Sleek Highlighting Palette(s) Review

HI!

so for my birthday, my lovely brother brought me two Sleek highlight palettes (i did know he was getting them but it was a nice thought)
As soon as he asked me if they were okay to buy for me, (and i agreed), I researched swatches and reviews and they all seemed positive (yay!) so an honest review.....


THESE ARE BEAUTIFUL! they are so pigmented and shiny and not for the shy.

In the Precious Metals Palette (silver palette), there are three creams and one powdered (shimmer highlight) , and in the Solstice Palette (gold) there are 3 powders (two baked and one shimmer)  and one cream highlighter.





PRECIOUS METALS:

(L-R) Platinum, Royal Gold, Renaissance Gold, Antique Bronze(Powder)

(L-R) Ecliptic(cream), Hemispher, Equinox, Subsolar(Shimmer)

As usual, I'll pull in a little review grid to give my final opinion...

POWDER:

PROS	CONS
Pigmented	Could look ashy on some skin tones
Not powdery	Too vibrant for everyday- not for me tho ;)
Long-lasting	Baked highlighters don’t work well wet

CREAM:

PROS	CONS
Vibrant	Can make some foundations separate
Glossy looking	Not as long-lasting
Perfect for layering	Can leave just glitter after long wear

so overall these are incredibly gorgeous and work in conduction with each other beautifully.

As for purchasing in Australia, they're available online on eBay & Target or just instore at Target

Thank you for readingggggg

- Chelchea

BENEFIT CHEEKATHON REVIEW + SWATCHES

(I'm sorry I've been so MIA on here, I have a few posts lined up, so I'll try to be as consistent as possible)

So my 18th Birthday was on the 28th of april, which meant that when I saw various beauty bloggers showing a new benefit palette I knew it had to mine. However the fear of missing out on this product was real, so I decided to treat myself a week before my birthday (when it came out in Australia) and bought the palette for myself.

I have never owned a Benefit blush and have tossed up between Coralista and Dandelion for months so I was way way way too excited to finally get my hands on this! My god now I know why people love this blushes so much, they're so creamy and soft and smell so damn good too. (if you're sensitive to fragranced products, you may want to try this out in store beforehand as the fragrance is pretty strong)

The packaging is so cute and pretty kitsch BUT I have one gripe- the first palette I bought had a huge crack through the mirror, Im not sure if this was a suppliers fault or a packaging malfunction but it sucked (dw though Myer exchanged it for a new one and apologised a billion times)


The palette surprisingly contains varying amounts of each blush- which I thought was really strange




Hoola Bronzer- 8.0g - matte warm toned bronzing powder with no shimmer
Dallas Blush- 9.0g - Sheer nude pink blush with sheen but no visible shimmer
Coralista Blush - 8.0g - Sheer peach toned blush with major champagne shimmer (not chunky)
Dandelion Blush - 7.0 - cool toned baby pink blush with sheen but no visible shimmer
Rockatuer - Blush - Shimmery rude rose blush

Overall through minimal tests these blushes are BEAUTIFUL, they last relatively long and give the most healthy glow to the skin (especially coralista <3 ), the bronzer is a tiny bit too warm for me :( but I can probably make it work when I'm slightly more tanned but for now I can use it as the perfect transition colour for my eyeshadow!

also side note: the brush kinda sucks and is pretty scratchy- dammit benefit, you could've put Hervana in there, or introduced a power highlight, that would've been incredible.


anyway! thats my mini review- I'm sure you'll see this on my instagram (chelseadawidowski) hanging out in a flatlay, seeing as it's so beautiful
thank you for reading
- Chelchea :)))))

Dose Of Colours - Hidden Treasure Palette (swatch and review)

(L-R) coin, crown, ruby, diamond

Oh my god this is the palette of my dreams - it's warm toned, ridiculously sparkly and has the BESt glitter cranberry shade I've ever seen.

