Nars Turkish Delight Dupes (Australia edition) - Swatches included

So Nars Turkish Delight lip gloss is a classic in my collection. I really do love it. I bought it when Nars was having a sale on their holiday gift sets in 2011 and I bought a pack of five glosses for $44, which is extremely cheap! 

I'm not too sure how much the RRP is here in Australia, but I presume it would be over $60...maybe. 

It is a milky, creamy pink with a hint of a peach undertone. I think it became uber famous because of Kim Kardashian saying it was her favourite gloss, but don't let that steer you away! 

It applies well, although it does take a bit for me to work it into my lips so that it's smooth, it can be streaky but it's a very pretty nude gloss. Great for fair-tan/deeper skin tones.

The texture is slightly tacky but not sticky for me. It lasts a long time on the lips as well. Some people have a love/hate thing with the Nars gloss texture, but I don't think it's too sticky at all.

In my three hour shifts at work, I never re-apply and it tends to stay well for three hours, (without drinking or eating of course.)

In this post I have listed my top dupe and a few others below which are not exactly the same colour or feel as Turkish Delight but they do give the same effect on the lips.

Here we go! 

My top dupe:

Australis lip gloss in: LAMBADA 

(I have a sample size here, beside my Nars deluxe sample of Turkish Delight, it's normally a lot larger)

The Australis Lambada looks a tonne more pink in the tube but really, swatched, the pink only shows up as a minute difference.

They both have the same consistency, maybe Turkish Delight is slightly more sticky, but overall they have the same finish and feel when worn.

Any differences: 
Nars slightly more peach, Australis slightly more pink.

Right: Lambada; Left: Turkish Delight.
See the small difference from pink to peach.
For Budget seekers though, the Australis is a fine dupe.

Without Flash
(top: Australis Lambada;
bottom: Nars Turkish Delight)

With Flash
(top: Australis Lambada;
bottom: Nars Turkish Delight)

Some other dupes:

Now, as I said, these dupes are not complete and total copies of Nars Turkish Delight, but they are pretty close and give the same overall look to the lips. 

Maybe not perfect, but whatever, they are other options anyways : ) 

Left-Right:
Revlon Colourburst lip gloss #042 Bellini; Revlon Superlustrous lip gloss #150 Peach Petal; Nars Turkish Delight; Australis Lambada; Sleek Pout Polish #964 Peach Perfection

With Flash
(same order as above)

 Briefly about each gloss:
1. Revlon Colourburst lip gloss #042 Bellini: More orange toned. Opaque in application like Turkish Delight. Great nude if you look better with peach blushes/deeper bronzers.

2. Revlon Superlustrous lip gloss #150 Peach Petal: Slightly more peach but also very close. In the swatches (you can see swatched second from left, right beside Nars) you can see the similarities very well. They look and feel so similar on the lips. 
A very close second to Lambada in the top dupe!

3. Sleek Pout Polish #964 Peach Perfection: More peach, but a more sheer formula and is great if you just want to slap it on without a mirror as Turkish Delight tends to be quite streaky, it's best to have a mirror handy but with Sleek's version, it's just a slap and go thing. Great wet look gloss this one and the colour is pretty right on with Nars. Doesn't last too long on the lips though but it does feel more moisturizing too.

Without Flash
(same order as above)
You can see the differences more prominently here. But I'm just showing you some other options here.

Overall thoughts: 

I do love Turkish Delight a lot, however, as it is super expensive I don't think I could afford to buy it in full size so it's nice to have the other options.
Whether these dupes be peachier or pinker, at least they give some variety with different skin tones and they all still get that 'look' of Turkish Delight.

The Australis dupe in Lambada is the best dupe I could find and it's quite cheap here and even cheaper if you keep and eye out for two for one sales on Australis as they have them quite frequently in Priceline!
But, as I said, Revlon's Superlustrous in Peach Petal is a close second!

Hope this helps!!

Xo

Best Taupe Eyeshadows! A few of my favourites.....

