Fresh & Peachy | FOTD

Going through my older FOTD's, I found this summery peachy look that I wore a little while ago. I noticed I had followed through the peachy look with the lips & cheeks onto the eyes with a touch of a warmer colour in the crease, and paired with dewy skin & keeping the lower lash line clean adds to the summery look, which was not my intention haha.

 Face | Rimmel Wake Me Up + MAC Strobe Cream for a really dewy look topped off with NARS Laguna Bronzer & MAC Lightscapade to add an extra glow. Colour to the cheeks is achieved with Milani's Baked Blush in Coralina
Eyes | After a primer apply a shimmery skin-toned colour to the lids such as Stila Kitten. Blend lightly into the crease with a fluffy brush so there's no harsh line with a brighter corally-red, such as Makeup Geek's Razzelberry eyeshadow. Make it so you can just see a pop of colour with the eyes open. Line the eyes, I used Maybelline's Line Allure, go as thick or thin as you like & simply use a flesh-toned eyeliner on the waterline, I used the Prestige Brow Highlighting Duo pencil. & finish with mascara. Don't forget the eyebrows!
Lips | Finish the whole look with a peachy toned lip colour such as Sleek Pout Paint in Peachykeen or you could even go a brighter coral if you wish like Maybelline Coral Crush which is not completely opaque for something more carefree.

Do you ever like to carry the same tones throughout your whole makeup look?
xx

Caviar & Bubbles | Review & FOTD

I hope everybody is doing well! Firstly as Google Reader is closing down in a couple of weeks, I would appreciate it if you were able to follow me through Bloglovin so you can keep updated! It sucks how hard everybody has worked to gain followers to have it taken away! Anyhow, let me know if you have followed & I will make sure I have followed you.

In a previous post I showed one of my newer purchases, the Caviar & Bubbles (AKA Champagne & Caviar) palette from Nyx, so I've been playing around with it in the past couple of weeks and here's what I think of it!

The Palette
Packaging: In a sturdy compact palette with a large mirror, perfect for traveling.

Colours: 5 matte & 5 shimmery neutral eyeshadows which mostly leans towards a cool tone. Most of the light shimmery colours are very similar to each other in the swatches/ pan but come out different on the eyes.
Pigmentation: Fairly pigmented with one swipe but I'd still recommend a base to make the most of the colours. The matte colours can come off a little bit chalky & not as pigmented so a base would prevent that.

Swatches done without base & one swipe

Longevity: I always use a primer anyway so I find these last well on me but I think they would fade easily without one!
Price: $10 from Cherry Culture but prices depend on where you're buying from.

FOTD

 Face | Rimmel Wake Me Up & Stay Matte powder, Nars Laguna & MAC Lightscapade, Nyx Angel blush
Eyes | Nyx Caviar & Bubbles palette: Lid: 1 Crease: 2 Blending: 3 Outer V/ Slightly under eyes: 4 Highlight: 5
Sleek Gel liner, Nyx Wonder Pencil, Maybelline One by One mascara
Lips | Sleek Pout Paints in Pinkini & Peachykeen

Overall I really like this palette, but I'm uhmming & ahhing over whether I really need any more neutral colours that I can easily get from my Naked 2 & Day & Night palette, but for the price the quality is pretty good, so I would definitely recommend this. 

Have you tried any of the Runway palettes from Nyx before?
xx

Sleek Ink Pot Gel Eyeliner // Review

I had been on the lookout for a new gel eyeliner for a while, I've only tried what I believe is more of a cream eyeliner by BYS which did not make me think much of gel eyeliners except they smudged easily and didn't last long, until I came to the realization that I needed to set it with a shadow.

Here are the gel liners that were contending for my attention:

• Essence gel eyeliner in Midnight in Paris; with no Essence near me and it never being available on the Priceline website, not to mention they are apparently being discontinued was a bit of a challenge for me.
• Rimmel Scandaleyes Waterproof Gel Eyeliner; I had heard it took a while to set which I aint got no time for that.... except maybe if I had only used it as a waterline eyeliner...
• Coastal Scents/ Makeup Geek eyeliner (Immortal); looks extremely pigmented but I had tried another gel eyeliner before like this that had dried out really fast.
• Maybelline & L'oreal: I have heard a lot of good things about these.... but I do not want to pay the exuberant taxed-up prices and didn't feel like buying them online because I was going to buy from Sleek anyway.

So here are my thoughts on the Sleek Gel liner!

