Review: Catrice Defining Blush in 060 Rosewood Forest and 030 Love & Peach

Rossman: ca. €4

http://www.catrice.eu/products/face/blush/detail/product/defining-blush-080.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

L: Rosewood Forest
R: Love & Peaches

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These blushes are “ultra-fine, highly-pigmented”, and are formulated with vitamins C and E. They should “spread easily, set fresh accents, emphasize your cheekbones and model the contours of your face”. Rosewood Forest is a dusty mauve shade, and Love & Peach is a true coral (equal amounts pink and orange). Both shades are completely matte.

 

Ingredients:

SHADES 020, 030, 040, 050 TALC, MICA, MAGNESIUM STEARATE, ISOCETYL STEAROYL STEARATE, OCTYLDODECYL STEARATE, SILICA, PEG-8, TOCOPHEROL, ASCORBYL PALMITATE, ASCORBIC ACID, CITRIC ACID, TIN OXIDE, METHYLPARAPEN, PROPYLPARABEN

SHADE 060 TALC, MICA, MAGNESIUM STEARATE, OCTYLDODECYL STEARATE, ISOCETYL STEAROYL STEARATE, PEG-8, TOCOPHEROL, ASCORBYL PALMITATE, ASCORBIC ACID, CITRIC ACID, METHYLPARAPEN, PROPYLPARABEN, CI 15850 (RED 6 LAKE/RED 7 LAKE), CI 45410 (RED 27 LAKE), CI 77499 (IRON OXIDES).

 

Europeans, be happy! A cheap blush that performs phenomenally. There is nothing really that I can find fault with. They are silky and blend really easily, they are pigmented but still easy to work with because of the blendability, and the colors are just gorgeous. Rosewood Forest, the mauve shade, is a great all-in-one blush for fairer skinned people. The pink in it gives a nice color to cheeks, but as it is matte and has the more subdued quality it can be used almost as contour as well. However, I’m not sure the shade would show up on darker skin tones at all. Love & Peach is a great bright coral for spring and summer, for many different skin tones. It can be kept sheer and pretty for fairer skin tones or those that are a bit scared of bright cheek colors, or can be built up to give quite a vibrant effect.

The packaging as well is really nice, especially for a drugstore brand. The clear plastic looks simple and chic, and shows off the pretty detailing in the powder as well. These would also be really easy to depot to put in a magnetic pallette, if you would want to do that. 

Overall, I love love love these blushes. I was so impressed by the texture and the pigmentation, especially as these retail for under €5. On a side note, powder products from Catrice seem to be top of the line: their eyeshadows are amazing as well (review of one shade here). When I visit Germany again I will have to pick up more of these! Highly recommend.

Rating: A+

Be Beautiful Not Broke: My Favorites From the Drugstore #1

Yes, it is possible to look fabulous while still saving money for that pair of Choos. Here are my top picks for cheap but awesome makeup.

Product	Price	Picture	Description
ELF Blush in Blushing Rose	$3	Found on ELF website	This color is freaking amazing. It is a gorgeous plummy rose color, and I think it could look amazing on so many skin tones. The packaging feels really nice, and guess what? It’s $3. Three. Bucks. Yeah. Target’s that-a-way, ladies.
Catrice Eyeshadows	3-4€	Found on Catrice website	Great pigmentation, great shade selection, great texture- if you can’t get your hands on some Wet n Wild these would do great as well. Also some great dupes for MAC shadows!
Real Techniques Brushes	$5-9 ea/Some brushes come in sets that are like $20, though	Found on Real Techniques site	These brushes were designed by YouTube’s Samantha Chapman, and boy did she know exactly what she was doing. They are soft. They feel like they might outlive me AND my cowboy boots (that’s a big deal y’all). They apply product like nobody’s business. My absolute favorite is the buffing brush, with the contour brush a close second.
Hildegard Braukmann Honey-Lecithin Mask	2€	Found on Hildegard Braukmann website	This made my face feel like baby ass. Seriously. Plus it seriously lasts for like 4 applications. Read my full blog post here.

Review: Catrice Abolute Eye Colour Mono (410 C’mon Chameleon)

dm Drogerie Markt: ca. 3-4€

Found on Catrice homepage

These shadows are described as having “fabulous” “color”, “durability” and “coverage”. I took this to mean good pigmentation, shade selection, and longevity. C’mon Chameleon is a medium brown with a forest green duochrome. I haven’t swatched them side by side, but I have a feeling this is a spot-on dupe for MAC’s Club.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This eyeshadow is a dream. First of all, the color is so interesting and makes for a really gorgeous (and surprisingly wearable!) eyeshadow look. The ratio of green shimmer to the base medium brown color is also perfect, so that you can have just a wash of the warm color on the majority of the lid, with just a hint of the green, and then build the green up more in the areas that you want it. I think this is what makes this shadow so amazing- how absolutely versatile it is.

In addition, the buildable-ness of the shadow means that it would work well on so many skin tones even though the base is quite warm. On darker skin tones the base color would not show up as well I think, but the green could be built up to look amazing.

The texture of the eyeshadow is also really nice, it’s quite soft and not at all powdery, even for such a cheap eyeshadow.

 

Overall

Really, I think if you don’t have this shadow, or at least something like it, you NEED to get it. Like, shut off the computer, grab your cash, and go. If you have access to this particular brand I would highly recommend it. The quality of the shadow is amazing, as good as the MAC shadows, but it is a fraction of the price. I always enjoy that 🙂

Rating: A+

Member of the A-List

Review: Catrice Color Infusion Longlasting Lipstain (020 Rose Wood Avenue)

dm: €3-4

http://www.catrice.eu/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

L: Sheer R: Built up

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With this lip stain, Catrice promises “longer lasting color” and “semi-permanent definition” that is supposed to “pamper” your lips with “moisturizing ingredients”. Rose Wood Avenue is a darker version of a your-lips-but-better color, it is very pretty and an easy color to wear.

