Urban Decay Naked Flushed vs. Sleek Face Form

Since the beauty blogging community expanded in popularity in the late 2000's, brands want to offer innovative products that will keep gurus talking and consumers consuming. Big beauty brands are in competition with each other to be in vogue for hauls, reviews and demonstrations, and along with huge conglomerates owning the majority of cosmetic houses, there are no doubt going to be similar offerings of products in order for make-up businesses to be one step ahead. 

Urban Decay and Sleek are popular for different reasons. Urban Decay initially rose to fame for their "beauty with and edge" products but have now spread the love to neutral wearers throughout the globe with their Naked collection of nude hues. Sleek's affordable, yet incredibly pigmented blushers, lipsticks and eye palettes ensured Sleek a secure place among YouTube's beauty community. Both brands are two of my favourites and have palettes containing everything you need to enhance your complexion after foundation. They are Urban Decay Naked Flushed and Sleek Face Form palettes.

Left: Urban Decay Naked Flushed palette.
Right: Sleek Face Form palette. 

Urban Decay thought of what a make-up user would use the most and this is clear in the layout of their Flushed palette. Sleek simply added a complimenting blusher on to their original contour kits.

Left: Urban Decay Naked Flushed palette.
Right: Sleek Face Form palette. 

Unfortunately, the Flushed palette only comes in one colour and is only going to suit light to medium skin tones. The bronzer/contour shade is the largest of three as bronzer is a product that is used on more areas of the face, neck and décolletage. The middle shade is shimmering pink champagne, reminiscent of darker powder formula of their previously discontinued Urbanglow 'Sin' cream highlighter. The blusher on the right side of the Urban Decay palette dusty raspberry rose hue. This is a universal shade that would suit most skin tones as many people naturally flush this colour, thus giving credence to this aptly named kit. 

Sleek makes up for Urban Decay lacks and offers their Face Form in four shades including Fair, Light, Medium and Dark, catering to all skin tones.  It would have been nice for Sleek to include a matte blusher the way Urban Decay did.  Even though they look different in the palette, they swatch quite similarly in the photo below. However, when applied to the face the do vary in colour and finish. 

Top: Urban Decay Naked Flushed palette.
Bottom: Sleek Face Form palette. 

So who wins in the battle of the complexion kits? It's is hard to decide as both palettes offer the consumer something different in terms of texture, finish and colour. I cannot recommend one in particular as people would need to consider various factors before buying. The list of pros and cons for each palette is listed below, which may help you decide which one to buy (unless you are like me and must... have... both). 

Urban Decay Flushed palette: Pros

• Sizes of each shade corresponds to how much a person would use of that particular section on their face. 
• Blusher shade is matte, allowing the consumer to decide if they add want to add more sheen with the highlighter. 

Urban Decay Flushed palette: Cons

• Most expensive of the two, although considering the price of similar separate products from Urban Decay, this is not going to be the deal-breaker for some shoppers.  
• Only comes in one , supposedly universal, shade.

Sleek Face Form palette: Pros

• Comes in a variety of colours to suit many skin tones. 
• Least expensive of the two, which in fact is cheaper considering the price of a separate contour kit (£6.49) and blusher (£4.49) together is more expensive. 

Sleek Face Form palette: Cons

• Blusher is not matte so may not be suitable for some for day-wear.
• Sizes are consistent so the user may hit pan on contour or blusher before highlighter and may need to repurchase just for one section. 

Both palettes are perfect for travelling, and whilst they do vary in colour and finish, there is no difference as to what they are designed to do for your face. 

Urban Decay Naked Flushed palette £22/$30

Sleek Face Form palette £9.99/$14.99

Barry M Silk Nail Paint SS 2014 Collection

Barry M recently launched their Spring/Summer 2014 nail polish collection in the form of six pastel shades named Silk Nail Effects. 

From left to right: Pearl, Truffle, Blossom, Heather, Mist, Meadow.

The colours are Pearl (splashed white), Truffle (somewhere between tan and wheat), Blossom (amaranth pink), Heather (wisteria purple), Mist (light blue) and  Meadow (honeydew green). 

From left to right: Pearl, Truffle, Blossom, Heather, Mist, Meadow.

This collection are not like anything that Barry M has previously offered in terms of nail polish. Although, they dry down to a matte finish, they do not appear to be flat. They have a pearlescent sheen throughout their pigment which makes them appear to be silky smooth once dried. 

Matte finish with a beautiful sheen. Thumb nail- Pearl, Index nail - Blossom, Middle nail - Mist, Ring nail - Heather, Baby nail - Truffle.

Normally when I have applied colours like these, I often feel disappointed by the number of coats it requires to build up the desired opacity, however these silk paints only need two thin coats and dry within 20 minutes. 

Thumb nail- Pearl, Index nail - Blossom, Middle nail - Mist, Ring nail - Heather, Baby nail - Truffle.

Meadow got an exclusive hand as opposed to the rest sharing the nail love. Addicted to green.