 The shade is called Dominatrix and it is a really nice, pigmented jet black liner. The swatch below was done with one swipe using the little brush that it came with, which is, of course useless as most mini-sized brushes are. It is creamy and sets fairly quickly, so if you wish to smudge it out, do one eye at a time so it doesn't set completely before you have a chance to.

As this sets so well, I find this waterproof and long lasting on the lash line, but it is not the same for the waterline. Setting it with a black eyeshadow prolongs the wear for a bit longer, and although I may not have much left at the end of the night the remnants are still hard to remove as it smudges into the lower lash line. I can remove most of it with a makeup wipe but I also need to use Extra Virgin Olive Oil to get the rest of it, which can go into the eye & sting. I then cleanse & lightly go over my eyes to take the oil off.

Comparison to BYS
 As this is the only other "gel" eyeliner I have tried, I will compare it to the BYS Black Magic Eyeliner, which definitely needs to be set to avoid smudging/ fading almost instantly.

 The picture on the left is applied and smudged not long after, the right picture is after going over with a makeup wipe. This is where the EVOO comes in handy. Although the BYS one has left a stain it is nowhere near like Sleek, and it also doesn't last as long on the eye on it's own.

I have worn the Sleek Gel eyeliner for about 5 hours here, and although you can see some wear, and the wing wasn't applied heavily so it looks faded to begin with, but the majority of it is still there. This is without setting it.
I have also tried tight-lining only, letting it set, wiping the waterline to remove any oils & moisture & applying a nude eyeliner. It stayed clear for a little bit but then I noticed some transfer from the top waterline so I wouldn't tightline only with this.

Overall I do like the Sleek Ink Pot gel eyeliner for it's long lasting (*on the lash line) & fast setting qualities. I'm still in search of the perfect waterline eyeliner, though! I would rate this 8/10 because of that.

What's your favourite gel eyeliner?
xx

Sleek Pout Paints // Review & Swatches

Lipsticks used to be the most popular form of lip colour , but now there are many other types available such as stains and paints, the latter in the likes of OCC {Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics}, Sleek & Australis & probably many more, with OCC being the most well known. I have only tried the Sleek Pout Paints as of late, and wish I had tried some earlier!
Lip paints are becoming quite popular as it has an advantage of easily mixing any colour combinations to create any colour that you desire. Obviously most people wouldn't wear colours such as white or blue alone, but they are good for changing the tone & brightness so you can basically have whatever you want!

L-R: Pinkini, Peachy Keen, Cloud 9, Peek-a-bloo

Packing: "Sleek" clear tubes with black lids and a tiny opening for product control.

Texture: Very oily, as you can see with the white & blue that if they have not been shaken thoroughly first the oil sits on top. They glide on the lips when applied and then sort of set so they don't slip around, depending on how much is applied. Not sticky unlike lip gloss.

Finish: Glossy, high shine.

Pigmentation: Very opaque although I've found the lighter shades need to be slowly built up, and can become patchy if too much is applied without blending.

Application: Apply with a lip brush for precision or fingers and to make sure to pat in so it wont slide off. As mentioned, always shake very well first. Only a tiny drop is needed, and when mixing I would start with the base colour & add the mixture in so it is easier to control.

Longevity: Lasts through light eating & drinking. If you don't touch it, it could last all day. I would say it probably lasts about 4 hours at it's best.

Colour range: 11 different shades including mixture shades. Not actually that many shades on their own but a lot of different combos can be made.

Price: $6.49 on the Sleek online website, with affordable shipping depending on how much you buy.

Pros of Sleek Pout Paints
Able to mix colours to create different effects
Non sticky, high glossy look
Colours ranging from neutral to bright to dark.

Cons
Need to use a lip brush to apply, can use fingers but is messy
Need to be shaken well each time otherwise oil will ruin mixing

Swatches

 Please note I have seen plenty of swatches where Cloud 9 & Peachykeen looksmuch more opaque. I couldn't get them to work with me on this day!

Other mixes

As I had applied Pinkini while Peek-A-Bloo was already on my lips instead of on the back of my hand I wasted more product than what I would have needed and all of that extra product is a disaster waiting to happen. I left this on my lips for a few hours at home and when I looked in the mirror I had some on my teeth & smudges on my face haha.

The same two colours mixed on my hand.

A very light ombre/ gradient look with Pinkini all over & Peachy Keen in the middle.

A more obvious ombre look with Pinkini, Peachy Keen, Cloud 9. Still unable to mix the oil back into the product with Cloud 9 -.-

And now, because Pinkini is the only colour that I have similar lip products in, I've made a few swatches.

