Autumn/Winter Drugstore Beauty Haul

Nude Lipsticks for Winter

Kylie Jenner seemed to single handedly turn the beauty world back on to darker nude lipsticks. I've been a big fan of darker nude lips for a long time and they're a particular favourite of mine in the winter. If you find the right shade then they can be really flattering, and work perfectly coupled with autumnal clothing colours and make-up shades. Swatched above are four of my favourite nude shades, and as you can see they're all quite different.

Illamasqua's Glamore Lipstick in Minx - RRP £16.50

This is the darkest nude shade I own, and you can clearly see that it has a rich, warm, rosy undertone that's quite unlike my other nude lipsticks. This shade would be great for darker skin tones, but I still enjoy wearing it (you can see photos of me wearing it in this post). It can be blended into the lips to create a long lasting dark stain, or worn heavily as a very bold, dark nude. If the shade isn't for you I would still highly recommend the formula, and Illamasqua has a whole range of nude shades designed to suit to a variety of skin tones. I'd love to try more from the range!

Revlon's Matte Lipstick in Mauve it Over - RRP £7.49

This is one of my most longstanding lipstick shades. Despite looking decidedly orange next to Minx, Mauve it Over is a very wearable nude with a matte finish. It's widely heralded as a dupe for Mac's Velvet Teddy Lipstick, but I haven't tried it so I can't really confirm or deny that. It lasts ages on my lips and it's very nude without being too dark and washing me out. It won't be a shade that's to everyone's tastes but I'd definitely recommend swatching it next time you're in a Boots or Superdrug store, you might be surprised at how much you like it. 

Gosh's Lipstick in Nougat (Brown #122) - RRP £6.49

Nougat is a deep brown with just  hint of pink. It's quite dark against my light skin tone and I think it would work well for a lot of different people. The formula is gorgeously creamy, definitely the creamiest drugstore option I've ever come across, and it wears really well. If you're after a drugstore lipstick that feels high end then I'd definitely head for the Gosh counter. If nude lipsticks aren't your cup of tea then I'd definitely check out Gosh's bright lipsticks, they're equally lovely and the formula works well with statement colours. 

Sleek's Sheen Lipstick in Liqueur - RRP £4.99

If you have very pale skin then I think you'll find this lipstick from Sleek the easiest to wear. It's definitely a nude but it has slightly pink undertones and it isn't anywhere near as dark as the other shades in my line up. Sleek's Sheen formula is thick and creamy, but not as good as the formula of Gosh's lipsticks. However, for £4.99 I think you'd be hard pushed to find a better option and if Liqueur isn't the right shade for you then there are some other wonderful colours to choose between - I've featured some before on my blog which you can read about here.

Are you a fan of nude lipstick? If so, what shades do you like wearing?

Loving Lately: Sleek's Lipsticks

Sleek's True Colour Lipsticks are long standing favourites of mine. They come in two different formulas, 'matte' and 'sheen', and I have one of their matte lipsticks in the shade 'Heartbreaker' and two of their sheen lipsticks in the shades 'Liqueur' and 'Barely There'. I fell in love with the sheen formulation when I bought 'Barely There' after repeatedly hearing Katie rave about the shade over on her blog. It soon became one of my most worn lipsticks (which is quite a feat considering the size of my collection) and it wasn't long before I set out to expand my Sleek lipstick collection. 

Heartbreaker 

(sorry there's no lip swatch!)

Sleek's matte lipsticks are very thick, very pigmented and offer totally opaque colour payoff. When you apply them they feel quite creamy but they do dry down on the lips and leave a dry, stain-like finish that really does stay put. The lasting power is really impressive and the colours in the range are gorgeous. Heartbreaker is a bright, hot pink which I love to wear as an alternative to a red lip. 

Liqueur

Sleek's Sheen Lipsticks are super creamy, really moisturising and they offer thick, opaque colour payoff that has a gorgeous glossy sheen. I coveted Liqueur for months before buying it. It doesn't necessarily look that appealing in the bullet but it is a really unique nude-nude/pink shade that just has something special about it. I don't own anything like it and I'm very glad I finally picked it up because I think it looks really beautiful on the lips. 

