The Long Awaited Sleek Haul!

Hello! Another haul in the month of Feb, BUT this was actually delivered to me a month late ._. (full story here) so it’s not broken the spending ban. In fact it’s been a real treat considering I haven’t actually purchased makeup for weeks and weeks now! ahhhh the silver lining to that cloud haha.

Anyway despite the worry of having an order go missing (my first ever internet mishap might I add) I was just as excited to open the parcel as I was when I placed it. This is because Sleek is well and truly one of my favourite makeup brands ever. They consistently produce high quality makeup for affordable prices, and their blushers are on par with the likes of NARS (my high-end fave!) When I heard they were bringing out new blushers and an eyeshadow palette I followed the details carefully and placed as order as soon as I could.

Their ‘blush by 3’ are essentially  palettes, that cost £10 each for 3 highly pigmented blusher shades. In total they have released 8, with californ.i.a and pink lemonade being their newest. I already own two, and flame is not a new release but I added this to my collection. The blush by 3’s cost £10, which is AMAZING value, as each shade is therefore £3.33. Sleek also have a number of single blushers, which cost around the £5 mark and have some stunning shades available (flamingo which I reviewed here is one of my all time favourites).

The primary reason I bought Flame was because of that brilliant bright red shade in the middle. I have heard it is a near dupe for NARS’ Exhibit A and whilst I couldn’t justify splurging alot for a shade I wasn’t sure on with NARS, coming in at £3.33 this palette was well worth buying for this shade! All three blushers are powder, and two of them are matte. 

I didn’t know that the Californ.i.a blush palette was their first consisting of ONLY cream blushers and was a little apprehensive about the quality. I’ve only  tried it once so far, and as you might have expected there was nothing to worry about, the pigmentation is plenty and the consistency is simply dreamy. A review with swatches will no doubt be coming out soon for this one as the colours are pretty much universal (unlike perhaps flame which would suit the more medium/deeper skin tones in my opinion.) 

Pink Lemonade was probably the one that I was most underwhelmed by as that purplish/pink hue isn’t something I reach for often when browsing. There is one cream blush in the middle, and two shimmer/satin shades. Having said that I know its very important not to judge a blush by its pan, and I’ve got a feeling they’re going to surprise me.

And the eyeshadow palette to rival all recent palettes to my collection *takes a moment to appreciate the gorgeousness*. It was actually this palette called Garden of Eden which confirmed that I NEEDED the new Sleek stuff! Filled with purples and greens, this is the perfect palette for all of us brown eyed girls out there, though I’m sure it would be stunning with green eyed/hazels too. What I love most is that all the greens in this palette are wearable, nothing neon or pea green, and I am so excited to start playing around with beauty. I have a growing collection of their palettes too, and although this doesn’t have any safe browns and creams I am very happy such a variety of shades has joined my stash!

I'd also like to add that this is the first time I have seen sleek give suggestions with shades on their palette packaging! How awesome is that?! Perhaps I could follow them and show you guys in the future haha..I did also see this palette was packaged in a snakeskin carboard box, which mine did not come in. I'm not too fussed, I mean it's just a box, but the limited ed packaging does look interesting^_^

I always think to myself I should do more single reviews on Sleek, so hopefully that will be schedualed somewhere! Personally though I find getting decent quality and accurate swatches the most challenging part of photography (aside for the lack of sunshine!) so I’m never 100% happy with swatches I create. Anyways enough rambling and excuses, there will be plenty more sleek coming your way here on The Blushing Giraffe!

Have you seen anything in this haul that has caught your eye? Let me know :D

The Long Awaited Sleek Haul!

Hello! Another haul in the month of Feb, BUT this was actually delivered to me a month late ._. (full story here) so it’s not broken the spending ban. In fact it’s been a real treat considering I haven’t actually purchased makeup for weeks and weeks now! ahhhh the silver lining to that cloud haha.