L-R: Sleek Pinkini, Milani Rosehip, Nyx Addis Ababa, BYS Flirty Fuchsia

All are very similar but they do look different on the lips... I'm finding it hard to see a difference here! Although each colour has a different formula. What do you think?

Overall I'd recommend the Sleek Pout Paints to get you started with this type of product... I'd love to branch out with the OCC Lip Tars as they have a much wider colour range and try mixing them together! What do you think?

Thank you for reading, I hope this post is helpful!
xx

Sleek Eye Dust in Jet Set// FOTD & new hair!

Hey beauties!
As I've mentioned previously, I've changed my hair colour, I have gone darker & more in the violet family rather than red, and I think now my makeup options have been opened up to something entirely better. Not that it mattered to me before about how my eyeshadow/lipstick/blush colours looked against my hair before, but now certain things look a whole lot different. For instance, this bright blue eyeshadow never stood out this much to me on my eyes before. I have also worn red lips and I <3 it a lot more now!

 ..Come & find me dancing all alone, to the sound of an enemy's song, I'll be lost until, you find me, fighting on my own...

 ~Products
Face: Base: Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation; Physicians Formula Gentle Cover Concealer Stick; Maybelline Age Rewind Eraser Dark Circles; Rimmel Stay Matte Powder
Highlight/ Contour: MAC CCB Pearl; MAC Lightscapade; Nars Laguna
Blush: Milani Baked Blush in Luminoso
Eyes: NYX E/S Base in White, Sleek Eye Dust in Jet Set [All over lid, lower lash line]; NYX Chrome E/S in Pearl White [Applied wet to center of lid, highlight]; UD Naked- Naked [Failed to blend out crease lol, didn't want it overly blended anyway]
Maybelline Master Precise Eyeliner [top lashline]; Sleek Gel liner [waterline]; Bourjois Kohl & Contour pencil e/l in 72 [to apply gel liner]; Maybelline The Falsies & One By One mascara. NYX Cake Brow Powder in Dark Brown/ Brown.
Lips: MAC Myth, Revlon Lip Butter in Sweet Tart [Myth is a bit... IDK.. stark on me so I like to apply the lighter pink on top to add a bit of colour].

A proper pic of the hair;I had an inch taken off the ends & more of the layers so it sits 100x better now, and feels much more healthier!

So here is a comparison of Sleeks Eye Dust in Jet Set compared to Sugarpill's Darling. Although the lighting is different, and I definitely used a white base under Jet Set and a white shimmer on top, when I'm unsure about Darling, but JS looks way more vibrant & has a foiled effect. So I'm glad I bought it even though they are still similar!

L-R: Sleek, Sugarpill

So of course while I still have heaps of older FOTD's lined up, you probably wont see this hair for a while haha. But I am just so in love I had to post it earlier ;) I hope you like this bright teal eye makeup, one of my fave colours to wear on the eyes for sure!

Would you wear this teal colour?

Cherry Culture, Sleek & i Kate House // Hauls & Swatches // Milani, La Splash, E.L.F & More

In a way you could kind of say these were my hauls for the month of March, although some were ordered in Feb & I am waiting on a couple more. As you may remember I have ordered from Cherry Culture a couple of times before but this was the first for ordering through the actual Sleek website and also from iKatehouse.com which is a recently discovered website.

 Cherry Culture
So from the lovely CC.... although I have ordered from them fairly recently, there were a few more items I wanted to try out, and a few more colours I wanted to get of products I already owned.

Milani Baked Blushes

Milani Baked Blushes in Coralina & Dolce Pink

 I already have a couple of these in Fantasico Mauve & Luminoso  & love them so I thought that I may as well buy two more, as they were going for $6.99.... (original price $7.99, only saving a dollar lol) I knew I wanted Dolce Pink because of Coco's swatch & I have heard Coralina was nice, and although the "swatch" of it on the website looked nice, it looks prettier IRL & way more corally.

Top to bottom: Dolce Pink, Coralina.

 As mentioned Coralina is a warm, coral tone with a satin finish but Dolce Pink is a cooler pink with a satin/ shimmer finish which can also look a bit frosty. I will post about these properly among my other Milani Baked Blushes.

La Splash Glitter Splash

Purple Passion & Pineapple Coral

I have done a review on these glitters recently here so my opinion hasn't changed, but as these were also marked down from $5.99 to $4.49 I thought I would buy a couple more from different colour families. I have updated that post with these swatches so please click on the link above to view them if you wish.

