Thursday, October 17, 2013

Oh So Girly

Since purchasing Sleek i-Divine eyeshadow palettes in Storm and Bad Girl early last year, it's always been at the back of my mind to pick up some more. I was extremely tempted by Au Naturel (being a neutral fiend) and intrigued by the limited edition Me, Myself & Eye, but ultimately decided that if I were to limit myself to just one more, it had to be Oh So Special. I wasn't keen on ordering online from either the Sleek website or a local stockist, so when I found myself in Superdrug while holidaying in London, I pounced on the opportunity to buy Oh So Special without needing to pay for shipping or wait for it to be delivered.






l-r: Bow, Organza, Ribbon, Gift Basket, Glitz, Celebrate (top row)
Pamper, Gateau, The Mail, Boxed, Wrapped Up, Noir (bottom row)

l-r: Bow, Organza, Ribbon, Gift Basket, Glitz, Celebrate

l-r: Pamper, Gateau, The Mail, Boxed, Wrapped Up, Noir

What initially attracted me to Oh So Special were the feminine and aesthetically pleasing shades. I mean, just look at those two bright and playful matte pinks. Or that glimmering duochrome pale lavender-pink which flashes gold. Or the warm, coppery bronze of Gift Basket, which was basically my primary motivation for buying the palette. I remember stumbling across this eye look using the Oh So Special palette and adoring everything about it, notwithstanding the fact my eye shape/colour/everything bore no resemblance to the model, so the possibility of successfully recreating it was slim to none.

Like Storm, some of the mattes in Oh So Special aren't anything to write home about. Bow was chalky, dry, very difficult to get any colour payoff. Almost like a translucent face powder, though I found using a brush picked up more pigment than when I attempted to swatch it with my finger. The Mail fared a little bit better, but the dark brown Boxed was also largely uninspiring. The swatch says it all, and that's with several swipes. Wrapped Up and Noir were passable, though I can't see myself getting much use out of them. Surprisingly, the two matte pinks, the coral-leaning Ribbon and milky peachy pink Pamper, were very impressive in texture and pigmentation. I'm not sure when I'd ever wear them or how I'd incorporate them in a look, but at least the option's always there. I've read those two could even double as blushes, which could be especially convenient if travelling and requiring just one palette for both eyes and cheeks.

Consistent with my experience of Sleek eyeshadows, it's the shimmery shades that really stand out. They're seriously vibrant and almost spongy to touch, somewhat reminiscent of the texture of the powder-cream L'Oréal Infallible eyeshadows. Organza, Gift Basket and Gateau are stunning, though Gift Basket is possibly a touch too warm for my skin tone (it almost looks orangey/reddish on my lids). Glitz and Celebrate are equally metallic and rich in colour payoff, but being more nighttime, dramatic colours, they're not the most unique. The slate grey Glitz is very similar to Gunmetal from the Urban Decay Naked palette and Slate from the LORAC PRO Palette (but lighter, more blue than cloudy grey), while the eggplant/reddish burgundy Celebrate brings to mind L'Oréal Infallible eyeshadow in Burning Black (which is darker, with more of a black base) and Prestige Bacchus (more purple, not as brown).

It's not hard to see why the i-Divine eyeshadow palettes are popular. For £7.99 (or about $13.40), you get twelve shades, a mix of matte and shimmer, light and dark, versatile/safe/neutral and punchy/unique/daring to experiment with. Some of the mattes could've been smoother and more pigmented (particularly Boxed), but on a whole, the colour selection and quality of the shimmery shades easily rival much pricier counterparts.

37 comments:

  1. This palette really is gorgeous love the natural tones x

    www.krystelcouture.com

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  2. I ❤ the colours on this palette. Thanks for the swatches.

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  3. I love Sleek palettes, I'm always amazed by how affordable they are and how beautiful most of the shadows are! <3

    Jennie xo | sailorjennie.com

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  4. i love the dark shades like Wrapped up & Celebrate. great stand alone colors!
    Bow does look chalky, but i find almost all mattes are, high-end or not. i use them to smooth out the harsh edges and they serve the purpose well. ;)

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  5. This looks like the ideal palette for me - it's a shame about the matte colours though!Xx

    Lucy Cole | A UK Fashion, Style and Beauty Blog

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  6. Eeeeep! that looks so beautiful!!

    jesselynnn.blogspot.com //FANCYTHEE

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  7. it is a shame that most of the colors are not good quality. Unfortunately my skin tone is not flattered by most shimmery eyeshadows for some reason. But the colors took my breath away. I need a palate in this kind of colors in good quality! Please let us know if you find something like this in good quality ;)

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  8. Hey ! :D
    Thanks for the comment ! I'm so glad that you read my post even though it's in French ! <3
    Haha ! I hope my make-up ideas will help you for futures make-up !
    Sleek palettes are so gorgeous : cheap, good quality, good pigmentation ! All in one :D

    Turtle xx

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    1. I hope you can understand my very bad English :D

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  9. I really didn't like this palette. I think colors are not so bright and they are too powdery.

