♡ iyastevie ♡: highlighter

♥ The Shimmering 'Solstice'

I've seen a few people rave about the Sleek highlighter palettes. I have had a few make up products, a lipstick a concealer kit and a bronzer, blush and highlighter trio. The highlighter in my Face Form wasn't one of my favorites and I hardly ever reach for it. If I remember correctly, I only purchased that palette as it contained the blush in shade Rose Gold as I had read a blog that stated this was a dupe for the ever famous NARS Orgasm blush. The single was sold out so I just bought the palette because I use highlighter and contour so why not give them a try too! But I'd heard so many people saying that this highlighter palette was so good so I thought I'd give it a go.

I visited my local Superdrug to see if they had it in stock, and just my luck they didn't. They were promoting this item so it must have went out pretty quick. So when I was in there today and saw it was in stock I grabbed one and ran!

The colour of the packaging on this palette is gorgeous, I love rose gold type packaging on anything! Although I think the downfall to packaging like this is that fingerprints are a total nightmare to get rid off and keep gone, especially with a make up item. I also think that this packaging looks and feels a little cheap. The product is super light, which makes me think that them pans aren't very deep. I think it would have looked a bit better if Sleek had kept their original matte black, NARS type packaging for this one.

I'm also not a fan of the ridiculous brush that comes with this. What am I supposed to do with a brush that small? Seriously, high five to anybody who can use a brush that tiny and achieve decent results! The brush also feels a little cheap, kind of like the ends of the bristles have been singed with a lighter. It almost feels scratchy on the skin, I wouldn't want that kind of texture touching my cheekbone and under brow area. Also, the space that is used for this terrible brush is a total waste. Sleek either could have fitted another highlighter in that area or made the four within the palette a lot bigger. The size of the pans aren't too big, so if you have a favorite in the palette, I hate to disappoint you but you can't buy singulars of these shades. Boo!

Now, on to things that I do like! The shades. Wow. This palette consists of four shades, Ecliptic, Hemisphere, Subsolar and Equinox.

Picture: Ecliptic shade

The first shade in the palette is Ecliptic, which is the only shade in the palette which is a cream highlighter. I'm not too keen on cream highlighters, as I feel like I'm caking cream on top of liquid on top of my moisturiser and I never feel like it sets right. This might be a game changer though. The shade and pigment of Ecliptic is just stunning. The shade is a lovely frosted baby pink and contains plenty of shimmer. I feel like this would work not only as a highlighter, but also for a little pop of highlight on top of your blush. The product box recommends that you use Ecliptic to highlight your brow-bone using this shade and I think with pretty pinks or nude eyeshadow it would look beautiful!

Pictured: Hemisphere shade

The next shade in the palette is a gorgeous lavender pink shade named Hemisphere. This is the shade that made me buy the palette. I've never seen a highlighter shade that almost looks lilac. As lavender shades are used for colour correcting yellow looking skin, I thought this would be a great highlight for me to try, as I don't so much have dark circles, they're more yellow. The colour pigment of this shade is unbelievable. Its such a gorgeous and unique colour that I've never seen before in any make up line. I'm gonna call it now - his one will be my favorite! The box recommends that you use this shade for your cheekbones, which I can't wait to do!

Pictured: Subsolar shade

The third shade in the palette is an all time classic shade that every highlighter collection should have. Subsolar is a bright pearlescent shade that appears to have a tinge of golden yellow in the pan but swatches pure white shimmer. I feel like the consistency of this shade is different. This shade feels a bit chalky and after swatching the pan looks as though I've swept a damp finger over the powder, which I haven't. This is a shame as this colour is such a cult classic and the colour pay off would be amazing if the texture wasn't chalky, I feel like I'd need to try twice as hard to achieve the results I would with the other colours in the pan. The box recommends that you use this shade to highlight the bridge of your nose. I also think this one would be good for the inner corners of your eyes.

Pictured: Equinox shade

The final pan in this palette is a burnt golden shade named Equinox. This shade is gorgeous! The box reccomends that you use this shade for highlighting you cupids bow, but I think this shade would look stunning on darker skin as a cheekbone highlight. The texture of this shade is very like Hemisphere which I'm happy about as I think I'll use this one quite a lot, especially in the summer when I have a tan, (if I actually get a tan!) This shade is packed with shimmer so it is a must have for all the highlighter fanatics like myself out there!

I think this palette overs great value for money (besides the one chalky highlighter, maybe I bought a dud?) as for £9.99, you're getting four stunning highlight shades and a decent mirror which would come in handy for travelling. My favorite from this palette has to be Hemisphere as it is just such a stunning colour and I think it'll look gorgeous with a pink smokey eye. I can't wait to try out all of these! I'll be gleaming!

For me, this Sleek Highlighting Palette in the shade Solstice gets a..