Review: Sleek Blush in Life's a Peach

I love Sleek blushes. They're cheap, highly pigmented and easy to work with, and they come in a generous compact with a huge mirror. What's not to like?

Life's a Peach s no exception to any of the above, and being a pretty, warm orangey-peach, it's the perfect shade for giving your cheeks that summer glow we all crave at this time of year. It might look a bit scary in the pan, but while it is very pigmented and easy to pick up on the brush, it's pretty buildable, giving you options about how you choose to wear it. A light wash of colour is really flattering on bronzed skin, but if you really want to stand out from the crowd then this blush will easily do that job too. 

While it is easy to work with, I must admit that it doesn't pick up on the brush quite as well as some of Sleek's other shades - but saying that, it does blend out more easily than, say, Rose Gold. It's also nice and finely milled, making it silky soft in texture, and wears really well without becoming streaky or patchy.

Left: blended out. Right: Swatched quite heavily. 
(Excuse the hairband mark on my arm in the middle of the blended swatch!)

This has quickly worked its way up in my blush repertoire and is up there in my top three for the summer months. 

Sleek Life's a Peach is available at a bargainous £4.49 from Superdrug.

Have you tried anything from Sleek?

If so, what is your favourite?

xx

Summer Blushin'

L-R: Topshop Cream Blush in Flush, Sleek blush in Life's a Peach, Mac Sheertone Shimmer Blush in Peachykeen

Topshop Cream Blush in 'Flush'

                                                    

                                                                                          Sleek Blush in 'Life's a Peach'

       Mac Sheertone Shimmer Blush in 'Peachykeen'

There's nothing like a bright pop of colour on the cheeks to brighten up the dullest dud of a 'Summer's' day, and now that the UK is actually basking in sunshine for a change, a vibrant blush fits the bill more than ever before (well, at least this year).

I am very much a corals and peaches girl, and will use any excuse to crack them out when the warmer months begin to roll round. In fact, you'll often catch me trying to sneak them out in the cooler months too, especially in terms of blushes. I just find that they are so flattering, even on a paler skin tone, and really add a bit of extra oomph when I'm looking a bit washed out or lacklustre.

Today I thought I'd share with you my three most reached-for blushes for Summer 2013, and I can honestly say that since about March time, nothing but these beauties has graced my cheeks - that's how much I love them!

First up is the Topshop Cream Blush in Flush, which I reviewed within the last couple of weeks (for that post, click here). I think we all love a good cream blush at this time of year, and this one is no exception. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that this bad boy is my favourite specimen of all time, and I have been loving the pinched effect I get by dotting this onto my cheeks and then blending it lightly with my Real Techniques stippling brush. In terms of the shade, it's absolute perfection - a bright coral pink that is highly pigmented but also buildable. I have been wearing and wearing this, and particularly love teaming it with Mac's Cremesheen lipstick in Coral Bliss. Love.

Next up is the newest addition to my blush collection (it finally arrived last week), a Sleek powder formulation in the shade Life's a  Peach. This is a really gorgeous peachy-apricot, and is a slightly different hue to the others I've got squirreled away in my arsenal of cheek products. My only gripe with it is that it's a little bit backwards in coming forward when it comes to swatching, but that said, it does seem to pick up reasonably well on a nice soft Eco Tools brush and blends out to give a lovely wash of colour that's bright without being too much. 

And last but by no means least is my Mac Sheertone Shimmer blush in Peachykeen (full review and swatch here). This is definitely a darker, dirtier peach, and contains a beautifully subtle hint of shimmer that I find provides a gorgeously luminous, healthy glow. While there is a hint of glitter in he pan if you look closely, it won't translate onto the cheeks, so no risk of the glitter ball effect here. I'd say that of the three, this is the best option for day to day, as it won't clash with any other bright makeup choices on the eyes or lips. When it comes to the other two, they really do do all the talking, and become the main feature of the look.

Are there any blushes you've found yourself reaching for over and over this season?

What are your favourite formulations for Summer?

xx

Review: Mac Blush in Peachy Keen

As we all know very well, a girl can never have too many Mac blushes, and you might remember seeing in last month's beauty haul video that on my last trip to my closest shop, I picked up a new Sheertone Shimmer blush in the shade Peachykeen.

Sheertone Shimmer blushes are, as you would expect, quite sheer, but can be built up to achieve a bright pop of colour if that's the look you prefer. They also contain hint of shimmer, and while tiny flecks of glitter are detectable in the pan, they don't transfer onto the face at all, appearing only as a beautifully subtle golden sheen. 

 Peachykeen is described by Mac as a 'very baby peach', and I have to say, it looks nothing like the swatch on their website, which is more of a reddish plum shade. It's a good job we have beauty blogs to help us out with things like this! Personally, I'd describe Peachykeen as a dark pinky-peach - it's not a soft pastel peach, and there is definitely something a bit earthier about it.

I had actually had no intention of taking home a blush when I popped into the Mac shop, but the assistant there kindly swiped some onto my cheeks to complement a couple of other products I was trying out, which I purchased, satisfied, and left. But for the rest of the day, which I was spending doing a bit of clothes shopping, whenever I caught sight of myself in the mirror I was impressed with the healthy glow I seemed to be exuding. Of course, I had the blush to thank for this, and by the end of the day I had swiftly popped back and snapped it up. It's now become my most-used powder blush, as it's such a flattering, wearable shade, and the subtle, radiant glow it provides is enough to perk up any tired, run-down or lacklustre face. Although it's sheer, it's also highly pigmented, so a light hand is recommended when applying it. It wears well too, and is still going fairly strong by the time I get home after a day at work. For me, this was my first Sheertone Shimmer blush, and after it's success I have now got my eye on Springsheen and Peachtwist.

What's your favourite Mac blush formulation?

Have you tried any of the Sheertone Shimmer shades?

xx