A Quick Tip...

What do you do when you're at a make-up counter and are facing dozens of lipsticks? What urges do you feel? I'm willing to bet that you mark up the back of your hand with tons of little color swatches...no?

Well, the most accurate way to test a lipstick without actually putting it on your mouth is to put the color on your fingertips! It's messier, yes, but will give you a better representation of what the color will look like on your mouth, with your skin tone!

So carry a pack of purse-sized wipes with you (but any good counter will have supplies for you to clean up) and have fun!

Hard Candy's "Hot Smudge" - Hot or Not?

The latest product I've picked up is Hard Candy's "Hot Smudge" cream eyeliner. Sounds sexy doesn't it? It's in a sleek case that's about 1" x 4". The hinge is on the short side.

I'm not sure if many of you know this, but a couple of years ago, the cosmetics part of the Hard Candy brand was sold. While the fragrance part was not sold off, the cosmetics are no longer part of the same company as Urban Decay. You can now find Hard Candy at (get ready for this) Walmart...GASP!!

The change isn't necessarily bad. Some of the packaging has remained the same. The nail polishes still come with a plastic ring. There are more products with glitter than you could imagine! Glitter eyeliners, eyeshadows, mascaras, glitter pencils, body glitter, etc. The colors are trendy and fun. The packaging on the new products is pretty nifty! The lipstick tubes have old school-style tattoo flash art on them! And the line is expanded beyond what Hard Candy had available when it was sold in department stores. See more at www.HardCandy.com.

But back to the item at hand. The duo I got is called "misfit" and is number 291. The first thing I noticed when I opened the case is the brush. It's double-ended with a sponge for smudging on one end and a PINK flat, angled, nylon liner brush on the other end. BUT what I noticed was odd...the pink end of the brush was seriously OILY. I've tried to think of a reason to justify this, but have failed to come up with one. I immediately grabbed a paper towel and cleaned that off.

The colors seemed pretty safe, one is gray and the other is an olive green. But how wrong was I!! Once I started using the brush in them and working down the top layer, the colors are quite sparkly and metallic! I only tested them on my hands today because I am not feeling so well and did not feel like doing my make-up.

The colors applied smoothly and the nylon brush did a great job creating nice sharp lines. Unfortunately, I hate to report that unlike other gel liners by Bobbi Brown, Stila, MAC, etc., this liner doesn't set to an indelible finish. I left the lines on my hand for a few minutes and when I went back to see if they would smudge or not, I was disappointed to find that they totally wiped away!!

So, my final verdict is this: I like the idea of this product. I don't think it's fully there yet. I would recommend using this as a base to apply shadow on top of...but I have a feeling it is going to crease, just because the product is so creamy. Therefore, I would say use it to accentuate your regular eyeliner. Use a black or a black/brown eyeliner and use this to smudge it out for a smoky look with a pop of color. These eyeliners are available in a wide variety of colors, the most interesting being a royal blue with a clear, glittery counterpart. I'm sure that would make for a very cool look.

More From Sleek Make-Up...

When I was in London, I wrote a blog about some fabulous deals I found. The products I was most excited by were from Sleek Make-Up. They have intense colors that are packed full of pigments and perfect for all skin tones! And their prices are out of this world!

So upon my return, I was showing my Mom my purchases and she commented on really liking the iDivine Eye Shadow Palette called Storm. I figured I would order her one and a lipstick or two for Mother's Day.

The site is pretty much the same, but with prices for the US market which are slightly higher than the British prices....even after you take the monetary conversion into consideration. While I was slightly peeved by that, the products are just SO good that they are worth the extra couple of bucks.

I ended up ordering the Storm Palette for my Mom and the Chaos palette for myself. It has a lot of bright colors, but they are all matte. This is unusual for me, because I don't usually use a lot of matte products. I also ordered 3 of Sleek's Sheer Cover lipsticks in the colors: Cashmere, Organza and Calico.

Let the review begin:

First of all, I placed the order on April 27th. It didn't get shipped until May 5th. I received it today, May 13th. Shipping was just over $13, which I consider reasonable, because I know that mailing parcels via the Royal Mail is quite pricey. I am finding more and more companies have a longer processing time. I can understand if it's a small, grass roots company. But I suppose I'm just spoiled from shopping other companies with faster turnaround times, the best being Amazon Japan who always gets me my goods in 3 days with their standard shipping. (On a sidenote, my Mother's Day presents were ordered from DuWop cosmetics the weekend before Mother's Day and while I knew they wouldn't arrive in time, I was disappointed to get an email on May 5th informing me that something was backordered. Really? It took half a week to notify me? And they still had the product listed as in stock on their site. That's just NO BUENO in my book.)

But I digress. Because I like Sleek's products so much, I am willing to overlook the extended time it took to get the product to me. This is also not totally uncommon, you can read quite a few shipping inquiries on their Facebook fan page. I just know not to order with any time constraints. I would also recommend waiting and placing a large order or going in with friends to place a large order, so that way the shipping is not as much of a sting.

So, what is so great about Sleek? Why am I willing to look past this and that? The colors are fabulous. The prices are beyond the deals I get with various industry discounts. Sleek seems to have a very loyal following worldwide. They ARE doing something right. They are staying cutting edge, winning over new fans with limited edition items. They have products that rival the great cosmetic companies out there...and in some instances exceed the rivals. For example, I picked up Sleek's tinted lip balm and I love it so much more than MAC's. I've tried to like MAC's over and over again, but the flavor is just off. Sleek's is sweet and tastes like dessert and the colors are very wearable. Win win!!

When I opened the box, I have to tell you, I was most impressed. Sleek does something that NO other make-up company I've dealt with does. They reuse the boxes product is shipped to them in. So instead of the way MAC does it, where they put the products loose in a box with lots of black tissue paper, Sleek put the 3 lipsticks I ordered into a box that they receive lipsticks in. The 2 palettes were placed in a box that usually holds 3, so they put some bubble wrap in to take up space. That's very smart. More companies should take note.

My only other gripe, which is common when ordering and NOT being able to test something before hand...the color representations of the lipsticks online is far from accurate. The site shows Calico as being darker than Cashmere. Not so. Cashmere is darker and Calico is the color of cafe au lait (see photo above of Calico). I know my Mom loves browns, so I took a chance and figured I would wear the one she thought was too light. Now the online swatch for Organza was pretty much spot on. I had not tested these when I was in London, because I didn't see them when I was out and about.

And did I mention you get a FREEBIE? Yep, you can choose a color of their teeny, tiny, mini lipgloss!

My final verdict is...ORDER from Sleek. Remember the processing time and shipping may not be as fast as some other companies, but it in the end the cool products are worth it. I cannot see how any fashionista will be disappointed with these products.

**Photos by Glamourpuss**

Congratulations!

Congratulations are in order for @ByHandGiveaways!!

Danelle, you won the Mother's Day Giveaway! Here's a screenshot of the random name picker I used (I found the cutest one that looked like a slot machine!):


Thank you so much for following my blog, my tweets and spreading the word about my promotion! I will be in touch with you shortly to get your information so I can get the necklace out in the mail to you ASAP.

And thank you to all who participated, I really appreciate your feedback about my shop!