Hi guys! Long time
no see/blog… as per usual, right? WRONG! (ish). If you don’t follow me on
Twitter and Instagram (which you definitely should, just sayin’) I recently
ventured into the world of… YouTube! Yes, I know… WHOWHATWHEREWHENWHY?! I have
one makeup tutorial uploaded on there already so make sure to give it a thumbs
up and subscribe while you’re there. If you’d like to see more from me on the
Tube of You, simply tell me whatcha wanna seeeee! It’s all baby steps for me,
so be patient with me, please and thank you! Now that that’s over and done
with… I’m sure you’re all here for the lip products, right?!
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Sleek "Matte Me" Ultra smooth matte lip cream.
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Ever wanted to try the
Lime Crime Velvetines but didn’t feel like forking out $20 and $11 more for
shipping? I do love a good aul bargain dupe. I heard about the Sleek Matte Me
products as being Lime Crime Velvetine almost identical but thought “how could the
drugstore really copy such a unique formula and how matte could
they really be?!” Well, I picked up the only 2 left in Boots for less than 7
euro each and decided to see myself.
Straight away I have
to tell ye, these things are incredible! Dare I say it, I may even prefer them
to the Velvetines for a multitude of reasons. I love how sleek (pun 100%
intended) the Sleek packaging is. The applicator is far nicer and easier to use
than the Velvetines, because it has a long and flat doe foot applicator which
spreads the product nicely and allows you to line your lips with the product
itself. And I mean do I really need to say it… the Sleek ones are €7, and the
Velvetines? In the words of Kathleen Lights “guuuurl, das essspensive!”. I’m
honestly annoyed they didn't have any more shades available so I could snap
them up there and then!
These are matte, very matte opaque liquid lip creams. They
go on like a gloss and quickly dry down to that matte finish. They are quite
drying (not as much as Velvetines, though, and they don’t crack half as much
when you talk or move your lips!). These bad boys are really long wearing, so
if you don’t mind a matte lip and moisturize well beforehand then I think
you’ll like these... particularly if you don’t want to pay so much for a Velvetine!
The only difference in the formula is that the Sleek ones don’t feel quite as
velvety or powdery on the lips as the Lime Crime ones, which could be a pro or
con depending on your taste. The Sleek ones are still matte and super duper long
wearing, they feel like a mix between a Velvetine and MAC Retro Matte. If you
start to find them too drying throughout the day, just throw some lip balm over
the top and you are sorted!
Now, owning both Lime
Crime and Sleek, I would say the actual formula is definitely a dupe. I’m not
100% of the amount of shades that Sleek have (they only had two at the
counter!) but they seem to have a good range of reds, purples, nudey pinks and
hot pinks. Petal is a milky nude pink that I would call the MAC’s Crème Cup of
matte liquid lipsticks – so I automatically love it! I found because it’s a
pale/nude shade it definitely shows up more cracks or flaking throughout the
wear, but moisturizing well is always key. This shade lasted about an hour less
than the brighter shade I’ll talk about after, but I have to mention it
survived several glasses of wine and a 3 course Italian meal. Boom.
Fandango Purple is the
one I’m pretty delighted about. Now, I don’t own Utopia
Velvetine personally, but I am 99% sure this is an exact dupe. It’s the exact
same “not quite pink, not quite purple” fuchsia/orchid purple colour and tone that Utopia has when
swatched on the skin and the lips. So if you were looking for that particular
shade, I’d say get one of the more unique Lime Crime ones (Wicked, Salem or Cashmere!)
and get the Sleek Fandango Purple instead. It’s worth mentioning Sleek also
have a Matte Me red which is a perfect dupe for Lime Crime’s Red Velvet –
rejoice! I wore this on a night out recently and it lasted about 5 hours
without cracking or fading anywhere on the lips which is honestly a MIRACLE for
me. I have such a hard time getting even regular MAC matte lipsticks to stay
past 2 hours of drinking/singing/talking.
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| Fandango Purple (top), Petal (bottom) |
Overall, I think these
are such fantastic products, and I love them even more for the dupe-able shades
amongst the Velvetines. As I said before, I just wish I had more (confession: I
am the Veruca Salt of lip products. Don’t even currrrr). Don’t get me wrong, I still love the shade of
the Wicked one I have, but if I can get a similar shade from a more affordable
brand? I am alllll about that life! I know a couple of other drugstore/budget
brands have come out with some form of matte lip cream which I’m hoping to try
more of this year, I think they’re gonna be a really big thing for 2015! What
are your thoughts on the matte lip cream trend? Do you own any of the Velvetines
or maybe have tried the Sleek ones? Let me know below!
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