Vanity Trove March: Focus on the Body

March's Vanity Trove has landed, and it's definitely a little different from your typical beauty box. Not to say that it isn't great, but rather, the emphasis this time is more on healthcare than on beauty - perfect after all the Chinese New Year gluttony. Let's take a quick run-through!



Let's look at the makeup items first. Not too much colour here, more of base products. You get a Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer Creme Compact sample in Nude (with sponge, which is a nice touch), and also a Zao Essence of Nature Powder Compact in 302 Beige Orange. I think both are great shades that match with my skin, so that's a plus! Although I know a lot of bloggers were raving about the Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer Creme Compact sample, for me it was the Zao Essence of Nature Powder Compact that really wowed me. You get a full-sized product (you just need to find your own case). The ingredients list looked pretty good for a compact powder - the main ingredients are mica, zea mays (corn) starch, zinc stearate, squalane, silica, which are not clogging an are usually good ingredients in a powder. For those that like their products natural, there are some plant-derived ingredients too, the main ones being europaea (olive) leaf extract, theobroma cacao (cocoa) seed extract, butyrospermum parkii (shea) butter, and macadamia ternifolia seed oil.


Next, the skincare and perfume stuff. The perfume is a carded sample of Paul Smith's Optimism. The skincare is all from Asian brands - there's a My Beauty Diary Southern France Apricot Mask, and a Skin Food Goldkiwi Gift Set, comprising of sample sizes of the Goldkiwi Toner and Goldkiwi Emulsion.


Now, the edible body care. I guess the Vanity Trove team somehow knew I'd spend Chinese New Year stuffing my face with all the seasonal goodies (my favourites are the bakkwa and pineapple tarts, but I'm also really partial to the round crumbly peanut and almond powder cookies), because they put in not one, but two types of slimming tea. LOL! We have an three sachets of FruityLite weighted from an Asian brand, Huiji, and a couple of tea bags from a Western brand, Kilo Off. I guess this comes in useful after all my seasonal binging, although I've never been a believer in such slimming foods - my personal belief is that nothing beats exercise and healthy eating. (The hard part, of course, is practicing what I preach. Hah.)


Of course, Vanity Troves now come with a Vanity Mag - there's an article with inputs and quotes from a few bloggers, so do take a look! I always love reading the views of other bloggers.


So that's March's Vanity Trove for you! If you want to try out a variety of healthcare products, this is a good time to get your Vanity Trove.

Sleek Lagoon Eyeshadow Palette: Aqua Collection

Sleek Makeup has put out yet another awesomely cool collection, the Aqua Collection, and with it comes another i-Divine Eyeshadow Palette, the Lagoon Eyeshadow Palette. And as the name suggests, this is a palette comprised of aquatic shades of blue and green, with dashes of compmlementary purple and neutrals, along with a couple of bright shades to spice up the entire palette. Take a look!



I don't know about you, but this colour palette is definitely evocative of the poolside for me! The watery shades, contrasted with a couple of brights, reminds me of summery weekends by the poolside - a hot day, but a cool pool. Even the box is pretty cool and aquatic looking. Loves it!


The colour names for each individual shade are listed along with the box. The white shade is Oyster (in keeping with the aquatic theme). Some of the names are super cute - Sassea and Ariel are my favourite shade names.


And, for your viewing pleasure, a close-up of the Sleek Lagoon Palette, without the reflective plastic sheet of names to obstruct your view! One thing I gotta say - I'm absolutely loving the mix of colours. These are what I'd call "wearable brights" - sure they're bright shades, but at the same time the colour palette is more cool and laid-back, instead of being all screaming neon (not that Sleek hasn't done that before). So these are shades that add a pop of colour to your eye look, without being too loud.


And of course, how could we do without swatches! Along with my (hopefully) helpful commentary on the shades. As always, the pigmentation was very good on the Lagoon Eyeshadow Palettes (as it is for most Sleek Makeup palettes I've tried), and the texture is good - the mattes are always a little harder than the shimmers, but they are not too hard or unblendable.