The February ‘14 Update

Hello there lovely people! February has been such a meh month for me…as I sit here and try to sum it up, that’s the best word I can come up with thankgoodness I’m not doing an English degree eh? I am also trying to get used to just picking up my camera and leaving the house so, as mentioned before these posts are just sort of motivation for me to try and be more creative with my camera as well as little records of each month for the future :) Having said that if any of you have any tips for travelling around town with a DSLR please please leave a comment below! I’m thinking of buying one of those covers that are super lightweight but still protective.

I managed to see my bestfriend Ana after AGES (lows of University, hardly seeing le friends) and she came over for breakfast one day at the start of Feb, which was so nice^_^ we made pancakes and had a good ol’ catch-up. Need some more of those very soon! Also Ana’s started her own blog, it’s more of a lifestyle one, with bits of everything so do check it out here and tell her I said hi ;D How cute are the food rubbers? haha even more so for her because she’s studying dietetics! two practical but cute gifts I got her, the RG notebook, of course she laves him so that was a must too!

Ok guys, just take a moment to appreciate how beautiful this photo is. Whoever thought of putting Oreos into chocolate, you have seriously damaged my bank balance, and thus le spending ban. I have 59 days left, and yes I haven’t bought any makeup, but I have been buying a silly amount of chocolate this month which is frustrating because I can’t even say I love the stuff usually!

I also cooked my first ever chickpea curry. It was pretty nice for a first attempt (if I do say so myself)

A photo of le bedroom in the first week, when I took it upon myself to paint the feature wall. It has now been painted by a professional who did a pretty good job (I went for a warm off white colour as you can see from the above photo) but as I haven’t bought a mattress yet. Who knew mattresses came in so many different forms and furthermore…were so expensive?! I won’t be sharing the finished product just yet, keep your eyes peeled for march and if any of you know of some good interior design blogs/pinterests please leave them below!

Randomly painted my nails on the train, because why not? haha

You may remember from last month’s update, that I was having issues with Sleek! Well..after no response from tweets and from the message box on their site, I hunted high and low for a number I could call, and came across their customer services e-mail address! They were quick to reply to my first e-mail, but had to check over the details with the shipping company they use. After 3 weeks (with regular updated emails apologising for the inconvenience ) they confirmed that it indeed had been lost, and asked what I would like them to do…I of course asked for another batch to be sent asap and it came in 3 days! I’ll be posting a quick haul this evening. Although I was disappointed with the lack of response via twitter, the customer service team dealt with the problem well and I’m just relieved I got my order all in one piece, even if it was a month late!

I met this cool Lego man at a John Lewis store, and tried to take a photo secretly…with a rather large camera..didn’t look sus at all. I also ventured into the baby section and I have chosen my birthday present JUST LOOK AT THOSE GIRAFFES OH MY GOODNESS, I have never seen such cute giraffes ever before! Also they’re ridiculously soft because they’re suitable from birth and yup, the yellow fellows on the left are also giraffes – bobo giraffes apparently?! The lions are adorable too, n’awwwwh.

Finally, this Wednesday I finished off my placement at a Nursery. Look at my chicken baguette I cooked up with a new friend haha. I worked mainly with the 2 years and under, and it was a great (if messy) experience!

Spending ban this month wasn’t fab, I managed to pick up quite a few items in various ‘last chance sales’ looking at chu’ UO and ASOS, so although I haven’t bought any makeup, I ditched the money book and splurged elsewhere ._. blogging this month has also been rather hit and miss, I didn’t manage my 12 post target a month nor did I keep up with reading, because University work has well and truly caught up with me. I also just needed a little break from the Blogosphere, and that’s perfectly fine sometimes!

All in all it’s been a stressful month with miserable weather and lack of motivation all around. March, however is starting off with a wedding though! Very happy about that, it’ll give me a chance to take some beautiful photos and of course make an effort with le makeup!

