Swatches: Anastasia Beverly Hills Modern Renaissance Eyeshadow Palette

Hello!

So yesterday I was on my lunch break with another one of the girls on the beauty floor and some how ended up ordering the Anastasia Beverly Hills Modern Renaissance Eyeshadow Palette from Beauty Bay. The reason I ended up buying it from Beauty Bay was purely for the fact that they have free next day delivery and it's my day off today so I thought I'd order it to have something new to play with today! (I might have a slight makeup addiction.....)

Firstly, let's just discuss this packaging shall we? The outer case is suede which means I spent a good 5 minutes just stroking the outside of the palette like some sort of weirdo. It's sturdy without being too heavy. It's not the sleekest palette I've got in my collection but it's also not the bulkiest either.

In my haste to want to touch it I took a quick photo of it untouched....before realising I'd left the plastic protecting bit on it....oops! Each of the 14 shadows is 0.7g (for comparison the shadows in the Urban Decay Naked Palettes are 1.3g for 12 shadows) and you get a double ended brush with a flat end and a blending end, which is actually pretty good quality and I would happily use unlike most brushes that come with palettes.

Post-swatchfest! I was surprised by the lack of fallout with these shadows until I looked at the ingredients and saw that they are talc free. I was incredibly happy to see this as I hate that talc is in so many powders as it's just a filler and does nothing other than annoy the crap out of me by causing all my palettes to become super messy with the fallout of the shadows! This is why I love bareMinerals so much and now I can add ABH to this love apparently! I've not looked into their other powder products yet but this means I definitely will be (sorry purse!!!) ABH are also cruelty free too, which is a HUGE bonus in my books. The only thing I will say is that the use by is "once open use within 6 months" which seems to be an incredibly short shelf life for an eyeshadow palette I think. Most are at least 12 months if not more so I'm not sure why this is.

From top to bottom: (all swatches in natural light) (all colour descriptions are from how I see them blended on my hand)

Cyprus Umber - A deep matte brown, which is always welcome in any palette for me as it's so multi-use. From defining your crease to using as liner, it's always handy to have.

Love Letter - A matte cranberry shade. I was literally saying yesterday that I don't really enjoy matte colours generally but I think this is the colour to change my mind! What a beauty!

Antique Bronze - A pinky bronze shimmer. A beautiful colour that I can see myself using all over the lid or as an outer colour shade.

Buon Fresco - A pinky nude shade. This one almost has a hint of lavender in it, which would make it a perfect colour for a nude eye without using all brown shades like I usually do.

Golden Ochre - A (mostly) matte golden yellow shade. This is one that I'm very excited to use! It's the perfect yellow shade without being too bright or too pastel. As you blend this out there is a very subtle shimmer in it that gives it depth.

Tempera - A nude shimmer shade. This is probably the shade I was least excited about as I own this shade several times over I think....however it is a welcome addition to this palette as a fantastic highlight shade for sure.

From top to bottom: (all swatches in natural light)

Realgar - A Matte burnt orange shade. I really love this colour and will be using it a lot come Autumn I think.

Warm Taupe - A matte.....warm taupe shade. There really isn't much to say about this shade other than I think it'll make a great transition shade for most looks.

Venetian Red - A shimmer cranberry shade - This is the main reason most people want this palette I think! It really is a beautiful shade that is very buildable but not overly shimmery.

Red Ochre - A (mostly) matte burnt red shade. This is the red counter part to Golden Ochre with it's very subtle shimmer when blended. It's definitely a burnt red shade with a more orange tone to it. This would make a lovely transition shade for a more dramatic eye I think.

Primavera - An intense shimmer champagne shade. I love this shade as I think it'll add a really nice intense shimmer in the inner corner but looks like it could also be used as a highlighter too....

Burnt Orange - A...urm...burnt Orange sheen shade. Most of these shades are pretty much what you expect when you read the colour name, and this one is no exception. It's definitely a subtle sheen that isn't as noticeable as the colour before but has a glow to it, which is very nice and makes me think of Autumn bonfires for some reason.