Sassea is a lovely midtone aqua shade, equal parts blue and green. It has gold shimmer in it, which I love.
Deep Water is a deep, matte grape purple.
Reflection is a pale shimmery purple lilac - isn't it cute that the Deep Water shade is dark purple, and the Reflection shade is light purple?
Emerald is a emerald green - not quite the really bright, jewel-toned green of an emerald, but a slightly faded out version, a little more blue and lighter. Like an emerald under water, I guess.
Oyster - as the name suggests, this is a off-white shade. Like the inside of an oyster shell.
Black Pearl. Plain ol' black with some shimmer.
Pink Jewel is a pinky-magenta shade with gold shimmer. Pretty.
Sand Dollar looked like a bright-ish yellow in the pan, but on me it applies a lot more like a neutral gold shade. As you can see from my swatche, this shade blended in quite nicely with my skin. I like it - it didn't look brassy or orangey on me as some golds do.
Underworld is a midtone blue with some green thrown in, also with gold shimmer. It's more blue than Sassea, though.
Sea Shell - ooh, another pretty neutral. This one is the lightened colour of a copper penny. I'm not sure I've actually seen sea shells in this shade though (I sure wish I had!).
Night Sky. Pretty dusky purple. Not too dark, though, more like the sky when the sun is starting to set, and you get that awesome orange/red/purple sky colour.
Ariel is a pretty shade that I think could be used as a blush too, not just an eyeshadow! I'm guessing they were thinking of Ariel's hair, but this isn't quite as simple as just red. It's actually a little more of a coral shade, and very pretty too.

Although most of the shades look cool-toned at first glance, this palette would work for girls with warm undertones too, as there are enough neutrals and shades that would look good on both warm and cool-toned people to make this work. So if blues and greens and purples are your kind of eyeshadow colours, this would be perfect for you.

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

From the Vault (aka Really Ancient Things): Stila Cool Holiday Trio 2005

I'm getting old. Yes, I am. And, I have this horrible habit of acquiring new things, and then not using them (or using them very little). Yes, I do. This has led me to realize that some of the stuff I collected in the past is now foreign to these young whippersnappers just getting into makeup. So I figure, I must be officially old enough (and hoarding makeup long enough) to do a "From the Vault" series of posts (which will have a frequency depending on my mood). So the first candidate from my vault: The Stila Holiday Seasonal Eye Shadow Trio Shimmer Shadows 2005 Cool.



I think this is what they are anyway. I honestly have had these for forever, and all I know is that they probably came out around 2005, possibly for Holiday season, and this trio was designated a "Cool" Trio (which means there was probably a Warm trio out there too). But if my creaky memory serves me right, then these have been around since 200-freaking-5. OMG, I know. (I actually still remember the Y2K scare). But nevertheless, this is SOOOO PRETTY.


It actually kinda makes me sad, because back in the day when Stila was still under Jeanine Lobell, the brand was notable, among other things, for the quality of its eyeshadows. They were pigmented, with a huge array of colours, and very wearable yet unique shades. Back in my day on Makeupalley (my favourite time-wasting website),Stila had its little cult of followers who appreciated classy, unique quality with a hint of quirk. Now, the brand just seems to have lost its direction - the image changes are many and inconsistent (to use Stila Girls or models?), the product range is confused (low-end $10 palettes one season, expensive $75 palettes the next), and nothing from them feels truly innovative, only gimmicky (like the Stila Makeup Player?). I guess this is what's bound to happen when a brand has been around for awhile - it's a challenge reinventing yourself without losing the original spirit. Here's a snapshot of what I'm talking about when I say old vs new Stila:


And as a consumer, it's not just the image change that jars me, although I do feel like New Stila's image is a tad tackier than Old Stila's. (Classic, classy Stila Girls replaced with conventional models, check. Owner's face plastered on ads, check. Strange, gimmicky items like "makeup player" that don't fit with the brand's image, check.) It's also the fact that product quality seems to have slipped somewhat. All the new Stila shadows I've bought cannot match up to the older shades like this, quality-wise. The newer shadows are just not quite as soft, and definitely not as pigmented. Which is why my vintage Stila stuff from back in the day is so precious to me. Money can't buy it now. Nothing quite like treasuring what you have once it's gone...


And who can forget the inspirational quotes inside the paper lids? Loves it. I do miss the "old" Stila stuff - the cool packaging, with the lovely Stila Girl illustrations, on paper packaging. (Apparently I read in an interview that Stila started off with paper packaging because it was cheaper than conventinal packaging, as it didn't require the use of moulds.)


The trio itself is just three shades of purple - pastel lilac, a mid-tone purple, and a deeper violet. I don't even think the shades are particularly special, but what makes this trio outstanding is the quality. The shadows are silky soft, smooth, and very well-pigmented, even the lighter shades. I kid you not. Looking at the swatches below, this is quite apparent.