As soon as I saw this palette on various Youtuber's snapchat, I knew I needed it, I didn't care how much it would cost to send to Aus, and I didn't care how long it would take. 

I got the palette basically as soon as it came on sale, and I didn't expect it to come for about a month- but thanks to UPS not providing me with tracking, it showed up at my door a tiny bit over two weeks previous to ordering it. 

My first impression of this palette was that it was beyond gorgeous- however the glitter shades are pretty chunky. This will probably be a major turn off for some, but it's okay with me- it just means you have to apply them with your fingers and really smoosh them on to your eyelid (to put it delicately).

Here's a little list of some pros + cons

PROS	CONS
SO pigmented	Chunky
Glittery	Hard to apply with brush
Long wearing	Mattes are a  bit chalky
Glitters don't crease!	Ruby and crown look when blended out

And there's some swatches (the matte ones are a tiny bit chalky for me)

Overall this palette is bomb! And it's finally settled my craving for a metallic cranberry colour (thank god) 

THE LOOK: 

I'm going to wait until I have the perfect look with The cranberry shade , but I was living for this gold and Amber/orange scenario 

1. KVD: Mürher eye shadow to set primer 

2. MUG: Creme Brûlée in the crease 

3. MUG: Cocoa Bear on the outer V 

4. DOC: Crown on the middle + outer eyelid 

5.DOC: Coin on the inner portion of the eye 

6. Nars Albatross highlighter to highlight very inner corner 

7. Inglot #77 gel eyeliner for a nice small wing 

8. Toofaced Better Than Sex Mascara on both top and bottom lashes 

LIPS: 

The lips are nice and pinky to compliment the Fiery tones on the eyes - I originally went with MAC Pure Zen but it seemed too peachy and too matchy 

Lined: Revlon lip liner in """ 

Fill: NYX soft matte lip cream in ""

Thank you for reading! I'll eventually has a look with the cranberry colour in the palette - keep an eye out on my Insta (Chelseadawidowski) for any info 

-chelchea :)))

Brown Lips + Sparkly Eyes Tutorial

Although it is summer here in Australia, I want nothing more than to whack on some deep, chocolately brown lips. As everyone in the whole world knows, brown nude lips have been 'in' for almost a year now. Everyones heard of the Kylie Jenner lip and almost everyone has tried the trend.
Im no stranger to this trend, I think I wore Velvet Teddy for almost a month straight, (including a job interview and formal events) and its probably my all time favourite lipsticks. but today, we are talking about a very deep rich brown lip- which can be super hard to pull off, especially when you're as pale as me. But realistically, there are NO rules in makeup so here's how I pull off brown lips (with a simple sparkly eye and glowing skin) -
(*) = website link to find product in Australia

SKIN :
I wanted to be glowy as hell for this look, seeing as the dark lips can distract and make me look very pale and very flat. so in order:
> Loreal Lumi Magique Primer  *
> IT cosmetics CC cream (review here) MIXED w Nars Sheer Glow (Deuville) *
> Maybelline Fit Me Concealer - Fair 15 *
>ELF Under eye powder (only under the eyes to set concealer)
> HourGlass Ambient Lighting Powder in Incandescent  (highlight cheeks + inner corner) *
>Essence Ash Eyebrow Powder (PERFECT for pale skinned contouring) *

EYES :
Quite possibly the easiest and most effective look ever. I pretty much do this eye look every day for school because its super put-together and easy!
>Kryolan Eye primer (aka the best eye primer thus far)
>Kat Von D 'Moulder' to set primer
> HourGlass Ambient Lighting Powder in Radiant (for warmth in the crease) *
> Australis Metallix cream eyeshadow in "Guns n Rose Petals  (aka the most beautiful cream shadow ever) (apply with finger, it HATES brushes)
> Two faced Better Than Sex Mascara *

BROWS :
> Maybelline colour tattoo in Tough as Taupe * 
> Essence Make Me Brow in 01 Blondy Brow *

