Dark Flair

Sleek i-Divine Eyeshadow Palette in Arabian Nights was a complete impulse buy. I was freshly showered, in bed and casually browsing social media on my iPad before planning to nod off, when I saw a 30% off coupon at Luxola. Having never heard of the site before, I followed the link, looked through the brands they stocked, and the rest is history. I was debating between Arabian Nights and Garden of Eden and for a moment had both in my cart, but in the end, online swatches of Arabian Nights edged out Garden of Eden, which had about 3 too many green shades for my liking.

Top row: Scheherazade's Tale, Gold Souk, Aladdin's Lamp, Sultan's Garden, Hocus Pocus, Simbad's Seas

Bottom row: Genie, Black Magic, Stallion, Sorcerer, Valley of Diamonds, 1001 Nights

Scheherazade's Tale is a pink/peach shimmery highlight. Gold Souk is chunky foil gold. Aladdin's Lamp is a taupey dark bronze with a pewter undertone. Sultan's Garden is a patchy moss green with goldish emerald sparkles. Hocus Pocus is a vibrant, gleaming, jewel-tone emerald. Simbad's Seas is a concentrated, jewel-tone ultramarine/sapphire blue.

Genie is a cool-tone, dark bronze with purplish sparkles. Black Magic is a dark greenish gunmetal. Stallion is a deep matte aubergine. Sorcerer is a metallic dark moss green. Valley of Diamonds is a dark royal purple with a sprinkling of copper glitter. 1001 Nights is a blackish hunter green.

The quality of Arabian Nights is on par with previous Sleek eyeshadow palettes I've reviewed, including Storm, Bad Girl and Oh So Special, which is to say there's always 2-3 relatively underwhelming shades and 1-2 standouts. In Arabian Nights, Sultan's Garden is quite sheer and Gold Souk was surprisingly difficult to pick up pigment-wise, despite both being shimmery shades that Sleek generally excel at. The only matte shadow in the palette, Stallion, was slightly dry and chalky, but had good colour payoff. Hocus Pocus and Simbad's Seas, two intense, eye-catching shades that wouldn't look out of place in the Tom Ford Emerald Lust quad, are the stars of the palette. It's debatable how much wear I'd get out of them though, considering I rarely stray from the safety zone of my beloved neutrals.

The main selling point of these i-Divine Eyeshadow Palettes is how affordable they are (generally under $20 at full price) and the sheer variety of interesting, original shades on offer that would otherwise be difficult to track down in comparable palettes or as single eyeshadows. Even if I might not reach for them with any regularity, as an eyeshadow enthusiast, I like having the option there should I ever be in a more creative or experimental mood, or simply want to play around with colours and looks. The shade selection of Arabian Nights might not be the most daytime appropriate or office friendly, but it's precisely the dramatic and exotic character of the palette that drew me in. (Being limited edition never hurts either.) Having said that, given how close in appearance dark shades are when applied on the lid, and the fact I've basically never touched my Bad Girl palette which also consists mostly of intense, deep shades, it's debatable whether Arabian Nights really adds all that much to my existing options.