Essence & Catrice Spring 2019 Update

If you've been following my blog for a while, you'll know how much I love budget cosmetic brands Essence and Catrice and I always look forward to attending the events they host locally, for the local brand manager really pulls out all the stops and always manages to find attractive venues and host us in grandeur. This time was no exception!

The event for the Spring/Summer 2019 update took place at Domus Zammitello right in the heart of our capital city, Valletta. The building is centuries old and has recently been restored to its former glory and transformed into a breathtakingly beautiful boutique hotel!

The stunning interior of Domus Zammitello

Angelique from Cosnova, was flown in specifically for this event and she explained some of the new products which are yet to launch and the ones which were launched just last February. Let's have a look at Essence first.

The highlights of the new collection are without a doubt four eyeshadow palettes, each inspired by a metropolitan city; namely, Paris, Rio, Sydney & New York. My absolute favourite is hands down the Salut Paris! one, Paris being my favourite city, followed closely by G'Day Sydney and it's bright summer hues! I have to say that Essence have really upped their eyeshadow game recently, more specifically with the introduction of the palettes, and everything from packaging to pigmentation is on point!

They have also added some new products to their You Better Work range which they claim to be practically life-proof! At the time of writing this post, I have already tested out all three new products and can vouch for their longevity. I have found the Tinted Day Cream to be a very good match for my skin tone and the fixing spray and mascara are both very good as well.

The nail polishes have also gotten a makeover and of course, new colours have been added. I love Essence nail polishes for their colour range and price tag! Lastly, there are also some new lipglosses, dip eyeliner and #insta perfect liquid highlighters.

Moving on to Catrice, there are some new nude nail polishes, translucent ones as well as full coverage nail stickers.

As far as face products go, this is the area Catrice focused their Spring update on with the introduction of the 1-minute Face Perfector, Glow Illusion Loose Powder, Golden Dust Liquid Highlighter Drops, One Drop Coverage Weightless Concealer and the Bouncy Bronzer. There's also the HD Active Performance Primer and the Liquid Camouflage Under Eye Primer.

They have also introduced three new eyeshadow palettes as well as another Glam & Doll Mascara which promises lash growth and a boost in volume. The Pret-a-Volume mascara is another volumising mascara that has been added to the range along with the It's Easy Eyeliner pens in waterproof and standard formulas.

For the lips, it's another party with the inclusion of matt and glossy liquid lipsticks and a plumping lipstick range. I have already used one of the Plump & Shine Liquid Lipsticks and it has already become a colour I reach for almost every day.

Lastly, Essence & Catrice have just launched a collaborative limited edition collection of eye and face palettes and brushes. I haven't seen them yet in person, but they have just started being distributed to stores and pharmacies.

Of course, I couldn't resist and just had to try out some products immediately so here's a simple look I created with products from both brands!

What will you try first?

Catrice Cosmetics Autumn/Winter 2018 Update

It's time for Catrice cosmetics to roll out their new products for autumn and winter and while I couldn't make it to the event organised here in Malta, the brand manager still sent over some products from the launch for me to try, so here's a huge thank you! This post is an overview of the new products from Catrice that you will be able to find on stands soon.

picture from Catrice Cosmetics website

This year, Catrice is focusing on a glowy, dewy look with holographic and glitter effects - from your face to your nails and the brand is again at the forefront of translating the current fashion and social media trends into beauty products - INSTAready style, sweat-proof products, you name it!

Glow Dewy Glitter - Effect²

Metallic, holographic, glitter... Catrice brings all these finishes to a higher level this season with the star of the show being the The Glitterizer Mix n' Match Eyeshadow Palette* which features 4 glittery eyeshadows, two holographic top coats and two black bases for different, layered looks. Also for the eyes, there are two new colours of the Liquid Metal Longlasting Cream Eyeshadow.

Next we have the Glowdoscope Highlighter Palette* with 5 cream to powder highlighters in a range of colours and the Arctic Glow Highlighting Powder* which offers the look of iridescent crystals with soft white and violet pigments.

For lips, the lip glow family will see a new member added - the Charming Fairy Lip Glow* which has a pretty holographic lilac colour that turns to a unique pink shade according to your lips' pH.

The last products in the glitter arsenal are the #peeloff glam Easy To Remove Effect Nail Polish*. I got two shades from the 4 available and I am curious to see how they meet all the claims. If they are rally easy to peel off, these nail polishes would be God-send in avoiding removal of stubborn glitter polish!

INSTA Ready

For a perfect look wherever, whenever, Catrice have devised a few products in their latest update. I have the Prime and Fine Poreless Blur Primer* and I am looking forward to give the #INSTA To Go Blur Stick a go as well. There's also The Blazing Bronze Collection Eyeshadow Palette and the Lash Couture #INSTAVOLUME lashes.

