Make It All Up: Sleek Vintage Romance and MAC Plum Dandy review, and 3 FOTDs!

After seeing pictures of Sleek's new palette, Vintage Romance, I knew I just had to have it. It wasn't long before I found my way to Superdrug to check it out in person. I walked away with just the palette, telling myself that I was going to be good and buy the blush another week. I lasted all of one day before I headed back to pick up the blush!

The palette is a mix of shimmery silvers and bronzes, along with vibrant purples, and deep shades of blue, purple and black.

The shadows are exactly as you would expect from Sleek; soft, pigmented, and easy to blend. I was a little concerned that the top blue shade (Romance in Rome) was a rather sheer, but once on the lid it was easily buildable. The only problem I had was that the shimmer in some shades had a tendency to disappear when blended. This was easily solved by patting a little more shadow on top once you had blended it out. The silver glitter in the black shadow didn't really translate to the lid either.

This is a great palette, and is probably my favourite Sleek palette so far. It's a really versatile palette, so it's one you can reach for time and time again, and not get bored of.

Keep reading for some of the different looks I've done using it!

When I saw the blush, Antique, on the website, I didn't really take much notice of it. Whilst I love a good blush, they're probably the product I most often skim over when faced with a new collections. I swatched it on my hand when I picked up the palette, but didn't buy it. As I left the shop, I kept looking at the swatch, and the more I looked at it, the more I wanted it!

Antique is described as a dusty rose. It's a pink toned brown with silver shimmer. In the palette it looks like quite a deep colour, which for someone with skin as pale as mine can be a little daunting. The blush is soft, and it's easy to apply a sheer wash of colour. If you're looking for a a deeper colour it's possible to build the colour up.

Blended and un-blended

The shimmer shows up more in the swatches than it does on cheeks, just giving you a soft glow. Whilst some shimmery blushes can emphasize pores, I didn't have this problem. It's a great neutral fall colour, which I imagine will look great on both light and dark skin tones.

On my shopping trip I also made a trip to the MAC counter. I don't buy a lot of MAC these days, but my Mineralize Skin Finish is running low. I really must do a review on this, because I always get compliments on my skin when I wear it! A couple of months ago, I replaced all the foundations in my kit, so was left with some MAC empties that I could trade in. MAC lipsticks aren't my top choice, as I find that they dry out my lips. But I could never pass up a free lipstick!

After swatching a dozen or so lipsticks, I finally settled on Plum Dandy. It's a frost finish, which, back when I was a avid MAC lipstick collector, I used to avoid, as they show up any imperfections and dryness on your lips. These days I'm pretty OCD about not having dry or chapped lips, so it's not so much of a problem. And my collection is definitely lacking frost finishes!

Plum Dandy is, as you might suspect, plum in colour. The base colour is pretty similar to my natural lip colour, adding a subtle pink-plum tinge. What makes Plum Dandy so beautiful is the gold/bronze shimmer running through it. In dull light, the lipstick takes on a deeper colour, looking like a mid-tone brown-plum. In sunlight, it really comes alive, and you can see the true plum colour, with lots of fine shimmer. I tried to capture it on camera, but it was so hard, especially as there's pretty much no sunlight at the moment!

I love the colour, but I'm still not sold on the formula. The lipstick has fairly good staying power, and isn't as drying as some MAC frosts can be, but it's not the most comfortable lipstick. After a couple of hours I do find myself topping it with a lip gloss, and when you do that you lose the stunning shimmery effect. I'm sure I'll use it again, but it won't be my go-to lip colour. If you get along with MAC's formula I'd definitely recommend checking it out, as it's one of the prettiest colours they do!

Here are some of the looks I've done using my new products! You can see just how versatile the palette is. The first look doesn't use the blush and lipstick, as it was before I bought them. I couldn't wait until my return trip to try out the palette though!

Apologies for some of the poor quality photos. I use natural light when taking pictures, and I'm starting to struggle now that the winter is drawing near. I'll get a day light bulb sorted soon!

Look 1