LIPS:
The absolute star of the show, I love this lipstick so much. Its so richly pigmented and a lovely chocolatey brown colour! It's matte and lasts forever, maybe even a dupe for True Brown K?
> Essence Lip Liner 05 Soft Berry  * to line the lips
> BH Cosmetics MISSY LIN lipstick *


Thank you for taking the time to read this, You can check out my insta (button is on the left) to see some more pictures xx

- chelchea :)))))

Mini Reviews! (Mac Palette, TF Mascara, Essence Brow, ELF Foundation, Maybelline Concealer, IT cosmetics CC Cream)

I have accumulated way too many products recently , but i thought that one review per post was a little bit of a waste so here are some mini reviews for a bunch of products I've been trying out for 1-2 months

MAC Burgundy Times 9 Palette

Okay, I lie, Ive only had this product for about a week and a half but I feel like you know with eyeshadows whether they're the bomb or not pretty quickly. I spoiled myself with this, and tried to justify it as my 'taking away' palette for when I'm travelling and sleeping at friends houses and stuff- ridiculous, i know. but it IS forcing me to use it more frequently so I do get my moneys worth. 7/10

So here is the very quick breakdown:

PROS	CONS
Good Formula Variations	Expensive
Good amount of pigmentation	Smaller Pans
Travel Friendly	Poppy seed, quarry and haux are very similar

and some swatches:

TooFaced Better Than Sex Mascara 

I got this and the travel size for christmas as part of my main present for 2015. At first i was super uncertain as the travel size (which i was allowed to use before the 25th)  was pretty underwhelming, it clumped my lashes big time,  to the point were it looked like i had 4 thick eyelashes on each eye- gross. The full size is better, it clumps less but does still clump (which i dont mind too much), its dramatic but i dont think its my holy grail as of yet. 7/10


Essence Make Me Brow

An almost dupe for the Benefit Gimme Brow, just less fibre-y?. This brow gel/mascara is amazing, the colour payoff is minimal but the setting power is bomb! It keeps my thick but sparse eyebrow hairs in place almost all day and is only $5!! Will definitely repurchase 9.9/10

ELF Flawless Finish Foundation:

This foundation is /almost/ my perfect drugstore foundation! Its a really good price, and has some pretty awesome features with only a few small drawbacks (I'm in the colour Porcelain)  (this can be found in Kmart AU) (ALSO, I apply it with a beauty blender for better results) 8/10

PROS	CONS
REALLY good coverage	Strong floral fragrance
Good colour for pale (+pink) skintones	Too pink for my skintone
Natural demi-matte finish	Too cakey if applied w finger/brush

Maybelline Age Rewind, Undereye Eraser Concealer

I REALLY wanted to love this, but unfortunately, it just didn't live up to the hype. For me, the coverage is just not good enough- especially around my A-grade dark circles- and like many others say, the application method w the reusable sponge is just way too unhygienic. The colour is super nice though, very light and very yellow (I'm in the 'pale' colour), i just really wished it worked out on me but I will be sticking to the maybelline Fit Me in 15 Fair, because that is SO good.

IT Cosmetics CC Cream

I'm on my search to find the ultimate pale-yellow, light weight & glowing foundation and i think I've finally found the perfect one. It was really weird to use for the first time, my beauty blender (chi chi cosmetics dupe review here), soaked up all of the product and left me with virtually no coverage, the next couple of times i used a combo of my hands, around the nose and cheek area for more coverage, and a brush for the perimeter of my face and it works PERFECTLY! I'm super impressed, and probably should be considering the pretty hefty price tag. It does pull a little pink on me as the day goes on, which is frustrating BUT the glow i get from it is incredible, i almost dont have to wear a highlight (i mean, of course i still do). This would also be very beneficial for more mature skin because of the moisturising and brightening properties (and the lighter coverage)

Thank you for reading, if you got this far! I like this style of reviews because i feel like theres just enough information and its not a waste of a post !
Follow me on instagram for some more updates (@chelseadawidowski)

have a lovely day
-Chelchea :))))))