These pretty colours will definitely help any beauty lover spring into summer. 

RRP £3.99 per nail paint. 

Valentine's Day/Night Make-Up

I love matching my make-up to the occasion and Valentine's Day is no exception. 

Best selfie pose.

Today though, I am in the midst of a respiratory infection and make-up is not on my to-do list. However, I was going to University and wanted to feel good so after watching Faith's Elsa tutorial from Nomadic Makeup I decided that was the perfect make-up to garner inspiration from. 

"I never knew what I was capable of." - Elsa, Snow Queen from Frozen.

It does take a lot of products to emulate a Disney Snow Queen. 

See product breakdown at the end of this post for a list of everything in this photograph. 

I kept the eyes hazy, soft and romantic for the daytime, but should you wish to enhance the look for date night, simply add liner and lashes.  For the eyes I used the Sleek Vintage Romance palette and Oh So Special palette (which are great alternatives to the Urban Decay Naked 3) and a heart shaped nail decal on the outer thirds. I also used a flesh-toned pencil on the waterline. 

This haze of colour was created using 'Ribbon' and 'Organza' from Oh So Special in the centre of the lid. The purple inner and outer corners and lower lash line consist of a mixture of 'Celebrate' from Oh So Special and 'Honeymoon in Hollywood' and 'Bliss in Barcelona' from the Vintage Romance palette. 

For the lips I used a Barry M 'Fuchsia' lip liner and Barry M 'Bubblegum Pink' lip gloss wand. 

Bubblegum pink gloss on bubba shrimp shaped lips.

For my complexion I used L'oreal nude magique foundation, Rimmel bronzer, Sleek blush and MUA highlighter. 

Queen of Selfies.

With my Valentine...♥ 

♥

I think its perfect for wedding day make-up for brides who prefer shocking pinks and candied violets as opposed to traditional bridal colours. 

Product breakdown:

Eyes

Urban Decay 'Sin' 24/7 glide-on shadow pencil £14

Sleek 'Oh So Special' palette £7.99

Sleek 'Vintage Romance' palette £7.99

MAC 'NW25/NC20' chromographic eye pencil $16

Love Atti Python Cheats mascara £5.30

MUA Make-Up Academy 'Shade 4' mascara (for eyebrows) £1

Allura nail art (hearts) £1

Duo Lash Adhesive £6.75

Lips

Barry M 'Fuchsia' lip liner £2.99

Barry M 'Bubblegum Pink' lip gloss wand £4.49

Face

L'Oreal Nude Magique Eau de Teint 'Porcelain' foundation £9.99

2True 'Shade 1' Cover n Conceal £1.99

Collection 'Candlelight' Lasting Perfection pressed powder £2.99

Sleek 'Antique'blush £4.49

Rimmel natural bronzer £5.99

MUA Make-Up Academy Undress Your Skin highlighting powder £3

Brushes

Selection of brushes from Real Techniques, Crown and Lydia

Miscellaneous 

Heart shaped peace symbol earrings on sale from New Look

I Love... Mango & Papaya Body Butter

Oh yum! 

If I could sum up this product in two words, the above introduction would be it. This body butter is by I Love Cosmetics and often stylised as I Love... on their packaging. I am avid fan of The Body Shop range of body butters, but not their £13 pricetag. I especially love their Mango and Strawberry scented butters and their Vitamin E butter. I was resisting buying more as I have other bath and body products to use up. But then I went shopping in Superdrug last weekend for hair dye and spotted this tub of exotic deliciousness among the remaining scents including Raspberry & Blackberry, Coconut & Cream, Vanilla & Almond and Strawberries & Cream. I couldn't resist trying out I Love... Mango & Papaya, especially as it was on offer for £1.48 (usual RRP £2.99). I bought three (two for me, one for mum) and first tried it yesterday morning before heading to university. I applied the butter to my legs, arms and décolletage before continuing with my regular routine. During yesterday's lecture, and forgetting about my new purchase, I couldn't help but notice a curiously fresh fragrance radiating in the room. This unfamiliar bouquet was even overpowering my daytime perfume and everywhere I went, this essence followed. It was only when I applied it again this morning that I realised that it was, in fact, this inexpensive yet invigoratingly perfumed bath product.  

There are no quotes on body butter.

Although, I'm not new to the I Love... range of bath and body skincare, I am new to this particular product. I have previously used their hand wash and now discontinued scents of their body butters. 

I Love... says:

"Feel refreshed with a burst of juicy mango and succulent papaya. Coconut and Shea butter leave your skin gorgeously nourished & silky soft, while my gorgeous perfume leaves your skin beautifully fragranced."

I say, I love I Love... Mango & Papaya and almost agree with their statement on this butter. Admittedly, The Body Shop Vitamin E butter leaves my skin feeling softer but for the price, the smooth texture and energizing aroma, I Love... is unbeatable. 

Smells good enough to eat.

Oh yum!