Sleek "Au Naturel" Collection

This is not going to be a long winded review about a recent purchase on the Sleek collection. In fact I am not sure this post will even be counted as a review. This will be a short and not so sweet point about Sleek's new "au naturel" collection.

First of the all, this collection contains the usual; eyeshadow palette, lip gloss/pout polish and a blush. When I first heard Sleek was bringing out a natural everyday type of palette I was quite excited as for a long time I was looking for eyeshadow colours that I could use everyday without having to look like a clown. However I was quite disappointed, when I went into my local superdrug I saw the tester palate and was quite shocked because when I think of sleek I think of a brand that is for darker skins. I cannot say this applied to this particular palette:

I can honestly say I do not like this palette at all. I would only consider 3 perhaps 4 of the colours on this palette a nude/natural shade for darker skins, the other 8/9 shades would not look natural. I know sleek is trying to branch out and cater to other skin tones but to be frank this is so NOT on. I am even going to nit pick on the model they had used;

 she is light skinned! I mean come on now!? In my opinion this will make most people think that this natural palette is actually natural for person of her shade or close to her shade...

 Now about the blush, called Suede:

 this is not a colour that I would suggest for a dark skinned person at all, it would just look too ashy.

Finally the pout polish "Bare Minimum":

I shall repeat myself, this does not look like an effortless nude colour. I am going to assume Sleek thinks this is one of those one-shade-suits-all colours. Well not in my opinion.


 Do not get me wrong I normally really love Sleek products, but recently I have noticed some things which has been a reoccurring theme for cosmetic brands that are directed to darker skinned females or women of colour, and that is FORGETTING ABOUT WOMEN OF COLOUR (pardon my caps).

Sleek has done many correct things with its marketing, which has clearly worked so well, as a whole range of races have grown to love the brand, due to it being known for their affordable yet highly pigmented products. This time however, it seems that they have failed as they have tried hard to branch out but made the massive mistake of making the shade seem almost exclusive to a light skin/Caucasian market.

If this natural/nude collection is going to made as a permanent fixture to sleek, I suggest they do this: have three different shade models one light, one dark and one medium as the faces of the nude collection. . I suggest this because I feel that by using the one model people will assume that the collection is specified or is more suited to the person of that shade.We all know that nude of a dark skin person will not be a nude of a light skinned person Secondly for the pout polishes there should be possibly two or three shades same goes for the blush. Lastly the darker shades of the eyeshadow could be perhaps more pigmented and it might be better not to have the black eyeshadow in the collection as it is a waste of space. Black is not nude for neither light or dark skinned people.

There rant over.Sorry if it was not the "omg I love this product" type of review but truth has to be told, and it is constructive criticism for sleek.

Why do makeup brands in the UK NOT cater for dark skins

I found this interesting article in the Guardian. It is slightly old yet it still applies:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/jan/14/makeup-for-black-women-high-street

I found everything in the article to be true. I will never understand why makeup is so hard to find for black womens. I  wonder why America has such a vast choice of shades and the UK does not? America is obviously a bigger country but both countries have a black and asians in society.

Why do brands such L'oreal and Revlon use LIGHT skinned black people such as Beyonce and Halle Berry to model for them, and what is worse is that they have clearly been airbrushed into a lighter tone, also the foundation that has been used on them can never be found at a local Boots or Superdrug. No offence to Halle Berry and Beyonce but they do not represent the whole black population in the UK nor anywhere for that matter. Black people like Caucasians do come in an array of different skin tones maybe even more. So why is it when we are "lucky" enough to find a company that does foundation for darker shades there is only ONE. ONE!
Come to think of it, quite frankly I feel really sorry for Asians when it comes to cosmetics, because in ad campaigns, they simply do not exist. Think about it, when was the last time you have seen an Oriental or Indian in a Maybelline, L'oreal or Revlon cosmetic advert. They are not even showcased regularly in a hair advert!! and God knows Asians have been blessed with beautiful hair! This just simply makes no sense!!!

Makeup companies in the UK need to wake up and realise that white females are not the only ones that buy cosmetics. I am sick and tired of hearing bull about blacks only making 2% of the population! this 2% has needs to!

I am acutally annoyed at the fact that I have to fork out almost £30 on a Mac foundation whereas some of my friends just have to spend between £5-£10 for theirs. Where is the equality in that..?


Oh and before I forget, yes, I do realise that the brand Sleek exists, but I have my issues with them. Particualary recently with their "au natural" collection. However I shall leave that for another post.

Ciao

BabyEpiphany xx