Hello everyone,

It feels like ages since I've written a blog post. I just wanted to take some time off to finish my final examinations for this semester and just to spend some time with my family. I feel like this year has gone by really fast and a definite highlight for me this year was connecting with you through my blog. So I didn't want to stay away from blogging for too long. There's a lot going on at the moment especially since Christmas is just around the corner. In the midst of preparing hampers and driving lessons, I finally found some time to catch up with you.

Part of the reason why Christmas is so exciting is obviously because of all the presents. I remember getting my first Christmas hamper which had tons of chocolates, Christmas crackers ( I used to call them- bon-bons), my first set of Maped color pencils/peps (remember how they were the best back then?) and the book Treasure Island (love adventure fiction). Since this time around there's tons of sales and offers, most of you may have already started shopping for gifts. So I thought it would be quite nice to go through some limited edition collections in terms of makeup so that I can talk to you about it. When  I received a mail about the new Sleek 24k Gold collection I was thrilled. They have a 24k Gold gift set that is available for just $34.99 which is a fantastic price. The set includes:

*i-Lust Eyeshadow Palette in The Gold Standard

*Glitter Me Lip Gloss in Private Jet

*Midas Touch Highlighting Palette

*Makeup Bag

I've never purchased anything from Sleek before so I just ordered 2 items to test them out and to see if I liked them. I originally wanted to get the vintage romance eye shadow palette, but the moment I saw The Gold Standard palette I just thought it would be a better investment. I love a bit of shimmer on the eyes especially this festive season. I'm not a huge fan of glittery lip glosses so I opted to not purchase the entire gift set. For the price of $11.49 considering it is a limited edition palette I could not complain. I will upload a complete review of this soon, so you'll have to stay in touch to find out whether I think it would be a great stocking filler. So far, I've been really enjoying the colors. It has four silky shimmer powder shadows and two of the cream formula ones. It basically covers all shimmers from gold to copper to champagne and has a lovely dark burgundy shade (cue the sound of angels singing for this one). This is pretty much the answer to all your shimmery needs. 

Before I saw their new collection, I had already added their Eye and Cheek Palette in Dancing Til Dusk to my wishlist. When the price of this was slashed to $7.50 I promptly added it to my cart. It includes 4 eye shadows from their Au-Naturel i-Divine palette. It has two mattes- a beige and a brown and two shimmers- champagne and brown. The combination I think is great for minimal makeup looks and for everyday wear and you can add a bit of the shimmery colors to switch up the look for night time occasions. It also has two blushes in Mirrored Pink and Sahara. If there's one thing I knew about Sleek prior to my purchase, that is that their blushes are phenomenal. I can definitely see why that is true.The mirrored pink is so beautiful but I don't know how well it will work on my skin tone. It might look more like a highlight but regardless I'm just in awe of the color.  The other blush is called Sahara and it is just a beautiful matte orange color. I think this one will be perfect for summer. The palette includes a blush brush and a sponge applicator. Sadly this palette is no longer available to purchase from their website. 

 

I placed my order on the 29th of October and since it usually takes a couple more weeks than the expected delivery date I assumed I will be receiving this mid December. To my surprise I got it early, last Monday (16th of November). I have put off purchasing eyeshadow palettes online for so long, because I feared  (thanks to all the photos available on Instagram) that the eye shadows may crack and fall apart during the delivery. I'm so glad it hasn't happened with these two palettes, so many thanks to Sleek for taking great care in their packaging and delivery of their products.  

What's great about shopping with Sleek is that 

1. The prices are fantastic (who doesn't love great quality products for less).

2. They have items at reduced prices and not just during the festive season (a. k. a. Secret sales).

3. They ship fast compared to the other places I've made my purchases from and their shipping prices are easy on the wallet (USD 3.00 to ship to Sri Lanka).

4. The website is safe  and the products are shipped safely (gotta love that bubble wrap).

5. I saved the best for last-you get a 10% off the first purchase.

Let me know if you have tried any products by Sleek by leaving a comment down below. Hope you enjoyed reading this post and hope you have a great weekend!

Links:
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/MandySHeartBlog
Sleek 24k Gold Collection Gift Set: http://www.sleekmakeup.com/24k-gold-collection-all/24k-gold-christmas-collection
Sleek The Gold Standard palette: http://www.sleekmakeup.com/i-lust-the-gold-standard
Blush in Sahara:  http://www.sleekmakeup.com/blush-sahara

Much love,

Hello everyone,

Happy Monday to all of you! It's finally November and I'm turning 21 in exactly 27 days. The countdown is ON, haha. Today I'll be doing a review on the Jordana Fabu Liner in No. 01- Black. Some time back I was searching for a good felt-tip liner as I find they are the easiest to work with. Since I love winged eyeliner looks, a felt-tip liner pen is a must-have for me. I went through some reviews about drugstore liners and I found that many people raved about this liner. So if this is your go-to drugstore liner, I hope you won't get offended by this review. This is purely my experience with it. Anyway I picked this one up at Srina Palace. The cost of this eyeliner was Rs. 690. The best thing about this liner is probably its availability here in Sri Lanka.

Claims :

 Felt-Tip Precision/ No Skipping or Dragging/ Convenient & Easy to Use/  Dramatic Eye Definition

Packaging :

It comes in a black packaging with the name of the brand, name of the product and color in gold. The tip is fine and can create fine as well as bold lines. The only problem with the tip on this one is that it is a bit stiff and it tugs on my skin which can be somewhat painful. I think it has gradually improved with time and frequent use. The ingredient list is mentioned on their website which I will link down below. 

Wear :
It has a smell of that of a whiteboard marker, not too overpowering but it's definitely noticeable once you open the cap. When I first got this I was so surprised by the color, it wasn't as pigmented as I liked it to be. When I started using it I felt a bit of a sting as well, which made me believe that I might actually be allergic to it. Recently, I have started using this more and I can see that it has improved in terms of pigmentation and ease of application, compared to how it was before. But it is still not as dramatic and bold as I would prefer it to be.  It is not waterproof nor does it claim to be. It doesn't leave a tint behind unlike the Essence one ( http://mandy-s-heart.blogspot.com/2015/07/review-essence-superfine-eyeliner-pen.html ) which is great. Over all it lasts about 2-3 hours (at most) on my lids alone without primer/ eye shadow, depending on how much product I apply. In the picture down below I'm not wearing any primer or eye shadow just to show you the nature of the eyeliner. Also because there are days when I go for the eyeliner alone without wanting to put on any eye shadow and on those days I certainly won't be reaching out for this one.

I have used the Fabu Liner only to do the top winged line and the bottom waterline was lined with a kohl pencil.

Should you get it? :

 I love Jordana products but to be honest this product gets a thumbs-down from me. I did not get the results I wanted with the pigmentation nor the lasting power. So unless you want to try it out for yourself, I do not recommend investing on this one.

Have you tried the Jordana Fabu Liner? Let me know your thoughts about it in a comment below.

Facebook page for the blog: https://www.facebook.com/MandySHeartBlog

Jordana Website: http://www.jordanacosmetics.com/p-78-incolor-fabuliner-liquid-eyeliner.aspx

Much love,