I have two group presentations coming up in March, as well as three reports to get done. We are also edging closer to exams, so now is the time to be organised and start scheduling posts! If you have any first year uni tips/time management tips PLEASE LET ME KNOW! :)

Thank you for reading ^_^ I’d love to know how your February been.

The February ‘14 Update

OMFTW #5

Soap & Glory Supercat Felt Tip Liner // Sleek Storm E/S Palette // HD Brows in Foxy // Sleek Rose Gold Blush

Hello hello hello! What an absolutely crazy week it has been! I have only managed to post once since the last weekly round up and  I’m not too pleased about it, but we have had painters in the whole week making it really difficult to use certain rooms around the house. Also I still am living inbetween two bedrooms and each time I get a short amount of time to take some photos something seems to be missing (lets not even talk about the lack of photographing space right now). I know the next few weeks will be just as hectic with deadlines for presentations coming up as well as the finishing touches to the house, but le blogging must go on!

As it has been such a bonkers week I’ve not been paying much attention to whats been going onto my face, and this week there are only four, rather than six that I’ve stuck too. Starting with the blush, Rose gold has been countlessly compared to NARs orgasm blush. Personally I find this blush to be too shimmery for daytime use, which is  a real shame because in the pan it looks amazing. However TheSundayGirl blog bought some amazing news, apparently in the last year Sleek have reformulated it, and according to her review there is NO shimmer?! so yes this has now been added to my wishlish after le S.B is over!

After weeks of using the ABH Pomade, I went back to another pretty new product which I got from my first and only beauty box! This brow palette is amaaazing! I have loved the fact that I can add a little of the bottom two colours to the front of the brow and then define the middle and end with the two shades on the right, getting a well groomed yet subtle brow. It was a little odd using powder again! But they’re so pigmented and blend together so nicely, I have enjoyed getting the near perfect brow shade very much this week. Also the shadow on the top left, has been the PERFECT all over the lid colour for the days I couldn’t be bothered with eyeshadow, adore this like quad so very much!

 

I bought the Sleek storm palette a few months ago, and hadn’t really tried it out. Its a wonderful palette for two reasons 1. It contains the best two matte browns ever 2. the range of colours. I have especially loved adding a little of the bottom left brown shade under the lower lashline to mix it up a little. The supercat liner was included in the palette I mentioned previously from S&G and I’m on the fence about it. It could be a lot more black and lasting time is average on a good day, but I have liked adding a quick swoosh of this on the lids and leaving so its a 50/50 with this one.

I hope you all have a great week! ^_^

OMFTW #5

Review | Anastasia Beverly Hills Dip Brow Pomade in Chocolate

Dip Brow in the shade Chocolate | LINK | £15

Hello! Today I am going to be reviewing a much talked about, new product in the beauty world – the Anastasia Beverly Hills Dip Brow Pomade. It was quite the impulse buy (post here) but after hearing so much about it from MUA’s who had been sent them earlier, I was well and truly intrigued. I also jumped in there and grabbed one before the whole waiting list thing can I get a round of an applause ;D

WHAT IS IT??

well according to The ABH website it is a ‘waterproof brow colour’ and it’s great for ‘sculpting, defining and carving perfectly precise brows that won’t fade’. So as you would expect the expectation for this were pretty high! It is available in 5 different colours, and one pot costs £15. When I first bought it I thought it would be very much like a gel eyeliner, however it has more of a mousse-y texture to it, and works like a brow powder and brow set in one. It’s a one step brow product (as long as you use a spoolie to natural it up a little!). I bought the shade chocolate, which makes for awesome natural brows but can also help me build dramatic brows if I choose to.

HOW DO I USE IT??

With any regular brow brush, or the one you can buy from the line! You pretty much ‘dip’ the brush in and draw/blend your brows up. I like to trace the bottom of my brow, then line the top and use the excess product on the hairs to blend and mix together through the middle of the brow. The waterproof formula means they literally don’t budge within around 30/60 seconds after you have applied it, so blend and brush as much as you need to quickly!