So, taupe shadows are my favourite shadows to wear. Everyone classifies 'taupe' differently, so I am just going to briefly describe my ideal taupe shade. My ideal taupe is something cool toned, but I also have a few new warmer taupe favourites for the summer. I like them to have a bit of shimmer and obviously blend well. A fantastic taupe for me is also something that can be worn alone for one shadow looks, which all of my favourites are.

Let's get into my faves!!

 This quad from Maybelline in Natural Smokes is FANTASTIC! My favourite shade, as far as taupe is concerned, is the top right 'lid' shade.
Great all over the lid shade, as suggested, but I love wearing it alone with a dark kohl blended at the lash line. Love it.
(People have also said this is a dupe for MAC satin taupe eyeshadow)

This next quad I've already done a blog post on, but it's the Over the Taupe quad from Essence.
Go and read my Essence review for a full speech about how much I love this quad so I don't have to ramble on again here.
I particularly love the lower left shade there but I love this palette overall. Formula, colours and shade selection.
Perfectly chic and amaaaa-zing!!

I'm sorry I can't figure out how to flip that photo above horizontal but nonetheless...

 These two Loreal Infallible shadows are very different taupes. Super shimmery and amazing!
Flashback silver is very cool and very frosted and some might consider it a straight up silver but I included it because blended with a matte cool brown in the crease when this is all over the lid is such a nice effect.
And Tender Caramel is a warm, shimmery taupey shade. Great for tanned skin in the summer! It shows up on my lids a lot darker than it swatched/photographed but that'll just depend on skin tone as well : )

 Finally, my two individual taupe shades and these are just about my favourites. 

One  is a lighter taupe, the other is a sultry dark tone. Both work well together as a duo or alone. 

I forget how much these shadows cost, around $22?, but they are cheaper and larger sizes than MAC and they are amazing quality. 

I do prefer them over MAC actually btw... 

Both are from INGLOT...obviously haha

The lighter one, PEARL 401, is a fantastic everyday all over the lid  colour. It shows up darker on the skin that in the pan (see swatches left for better colour representation) . 

It also shows up a lot warmer than in the pan too. 

LOVE THIS COLOUR SO MUCH.

The darker shade, PEARL 435, is great for nights out where I don't have that much time to get ready or I am adapting a day look to night. I just blend this all over my lid and into my crease and it's perfect. Easiest smokey eye combo these two! 

Just a final note...
If you're a beauty junkie, you're probably all wondering where Satin Taupe from MAC is in my little collection of faves. Well, you'd be surprised to know I do not own Satin Taupe. SHOCKER! But every time I go to MAC they seem to be sold out of it. The last time I went to MAC to ask them, they were once again sold out, that's why I went to INGLOT and found myself some other taupes hehe...cheeky.

Until next time beauty freaks...

Sleek Kohl Pencil Liner Review and Swatches- Sheer Marine

Product: Sleek Kohl Penchil

Cost: $2.49 AUD

Purchased at: http://www.sleekmakeup.com/eyes/liners/kohl-pencil

Overall rating: 1/10

Colour: Sheer Marine

This is going to be a short review.
This pencil is a pale mint green, I thought it would be perfect for the waterline but it is too hard you cannot even swatch it on your hand.
The colour is so pretty and I was so disappointed to find that this pencil is as hard as rock and cannot even transfer to the upper lash line, let alone the waterline. Much too hard for the delicate eye area.

But I guess I can't be too disappointed though, the $2.49 price point is very cheap but normally Sleek does this value for money so well! This was a miss Sleek, sorry!!

Swatch with flash.
**Please not that this swatch (if you can see it on my hand there) is after about 5-10 strokes back and forth with hard pressure.

Sleek Glisten Me Review and Swatches- Empress

Product: Sleek Glisten Me

Cost: $6.99 AUD

Purchased at: http://www.sleekmakeup.com/face/bronzers-and-highlighters/glisten-me

Overall rating: 9/10

Colour: Empress

 This is an amazing 'drugstore' or cheaper liquid highlight. It comes in two shades, Empress, more of a lighter shade, and Goddess, which is a much darker tone for those dark skinned women out there : )

The colour payoff is quite minimal, which is what is needed for a highlight of this character, so if you are fair and want a sort of deeper shimmery bronzer shade, maybe try Goddess out and blend that into the cheeks. It could work as a summery glow for you medium skins too!

