are for you. I will try to get a look up using these products within the next few days! Don't forget to click the pictures for higher quality and bigger images!


Thank you for reading and untill next time!

XOXO

Becky

Review and swatch mix. Lippies!

If you've read my blog before, you'll know I live in Holland. Living in Holland has it's cons and pros. One of those cons, as a beauty-addict, is that our drugstores are pretty slow in catching up with the American and British ones, product-wise. And some brands are very hard to get or just not available at all. So when I heard that my friend Sheila was going to the States for her honeymoon, I very kindly asked her if she would bring me home some products. Beauty products are generally also cheaper in the States, and since she is AMAZING she said yes! Thank you so much!

I had made her a list of things, since she's not as much "in to" makeup as I am, trying to explain how everything looked and listing colours. Of the things I had asked her to get, she could find these three, which were the ones I was the most excited about! The others were two NYX blushes and a NYX Lipgloss.

The three beautiful products she brought me was a Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in the colour 020 Lovesick and two Maybelline ColorSensational Vivids, in the colours: 870 Shocking Coral and 875 Vivid Rose. Revlon as a brand is very hard to get in Holland AND the Balm Stains are not available here yet, maybe next year. The Vivids line from Maybelline is not available in Holland either, but I did see a sale on Maybelline lipsticks last time I was at the drugstore so they might be introducing them.

Let's kick off this post with the product I was lusting after the most... The Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain. These have been raved about on beautyblogs and in beautyvideos on Youtube for a long time now, and I was so sad when I learned they wouldn't be coming to Holland (at least in 2013). So when I heard Sheila was going to the US, I put this baby on the top of my list!

The Balm Stain comes in a packaging we've been seeing a lot lately. It's sort of a twist-up jumbo pencil, which makes for very easy application and no waste of product on sharpening the pencil. The Balm Stains are loved for their pigmentation and their longevity on the lips, is there truth to the tales? 

L-R: Built up coverage and a single layer.

When I first applied the Balm Stain it was very sheer, but you can build up coverage very easy with this. It has a very minty smell and feel on the lips. It tingles a little, but not a bad or scary way. When first applied it feels very moisturizing and is shiny as you see in the photo above. After about an hour or so, the shine goes away and you are just left with the stain on your lips. The stain lasts for hours without re-application and feels comfortable throughout the entire day. I wore this to a BBQ and it survived drinking, eating fairly fatty foods and a lot of chatting. Many stains can feel drying once they settle in to the lips and can bleed into fine lines as well, but not the Balm Stain! This is a very comfortable wear and it even moisturizes as well!

Here I am wearing the Balm Stain, combined with the Urban Decay Naked (1) palette. The colour Lovesick is a beautiful fucshia and goes very well with most skintones, from very pale to very dark! If you can get your hands on these, (they come in an array of colours) get one! They are great for work or special occasions! It was $9.99 at Walgreens, but I know for a fact that they are cheaper in other American stores and that there are often coupons or offers on these.

The first of the Maybelline Vivids I'll show you, is Vivid Rose. The Maybelline Vivids have gained a very good reputation, in a very short amount of time. They are bright, pigmented, comfortable to wear and makeup addicts all over the globe are loving these. Do they live up to their reputation? 

Both of the Vivids lipsticks were VERY hard to photograph, thanks to their bright colour. Vivid Rose is a deep, vibrant fuschia. The colour is just summer in a tube, it's so beautiful! The depth of the colour makes it look very chique, without being too serious. I really love it! The formula is very creamy, needs two thin layers for full opacity and wears extremely comfortably. As it is a creme finish, it does not last SUPER long. It will survive a light meal and maybe a drink, but that is it. 

The creme formula is shiny when applied and dries into a sort of satin finish. It feels like a lightweight lipbalm, it is even a little moisturizing as well!

Me, looking slightly derpy, wearing Vivid Rose combined with the Sleek Storm palette.

  

The Maybelline Vivid in Shocking Coral is the exact same formula and finish as Vivid Rose, so I won't go into detail about that. Let's just focus on the gorgeousness that is the colour!

It does not translate very well from the tube. Obviously it's called Shocking Coral and in the tube it does look a LITTLE coral, but mostly pink. It's very bright which is what makes it so hard to photograph.

This swatch is probably the photo that is the most true to the actual colour. It's BEAUTIFUL and goes very well with my pale skin. I wouldn't call it a straight up coral, but more of a warm pink.

Me wearing Shocking Coral, combined with neutrals from the Sleek Storm palette. 

The Maybelline Vivids were also $9.99 a piece, but again, I know for a fact that you can get them from $6.00 at other stores than Walgreens.

My naked lips! Excuse the disaster on my lower lip, these pictures were taken shortly after my trip to Paris and the smog there completely effed up my skin. So excuse the horrible skin!

Close up of the Revlon Kissable Balm Stain in 020 Lovesick. This is about as opaque as it gets.

Closeup of the Maybelline Vivid in Vivid Rose. Here you can properly see the depth of the colour!

 And lastly Shocking Coral. This is a pretty true-to-colour picture. It's a warm pink, more than a coral (To me at least!).


As you might have guessed, I LOVE ME SOME BRIGHT LIPS! Do you wear bright lipsticks? If not, howcome? Have you tried any of these colours(formulas? Let me know down below!


Thank you for reading and until next time!

XXX

Review and swatches: Kiko things!

