Sleek Matte Me in Old Hollywood

Hey All

Lately I've been very spendy so expect a few hauls coming up!! I was meeting some friends in town the other day and have 30 minutes before they arrived and accidently ended up in boots and superdrug and before I knew it I'd bought 2 lipsticks, a lipstick palette, an eyeshadow palette, a contour palette and a nail varnish. Clearly a lack of self control that day ha!

I tend to go to Superdrug more these days as they have a great selection of cruelty free brands (NYX keeps me going to boots though!). With the weather getting colder I'm getting drawn back into the darker shades and can't seem to resist the liquid lipsticks everyone is loving at the moment. As soon as I swatched old hollywood on my hand I knew I was going to buy it. It's such a deep red colour and perfect for the colder weather.

It comes in the traditional lip gloss packaging with the doe foot applicator you would expect for a liquid lipstick, It's really easy to apply direct from the applicator and get that straight line to the lips. It dries really quickly. I love the colour and love how easy it is to apply but it's not my favourite formula. For me it's too drying and does the flaking off the lips from the middle and leaves staining around the lip line. I prefer more mouse like formulas like the NYX lip lingeries and the liquid satins. 

Even though I'm not sold on the formula the colour is so amazing I will definitely keep wearing it. It just needs reapplying throughout the day to keep the colour looking it's best.

Have you tried the Sleek Matte Me lip products? Any tips on stopping it being so drying?

Love M

xxx

Wish List: September 2016

Hello there! 

I've been writing a wishlist for weeks now and for some reason just haven't got around to getting it posted...in this time it has obviously grown but at least the items on it have a bit of variety.

The last year of house owning has ruined most shopping trips, planned or otherwise so writing a wishlist has been quite therapeutic. If I still want it after 6 months I obviously really want it...right??

Take a look and see if they match your wishlist items too! 

I keep seeing these beautiful gym leggings everywhere. As I'm tall I can struggle to find leggings that are long enough and also sit on my waist properly, but I'm still on the endless search for a long black pair with some sexy mesh panels in - just because I'm sweating doesn't mean I don't want to look good! 

I've seen some from Active in Style, the top ones are from Zanna Van Dijk's range and cost £85, the second are the Inda leggings from Daquini and cost £110.

Travel:

Image from Lonely Planet website

Forever dreaming of a paradise island getaway my latest focus has been pinning pictures from the beautiful island of Bali. Those white sands, turquoise waterfalls and 'once in a lifetime' sunsets are on my dream list. Keeping all my fingers toes and everything else crossed that one day I can actually go on holiday!

Palettes:

I mean it was extremely difficult to choose one palette from Sleek owing to their absolute corker of a collection right now (rivalled by another fave - Make Up Revolution, see below) but this highlighter palette is just all of the Pinterest/blogger/makeup goals right now.Amazing casing, flattering colour choices and apparently awesome blend-ability. 

All of this for £9.99?? Get me on the delivery list pronto!

Lipstick:

Image from UD website

Long have I lusted after the Urban Decay lipsticks but after their recent revamp and 120 shade uber collection I perve on them all the time.

I am still looking for the perfect red, this time a classic blue toned red. I either seem to repurchase orangey ones, or the super dark vampy ones but I always get it wrong!

F-Bomb looks the perfect shade, and is 100% on my wishlist

Browse them all by selecting this link, each comes in at a perfectly reasonable £15.

Chanel Chance:

Another dream - owning a Chanel perfume!

Chance is my favourite and I had another whiff of it recently, I still love it. At £68 for 50ml however I definitely need to save or wait for a rich man.

One day!

MakeUp Revolution: 

Last but certainly not least is Make Up Revolution. 

There are so many things I want....NEED to pick up from this brand and knowing they are affordable means I actually can. I'm waiting for some free time to go in store and browse myself as that's always the best part, but these rose gold brushes are high on the priority list

Five brushes for £34.95 sounds pretty reasonable to me and they are beautiful! So instagrammable!

