DRUGSTORE SERIES GUEST POST: Palletes

Hello everyone,

Hearing that lovely Sophie from CosmeticsCase was on the hunt for bloggers to share their top 5 drugstore beauty items of the one type of product, I couldn't pass up the opportunity. I'm a sucker for drugstore products. My contribution will be palettes. I wanted to share my favourite palettes as they are very few and far between in drug stores. The high end brands tend to steal our attention. Especially eyeshadow and multi-use palettes. But there are a few drug store gems that are worth a look or maybe even a purchase if you like. I would definitely suggest investing in a palette as they are great value for money and save storage space. 

Let me show you exactly what I mean. Que the palette love...

01. Sleek iDivine Palette in "Showstoppers" (LE) £7.99

Top Row: Paraguaya / Sunset / Me Myself And Eye / Bad Girl / Noir / Ultramattes V2. Bottom Row: Oh So Special / Bohemian / Storm / Sparkle / Au Natural / Graphite.

I have just recently picked up this palette and tend to do so with Limited Edition products. Sleek iDivine eyeshadow palettes are mineral based which gives them a their amazing creamy texture. Showstoppers holds the perfect combination of matte, shimmer and glitter shadows. The shadows are accompanied with a large mirror (woops for on the go) and a double ended sponge brush although I never use these and wouldn't recommend them. My favourite shades are Bad Girl (a unique golden green with green glitters), Bohemian (a classic matte coral), Sparkle (a champagne highlight) and Au Natural (a deep purple with slight glitters throughout).

Why I love this palette:

• The colour and finish selection of the shadows are excellent 
• They are super creamy and blendable
• The pigmentation is just perfect
• Sleek packaging is classic and elegant
• £7.99 for 12 great quality shadows - perfect!

02. MUA "Pro Brow" Ultimate Brow Kit £3.50

I understand that this isn't necessarily a 'palette' so to speak but I wanted to add a wide variety into this post. But is you are like myself and use two colours to shape and define my brows this is for you. The kit by MUA is similar to brow kits from Benefit and Sleek Make Up, but this one only cashes in at £3.50. Included in the kit is 2 brow shades, a gel to set the brows and what is meant to be a highlight but for me its way to peach toned to use on my brow bone. But when all else fails - the shades can double up as eyeshadows! I would recommend that those with blonde hair or light dark hair use the ashy toned brown and those with medium brown - dark brown/black hair use the darkest shade.

Why I love this palette:

• The formula of the brow powders are pretty smooth
• It comes with mini tweezers and angled brush
• The gel is perfect for setting those brows in place

03. Sleek Blush By 3 "Pink Lemonade" Blush Palette £7.99

Shades: Icing Sugar / Macaroon / Pink Mint

Sleek states that these blush shades contain intense pigment that are complementary shades or they can also be used blended together. Sleek recommends you layer the shades for further intensity. After swatching just one swipe, I gasped at the pigmentation and formula of Sleek's blushes. Pink Lemonade is a mixture of powder and cream blushes. Icing Sugar (a true princess pink with shimmers) and Pink Mint (a terracotta coral with gold glitters) are powders whereas Macaroon (a mid-toned pink and satin finish) is a cream. Before using this palette, I was pro powder blush. However, Macaroon is stunning and great to wear.

Why I love this palette:

• The pigmentation is phenomenal
• Great staying power
• The price of a singular Sleek Blush is £4.49 (3 for £7.99 is a steal)
•  The shades are so very pretty and suit universal skin tones

04. MUA "Undressed" Eyeshadow Palette £4

Top Row: Shade 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6. Bottom Row: Shade 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12.

An oldie but a goodie (as you can see from the hot mess packaging). The only thing not so great about MUA palettes are the packaging. I have a few and all of my lids break off although I think they're working on that. Undressed contains a mixture of shimmer, satin and matte finishes. The palette is filled with pretty neutral shades and a few of them could be dupes for Urban Decay Naked palette shades. My favourites are Shade 1 (a natural peach), Shade 2 (a pink toned shimmer - dupe for MAC's Jest), Shade 3 (a mid-toned brown - great transition colour) and Shade 9 (a rose gold shimmer). 

Why I love this palette:

• Variety of pretty nudes
• 12 decent shadows for £4
• They are easy to blend and work with
• When the metallic's are used wet it transforms them into an intense pigment

05. MUA "Scarlet" Lipstick Trio £2.50

Shades: Light Pink / Fuchsia / Coral

Again, not technically a palette but it contains more than one product. I was so impressed with how smoothly and pigmented these lip shades applied to the lips. They are not highly opaque but f you are on a budget, I would definitely recommend this lip trio. The last shade was closest to my lip colour, giving them a 'my lips but better' colour which I adore. They shades might not show up if you have a much darker skin tone than mine with already pigmented lips. MUA also have this trio in darker shades though for those who don't think these shades will work for them.

Why I love this palette:

• The pretty shade selection
• They are not sticky 
• Doesn't drag the lips on application
• The fuchsia shade has the most longevity 

As I could only pick 5 palettes, I suggest you check out Collections 9 piece eyeshadow palettes as they have good variation of shades and tell you where to place each shadow if you are a beginner. Barry M also has some pretty eyeshadow palettes out at the moment. In regards to price, quality and variety - Sleek Makeup and MUA really do accommodate for beauty addicts on a budget. All products listed were purchased from Superdrug. 

A big hug and thanks to Sophie for allowing me to collaborate on this fun series. Please check out my blog here if you enjoyed this post!

ttyl,

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