And of course, to round off my old lady rant blogpost, I leave you with an EOTD using just this eyeshadow trio. Nothing much in the way of bells or whistles (come on guys, this trio was from 2005!) but it is a very pretty eye look.


So there you have it! Here's something pretty old from my stash of makeup items! What cool items do you guys have in your stash? Let me know!

Beauty Blog Link Love

Musicalhouses looks at some of Sleek's Spring/Summer makeup items that are smoking hot (hint: there's a bright orange lipstick in there!).

Over at theNotice, Rae has a look at the gorgeous YSL Y Facettes Palette. Find out why these would-be Spring pastels took her breath away.

Jenny creates an inky blue smoky eye FOTD over at My Funny Valentinewhich every brown eyed girl needs to try.

Relax and feast your eyes on Fleurissante's make-up collection.

Pammy puts Le Metier de Beaute's Ultra Hydration Eye Masks to the ultimate test as she tries them while in the midst of a bad cold. If these amazing eye masks can soothe Pammy's eyes in this condition, imagine what they could do for you!

Find out which popular Essie nail polish is one of Angela's hands-down favourites, and which beauty product is an unexpected perfect match.

The Royal Family has been allegedly using bee venom to make their skin look amazing. Gouldylox Reviews tried it, sought a professional opinion, and took before and afters. She's not sure she expected these results....

L from Beautifully Addicted To tries out Cors silver soap.

Beauty Reflections checks out the new Make Up Forever Technicolor Palette!
---Phyrra is giving away the Urban Decay Bad Witch Theodora Palette!

Skincare That Works: Vitamin C Retinol + Anti-Oxidant Moisturizer from Natural Skin Shop

As a beauty blogger, I've seen it and done it all when it comes to beauty products. So it's hard to impress me. Of course, it doesn't help that I do tend to take a skeptical approach to skincare, so I rarely ever pile on the compliments for any one product (if you don't believe me, you can check out this mascara review, this other mascara review, this face mask review, this slimming body cream (hah!) review, this moisturizer review, and this face wash review, among others). So sometimes blogging gets a little boring - there are only so many creative ways to say "this sucks" or "this is meh". But. For this product, I don't have to! This is one genuine rave for a product that has really worked for me. I'm talking about my beloved Natural Skin Shop Vitamin C Retinol + Anti-Oxidant Moisturizer.

Initially, I didn't like this as much - it's got oils (okay, jojoba, and apricot kernel were the two main ones - some might consider this a good thing), it felt oily on the face, smelt a little strange (it had that "retinol"-ish smell that was exactly the same as my prescription retinoid), and took awhile to sink in. But over time, I found it worked really well for me. I felt like my skin texture was finer, clearer, and brighter, and my overall skin condition had improved. In fact, I liked it so much, I actually used up the entire tub! And a week after being done with my first tube, I think my skin kind of misses it.

One of the key advertised ingredient in this product is retinol. I'm not sure what the percentage of retinol s, but coming in at number 6 on the ingredients list (after Distilled Water, Jojoba Oil, Apricot Kernel Oil, Squalane, Hyaluronic Acid), it seemed to be decently high. At least, it was high enough for me to see an effect in my skin. And unlike other retinoids I've tried, which can be effective but drying, this one strikes a nice balance between being moisturizing (thanks to the ois and squalane) and being effective. I do think the oil content in the cream helped with my skin quality, too - I've never really been a fan of putting oils on my face (since I have acne and pimples) but it does seem to have moisturized my skin too.


I really liked this product. I just applied it at night (I don't use retinol products in the day) before I went to sleep each night, and that's all I did. Perhaps the only thing I didn't like with this product was the plastic pot (because I have to dip my fingers into the pot, and because both retinol and Vitamin C do degrade in sunlight rather quickly). Also, because of the oils inside, it is a little oilier in texture than you might expect from a typical cream, but not by much. It does take a while to sink in, which is another reason why I use this at night only. I know some would say that you shouldn't formulate products with both retinol and Vitamin C together, but for the Vitamin C Retinol + Anti-Oxidant Moisturizer, I felt that the product worked very well regardless.