What's on your wishlist at the moment??

Hopefully I can get some of these soon but it's always nice to dream!

L xxx

FOTD: Workwear

Hi there! 

I've been really enjoying shopping my own stash recently, its great finding products you'd forgotten about and can use again without spending any additional cash.

I had a bit of time before starting work the other day and decided to photograph my face of the day to share with you.

These are the products that I've used for this. Naked Skin is a great foundation for lightly covering blemishes but without masking skin as if it needs to be coated. The Make Believe bronzer is one I use rarely but its such a lovely natural glow.

The Perversion liner is the best I've ever tried and the blush is another that i forgot is quite similar to Coralista. The Naked palette needs no introduction really!

I do like how my skin looks quite natural after using Naked Skin especially on my forehead. The concealer is great for covering dark circles for its price and I've set it all using Stay Matte powder from Rimmel.

Having not used a brow kit for a while it took a few attempts to get them right as Gimme Brow is so easy to use but the Sleek brow kit allows you to have so much more control over the shape and definition.

The blush and bronzer gives a gorgeous colour that also looks really natural:

The Naked palette is a staple most people have in their make up wardrobes; I love how you can apply a wash of a colour or intensify it quite easily as they're so pigmented. As they're nudes the colours are perfect for day time and evening and so are very versatile.

After this I applied UD's 24/7 liquid liner in Perversion to my upper eye lid and 24/7 eye liner pencil on the inside rim of my lower eye lid.

After that it was a slick of the Rimmel Wonderfull mascara to my lashes with argan oil in and I was almost done.

I completely forgot to include the lip products in the first two images so apologies for that, to complete my Face for the day i just applied a quick coat of Naked Lipgloss to finish it off.

It's amazing how many products you can use on a face with a natural ish look.

Do you go product light or product heavy for work? Are you adventurous with colours on your eyes or lips?

I'm never brave enough for work as nobody else seems to wear much!

L xxx

Spring Series: Make Up

This is the last in our Spring Series (you can see the rest of our posts here). Today is all about spring make up.

It's this time of your all my dark berry lipsticks get pushed to the back and my bright vibrant pinks start to make an appearance again. I absolutely love a bold lipstick and bright pinks are my favourite for the spring time.

Here are a few of my favourites

Also I start to load on the bronzer more in the hope to look more sun kissed. For me there is no better than Liz Earle Natural Glow Bronzer (review here). I start to use it for more than just contouring and start to add a bronzed look too my face.

I tend to apply more highlighter through Spring too. I crave that natural luminous glowy skin. I've previously raved about MAC MSF in Soft and Gentle (review here). It gives a soft sparkly highlight and blends effortlessly into the skin.

Lately I'm also loving MeMeMe Sunbeam. This is a cheap version of the Benefit product. I find this gives a soft highlight to the skin and is less sparkly. Perfect for day times.

During spring I usually like a slightly bright blush to match my now bright lips. This is where Sleek comes in. Hello amazing pigmentation. I love my Blush by 3 Palette in Lace (review here). I love all the colours in this and using the middle one means I don't need to highlight. The red shade looks gorgeous blended in and I surprised myself with how much I liked an orange blush.

Excuse the dodgy photos! I'm surprised how much my photos have improved over the time of the blog

I really want the sleek Pink Spirit palette now. Maybe that can be my treat after my new challenge.

Lastly base, this changes in the spring. I've also been a full foundation girl but that is definitely changing. During spring this year I'll be favouring No7 tinted moisturiser and my Laura Mercier Illuminating Tinted Moisturiser.  If my skin does need a bit more I'll be reaching for Mac Studio Fix Fluid.

I like my skin being able to breath more than with a foundation on. I really like both of these and will definitely be repurchasing the No7 one. I've not used the Laura Mercier one enough to comment yet but can't wait to more. I find both of these pretty good even on my Oily/Combination skin. For ages I was put off tinted moisturisers so I'm glad to have found these.

