Sleek Oh So Special and Curaçao I-Divine Palettes

Hello folks!

Sleek makeup recently came out with a new collection: The Caribbean collection. The collection consists of an eyeshadow palette, a blush and a tinted lipbalm. I only picked up the eyeshadow palette. After I bought their Storm palette when I was in London, I started collecting their palettes. I think the quality of the eyeshadows is amazing for the prize (around £7 or €9 or $12).

This palette from the Caribbean collection is called "Curaçao" and is filled with bright and fun colours.
Lets have a look:

Sleek Curaçao palette (click for larger view)

Like all the Sleek palettes, these eyeshadows are nicely pigmented. The matte shadows are usually a little less pigmented than the shimmery/metalic ones. The darker matte colours usually show up better I find. Over a base or primer they work great though.

I swatched each row on bare skin and over Urban Decay's Primer potion.

Top row, bare skin, flash

Top row, over UDPP, flash

Bottom row, bare skin, flash

Bottom row, over UDPP, flash

My favorites of this palette are Green Iguana, Purple Haze, Green Martini and Singapore Sling.
Not all the palettes I have from Sleek have names for the colours but I'm glad all these new palettes do.



Sleek also came out with another palette, with more neutral colours, which is called "Oh So Special". I believe this is part of their permanent line since it isn't part of a collection.
This palette has got some great shadows to create any kind of neutral look with. It has some matte and some shimmery colours, going from really light to black so you could do an every day eye look with this but also a really dark smokey eye. If you can't get your hands on the Urban Decay Naked palette or it's too expensive, definitely check out this palette!

Sleek Oh So Special palette (click for larger view)

Here are the swatches, with and without primer.

Top row, bare skin, flash

Top row, over UDPP, fash

Bottom row, bare skin, flash

Bottom row, over UDPP, flash

My favorites: Glitz, Celebrate, Boxed and Wrapped Up.
I'm not too crazy about the matte pinks in this palette. Not as eyeshadows anyway, but I've found they work nicely as blushes.
I love how pigmented the matte black (Noir) that comes with a lot of these palettes is. I won't have to buy a matte black in a looong time, haha.


I'll probably do some eye looks with these palettes in the future, so look out for that!


x
Tanja

Wet n Wild Comfort Zone Palette Swatches & Comparisons

I was at Walgreens and finally decided to purchase another Wet n Wild 8 pan palette. I really love the blue palette, Blue Had Me At Hello (see my other post here! It's one of my very first blog posts too! hehe) and decided why not! It was $4.99 and for this type of quality, its a complete steal. Here's some pictures and very hastily done swatches!

Swatched the left column top to bottom first, then right column! Are these pigmented or what!

The Wet N Wild eyeshadows are really buttery soft and very vibrant. The only bad thing is that they are almost too soft, so you have to be very careful when applying. Make sure to pat them onto a good base to avoid lots of fallout and don't over blend! That's just my two cents on how to use them! :)

Left Column 

Right Column

Tried finding some dupes among my eyeshadows. You may have to click on the pictures to enlarge in order to read the eyeshadow names on the pictures!

 Ambition is more gold, femme-fi is more peach, and virgin is not as shimmery!

 Mac Jardin aires is a more shimmery pinky coral while Wet n Wild is more brown while Urban Decay Sin is more cool and pinker.

 Mac tempting is much lighter and a touch more orange while Urban Decay is a bit darker but in the same shade!

 Now THIS is a dupe! Can you even tell which is which? Wet N Wild is on the left while Nars Mekong is on the right. The color is almost exactly the same, but to be honest I prefer the Nars texture for this one. For such a dark color, I find Wet N Wild's buttery, soft texture to be more difficult to work with than the Nars (which is also buttery, but not as crumbly if that makes sense!). Also, all the fallout you see in the picture is from the Wet N Wild. Other than that, this is a really amazing dupe and if you want a cheaper alternative to Nars Mekong, you won't get closer than this!