Raw Sienna - A matte mustard colour. I really like this colour! It's like a twist on a nude shade and will look pretty awesome on I think.

As you can tell, I've not actually played about with it on my eyes yet and my next day off isn't until Monday so I won't know how it actually works on the eye until then, but so far I'm very impressed and will be looking at more ABH stuff in the future for sure! I like how some of the matte shades actually blend out with a very subtle sheen to them and I like the range of colours in this palette as you can do a very natural eye look or you can really go to town with an Autumnal look too, which is possibly a bit ridiculous to say since it's technically Summer in the UK right now, but really....it's definitely Autumn weather outside right now and I prefer Autumn/Winter anyway so anything that gets me excited for that time of year is a bonus for me! Although that's not to say that this palette isn't good for Summer too though...I will be taking this palette with me when I got away to London in August for sure!

I was incredibly impressed with Beauty Bays delivery as well and the ease of use when ordering this palette and I will definitely be using them again....perhaps for one of the ABH Glow Palettes?? Who knows??

Have any of you guys tried this palette yet or anything else by ABH that you can recommend for me?

Until next time,

xoxo

Review: bareMinerals Lovescape Collection

Hello!

So as some of you may know, I work for bareMinerals on one of their counters. I'm a Counter Manager and I bloody love my job! I've been with them for almost 4 years and I wouldn't change a thing right now. Having said that, I will now point out that I've not been paid for this post, all opinions are my own and I brought all of this with my own money. Disclaimer over, let's get on with it!

So, as I said, I've been with bareMinerals for almost 4 and every February/March they have a different collection come out. The first year it was the most beautiful blue packaging with bright colours in, the second year was a lovely rose gold collection and last year was the modern pop collection and then this year it's the Lovescape collection. All the previous years have had hits and misses for me personally but this years collection is just purely beautiful all round I think! From the boxes to the gold packaging to the actual colours, it's all just one hit to another for me! So let's have a little look shall we...

You can't tell me you don't love that ombre outer packaging! 

Side note: the bareSkin bronzer is a deluxe sample and not the full size product! (obviously...)

So the collection consists of: 

A limited edition version of bareMinerals best selling Perfecting Face Brush in gold (also the number one brush in the UK!)

Marvellous Moxie Lipstick in Chase Your Dreams.

Colour boost palette in The Stolen Heart.

Eyeshadow Quad in The Instant Attraction. 

Also in the collection is the bareSkin serum bronzer, but unlike the others this item isn't limited edition so will be available from now on as a full line product.

First up is the brush. I definitely didn't need this brush as I have the original one and, well....who really needs two of the same brush right? It turns out the I need two of the same brush!

As you can see from the picture above, the gold version of the Perfecting Face Brush is a big longer and the handle is actually slightly wider all the way to the bottom of the brush. For some reason this feels slightly weightier and nice to use for me personally. This meant that I could totally justify buying myself the gold one. Also it came in that pretty box...so you know....there's that too... In terms of usage, it's the same as the normal brush, pop a bit of whatever liquid product in the dip and then buff away! I tend to actually use mine to put my Complexion Rescue and Primer on together in the morning but it can be used for the bareSkin foundation or bronzer or any other liquid foundation or product. 

Marvellous Moxie lipstick in Chase Your Dreams - If I had to pick one items that isn't quite me out of this collection, it would be this one. I like it but it's a bit too "my lips but a bit frosted" for me. I prefer a brighter colour generally but I do like this for a nude that isn't too nude look. The slight frost to it does enhance your lips with that slight glow and is in keeping with the glowing look created by this collection.

Chase Your Dreams swatch. This is one swipe of the lipstick and you can see it's pretty pigmented in just that one swipe!

