Huge thanks to total all-star Nicole (the blogger behind Beauty-Free, which tracks Duty-Free beauty finds). English brand Sleek continues to get a lot of love from the beauty community, and Nicole is helping me pick my favorites with her tireless swatches of their famous eyeshadow palettes.
Sparkle was limited edition, part of Sleek’s 2010 holiday collection. Nicole says, “as the name implies, all the shades are sparkly.”
Top row: Cranberry, Dream Maker, Galactic, Twinkle, Star Light, Noir
Bottom row: Illusion, Festive, Mistletoe, Glitz & Glamour, Gold Ribbon, Tinsel
Bad Girl and Good Girl are both permanently available. Nicole says Bad Girl was launched following the success of the Graphite palette, and offers a more balanced mix of colors. Noir is matte, but the other shades are all metallic or shimmery.
Top row: Innocence, Gullible, Blade, Gun Metal, Underground, Noir
Bottom row: Intoxicated, Envy, Obnoxious, Abyss, Twilight, Rebel
Nicole says, “many people have been using the Good Girl palette as a blush palette. The first two shades are unyielding and kind of crummy — it’s not just my bad swatching technique.”
Top row: Lychee, Meringue, Candy Floss, Lollipop, Pink Punch, Cupcake
Bottom row: Strawberry Sorbet, Pink Grapefruit, Peach Melba, Papaya, Raspberry Coulis, Morello
Monaco was limited edition, part of the Mediterranean collection, and Nicole says it’s a favorite of hers. “I feel like the shades are unusual and the pigmentation is fantastic,” she says.
Top row: Bamboo, Aquamarine, Midnight Garden, Sunset, Washed Ashore, Magenta Madness
Bottom row: Summer Breeze, Sand Walker, Kiwi Zest, Lotus Flower, Hummingbird, Moors Treasure
And finally, the Au Naturel palette. Nicole says, “The palette is great! All wearable shades, mostly matte but with a few shimmers that aren’t over the top. They all have amazing texture. And this palette is permanent, so no need to despair.”
Top row: Nougat, Nubuck, Capuccino, Honeycomb, Toast, Taupe
Bottom row: Conker, Moss, Bark, Mineral Earth, Regal, Noir
Oh my gosh! I was just on the sleek website to order some stuff and I was thinking it would have been really helpful if Karlasugar had some sleek swatches. Do you think you’ll have their blushes swatched anytime soon?
I’ve got the Au Naturale palette, as well as a couple others which aren’t swatched here - and love it. Some of the shades are MAC dupes of which I already have. This is a beautiful palette with some really nice mattes in it. The swatches don’t do them justice, even though they look quite pigmented here. They really are gorgeous colors, all of them.