Sleek Pout Polish Pink Cadillac - Review

I miss MAC Tendertones. They were the best lip gloss/balm ever. The flavor/scent was great, the colors were beautiful (although, sort of pointless, since very few had any pigment at all. *sigh* Why did they stop bringing them out in favor of those terrible Sun Tint things?

I'm happy to say, however, I believe I've found an adequate replacement from Sleek - their Pout Polishes are pretty darn good. I've used Pink Cadillac almost every day for the past 2 weeks, and I'm really digging it.


Sleek says:

A tinted lip conditioning balm formulated with natural oils such as Almond Oil, Shea Butter, Avocado Extract and Vitamin A, C and E to help condition the lips and lock in moisture.

It also includes SPF15 to help protect the lips from sun exposure.

Using a lip brush or fingers, apply a small amount to the upper and lower lips for a sheer wash of colour and gloss.

Pink Cadillac is a scary-bright pink in the tube, and even on the lips you can definitely see the color, but it's softer, almost a jelly-type finish, that's sheer. No sparkle, and it's not super glossy, either. This shade produces enough shine to catch the light, but that's about it, which is refreshing. The texture is thin (although you could totally build the product up, if you wanted, but why?). These aren't really sticky, although I would say they're a tiny bit tacky, and they don't last forever on the lips, either. I get about 2 - 3 hours wear, without eating and minimal talking, with this. I haven't really experienced any stain-effect from the balm, so as it wears off, the color appears to go with it.


The lasting effects of the moisturizers, though, is great. My lips feel soft, smooth and moisturized (just like a Tendertone!). The scent is sort of blah - a creme brulee-type scent. There's a touch of something sort of unpleasant there, though. Most likely, it's the SPF interfering with whatever flavor Sleek put in these.


Overall, I really, really like this. I believe all of the available shades would like work for pretty much anyone who wanted to try them, because they're sheer. The SPF inclusion is pretty awesome, too. Those of us that are not lucky enough to live in England can buy these direct from Sleekmakeup.com for $6.50 (plus a slightly unreasonable $10 or so for shipping). 

Sleek Suede Blush - Review

I've been waiting to try Sleek Cosmetics for a long time. Makeupalley has repeatedly discussed this brand, and their releases, for what seems like an eternity. When I had the chance to swap for the highly anticipated "Nude" collection, I jumped on it.

Sleek is a UK-exclusive brand, however, the rest of us can order from their website with quasi-reasonable shipping prices, currently $10 to the US at this time. Blushes retail for $6.50, and there are currently 13 shades available. I have two, but today I'll discuss the newest color, Suede.

Sleek uses a combination of MAC and NARS packaging styles, with a little flair of their own - it's typically black, with minimal decoration. Some colors or palettes do have special designs on them, though, if they're part of a collection. The Nude  is a collection with a nude-toned decoration/flower thingie on all three pieces of the collection.  

The back has a list of ingredients, the name of the color, and the usual fair. These blushes come with a clear plastic wrap around them, which is why they have this information printed on them, unlike brands that utilize boxes or other types of outer packaging. To look at the packaging, you may assume it's very similar to NARS, but it's not so rounded, and it's not made from that obnoxiously weird rubberized stuff. It's smooth black plastic, like MAC. 

Each compact comes with mirror, and, of course, a pressed blush. Suede is a neutral nude-pink. It's pigmented, not exactly soft, and a great, true, neutral with a matte finish. Pink blushes often look a little off on me, because I'm a warm toned gal, and pink seems to always lean cool, but I find this wearable. I've heard a few people say this blush is similar to NARS' Douceur. Any thoughts? I need to get to Sephora to see what I think... Douceur is on my wishlist.

I'm sort of glad this blush isn't particularly soft. Virtually no powder is kicked up by my brush, which is great. My only issue is it can take some pressure on the brush to pick up the blush. Maybe this blush was over pressed or something. I'll need to see if my other Sleek blush is the same (no, I haven't used it yet... I wanted to try this one so bad, I've been using it for the last 2 or so weeks, since my swap partner received her part of our deal!).

So far, I've been pleased with this blush. It's wearable, it lasts 12 plus hours on my face, and looks natural. What's not to love? If possible, I'd strongly recommend this blush, or others from the range.

Haul! Woooo!

Okay, so this isn't the smallest haul, and it isn't the largest. It's medium sized, I suppose, in terms of monetary investment on my part. Almost all of this haul was collecting through swapping, which is awesome for my bank account!

My Fred Meyer still had the Wet'n'Wild summer trios! I couldn't believe it, so I grabbed two (I think a giveaway may be in order!), along with two of the Fantasy Makers nail polishes, Black Magic and Purple Potion. I also picked up a few things from Essence, one of the "holographic" (their word, not mine) nail polishes in Blue Ray, and a gel liner in Berlin Rocks. I finally managed to swap for Deborah Lippman's Across the Universe and MAC's Studio Tech creme foundation in NC15 (I think it's too dark, but I'll try it anyway). While perusing Etsy, I found a relatively new shop called Muse Minerals, and I picked up a few samples as well as 3 larger sized eyeshadows.

Missha had an amazing offer available through Facebook to buy their Cho Bo Yang BB Cream for $9.99, where the "normal" price is $45.99 or so. Because I registered with the site, and this was my first purchase, they also sent a full size of their Perfect Cover BB Cream in shade No. 23, which is a bit too dark for me, but again, I can at least try it around the house to see what I think. I also chose the Tea Tree Sheet Mask, mostly to try it out (and it's $1.99!). Finally, they included a nice selection of samples.

I've been dying to try Inglot, and was very lucky to set up a swap for a complete 10-pan Freedom palette (I'll add the color names in my full review later on). And, I was able to work MAC's Pro Longlash mascara in the deal! In a separate swap, I was also able to get a new in box They're Real! mascara from Benefit! So excited to try these... which mascara to try first, though?

Finally, the swap I'm probably the most excited about! My swap partner has not yet received her end, but I can't help but be super excited about this.... Sleek! The entire nude collection include Bare Minimum pout polish, Suede blush and Au Naturel palette. She also picked Life's a Peach blush, Pink Cadillac pout polish and the Oh So Special palette... and Cadbury chocolates! I hope my package arrives soon!

So... all in all... yeah. I have a lot new stuff to try. Out of pocket, this wasn't too bad at all, because a lot of it was swaps. What've you recently added to your stash? What would you most like to see reviews of?