Ah, my favourite of the whole bunch! Eyeshadow Quad in The Instant Attraction. Colours from top left (left to right) are: Whirlwind, Happenstance, Anticipation and Meant to be. You can see I've used this palette a lot since buying it a week or so ago! It's my one of my favourite palettes ever I think. This is mainly because it's almost like the loose eyeshadows but in a compact form, so easier to use but just as sparkly! As usual it comes with a double ended sponge applicator and a large mirror (covered with the box in this photo so I don't scare you all!)

A new thing that bareMinerals have introduced in the last few months is this handy guide on the box for the eyeshadows. I think this is such a good idea for customers who don't have time to sit down and try stuff on and also for people who love makeup but might be stuck in a rut and need ideas.

Swatches of the eyeshadows in natural lighting.

From top to bottom:

Meant to be - Sparkly brown

Anticipation - rose toned sparkle with gold flecks

Happenstance - champagne sparkle

Whirlwind - (my favourite out of them all) it looks like a fairly nondescript matte peach shade...but....

.....it actually has a lilac shift to it in certain lighting (you made need to move your monitor a bit to see it well!) I love this as a cheekbone highlighter too as it gives a new dimension to my cheekbones. Basically the more you blend it, the more of a lilac shift it gets. Love it!

The Stolen Heart Colour Boost - This duo blush and highlight is gorgeous and can be swirled together for a sheer highlighted blush or used individually for a more intense blush and sheer pearl highlight. I like the latter and really wish this highlight would come out separately. They did a limited edition highlighter in Turn On a while ago and this is like that one, but in a compact form. 

Top - swirled together

Left - Highlighter alone

Right - Blush alone

The final addition to the collection is the only one that is staying as a permanent piece, and that is the bareSkin Sheer Sun Serum Bronzer. This is the deluxe sample size that I had to try whilst I waited for my free full size one (perks of the job!) and it actually lasted me quite a long time actually. The idea behind this is that you can either a) use it alone for a healthy glow with minimal coverage b) use underneath foundation for a lit from within glow c) mix with foundation to make it a tad darker (perfect for Summer!) or d) use as an actual bronzer over your foundation.

It looks very dark when it first comes out of the bottle!

It's always quite runny so a brush is probably best to put it on with (hence the gold Perfecting Face Brush in this collection) If any of you have tried the bareSkin foundation, you'll find this easy to use despite it being a bit runnier than the foundation is, for those of you who haven't used the foundation it's really easy - just shake, drop and buff into your skin!

Once blended out on my very pale hand, you can see it just gives a healthy glow without looking obscenely dark on me. I was worried about how tanned I would look but actually, one drop just makes me look a bit healthier. I like to wear this under my foundation for a healthy glow from within look but that's only because I'm not a huge fan of bronzer in general as I feel like I'm very tanned very quickly and the very pale girl in me finds this odd!Haha! I've used it in various ways on customers and it's proved to be most popular (on my counter anyway) as a product to mix with customers current foundation to take it up a tone as Summer is round the corner (apparently....!) You can really see the glow on my hand in this picture!

Here is another picture of the bareSkin Bronzer in a different light. It's less glowy but you can see how it's got that subtle healthy glow about it.

So round up time:

Pros:

• Pretty collection all round.
• Everything is very pigmented and lends itself to a very pretty sunkissed look.
• Packaging is cute.
• Bronzer suits all skin types

Cons:

• Limited edition - once it's gone, it's gone (except the liquid bronzer thankfully!)
• Lipstick may not be universal for people who don't like frosted finishes.

Prices of items are (of March 2016):

Eyeshadow quad - £29

Colour Boost palette - £24

Brush - £24

Lipstick - £17

Bronzer - £25

I love that the prices of these items is the same as the non-limited edition versions - ie normal quads are £29 anyway.

I'm a big fan of this collection and this it might be one of the prettiest and most universal collections we've ever launched as a company. I just really want that highlighter colour to come out full size and full line!! So what do you guys think? Anything take your fancy from this collection? As always, leave me your thoughts below!

Until next time,

xoxo

Review: bareMinerals 4.0 Eyeshadow in The A-List

Hello!

