Beauty Review: Sleek iDivine Eyeshadow Palettes

I have had these for a while and I have been meaning to review them since I got the first two that I tried out. I now have 8 Sleek iDivine palettes so I guess it's pretty obvious that I really like these and that I might have a bit of an idea on how to review them by now. The majority of my eyeshadows are Sleek iDivine Palettes now so I don't have a whole lot to compare them to, but lets see how we go...

DETAILS:

 I paid US$11.99 plus whatever postage is from UK to Australia when I purchased these from the Sleek Website. Obviously this is one of those sites that you buy a fair bit from at once if you want to make the postage worthwhile. These can also be purchased from Crush Cosmetics or Lipstick Republic which both sell this product at a dearer price, but have a different shipping price. I have heard things about shipping issues to the USA, but the site does allow you to choose US currency so if you live in the USA or somewhere else and aren't sure maybe check the FAQs.

PACKAGING:

As you can see in the first picture these palettes come in a black matte plastic packaging. I didn't clean the packaging for the picture because I want you to see how dirty it gets. this packaging is like a magnet for any loose powders in your make-up bag. These palettes are not overly huge, bigger than my phone and it would probably be a bit of a squeeze to fit in a clutch bag, but I don't feel like it's really huge and because it's so thin I can easily store all 8 of them vertically in my make-up organiser.

The lids clip shut so well that it can be difficult to open the palette at times. I don't know if this is a contributing factor to one of the lids having broken off or if I am just to rough with my make-up. Maybe they aren't built to be stored vertically? This has only happened to one lid so far though and it is the palette I have been absolutely flogging since I got it. For me I don't think this will be a major issue unless I want to go travelling and in that case I think a rubber band will hold the lid on just fine, or I could buy one of those z palettes and take the individual shadows out and take that, but the truth is I have another palette I would take travelling, because it has blush, lip colour and everything. Maybe sleek should think about using magnets or a different hinge or something so the palettes are a little stronger and easier to open...

I have the same issue with these that I have with the Limecrime lipsticks. They are all black, so I have to sift through them to find the one I want, which is annoying. These come in beautiful cardboard packets that are all in the bin by now. I think I would have preferred that they saved on the cardboard and printing costs and spent more on the plastic packaging. Some of the limited edition palettes have the palette names included on the front, but most of the palettes only have the name on the back. Shadow names are written on a clear slip of plastic that sits over the eyeshadows. This slip was always falling out and so I ended up binning most of them. There are no colour names written on the back of the palette or on the inside. I would have preferred that Sleek Cosmetics spent less on the clear slip and included colour names either directly under the colour or on the back of the palette. 

The packaging also includes a space for the brush and a double ended sponge-tip eyeshadow applicator. 

^Here are the first two palettes I purchased. The 'Showstoppers limited edition' is on the left and the 'Oh So Special' palette is on the right. I got these two around this time last year and the 'Oh So Special' palette is my absolute favourite. Realistically this palette has everything you need for a day to day basis. The caramel colour and the dark brown are great for wearing in the crease.

FALL-OUT?

Like most eyeshadows, you can get a little fall-out with this during application, usually just on the eyelashes. I don't have any issues with fall-out during the day though unless I use a dodgy primer or I have packed on too much of one of the shimmery shades (Happens to the best of us). Most of the time I can put this on in the morning and have it last ten hours or more without eyeshadow falling onto my eyelashes or under eye area.

PRIMER?

I wear a primer under this. I get oily eyelids so I kind of have to. I find that primer is also essential for preventing fall-out and to make the colour last. 

^The palette on the left is the 'Vintage Romance' palette and the palette on the right is called the 'Garden of Eden' palette. I like the shimmery shades in these palettes and the chocolate-y browns in the 'Garden of Eden' palette.

PIGMENTATION:

The sleek eyeshadows are more pigmented than Covergirl and Maybelline ones that I have tried. Most of the dark colours, shimmery colours and neon colours are really pigmented. Some of the pastels and lighter colours can be a little bit sheer though. I usually have no problem getting the pastel colours to look more pigmented by building the colour or by using a cream eyeshadow as a base. I actually like that the lighter colours are sheer because it's helpful for when I am blending. One of the colours (yes out of eight palettes there only seems to be one) looks different in the palette to what it looks on my skin. That colour is the dark shimmery plum colour from the 'Vintage Romance' palette. It looks a lot sheerer and more brown when swatched.

FEEL:

These feel very velvety and don't irritate my sensitive skin at all. They feel very light on my skin and the more glittery shades don't feel scratchy like some glittery colours can feel. 

^On the left we have the 'Del Mar' palette and on the right we have the 'Celestial' palette. These palettes have a lot of brighter shades. The 'Del Mar' palette has a very sixties/seventies feel to me and the 'Celestial' palette has a lot of darker, more challenging shades 

BLENDING:

I find that some of the darker colours are so pigmented that they can be a bit tricky to blend. I find that having decent eyeshadow brushes is really important with these colours and I recommend only using a little bit of colour at a time. 

LASTING COLOUR?

These eyeshadows do last a really long time, especially when worn over a primer and cream eyeshadow. I have noticed though, that the colours can look a little more grey or brown depending on whether the colours are cool or warm toned. 

^On the left is the 'Lagoon' palette and on the right we have the 'i-Candy' palette. These both have a lot of fun colours and shimmers to play around with. 