I do have too much skincare as it is (I buy stuff in my moments of weakness - don't judge me! :P) so I don't know if I'll ever use it all up. But if I did (or if I tried all the other stuff and found that they sucked), this is one I would definitely come back to. I do highly recommend this for anyone, unless you are sensitive to retinoids. It's a great all-arounder that moisturizes, brightens, improves texture,and helped to improve my skin overall.

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

Vanity Trove February (And How You Can Get a Free Gift for March!)

So I'm a little slow on this due to Chinese New Year's celebrations, but Feburary's Vanity Trove is here! Let's get to the reveal - and then on to how to get a little free something with your March Trove!

Like most beauty boxes, Vanity Trove has sample-sized and mini products. The theme for this month is Valentine's, of course! Hence the appearance of a carded sample of Pure DKNY Rose. A rose perfume for February - so romantic, right? I also got samples of Skin 79 BB Cream, Origins Plantscription Anti Aging Serum, and Kiehl’s Clearly Corrective Dark Spot Solution. All established brands that don't come cheap (except the Skin79, which isn't as pricey).


One of the other things I like about Vanity Trove is their inclusion of niche brands that you don't always hear of. In February's Trove, I got samples of Yuan Soap, Iderm Placenta Serum, and Phytomer Souffle Marin. I've never heard of any of these brands before, and a placenta serum? OMG. To be honest, I'm a little freaked out by this, but it looks/smells just like any other serum, so I guess actually using it won't be so bad, haha. And, this is only marginally weirder than the snail secretion-infused skincare I previously came across.


And a full-sizes item! I got a Lovemore Facial Mask as well. I've noticed that Vanity Trove seems to be really good at including face masks (particularly sheet masks) in their Troves. It's a good thing if you like face masks!


Lastly, this month's Trove also has a Vanity Mag, which has a small contributed article from yours truly! It's the first non-blog article I've ever written, so if it's not that great, bear with me - the next one will be better :) The idea behind the article was that I would highlight past Trove items that could come in helpful for Valentine's!


Aand, if you haven't heard yet, you can use code "musicalhouses" when you purchase your March Vanity Trove, and get a free My Beauty Diary face mask with Your March Vanity Trove!


Code is valid til 14/3/2013, so don't forget to use it!

(Product was sent for review. Review is my complete and honest opinion. There is a sign-up link in the post, but I am not affiliated with/compensated by the company.)

My Blingly-est Chinese New Year Nails Yet!

Chinese New Year is coming (coincidentally this year it falls close to Valentine's Day), and over here, the celebrations get unabashedly loud and festive! You name it, we've got it - red clothes, red packets, blasts of festive Chinese music, stuffing yourself with food, cleaning out houses, buying new clothes, mad rushing to visit other people's houses - we do it all!

Anyway, I just had to join in the festivities via some nail art! Compared to my previous CNY (Chinese New Year - yes it's now acronym-ized!) nail art, this is definitely the most blinged out! The extent of my previous CNY manis involved freehand nail art and pearls, or konad stamping, or glitter gradients. But none have much glitter as this one!

For this, I used a base of Sally Hansen Diamonds and Rubies, and then I did two stripes of China Glaze Hi-Tek by hand, to "frame" the star rhinestones I'd be adding on later. Then, to bling it up, I added a coat of Models Own Disco Inferno. And then, to bling it up even more, I added on the orange stars in between the striped gold lines. I added three per nail, except for the last nail, where I could only cram two stars.


I really liked Sally Hansen Diamonds and Rubies as a base colour, since it was nicely pigmented - what you see was just one coat! Models Own Disco Inferno has gold, orange, and green glitter bits in various shapes and sizes, so all the colours were perfect for Chinese New Year! You know what the colours in this CNY NOTD remind me of? Yusheng (or lo hei)! (For those of you not reading from Asia, Wikipedia has an article on yusheng which will get you up to speed pronto!) I mean, yusheng has all of the colours in my mani, right? I mean, just look at yusheng:

Source: Wikipedia
And now look at my mani. I do think they match, colour-wise :)


This is by far the most glitter-infused CNY mani I've done to date, and I'm excited to show this off! Anyone else doing any manis for Chinese New Year?

Selsun Blue Anti-Dandruff Shampoo Review

Here's a little secret I've never mentioned on my blog before: sometimes, when I'm stressed, I get a mild case of dandruff. While I've blogged extensively about my (also stress-related) pimples and my seemingly endless quest to solve them (seriously! If you're a regular reader you'll know I've tried sebum gels, acne face masks, acne moisturizers and gels, acne oral supplants, acne face washes and gels), but I've never really blogged about dandruff; firstly, because it is quite mild and not as severe as my pimples, and secondly, because it's more of a temporary thing when I'm stressed. I get a bit of scalp itchiness, and that's it. So, I don't know how useful my Selsun Blue Anti-Dandruff Shampoo review will be, but I hope it helps you guys!