So today I bring you another review of something from my ridiculous stash of beauty items.... Today it's the turn of the bareMinerals 4.0 Eyeshadow palette in The A-List. I've had this eyeshadow palette for about a year now and I've never really reviewed it, which seems a bit odd as I use it an awful lot!

What bareMinerals say: "bareMinerals READY® Eyeshadow provides exceptionally vivid, long-wearing colour in an ultra smooth, silky texture for effortless application and seamless blendability with two complementary shades. Powered by our proprietary SeaNutritive Mineral^TM Complex along with powerful antioxidants, cold-pressed borage oil, caffeine and cucumber-ingredients known to reduce the visible signs of ageing, including reduced look of puffiness and antioxidant defence for a softer, smoother, revitalised eye area.

No parabens, no binders, no fillers, no harsh chemicals, no kidding."

So the first thing to note is that I don't actually have the box for this eyeshadow palette...nooooo!! It got crushed one day and there was no saving it. This makes me quite sad but I'm so aware of the fact that this is such a first world problem that I will move on and say no more about it! 

Without the box the sort of rubbery outer packaging gets dirty quite quickly. I do love the feel of this kind of packaging but it's SUCH a nightmare to keep looking shiny and new.

The palette contains my favourite 4 colours to wear....which is probably why it was my first choice out of all the eyeshadows to buy! 

As you can see....this palette is a little messy from usuage!! I've had this for about a year and a half and it's still going strong. It's definitely my most used eyeshadow palette as it's actually quite versitile. I like to mix it up ever time I use it! The white shade of Icebreaker is my favourite base colour as it's a soft white but has a bit of sparkle to it and is quite unique compared to other colours I have that are kind of, maybe, slightly the same-ish....oops. The pink can be used as a sheer wash or built up for a more intense colour. The purple actually has a gold shimmer to it that adds some dimension to it and the black is a pure matte black which is great for a soft powder eyeliner. I love using the purple as an eyeliner tooas it's quite intense but with the bit of shimmer it's different to a pure black liner. I have been able to create soft everyday looks with this palette and some intense smokey eye looks too. The only downside to this palette is that I know I'll run out of the white shade quicker than the others....a problem I think everyone has with every palette ever made!! It does come with a double ended sponge applicator but I do have a bad tendancy of just throwing those out ni frustration after them falling out every time I open the palette up for weeks after I've first brought it! I just don't like the sponge applicators!

This shows you one finger swipe swatches of each of the colours. They are incredibly pigmented so a lighter hand is needed if you don't want a really intense look. All in all though, I absolutely love this palette and am always drawn to it for my everyday look as I find it easy to use and I prefer a slightly different colour look to just the neutral colours personally!

What do you guys think of this palette? Do you have any bareMinerals eyeshadows?

Until next time,

xoxo

Review: Illamasqua Reflection Palette

Hello!

So today I'm bringing you a review on the Illamasqua Reflection Palette from their Sacred Hour Collection. (Side note: I'm also writing this on my brand new and super shiny iPad Air, which is very exciting for me but possibly not as exciting for you guys!) I went to the launch of this collection up in Selfridges London last July and had a whale of a time (side note: where does that phrase come from??) and met some lovely people, one of which I ended up going to dinner with and making good friends with! I did buy a few items (which my new friend totally told me off for - this is why we ended up being good friends I think as her telling me off was just like my friends would! Haha!) including the eyelashes and some nail polish. This was the most exciting purchase for me personally as it was the first makeup item I had brought from Illamasqua! I'd been wanting to try their stuff for ages but didn't want to order online incase I didn't like it. So, on to the palette....

So the Illamasqua packaging is very simply but classy I think. The only downside being that the shiny shiny case gets lots of fingerprint marks on it very quickly!! I like the case and it's easy to open even if you don't have nails (you know the kind of cases I mean where you need to have nails to be able to flip the lid open right? Ugh.)

