Wednesday 4 December 2013

High End Versus High Street: Blusher.


In the spotlight today, I have two blush palettes - one which is high end and one which is high street i.e. freely available from the drugstore. My high end choice is Foreplay, by Nars (on the right). As you may be able to tell from the picture above, this is a well loved product of mine. I probably should have attempted to clean it up a bit! My high street choice is Lace, by Sleek (on the left).
Both of these palettes contain three blusher shades (one which is very similar) and Foreplay has the added benefit of having a super pretty highlighter included.


As you can see, both palettes are packaged nicely. Some people have a gripe with NARS and the rubbery texture of their packaging but personally I like it a lot. It can get a little grubby but wipe it down with damp cloth and it is fine. For the price, the Sleek palette also looks rather nice. I find it a teeny bit awkward to open but that is nit-picking!

Colour wise (from left to right), the three shades in Lace are Crochet, Guipure and Chantilly. Foreplay features colours based on their infamous blush Orgasm. Orgasm is contained within the palette, and along with it there is a gold highligher, a peach matte and a pink matte shade.

I have always had a soft spot for NARS blushers, for as long as I have been buying my own make up but I have to say, the quality of Sleek is comparable. The three of the Sleek shades contained within Lace are extremely pigmented. The application is beautiful and really long-lasting on the skin.


NARS Orgasm (left) - Sleek Guipure (right)


NARS matte peach (left) - Sleek Crochet (right)

NARS matte pink (left) - Sleek Chantilly (right)

Orgasm and Guipure really do look so unbelievably alike. Guipure is such a good dupe for Orgasm, perhaps just slightly more shimmery. I like a little shimmer so it isn't a problem for me. The other two shades look crazy orange but I can assure you that they are wearable, you just need to use a light hand. 

What I really love about the Sleek palette is that the pans are very wide so it is easy to dip your brush in one shade and not accidentally hit another. With NARS Foreplay, because the pans are smaller, unless you use a small brush, you are pretty much guaranteed to have a mixture of two (or more!) colours at one time. 

I can't give an opinion on which I'd pick over the other but I will hold my hands up here and admit that even as a NARS fiend, I love Sleek. In fact, I imagine I will invest in more of their Blush X3.

2 comments:

  1. I love those Sleek palettes, such a great way to experiment with different shades without paying too much money! x

    Jordan-Alice

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    1. I know, they are so good! I can't believe I've only recently picked this one up! x

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