The active ingredient in the Selsun Blue Anti-Dandruff Shampoo is Selenium Sulfide 1%, which apparently helps to treat dandruff and control recurrence. It's marketed both as a treatment, as well as a dandruff prevention measure. So I guess I would fall under a little bit of both.


So, what colour do you think the Selsun Blue Shampoo would be? Blue? Nope! It's actually orange! I know, the first time I opened the bottle I was like, haha, this Selsun Blue Shampoo is actually orange in colour! Hahaha! I know, right? Totally not childish. Not at all. LOL! :p


So, how does the shampoo perform? It lathers well, and I found that it didn't dry out my hair or leave it feeling greasy, so that's a plus. I also found that it did help to lessen my stressed-out itchy scalp, so that's good too.

Would I recommend this? Why not, it seems to work, cleans my hair, and isn't expensive. So if you're interested in trying this out, it's worth a shot. Oh, and once again Blondie says hi! He is such a cute and adorable little piggy!


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

Valentine's Day Nails: Purple Holo Hearts!

February would not be complete without a Valentine's Day manicure - I mean, without fail, V-day is one of the biggest highlights of the month - not just for us as individuals, but also, I'm sure, for the companies and retailers that bastardize the occasion every year in order to hawk their cheesy, red-and-pink-hearts-and-roses-bedecked wares, haha. Well, you know how I feel about crass commercialism, but a little (or a lot of) money-making never stopped us from enjoying the season!

This year, my Valentine's Day nails are purple! and holo! and they have hearts on them! and the hearts are holo too! So, what's not to like? For the base polish, I used Color Club Fashion Addict, which is a gorgeous lilac polish with a holographic finish. Unfortunately, the holographic effect in this isn't that strong (in a super old KOTD I've tried and failed to capture this lilac holographic finish). I then added on these cheap purple holographic hearts I got from Daiso. And then I was set!


For this look, I just added the hearts in a more or less random fashion. As long as they looked good, I didn't really bother where they landed. Each nail had three, except for my tiny last nail which only had two. Also, as you can see from the photos, I had trouble capturing the holo-ness of both the hearts and the polish in my photos. Bah, humbug!


So that's it - this one is really easy to do, and not even all that much work! And I think it looks fab in real life - purple holo hearts on purple holo polish is like, totally hawt! What are you guys doing for V-Day?

P.S. Want to see my older Valentine's Day nail art from past years? I get inspired in all kinds of ways, so I have a Valentine's Day nail look with no pink at all, an obnoxiously over-flowered V-Day mani, a V-Day mani that was hot pink and black, and an annoying-looking red-and-pink nail look, so you guys know this year's is already one of the "better" ones. I even have an Anti-Valentine's Day manicure!

Use Code musicalhouses for a Free Face Mask with Your March VanityTrove!

Heads-up, guys! I know everyone loves free stuff, so I'm sharing this deal with you. Simply use code "musicalhouses" when you purchase your March Vanity Trove, and get a free My Beauty Diary face mask with Your March Vanity Trove!

I am a horrible blogger and have not yet posted my reveal of the Feb Vanity Trove, nor have I tried out the mask yet (you can see a bigger photo of it below), so I thought I'd just give everyone who wants to know the code first!


Code is valid til 14/3/2013, so get cracking while you still can!

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

Sleek True Colour Lipstick & Flick It Eyeliner Swatches!

I always look forward to Sleek Makeup's new releases - they do have some of the most pigmented, yet budget-friendly products around, and are no slob in the creativity department, either! This time, Sleek has introduced not one, or two, but TEN shades to their True Colour Lipstick range, and have also added a new line of Flick It Eyeliner. Sounds interesting? You bet!


As usual, all the products are packaged in Sleek Makeup's trademark black paper boxes. I like that there are printed swatches of the colour on the paper boxes, so you know you're getting the right shade! Inside the paper boxes, the products are all encased in black plastic, another Sleek Makeup trademark here. I like the fact that the Flick It! Eyeliners indicate the colour on the plastic tube packaging - it helps prevent confusion that way.


