Sleek Blush By 3 Review & Swatches – Pumpkin, Sugar, Flame, Pink Sprint, Lace

Last February, I read that Sleek Makeup (a UK drugstore brand) had released five different blush palettes, each with three blushes.  Sleek has a fantastic blush formula, so I was immediately intrigued.  However, the blushes were not available at the time on Sleek’s website, and though they were on Ebay, they would have cost double the retail price so I decided to wait. Eventually, they showed up on Sleek’s website, but because shipping was so expensive and because I couldn’t decide which ones to get, I didn’t buy any.

Then, a few weeks ago, Sleek relaunched its website with a 20% off discount sitewide (now over, sorry!) and reduced shipping costs to the US (permanent).  I thought it was time to finally buy a couple of the Blush by 3 palettes.  Since they were on sale, I decided to just go for it and buy all five.  Picture heavy post ahead!

A few general comments: All five of the Blush by 3 palettes are smooth and blend nicely.  Four of them are quite pigmented; Sugar is less pigmented.  There are a mix of shimmery and matte shades, but most of the shimmery shades are fairly subtle and will add dimension rather than obvious shimmer particles.  I plan to use the matte shades as my main blush shades, then layer the shimmery shades over the top lightly to add dimension without too much shimmer.

Each shade has a name, listed on the back of the palette – it looks like this:

Here is a size comparison of the Sleek Blush by 3 with a single Sleek blush and a NARS blush – I cleaned the packaging, but they were hopelessly dirty!  NARS blushes contain 4.8g; Sleek single blushes contain 8g; the Blush by 3 palette contains 20g (6.7g per blush – more than NARS!).

I really like Sleek’s packaging – it’s very compact and efficient, and I’m always a fan of black packaging.   It would be ideal if the lids were clear for these so I could tell them apart more easily, but this works too, and there is a nicely sized mirror in the lid.

On to the swatches! Because there are 15 blushes total, I don’t have full-face swatches (sorry!).  I have flash and natural light swatches for each color.

Pumpkin 363 - lantern, squash, pumpkin pie

Pumpkin 363 – lantern, squash, pumpkin pie

Pumpkin 363 - lantern, squash, pumpkin pie swatches

Pumpkin 363 – flash / natural light

All three shades in the Pumpkin palette are nicely pigmented and smooth.  Lantern, on the left, is a red with subtle shimmer; Squash is a cool pink with a slight sheen, and Pumpkin Pie is a bright cool orange.

364 Sugar - Turbinado, Muscovado, Demerara

364 Sugar – Turbinado, Muscovado, Demerara

364 Sugar - Turbinado, Muscovado, Demerara

Sugar – flash / natural light
Each of the three shades in the Sugar palette is less pigmented than the other palettes. I even swatched it twice to make sure I hadn’t done something wrong the first time (how do you swatch incorrectly, though?).  However, they have plenty of pigment to work – they’re just not AS pigmented as the others.
Turbinado, on the left, is a matte berry red.  Muscovado, in the middle, looks almost brown in the pan, but swatches plum with gold shimmer.  Turbinado is is a muted peach/brown.

Flame 365 - Furnace, Bon Fire, Molten

Flame 365 – Furnace, Bon Fire, Molten
Flame 365 - Furnace, Bon Fire, Molten swatches

The Flame palette has three lovely red shades.   All three are very pigmented. Furnace looks very slightly patchy in the swatch, but gives no trouble when applied. Furnace is a soft red with some shimmer.  Bon Fire an orange-based matte red.   Molten is very similar to Furance, but slightly more muted.

Pink Sprint 366 - Pink Parfait, Pink Ice, Pinktini

Pink Sprint 366 – Pink Parfait, Pink Ice, Pinktini

Pink Sprint 366 - Pink Parfait, Pink Ice, Pinktini swatches

Pink Sprint – flash, natural light
Sleek Pink Sprint – flash / natural light
Pink Sprint is the only palette with three mattes.   Pink Parfeit is a soft berry rose; Pink Ice an almost neon pink; and and Pinktini a stunning, very pigmented dark raspberry.

Lace 367 - Crochet, Guipure, Chantilly

Lace 367 – Crochet, Guipure, Chantilly

Lace 367 - Crochet, Guipure, Chantilly swatches

Lace – flash, natural light

All three shades in the Lace palette are very smooth and pigmented. Crochet is a matte peach with orange tones, Guipure is a pink with gold shimmer – the strongest shimmer out of all five of the palettes – and Chantilly is a pink-coral.

Overall, I am totally in love with these palettes! I am going to have a lot of fun playing with them. Does anyone need 15 blush shades? Not really – and especially not me – but I am so happy to have them, and they add a lot of variation to my blush stash.

If you are in the US, Sleek Blush by 3 palettes sell for $12.49 each on Sleek’s website. Shipping starts around $5 for one palette, and goes up when you buy more.

——–

This post is from Project Swatch. All rights reserved.

Related posts:

  1. NARS Foreplay Blush Palette Review, Swatches, Photos
  2. La Femme Blush On Rouge Review, Swatches, Photos
  3. Sleek Pout Paint Review & Swatches
  4. ELF Pink Passion Blush Review, Swatches, Photos
  • carrot

    thumbs up. thanks for the swatches!

  • For pigmented blushes generally, including these, I’ll make sure my face is dry (not damp with foundation – this usually means powdering), then just tap my brush in the powder. Then I’ll tap my brush on a tissue if there’s too much color on the brush, then I’ll apply. If I apply too much or have harsh edges, I use a clean, dense brush to blend. Hope that helps!