 Couldn't find anything similar to the right column browbone color. I've heard that it's supposedly a dupe for Mac Vex, but I don't have that color.
For the right column eyelid color, I don't have any dupes (I really don't own many true greens! So this is great for my eyeshadow collection!) Rock & Republic Chronic is a darker.

 Couldn't find a dupe here either. Mac Humid and Rock & Republic Envy are much more green while Rock & Republic Snakeskin is not nearly as dark. In person the Wet N Wild color has a much greener tinge to it (the camera didn't pick it up completely).

Ahhh my favorite color of the palette. I don't have any dupes for this duochrome although I've heard Mac Club is supposedly similar. I swatched Mac Shimmermoss next to it since I thought I thought the teal/blue flash in the Wet N Wild looked similar! On the right is Nars Dogon, which is also a duochrome (completely different shade though and is more taupe than brown). Very pretty color and I would have gladly paid more just for this color!

Hope the swatches and pictures were helpful! I found mine at my Walgreens. I honestly feel that these eyeshadows are incredible quality for the price tag. I can be somewhat of an eyeshadow snob since they are my favorite makeup product and these are definitely in the same league as many of my more expensive eyeshadows! I also love that many of these colors are unique to my collection (especially the right column since I don't own a lot of greens!).

Have you tried Wet n Wild eyeshadows? What do you think?

Anastasia Brow Powder

I've come a long long long way with my brows. Up until 2 years ago I had never touched a pair of tweezer or got them threaded or waxed. I was not blessed with nice, clean arched brows. I had crazy thick, shapeless brows with stray hairs everywhere. In college I finally plucked them myself but it was a slow process because I was determined to avoid over plucking! Only the last few months have I FINALLY gotten a handle on the shape I like my brows to be. I started using Anastasia brow powder about a year ago to really define my brows and it makes a HUGE difference, I wish I had paid attention to my brows so much more. They really do frame your face more than anything. If you need something new to fill in your brows, take a look at Anastasia brow powder here:

I use "Brunette." I believe there are 5 other color options!

Here's why I love this powder:

Pigmentation & Texture: For some reason, the texture and pigmentation of this powder make it impossible to go overboard with application. I definitely need to dip my brush in a few times to build up color, but thats exactly what I want. It applies very smoothly and lightly. I feel like I have total control on how much product I want to use. Also, since it's a powder, I feel like it goes on a bit more natural (in my opinion! I think i'd be too heavy handed if I ever tried using a pencil). It really doesn't look like they are filled in with product!

Color: This is definitely subjective since everyone has different brow colors. Brunette is really a perfect match for me. I have medium brown hair and the colors match really well. I usually use a mixture: a few taps of the brush in the left side, then one tap on the right. Brunette is also not too warm or cool toned, its perfectly balanced for my taste (probably a touch more red/warm toned). If you are a brunette and your hair is more ash brown this might be too warm for you.

Staying Power: I have combo/oily skin so I really need products that will withstand my oils. This powder is really fantastic, it literally does not budge! I've been wearing it everyday in the summer heat and it always stays on. I really love that about it!

The only thing I don't love is the price tag. I believe it retails for $22. I think that's pretty pricey for a brow powder. However I've used this for two years and you can see I've made the tiniest dent on the left side. It definitely has another couple years to go. If you can get it at a discount I'd definitely go for it (that's what i did!lol) I'm sure other powders or eyeshadows can do the job just as well, but this is just what I like to use for the time being ;)

I can't really say how it compares to other brow products since this is pretty much it for me. It's the first brow product I ever bought and I haven't felt the need to try anything else since I'm so happy with it. If you've been wanting to try filling in your brows or want to try Anastasia brow powder, I definitely recommend it! I've seen them sold at Sephora and Ulta, so you can swatch for your color match.

Have you tried Anastasia brow products? What do you prefer to fill in your brows with?

Bobbi Brown Gel Eyeliner in Black Ink

This is the best eyeliner I have ever used. Hands down. I've decided to dedicate a post to it since I have recently finished my first pot of eyeliner EVER. 

