In the Garden of Eden...

I love eyeshadow palettes, and I particularly love Sleek palettes so it won't be a surprise to anyone when I say that for me one of the most anticipated makeup releases this Spring was the Sleek i-Divine (£7.99) Garden of Eden, a beautiful colorful palette with three matte and nine shimmering eye shadows in earthy, muted purple and green shades for a vibrant, dramatic look. I love the whole concept of using the Garden of Eden as an inspiration for the nature inspired color range and the colors have fabulous tongue in cheek names like Fig, Eve's Kiss and Python.

The Sleek palettes are exactly that - sleek! The packaging is thin, light and since it has a large mirror in the lid, it's great for carrying with you in a handbag and it's so slim that it'll easily even fit into an evening clutch bag. Like many other palettes there's a double ended sponge applicator included which unfortunately is very stiff and unpleasant to work with, and I find that sponge tips that are this hard and inflexible usually break off after only a couple of uses. Saying that though, the quality (or lack of) of the applicator isn't a big deal for me since I'll use my growing collection of Real Techniques shade brushes in the morning when I apply the eye shadows, and I'll only ever use the sponge applicator for on the go touch ups.

The pigmentation in all of the twelve eye shadows is very intense, and even surprisingly so in the lighter as well as the matte shades. The consistency of the eye shadows is very creamy and because of the strong pigmentation you only need a light dab of the brush in the pan and you've got enough product to cover the entire eyelid. If like me you're a bit heavy handed sometimes and you swirl the brush around a lot in the pan you will notice that some of the eye shadows (particularly the green colors) very easily start to crumble - so best to use a light touch when you apply. Because of the creamy formula the product sets very quickly without creasing and once it's set - it stays put all day, so although the formula isn't specifically smudge- or waterproof it has great long lasting qualities.

So, let's have a closer look at these paradisaical, organic colors: Gates of Eden - Shimmering golden sandy brown, Eve's Kiss - Shimmering lavender pink, Paradise on Earth - Shimmering mulberry, Python - Shimmering muted plum, Forbidden - Faint shimmering dusky mute mauve, Flora - Matte maroon, Entwined - Shimmering light redwood, Adam's Apple - Matte green yellow, like a Golden Delicious apple, Fig - Shimmering light olive green, Evergreen - Shimmering grass green, Fauna - Shimmering jungle green, Tree of Life - Matte dark pine green

 

From left to right

Top Row - Gates of Eden, Eve's Kiss, Paradise on Earth, Python, Forbidden, Flora

Bottom Row - Entwined, Adam's Apple, Fig, Evergreen, Fauna, Tree of Life

It's plain to see that you can create very bold and vibrant looks with this palette, but even if you usually shy away from color and are more comfortable with natural shades this palette also allows you to create soft, subtle and dreamy looks using the shades in the top row. My favorite day time look using these colors is combining Gates of Eden with Entwined, and if I need a pop of color, I'll add Fig for a subtle green finish. For evening wear you can create a heavy smoky effect using e.g. Python, Flora and Tree of Life and you could even use this palette to follow the pastel trend by using Eve's Kiss and Adam's Apple. I've really enjoyed experimenting with the palette; it's a great concept, the eye shadows are wonderfully pigmented, long lasting and pleasant to wear. Regardless of whether you love color or prefer a natural look these heavenly shades are too much of a temptation to resist!