Obviously I cannot get enough of neutral palettes, so it was only natural to add Sleek's Au Naturel to my cart whilst checking out from LipstickRepublic.
When it came to opening this up, I was a little disappointed by the fact that there wasn't any cross-hatch embossing on the shadows, which I was really looking forward to for some reason... It made the palette look more 'expensive' to me. Without the embossing.. it just looks a little too much like the MUA palettes; just with better packaging.
If you own any MUA palettes, the Sleek ones are exactly the same in pretty much all aspects from the size, shape, and thickness; the only difference there is between the two would be the packaging material. MUA houses their palettes with a clear plastic lid and no mirror, whereas the Sleek ones have a solid matte black lid, with a large mirror. The latter feels more sturdy and can withstand some roughage, but I just know the MUA one would end up with cracks if I'm not careful with it.
Within the set of 12 neutral shades, 8 of them are matte, 1 satin and 3 shimmer.
Top Row: All the colours in the top row are matte, with the exception of Taupe. The matte colours do require you to swatch a few more times for the pigmentation to show up, however this can be a good thing as matte shadows can make your eyes look flat and diamension-less if you aren't too careful and whack too much on. I'm liking Nubuck, Cappucino, and Honeycomb the most; these three colours work well with my skin tone. Nougat is a little too much of a stark white; and Toast is a little too orange toned for my liking. Taupe is really the standout shade on the top row. Don't let the name throw you off- I would confidently describe this one as a rose gold colour, and the pigmentation is wonderful with just one swipe.
Bottom Row: Conker is probably the failure of the 12, the colour payoff is really poor, but the colour in itself is a dark burgundy with fine shimmers throughout it. Favourites would be Moss, Bark and Mineral Earth- easy to work with midtones that are within my comfort zone. Bark is a ashy toned, matte brown, which works well as an eyebrow powder for those with darker hair. Regal and Noir are both well pigmented matte shades; great colours to transition a day to night look with maroon and black, respectively.
Overall, this is a great neutral palette to have; a good mixture of wearable colours and the packaging is a great size to chuck in your bag if you're the type to carry makeup around :) These shadows are consistently soft and buttery to work with, with barely any fallout upon use. Swatches in this post were made without a primer, so imagine how much better they'd look with a primer underneath! Highly recommended for beginners or anyone looking for more matte shadows to add to their collection; for $14.95 you won't be disappointed :)
Details about our Sleek haul and thoughts from Lipstick Republic can be found here.
Have you tried any Sleek Products?
This palette is one of my favourite ever sleek products! All of their products are pretty amazing but particularly their eye shadows they're so soft and apply so well! Au natural and Respect are my favourites of the ones I have xz
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