Luna Twilight Palette - Bella

Twilight Luna Colour Palette - Bella - £23* 

I wanted to hate the Twilight films, I really did. But they are a somewhat guilty pleasure of mine. Twilight Beauty have released a make-up range to complement the movie saga, one area of the range being "Luna Twilight". There are several face palettes in the collection which contain 1 blusher, 2 eyeshadows and 2 lip colours and these come in the variations Team Edward, Team Jacob, Bella, Alice and Rosalie.

Out of all of the palettes, Luna Twilight Bella* is the one which I was most attracted to because it looks like it could be used to create a neutral, everyday look. Firstly, the packaging is very compact. It's about the size of a credit card, so yes it's great to take on the go, but it means that it's difficult to actually use the eyeshadow and lip glosses as they are so small.

The blush is a very light peachy pink, it's not highly pigmented so if you're not pale (I'd say NW15 or less) then this won't work for you. I find myself having to build up the colour a LOT to get the slightest colour pay-off, so the finish can end up a little powdery. The eyeshadows are quite neutral brown/peach shimmer colours. They're soft and easy to work with, but again, the pigmentation is lacking. As for the lip colours, I didn't bother to include a swatch of them as the pigmentation is non-existent. They feel nice and non-sticky, but that's about it. I understand that this palette is meant for a neutral look and I did use the palette to replace my usual eye, lip and cheek colours, but I just found myself having to use so much of each product that I couldn't see it lasting very long at all.

Basically, if you're as pale as Bella Swan then you might be able to work with this, but if not then this might not be for you. I can't speak for the other colour palettes in the range, but I wasn't particularly impressed with this item.

Monday Wishlist #4

1, 2, 3, 4, 5

This dress from Miss Selfridge is making me seriously want to go shopping! I love the collar detail, the colours, the style, everything. I feel like it could be a great transitional piece for Autumn too - I'm picturing ankle boots and a leather jacket! I've heard that Hydraluron is great for dehydrated skin, which I feel that I have since my skin feels dry and flaky once I've washed it, but gets really oily throughout the day. I'm still venturing into using eyeshadow more often, so I'm sticking with neutral colours and this Stila In the Light Palette seems right up my street! I did want the UD Naked palette, but I can't justify shelling out £30-odd quid at the moment. I still don't own a MAC lipstick but I spied Vegas Volt and I'm in lust. Do I really need another coral lipstick? Yes, the answer is always yes. Finally, I made my very first Origins order last week and I want to try so much more from this brand already. The Clear Improvements mask is definitely next on my list because I do suffer from clogged pores and again, I've heard great things about this mask.

What are you lusting after this week?

Sleek Au Naturel Palette

Sleek i-Divine Au Naturel Palette

I finally bought a Sleek eye palette! I rarely use eyeshadow but that could be down to the fact that the only eyeshadow I own is in an ANCIENT Virgin Vie palette and there isn't much left. When I do use eyeshadows, I prefer a neutral, understated look so I figured that this palette would suit me best. I really wanted to get the Urban Decay Naked Palette but I can't justify spending nearly £40 on eyeshadow when I rarely use it anyway! So I opted for Sleek's more affordable palette.

Sleek palette case

You can buy Sleek make-up at Superdrug, or online here, and this Au Naturel palette retails at £6.99. There are 12 shadows included, 8 of which are matte shades, and 4 shimmer. This is great value for money considering you could pay that for just one eyeshadow from another brand. The shadows come in a simple but sophistcated black matte case with the Sleek writing on the lid.

Shades in Au Naturel palette

Above, you can see the colours included in this palette. You also get a handy little eyeshadow applicator, and a large mirror on the lid of the palette. The packaging is so pretty, I didn't even want to swatch the shadows because they look so nice as they are! But I did swatch them, just for you guys.

Swatched

I've tried to catch the shadows in the best light possible, but I do apologise as it's still quite hard to see, especially the lighter shades. From L-R, the shades are Nougat (a pale matte cream), Nubuck (a light grey-brown matte), Cappuccino (a light matte beige), Honeycomb (a warm yellow-beige matte), Toast (a matte light orange-brown), Taupe (a shimmery light brown/gold), Conker (a shimmery purple-brown), Moss (a shimmery green-brown), Bark (a matte true brown), Mineral Earth (a shimmery dark brown), Regal (a dark matte purple-brown) and Noir (a true black matte).

My favourite shade is definitely Taupe, it's the perfect gold-brown for me. I haven't used these on my eyes yet so I can't comment on their durability, but they are well-pigmented and at £6.99 for 12 eyeshadows, you can't go wrong really!

Have you tried any of the Sleek palettes? What's your favourite shade?