Apologies for the bad swatch! There are far better online – but hopefully you can see from the above photo that chocolate is a tad too light/brown for me! Also for the most part I don’t shape my brows, personal preference, so that’s why they’re a little unruly! For a quick video of the brow pomade in action follow me on Instagram @theblushinggiraffe :)

IS IT WORTH IT//DO I NEED IT??

Well the answer to the first question is YES, it is worth the money. Whilst I have dipped into a fair amount already, I know this will last me a long time (and would have lasted even longer had I picked the correct shade ._.) I find it easy to get defined, filled in and groomed brows and yes they really do last all day! So oily skinned girls these are perfect for you because you can rest assured your brows won’t be wiped away any time soon with these popped on.

Now as for the second question…I have to say I really do wish I had picked up dark brown rather than chocolate. The reason being because chocolate is a true to colour brown, and would suit a range of skin tones and hair colours. However at times it does appear TOO brown for my liking…great for a very natural brow but not the best colour in terms of filling them in. As I mentioned earlier I would have to use a lot less product if I’d bought the dark brown too because with the correct colour a little can go a long way! If I had both chocolate and dark brown in my collection I believe the perfect brows could be achieved. So I would highly recommend you do your swatching research before placing an order, check out YouTube and the blogosphere (and even instagram!) to determine which one would suit you the best.

 I like chocolate, but I know I’d LOVE dark brown! I have seen a LOT of MUAs use chocolate in combination with blond, probably using the lighter shade at the front and using chocolate to define the edges and end of the brow.

Also if you’re not massively into brows, don’t have oily skin, or are happy using eyeshadow/liner then honestly… I’d say stick to that. The price of this isn’t exactly drugstore, and it’ll be quite a while after my spending ban is over before I can justify picking up dark brown to add to my stash :( I also adore using my HD brow palette as well as a few sleek shadows, because running powder through (as long as it is the correct tone!) is probably the quickest and easiest way to do brows.

Final Verdict:

Product rating: 8.5

Pros: Very pigmented, waterproof, easy to use once you get the hang of it, can create natural and defined brows, the pot will last a fairly long time, acts as a brow set as well as colour.

Cons: Can be tricky to work with if you don’t blend straightaway, takes getting used to the mousse-y texture (and ofc in my case colour!), isn’t the cheapest brow product out there.

Repurchase? I do love this enough to repurchase the DARK BROWN, but certainly not any time in the near future

I hope this was helpful to anyone considering buying it! Like I said r e s e a r c h dem swatches!! You want to get the right colour for you! If you’ve tried this already what are your thoughts? Better than powder or overrated?

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Review | Anastasia Beverly Hills Dip Brow Pomade in Chocolate

Dip Brow in the shade Chocolate | LINK | £15

Hello! Today I am going to be reviewing a much talked about, new product in the beauty world – the Anastasia Beverly Hills Dip Brow Pomade. It was quite the impulse buy (post here) but after hearing so much about it from MUA’s who had been sent them earlier, I was well and truly intrigued. I also jumped in there and grabbed one before the whole waiting list thing can I get a round of an applause ;D

Brush Series | Ebay Brushes Part 2!

Hello lovely readers!

Today I am going to share with you the second set of brushes that I ordered quite a while ago. You can read the first instalment here where I reviewed the ‘RT look-a-likes’. Although I don’t own any Sigma brushes, the second set look vaguely familiar to those! I cannot compare them, but I can share what I love and don’t care for each of these. I wanted to have a bit of a play with them before I gave you my thoughts, so I hope this is helpful for anyone on the look out for very cheap but decent brushes!