It is such a finely milled highlight even for the liquid texture. It has such fine little pigments which when blended give the skin such a beautiful dewy glow. Stunning.
For the $6.99 price, I was blown away. Originally I was expecting some cheap glittery highlight with chunks of glitter but no, this is really beautiful on the skin.

You get so much product as well and I like the paddle applicator within so you don't have wastage of having to tip it onto you hand or brush. It is quite a thick consistency, it won't run out of the bottle on you or anything and it blends flawlessly.

I apply with fingertips, but sometimes I use my foundation brush and blend it into my skin that way.
You can see from swatches just how much shine this knocks back. In daylight, it is even more beautiful.

With Flash

Without Flash

Sleek One Finishing Powder Review and Swatches

Product: Sleek ONE finishing powder

Cost: $9.49 AUD

Purchased at: http://www.sleekmakeup.com/face/powder/one-finishing-powder

Overall rating: 5/10

Colour: 'one' shade ... get it?? 

This powder contains shimmer. It reminds me, sort of, by that new Chanel powder that was a holiday release, with the shimmers throughout it. 

For setting purposes, it sets makeup quite well and I do like the cooling effect when applied. However, the shimmers can be a problem if you have large pores or suffer from oily skin. I have quite dry and quite smooth skin so I quite enjoy this powder, except I rarely reach for it as it gets quite messy. 

It is so finely milled and the shimmer is also very fine but again, it does show up. The swatches below, with flash, picks up this shimmer. I suggest using this as a highlight if you're planning on taking pictures as with flash it does look very ethereal as a highlight shade. 

I'm not sure how great this would do for darker skin tones even though Sleek brands it as one shade fits all. You may have to look up reviews for darker skin tones if that applies to you but for my fair-medium skin it works well for daily use if I know I'm going to be inside and not doing any flash photography as when this power hits the sun or flash, you've got some Edward Cullen business happening!

Sleek markets this power as being able to mattify. Although it does mattify the skin, it also has the glowing particles in it so that is something to consider when buying. 

Sleek Glo Face Highlighter Review and Swatches- Peach Shimmer

Product: Sleek Glo Face highlight

Cost: $8.49 AUD

Purchased at: http://www.sleekmakeup.com/catalog/product/view/id/263/category/303/?___store=default

Overall rating: 9/10

Colour: Peach Shimmer

Sleek Glo highlighter in Peach Shimmer is one of my all time favorite highlights. 

If you are an avid YouTube watcher like myself, then you would've heard of Pixi2woo and her love for Dior Amber Diamonds highlighter. Now I have never ever tried Amber Diamonds but here in Aus it's going to be a cost between $60-$90 (though I've never found out the price, I'm sure it'd be a lot more than that actually) and I just wasn't in the right money space to try that. So, I hunted and found this on Sleek. I love Sleek so much that I decided to buy this one.

I wasn't disappointed  It has a very gold based shimmer when the four shades are swatched together which is what I do when I place it atop my cheekbones BUT if you wanted to wear these as shadows, go for it! They'd be super shimmery and gorgeous! 

(See below for swatches of colours individually and colours once swirled.) 

There are no chunky glitter pieces, it's quite a fine highlight. Super pretty!

Best applied with a highlight brush or I've even used a classic foundation brush for a super shimmer on my cheeks. 

They do have two other colours so if you think this is going to be too light for you, again, Sleek has options for the fairest of fair to the deepest of ebony skin tones : )

This comes in three shades.

LOVE IT!!! 

