Sleek Precious Metals Highlighting Palette Review

My original desire to buy this palette came from a review that Tati on Youtube posted on Sleek make up, unfortunately when I went to Boots to buy it I accidentally picked up the Precious metals palette instead of the Solstice palette. I had no idea until I got home and realised that three of the highlights in this palette are creams. Now as a girl with what may be the oiliest skin in the world, I was immediately convinced that I had wasted my money and that the formula would either cause them to slip off my face by noon or look cakey and gross due to the amount of powder I have to use on my face. Nevertheless, I gave them a fair go and was actually rather impressed!

The packaging of this palette is really nice, the palette is a bronze colour and quite sturdy, my only bug bear is that the plastic shows fingerprints and so will always look a bit grubby (Unless you polish it after every use but who has time for that?). Both top shades of this palette are creams (Platinum and Royal gold), along with the bottom shade on the left (Renaissance gold). 'Platinum' is a pale shade that leaves a sheen on the skin with tiny flecks of pink reflex, this would be the perfect highlight for super pale people with cool-toned skin. 'Royal gold' is my least favourite shade of the palette, when it is applied to the skin it leaves chunky flecks of glitter that are pretty noticeable. This shade might be good for something like a festival, but for everyday it is a bit disco-ballish for me. The next shade in the palette is my absolute favourite, 'Renaissance gold' is a super smooth gold that just looks amazing on the skin, it gives a beautiful healthy glow and doesn't contain any flecks of glitter or sparkle. The final shade is a powder highlight called 'Antique bronze', this shade has a lovely glow to it without having chunks of glitter, however it is quite pigmented. To wear 'Antique bronze I have to have a decent amount of bronzer on my cheeks, otherwise this translates as a sparkly orangy-bronze streak on my face, which isn't ideal.

Left to right: 'Platinum', 'Royal gold', 'Renaissance gold' and 'Antique bronze'

The formula of these highlighters is very nice, the creams are a nice slippery consistency which is easy to blend. Personally I applied the creams with the tips of my fingers onto my (non-existent) cheekbones and tapped to blend them in. I haven't tried applying them with a beauty blender or Real techniques miracle complexion sponge but I'm sure that would be an even faster way of blending them out. The powder shade is also easy to apply and blend, but also very pigmented, you have been warned!

Overall I think this is an amazing palette, I'm not usually one to try cream products but these stayed on and didn't appear cakey, even over powder. I may be converted. Let me know if you have tried this palette and how you liked it!

Max Factor Creme Puff Blush Review

When I saw these blushes I was immediately taken by how similar they looked to the popular Milani baked blushes available in the US. I have had my eye on the Milani blushes for months now but the only way you can get your hands on them in the UK is by buying on Amazon and I was always too worried that they would arrive smashed. The Max Factor Creme Puff blushes have the same gorgeous marbling and shimmer to Milani ones, although the range of colours of the Milani blushes is more diverse. There are 6 shades to choose from of the Max Factor blushes, where as Milani have 9 different shades. I picked up the shades 'Lovely pink' and 'Gorgeous berries' for £8.99 each at Boots.

'Lovely pink' and 'Gorgeous berries'

I love these blushes, 'Lovely pink' is such a nice subtle everyday shade and I have been wearing it almost everyday. The formula of these blushes is really soft and blendable, whilst still being super pigmented. The shade 'Gorgeous berries' is beautiful but definitely requires a light hand, I use my dual fibre brush from Real Techniques for this and you still only need to dip your brush in the powder once to get a nice hint of plum colour to your cheeks. Personally I think these blushes are great as a highlight and blush in one, they leave a subtle shimmer and make you look fresh and healthy (even when you've been up all night writing assignments! The uni struggle is real!).

I can't definitively say that these are a dupe for the Milani blushes as I don't own any, but from hearing what the Milani blushes are like, I would say they sound pretty similar. Either way I would definitely recommend that you give these a go, there are a few more shades that I might just have to pick up.

Have you tried these out? Let me know in the comments.

Soap and Glory Glow All Out Luminizing Face Powder

 This product isn't a new thing by any means, the Glow all out luminizing face powder by Soap and Glory (9g). I picked this up from Boots a few months back for £11 and have been using it a lot lately. The packaging of mine is a thick cardboard material with a magnetized closure and a decent sized mirror, however they have since changed the packaging into a sturdy plastic compact (which I much prefer). As with all Soap and Glory products, the title is a play on words.

The actual product is a smooth shimmery powder that is a light cool-toned pink shade. It provides a subtle shimmer over the cheekbones and really goes well with pale skin. If you are quite dark in skin tone however, this may not be the highlighter for you. As the powder is pinky and cool toned, I think it would look ashy on darker skin tones, a bronze highlighter tends to look better. If you have cool toned skin and are looking for an affordable highlighter, I would really recommend this. It gives the cheek bones a nice subtle shimmer and lasts really well throughout the day.

Have you tried this product?

Seventeen Instant Glow Shimmer Brick Review in 'Pink Bronze'

I picked up this shimmer brick from Boots recently after hearing that is was very similar to the new Bobbi Brown shimmer brick in 'Beige', which is priced at £32.50. The idea of a shimmer brick is that there are 4-5 shimmery shades lined up together in one pan, the shades can be used individually or swirled together as highlighter, blusher, bronzer or even an eye shadow.The Seventeen shimmer bricks are priced at £4.99 and come in 2 shades, 'Pink bronze' and 'Gold bronze'. I went for the peachier 'Pink bronze', since 'Gold bronze' seemed a bit too dark and coppery for my skin tone.

'Pink bronze'

The packaging of this is impressive for an affordable brand, sturdy and sleek looking. There are 4 shades ranging from a light beige 'highlight' shade to a coppery bronze.

 I have used this product in 3 different ways, as a highlighter (keeping my brush in the lighter section of the brick), a blush and an eye shadow. I think this product is best suited for highlighting as it is very shimmery and can be quite overpowering as a bronzer. As a highlight, this looks beautiful, it creates a lovely light bronze shimmer to the high points of the cheek that looks amazing with a tan. It is important, however, that you use a light hand when applying this, otherwise it is less 'glowing from within' and more 'disco ball disaster'. The shimmer brick also makes a lovely bronze blush (applied sparingly to the apples of the cheeks) and the darker copper shades look great as eye shadow (copper-toned eye shadows will make blue and green eye colours really stand out).

Overall I would really recommend these shimmer bricks, they are super cheap and can be used for a variety of different things, meaning they would be great for anyone starting out in make up or who is on a budget. Although I cannot compare this with the Bobbi Brown shimmer bricks, the products look very similar and I have heard that they are amazing dupes for one another. Regardless, they are definitely worth trying for the price and if you would prefer a more pink-toned affordable shimmer brick, Revlon have a similar product in 'Rose glow' which also looks lovely.

Have you tried these out? How did you like them? Let me know in the comments.