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  10. That is actually the only Sleek palette that I own and I love it! These shades are just great xx

    Justine | BRIGHTON DREAM

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  11. That's a good price point for at least a few shades worth having! I love the shimmery ones.

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  12. This is one of the few I-Divine palettes that I don't have! Looks really nice.

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  13. Now I know that I need to replace my Oh So Special palette!
    I own 3 sleek palettes (this one, Storm and Au Naturell) and both this and Au Naturell had horrible pigmentation...specially the matte shades. I thought that maybe my palettes were from a bad lot, since Sleek reformulated their eyeshadows and mine where from their first releases...

    It's quite sad, because I wouldn't wear both palettes because of the lack of pigmentation on both.
    Now Storm (because I bet it's from another lot) is wayyyy better. Their colours are super pigmented and pretty and easy to work with.

    Thank you very much for this post!
    Please take care, have a nice day!*

    beauty-with-love.blogspot.com

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  14. I've always wanted to try something from Sleek. Too bad they didn't sell these shades in singles.. I really love Noir and Celebrate.

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  15. What a gorgeous palette this looks :) I have two Sleek palettes and I love them, I do however need to use them a bit more often as they tend to get overlooked when I see my Naked 2 palette. Hope you had a great time travelling :)
    Amy x
    -A Little Boat Sailing-

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  16. Sleek eye shadow palettes are great, aren't they?? I think they are very similar in terms of quality to MUA palettes.. I have only 1 palette from Sleek, the iDivine au naturel and it is such a staple.. :-)

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  17. Pamper and Ribbon are beautiful colors x

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  18. Organza and Gateau... need I say more? I think not. So jealous you got your mitts on this; I'd order from Sleek online but I hear such horrible things about their shipping to the states that I'm too worried to even try!

    ♥Cassie
    thriftthick.blogspot.com

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  19. Such a beautiful palette. I am more drawn to matte shades as well and too bad they are not too impressive.

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  20. I have this palette and find it really versatile. It's good for travel too as it's so small.

    http://zoetrope2468.com

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  21. I've had this palette for awhile and absolutely love it! Thanks for reminding me that I need to pull it back out. :)

    The Grass Skirt Blog
    Enter my Neutrogena Naturals Giveaway

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  22. I have this palette but i never use it, this post has reminded me of how pretty some of the shades are! Organza, pamper and gateau are such cute colors! oh so girly indeed

    à la foliee

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  23. Noir has an interesting blue shift right there, but what a shame the quality is just okay. I don't own any Sleek palettes and at the moment, I'm just trying to work through all the eyeshadows I own, so no more buying until late November :) x

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  24. I still haven't tried out sleek but these shades are wonderful. I'm waiting for a release that convinces to me to make an order!

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  25. I love the variety of colours in this palette! I have yet to try out Sleek, it's not available in Ireland but I've heard so many good things I should really get my hands on some of the products!

    Emma x

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  26. i just love makeup!! great post.. i didnt know of this brand

    xx

    http://spoonfulofdiamonds.com
    http://www.facebook.com/SpoonfulOfDiamonds

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  27. Pretty! It's lovely to look at but not one I'd buy for myself- too warm and pink for my tastes. The purples look very pretty though! I think Storm is the ultimate winner in Sleek i-Divine palettes.

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  28. I always eye up this palette when I'm in Superdrug - definitely agree with that the shimmer shades are the best and the money for value aspect just can't be beaten x

    Evelyn @ We Were Raised By Wolves

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  29. I love the sleek palettes I have, but I've been eyeing this one off for a while now! The colours are absolutely gorgeous, especially the shimmery ones and the payoff is so nice! xx

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  30. i love sleek palettes... :) i am planning to buy sunset palette.. i think i must rearrange my list

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  31. The colours are so pretty and the pigmentation is great! It's nice how the pinks in this palette could be potentially used in two ways. Btw, I like how you cropped and compared the shadows in the pan with the swatches underneath! :)

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  32. I've been itching to get a Sleek eyeshadow palette for ages, but never really made the next move to purchase it for reasons unbeknownst to me (perhaps it's because of the many other eyeshadows I own and don't wear...). Oh So Special seems to offer a different selection of shades which is quite unique, with Organza, Gift Basket and Glitz really catching my attention. The mattes being chalky isn't a real surprise to me- at the price you are paying it's not reasonable to expect high-end quality :P After this review I think I might look for the Sleek eyeshadow palette I want most....

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  33. I've been admiring Sleek makeup from afar forever, especially the shadow palettes and blushers! This one really is romantic - love the mix of light peachy shades with smoky darker shades.

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  34. Really like the palette! It's looking good!
    Would you mind if you checked out ny blog?
    http://www.thedeiyeon.blogspot.sg

    ReplyDelete

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