Sleek Makeup (aka Sleek to many) came up with 2 more new limited edition i-Divine eyeshadow palettes this year. They seem to be doing it quite often don’t they? The first of these was available about a month ago in the limited edition Spring 2013 Aqua collection. The eyeshadow palette, which you can see on your right of the image above, is the Lagoon i-Divine palette.
The other palette that has just become available online only for a limited time this month, is the Showstoppers palette. You can see the palette on your left in the photo above, and what it is, is a collection of shadows from the various i-Divine eyeshadow palettes launched by Sleek Makeup. Ostensibly, its the best of the best – the best shadows from each of Sleek’s best palettes to date. I think that’s a nice little concept but… yes, there is a but.
I’ll run them down quickly for you with swatches so you have an idea of what to expect. That said, if you are familiar with Sleek Makeup i-Divine palettes, you should already know what to expect, right? 😉
Lagoon i-Divine palette (Aqua Collection, Spring 2013)
This is the limited edition Lagoon palette from the Aqua Collection for Spring 2013. As befitting the season, the colours are bright but keeping to a fresh pastel tone, and drawing from the aqua theme, has a beachy vibe to it. I must confess when I saw this, that I thought it looked very familiar.
I looked back at the various colourful palettes I’ve featured so far – Glory, Aruba, Sparkle 2 – and realised that although it looks familiar, there was no one palette that was exactly the same. That said, I’m sure the people at Sleek would have done their homework else people would be rightfully pissed 😛 Still, it does remind me of some of their previous palettes if not the combination of colours, perhaps the colours themselves. Just something I can’t quite put my finger one.
Like most of the Sleek Makeup i-Divine palettes, the shimmer textures stand out remarkably. There are only 2 matte textures in this one, and to be fair, the quality wasn’t too bad.
I forgot to label and name them, so please bear with me as you do a bit of legwork. Descriptions are mine, names are theirs, and we’ll be running this down from left to right. All swatches correspond to the layout in the palette.
Top Row:
- Sassea – a turquoise/teal with golden shimmer. This is my favourite colour in the palette and sums up the whole palette perfectly. It channels the ocean or a blue lagoon with sunlight glinting off its surface. Very lovely.
- Deep Water – Matte deep violet. This turned out to be quite pigmented for a Sleek Makeup matte and didn’t have too much fall out. The strong red tones in this do not flatter my skin nor eyes so its not a colour I like.
- Reflection – A shimmer pale pink that makes a pretty highlight and brings out the colour when you layer it over the mattes.
- Emerald – A shimmer green that isn’t as deep an emerald as I’d like but it keeps to the Lagoon theme by channeling the deeper depths of the lagoon. A pretty colour
- Oyster – A high shimmer white that can pretty much only work for a highlight or for going out partying. Not for the faint hearted unless blended out very very well.
- Black Pearl – A pigmented black with a little shimmer. The colour is strong and easy to blend. Beware fall out though.
Bottom Row:
- Pink Jewel – a shimmer fuchsia that I personally find very hard to wear.
- Sand Dollar – a shimmering pink-beige shell shade that is very pretty worn on its own or as a highlight. One of the more easy to wear colours.
- Underworld – A light blue with a little shimmer, that if you aren’t careful can channel the 80’s so use sparingly.
- Sea Shell – I thought it would be a pretty shimmering camel but it somehow swatches on my skin bronze. A bit too warm to flatter me but it will be very flattering on warmer skintones.
- Night Sky – A matte lilac that is the night sky at twilight. For a matte, it is quite pigmented and smooth to apply.
- Ariel – a bright satin coral that I can’t bring myself to wear on eyes but which, if used with a VERY light hand, could work as a blush.
I haven’t been very wow-ed by many of the Sleek Makeup palettes but this one does have merit. There is usually a dud in there somewhere in the form of a matte, but the mattes in this palette perform quite well. I think its a fun little palette for someone starting to experiment with colour. For those who prefer something a bit more neutral, you may find this one too bright. Yet, if you don’t wear colours a lot and just want a palette for that occasional wear, this makes the cut. Quality is fairly good and the small pricetag adds to the allure.
Showstoppers i-Divine palette (Online exclusive)
The Showstoppers palette is an online exclusive so you won’t be able to find it in stores, only at the Sleek Makeup website. This one is a combination of the best picks from each of the best Sleek i-Divine palettes that have been released so far.
For those who found Lagoon too loud and brash, then the Showstoppers palette may sit better with you. It looks like Sleek picked out most of the more neutral colours from each of the featured palettes and put them together so you have a palette that is at once neutral yet with colour.
Again, you have to do a bit of legwork. Swatches correspond to the layout of the palette and descriptions are mine. Please view from left to right
Top Row:
- Paraguaya – The colour is Sandstone from the Paraguaya palette. I couldn’t get any colour to show but ideally, its a matte beige. Waste of time, if you ask me 😛
- Sunset – Unnamed shade from the Sunset palette which is a shimmer burgandy in pan that applies on my skin a warm copper. Pretty on the right skintone, not so pretty on me.