Barely There

This is a gorgeous coral-coral/pink shade that looks beautiful on lots of different skin types. I find it really flattering when I have a tan but its also totally wearable when I'm at my palest. It's a very pretty and easy to wear colour and its a nice alternative to a straight up pink shade. This is probably my favourite shade of the three and it is certainly the most reached for of the shades that I own. I love the feel of the sheen formulas on the lips, they're so easy to wear and I don't find that they smudge or bleed like some other more moisturising lip products do. 

Left to right: Heartbreaker, Liqueur, Barely There.

You can find Sleek's lipsticks in Superdrug stores and online here for £4.99.

Have you tried any of Sleek's lipsticks? Which of the three I own do you prefer?

Another 'daytime' FOTD

Hello to everyone reading today, I hope you're all having a lovely weekend so far. Today's post is another 'day-time' FOTD and this is actually pretty much the way I wore my make-up all last week. [Please do excuse my hair though! I've recently reapplied henna to get rid of those roots, and actually gone for a browner shade.]

You can see the products that I used below.

I tend to not wear mascara on my bottom lashes unless I'm doing a heavier smokey eye but I have been loving a bit of a less subtle lip colour during the day. I've been wearing Revlon's 'Revlon Red' patted onto my lips with a light slick of the Body Shop's Clear Lip Gloss* which I received in the #bbloggersxmas goody bag over the top (I actually forgot to include it in my picture below.) I've also been working on contouring my face (which you can't really see in my photo) but I am slowly getting better at it! My Real Techniques brushes are just fantastic and are a daily staple of mine now. I've also been getting a lot of use out of my blog sale finds, my new Mac blush in the shade Mocha and my A La Carte Cosmetics Brow Ink. 

All of the products I used are firm favourites of mine and if you're keen for any individual reviews or swatches just let me know and I can schedule posts for them!

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REVIEW & SWATCHES: Sleek Sparkle 2 Palette

So today I'm reviewing Sleek's Sparkle 2 Palette and I have to say that these eye-shadows really did wow me. Sleek's palettes are always lovely but I really do love this one! (And the box is a lovely bonus, it's so pretty- I think it would make a lovely Christmas present or stocking filler.) I recieved this in my goody bag from the #Bbloggers Xmas Event and I'm really glad I did because as this is a limited edition product I might have missed out on it otherwise.

The palette itself comes in the standard matte black compact and is just as sturdy and high quality as usual. I think the packaging (like the box it comes in) looks sleek (excuse that pun...) and expensive. My dad's girlfriend who hadn't heard of Sleek before refused to believe that you can get your hands on this palette (and others like it) for as little as £7.99*, but it's true! Sleek's products are just amazing value!

Top row: Chocolate Penny, Blue Spruce, Mulled Wine, Truffle, Mistletoe and Illusion
Bottom row: Festive, Gold Ribbon, Glitz&Glamour, Tinsel, Twinkle and Starry Night

The eye-shadows are all named and I've included them in the images' captions. On first inspection they all look incredibly sparkly, perhaps too sparkly even. However, what you find as you swatch them is that the pigmentation is amazing and the glitter is quite chunky and set apart from the body of the eye-shadow. Notable exceptions to this are Chocolate Penny and Tinsel which are a lot more inherently sparkly than the other shades.

(left to right, top row:) Chocolate Penny, Blue Spruce, Mulled Wine, Truffle, Mistletoe and Illusion


Of the above shades Mistletoe is my favourite just for it's gorgeous formula, it really glides on incredibly well and it's pigmentation is amazing (these swatches are from one swipe of an eyeshadow brush). I also love the colour of Illusion and Truffle, however, all of these look very wearable even Mulled Wine which as a red I wouldn't normally pick up.