The internal packaging is lovely too. My only complaint here is that there is a lot of packaging for a small palette. The packaging probably could have been reduced by about a third really. But it does look lovely, so there's that! The eyeshadows themselves are of the same formula as the Paranormal Palette so are kind of a bouncy feel with a cream to powder sort of texture. The guy who put this on me at the event a) was really lovely b) totally convinced me I needed this in my life for freshening up tired eyes and c) smelt really good which may or may not have helped sell the product to me.... He explained how the lemon/cream colour really helps to open up tired eyes (which it does) and that the others can be used in various different ways. I've used the darker brown colour as an eyeliner several times and a tiny bit goes a really long way. Now then, I don't own a lot of neutral palettes as I do love experimenting with lots of colours on my eyes, but this is one of the best neutral mini palettes I've seen. It can be used for day and night and is easy enough to pop in your bag if you take your eyeshadow out with you. I did find the cream formula creased on my eyes a bit but a tiny bit of primer underneath sorted this out!

These are the colours with one swirl of the shade and a swipe onto my hand. I like the way you can create a dramatic smokey eye with the dark gunmetal grey colour if you want or keep it fairly natural if you prefer. The colours are all very pigmented and I like the fact that there's no fallout with this formula as I do get frustrated with losing a lot of product round the packaging! 

Overall I think this is a really nice eyeshadow palette to start off with if you haven't tried Illamasqua before. I like the way it's quite natural colours as Illamasqua are quite well known for their "out there" colours and products (I brought the Paranormal Palette for this reason alone!) It's a nice way to try out different formulas of eyeshadows too and the sort of bounce that comes with these eyeshadows just makes it feel like a really nice highend purchase! I'm pleased that I invested in this and will be buying other bits from the Illamasqua website soon (I say soon...I've got a lipstick from the sale on it's way now!!) The only thing that puts me off a bit is the price. This palette is £34 which could be considered pricey when you can get one of Urban Decay's various Naked Palette's for £37 that contain more eyeshadows of fairly similar pigmentation. however, it's the formula of these that I liked so much that I was willing to pay that price for to be honest. I'm not sure if I'd want to pay that price for a neutral palette with only 4 shades in in a powder form if the Naked Palette's were a choice too as I'm a value for money kind of girl most of the time! (She says typing on her iPad.....) 

Have you guys tried anything buy Illamasqua? Any products you'd recommend? What do you think of the Reflection Palette?

You can buy the Reflection Palette at your nearest Illamasqua counter or online (where you can get 10% off if you've made 3 or more orders from them!)

Until next time,

xoxo

EOTD - Featuring Dior Backstage Mono Eyeshadows

Hello!

So today I bring you an eye of the day look that my friend who works on the Dior counter next to me did for me about 9 weeks ago now! I haven't been able to get the photos up so it's a little bit later than I wanted it to be but oh well! Now then, the one really great thing about working in cosmetics is that you can have a play about with all the new shiny things that come in as soon as they arrive! It's like Christmas for all of us when the new collections come into store! The Dior ones are usually the most exciting just because well....it's Dior you know? (Although the new Lancome palettes were worth the wait too!)

Anyway, the new mono shadows came out with the backstage collection and we all had fun swatching them like crazy! I had some spare time after work and volunteered myself for a trial of some of the colours...it's a hard job but someone has to do it right? Haha! There are quite a few colours to choose from but we decided one the silvery white, pink and purple because I really wanted to try the sparkly white one and those colours are just drying to be used together!

These eyeshadow can be used wet or dry and look stunning either way, they just look a bit more intense with a wet brush. I do think that pretty much any solid eyeshadow can be used wet, just spray the brush first with a tiny bit of water and most should be fine I think. I may be wrong but any I've tried it with have been fine (please don't sue me if you try it with a palette and it doesn't work though ok?!)