I bought Bobbi Brown Gel Eyeliner in black ink in the Winter of 2008 when I got sick of using eyeliner pencils. I wanted a more precise line and something that was easy to work with. After reading reviews online, I decided to splurge (I believe it costs $21, which was more than I had ever spent on eyeliner before.). After finding the right brush to use with it (see here) it was love and instant holy grail material.

Here's what I LOVE about this eyeliner:

Texture: It's a gel, so it is pretty lightweight and thin in terms of consistency. However, at the same time, it's also very creamy. The consistency is SO easy to work with and I am able to pick up as much or as little product as I want. It also doesn't dry too fast or stay wet for too long. I have the perfect amount of time to manipulate the eyeliner into the shape I want without it drying too fast! It also goes on sooo smoothly!
Color: "black ink" is the perfect black. It does not turn grey or blue like some black eyeliners. It's deep and rich. I also own the color "chocolate shimmer ink" which is a gorgeous brown. There are tons of other colors I would love to try (i have been eyeing "ivy shimmer ink" for a while now). The pigmentation is really amazing: one swipe gives me rich color.
Staying Power: This stuff does. not. budge. Seriously. I apply it in the morning and by the end of the day, the rest of my makeup might be creasing and melting away, but not this eyeliner. It stays on until I take it off and it has never smudged. It is also incredible on the waterline and the only eyeliner that stays there as well. I like to dip an eyeliner pencil in the pot, then apply to the waterline.
Quality/Price: Initially the price does seem like a lot. You get 0.10 oz for $21. The thing is, this little pot lasted me nearly 3.5 years. That is a shmillion uses, right? lol So i would say the price was most definitely worth it. I've heard of gel eyeliner drying out fast but I didn't have a problem with that. I always made sure the cap was closed, but that's about it!

Here's the (basically) finished pot! Can't believe it!

In all honesty, I have not tried a lot of other gel eyeliners. I've tried Benefit, Smashbox, and Stila Smudgepots (along with numerous eyeliner pencils) and Bobbi Brown is my favorite, no question. I have no bad things to say about this eyeliner. I would recommend it to anyone and everyone because I really think it is a fantastic product. I will definitely continue to repurchase this eyeliner, but I probably won't have to worry about doing that for another 3 years ;)

Let me know what your favorite eyeliners to use are or if you've tried Bobbi Brown's!?

Nars Dogon Eyeshadow Duo

I finally got my hands on Nars Dogon last week with a gift card! This is one of the stand out items from the Nars summer 2011 collection and I have to say...it definitely did not disappoint. I am absolutely loving this duo.

Nars describes this duo as "metallic taupe with icy green sheen & charcoal black" That description is much to simple for the actual complexity of the colors.

No Flash

With flash, but this looks pretty close to real life

Please be patient as I attempt to describe the color, you are more than welcome to laugh at me! haha Dogon features a somewhat icy rosy/taupey/grey/silver base that flashes green/teal/gold? Yeah...that makes no sense in writing. But trust me, it IS beautiful. The pictures really don't capture it. On the right is a darkened charcoal/navy/teal blue with a hint of glitter. It's definitely not a plain black. The colors are wonderfully complex and the left side especially looks different in various types of lighting because of the "duo-chrome." If you google swatches of this duo the left side looks different on every skin tone! They look beautiful separately and especially layered on top of one another for a unique effect.

The left side does blend a little better than the darker right side, but as usual with Nars shadows the pigmentation is excellent and they are very easy to work with. Only thing is that the right side comes out more matte if you do not apply it carefully (blending it out too much diminishes the micro shimmer so make sure to pat!).

Now here's some comparison swatches. I don't have anything similar to the left side of Dogon so the comparison is a bit useless. I have no dupes to show you. I have read that Mac Club is similar because of the duo-chrome, but I don't own it so I can't tell you for sure. Anyway, you can definitely see how there is a green sheen in comparison to more typical taupe shades pictured.