MY FAVOURITE PALETTES:
While I can't deny that all of the i-Divine palettes I have purchased are beautiful, they aren't all practical. My favourite palette is the 'Oh So Special' palette. I also really like the 'Garden of Eden' eyeshadows because the middle-toned browns and purple-toned browns are stunning. My third favourite is the 'Del Mar' palette because even though the shadows are not the most "practical" colours they are very easy to wear.

VALUE FOR MONEY:
When you consider that most eye-shadow quads these days will set you back about $15, a sleek eyeshadow palette with 12 different colours for US$11.99 (plus shipping) is a great deal. I think the quality is fairly decent for the price and it beats other drugstore eyeshadows I have tried. I originally came across these when looking for an eyeshadow palette that wasn't going to cost me $30 (or more) for a decent number of shadows. While the packaging isn't great I think the qty of product and the quality of product is great. I think these shadows are great for anyone on a budget or for anyone who wants to play around with brighter/darker shadows, but doesn't want to pay a fortune for them.

^Some of the limited edition palettes have the palette names written on the front like this.

^ What the back looks like

^The annoying plastic sheet.

^I couldn't swatch all of the colours because that would take forever, so instead I just swatched my favourites. 

OVERALL, I really like these palettes. I guess that's kind of obvious because I have eight of them. I think that apart from the packaging, the quality is really good. I couldn't compare it to a high-end eyeshadow, because I don't own anything more expensive than this. I do have other eyeshadows though and I always prefer to use these.

I hope this was helpful. I didn't take any pictures of what these look like on, so if you would like to see some different eye looks or tutorials with any of these palettes let me know and I will see what I can do.

Your Favourite Blogger,
Natalie

Beauty review: Fashion Addict Order

Earlier today I posted a Random Haul  which included this ^ make-up from Fashion Addict. I thought I'd do a blog post for it, because, well, I can. And, I'd like to ramble a little about how it can be a little difficult to get the right colour, and how sometimes you can be surprised by the quality of a product that you pay so little for.

 

The BYS products aren't known for great quality, but rather their great price. I think the quality has improved a lot though, and that it's how you apply the product and what other products you use in conjunction with that item that make the big difference. 

 

^ This is a Face of Australia eye-primer that I bought. It cost $6.95. I normally use a stick concealer instead, but thought seeing as it was so cheap, that I'd give a primer a go. This primer is a bit whiter than concealer, but once you rub it in it tends to blend right into your skin. It has a tiny bit of a sheen to it, and is a bit on the sticky side. The stickiness isn't really a problem though, because it helps the eyeshadow stay in place. I tend to use pressed powder underneath my eye-brow to highlight that area and then I apply my eyeshadow.

^Here are the two eye-shadows I bought. They are BYS 5 piece horizontal shadows. The one on the left is called 'Olive Daze' and the one on the right is called 'Mod Brights'.The colours are a bit different to what they show on the online store. The ' Mod Brights' are much brighter and the 'Olive Daze' palette is more neutral and less olive. They cost $4.95 each.

 

^Here are some swatches of what the colours look like on the inside of my arm. The colours from left to right are the colours from bottom-top. The 'Olive Daze' colours tend to be fairly neutral looking on me, because my skin is quite sallow. The colours are very pigmented (the bright ones) and do last a long time. I tend to blend them into some neutral coloured eye-shadows so they are less severe looking. And, then I use a brown/grey/maroon for the socket (to get the hooded eyelid effect).

 

I actually do like the colours even though they are brighter, but I have still ordered a pastel palette afterwards, because I really would like some soft, light colours.

 

^Here's a pic of me wearing the green eyeshadow from the 'Mod Brights' palette along with the lighter neutrals from the 'Olive Daze' palette, a darker brown eyeshadow, black pencil eyeliner and mascara (which I normally don't bother with, because my eyelashes are really thick and long without it. I'm pretty happy with this look and like how the colour shows off my eye colour more than the neutral beiges and browns that I usually wear.

 

^Lastly, I got this lipstick. It's BYS Longlasting lipstick and the shade is called Primadonna. It cost me $3.95.

 

^This is what it looks like applied with a lip-brush

 

^This is what it looks like, when it's applied straight from the tube.

 

For the cost, I think it's a nice lipstick. It's moist and creamy when you apply it and it lasts for a long time if you are just drinking water. It comes of when you eat. And, it can be a little drying after a while. That doesn't bother me though, because that's just a  typical side-effect of long-wear lippy.

 

So, yep that's my thoughts on those products. I will happily buy them again in different shades.

 

TIPS:

-New lip brushes can be a bit stiff so be sure to run them under warm/hot water and lay them flat to dry before use.

-When using bright eye-shadows build the colour up slowly. Start with a neutral base and blend the colour from the outer side of your eye toward the middle.

-To help make-up stay in place be sure to use a good moisturiser/base before hand. You can try and protect is from sweating off or fading by using a translucent powder and/or hairspray to keep it in place (I also try to wear eye-liner/mascara that is waterproof to avoid panda eyes).

-Lipstick does last longer on moisturised lips, but be sure to let the lip balm soak in before putting on any colour. I tend to put lip balm on before I put on any make-up and do the lipstick application at the end.

-When buying make-up online or via mail-order be sure to look up colour swatches (like I did on the inside of my arm) to see what the colours look like in real life. Can save you from purchasing a horrible colour that you'll never wear. Because, the colours do look different in real life...

-Also, when swatches are not available my mother suggests going a shade darker than you'd like with mail order lipsticks, because the shade you like tends to be too light in real life.

 

*Please note: I'm not a make-up artist or anything. I just know these things from reading magazines and surfing the web and 9 years worth of heavily made up dance concerts...

 

Your Favourite Blogger,

Natalie