Sleek Eye Shadow Palette Review

Yesterday I came across this eye-shadow palette. It's available from Superdrug in the UK and is by a brand called Sleek. I think the palettes were released a while ago but not that easy to get hold of since not all Superdrugs stock them. There's 3 different palettes to choose from, Original, Chaos and the one I bought, called Storm. I chose this one because I thought there was a great range of colours in there, plenty of neutrals, and a few bolder colours, but overall very wearable.

Having got it home and been able to try out the colours on my eyes, I'm very impressed with the quality. I tried the testers in the store and they felt very smooth and looked richly pigmented. Over a primer, they apply very easily, blend well and are very long lasting!
The first one and the fourth one along are lovely golden colours that will look great as a lid colour. The second one I've used as a highlight colour, it's probably the only colour suitable for a highlighter as the rest are too dark. Most are shimmer eyeshadows, with the exception of three of them, the third one on the top picture, and the first two on the picture below. The black eyeshadow is noticeably pigmented, usually you don't get a very good colour pay-off with black, they can be quite grey-ish, but this is very impressive, a great eyeshadow for the outer corner and under the eyes for a smokey evening look.

I would definitely recommend purchasing this palette, the colours are quite unusual, and it might be unlikely you owned a dupe of the bolder colours. The browney-pink shadow in the top right corner, and the denim colour on the bottom row second in are the two stand out colours for me. I hope to make some fun looks from this palette, and am tempted to buy the others, at only £4.87, can't really resist them! And the good news is, if they're not available in your nearest Superdrug, check on their website to see if they will be soon. This summer Sleek will be expanding and will appear in a further 132 stores. Has anyone tried these before, and how do you rate them?

My skin care regime, for oily / combination skin

I just wanted to show you the skincare regime that i’ve been following for the last year or so. The products that I use are for oily/combination skin so if you’re this skin type and having problems, i’d recommend trying these products.

If you live in the UK, and most of Europe these products are cheap and easily available, for the US im not sure if they stock Simple, but it's a good brand to hunt for if you can find it.
My first tip for maintaining healthy skin would be to eat plenty of fruit and vegetables and drink plenty of water. I know that maintaining good health is more complicated than that, but I think this simple step is a good start.
I use the same routine in the morning as at night. At night I use a facial wash to begin, then I take my makeup off using Garnier sensitive eye make-up remover, and no matter how much I use, however carefully I think I’ve cleansed my eyes, there’s almost always a tiny amount there in the morning still, just under my eye, so if that’s the case I’ll just sweep a tiny amount around my eyes.

Once you've ensured all the make-up is off, begin with No.7 Beautifully Balanced purifying cleanser for oily/combination skin. It’s fragrance free, non-drying and pH balanced. You can also use it as a wash, but i prefer to just rub it on and wipe off, leaving my skin really mattified. This is a pretty unique cleanser in the way that it's versatile and is a cleanser that not only cleanses but mattifies as it does so.
Next on to the toner. I use Lush Tea Tree Water, and truly believe this is the best toner for my skin. The problem with a lot of toners that are designed for oily skin is that they are extremely harsh. Prior to this I would use Bioré triple action toner which seemed to be a great toner, it controlled excess oil and breakouts and left my skin feeling tingly clean. I thought this was a great product until a friend of mine used it. She had fair, sensitive skin, and said after using it, it felt like her skin was burning. I figured this must be the acid. The toner contains salicylic acid which is used in treating acne. I think the formulation is a little strong for every day use, and I want a toner that I can use every day. The ingredients in this toner are as follows: tea tree water, grapefruit water, juniperberry water, Limonene which occurs naturally in essential oils, perfume and methylparaben. And that’s it! Where I can buy a good product that is as close to nature as possible and actually works I always will. You really want to look after the skin on your face as it’s the most exposed, and remember your skin is delicate so avoid harsh chemicals and excessive rubbing of the skin where you can.
The final step is to moisturise. It may seem unnecessary to moisturise oily skin, just adding to the problem right? If you use a moisturiser targeted at oily/combination skin, your skin will benefit a lot more. Simple do a great range for this skin type, and I am a huge fan of the moisturiser. It contains Zinc PCA to gently absorb excess oil, it is Natural Antibacterial which helps reduce blemishes, and is 100% shine free, so mattifies all day long. Used over time you will see a difference in your complexion.

Weekend shopping

This weekend I went back to my hometown to visit my parents. My trip involved a successful shopping spree where I got these few bits.



First up from Peacocks: 3 vest tops for £6, very impressed with this deal, Topshop do a similar offer with their vest tops, buy two for £9. Honestly I think the quality of the Peacocks vests match Topshop but at a snippet of the price. I wear them mainly as a layer or try to perk them up with some accessories so I don't feel the need to spend a lot of money on them. They contain elastane in them so they should wash and wear well. I also got the aviator style sunglasses after scouring a few shops, these fit me the best, most seem to bury my face, but these did a good job at not making me look too ridiculous.


I got a butterfly necklace which is almost a filigree style, with a smaller butterfly over the larger one. I think it has really nice detailing and is a popular choice on the high street at the moment.

The rather gaudy looking furry things are the slippers I picked up in Primark. I love furry things, shiny things, metallic things and these encompassed all three. I love them because the fur is nice and soft and comfortable but they're open toe, so not gonna keep my feet too warm in the summer.

