Review of Sleek Makeup Solstice Highlight Palette

      When I first heard about the this highlighting palette I knew I needed to try it 

       out for myself. The reviews I came across seemed almost too good for such an 

       affordable palette ($15-40 AUD depending on the seller). They are pretty hard to
       find in Australia so I ordered it from the UK and waited a little over 2 weeks to
       receive it. 

      The packaging is very nice, and almost reminds me of some Tarte Palettes I've

      come across. The amount of product you get in this palette seems very generous.

      I don't think I'll be using the type of brush provided as I have some decent highlight
      brushes to apply it with, but it is nice to have a brush provided either way. 

With Flash 

Without Flash

      As you can see from the swatches above and swipes with my finger 

      below it is fairly pigmented. Each shade is stunning and unique in its
      own way. I knew that this little palette had good reviews, but it is incredible
      value for the price. I've seen Too Faced highlighters with less pigmentation
      than this amazing little palette. For 1,2 & 4 I swiped three times to get the
      swatch above. For 3 It is thicker and more of a cream texture so it took
      between 1-2 swipes to the swatch above. 

      Any doubts about this product have certainly been put to rest as far as
      I am concerned. I am still blown away by how amazing these four shades
      look after being thoroughly swatched. I can't argue with the overall quality  
      in this product in any way. I'd love to hear from anyone who has used this
      palette and what your experience with it has been like.

Tartelette In Bloom Palette Review (Swatches)

Firstly, let me just say how impressed I was upon first opened this packaging.
It is stunning and has a high-end feel the whole way through. The second thing
I noticed was a lovely smell, that was sort of sweet with a hint of flower. The
palette is scented. I had no idea it would be, and fully expected it to be similar to
other clay based products (such as Naturals). I have also received a bonus
deluxe 'Gifted' Mascara sample having spent a certain amount on Tarte
products which was a nice little surprise.

(No Flash)  

If you keep up with me on social media, you will have seen my 'Unhaul' video on
YouTube where I throw out toxic out-of-date makeup from my own collection. In it,
I throw out most of my mascara. For the past five days I've had swelling on my 
eyelids and my eyes are very sore after using out-of-date makeup as a test. For this 
reason only I will not be applying any makeup to my eyes and show you look I can 
create with this palette. Instead, I will swatch it and give an in-depth review. As
much as it sucks to wait to use this palette on my eyes, I am too excited to not 
swatch it for my lovely readers.

Note: Click to view larger image

(No Flash)

(Flash)

(No Flash)

(Flash)

As you can see there is a variety of Matte Shades and foiled ones as well.
I picked this palette because of the deep matte shades it has. Even though
a couple of the deeper colours go on slightly patchy such as Smokeshow,
Activist and Leader.  Be ready to blend with these three shades. If you apply
it quickly it will look uneven and patchy as you can see in my swatches which
were done using my fingers not a brush. Perhaps this has something to do
with the product being clay based? The formula of these eye shadows
feels silky and almost a bit buttery in texture. As I mentioned above some
of these shades need heaps of blending, and the swatches below were not
done in one swipe. 

A stand out shade for me would be Funny Girl. Not only is this a stunning
pale golden shimmery eye shadow, but can double as a highlighter if you
have a fairly light touch. I had to take a couple photos (below) with and
without a flash to show the beauty of this shade in either conditions. 

(No Flash)

(Flash)

I do recommend this palette for someone who loves earthy-warm tones.
This is also for anyone who wants a palette that is more compact than
Urban Decay's Naked Palettes range, but still has a good selection of
shades. 


NOTE: All images in this post are property of Samantha Marie and this Blog,
and are not to be used without obtained permission.

This is not a sponsored post, and I am not currently sponsored. 
As always my opinions and views are my own.

DIY Galaxy Highlighter

Last week I was online looking at several DIY's to learn how to make my own highlighter.

There were heaps of rainbow highlighter tutorials, but I saw that very few bloggers/vloggers (two that I found) had actually done a thorough Galaxy Highlighter Tutorial. I decided, based on several different methods, to combine them into this process. Here is my version of a DIY Galaxy Highlighter.

What you will need

• Rubbing Alcohol/Methylated Spirits 
• White or very light coloured powder highlighter
• 4-5 colours (using eye shadows that match the colours you want)
• Cupcake wrappers
• Q-tips (one for each colour)
• Toothpick 
• 1 empty compact pan

I started by picking a photo of what galaxy I wanted to mimic and choose the colours that stuck out the most. I used a very pigmented white mineral highlighter for to add to each colour (I would recommend 20% highlighter & 80% colour). If you add too much highlighter, the colour will be washed out and not as vibrant. Use a tooth pick to gently scrape the eyeshadow you will use for each colour (you can use more than one eye shadow to create your intended colour). In my case I used some eye shadows that were shimmery to begin with. 

When adding the alcohol (or methylated spirits) slowly add drops into each colour while mixing it with the Q-tip until it becomes a watery paste. Mix well! As you can see below the Light Purple mix had too much Alcohol, and Pale Pink had the perfect amount of alcohol added. 

When finished mixing each colour quickly pick up your colours by order of your 
design and apply them to your empty compact makeup pan. If some of these mixes get dry while you are busy with other colours you can add a few drops of alcohol to get it ready again.

I spent heaps of time doing my design, and it isn't as easy as you would think. 

I used the Q-tip mostly, and a tooth pick for the stars at the end.

At this moment I was in awe of what I had made so far, and so excited 
to see the final product. Don't forget to clean up the edges of whatever 
compact or pan you use.

Using a paper towel fold it in half and use something with a flat even 

surface to press the highlighter into the pan. Do this until most of the 

alcohol is removed and the powder is pressed evenly. Put your highlighter 

into the refrigerator overnight (or 8 hours).

Here it is!

I am very pleased with the results, and now that I have worked

out a few kinks making it easier for the next time I attempt any

highlighter.

However, the colours are amazing, and using a brush I think this would
work for several occasionals. I hope this inspires someone to do their own version of this highlighter; and I'd love to see your final result photos if you 
attempt it as well.