Left: Nars Cairo is a light brown taupe. It's a staple taupe and has a bit of the rosy hues from Dogon but it's not similar at all really.
Middle: Bare Escentuals Night Owl is a darker more purple taupe. No icy green sheen here either!

Middle: Urban Decay Oil Slick is a shimmery black with silver shimmer. It's not similar to Dogon at all but I wanted to compare so you could see that Dogon definitely has a blue/teal tinge to it!
Right: This is the left column "crease" color in the Wet n Wild Blue Had Me At Hello Palette that you can see swatches of here. Wet n Wild is not as dark and is a much clearer, more shimmery blue. Dogon seems more navy/teal than blue in comparison.

Dogon is in the center! Very unique colors to my collection!

Dogon is limited edition (why, Nars, why!?) so if you're interested, definitely check it out soon! It's such a unique duo, I can see getting so much use out of it (especially for smokey night time looks!) Will post a look soon! Let me know your thoughts on the duo or what kind of look you'd do with it!?

Also, if you're in the US don't forget to enter my giveaway here before June 31st!

Nars Galapagos Swatches and Thoughts

Hello!! Sorry for the short absence, I haven't had much free time this past week because of end of the year stuff and i'm so happy and excited to say that I graduated from college last Thursday! Yay!!

Back to makeup, here's the beautiful Nars Galapagos that I treated myself to last week. I am absolutely in love...

Nars describes it as:

 "bitter chocolate infused with gold"

These pictures don't do the color justice at all! It's the most beautiful brown! You can sort of see the golden shimmer in the pictures, but it's even prettier in person.

The color is a gorgeous warm brown with gold shimmer. The pigmentation is excellent. It is not as smooth as my nars mekong (which is ridiculously buttery), but it is still incredibly soft, easily blendable, and pigmented. One thing that I was initially worried about with Galapagos was if the gold shimmer would actually show up on the eyes. It definitely does if you apply it correctly: packing it on with a shader brush (like the mac 239) over a good primer yields little fallout and makes the gold shimmer show up. Applying with a fluffy brush will not pack on the shimmer as much. One great thing about the gold shimmer is that it is very fine! You aren't going to see chunks of glitter on the eye, it just gives a nice sparkly effect on the eyes.

So far I've loved wearing this in the crease with lighter browns or shimmery champagnes on the lid. This week I'm going to experiment using galapagos in a REALLY brown smokey eye (and I'll post pictures when I do!) I really have no bad things to say about this shadow, it is so beautiful I think it would flatter any skin or eye color.

And some comparison swatches with my other brown shadows...

As you can see Nars Galapagos doesn't look like any of my other browns. In terms of color it's probably most similar to UD Darkhorse, since they are both deeper warmer browns, but Galapagos is a touch warmer and has the lovely gold shimmer. UD Smog is lighter and more gold, while Handwritten, has some red in it. As for the other Nars shadow, I was initially worried it wouldn't be worth owning both Mekong and Galapagos but they are really quite different. Mekong is much darker and cooler than Galapagos. I also think Mekong would be a little bit overwhelming as a lid color, whereas Galapagos could be pulled off being on the lid! I think they would look gorgeous together!

So overall, if you are a brown/neutral eyeshadow lover, Nars Galapagos should be at the top of your wishlist. I really love Nars eyeshadows, so if brown isn't your thing, don't hesitate to check out the other colors available!

TheBalm Mary-Lou Manizer Info & Swatches

I've been wanting to dedicate a post to TheBalm's Mary-Lou Manizer because i think it's really a beautiful product! I've had it for a little over 2 weeks and I can already say that it is one of my favorite products ever!

Here's some pictures...

Cute packaging!

As you can see it's a beautiful golden-y beige champagne highlighter that you can use to highlight your cheeks, eyeshadow, brow bone, decolletage, etc..

Swatched on the left (one swipe!) and blended out on the right

It is GORGEOUS! The pigmentation is amazing, you only need the tiniest bit to blend onto your cheek bones to give you a beautiful, natural looking, ethereal glow. There is no heavy glitter, it just has a subtle sheen to it and even though it's a powder product, the texture is so soft it's almost cream-like. It's just really important to blend it since it is so pigmented! Also, this stuff stayed on my cheeks all day! I really have nothing bad to say about it at all, I love it.

