Another Lovely Illamasqua Blusher

I'd been eyeing this blusher up for a while, trying to convince myself about how I really needed another blusher (I only have about 20 from Illamasqua alone - seriously, I mean, thats not enough is it? Its just a very basic collection... *conveniently forgets about her NARS collection, as well as all her other random ones...*). Anyway, suffice to say I succeeded in convincing myself - and now Ladies and Germs I proudly introduce you to "Tremble";

The crap amazing camera I have combined with the fantastic lighting I had at the time, has made this look actually a bit more pink than it is in real life - To the eye, this is actually a pink with a peachy-orange undertone. Its the usual high quality and pigmentation we have come to know and love from Illamasqua, and lasts really well.

This is one of the less dramatic shades from the brand, perfect for the people who shy away from the bolder hues in the range. Obviously it can be built up from a natural flush to a more dramatic look, just like all the other shades, and on me it woks as a lovely complexion brightening shade. Which is good when you are as pale as me - I can look corpse like if I am not careful, and my skin can take on a grey hue if I don't get enough sleep - this blusher makes me look as fresh as a daisy!

Here it is on the cheeks;

I've applied a fairly light application for this look, but I love it - I mean I'm even smiling in pleasure at how nice it is.... Anyone else tried this?

MizzWorthy xxx

New Offerings From Sleek MakeUP... Swatches etc included!

After something of a haiatus on the palette front from Sleek lately (I like their thinking - absence makes the heart grow fonder!), they are back with three new additions to the range - the sunset palette, the graphite palette and a new range of blushers....

I was sent the graphite palette and a blusher from the range which in spite of postal strikes etc, somehow managed to find its way to my door yesterday. Upon hearing that another palette was out (via the magic of twitter), I popped to my nearest Superdrug to investigate and picked up the sunset palette.

As always the Sleek palettes are great value for money at £4.88, each contains 12 shades of mineral based colour, and (Chaos palette aside) are well pigmented - great especially if you like shimmer colours.

The Graphite palette was a massively pleasant surprise when I opened it - the smoky eye is never really out of fashion, but is especially massive this season - This palette is (ahem) "bang on trend" as they say - a great range of greys, black, a metallic blue and two purples (including a rather fab royalish hue), and even includes a couple of great highlighter shades;

Above - Graphite palette (with flash - without flash it was impossible to see the colours with my fabulous camera!)

Above - Swatches from Graphite palette, pictured in same order as shown in the palette above - swatched dry without base, again with flash, which has washed the colour out a little - the colours are more intense in real life

I was also sent a blusher from the new range - simply called "BLUSH". The range has five shades - Pixie pink, Flushed, Flamingo, Sahara and Coral. I recieved "Flushed", a deep raspberry pink shade;
Blusher fans may recall the recent range released by Barry M, was often criticised for the cheap packaging and not great brush - Sleek have surpassed them on this front - the packaging is externally similar to the palettes, the lid has a decent mirror, and there is no crappy applicator included (now they just need to leave the sponge applicators out of the eye palettes hey? Who's with me?), which is a very positive thing.

I checked out the other shades in the range today at superdrug, and loved the look of pixie pink and flamingo - both vivid pinks as the names suggest.

Above - "Flushed" swatched (heavily) on the hand

Above - "Flushed" applied to the cheek... a lot more wearable than it looked, and I like it for this time of year...

I have not really used this blusher for long enough to comment on its longevity etc, but it was easy to apply, and easy to blend - it's also a bargain at £3.29 for 8g of product!

I picked up the Sunset Palette today - something a bit different to the usual winter palettes, but in turn, this means the palette will be useable after the party season, and beyond.

As you can see, this one is very pink/red/orange based (sunset colours surprisingly!), together with a blue and a black - again colours are shimmers, and extremely pretty when swatched...

...Although, sadly once again, my camera has managed to wash out a lot of the intensity... The highlighter colours are fairly similar in both palettes, but the two colours on the bottom left are very reminiscent of MAC's Star Violet, the orange and yellow are also very pretty and well pigmented, which sadly this picture fails to communicate.

I'd definitely try to check these palettes out before they sell out - even if you don't like all the shades, at £4.88, you can't really go wrong.