Swatches with Flash

Swatches in natural light
**in sunlight it looks very shimmery, my room was quite dark ; )  

Sleek Be Beautiful Blemish Balm BB cream Review and Swatches- Light

Product: Sleek Be Beautiful Blemish Balm (BB cream)

Cost: $11.49 AUD

Purchased at: http://www.sleekmakeup.com/face/bases/be-beautiful-blemish-balm

Overall rating: 5/10

Colour: Light

Finish: Semi-matte

Another Sleek! Wow this is becoming a pattern...no really, I just took a bunch of photos so I decided to swatch them and review them for researching purposes : )

This BB cream is much like the newer BB cream formulas. It's got q very thick, dense consistency and at times it can be difficult to squeeze out of the tube. It claims to conceal, repair, protect and provide full coverage. It has an SPF of 15, which is great.
(Keeping in mind that that SPF of 15 is by UK standards, so here in Australia it may not get any sort of rating on the SPF as our standards do vary to the UK.)

I cannot say much for the repairing or fixing properties as I have not yet seen a HUGE difference in my skin, but I can say that this is one of the thickest, most full coverage BB creams out there in the Western market.

The shade I got, in Light, is far too dark for even MY skin tone. I bought this when it was the end of winter so my skin was very pale as it was. As this does OXIDIZE quite quickly, I would definitely search swatches online or play it safe by going a shade lighter. You can always use a bronzer or darker powder if it is too light, it's a lot harder to blend a darker foundation than a lighter one.

But that is another plus to this BB cream! There are four shades to choose from, which make it great for all skin tones, from the fairest of fair to the deepest ebony. Now that I have more of a tan though, I really love this full coverage BB cream and it is a more full coverage version of my favourite Garnier BB cream!

Best applied with finger tips or spotted around face and blended with a stipple or buffing brush.
(for dry or acne prone skin, using fingertips to gently buff BB cream in might prove better for your skin)

Overall, I do like this. I wish I would've bought the fair shade, however, it is a great product.

Swatch with Flash

Sleek Molten Metal Review and Swatches- Steel and Ash

Product: Sleek Molten Metal cream eyeshadow

Cost: $8.99 AUD

Purchased at: http://www.sleekmakeup.com/eyes/shadows/molten-metal

Overall rating: 7/10

Colour: Steel and Ash

Longevity: Medium time

So another Sleek Review!

This is on this duo of cream eyeshadows. Now this one I'm a little bit on the fence about. The duo of colours fits very well together, both are sort of varying shades of a gunmetal colour. 

These blend really well and as a theme with all Sleek products, they are highly pigmented and therefore not much product is needed at all. 

Applied with a synthetic flat shader brush or a clean ring finger is ideal, it can be blended with a brush or q-tip very easily. This has to be the best way for a quick, chic smokey eye or for a one shade eye look. 

The colours, if well blended do set, but obviously with any creams they do crease after extended wear. I have worn these with UDPP and they do last quite a long time on their own, set with a similar powder, they last even longer. 

Compared to something like the Maybelline colour tattoo cream eyeshadows, they are very comparable, although the colour tattoo's do last a little longer on the lids. 

Overall they are pretty good, would I go out and buy another one, maybe not. I by no means regret buying this but Sleek only offers one other duo in the moltel metal creams in more of the gold family, which could be nice but I am not too desperate to pick up another one of these. 

Swatch with flash

 As you can see, these are highly pigmented, I only used the smallest swipe of each colour.

Swatch in natural light

Sleek Face Contour Kit Review- Medium

Product: Sleek face contour kit

Cost: $8.49 AUD

Purchased at: http://www.sleekmakeup.com/face/contouring/face-contour-kit

Overall rating: 9/10

Colour: Medium

Longevity: Awesome!

This is a great duo for the cheeks. It contains a matte bronzer/contour powder with a warm undertone and also a warm toned highlight. Both are very blend-able and highly pigmented.

For the price, yet another fantastic Sleek product. They really do produce fabulous things!

The medium might've been a tad bit too dark for me but as iIsaid, it's very blend-able and it blends really well over powder or liquid foundation. The highlight shade is very shimmery, but has no chunks of glitter in it, which makes it uber chic and modern.
Use with any sort of blush brush or stipple bush for a natural bronzer.

Gotta have this duo, great for travelling!

Swatches with flash

Swatches in natural light