Other products include the Brow Comb Designer Pro for precise, realistic brows and the Light Illusion Loose Powder for a matte complexion.

ATHBEAUTY - XXX PROVEN

If you had to ask users what is they look for in makeup products, they would probably mention long-lasting as one of their answers. Catrice have introduced 5 products that are made to stay on for a long period of time. The range includes 5 Eyeshadow Stix*, Eye Foundation Waterproof Eyeshadow Primer, and the Brow Colorist Semi-Permanent Brow Mascara* which is one of the products I look forward to trying out soon. The Blush Box* is another product I look forward to testing out for they are marketed as being sweat and waterproof. I am particularly liking the motivational slogans embossed on them too!

Lastly, to seal the deal, there's the Prime and Fine Multi-Talent Fixing Spray which can be used both as a primer and as a fixer to set makeup and refresh the skin throughout the day.

StoryTelling

Finally, for the core collection, we have some new products that are the perfect compliment to help us achieve that Instagram look. Serum primers are currently all the rage and Catrice have a new Light Correcting Serum Primer shade which can be mixed with foundation or used alone as a highlight.

Conditioned lips make for a perfectly polished look and for that, there's the Dewy-ful Lips Conditioning Lip Butter available in 4 shades.

Moreover, the ICONails Gel Lacquer repertoire has expanded with 7 new shades too.

Limited Editions - Blurred Lines & BAM Brow

The two limited edition collections tied with this season also have the Instabeauty trend at their core - the Blurred Lines limited edition is all about smooth, skin; in other words, the blur effect and has products designed to deliver the best possible results for flawless-looking skin. I have the Blurred Lines primer* and I'm curious to see how it matches the new Prime and Fine Poreless Blur Primer* from the core collection.

The other limited edition, BAM Brow, the name implies, is all about the brows. It focuses on strong brow looks, just like the current trends dictate! I cannot wait to see how the Brow Boost Serum performs and if it lives up to my expectations.

All these new products will be availabe on stands in the coming weeks so watch out for them ;)

Items marked with * were sent to me as part of the PR package.

Customisable eyeshadow palette? Yes, Catrice! | Catrice Cosmetics Art Couleurs Eyeshadow Palette Review

A while back I was invited to the launch of the Autumn/Winter collection by Catrice and well, I really liked their whole re-vamped approach to their single eyeshadows. They came out with the Art Couleurs concept where you can still purchase the eyeshadow singles and you can also get an empty 4-pan palette to store them in instead of having them all over the place. Let's have a look at this new system together in this post.

First things first - the empty palette has a glossy black lid with the new Catrice logo engraved on it and comes with four hollow spaces for the eyeshadows to click in. It also comes with a mirror on the backside of the lid. With the spaces being hollow, the names of the eyeshadows are visible at the back which I think is great to know which is which and it's easy to know which colours to pick up when they finish!

While the eyeshadows may look the same as before, because they kept the transparent casing, in reality, the pans are meant to be clicked out of the singles' casing and put into the palette spaces - genius right?! Me being an organisation freak, eyeshadow singles are not really favourites of mine and the idea of having eyeshadows from different brands in one palette is not appealing either so this new concept from Catrice is right up my alley. One suggestion though - I think the brand should consider introducing palettes with more empty slots to avoid clutter in makeup drawers and have all Catrice Art Couleurs eyeshadows in one place!  

I'm pleased to see that Catrice have greatly improved on the pigmentation of their eyeshadows. I have two matt and two shimmer shades in my Art Couleurs palette (swatches left to right):

040 - Wild Ginger (matt mauve)

050 - Taupe Addict (matt greige)

090 - Life On High Heels (shimmery burgundy)

110 - Chocolate Cake By The Ocean (shimmery golden brown)

My favourite is hands down 050 Taupe Addict for its versatility. I mainly use it as a transitional shade in my crease but it's equally great if you're using it as an all-over-the-lid colour for it complements all skin tones and provides a great base for a myriad of eye looks. Both matt shades have great pigmentation and I'm happy to say the shimmery ones do too. And the shimmer is all throughout the shadow not just the upper layer. I don't have issues with longevity as the eyeshadows last all throughout without the need for touch-ups.

I think Catrice have really outdone themselves with their new releases which I will be sharing with you over the coming days since I have now had a chance to try them all. Did you pick up your Art Couleurs palette and eyeshadows yet?

PR Samples

Event | Catrice Cosmetics Autumn / Winter 2017 New Products Launch

I never get tired of saying this and even more so, I never get tired of looking at it - The Grand Harbour is the best view we have all around the island so you can imagine my delight when I was invited for the launch of the fall collection from Catrice Cosmetics at the Panorama Lounge in Valletta overlooking the said Grand Harbour!

Catrice Cosmetics is a German makeup brand under the Cosnova portfolio and has been around since 2004. I have regarded the brand as a special one ever since it was launched locally by Pharma.MT for it was one of the first brands to work with us bloggers along with sister brand Essence.