Here's a lovely picture of my face with my eyes open so you can barely see any eyeshadow them at all! Note the sexy pinned back fringe, fire escape in the background and slightly red eyes from where I'd had a mini meltdown earlier in the day! You can also see where Toyah has used the purple as an eyeliner underneath my eyes - This has to be one of my favourite things at the moment, using  powder shadow as my eyeliner.

Eyes closed shot so you can see the way they've been blended ever so nicely! 

Slightly closer look so you can see the detail a little better. I like the way Toyah used the purple as an eyeliner on the top too. It's subtle but gives a bit of definition too. 

Products used:

• Dior Skin Nude Foundation (The only liquid foundation i will use at the moment, and only when Toyah does my make-up really...unless it's for a night out and then I have to put my trusty BareMinerals on still!)
• BareMinerals Dark Blonde/Brown Eyebrow Powder (LOVE this powder so very much!)
• Dior Universal Bronzer in Number 2
• Dior Rosy Glow Blush
• Dior Mono Eyeshadow in #006 Swan (Sparkly White)
• Dior Mono Eyeshadow in #887 Bow (Pink)
• Dior Mono Eyeshadow in #176 Lilas Mitzah (Purple)
• Dior Iconic Overcurl Mascara
• Dior Addict Lipgloss in #13 Etoilee (I think! It's the clear sparkly one)

Now then, these are super beautiful colours but at £22.50 per shadow, I simply can't afford to buy those 3 colours (I don't think I could really justify one to be honest!) I have a palette that pretty much has all 3 colours in it anyway, which is my BareMinerals A-List palette but the white colour isn't quite as sparkly really....so at a push I could probably talk myself into buying that one (if I ever had £22.50 spare...) It looks very pretty with a grey/black smokey eye look too! The other two are very pretty, but I personally think you can probably buy the same sort of colours for cheaper (Seventeen have some fab little mono eyeshadows that contain a very similar pink and purpler colour to the Dior ones) but I seriously haven't seen another white sparkly eyeshadow quite like the Dior one, without it being a loose powder of course. The downside to the loose powder ones, for me, is that the sparkly tends to spread across the eye and you can't really use them wet like you can with a pressed shadow. 

What do you guys think about the Dior Mono Wet/Dry Eyeshadows? Have you played with any of them at all, if so which ones are your favourites? 

Very quick side note for you guys - the clear sparkly lipgloss is very pretty and looks nice on it's own but can also add definition to any lip colour at all without changing the initial colour....however, the Dior one is £22....and you guys know me, I love finding cheaper alternatives because I'm not made of money at all! So low and behold, here is my alternative for you....it's from H&M and cost £1.99!! It's exactly the same, if not actually a little bit better in my opinion. It has a bit of a subtle fruity flavour to it as well which is nice. I don't know if it has a name but it was just in the make-up bit of my local H&M and was also in the two others I visited over the next few days (I didn't just go on a H&M store tour by the way...) I highly recommend this lipgloss if you like the Dior one but can't afford the price tag. 

Until next time,

xoxo

Review: Sleek iDivine Palette in Storm

Hello!

So I went shopping week ago and finally went into a Superdrug that stocked Sleek make-up. I know that Sleek is a favourite in the beauty blogging world and it always looks so nice. I've looked on the Sleek website before and thought a lot of the stuff was really nice but just didn't want to spend money on items that I hadn't ever been able see/swatch to know the quality. I know this seem hypocritical as I happily ordered from ELF but I'd seen a few products before and frankly, spending £1.50 on a product isn't so much of a risk (if that makes any sense at all?!) Anyway, the stand that I went to was pretty empty (it was about 3pm on a Saturday after all!) so I couldn't have a proper look which was a shame. However there were a few eyeshadow palettes left so I had a little play about and decided to pick up the Storm palette and the Acid palette (more on that later!)

So today I'm reviewing the Storm palette which is a 12 shadow palette with fairly neutral colours.

First up, I've gotta say I love the packaging. I basically brought this so I didn't have to bring my Naked palette on trips/when I stay over at people's houses (I'm really worried that it's going to break for some reason) I like this packaging because it's compact but sturdy....also quick sleek (do you see what I did there??)