- Me, Myself & Eye – We fall into a bit of confusion at this point. On the plastic insert, it says that this high shimmer white is from the Me, Myself & Eye palette but from other sources, this is supposed to be Innocence from the Bad Girl palette. Either way, its a high shimmer white that only has one function which is to highlight. Prone to fall out.
- Bad Girl – Another bit of confusion as this one is labelled Bad Girl in the insert but which is apparently the colour named Primal Green from the Me, Myself & Eye palette. The colour is a very pretty shimmer olive that you can easily wear on its own with black liner. My fave colour in this palette.
- Noir – Confusion again, as Noir is supposed to be the last colour which is a matte black. Unlike other matte blacks I’ve come across in Sleek i-Divine palettes, this is fairly pigmented with less fall out. Might they actually be improving?! As for the colour labelled Noir in this palette, it is a shimmery charcoal gray that is quite wearable.
- Ultra-Mattes V2 – Matte black. In fact, at this point, I’ve discovered that the names printed on the insert may have been jumbled up so I’m just going to tell you what they are based on what I see.
Bottom Row:
- Oh So Special – A matte grey that is horrible. No colour payoff at all. Waste of space 😛
- Bohemian – A bright matte coral-pink that could work as a blush with a very light hand.
- Storm – A matte dark blue that was fairly pigmented.
- Sparkle – A shimmer beige-cream that can be worn on its own or to add shine to one of the deeper matte shades.
- Au Natural – A matte maroon shade I could never pull off.
- Graphite – A shimmer brown but the red tones in this one makes it hard for me or anyone with cooler skintones to pull off well.
I can’t say I’m impressed, nor that I’m unimpressed with these palettes. They are quite typical of the quality found in Sleek Makeup i-Divine palettes. When I do wear them, the colours do last and the vibrant colours are very vibrant. But as always, their strength lies in the shimmer colours. They did improve the matte shades in the Lagoon palette but the matte shades in the Showstopper palette were duds.
Which of the 2 palettes catch your eye? Have you tried any Sleek Makeup i-Divine palettes?
The funny thing is, if I were to just look at the palettes, I would actually pick Showstoppers because it looks more neutral and easier to wear. But after swatching them, I’d personally pick Lagoon. Granted, the colours are a bit bright and perhaps, harder to pull off, but the quality of the product is so much better colour for colour. Showstoppers pulled out 2 duds in the form of Parguaya and Oh So Special which really pulled down the ranking of this palette as far as I was concerned. The attractive price point however, is what Sleek has going for them so most people will be willing to overlook the duds.
Paris B
Sleek Makeup Lagoon i-Divine and Showstoppers i-Divine Price: £7.99 Availability: SleekMakeup.com and at Superdrug stores. Showstoppers is only available online Limited Edition: Yes
Even though there are duds in that Showstoppers one I still like it for some reason. I like BOTH actually hahaha.
Have to admit they do look quite captivating and at those prices, it really can’t be beat!
I like both – one for work, one for play.
Ooh good call, Angelina! 😉
Looking at the colours, I will immediately choose the Showstoppers palette too! 🙂 More wearable for work 🙂
It most certainly is! Colorful neutrals, I call them hehe
Love Sleek as a drugstore brand..great quality products! their eye palettes are usually good..with 1 or 2 exception..loving the lagoon palette..bright and fun colors are perfect for spring and summers! have you tried their blushes? they are the best ones available in drugstore range and so affordable! the quality of blushes are highly comparable to MAC and other high end brands..atleast in my opinion 🙂
I tend to agree with you Parita. I’ve come across some duds in the brand, but generally, they perform fairly well considering the price. I have tried one or two of their blushes and I will agree, they are quite good and can almost be comparable to Nars in terms of pigment. But I also at this moment, find them too pigmented sometimes. Spend more time brushing it off than I do brushing it on! LOL Same with Nars, so no discrimination there 😉
Lagoon is one of my favourite palettes from spring. I love the fun mix of colours, the bright shades aren’t too bright and you can actually do some wearable looks with them. Showstoppers has a couple of duds, I agree, but on the whole, I like it a lot too.
Lagoon is quite wearable, you’re right Gio. I think the textures in that one was quite impressive too overall. I guess Showstoppers didn’t wow me as much because of the warmth of the shades. Doesn’t quite suit my skin but I can imagine it will look lovely on someone warmer than I am 🙂
When they launched the Showstopper palette and reading what it’s all about, I had to laugh and shook my head. I already owned quite a few of the i-Divines so I don’t think I need another selected shade from each palette, really.
The Lagoon… it looks way too similar to my MUA Immaculate palette so I think I’ll pass this too. It’s weird for the first time I’m not excited about the i-Divines… 😀 Maybe I will collect all others and call it a day (until the next new launch, that is… hahahaha).
