Sleek Ultra Mattes Brights Palette Swatches + Review!

Sleek has finally given in to consumer requests for an all-matte eyeshadow palette, and released not one, but two, matte i-Divine eyeshadow palettes. Since the i-Divine palettes were always one of their most popular products, I'm sure these will be a big hit too. The two palettes consist of a Deep Palette, full of dark neutrals, and a Brights Palette, which is, of course, full of Brights. The one I have is the Ultra Matte Bright Palette.

I'm sure most of us are pretty familiar with how the Sleek i-Divine Palettes look, so I'm not going to rehash the details. I'll go straight to talking about the colours and quality. Colour-wise, it's a bright palette with enough shades to cater to your every need - there's pinks, greens, blues, oranges, yellows - but at the same time, there are also three more neutral shades, Floss, Crete, and Pow! And can I say how glad I am that this time there isn't a matte black? It seems to me that almost every Sleek palette I've come across inevitably has a black shade sitting in a corner, so I'm glad to see that this is a little break from the black. Here's a shot of the Sleek Ultra Matte Bright Palette, with the colour names for each colour. And lastly, this is a very on-trend palette, too, colour-wise, containing over half of the upcoming Fall Season 2012 colours, too. So yes, although it is a palette that looks like a Spring/Summer palette (brights of course being very Summer-y), it'll also be relevant well into Fall.



Top row, L-R: Chill, Pout, Sugarlite, Dragonfly, Pucker, Bamm!
Bottom row, L-R: Cricket, Bolt, Strike, Floss, Crete, Pow!

Quality-wise, I found the pigmentation to be generally very good, as per Sleek Makeup's general quality. There are only a couple of shades I felt were slightly lacking in pigmentation. In terms of texture, these are much like the other matte shades in other Sleek palettes, meaning they're a little harder than the shimmer shades. Depending on your preference, this is a good or a bad thing - bad because the texture is harder, good because the shadows are less prone to crumbling and disintegrating. I personally love soft shadows, but as long as the pigmentation and staying power are good I can live with most textures.

Here's a closer look at the shades in the Sleek Ultra Mattes Brights Palette, this time without the plastic cover.



Top row, L-R: Chill, Pout, Sugarlite, Dragonfly, Pucker, Bamm!
Bottom row, L-R: Cricket, Bolt, Strike, Floss, Crete, Pow!

And of course, what we've all been waiting for. Swatches! Let's start with the first half of the palette, consisting of the left half of the palette, along with my commentary on the shades. All shades, of course, are matte.



Top row, L-R: Chill, Pout, Sugarlite
Bottom row, L-R: Cricket, Bolt, Strike

Chill is a very nice aqua shade, that's like the eyeshadow version of China Glaze For Audrey. I like it, mainly because I also like For Audrey. Matching tips and peepers, anyone?

Pout is a hot pink matte shade. This shade is almost neon-looking. Very cool.

Sugarlite is a medium purple shade. This is one of the shades that is a bit o a dud. The pigmentation wasn't as great, although the purple was cool.

Cricket is a bright, grassy green - the kind MAC would probably call "yellow green".

Bolt is a bright cobalt blue. I really like how this looks.

Strike is a bright straight up orange. Also another colour wheel type colour.

Now for the second half of the palette. This consists of the shades on the right.



Top row, L-R: Dragonfly, Pucker, Bamm!
Bottom row, L-R: Floss, Crete, Pow!

Dragonfly is a bright secondary green, the kind you see on colour wheels. A good basic green.

Pucker is another hot pink shade. To be honest, I'm not sure what's the difference between this and Pout, since on my skin they look the same. In the pan though, Pucker more pink and less red than Pout, but only by a hair.

Bamm! is a bright canary yellow. Not the strongest pigmentation in the palette, but it's still a vibrant shade.

Floss is a light neutral pastel pink, and is one of the three neutral shades in the palette. It's a little less pigmented than some of the really bright shades.

Crete is a very light, whitened concrete grey. Another very nice neutral. Like Floss, pigmentation on this one is also a little less than the brights.

Pow! is a white that's medium in pigmentation. Not much to say, it's a basic white everyone can use.

Lastly, here is the whole palette crammed into my arm:



Top row, L-R: Chill, Pout, Sugarlite, Dragonfly, Pucker, Bamm!
Bottom row, L-R: Cricket, Bolt, Strike, Floss, Crete, Pow!

Some of the colours may look a little familiar, and that's because I do think some of the shades are similar to that in other palettes - although most are quite unique. In particular, I thought the shade Chill looked like the shade Blue Hawaiian in the Sleek Curacao Palette. And similarly, I thought Sugarlite looked a bit like Purple Haze. I'm not certain though, and I'll probably need to swatch them side by side to be sure.



So, do you need the Sleek Ultra Matte Bright Palette? If you like brights, or want a palette of vibrant shades to jazz up your collection, and don't already have similar shades, then this is for you. On the other hand, if you don't like matte shades, or dislike brights, then I guess you may not like it as much. For the price, though, this is a good palette that is value-for-money. These will be available from 9th May onwards at Superdrug stores in the UK, and online at Sleek Makeup website.

(Product was sent for review. Review is my complete and honest opinion. I am not affiliated with/compensated by the company.)