Sleek’s Barekissed Illuminators are a collection of liquid illuminators with light reflective particles in four shades – Monaco (a neutral silvery nude), Casablanca (a rosy pink), Cuba (a peachy coral) and Pompeii (a warm golden bronze) – designed to be used alone as a highlighter or bronzer or mixed with foundation and apparently you can even use them as an eyeshadow base.
I picked one up in the shade Cuba on a whim whilst browsing in Boots at the weekend and I am obsessed with it. I wore it on Saturday evening, Sunday and Monday, each time at events with different groups of friends, and received so many compliments which I’m totally putting down to this little bottle of magic. This is probably the first time that I’ve ever actually liked a dewy look on myself and didn’t think I looked sweaty or greasy.
Cuba is one of the two warmer shades, along with Pompeii, and my way of using this was to apply my base as normal and then take a pump of the illuminator (and here is my only criticism – even when you press gently one pump is far more product than you’d need unless you were applying this all over the face) and then gently dab the end of a stipling brush into it, I use this Real Techniques one, before gently stippling on the apple of my cheek and then lightly sweeping any remaining product along my cheekbone.
This shade is so beautiful that it works really well at providing a subtle blush and leaves you with a true “lit from within” glow. For me this is the perfect product to use as it gives fantastic luminosity to the skin without looking overly sparkly (I obviously can’t speak for the other shades in the range as Cuba is the only one I currently have). You can definitely build it up if you’re wanting a higher impact glow or more colour but, for me, a tiny amount goes a long way and gives a fantastic end result.
The swatches above show, at the top, the amount of product I would typically use, blended in to give a beautiful, subtle glow with just a hint of colour and then the bottom three show one pump of the product and a generous quantity applied and then blended in to hopefully show just how gorgeous this shade really is and how you could use this for a more intense look.
The texture of this product is beautifully creamy and therefore incredibly easy to blend in to get the look you’re going for. It didn’t cause my foundation or concealer to move at all, which really impressed me as I often find cream blush / highlighter products can do that.
I’m undoubtedly going to swatch Pompeii the next time I’m at the shops as I imagine it would be fantastic for when I have more of a tan on holiday. I’m also intrigued by Monaco and might give it a try to see how it compares to the NIOD Photography Fluid (which is ace, but if this works as well, and I suspect it might, then it’s much more affordable).
If you have a chance to pick one up I’d highly recommend that you do. At £8.99 they’re incredibly well priced and, as you really don’t need to use much product, will last you ages. Anything that can make me look like I’m radiantly healthy when I’m fighting off a killer hangover gets a big thumbs up from me!
Sleek Barekissed Illuminators, £8.99, available at Boots, Superdrug or for £7.28 via Amazon here.
Clever is definitely one of those “my lips but better” shades and is a lovely nudey-pink – an easy on the go lip colour. It’s basically an easy to wear nude that is perfect for everyday wear. The packaging is also winner for me as it’s a twist up pencil, rather than one that requires sharpening.
bobo & mimi 