Vamping it up with Sleek Cosmetics

Hola! I felt a bit vamptastic today, so I pulled out two 'holy grail' products and created a tutorial using them. The products in question were the Sleek 'Storm' palette and 17 'New Black' lipstick, both of which I have mentioned before - but I just can't get enough *starts singing The Cure*...

[[ Click here for the tutorial! ]]

[[ Click here for the tutorial! ]]

I adoooore the blue shades in the Sleek 'Storm' palette, I think the silver-blue is particularly unique. I love rockin' some blue smokey eyes using these shades, they're so pigmented and easy to work with! 17 'New Black' is the perfect black-plum-red hybrid for me, it's actually much darker than it photographs (thanks, flash)...

EYES - UDPP, Hi-Fi base, Sleek 'Storm' palette silver-blue, dark blue and black, Too Faced 'Cream', mascara, Barry M 'intense black' eyeliner (heap o' crap btw, I don't recommend it).

FACE - Kryolan cream foundation (as concealer), Revlon Photoready foundation, Collection 2000 Matt + Minerals foundation, Kryolan powder, The All Natural Face 'Persimmon' blush

LIPS - 17 'New Black' lipstick

(P.S) Super large pics - yay or nay? 

FOTD - Playing Copycat...

While half asleep in college this morning, a girl leaning against the wall facing away from me caught my attention. Knee high, lace up, black suede boots, black mini skirt, black peasant top, pure white skin and white blonde hair - she sure stood out against the sea of orange tanned, brassy blonde chavtastic girls in my college! Then she turned around and I almost squealed in excitement over her make-up!

Thick black eyeliner over the lid, flicked out and speckled with silver glitter, paired with a blackened red lip. Her lips were much darker and her eyes were lined all the way around, but I didn't fancy going 'too' gothic. She looked awesome! Imagine this make-up on somebody with pure, bright white skin?! It was amazing. She had the perfect face to pull it off.

[[ Glitzy glitzy silver sparkles! ]]

[[ Nudest nudey nude nekked lips ]]

EYES - UDPP, Rimmel 'Stay Matte' powder, E.L.F cream eyeliner, Go Cosmetics glittery silver eyeliner, GOSH pencil eyeliner, mascara.

FACE - GOSH primer, Revlon Photoready foundation, Sleek cream foundation, Rimmel 'Stay Matte' powder, The All Natural Faced 'Persimmon' blush

DARK LIPS - Clinique 'Vintage Red' lipstick, 17 'New Black' lipstick

NUDE LIPS - MAC 'Honeylove' lipstick, GOSH 'Darling' lipstick

I hope I bump into the goth girl again, so I can tell her I love her style and her make-up is stunning...even though I'll definitely seem like a stalker or creepy admirer. Ah well!

SWATCH TUESDAY - Going Green!

Green. The colour of plants, emeralds and those weird, foreign sweets you probably shouldn't eat. To me it's a fresh, zingy colour and I love every shade! I think green can be awkward to wear, namely because it's semi-yellow (the hardest colour to pull off imo), but a rich green suits EVERYONE. Find a perfect emerald shade and you're set. Also, the good ol' gold glimmer for warm skin tones, silver for cool skin tones helps a lot.

[[ Urban Decay - Protest, Shakedown, Absinthe, Graffiti, Covet 24/ 7 eyeliner ]]

[[ MAC - Old Gold, Landscape Green, Kelly Green, Teal ]]

[[ Heavenly Naturals 'Dragon', Glamour Doll Eyes 'Immature', Aromaleigh 'Spooky', Aromaleigh 'Radioactive', Fyrinnae 'Omgwtf', Fyrinnae 'Dragon's Wing' ]]

[[ The All Natural Face 'Ocean Green', TANF 'Mint Green', Darling Girl 'Wicked', Darling Girl 'Grotto', Sassy Minerals 'Bad Attitude', Make-up Enigma 'Poison Tree Frog' ]]

[[ Beauty UK Palette 2 lime, Ruby & Millie khaki green, Ruby & Millie forest green, Barry M 'Khaki', 17 'Seafoam Green', 17 'Green Glimmer' ]]

[[ Kryolan 'Emerald', Victoria Jackson 'Green Envy', Yaby 'So Vein', Yaby lime, 

Too Faced 'Wicked Green' ]]

What colours work with green? Gold, silver, taupe, purple, yellow and blue are my faves for pairing with green.