Yesterday my husband and I arrived home after a 3 day trip to Paris. We saw all the typical tourist things and above all we walked a lot. Just ask my very sore and blisterfilled feet. When going to Paris there's a few things you have to do. See touristy things, eat macarons and shop! The latter bit wasn't done in abundance but I did manage to talk my husband into visiting a Kiko shop. Kiko is an Italian brand of affordable, high quality make-up which is slowly spreading to the rest of Europe. Knowing there was a shop in Forum les Halles which was fairly close to our hotel, I had to go and have a snoop and ended up with two new products which I am now going to share with you all!

The first I will share is the Kiko Sugar Mat Nail Laquer in 640 Poppy Red. The bottle only has the number on it, but I looked it up on the site.

The colour AND texture is a dead ringer for OPI Liquid Sand in Jinx, read cult nail-blogger Scrangies review of the OPI polish here. In the store I hadn't seen the "Sugar Mat" on the front, so I picked it up expecting a bright orange/gold glitter as you see in the pictures above.  Upon further inspection, once we had arrived home, I saw the "Sugar Mat" on the front and knew what kind of texture it would be. The whole Liquid Sand / Textured, matte glitter is very in right now, and I haven't really been feeling it.

The polish when applied looks like shiny glitter, but dries to a matte, very textured finish with very little shiny. The glitter does still sparkle in direct light, but not in the manner I'd have hoped. The colour is gorgeous, a very bright orangey/coral red with gold glitter throughout.

I tried making the polish shiny with two layers of topcoat ( I use INM Out The Door, it's a quick drying topcoat), but as it dries up the polish just swallows up any shine that might be added. I think that with enough layers of a highshine topcoat you could possibly get some result, but honestly I didn't feel like wasting product on it.

Still not sold on the formula and the product wasn't what I'd expected, but I'll manage to use it all the same, I think. If you like the look of the OPI Liquid Sands, but don't have the bank for the brand, try this out.

Kiko Nail Laquers are €2.50 and are available at Kiko stores or online at www.kikocosmetics.com.

The second product I managed to conquer was an eyeshadow palette from their limited Colours in the World collection in "Peach Lake".

The palette comes in a beautiful pink box, covered in what looks like painsplatter in all types of pink and peachy tones. It sucked me right in! Everything about the packaging speaks to me, the colours, the design, the fact that it reads the name of the palette on the side... I just love it!

The paintsplatter theme continues on to the mirrored palette inside. It looks very pretty, but the whole idea of the entire lid being mirrored bugs me. This will catch any bit of dirt or grime or oil that comes near it. Think fingers, stray makeup, you name it. It will never stay clean and that bothers me, I have to say. I am a sucker for packaging, and this is very pretty, but it won't remain that way.

The inside lid of the palette is also a fairly large mirror, which is a good thing. This makes it an easy travelling palette, for taking on trips or for fixing your make-up while on the road. The inside of the palette is also mirrored and again, while it looks pretty, I won't remain like that for very long. It comes with a double-ended sponge applicator.

The palette contains six shades, mostly mattes. The packaging says these shadows can be used dry, or wet for higher colour intensity. While this is pretty much always true for eyeshadows, you can't make the actual shadow wet, or you won't be able to use it dry anymore. So I'll just treat these as normal eyeshadows.

Time for the important bit; the swatches! I'm starting from left to right!

The first shade is a light golden-peach colour. It's a satin-type formula with a decent amount of shine and some sporadic glitter. The glitter really doesn't stick to the skin, and will most likely just fall off the brush or result in fall out under your eye. When using this shade, I'll make sure to tap my brush off before applying, and generally only use this as a tearduct highlight, it's too shimmery (for my taste) for the browbone.

The second shade is a bright, matte peachy colour. Right up my alley, this! As it can be hard to find well pigmented matte shadows, I didn't have too high hopes I must admit. And while this is a beautiful shade, I believe it could be more pigmented. You can layer it for opacity, and can achieve a good colour payoff with it.

The third shade is a BRIGHT, matte pink colour. Pigmentation on this is slightly better than the coral and blends a little smoother. While I don't see myself using this in an everyday eyeshadow look, it is definately a pretty shade and can also double up as blush!

Onto my very favourite shades in this palette...

The fourth shadow is a reddish, burnt brown. It's a beautiful soft shade, perfect for crease-work or even for a matte lid colour. It blends like a dream and compliments both green and blue eyes very well, due to the warm undertones.

The fifth shade is a very interesting metallic shade. It's almost a bronzey colour, with a purple duochrome. The picture doesn't do the duochrome in it justice, it's gorgeous!

The sixth and last shade is a deep, matte cool-toned brown. Well suited for crease-work, a soft liner or a dark smokey eye. It's a little harder to blend than any of the other matte shadows in the palette and is less unique than the other colours, but compliments the palette nonetheless. I'll do a tutorial with the palette soon!

While I am very happy with my palette, I feel like it -is- a bit pricey for what it is. For the money you spend on this you might as well get a Sleek Palette and Blush and get more colours AND a blush for the same money. Kiko is an overall cheap brand, but since the palette was limited edition, it was a bit more expensive than their normal products.

The palette was €16.90 and is available at Kiko stores or at www.kikocosmetics.com for as long as they carry the collection.

If you get a chance, definitely check out their products. I checked out some of their single eyeshadows as well, and the pigmentation was great on most of them. They have an immense nail polish collection, and many other make-up related things and accessories.

Do you have any experience with the brand? Any recommendations? Let me know in the comments below! 

Thank you for reading and until next time! 

XXX