The packaging is adorable, sturdy, and you get a ton of product...I can't imagine hitting pan on it anytime soon. I can see this working on a variety of skin tones as well, especially warm tones since it does have a gold tinge to it.

I've been using this highlighter daily, it's perfect for those glowy summer cheeks! Ever since buying this, I've been wanting to try more items from TheBalm (hot mama blush is calling my name and I am trying to resist buying it!). Let me know if you've tried this "luminzer" or what you're favorite highlighter is!

Urban Decay Naked Palette Swatches

I'm guessing the hype has passed since this palette is almost a year old now, but I figured I'd dedicate a swatch post to it since it's such a wonderful palette and I use it SOOO much!! I took these pictures when I first got it so I'm a bit tanner in the swatch photos, but I hope they're helpful.

My palette came with a mini urban decay primer potion and the double ended 24/7 eyeliner. I really like the eyeliner. I don't use the UDPP since it doesn't help with creasing on my lids (i trust my mac paint pots for that job!).

click on the photos to enlarge!

Virgin, Sin, Naked, Sidecar

Buck, Half Baked, Smog, Darkhorse

Toasted, Hustle, Creep, Gunmetal

I am definitely a neutral eyeshadow kind of gal, so these shadows are right up my alley. They all have a gorgeous buttery texture and blend like a dream, I just LOVE urban decay eyeshadows. If you don't love shimmery shadows this might not be the palette for you since there's really only two matte colors (buck & naked). For me though, this is definitely a palette that I use at least every other day, and I can easily pair any of the shadows with each other or with other shadows in my collection. The only issue I've heard with the palette is that cool toned skin tones will probably have to work harder to make the shadows flattering, as they could pull too warm.
My favorites from the palette are sin, smog, toasted, and hustle :)

Definitely check it out if you haven't already!

Mac Ever Hip Lipstick with Swatches

Today I went by the mall near me and of COURSE i had to walk by the makeup counters...I was pleasantly surprised that one of the Mac makeup artists told me they had one Mac Ever Hip lipstick left in stock (from the recent "Fashion Flower" collection, see temptalia for more info!). Online it seems like makeup lovers have been freaking out over the repromotion of this lipstick, so I would have been crazy to pass up something so wonderful, right? Nothing else had really caught my eye but this lipstick so I went ahead and got it. This is my second mac lipstick ever and after trying it on I am SO glad i purchased this! It's the perfect color for spring and summer!

On to the pics...

Ever hip is an extremely gorgeous creamy pinky-coral. I think it pulls a little bit more pink on me, which makes it more wearable on my skin tone. It's also a Cremesheen formula. To be perfectly honest, the only other lipstick from Mac I have is "Fanfare" which is also a Cremesheen formula. I can't compare it to the other various Mac formulas, but I really love the texture. It's creamy, glossy, and not completely opaque (though you can build the color up to be!). It's extremely moisturizing on my lips, I just love this lipstick formula!

I attempted to find a dupe within my revlon lipsticks (my favorite drugstore brand for lip products!). Overall, I didn't find anything identical in my collection...

-Mac Fanfare and Revlon Pink in the Afternoon are much more pink. Fanfare is also a bit darker.

-Revlon Smoked Peach, is a matte, and is more orange

-Revlon Rosedew looked the most similar out of all of them when swatched lightly, but it was still much too rosy in comparison.

-Revlon Peach & Revlon Demure are both too orange as well.

No complaints from me for not finding a dupe, I love not having two of the same thing in my makeup collection! ;)

Hope the swatches were helpful! If you are a pinky-coral lipstick lover, then this is definitely one to get your hands on. It would also be a great lipstick to try if you're a girl that doesn't do really bright lipsticks (especially those bright oranges and corals that are very popular this season) but still wants to wear some color. I think it would be beautiful on all types of skin tones!