Now, without further ado, let's delve right into the products! First up, my favourite product of the lot, the Sleek Tangerine Scream lipstick from the True Colour range. This is bright, bold, very neon, and (as they say in the UK) bang on trend for the Spring/Summer 2013 runways, down to the exact shade. Funny thing is, I actually recently wrote a guest article on matte bright lips being a Spring beauty trend, and the next thing you know, I get sent a lipstick just like this!

Next lipstick we have is Sleek Smoulder, which is another hot-ass colour. I know it looks like just your average rosy, wearable shade in the tube, but you have to try this on to know how deep it is. Definitely deeper than at first glance!


And the Flick It! Eyeliners. These aare fun. They have a soft pliable felt-tip-pen-like applicator, and are meant to make it easier for you to get that coveted eyeliner with a flick at the end. I did notice, though, that one of my eyeliners came with a little bit of a fault? The tip appeared to be retracted into the casing, making it harder to use. You can see this in the photo below - the one on the left is the "normal" looking eyeliner, and the one on the right looks like something went wrong during the packaging process...Anyway, it's still usable, just that you have less applicator to work with, I guess. The two Flick It! Eyeliners I have, Royal Blue and Purple Aura, are limited edition, so if you're eyeing either or both of those, do get them soon. The third, non-limited edition colour, is a black shade.


Now I know you guys will want swatches, so here you go! Swatches of everything. And I kid you not when I say Sleek Makeup stuff is mega pigmented - each of these swatches was EXACTLY ONE SWIPE only. Only! I was super impressed. It's hard to find this level of pigmentation in a drugstore brand. You'd imagine it would be only companies like MUFE, MAC and Illamasqua that do this kind of thing, but I guess not! I like both Royal Blue and Purple Aura, the Flick It! Eyeliners. These are actually very wearable colours, to my surprise. I was kinda expecting neon blues and purples, but I got a medium royal blue and blackened purple. So much the better for everyday wear. They are also excellent in terms of staying power - once you let the liquid ink dry, it will stay on even if you splash your face lightly with water (wouldn't advise you to wear it to a water park though!). You'll probably need an oil cleanser or similar makeup remover to fully get this off.


And I know some of you will be interested in the lipsticks, so I've devoted more of my post to the lipsticks, and have swatched them on my own lips for you guys! First up, we have my favourite Tangerine Scream Lipstick. In the Glam Asia article I wrote, I actually mentioned that one of the Spring/Summer colours out on the runways was neon, matte orange. And here you have it - neon, matte, orange, straight off the runway, but without the pricetag. I'm genuinely impressed by this colour, and Sleek's timeliness in putting it out. I hope it is hot for the upcoming season, because I'm going to be a bit disappointed if it isn't! This shade leans warm, but I don't think it's extremely warm - I thought I actually liked how it looked on me (I know right!? Orange lipstick and all that?! But it actually didn't look too bad!), and I usually don't like shades that veer too much into warm territory.


And of course, Sleek Smoulder lipstick. Also another hottie, this is a blackened cool-toned burnt berry shade. I like berry shades, but on my fair skin, this kind of just looked a little more black and less berry on me. I imagine though, that this would look fab on darker skin shades. Both lipsticks are a creamy, matte-ish finish. They tug a little when applied, but aren't chalky feeling. Like I mentioned previously, matte lips seem to be the trend this season, and Sleek has definitely readied their product range for this trend. If you have extremely dry lips, maybe lipbalm applied beforehand might be a good idea.


So that's my take on the new Sleek True Colour Lipstick shades, and the Flick It Eyeliners! While the two shades I have, especially Tangerine Scream, are very much geared towards the up-and-coming Spring/Summer 2013 runway trends, not everything that is newly-launched is trendy. The Flick It! Eyeliners, for instance, while in keeping with the colour trends (blue and purple were both seen on the runways), will actually be suitable for daily wear if you want to add a pop of colour to your makeup wardrobe, and will be in use long after the season's trends have faded. For now, though, it's always fun to enjoy the colour!


Oh, and Blondie says hi to everyone! Actually I really just wanted to sneak a little bit of him into the blogpost, because he is such a dear and we all love him! I mean, the Sleek products are also in the photo, so it still counts as being vaguely makeup-related, right? :P Unfortunately he's kind a blur of activity in this photo, so it's not all that sharp, but man, even in a blurry photo he is still so adorable!

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