Mascara -Essence - Multi Action Mascara
faune 9/24/2012 12:52:00 PM
This is the mascara I always come back to. I have short straight asian lashes and this holds the curl really well without flaking or smudging. I tend to favor a fairly natural look so I only do 1 or 2 coats. It's a really nice, basic mascara for everyday, it can be replaced often since it is inexpensive, and I found it better than many other more expensive mascaras. It is also easy to remove even with non oily eye makeup remover. I have repuchased it several times and am quite happy with it. I would recommend this if you are looking for a good basic mascara.
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Mascara -Catrice - Lashes To Kill Waterproof Volume
faune 9/24/2012 12:40:00 PM
I have the non-waterproof version of this mascara in "ultra black" . I have short straight asian lashes and I was looking for something that would give a little volume without clumping and this delivers. I did find it a bit dry but found it helped build better than with a thinner consistency mascara, I do find you have take time to apply this properly for best results, the wand is a standard bristle wand, it comes with enough product on it to build up at the base of your lashes but you do have to make sure to lift you lashes up and wiggle the wand at the base, then comb out the tip a few times. It doesn't flake, smudge and is decent at holding a curl. It comes off easily with non oily eye makeup remover provided you let it soak a bit before rubbing it off, but it's not HG status for me. It's very good but not amazing.
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Liquid -Catrice - Photo finish liquid foundation 18h
faune 9/24/2012 12:18:00 PM
This is a medium coverage semi-matt finish foundation, I used it in shade 010 which is the lightest (for reference I am a MAC NW20). It cost 7€ for 30ml which is about half the price of other drugstore foundations and comes in a glass bottle. I really liked the pump dispenser packaging, it's simple, elegant and above all, convenient and hygienic. I found I could control the pump enough that I wasn't always left with tons of product afterwards which is great. It is oil free and spf free (which is a big plus for me as I am allergic). It has a creamy consistency and it blends well but its much more high coverage than I am used to. I found you have to keep a light touch with this one if you want to avoid that too-even"foundationy" look, using catrice's primer helped, as well as using a proper brush. I think a damp sponge would work too. I also used it as a concealer on days i didn't want to be too made up and it was great. I didn't find it greyish, too dark, too yellow or pink nor did I notice any oxidization. I did however, find the smell overpowering. It smells very strongly of hyacinth, a green, white flower smell, which to me was unusual for a foundation. While I don't think it smells cheap, it's just too strong for me, especially for a scent that isn't "easy" like a generic cosmetic lotion smell. That unfortunately bothers me to the point where I would rather choose another foundation just to avoid the smell. It's a great product otherwise.
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Polishes -Catrice - 240 Sold Out For Ever
faune 9/24/2012 11:33:00 AM
The colour is a really pretty shade of green turquoise. It goes on fairly smoothly and as another reviewer noted, it is a bit watery and liquid but it is opaque enough that you have full coverage and bold colour with 2 coats. The liquid texture was the only thing that gave it away as a cheaper polish, wearing time was a good 4 days without chips when used with a top coat (despite lots of housekeeping and hand washing) . The packaging is nice and sleek, the brush was OK, it has a wider brush which is good but it's not wide enough to my taste because it doesn't quite allow to do one coat in one swipe like the Rimmel brushes. A good purchase, i would recommend this.
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Lip Gloss -Essence - Lip Gloss
faune 3/11/2012 3:18:00 PM
These are my favourite lip glosses, mainly because they aren't sticky and don't taste or smell horrible. The ones I have are a clear one and a shimmery beige one, I usually layer over lip pencil or lipstick if I'm looking for color, so I don't really need much pigmentation. I find they wear reasonably well and despite being cheap have a decent packaging. I will repurchase.
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Makeup Brushes -Catrice - Eyeliner Brush
faune 3/11/2012 3:04:00 PM
This is a neat little eyeliner brush, that has a small slanted brush on one side and a flat angled brush on the other. It cost 2.99€. I got this to try the slanted side as I tend to struggle a bit when applying liner, this has made it a lot easier. The angled side is good too. I'm rather happy with this.
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Primer/ Corrector -Catrice - Prime and Fine Smoothing Refiner
faune 3/11/2012 2:56:00 PM
This is my first experience with primer. I was tempted to try one but, I didn't feel like spending too much not knowing what to expect. This cost 4.99€ for 14g and looks similar to L'oreal and Bourjois primers at more than half the price. I have yet to be really dissapointed by Catrice so I decided to give this a try. This is light pink and "buttery" in consistency, it feels solid and melts on the skin as it warms up. It comes in a pot, some may find this a problem, I use a small plastic spatula rather than my fingers, (you could use a spoon too) to keep my pot clean. I find you don't need a huge amount to cover the whole face, a pea sized amount seems more than enough. It's easy to apply and feels, well, oily when you first put it on. I didn't notice a huge difference when applied on it's own so I use it under liquid foundation (Bourjois Healthy mix Serum). It does make your face a little smoother and gives a nice slip to the foundation as you apply it, I found it especially good at avoiding the tiny lines you sometimes get with foundation, it didn't make my pores disappear (which is good, it would have looked very unnatural otherwise) but gave my haphazard foundation application a flawless look (even up close) as well as a very slight "glow". I have combination skin, and this kept my face looking matt and my foundation looking good for longer. I found it boosted the coverage ever so slightly too. I don't regret this purchase at all.