(left to right, bottom row:) Festive, Gold Ribbon, Glitz&Glamour, Tinsel, Twinkle and Starry Night

Some of the shades on the bottom row are slightly less pigmented (Festive and Tinsel in particular) but Starry Night is really pigmented and the colour of Twinkle is just gorgeous!

All in all I'm really happy with the quality of this palette and the shades are fantastic, they're all really wearable and the pigmentation is generally really fantastic. The colours look quite seasonal too but I have a feeling that a lot of these are going to be the staples for my evening eye looks in the upcoming months. I'll have to do a FOTD featuring some of these as I think they deserve some more attention!

This palette is available on Sleek's website for £7.99* and although it isn't on Superdrug's website I've seen it in Superdrug stores so it is definitely worth keeping your eyes peeled for it, especially as it's a limited edition palette!

Do you have a favourite Sleek eye-shadow palette?

Angelica

REVIEW: Sleek's Lipstick in Barely There

I mentioned in my review of Sleek's Pout Paints that one of my favourite lipsticks was a Sleek lipstick, well this is it! 

Sleek's Barely There is a gorgeous light pink shade with a hint of orange, I haven't come across anything that is quite like it, its a really gorgeous shade! It comes in a compact, matte black bullet which I really like the shape of, its just off 'round' being slightly oval. The whole feel of the lipstick is great quality. The lipstick is thick, it isn't drying and the colour is opaque so you don't really need to layer it. Sleek do a whole range of lipstick types and Barely There is a Sheen shade and it gives the lips a lovely shine without being overly glossy which makes it great for everyday wear. I tend to wear this a lot to university as it isn't too out there while it still leaves you looking 'done'.

one layer swatch

Pale girls this is definitely a shade to look out for! But if the colour isn't for you then I would recommend having a look at some of Sleek's other shades, they actually do a very dark berry colour that would be perfect or Winter. I'm going to add another lipstick of theirs to my collection very soon but I haven't decided on the colour yet, if you have any recommendations I'd love to hear them!

You can find Sleek lipsticks online on Sleek's website for £4.99 or in Superdrug stores. 

What's your favourite lipstick for everyday wear? 

Angelica

REVIEW: Sleek Pout Paint

I absolutely love Sleek's lipsticks so when I saw their Pout Paint when I was out shopping I decided that I should give them some attention to see if they could knock my favourite longer-lasting, lip stains off their top spots.

Sadly, however, I just didn't get on too well with this product, mainly because of the way the product is dispensed (see above image). The product in the little tube has a tendency to separate so you have to squeeze and shake it before even attempting to use it. Then you have to be careful to only squeeze out a very small drop of product either onto your finger or onto a surface where you can then apply it from using a lip brush. The messiness of having to use a finger or lip brush made this very un-travel-friendly. I wouldn't ever try and reapply this after having a coffee or before a lecture as I would make a mess!

The product itself is highly, highly pigmented and, despite coming in a tiny tube, will really last a long time as you only need a tiny amount of the Pout Paint to cover all of your lips. It does last very well on the lips and feels like something  between a non-sticky gloss and a liquid-lipstick. It isn't, however, at all staining. The shade I have is Rosette (a very bright pink) which is a lovely bright lip colour, perfect for evenings out... if only for the applicator!

I think if you could get over the design of the applicator then this is something which could become a handbag staple. It doesn't take up room, is good value for money, durable plastic packaging etc. And the idea with the Pout Paints is to buy a couple of colours and then you can customize lip colours by mixing the colours you have to create unique shades. It's a great idea, and they're very affordable so you could buy a couple without it being a huge splurge, but this process just isn't one you can use on the go! I have to say that I personally wouldn't recommend this product but I'm not saying that it isn't without its merits, I can see why people like it. 

You can purchase this for Sleek's Pout Paints for £4.99 online on Sleek's website or in Superdrug stores.

Have you tried Sleek's Pout Paints? How did you find them?

Angelica

Sleek's i-Divine Respect Palette: Swatches

This is just a short post to let you know that I picked this up from Superdrug yesterday and that I already really love it.