Sleek blush ~ Sahara

Although I own a couple of Sleek eye palettes & pout polishes, this is my first foray into their blushes & it certainly will not be my last!

As with the eyeshadows, this matte blush in shade Sahara is seriously pigmented & is a beautiful warm shade of coral.  It adds enough colour to offer that healthy, flushed look without looking like Coco the clown - always a bonus - and is perfect for the sunny weather that WILL hit us soon!

It has the standard matte black packaging with a handy mirror enclosed in it & retails at just £4.49 at Superdrug, a bargain for such a great product.

Mr & Mrs

 

So last week saw the first of my younger brothers getting married.  Mr F & I travelled down to Doncaster on the Friday & we'd booked to stay at the Best Western Premier Mount Pleasant Hotel, where the wedding reception was being held.

 

The hotel was fabulous & the room was gorgeous.  There was a fabulous looking spa & I'm gutted that I didn't have time to indulge in any treatments, especially as a few were on offer that weekend!  But it was lovely being holed up with all the family, eating, drinking & generally being silly.  We all enjoyed a gorgeous meal together on the Friday evening before the big day.

 

We got up early on Saturday & enjoyed breakfast before myself & my sister made our way over to our new sister-in-law-to-be as I was on makeup duty & my sis was doing her hair.  It's been years since I did a bridal makeup & we hadn't done any trials so I was a tad nervous but even if I do say so myself, it turned out beautifully & she was really pleased with it......phew!!  Unfortunately though, because it was so manic at the end, I didn't get a close-up of her finished face but I'm sure the wedding photographer took some so I'll have to try & get some off him. 

 

Her makeup stayed on all day & night with only her lips needing a wee touch-up during the day.  Here's what I used:

 

Primer - Smashbox Photo-finish

Eyelid primer - Smashbox Photo-finish Lid Primer

Base - Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum

Powder - MUA Matte Perfect loose translucent powder

Blush - Dior Diorblush in Rose Libertine

Eyebrows - Sleek Brow Kit in Light

Eyes - Sleek iDivine in Au Naturel

Lashes - L'Oréal False Lash Telescopic in Black

Lips - Dior Addict Gloss in Nuit de Juin 

 

It really was a fabulous weekend, here's a few photos.....

 

 

 



Beauty haul #1

I'm really depressed with all this snow that is showing no sign of stopping so yesterday I had a wee mooch around town & bought a few new bits to try in Superdrug.

1.  MUA Primer £4

2. Tresemmé 24 Hour Body Plumping Powder  £5.49

3.  MUA Eyebrow Pencil in Blonde £1

4.  Essie polish in Eternal Optimist £7.99

5.  Sleek Pout Polish in Perfect Plum £4.29

Over the years & through my work, I think I've used pretty much every cosmetic & skin care brand available in the UK but I'm still keen to try new stuff.  Now, I'm a stay-at-home mum of three on a very strict budget but even I am a tad dubious at the quality of the MUA products being that they retail at such low prices.  I really hope to be impressed with these though.  I've used the Primer this morning for the first time under my foundation & I have to say, it felt really smoothing when it was applied.  I can't say that it has made a huge difference to the application or indeed the finish of my foundation but to be honest, I was in a real rush today.  Tomorrow I will take more time & see if I notice a difference.  But hey, for those sort of prices, they've got to be worth a shot right?

Tresemmé is a brand I have a love/hate relationship with.  I really like most of their styling products but I often don't get on with their shampoos & conditioners which is a crying shame as they're such good value!  I've been looking for a volume booster for my hair for when I'm in a beehive kind of mood so it'll be interesting to see how it fares......watch this space!

Although I have several boxes full of nail polishes, Essie is a brand I've never got around to trying for some reason.  Actually, I do know the reason.....the price!  Normally, I wouldn't dream of spending £7.99 on a nail polish as I tend to buy mine in my local salon supplier so I get them at trade prices but I keep reading such good things about them, I decided to use my Superdrug points & get one!!  I love the colour, a neutral warm pink with a hint of brown so I feel a mani coming on tonight to give it a whirl.  I have to say though that I adore the range of colours offered by Essie but although their stands are brightly lit, this can sometimes be a tad misleading on the colour you're actually getting.  I thought this colour was more brown in the store but it's still lovely so it's all good!

I've tried the Sleek eye shadow palettes before & I LOVE them.  They're really densely pigmented & they have huge staying power but it's a first for me with the lip colours.  I'm hoping it will be as richly pigmented as the powders although the Pout Polish is a tinted lip conditioner, not a lipstick or gloss even but still, I want it to have some impact on my lips!  Incidentally, when trying out lip colours in stores, don't swipe them on the back of your hand.  As a former MUA, I've always taught my clients so test colours on the pads of their fingertips as the thinness & colour of skin is very similar to your lips so you will get a more realistic & accurate colour!!

 

So I'll be giving these products a shot over the next few days & will blog a follow-up on them asap.  À bientôt!!