 La Splash Diamond Dust Shimmer

 Yet another sale item for $7.50 down from $8.99, I haven't tried the Diamond Dust Shimmers  before but they looked gorgeous. Although it looks like glitter in the jar they are certainly more like pigments, but the shimmer is lost quite easily. To prevent that, after patting it on with a brush I dab a bit of Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy and go back in with the colour to bring the shimmer back.

Snowflake is a weirdly pretty colour because it looks completely white in the jar but once I took the plastic off the sifter it came through with a purple reflect. The swatches are done with no base.

La Splash Metallic Cream Shadow

 Something I have been wanting for a while was a gold base for gold eyeshadows, so I thought I would give this a go for $6.50. It is not very pigmented so I do wish I just bought the Maybelline Color Tattoo in Bold Gold instead. I haven't used it as a base yet so I don't know about creasing so we shall see.

 Nyx Eyebrow Cake Powder

I haven't used an eyebrow kit for a little while since running out of my E.L.F eyebrow kit & using eyeshadows from the Sleek Storm palette, and I bought this in the colour Dark Brown/ Brown. I wont go into much detail as I will probably do a review on it soon, but when I first used it I wasn't too impressed, but now I know how to use it properly so I'm liking it more.

Sleek Haul
For the first time I ordered off the Sleek website.  It took just over 2 weeks to get here from the UK which is pretty good for being on the other side of the world.

The pout paints are $6.49 each, and I definitely want to get more! I will do a review/swatches in a separate post.
Pout Paints from Left to Right- Cloud 9, Peek-a-bloo, Pinkini, Peachy Keen.

Ink Pot in Dominatrix

 I've been needing a new gel eyeliner for ages and so far I am happy with this one. The brush as always is pretty pointless. I will post a review once I've used this a bit more.

Sleek Eye Dusts

L-R Vintage, Jet Set.

These pigments are very chunky, which means you cannot escape fall out unless you are holding a tissue underneath your eye. Both beautiful colours & highly pigmented, non the less.

Swatched over NYX White Base

L-R, Sleek Jet Set, Sugarpill Darling.

You can see how much more finely milled Darling is, so while the eye dusts are cheaper at $3.99 compared to $12 I think I'd prefer to spend a little bit more. Unless you want all the colours, then $4 is reasonable enough to get them all!

Ikatehouse.com
This website sells products like E.L.F, La Girl, La Colours, a huge arrangement of eyelashes & much more at a very affordable rate. I heard about this site mainly for the E.L.F products but they don't have much of a range of their studio products.

 Random assortment of eyelashes, LA Girl blush, E.L.F Studio Cream Eyeshadow, E.L.F Shimmering Facial Whip

I envy by Kiss in Juicy Volume 03, Carie Eyelashes (no name), Almine Professional eyelashes 4150

I haven't heard about any of these brands before, so I chose them purely on looks. I love the fullness and the flared look of I Envy by Kiss, the Carie eyelashes reminded me of Ardell Whispies & Red Cherry #43, and as you can see I've used the Almine ones which are extremely natural and add extra thickness without too much length.

LA Girl Illuminating Blush

L-R Nectar, Just Pinched

I found it very hard to find swatches online of these 2 colours, I am not overly impressed with either and I have found that I already have similar colours (another post!) but for the price of $2.99 there's no loss, I will probably just give them away. I wouldn't exactly call them illuminating either, as they are both matte.

L-R: E.L.Cream e/s in dawn, Shimmering Facial Whip in Golden Peach & Pink Lemonade

Dawn is a gorgeous taupe colour... it works perfectly with Urban Decay's Sidecar. The formula feels more like a mousse than a cream. I've heard a bit about the E.L.F Shimmering Facial Whips, although I wasn't expecting Golden Peach to be so bronze. I think it is too much with my skin tone as a highlight unless I was to tan a lot & Pink Lemonade is just a really pretty light pink, both would look nice on the apples of the cheeks.

L-R, Dawn, Bronze, Pink Lemonade

Blended out

 That concludes my latest drugstore hauls over the month of March! I wish I could post these hauls pretty much on arrival but I have so many other posts in line that these usually get pushed to later, so when I do post them please note I have probably been using the products for a couple of weeks!
I also have a couple of other smaller hauls which I will be posting soon.

Have you ordered from any of these websites before?

Thanks for reading! I tried to keep it a bit more compact than originally planned with more pictures & swatches but it got too much so I thought I would save them for separate posts. So I hope this isn't too long already!
xx