Sleek Blush By 3 Trio swatches and monochrome FOTD

Sleek make some of my favourite blushes at any price point. Texture-wise you won't be getting something creamily unctuous like RBR or impossibly silky like Suqqu or Shiseido. But they are excellent, pigmented, drier formulas which I find superior to the more comparable Nars, Illamasqua and MUFE -- the tightly packed powderiness of Sleek doesn't ever translate to chalkiness or free-floating glitter on my skin, perhaps because their intensity means I can get away with a few molecules per cheek... I'm a big fan of the almost texture-less vibrancy of pigment they give, and their unusual, ambitious shade range.

To which there are limits. There are quite a few dupes for permanent Sleek singles in these trios -- comparison swatches to follow in a separate post.

Unlike the eyeshadow palettes (which I don't care for), and like Sleek's blush singles, these Blush By 3 Trios are made in Taiwan. Each palette contains an incredible 20g for £9.99 and are limited edition, exclusive to Superdrug.

363 Pumpkin

Lantern is a red-gold satin shimmer; Squash a cool bright pink with a sheen; P Pie an intense neon orange matte.

364 Sugar

Demerara is a rich, warm red with a sheen; Muscovado a stunning duochrome shifting between ruby/plum and copper/gold; Turbinado a matte muted terracotta.

365 Flame

Molten is a soft brick red with a sheen; Bon Fire (sic. why.) an glow-in-the-dark bright true red matte; Furnace a warm orange-red satin.

366 Pink Sprint

Pinktini is a saturated raspberry-rose with a sheen, Pink Ice a fun blue-fuchsia matte, Pink Parfait an elegant demi-matte warm plum.

367 Lace

Chantilly is a soft clear apricot matte (sheered out it gives me that platonic peaches&cream complexion), Guipure is another rose-gold Orgasm-a-like shimmer, Crochet is a softly sheeny complex red-coral-pink in the RBR Orpheline/Illamasqua Hussy vein.


I made heavy swatches with sponge applicators to show the colours and undertones as clearly as possible -- in practice, they all apply smoothly enough to use as eyeshadows, and even the most shimmery shades translate as a soft even sheen e.g. in this quick monochrome look using the Sugar palette (all 3 shades on eyes, and Muscovado on cheeks):

nat light

with flash -- see, no glitter on cheeks!

Lips: Kanebo Sensai The Lipstick 21 Shirafuji
Face: Laura Mercier Silk Creme Soft Ivory mixed with RBR Sea of Tranquility, Ellis Faas concealer.
Eyes: Shu Uemura white pencil, Rose of Versailles liquid liner, Majolica Majorca LEFP mascara, Shu H9 Seal Brown brow pencil.


NB you eagle-eyed twelve-resolution-monitors: I received four of these as a personal gift, and bought Lace to replace a finished Becca Rosebud cream blush.