While not available at stores in North America, Sleek products can be easily accessed by their online shop (and the shipping is *actually* cheap to Canada/USA!). If you’re lucky enough to live in the United Kingdom, you can pick up Sleek palettes at Superdrug which is where I picked up this Au Naturel palette when I was in London two years ago. With a ton of matte shades alongside shimmers, this palette packs the right amount of punch and variety for a neutral palette.
Enjoy the swatches!
I was first introduced to Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum by the wonderful people on YouTube. Beauty guru after beauty guru would rave on and on about the wonders of this gel foundation. When I was in Ireland a few years back (yeah, I’m that late reviewing it) I saw the foundation in Boots and decided to pick it up in two different shades since I wasn’t sure what shad would suit me.
The shades I picked up are on the bottom of the range (of which there are really not a lot of shades); 51 Light Vanilla and 52 Vanilla. The shades lean decidedly yellow; none of them seemed even remotely pink.
The first thing I noticed with this foundation is the scent – it’s incredible! I can’t pinpoint the smell exactly, but it’s a pleasant fruity scent. For those concerned about the longevity of the scent on their skin; don’t be. It dries down quickly and the scent goes away immediately.
So here’s the deal with my foundation-free face (above): My skin is slightly darker than my neck, and definitely more pink. I have some redness, but nothing symptomatic of larger problems. I have moles I was born with that don’t bother me and freckles I love. My skin has been rather dry this past winter, but can get a bit on the oily side in the summer, but nothing excessive. When I look for a foundation, I’m essentially looking for something to give me a blank canvas to work from because it makes pictures look so much better. All this to say, I do not have any large problems I’m trying to cover up so I don’t need a full coverage foundation.
My favourite way to apply any and all foundations is with my Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge. Lately I’ve been doing two pumps of 52 Vanilla, with one pump of51 Light Vanilla. (Although on further reflection, judging by the shots below, I should’ve been doing it 50/50.)
And here’s the product completely blended in to my skin. You can still see some of my darker freckles, and certainly some of my moles but if you’re that desperate to cover those you could always use a concealer. On me, Healthy Mix Serum is a light to medium coverage foundation that has enough coverage to even out my skin, but still lets me feel like my skin is still my own skin. Unlike with other foundations where I routinely experience itchiness from daily wear, this foundation doesn’t do that. More often than not, I forget I’m wearing anything, and for me that’s a huge relief because I really struggle with the feeling of heavyweight foundations on my skin.
And here’s a close up shot that will hopefully show you the texture of my skin and the degree of coverage I achieve with one layer of foundation applied. I do experience some product rubbing off throughout the workday as I am prone to touching my skin a lot, or holding a phone to my ear where the receiver will eventually hit my face. I don’t use powder however, so you could probably set it with one to increase the longevity. That being said, this does last an entire work day if you’re not prone to touching your skin. At the end of the day when I take this off, I end up taking a LOT of pigment off on my makeup wipe which tells me that it clung to my skin very well throughout the day.
In short, I love the way this smells, feels and wears. I’m sad that I’m close to finishing these two bottles and will definitely repurchase it once I’ve cleared a few other foundations out of my collection. I do wish they had more shades though, since the range is very, very limited.
Do you have any recommendations for Bourjois products? I’m definitely wanting to explore this brand a bit more!
A limited edition run during the 2013 holiday season, Tarte’s Off The Cuff felt like it literally flew off the shelves into the waiting hands of beauty obsessed consumers. I was lucky enough to get my hands on it!
Make Up For Ever‘s Ink Liner ($27 CAD) is a relatively new release for the brand. I was anxious to try this one out due to the claims, the primary one which claimed this was a truly matte formula.
Released just this past January, the Ink Liner promises to be a truly matte black liquid eyeliner, and quick drying while providing flawless wear and hold. I have been after a liquid liner that actually delivers a matte black formula without the hint of a sheen so I was super excited to try this out.
And the Ink Liner definitely delivers on the matte black formula! This stuff is as dark as an abyss. It is completely, without a shadow of a doubt, matte. It has no sheen, no hint of a gleam – it is UTTERLY matte. It also remains matte throughout the entire day – I had zero transfer from my eyeshadows to the liner, which is a problem I still have with my matte gel liners.
One thing worth noting, is that this liner is not waterproof. A lot of people assume that liquid liners are always waterproof, and that is not necessarily the case. This one is not waterproof (nor did they ever claim it was), so if you have watery eyes you may want to stay away from this one.
The shot above is the Ink Liner freshly applied. I put it on before work that morning (roughly 7:30 a.m.). My first attempt with the liner produced quite a thick line. As with any new applicator, you need a little bit of time to get used to the shape. The applicator is a small rubberized cone with a fairly rounded end. It has some flex to it, but not as much as a brush tip.
But what a line it produces! With my eye closed, you can see just how solid this product is. I got a sharp point on the end of my wing while freehanding the line.
And this is what the Ink Liner looked like at the end of my work day (roughly 5 p.m.). It’s just as matte black as when I started the day out! It didn’t transfer to my upper lid once it had dried down and it didn’t pick up any of the shimmery shadows from my lid (and I purposely did a look that’s given me problems in the past with eyeshadow transfer). These are enormous pluses in my book since I’m all about that ultra matte life with zero transfer.
I really love that the Ink Liner managed to deliver what other liners have not for me (the true matte-ness), but I can’t help but wish it was waterproof. Maybe it’s just impossible to make a completely matte formula while having waterproof properties? Hmmm.
Do you have a favourite matte liquid liner? I’d love to hear about your experiences with liners!
The product featured in this review was provided by PR.
I picked up this gorgeous stack of pigments by Naked Cosmetics at IMATS this past year. This is the Tropical Indulgence set and they can be used wet or dry. For the swatches, they were applied dry to the skin.