My picks? Yaby 'So Vein' is the most incredible blue-green hybrid - possibly my favourite 'shadow in my entire collection! The Beauty UK palette lime is really pretty, shot through with a radiant golden sheen. 17 'Green Glimmer' will always be a bit special to me - it's one of the first 'shadows I ever bought! I've not a clue why Armaleigh's 'Radioactive' goes by that name - it's supposed to be a super bright, funky green, but in reality it's the weakest one I own! Same goes for Kryolan 'Emerald'...emerald?! WHAT?! It's just a pastel green wannabe.

What are your favourite green make-up products? What brand do you think do greens best?

FOTD - Work and play...

This look is becoming a firm favourite. It's no secret that in my opinion, Urban Decay make the best 'drugstore' neutral shades - 'Toasted' is waaaay up there in the 'Super Awesome Neutrals' chart...

[[ Just look at that lid colour! EEEEEE! ]]

EYES - TFSI, Urban Decay 'Toasted', Superdrug MUA shade 4 (very very close to UD 'Underground'), The All Natural Face 'Chocolate Brown', Too Faced 'Cream', Kryolan liquid eyeliner, Kryolan white pencil eyeliner, mascara.

FACE - Collection 2000 matte foundation, Sleek cream foundation, Rimmel powder, The All Natural Face 'Terracotta' blush.

LIPS - MAC 'Bombshell' lipstick.

Shiiiiny! I'm going to buy a full size of TANF 'Chocolate Brown', it's such a lovely crease colour and blends out amazingly. I also love how it reminds me of pure cocoa powder - I'm never sure if I should in fact be mixing it with hot milk! I'm still diggin' Too Faced 'Cream' to highlight, it's been my number one highlight shade for years but I hit pan and now I'm left with the dregs around the edges - I hope they sell it as a single colour!

What neutral products are you crazy about lately?

(P.S) You guys may have noticed I'm moderating comments now - it's just that some people just comment with their blog URLs - this is MY blog - not your advertising space! 

SWATCH SUNDAY - Batting for Blue!

I think you'll agree that blue is one of those 'stand out' colours. I can never pass up on a beautiful blue and have, therefore, acquired quite a few...From the palest sky blue to the deepest, darkest indigo - there's something for everyone.

A lot of people fear blue eyeshadow, thinking it will make them look like a hooker or a kid playing in make-up. Not true! If you choose a shade suited to your skin, you should be perfectly fine. As a general 'rule', aquas, baby blues and silver blues suit pale, cool toned skin and indigo, saphires and golden blues suit darker, warmer skin. I also recommend adding another colour or using a few different shades to eliminate the 'block blue' effect.

[[ The All Natural Face 'Deep Steel Blue', Hi Fi 'Sex, Drugs, Rock n Roll', Enigma 'Zeus', Fyrinnae 'Japan', Fyrinnae 'Digital Faerie', Fyrinnae 'Sleeping Cutie' ]]

[[ Urban Decay - 'Goddess', 'Shattered', 'Painkiller', 'Peace', 'Electric' 24/7 'liner ]]

[[ Too Faced 'Midnight', Yaby 'ES473', Yaby 'ES553', MAC 'Steel Blue', MAC 'Sky Blue' ]]

[[ E. Funkhouser 'Risque', Barry M 'Kingfisher Blue', Ruby & Millie dark blue and aqua baked eyeshadows ]]

[[ Sleek 'Storm' palette dark violet blue and silver blue, Sleek 'Original' palette dark blue and bright blue ]]

 [[ Kryolan - Aqua glitter creme, blue aqua colours, 'TV Blue' eyeshadow ]]

What colours work with blue? Gold, bronze, silver, bright purple, green, yellow, orange are a few of my favourites to pair up with blue.