Catrice is all about innovation and they produce over 1400 products which come in both classic and trendy colour variations. The brand is heavily inspired by catwalk and fashion trends and in fact, it has ongoing collaborations with German fashion houses Kaviar Gauche and Lala Berlin. So what will the brand bring our way in autumn 2017?

For starters, they are embracing the concept of individuality with the launch of their Art Couleurs Palette for eyeshadows which is supplied empty and you can fill it with up to 4 of your favourite Art Couleurs eyeshadow shades. The eyeshadows come in matt and shimmer finishes and bear the new, cleaner and more sophisticated looking logo. I think it's cool that the base is fully transparent and hollow for the eyeshadows to fit in and still show the shade name and number! Struggling to find the right shade of foundation? Catrice has now got you covered with the Prime and Fine Makeup Transformer Drops!

Other new products include the Liquid Metal Cream Eyeshadows and the Glam & Doll Waterproof False Lashes mascara to complement the already successful range of Glam & Doll Mascaras as well a the Ultimate Chrome palette which is just breathtaking!

As for lips, there are the new Lip Dressers and the Liquid Lip Powder which dry to a matte metallic finish as well some new shades for the exiting lip product ranges. For the face, it is all about a bright luminous complexion and colour correction. My favourites are the Re-Touch Concealers and the Professional Makeup Techniques Face Palette.

Ultimately, they have launched a new nail polish range, ICONails, comprising 36 colours and a gel top coat. I am currently wearing shade 10 Rosywood Hills which Stephanie from Lacquer Nail Bar in Naxxar applied on my nails during the event. The nail polish is supposed to last for 7 days without top coat which can be extended to 10 days with the ICONails Gel Top Coat. I'll put it to the test and share the results in a separate blog post :) For those favouring a matte look on their nails, there is the new Silk Matte Top Coat too. Oh and how gorgeous do the Brown Collection nail polishes look with those rose gold caps?!

Catrice is really breaking the rules with their innovative, quality products at a very affordable price range which are appealing to a lot of women of different ages don't you think?

I wanted to share the excitement with you guys and at the same thank you for your ongoing support so, to celebrate the launch of the Autumn collection, I will be giving away some newly launched products to one lucky reader! Head over to my Facbeook page to discover how you can be in the chance of winning this bundle!

Lastly, thank you Catrice and Pharma.MT for having me, I look forward to test run all these new products!

Top Red Lipstick Picks

I do love a red lip and I have always believed that red lipstick gives you a confidence boost - as long as you're wearing the right shade of course! If I have an important meeting or a big night out, more often than not, you will see me sporting a red lip for sure.

Of course, being a lipstick junkie and a beauty blogger, translates to being constantly on the hunt for more lipsticks to home. At this precise moment in time, I own 22 red lipsticks. There was a time not too far away when I owned way more but I had to clear out my stash for lack of space mainly.

Without further ado, here are my top pricier red lipsticks, their drugstore dupes and matching lip liners ;)

You probably already guessed the first one up...it's MAC Ruby Woo. The cult favourite matte pillar box red needs no introduction as it suits a variety of skin tones. A dupe for it would be Catrice Matt Lip Artist 6hr in 050 Fashion Reditorial. It provides the same matte finish and the colour is pretty close. To seal the deal with these two, Make Up Store Lip Liner in Burlesque has a matte finish and is an exact match.

Next is one that I've had in my stash for a few years now and it is still one of my most used lipsticks. My parents had gotten me the Givenchy Rouge Interdit 20 Illicit Raspberry one Christmas, making it the first high-end lipstick in my collection. A less costly alternative is Max Factor Marilyn Lipstick, 4 Marilyn Cabernet. The perfect matching lipliner for this pair is Essence Lipliner 08 Red Blush.

Next is another MAC matte lipstick - D For Danger. This is one of the darkest reds I own and I love how such reds look paired with a classic smokey eye. The dupe? No other than Flormar Extreme Matte Lipstick 07 Haute Burgundy while for lipliner, I would recommend Flormar Waterproof Liner in No. 205.

I cannot not mention the Christian Louboutin Lipstick in Rouge Louboutin. Of course the price of this one may not be what everyone is willing to spend on a lipstick but I'm going to justify it by saying it is one of the most beautiful pieces in my collection and that the colour lasts throughout the whole time I wear it. A very affordable dupe come from Italian makeup brand KIKO - Glossy Dream Sheer Lipstick 206. Of course you will need to build up the colour to achieve the intensity of the Louboutin lipstick but they are a pretty close match. To achieve the look with a little less effort, applying Catrice Long Lasting Lip Pencil Waterproof 130 Prince Cherry all over the lips underneath the KIKO lipstick will definitely help!

Those were the top red lipstick picks from my collection. Are there any more red lipstick fans out there?