Haha I can imagine that someone who already owns most of the palettes will find Showstoppers a waste of time. In fact, I’m not sure they even picked out the best of each palette featured! Still, can’t fault them for trying eh? 😉 Do you find they tend to look similar after a while Ting? I do although when I put them side by side, they don’t but to my eye, at a first glance it always does!
Hmm… yes they do look similar at first glance like those neon bright ones (Jamaica, Ultra Matte V1, Acid) and “safe” ones (Storm, Original, Oh So Special)… Lagoon and Snapshot look rather similar as well.
I am still kicking myself for the impulse buy of Acid and Ultra Matte V1… oh WHY on EARTH did I ever buy those? I secretly pray for the trend return of the neon brights so these palettes will see some daylight, hopefully. :p
Hahaha Yeah Acid and Ultra Matte were real duds IMO. Looks like you’re caught! Maybe you can use it for your kid’s school play makeup? 😉
Today I took out the Acid and look at it long and hard. Then did a swatch of the neon orange and decided it’s best left for halloween party in the future if I am to dress up as an orange. And kids school play sound like a good idea too! :p
Showstopper is my kind of palette, despite the 2 duds. It’s warmer and the burgundy shades remind me of autumn…
It is most certainly an Autumn sort of palette – rich deep colours, the way Autumn palettes roll! 🙂
I kinda like both. You are right about these palettes being great for anyone venturing into make-up or more colourful shades, and that’s why I like them. They have a decent quality for the price so you can’t go wrong. They have been pushing out a lot of new palettes lately idd, I kinda lost track by now, lol! ^^
Not just you, Teri – they’re like the MAC of the budget makeup world LOL! New collections every month or two – quite mind boggling. For colour I think they’re good. Not everyone likes to wear colour so they do nice to have palettes. But for a more daily wear palette I’d go with something better quality 😉
both are so pretty but if i can only choose i would choose Lagoon as i love blue!^^
Oh yes, the colours are certainly eye catching in this one!
I like Sleek, they have awesome blushes and I love their lip paints but somehow their palettes don’t appeal to me as much. I bought the Oh So Special out of curiosity, and while I think it’s a great palette with great pigmentation bla bla bla, it didn’t wow me, and so it’s left in my makeup drawer forgotten. So it’s no surprise I wasn’t jumping up and down with these 2….
Oh Ika, I didn’t think Oh So Special represented the best there is in Sleek palettes haha! So you were right to not be wowed. I think the primary thing going for them is price and pigment and variety of colours in one palette. Their shimmer colours do work better and I think they do colours better than neutrals too. For a paltete of neutrals that I’ll wear often, I’ll go for something of better quality, not Sleek, but for a fun occasional use colour palette then they fit the bill. But I like their blushes and Pout Polishes. The latter surprises me LOL
I love sleek… I so gonna get this…thks Paris..
Which one are you getting Shija? 😀
Looks good and alluring but may not be very practical 😛 Eye candy nonetheless. I have only used their Blush By 3. Pigmented and lovely. Each time I am tempted to try their eyeshadow, it is usually the matte ones or generally the colours that will prevent me from doing so. I am too practical and not too adventurous I guess 😉
The danger with strongly pigmented colours is that its so easy to make a mistake! That was my mistake the first time I started using eye makeup. Everyone was going on about pigment so I went along with the ride. These days, I prefer something not so strong, but buildable because that way, mistakes are fewer and its actually prettier to have a wash of colour and shade, as opposed to a splotch of colour 😀
Haha, yeah I recall your words of encouragement to try sheer eyeshadow and blush as a starter. I love eye makeup more than anything because it is something that I apply more skillfully compared to blush.
Get the right brush, Jennifer and you’ll wonder how you ever lived without blush hehe… 😉
Jennifer, try any japanese eyeshadows as they are sheer and less prone to mistake. Paris has quite a lot of them featured in her posts. 🙂
Thank you Ting! Yeah, Paris has lotsa good sheer eyeshadow reviews. I will it give it a try one of these days 🙂 Your comment on the impulse buy of Acid and Ultra Matte V1 cracked me up. Hang in there ok, they should be making a fashionable comeback soon!
If only Sleek would come up with a palette or 2 of ONLY their shimmery eyeshadows I think that would be a great hit! 😉 But with the price, its only normal to expect with the number of eyeshadows in it. Much like those big palettes of 80 odd eyeshadows. Its normal to experience either a similar/repeat/underperforming eyeshadow lol.
Sleek’s blushes have not disappointed though so thats good 🙂
Take a look at the Original palette, Sharon. It’s the one they came up with first and its only shimmer colours. Is also the one that made them so popular 🙂 another popular one is Storm I believe. They’re decent ones and perhaps a little better than the new incarnations where they’re being a bit too experimental i think