My picks? Well, I always recommend Fyrinnae's 'Digital Faerie' - it's so gorgeous IRL, but it doesn't photograph as the aqua-gold-green hybrid that it truly is. My all time favourite MAC pigment is 'Sky Blue' - it looks AMAZING paired with a bold purple like MUFE 92, which is also quite possibly my favourite colour comb!. The Sleek palette blues are fantastically pigmented, beautiful colours - perfect for smokey eyes, too.

What are your favourite blue make-up products? Are you scared of blue eyeshadows?

'Baggies are my Enemy' FOTD

Anyone else hate sample baggies from mineral make-up companies? I do. They instantly get forgotten. Out of the envelope, into my make-up bag and straight to the back of my mind. I'd rather pay a few extra dollars and have a nice, sturdy jar...anyone agree? In a bid to rid myself of a few baggies, I did an EOTD using some All Natural Face and Aromaleigh samples.

[[ How unimpressed/ gormless do I look?! ]]

[[ Please excuse mascara, had to use a crappy Kryolan one ]]

EYES - UDPP, TANF 'Just Peachy', Aromaleigh...can't remember (doesn't matter since they're closing anyhoo!), TANF 'Creme Brulee', TANF 'Deep Steel Blue', TANF 'Chocolate Brown', Prestige brown liquid eyeliner, Kryolan mascara, Kryolan pencil eyeliner.

FACE - Collection 2000 mineral mousse + Sleek cream foundation, Kryolan cream foundation, Rimmel powder, TANF 'Terracotta' blush, Lancome bronzer duo.

LIPS - TANF 'Plum Crazy' lip gloss.

(P.S) I started back at college this week, it's an art course so it's pretty involved! Pre-warning if I start to slip a bit on posting and replying!

Swatch Monday - All over ORANGE!

Swatch Sunday? Swatch Monday! See what I did? Clever, right? *Ahem*...Oranges swatched today, I only just realised how stunning and complex a colour it really is. Some products looked pure orange in the jar, and turned out more pink, copper or bronze. I hardly ever see oranges used in FOTDs, it's a bit scary to work with since it's made up of two colours which often jar with skintones - red and yellow. But WOW - what a colour!

[[ Barry M 'Orange', Hi-Fi 'Mind Manipulator', Fyrinnae 'Third Wish', Fyrinnae 'Chlorophyll', Mad Minerals 'Wild Mango' ]]

[[ Hi-Fi 'Burn all the Empires', MAC 'Melon', Fyrinnae 'Rapunzel Had Extensions', Heavenly Naturals 'Hummingbird' ]]

[[ Barry M orange gloss, Kryolan LC004 lip colour, Kryolan aqua colour, TANF 'Terracotta' blush ]]

What colours work with orange? Red, yellow, gold, cream. I'm also partial to a little blue.

My picks? I can't praise Hi-Fi 'Burn all the Empires' or 'Mind Manipulator' enough. 'Mind Manipulator' is an incredible, rich, hot orange shot through with glowing gold - I think you'd have to see it to truly appreciate how amazing it  is. I love the complexity of 'Burn all the Empires', not quite orange, not really pink, not exactly bronze...such a wonderful, versatile shade. The All Natural Face 'Terracotta' blush has become quite a staple for me, too! Fantastic for warm skin tones.

Are you intimidated by orange? Favourite orange products?

HG Mineral Blushes? Well, that was easy...

Mineral blushes are always a bit hit and miss. It seems a LOT of mineral companies make theirs either one of two things - A) So sheer it's barely visible or B) So sparkly you'd make a Twilight fan suspicious. Finding a nice, 'matte but slightly sheeny' blush is hard, because if you've been in the mineral make-up realm for quite some time, you probably know that 'matte' often translates to 'chalky' or 'really dry and hard to blend'.

FEAR NOT FELLOW MINERAL BLUSH HUNTERS - I HAVE THE ANSWER! Or actually, The All Natural Face do...

They have answered all of my blush prayers! Pigmented, buildable, super soft and blendable, matte with a natural looking glow (NOT glittery/ shimmery AT ALL!), shades which suit my skin tone, the perfect pink (I've been looking for ages) and they're long lasting to boot *super funky happy dance*

And guess what? One blush only sets you back a tiny, pathetic, minuscule $3 for 5 grams of product - enough to last you for aaaaaaaages!