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Cleansers -Avene - Cleanance soapless gel cleanser for oily skin
faune 2/21/2012 4:57:00 PM
I bought this instead of Cetaphil cleanser as it's actually cheaper here (8 euros). It's a nice, gentle foaming cleanser. It cleans well and rinses easily without leaving a filmy residue. It is scented but has not made my very sensitive skin react. I find you only need very little product so it will likely last a long time. I have combination skin and find it a bit drying for my dryer parts, but since I use moisturiser I don't suffer from it at all. I use this with Avene's triacneal treatment and am now blemish free.
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Skincare - Face -Ducray - Ictyane
faune 2/21/2012 4:29:00 PM
I have been suffering from dry and dehydrated skin during the winter months and had unknowingly aggravated it by using a cream that was very creamy and rich but not hydrating enough. After looking around I decided to try this. And I'm really very pleased about it! It's cheap and REALLY effective for dry skin, and it keeps it hydrated all day without being really greasy. Before using it, my skin had dry patches and I started to get exaggeratedly wrinkly when I laughed or smiled (deep dryness related wrinkles, I reminded myself of a sharpei everytime I smiled). After applying this (rather thickly I admit) and within an couple hours, my face replumped itself back to normal. It's non comedogenic and quick to absorb into the skin. Pros: -Cheap -Effective, it is easily absorbed and keeps very dry skin moisturised all day without being too greasy. -Non comedogenic -Ok under makeup Cons: -Packaging looks a bit dated. -Not super fond of the smell (a generic lotion smell.. I would prefer unscented) Overall I am very happy to have found this product, it's a fuss free, effective, reasonably priced moisturiser for dry skin. I will repurchase.
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Lotions/ Creams -The Body Shop - Chocomania Body Butter
faune 2/19/2012 5:29:00 PM
I bought a small travel size of this to try it out as I quite like the scent and am a big fan of body shop's body butters. The smell is pleasant: sweet and nutty (I think it smells a bit like chocolate cake!) and stays on the skin. I have very dry skin and this keeps it happy and itch free. I shower every day so I haven't gotten round to trying it's 48h claim. The texture is my favourite in that it is firm in the pot and it just melts on the skin, it's not as creamy as say, the cocoa butter body butter, it's more like how the brazil nut body butter was. I'm planning on getting a bigger size soon.
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Lotions/ Creams -Unlisted Brand - Inecto Pure Coconut Hand and Nailcreme
faune 2/19/2012 10:31:00 AM
I have tried many hand creams (nuxe, body shop, annick goutal, klorane, nivea and vaseline brand to name a few) and I find this one to be a hit, it's cheap, it sinks in well, doesn't leave a waxy residue and smells GREAT (I love caramely, vanilla gourmand smells mind you) without being too strong. I think the only thing I would improve would be a flip top cap rather than a screw on as it's just more convenient for hand cream. Other than that it's great!
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Styling Products -Unlisted Brand - Inecto - Moisture Miracle Glossing Spray
faune 2/19/2012 10:23:00 AM
LOVE LOVE this product! The composition is similarish to oleo relax by Kerastase but at a fraction of the price! The smell is gorgeous too (especially compared to oleo relax which I wasn't fond of) and has hints of caramel toffee and coconut. I recommend spraying this on your hands and going through the ends first as the spray is a little too strong otherwise. The product is great as a serum on wet hair as well as a glossing spray on dry hair. I think the negative reviews have more to do with the spray giving too much product than this product being especially bad. I think this is a great find and has definitely become an HG for me!
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Polishes -Catrice - 460 In The Bronx
faune 10/14/2011 3:15:00 PM
In The Bronx is a very pretty Bronze shimmer polish. I find it particularly pretty for fall and winter. It applies nicely, I typically use 2 coats for a good coverage. It doesn't chip too fast though I never tried it without a top coat. Catrice is fast becoming one of my favorite cheap thrill brand because their products are cheap, decent quality and nicely presented. They also usually have nice up do date colors. I remove one lippy because the quality isn't the absolute best out there, but given the price (2,5 euro) it is very good.
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Polishes -Catrice - 620 Captain Sparrow's Boat
faune 10/14/2011 2:54:00 PM
I fell in love with Chanel's Black Pearl and was looking for a good dupe and found this. It's a lovely black pearl color with slight green undertones (though they aren't visible in the picture). The packaging is, as usual with Catrice, rather nice and the polish itself is very good for the price (around 2,5 euros) it goes on smoothly, has good coverage after 2 coats and doesn't chip after a couple days, the brush is your average brush and the drying time is normal, though I use a fast drying top coat. As someone else pointed out in a different color review, Catrice's colors are very often dupes for Chanel and OPI polishes, they are well worth a look and often have a nice selection of fun colors. I removed a lippy because though fantastic for the price, there are definitely better quality polishes out there. I still think it's great and will most certainly purchase more.
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Concealers -Unlisted Brand - Une-Skin Glow Pencil
faune 10/14/2011 2:01:00 PM
I don't use this pencil as a concealer as I have a hard time getting it to conceal anything, I use it as a highlighting touch in the inner corner of my eye to make me look more awake. The texture is creamy and as a highlighting touch it's ok but it's just not great for covering anything.
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