As always with mineral based shadows though, these can be a little crumbly and fragile - so take care with them!

Have you picked up any of the new products from Sleek? Don't forget to tell us what you think - it good for people to get different perspectives!

Hope this helped!

MizzWorthy

MAC Foundation Review No. 1: Studio Tech

Hi everyone, I've mentioned on here that I have a few of the MAC foundations, and was asked to do a review of them by Happy1234. Well I'm happy to oblige, but I'm sure you all know by now how I like to go on a lot/give a lot of information in my reviews! So rather than reviewing all the foundations in one go, I'll do them one by one, and all feedback/comments as usual will be greatfully received!

First of all, I'll describe the packaging and say a little bit about the colour system that MAC use for their foundations. I have also looked at a lot of feedback and reviews on the makeup alley website about this, so I'll try to present a rounded view of the product so you can decide whether or not you think it might work for you.

MAC organise the colours for this foundation into warm or cool. Cool foundations are more yellow based, while warm colours are more pink/red based. So the NC group are neutral cool - ie yellow/olive based colours, while NW(Neutral Warm) are more pink toned. NC or NW is then followed by a number - the higher the number the more dark the foundation. For reference I am an NC20 in this foundation.

Ok, so Studio Tech is a cream foundation, which comes in a compact. When you open the compact there is a mirror in the lid, and the foundation is below this. It is housed in a sealed foiled section, which keeps it hygienic until you want to start using it. Under the foundation, there is another compartment which contains a flat, round cosmetic sponge. I personally don't use the sponge as I find it soaks up products which means you end up wasting a lot (and in the UK, this costs £21.53 for 10g), I also find you get a much more controlled and airbrushed application using a brush (I use a 109). A lot of the reviewers on make up alley also seem to find this method works well for them, some use a flat foundation brush, others prefer a stippling brush like the 187. Sponges are also breeding grounds for germs, and repeated use of one sponge will cause breakouts etc if you are prone...

The foundation is a blend of water, emollients and powder, it does NOT dry to a powder finish - you would need to set it with a powder to achieve that look. It is buildable, and can be used to give light to full coverage. I find that the coverage can also be blended, ie, I apply the basic level of coverage I want, and can then add extra coverage wherever I need it and blend out the areas of differing coverage really easily. I usually dust it over with mineral skin finish natural powder to set it. I find that this will last for around 4-5 hours. I usually need retouching around the t-zone first, but I find it lasts long enough for an evening out without needing a retouch.

I also find that this being a cream foundation. It tends to 'cling' onto my blusher better - blush usually just disappears on me, because I'm pale so can't put too much on. With this foundation I blend my blusher in (usually I'll use a cream blush with this), prior to dusting over MSF, and I find it works really well. Due to the good coverage I get from it, I usually don't need to use a lot of concealer.

I'd say this foundation would work better for drier skins - a lot of the makeup alley reviews by people with oily/combination skin are more negative, and state that they find the foundation disappears quicker and causes them to break out, so I'd use with caution should you have oilier skin types or be prone to breakouts. In addition, some people with very dry skin feel that this really highlights dry areas - I have dryish skin and don't find this a problem as long as I make sure I moisturise well.

As much as I love this foundation, I don't think I could use it every day, and I can see why some people wouldn't like it, but I love it! This is my HG foundation for evenings! I also wear this at weekends sometimes, and is probably the one I'd take away with me for a weekend as I feel it's possibly the most versatile foundation I currently own. I can get a light dewy look by using it without powder and build it right up to a full on flawless perfectly 'done' face.

Another point about this foundation is that it has a texture which is almost 'skin like', and also photographs really well - the pictures on here in the rocker eye entry were taken while I was wearing this foundation.

Well I hope that this was useful and has answered some questions about this foundation, but feel free if you have any questions about it to post a comment and I'll try my best to answer it.

Also, does anyone else use this? What do others think of it?

Next review will be for studio fix fluid. I will also be reviewing mineralise satinfinish spf15, full coverage and mineralise loose powder foundation. If anyone has a particular request about any mac foundation, or a question that you want me to address in my review then just let me know and I'll do my best

Mizzworthy xxx