They come in a set of four, and the seller randomly threw in a ‘Bobbi Brown’ sponge (clearly not BB but a kind gesture nonetheless..though I’m not 100% sure what I will use it for yet). I was also pleasantly surprised that each brush came wrapped separately, it was something you would expect from a higher end brand not from an ebay shop! This set cost £3.38 so not even a pound a brush B A R G A I N

 The seller also has a set of face brushes, which I’m contemplating buying because of the quality of these! That set is just a little over £2 per brush, which is still phenomenal value! The only thing holding me back aside from the spending ban and also my rather large collection of face brushes already is that they could all be not very dense and so of little use (as I found with one brush in the last post). But anyway this post is about the eye brushes so on we go!

I am really very impressed with the quality of these, not knowing what to expect for under a quid a brush! The handles are sturdy, the barrels are secured on well and the do not feel like they are made poorly in the slightest. I love the black colour with the silver barrels, they look very sleek. You can purchase these with gold barrels or white handles too if you wish. The Bristles themselves are super super soft, synthetic and non-shedding which is amazing. They are almost too good to be true! On the handle is written ‘Jessup’ not entirely sure what that means, but it doesn’t impact the brush at all.

As they don’t have their own names or numbers unfortunately, I have labelled them in the above photo and given a brief run through of my experience with each one. I’d just like to point out, I am not an MUA and so may have missed a lot of possible uses! These are just my own -

1.  The first one is actually my least used/favourite. In my opinion the bristles are a little too long making it very difficult to use for eyeshadow application. One use I have found for it though it thinking back to one of the contouring videos I saw on YouTube, and how they used a cream and darker shaded product to strongly contour and then blended it out using a fluffy brush. This would be the ideal brush to ‘map’ out contour lines on one’s face precisely as well as use the edge to contour the nose lightly. A pretty useful brush for that purpose. Another thing it would be pretty nifty for is setting concealer, as its essentially a very mini flat top kabuki brush, and super soft! So it could really ensure that all areas of the face (particularly the difficult to reach places like under the eyes) are all set!

2. This is like an angled and slightly domed version of the first brush. It works well at blending concealer in awkward places such as around the nose and in the inner corner of the eye. It could also work as a highlighter brush, used lightly for the brow bone, or for the bridge of the nose and anywhere else you want a subtle glow. I’d still stick to my setting brush from RT for cheekbone highlight, but for the smaller areas which need more attention this is great at getting precise!

3. By far my most used brush, this has fast become a favourite for blending in concealer. It is a domed topPed brush with denser bristles that the others, so it is perfect for gently buffing in the concealer exactly where you want it. Again it could work vaguely for eyeshadow, but it’s main use in my opinion is blending in cream and liquid products!

4. I have just realised this is probably the only brush of the bunch that is perfect for eyeshadow, and I apologise for that! Whilst they’re all useable with shadow, there are definitely better brushes out there for you to try, for the above though, these are amazing! Number four is probably the best crease brush I have tried in my entire life. It can give you that cut crease, or a softer more blended crease and its also amazing for applying colour under the lower lashline. Since playing around with these I’ve realised how beautiful bronzey colours, as well as purples can look subtly smudged under the lashline! Adore this brush!

And that’s my review on this brush set, shipped from china costing less than £3.50 (with free delivery of course). If you’ve been looking at the sigma brushes, especially that set with their mini-kabuki like brushes, I recommend buying these first because the quality will not disappoint. For the price, I don’t think I could ask for much more, and although I’m still on the hunt for smaller eyebrushes, I am really pleased with there. The link to the seller is HERE. I hope this was somewhat useful, and also thankyou for all the great feedback on my last ebay brushes post ^_^

Brush Series | Ebay Brushes Part 2!

Hello lovely readers!

Today I am going to share with you the second set of brushes that I ordered quite a while ago. You can read the first instalment here where I reviewed the ‘RT look-a-likes’. Although I don’t own any Sigma brushes, the second set look vaguely familiar to those! I cannot compare them, but I can share what I love and don’t care for each of these. I wanted to have a bit of a play with them before I gave you my thoughts, so I hope this is helpful for anyone on the look out for very cheap but decent brushes!

