Sleek Cosmetics iDivine Review

I had heard so much about the brand Sleek, but I was hesitant to order, because I assumed there would be high shipping costs and a long wait time. For a "drugstore" product, I wasn't really into paying so much more than some of my regular drugstore go tos. I'm definitely glad I decided to give them a chance, though, because their eye shadow palettes are great quality, and it's really great to have full palettes available at a drugstore level (I know that Maybelline has just released a few, but I'm seeing less than stellar reviews).

When Sleek ran a 30% off sale over 4th of July, I jumped at the chance to try some new things. Shipping was only $3.25 to Montana, which was a pleasant surprise! My order shipped within a day or two, but it did take the full 10 business days to arrive at my doorstep. This was a bit frustrating, as the package was not tracked, but it's not something I can hold against Sleek. They're very transparent about the shipping and, for the price, it's petty to complain. Still, I'm impatient!

I chose the "Mattes V2 (Darks)" palette, and the limited edition "Rio Rio". I have seen so many great looks with the Urban Decay Electric palette, but, being a neutral girl myself, I just wasn't willing to splurge on something that may only get used a handful of time. I thought Rio Rio would be a fun way to experiment with bright colors without breaking the bank. I'm always on the lookout for inexpensive mattes, so the Matte V2 palette looked right up my alley.

They come in very cute boxes, and the palettes themselves are very thin and sleek. I LOVE the giant mirror that comes in them. I think these would make great travel palettes.

One of the shadows broke during shipping. I immediately wet it down with some alcohol and glycerin and pressed it. It's not beautiful, but it didn't seem to impact the shadow quality, so no harm done. 

As you can see, the shadows do kick up some dust, similar to a Wet'n'Wild or Lorac shadow. This doesn't hurt the quality of the shades, but it does result in some fall out, so I recommend applying shadow before face makeup. 

Your (camera) strap's showing

Here are some quick and dirty swatches of Rio Rio. I swatched them over Wet'n'Wild Fergie primer, and just did one quick swipe of each color. As you can see, they're very pigmented without much work. If I were thinking something other than "OMG FINALLY MY STUFF IS HERE, I NEED TO OPEN IT ALL AND SWATCH IMMEDIATELY", I would have kept the plastic insert that listed the color names, but I hate those things, so I threw it away immediately. Does anyone really keep those? What's the point of naming colors if you're not going to put the label somewhere you'd actually see it while using the product? 

Anyway, I really like these shadows. They are very pigmented (save the white shade, but that could be my fault). It's exactly the amount of color I need to get a little practice with color without dropping $50 for the Urban Decay favorite. Surprisingly, my favorite shades are the purple, bottom, second to the right (it almost has a fine, blue duochrome, so pretty!) and the light green (so pigmented and brightening!). The champagne shade is also very nice and versatile. There are really none in the bunch that I dislike or can't work with. 

Look at that green & purple!

This is a poorly lit photo of a look I did when I was jealous of everyone on /r/Makeupaddiction's Electric looks. I apologize for the color (apartment bath lighting is the worst), but you can see that this palette is very fun and colorful, but still flattering (in my opinion). 

And, onto some less exciting, but equally high quality shades...

And here are the mattes. Since I am apparently the most boring person on the planet, my favorite shade is the 3rd from the left on the bottom row (got that), i.e. the one that looks almost exactly like my skin. It is just such a great crease shade. I've worn it almost everyday since I got it. I blend it into the crease before the rest of my eye make up, and it just gives a little warmth, slight definition, and makes blending darker shades over top easier. It's what I expect Makeupgeek's "Peach Smoothie" to be like (still haven't gotten around to trying Marlena's products, but I'm hoping to do so soon!). 

Although the mattes are pigmented, and pretty easy to blend, as far as mattes go, I'm a bit disappointed with the color selection. The peachy shade is great as a base crease color, and the yellowy shade is good for blending out edges, and there are plenty of dark shades in the bunch, but there aren't enough medium shades or flattering highlight shades for me. I just find it hard to do combinations of colors in the palette, I guess...?  I think this is a great companion palette to mix and match fun, dark, matte shades with other palettes, or (as I already said) for a base crease color in conjunction with other palettes, but I just don't see myself traveling with this alone. 

Here's a side by side comparison of my eyeshadow freshly applied (left), and ~6 hours later (right). As you can see, the purply pink shade hasn't budged. Just a small amount of fading on the blackish shade. Not too bad! (I used Fergie primer and NYX milk under my shadows).

Overall, I think these are great shadows for the price. They have great color variety, I love the packaging (woo, mirror) and the fact that they are a drugstore brand that makes palettes. I'm not wild about the color selection in the matte's palette, but I'm excited to try much more from Sleek!

A+