Review: Sleek Blush in Rose Gold

I have always loved Sleek products, ever since I got introduced to it two years ago. I love that Luxola has them, and they are really affordable and their quality is on par with other more expensive brands out there.

So since my Maybelline blush was finishing, I decided to go with a little Sleek and see what they had in store for me. Of course it didn't hurt that they were having a sale so I got it for 35% off :D

The Sleek Blush comes in a small matte compact with a mirror. However, it doesn't come with an applicator brush. The size of the blush is small enough to fit in the palm of your hand, while also large enough to contain all that product, which for me is a really good buy. One thing I really loved about Sleek is their *ahem* sleek packaging. It always comes with a matte surface which I love :)

From Sleek:
The highly pigmented Sleek Blush provides a beautiful finish across your skin, even with light application. The wide range of shades mean that you have a variety to choose from to suit your skin tone.

One of its benefits is that it gives you long lasting coverage, and that it has high pigmentation so the effects can be seen even though you apply it lightly.

Ingredients: Mica, Talc, Bis Diglyceryl Polyacyladipate 2, Pentaerythrityl Teraisostearate, Nylon 12, Magnesium Stearate, Jojoba Esters, Dimethicone, Polyethylene, Phenoxyethanol, Chloroxylenol May Contain [+/ Ci. 77891, Ci. 15850, C1 45410, Ci. 77360, Ci. 19140, Ci. 15985, Ci. 77492, Ci. 77491, Ci. 77499 Ci 77742]

The Sleek Blush comes in nine beautiful shades on Luxola. They are: Pixie Pink, Sunrise, Pomegranate, Sahara, Coral, Flamingo, Life's A Peach, Rose Gold, and Flushed.

Can you see the shimmer?

I decided to purchase the colour Rose Gold because I saw on the reviews section that the colour is pigmented and has a nice rose sheen to it.

To test it out, I took some swatches, under three different conditions. Natural Light, Flash, and Artificial Light (room lighting).

This is taken under natural light. There are two swatches of colour on my fist, the left is swatched with my fingertips, right is with my brush. As you can see, the pigmentation is not super great here, but there is still a bit of colour and shimmer.

Taken with flash, the finger swatch stands out more noticeably than the brush swatch. But I guess that's understandable considering you apply more pressure with your fingers. Shimmer is there, but I was a bit disappointed that the brush swatch didn't turn out very pigmented.

Taken under artificial room light. Shimmers for both swatches are very noticeable, but the gold sheen is more noticeable than the rose colour. Similarly for the above, the finger swatch comes out more pigmented than the brush swatch.

So here's what I think:

I've done my research and read a lot of reviews saying that the Sleek Blush is pigmented, so I initially used it with a light hand. but couldn't really see much, even after re-applying three or four times.

As you can see from the photo, it has a shimmery sheen to it, so I would not recommend for a day look. I think it would suit a night look better, as I prefer a more matte type of blush for my day look.

Taken without flash, the colour payoff is a little light. I think I might need to apply more layers.

Personally for me, the colour payoff is not very great. Even under natural light, the colour doesn't show up so obviously, and the colour is a little different from what is shown in the pic (which is understandably normal).

Taken with flash. It's a little better here, but still I would have preferred a more pigmented shade as opposed to all that shimmer.

Verdict: 6/10. Bought this colour with the expectation that I can use it for a day-look blush, but the shimmer makes it unsuitable. Not as pigmented as I thought. Having said that, I still love Sleek products though.

Repurchase: Yes, but a different colour :p

Final comments: I would say this is a product that I would recommend for those with lighter skin tones cos I think the rose colour would stand out more, or who want to get a highlighter that is more subtle.

There are some school of thoughts out there that the Sleek Blush in Rose Gold is a dupe of the Nars Blush in Orgasm. What do you think?