As for lips it's time to bring out all the bright colours, hello corals, pinks and oranges. Here are some of my favourites

Maybelline 10 h Tint Gloss Forever Fuchsia (review) Avon Perfect Kiss Berry Smooch (review) Kate Moss No 20 (review) Kate Moss Matte Collection Shade 110 (review) Mac Shine Supreme Fashion City, Mac Amplified Chatter Box (review) Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Satins in Smitten and Rendezvous (review)

The Swatches are in Lipstick Order. 

Lastly I like to play with my eyeshadow on the weekend. When It's a bright day outside I love to play with my make up. I have a few brighter eyeshadows and I like to blend these through the crease and then smoke them out of use them under my bottom lashes to add a splash of bright colours. I do this with the colours from my Naked 2 palette making up the base and neutral shades!

Here are some of my favourites!!

What do you change during the spring months? Does your make up change to prepare for summer?

Love M

xxx

I am yet to find my perfect tinted moisturiser, I just can't seem to find one that it light enough but covers enough of my blemishes without making me oily and blotchy.

If you have any suggestions let me know!

I like using the Revlon PhotoReady Airbrush Mousse as it's light and even though it has really good coverage I don't feel like it clogs up my skin.

After this I do also apply concealer to my undereyes and any blemishes I have. My current favourite for this is Benefit's Fake Up as my skin s still so dehydrated the additional moisturisation is necessary to help it blend. 

After setting with powder I then apply my favourites; Benefit's Dallas and Coralista which hopefully on a daily basis gives me definition and glow like this:

I love using Benefit's Brow Zings too, lots of love for Benefit in today's post!

M was kind enough to give me her spare Brow Zings kit and I've completely fallen in love with it. It's in light and even though my brows are pretty much black I think it looks better than dark might because of how pale my skin is, and I can't go without my brows being defined!

Depending on what I'm doing that day, I might apply some nude eyeshadow to define my eye shape by using  my Naked Basics palette or Theodora before applying eyeliner in a winged effect.

After that it's lashings of mascara and it's time to apply some bright lippy!

Normally pink is the perfect colour so I might wear Mac's Nicki Minaj lipstick (shown below) or Rimmel Apocalips in Stellar.

Otherwise my latest purchase Vegas Volt is also a really good red/orange colour that seems to go with everything!

What are your favourite products for a Spring Make up look??

L xxx

Sleek Pout Polish Perfect Plum

It's been a while since I've done a lipstick post (previously my Lipstick Monday's series which can be found here) my last post was the gorgeous Kate Moss for Rimmel lipstick in shade 20 which is a bright pink. I'm loving bright pink shades on my lips and find myself grabbing these over others a lot. But as winter seems to be quickly approaching us (except today where it's lush and sunny) and soon I can grab for the vampy burgundy reds again soon I thought I'd share one of my favourite A/W shades with you.

This is the Sleek Pout Polish in Perfect Plum. They are available from Superdrug or the Sleek website and cost £4.29. I think it's a good price as you get a lot of product. The packaging is a round pot with a screw on lid. Perfect for the handbag as the lid isn't going to come off.

The product is a sort of glossy coloured balm. It's a lovely soft texture. Due to being a cross with a balm and a lipgloss obviously lasting power isn't something that is expected with this product. I love the perfect plum colour. It's a sort of deep reddy plum a darker version of lip tone in my opinion. The downside to his product is it's in a pot and you dip your finger in which is something I don't like.

A bonus with this is if you forget blusher it can double up as a cream blusher but is very pigmented so only the smallest amount is needed. It also contains SPF 15 so it's a great product for summer to protect the lips as well.

I can't wait to pick up more of these in other shades as I love the texture and finish. A great cheap lip colour and one that keeps your lips moisturised.

Have you got any of these pout polishes? Do you have any products that are like a gloss in a tub? I'm really liking sleek make up at the moment.