Also included in the picture are the toothbrushes I bought from Boots. I know they're pretty ordinary and not worth mentioning, but these Wisdom "individual" ones all have different patterns on them. I thought this was quite a cute and novel idea and I managed to find one with a zebra print on which will cheer up a boring two minute routine. I also purchased a white eyeliner because of it’s supposed ability to widen your eyes. I’ve used black eyeliner for as long as I can remember but lately have been taking a break from using it on my waterline, instead lining the lower lash line, that way it’s not black overload. I like to experiment using different colours for different effects and am surprised I never got around to taking the advice I’d heard and lined with a white liner. I have to say with the black just on the lids and white on the rim, I’m definitely given a large effect. I feel like my eyes look much wider awake and alert.







These two batwing style tops were both in the sale.















A smart jacket I will team with both trousers and jeans. I love the style and the detailing, but really not keen on the little flower decoration. It’s a brooch but is sewed on also, so I will need to unpick the stitches to remove it. The dress...I love. It’s a little too long for me at the shoulders, I have this problem a lot being on the short side! I will need to pin, tack and sew the straps to where I want them. So just a few adjustments to the dress and it will fit perfectly, I knew an A Level textiles would have it's uses somewhere! I’m not sure how to describe it, I think it’s along the tulip design, and the colour is a gorgeous indigo. I’ll probably be teaming this with black leggings and sandals for the summer. Before and after shots of the adjustments.

Hurray for hoarding

I'm guilty, as I'm sure all you other make-up obsessives are, of hoarding unwanted, unused items. It's not a conscious thing, but every time I try to part with things I know I haven't used in such a while, there's this feeling that I may want to use it again at some point and so I mustn't get rid. Take my nail varnish collection for example. There's varnishes in there I've forgotten about, so old they've been discontinued and over the months, gone a little bit congealed and hard to use.



Well the other day, I dug out one of said varnishes and realised I'd had it so long it's even gone out, and returned back in to fashion! It's a gorgeous pastel, lavendar shade and reminded me of the latest MAC collection which is the reason I resurfaced it. As I'm sure you're aware, nail varnish is not the best at staying in good condition and does harden with time, making it nearly impossible to apply. But here's a little tip if you want to revive an old nail varnish: leave it in the fridge for a few hours, ideally overnight, and then apply it to your nails straight after removing it from the fridge! This seems to work really well and I managed to get a brilliant result from a varnish that was...I'm guessing 5 years old! Cringe, yes I really do hoard for a long time. I think I should be forgiven though because I did get to use it again.

Tri-Coloured Lip Glass by Mac

There was nothing that really grabbed me from the last collection from MAC. I expected there to be a few items I would want to purchase but it appeared most items were pastel colours, something I really don't go for. One thing that did get my attention however was the tri-coloured Lipglass.


I chose this in the shade Simply Delicious which is described as follows: Top: Sheer peach with reflects, Middle: Pale coral with pearl, Bottom: Creamy mid-tone coral. I think if there's nothing you feel very drawn to from the Sugarsweet collection this is something that might appeal. To be honest I liked the whole novelty of it and to me it kind of defines the collection. It's fun, it's original in it's design and has the same quality expected from MAC. I enjoy using this product, the colours go very well with my skin tone and I like the way I get a slightly different colour from it every time. It's almost too pretty to use, but the feel and smell of the gloss is very addictive so I haven't put it down the past week!

Beauty Product of the Month

Each month, I will do a review of two products that are my products of the month. One will be a make-up product, the other will be a beauty product. A product that I have wanted to review for some time is the Oil Balancing Moisturiser by Simple. With my oily combination skin I got into the habit of averting from using moisturiser. I believed that adding moisture to already oil rich skin would cause havoc to skin and cause outbreaks and only rarely in the winter would I need to moisturise. Wrong! Actually no matter what your skin type, you should always moisturise.



Simple's oil balancing moisturiser is in no means a new product to me, in fact I've used it on and off for about 3 years. Now I am definitely back on and have been using this moisturiser morning and night religiously for the last 6 months. The verdict: contrary to what I thought would happen; more breakouts, I can safely say there are LESS breakouts and my skin feels smooth and healthy.

As well as moisturising my skin, this product is useful to me in the way it counteracts excess oil. After moisturising with any other moisturiser, whether it be hand cream, or a body butter, after soaking into the skin, the skin feels hydrated and very smooth, their aim to prevent dryness. With Oil Balancing, my skin is left hydrated but mattified, which I didn't think I could get from a moisturiser. Certainly for oily or combination skin this is a must-buy. After using it for a few days you will see an improvement to the overall condition of your skin. It contains natural anti-bacterial properties to counteract spot-forming bacteria.

I don't use foundation primers, but I believe that applying foundation to well cleaned skin is enough preparation. The great thing about this moisturiser is that you don't need to let it dry, but can apply liquid foundation directly over it, and get a good, even coverage.

Make-up product of the month

Product of the month for April has to be this new nail polish by Bourjois. This is shade 31 which is called Bleu Violet. A bit of French we can all translate as purple blue which is exactly how to describe this shade, it's not quite purple, not quite blue. It's a gorgeous colour and when I went to pick mine up from Boots it was the last one available, so clearly a popular choice.

Excuse the chipping in the picture, but these are painted nails a day old. For me this a little soon to begin chipping, especially as the varnish is advertised as having lasting hold up to 7 days. I would recommend putting on a thin layer of top coat to make your nails last longer. I opted out of using one this time because the So Laque! range is very shiny so there didn't seem much need for a top coat, but it would be useful just to get extra wear from it. Here I've used two coats of the varnish which is expected from most varnishes and this is definitely enough coverage.

So this is a new shade for spring and I think it will see me through the summer months too as it's much bolder and brighter than the darker shades I tend to wear in autumn/winter. It's described on one fashion website as being "electric", which I think is a perfect term for it and it ties in with the latest neon trend. Great for summer nights with a clashing colour summer dress, experimenting with nail colour is an ideal way to try out trends you might not want to extend to your face make-up.