 

Ingredients:

AQUA (WATER), GLYCERIN, BUTYLENE GLYCOL, SORBITOL, POLYSORBATE 80, PEG-150, POTASSIUM SORBATE, PVP, ACACIA SENEGAL GUM, AMMONIUM GLYCYRRHIZATE, SODIUM SACCHARIN, SODIUM HYALURONATE, AROMA (FLAVOR), PHENOXYETHANOL MAY CONTAIN: CI 15985 (YELLOW 6), CI 17200 (RED 33), CI 19140 (YELLOW 5), CI 42090 (BLUE 1).

 

Like the ELF Studio Lip Stain, I like this color but not much else. Despite all its moisturizing claims, this product is not forgiving to dry lips: it dries them out further and gathers in the flakes. As it wears, it wears faster from the center of your lips outwards, so you end up with a fetching ring around your lips. This stain also gives the stinging feeling the ELF one had.

OK, Lilla, you say. What about the packaging? Well, I’m glad you asked. The packaging is deceptive. It has a marker tip, which instantly made me think “Ooh! Easy application!”. Wrong. To get the product out you have to shake the tube a bunch, go over your lips like 50 times, then shake some more. Repeat about 5 times until you have built up a decent amount of color. Yeah, not so convenient. This hasn’t happened yet, but I can imagine that this will dry up sometime in the near future.

OK, as it is a stain, I think it is necessary to talk about staying power. Unfortunately, there is really not that much to tell. It sucked. As I mentioned before, the product wore off in a not-so-attractive way, and it did that mere hours after application. Also, this does not last through drinking or eating. I have lipsticks that last through meals!!! What does that tell you, huh, Catrice?

 

There’s not that much I can say for this product. It just did not really perform well, except for giving a pretty color. Although I only got that for like an hour, tops, and after 10 minutes at the cost of my arm. OK, my arms are pretty weak and flabby, but still. It was tiring. This was pretty much a no-go for me.

 

Rating: C-

 

 

 

Lilla’s Box of Treasures (LBT): May 2012

As the month of May draws to a close I would like to draw your attention to a couple of products that I have really reached for this month.

MAC Eyeshadow in Quarry

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have really been neglecting my eye makeup recently (the result of warmer weather, extreme laziness, and the sudden fascination for bright lipsticks, which I unfortunately am not brave enough to wear to school), but when I have done something with my eyes, it often involves this color. One of my biggest pet peeves in the world of beauty (or anywhere, really) is an overly dark crease color. I don’t think having a brown line in your eye socket is attractive, and it sure as hell isn’t fooling anyone when it comes to eye depth. To me, Quarry is the perfect color. A beautiful soft purple-y brown (I don’t think the camera is quite picking up on that), it is subtle enough that it can actually look like a naturally shadowy socket, but does still provide a unique color. I also sometimes use it as an all-over lid color for a subtle and polished eye look (a nice partner for bright lips, for instance), or to blend out the edge of Urban Decay’s Sidecar eyeshadow. As for quality it is a very nice, smooth texture, and provides the perfect amount of pigmentation for a crease/blending color. I really do recommend this shade; it is a very versatile and unique eyeshadow that you can always depend on.

Catrice Ultimate Nail Lacquer in Genius in the Bottle

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have only recently acquired this color, and I have been really enjoying it! It is a beautiful color, one of the many dupes of Chanel Peridot. I have gotten a ton of compliments on this nail polish, and actually a couple of friends bought this shade after borrowing mine, so expect some drooling if you choose to wear it ;).

Wet n’ Wild Megashine Nail Color in 437F Emblazed 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To me this is the perfect summer color: a gorgeous true coral, even if it doesn’t show up on camera as such (it is actually less orange in real life). I currently have this on my toes, and it looks amazing! Another amazing thing: the price (somewhere under $2, I believe…)!

Labello Soft Rose Chapstick

 

 

 

 

 

 

Let’s just talk about lifesavers for a minute. Along with my face, my lips have been so dry recently. And then, of course, I went and lost my Carmex. I was not amused. So of course I had to trek down to my local drugstore and pick up another chapstick, and I picked up another one of these guys. Well, two of these guys, as they came in a two-pack for a grand total of €1.99 (!). The color provided is really sheer, NOTHING like the Revlon lip butters, but when applied they just give you the prettiest your-lips-but-better lip color imaginable.

Body Shop Vitamin E Moisture Lotion SPF 15

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It has been getting pretty sunny this month, especially now towards the end, so sun protection is getting to be really important (click here to see more about sun protection). This has made it really easy for me to just throw on some protection without needing a separate facial sunscreen. In addition, my skin has been especially dry recently (normally it’s combination, but it has been just flat-out dry), and this also has really helped that.

Clarins Moisture-Rich Body Lotion

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As you can see, I have been into skincare this month, more so than usual (skincare normally comes as an afterthought to makeup for me). I have been really into this moisturizer this month, because it is fabulous. It is so super nourishing; my dry scaly legs just love to soak it up. Good thing too, considering I have to expose them now that it is warm…

John Frieda Frizz-Ease Daily Nourishment Leave-In Conditioning Spray

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have been looking for a good detangling spray to use on my rat’s nest after coming out of the shower. Apparently your hair is super-vulnerable when it is wet, so you’re not supposed to yank a hairbrush through it at that point. Oops. Anyway, that’s where this spray comes in: you spray it in your hair, and voila, your brush just slides right on through with no problems whatsoever. I was also very excited to see that it comes with heat protection, so I can blast my hair with a hairdryer and not feel bad. Is it bad that this makes me so excited…?