Inside the palette are 12 colours with 3 matte colours and the rest have a nice shimmer to them.

From top left: (as they come out in the swatches - this picture makes them look different to how they actually look in the palette for some reason!)

1 - Shimmery Brown

2 - Shimmery Taupe

3 - Matte Taupe

4 - Shimmer Gold

5 - Shimmery Pink

6 - Shimmery Pinky Bronze

From bottom left:

7 - Shimmery Dark Brown

8 - Shimmery Silver

9 - Shimmery Moss Green

10 - Shimmery Navy

11 - Matte Brown

12 - Matte Black

 I really like this mix of colours as they are good for both day time and night time looks. Always handy to have a palette that has everything in it! The applicator is a standard double ended wand which I was a little bummed out about but actually it's REALLY good for precision and makes the shadows really pigmented on the eyelid.

Swatches - same as above in the palette.

These are literally with just one stroke with my finger. SO pigmented!! Can you see what I mean by this being a pretty god fix for the Naked palette? I did some comparison swatches and they are pretty similar but at the same time quite different in undertones (some of the Naked palette light shadows have pinky undertones to them whereas these ones have more yellow undertones) I really can't decide on which one is my favourite! I love the gold colour and the red/brown colour on the top far right. I also love how pigmented the matte black is. Perfect for smoky eyes!! The navy colours are beautiful too (although you can't really see them properly in this picture can you? I fail at swatches because my elbow bends at a weird angle!)

So I decided to do two quick looks with a few of the colours. For this brown smoky eye (for everyday use) I used (from the list above) number 2 on the whole lid, number 1 in the corner and crease and number 7 just in the corner. (Apologies for the dark circles/dodgy eyebrows...i wasn't wearing any make-up due to having time off work! Also no mascara to complete the look....shame on me!)

A closed eye shot so you can see the pigmentation better. This is with a pretty quick sweep of my eyeshadow brush. I think if I really did it properly that it would be even better (well...I know it would be because I wore this look to work on Tuesday....I just forgot to photograph it!)

This one was done using shade 4 and shade 10. I really love the fact that there is a navy in this set! I have a really lovely navy dress and every time I've done smokey eyes with it they always look too intense and I end up taking it all off an just going for a brown look (like above)

I swept the gold all over the lid and then followed with the navy in the corner and bended it over the crease a little. I also used my angled eyeliner brush to try using the navy eyeshadow as a powder liner and I'm really impressed with how it turned out. I think I'd like to try it on a day out so I could test the actual wear time of it but I like the idea of being able to use these as powder liners too. I'm really pleased with how this came out actually. I can definitely see me wearing this when I next wear my navy dress!

The brushes I used were:

ELF Eyeshadow brush (for blending)

ELF Eyeliner Brush (for the start of the navy eyeliner)

ELF Angled Eyeliner Brush (for the navy eyeliner flick)

Sleek Eyeshadow Applicator Sponge (included in the palette - pictured in first picture. I really can't stress how good these are for an intense swish of colour and for precise application in the corner of your eye - you'll see this more when I review the Acid palette soon!)

So there you have it, the Sleek iDivine Storm palette. This was £6.49 in Superdrug and I'm really glad I picked it up. I did have a little regret to start of with thinking "did I really need to buy yet another neutral eyeshadow palette??" but the answer is yes! It's going to be so handy for travel and I really love all the colours in it. There isn't a single colour that I wouldn't use and they are really pigmented, so for £6.49 I'm really pleased with this purchase! I also like the fact that Sleek are cruelty free and a lot of their products are suitable for vegans (full list of non-suitable products can be found in their FAQ list here) always a bonus in my book!

What do you guys think? DO any of you have the Storm palette or can you recommend other ones? Any other Sleek products products I should try out? (I've got my eye on their contouring kit...looks pretty good!)

Until next time,

xoxo