January Favourites!

Hello! February has started so we all know what's about to  pop up…hundreds of favourites posts and videos, gah I love them ^_^

This month has been a good ‘un for favourites because although I have been shopping my stash a lot, I’ve also discovered some pretty wonderful new products from my spending during the sales in December and I’m excited to share them today!

E.L.F Lip Exfoliator – This is something I didn’t love when I first tried it because I found it a little tricky to use. It’s essentially a lip exfoliator scrub in a more solid form than one you could make yourself (in a lipstick bullet). But since winter my lips have been SUPER chapped, so I felt I really needed to try and put this to use. After a few uses I like this a lot! You just rub a little over the lips and then gently buff away the dry skin with either your finger or a soft toothbrush. This makes the world of difference because you have get instantly softer lips, which are easier to care for and of course look better with any lip product!

Rimmel Nude Liner – This pencil has popped up on my blog soooo many times! But in the month of January especially, with a tonne of deadlines and lack of sleep it has been such a life saver. It’s a little crazy how much difference a simple nude liner can change your whole face, and the fact that this one is creamy and opaque makes it a winner!

Soap & Glory Butter Yourself Moisture Lotion – I picked this up on a whim, and I’m so glad I did! I have previously used the body butter and whilst I can’t fault it, I’ve found this lotion a lot quicker to use. It sinks into the skin quickly, but still feels moisturising enough. It’s not a grown up scent, but at the same time I find its a little different from the typical S&G scents –a little more mandarin?  adore it!!

E-bay Brush (LINK TO REVIEW HERE) -  This brush has been wonderful, and I really have appreciated it a lot more in the last two weeks. It not only works fairly well for contouring, but I feel like it applies colour in a beautiful way! Especially pigmented blushers, because it really adds colour in exactly the place you want rather than going all over the cheeks and making you look like a clown! On top of that, its great for highlight, again because of it’s precision. I couldn’t have asked for more considering I paid £1.99!

Anastasia Beverly Hills DipBrow Pomade ‘Chocolate’ -  The newest product from their line, I’ve had a fair amount of time to play with this brow stuff and am excited to write a full review. When I first used it I was unsure if the colour and whole concept was right for me, but now that I’ve been using it for a few weeks I really love it! I can create natural brows, more dramatic brows, blend it easily and it really lasts all day! An essential? Not by any means, but I have adored my brows since picking this up, fail-proof once you get the hang of using it ^_^

Nicki Minaj Pink Friday Perfume -  OK BEFORE Y’ALL JUDGE ME this celebrity perfume smells lovely! I know Minaj hardly has the best rep, nor do celebrity perfumes, but the way I see it is I’m 18, and if I like a certain smell and it doesn’t cost  £70 a bottle I’ll wear it! I really hope I have the same mind-set in 10-20 years too because if it smells good, then why not?! This smells sweet, yet fresh and not offensive at all. I personally hate musky woman scents so this is a big thumbs up from me! (Even if the bottle is a little scary!)

Illamasqua Blusher in ‘Hussy’ – This is such a new favourite I really wasn’t sure whether to include it, but after putting it on again today I knew it HAD to be! After my haul, I decided the first one I wanted to try was the much talked about hussy, and now I 100% understand why this has gotten so much love! It’s a BEAUTIFUL matte pink blush, with a tinge of peach but leaning heavier on the pink side. It looks so fresh and unlike any other colour I’ve applied to my cheeks before and again I’ll have to do a proper review with swatches on here too because I’m sooo excited about how stunning this is, plus the longer lasting time in comparison to many drugstore blushers!

 

What were your favourite products of the past month? ^_^

January Favourites!

Hello! February has started so we all know what's about to  pop up…hundreds of favourites posts and videos, gah I love them ^_^