Catrice Gel Eyeliner Brush Review

Hello there! 

Am I the only one who hates using the brushes that come with the lids of liquid eyeliners? I have very curly lashes on the outer corners of my eyes and find that the brush always deposits a whack-load of product onto my lashes, which I absolutely can not stand! So I though it would be a good idea to pick up an eyeliner brush that won't sit the little liner bottles all day and have excess product all over it.

Seeing as it's really affordable and I'd never tried a Catrice brush before, I picked up their Gel Eyeliner Brush.

This is a double ended brush with an angled side and really fine side. I've tested it out quite well now and I'm really impressed with it! I like the fine side for liquid and gel liners, as it's really precise, while I enjoy using the angled side for using eye shadows and subtle, smokey liner. The angled side would also be amazing for filling in eyebrows.

This is a fabulous purchase and great value for money that I think everyone should have their brush collection!

Please let me know in the comments below if you have any brush recommendations for me! I'd love to give some others a try :)

Until next time xx

Quick and Easy Out-the-door Face

Well, hello there! Today I thought I'd share my favourite super-easy, polished yet minimal look with you. I stumbled across this combination of products over the passed few weeks while I was writing exams. I needed something really easy and fast to put together, but I still wanted to look like I'd made some effort. Ya know what I mean?

After moisturising my skin, I took some of Catrice's Re-touch Light-reflectiong Concealer in 020 Light Beige and applied it to any spots (which were quite numerous) and under my eyes to hide my exam-time darkness, and blended it in with my fingers. I chose this particular colour becuase I wasn't looking to highlight, just to conceal, and the Light Beige is very close to my skin tone.

This is going to sound a little strange, but I then used the Ralo Professional Eyeliner Pen to fill in my eyebrows. If you remember my Mini Ralo Haul, you'll know that I found this eyeliner really sheer and not as black as I would have wanted, but this makes is great for filling in the little gap in my less-full brow. Besides for the little gap, I really don't have to do anything to my super-bushy brows.

Next I used the Catrice Made to Stay Inside Eye Highlighter Pen in the colour 010 In the Mood for Nude. I applied this in the lower waterline to make me look more awake and bright-eyed.

I then used Ralo's Brilliant Lash Mascara, which I think is just fabulous. I sometimes spent the whole day at university with exams, so I wanted a mascara that would hold a curl all day and not smudge under my eyes, and this one did the job really well. I'm sure any waterproof mascara would work well too.

And lastly, I just went for a bit of Dischem's Aloe Vera Lipbalm.

This look takes me about 5 minutes to put together and I really think it's a good one for when you're in a rush.

Let me know if you decide to try this look, or what your quick and easy staples are!

Until next time xx

Ralo BB Cream Review

Hi Sparklers!

So seeing as I've had it for a while now and feel like I've given it a good go, I think it's high-time I reviewed Ralo's BB Cream (which I talked about in THIS haul). This product claims to be all-in-one perfection, containing primer, foundation and concealer, to moisturise while having a non-oily, silky matte finish, and it contains sunscreen.

I really want to like this BB cream, but I just can't. Yes, it does leave a beautiful, light-weight, silky matte finish, it has great coverage and it doesn't budge all day. I wore it to the Mothers' Day Concert at the Zoo, which was really hot for May, and it lasted through a whole afternoon of sweating in the sun. But every 4 out of 5 times that I wear it, I end up with little bumps (the non-whitehead variety) on my skin, usually on my forehead or along my jaw-line. I already have fairly acne-prone skin, so I seriously do not want anything to make it worse. And these little bumps take ages until they go away. I think maybe it's the sunscreen that annoys my skin, because I've never had a problem with Ralo's foundations/face products before.

Anyway, so if you have sensitive, irritable, or moody skin, give this one a pass.

Until next time xx

Nail Polish Love

Aloha! I picked up a new nail polish the other day! That's saying quite a lot for me. Although I love wearing nail polish, I don't tend to wear it very often as I'm usually busy freaking out about something or other. Anyway, so when I do wear nail polish, I usually just choose a colour from my little stash at home. We know I'm a sucker for pretty much anything from Catrice, and I'd been spying the Ultimate Nail Lacquer in the colour 46 Berry Potter and Plumbledore (chuckles! Catrice products always have such cute names!).

Isn't it just the prettiest colour?! I'd describe it as a purply-berry with a duochrome blue shimmer (although the blue doesn't pick up so well on camera). The brush is quite thick, which makes it really easy to get an even layer all over the nail. I applied one coat on my nails and I'm happy with the opacity of the shade. If you want to give this one a go, I got mine for R44.95 at Dischem.

Unitil next time xx