Sleek Rose Gold Blush: Review

*cue the music*

'SLEEK, SLEEK, WHY ISN'T SHE USING YOU?

SLEEK, SLEEK, IT'S NOT YOUR FAULTTTTTTTTTT!'

So true.

And I am so sorry, really I am.

Sleek, you wondrous little brand you.

You produce all this amazing stuff, and yet when I buy you, you end up languishing all unloved and lonely in the bottom of my make-up bag feeling all left out until the end of time.

Or in this case until a time when I realise that I still need to review you, meaning you can make a brief reappearance into the light.

I don't mean it.

It really isn't Sleek's fault.

I just err...don't like blusher.

Call it blusher aversion, if you like.

Blusher looks gorgeous on 99% of people, stunning in fact at times, like all healthy and flushed without looking like you have either rosacea or a bad case of sunburn.

It completes your make-up and finishes off your cheeks - 'it helps re-create the contours of your face', as the wise girl at the MAC counter told me a few months ago, whilst staring in pure disbelief, (or in hindsight, possibly disgust) on hearing that I wasn't wearing blusher, and before plying me with generous amounts of an extremely pink one I can't remember the name of. 

My poor cheeks didn't know what had hit them, and I certainly became very aware that I was wearing too much bronzer - the balance had gone all squiffy and wrong.

#clownface

It looked all well and good in the pan, but on my cheeks?

Nahh.

Apparently looking healthy and flushed is not my thing.

Naturally, having blusher on the brain and a few pounds in my purse, I then went straight to Superdrug and picked up my first EVER blusher - Sleek's infamous 'Rose Gold', and errrm, proceeded to slot it safely into my make-up bag, and leave it there untouched.

Nice one Holly, great spending habits you have.

Could have bought four and a half tubs of houmous for that.  

Sleek's 'Rose Gold' looks well, insanely terrifying in the pan for a blushophobe like myself - but the sparkle loving magpie in me kind of gets a kick out of the golden shimmer (who am I kidding, it's like a blumin' gold mine in there) running through it.

 I WANT GOLD SHIMMER ON MY FACE.

(Gold...mmmmmmmmm)

Shame it's with a load of pink mehhhh...

'Rose Gold' is a hot, hot, hotttt coral toned pink, perfect for the Summer season, or for days where we still wish it was Summer, (all year then haha). In actuality, very little of the pink transfers onto the face, which is odd to say how vibrant it is before blending out - literally it is almost completely gold once on the cheeks. Sadly the tiny amount of pink still present manages to be off-putting to me, but let's just say I'm a weirdo and the rest of you lovely lot will love it and rightly so!

It is intensely pigmented and pretty much takes one swish of the finger or one tiny blott of your brush to get the required amount of colour. I beg you a little, do not go overboard with this one, you need a light hand, ain't that right mum? ;) 

Once you're in the light the golden tones look sooooo beautiful, and surprisingly subtle. 

If done correctly, you literally glow.

The packaging is pretty gorgeous, a simple, chic, black plastic case emblazoned with the Sleek logo, which looks and feels a lot more expensive than it is, complete with OH YES PEOPLE - A MIRROR!!

I love a good mirror, me.

It doesn't feel flimsy or cheap, and survived being thrown around in a suitcase without being hurt...

People have compared this to NARS' famous 'Orgasm' blush - I honestly can't say, I've never seen a NARS product in the flesh, but many people have said they're similar, and given the price difference I know what I'd be inclined to do in such situation where I had to choose.

(Actually I'm lying, if I was ever in this situation, I'd totes go for the NARS one, because clearly I'd have more money than sense if I was considering buying a £30 blush I'd never use...now when is that Daybreak competition winner announced?)

Straight from the pan - one swipe of the finger

Blended out

Check me out you guys - I actually WORE it!

This is daring for me, I attempted a subtle look to avoid all #clownface moments a la MAC lady, and think I just about pulled it off. I didn't use a highlighter because to be honest 'Rose Gold' is shiny enough without me sticking a load more on my cheekbones to go with it - I have to say though, if you weren't bothered about the pink tones, this would make a proper good highlighter!! Longevity wise, I'm pretty sure it lasted me all day, or for the duration of the time I had my make-up on without any problems - I like :)

To go with my poor blusher on this daring day, I wore my also poor and unloved Sleek Contour Kit - given that I know the products are sold together as well as separately, so the last two pictures are a bit of a double whammy and you can see how the products compliment each other - clever little me ey ;) 

Personally, I'm not a fan, but only because I wear way too much bronzer for blush, and the Sleek colour does me little favours...poor thing likes to keep it's pink toned friend company in the bottom of my make-up bag...

The pair of them, ousted like a couple of Smelly Cat's, offending their owners with their stench...

Things haven't been all bad for my 'Rose Gold' blusher though - my mum, (and most avid reader) forgot to take her make-up to Ibiza this Summer, (as if, yeah I know)  and had to borrow a selection of my stuff for the week - one of them being *YEYYYY* the Sleek 'Rose Gold' blush, and she loved it!! 

In fact she loved it so much that we ended up having a nightly blusher check, given that she was getting a bit happy and applying juuuuust a little too much of the stuff.

I blame holiday mode.

It truly looked beautiful on her though :)

Just don't go too heavy handed you guys - glitterball face ain't a good face to have.

I vowed once I got back from my holiday, to fullfil something of a mini destiny for it, and actually review it's loveliness on my blog - it deserves some recognition before it returns to the dark depths of my make-up bag to join its unwanted but much more used sister product, the Sleek Contour Kit...

At least I didn't buy the MAC one ey?

Sleek's version is a fraction of the price and is definitely gorgeous...I just don't like it on me.

Sleek, Sleek, it really REALLY isn't your fault.