Love M

xxx

Review: Sleek iDivine Ultra Matte V2 Darks Palette

A little bit late to the band wagon with this one but even so, it's my first ever Sleek palette and I felt it deserved a post!

This palette is the i-Divine Ultra Matte V2 which is the the Darks palette.

I have to say I quite like the packaging, the crushed eyeshadow pictures on the simple box and the sturdy black plastic packaging is something I quite like.

I normally leave the applicators that come with the palettes as they're never normally that good and I prefer brushes but I used this one for a little while and it did pick up the colour quite easily and the longer handle made it easier to use.

I will still probably use my brushes but if I needed to touch it up when I was out then this may actually do the job!

You can see from these photos the different colours in this palette and the names of them all below:

I feel like they are a good set of colours, different enough that none of them are samey but will also work really well together.

They are also the exact kind of colours that I will use!

Here's just a few more snaps as I got a bit camera happy with my first ever palette!

Now onto the important stuff....

Here are swatches from the top colours, and then the bottom colours follow after it:

I feel that the colours are really pigmented and show up really well considering I just brushed the top of each colour.

The only colour I was a bit disappointed with was Dune, it is a very light colour and doesn't same to be very pigmented and therefore doesn't seem to match the palette like the others do.

I'm sure you've seen these pictures before by another blogger but I needed to share my excitement at my very first Sleek eye palette.

I particularly love how the navy has come out, as well as the bottle green colour.

I've brought this palette with me to America and have so far been using it for all manner of occasions but I especially love it because I can use the black to line my eyes for every day wear and the brown to fill in my brows as it's the perfect colour for my almost black eyebrows!

What do you think of this palette? Do you prefer this one or V1 Brights?

I'm really impressed with my very first Sleek buy!

L xxx

Review: Sleek Blush by 3 Lace

When these were first realised I was instantly drawn to this palette. I thought it had the best selection of colours, but never got around to picking it up or even looking at them in Superdrug until a few weeks back when I went shopping with L. We are the worst influence on each other and always spend a fortune when we just meet to 'window' shop. You can see what other bit's I picked up here.

Who doesn't love a boxed product. Always makes it feel a little more luxurious. For £10 for 3 blush these palettes are such good value and you get a large amount of each shade too. Lace is out of stock online, but they still have the others. Found here. They still had them in my local superdrug but all the blush by 3 palettes were in the draws and not out on display. How annoying.

This is my first sleek product. How pretty is the packaging, textured black and the sleek logo simply printed in a shiny black. My love for the slightly rubberised black packaging of course didn't last long as similar to products such as Nars mine is now covered in my foundation finger prints, ooops.

They have the shades printed on the back but don't seem to stock the shades separately. I thought I'd instantly use the middle shade first as it was similar to Sleek's Rose Gold blush that never seems to be in stock in Superdrug (do you find the sleek stands poorly stocked around you aswell?

So here are the shades. In the pan they scared me, swatched they scared me. Blended I love them. These blushes are so pigmented you only need the smallest amount. They blend so easily. I find they do break up slightly with my brush so I find it best to just lightly dab my brush into the selected colour rather than sweep it across and end up with powder and a brush with way to much product.

Photo heavy section, as you can see the colours come out so bright so if you like a bright blush look no further or they can be blended for a softer look. I can honestly say I have used this blush every single day since I picked it up. I didn't expect to love it as much as I do. The colours are so wearable, so easy to blend and just look so pretty on. I find myself using the orange more than the others, something I didn't expect. I'm definitely not normally an orange blush girl but it gives a pretty flush. The middle shimmer shade is a very shimmery blush so I tend to use this one more as a highlight if I'm not using my MAC one. The red shade blends to a gorgeous winter flush on the skin, think English rose.

I cannot praise this product enough. I can't see me looking at other blushes for a while. They are amazing and they will definitely last me a while too.

Have you tried any of the Blush by 3 sets? I'm considering getting a second, any recommendations?

Love M

xxx