Catrice Instant Awake Concealer 005 Neutral Light

catrice concealer

Catrice Instant Awake Concealer 005 Neutral Light

Admin   February 20, 2020   Comment  

I never truly got along with Catrice's popular Liquid Coverage concealer, I find there are better formulas for the price (Essence's Camouflage + Healthy for one), but this concealer by Catrice is more up my alley. It's a similar type as my beloved Maybelline's the Eraser Eye, not just because of the packaging, but also in terms of texture and effect. 

Texture: it's very similar to Maybelline's the Eraser Eye, meaning it has a light formula that looks very natural for a concealer. It's a formula best suited for under the eyes, though due to the liquid, blendable texture it creases and needs some powder to set it in place.

Coverage and finish: Coverage is only a medium, but I always preferred the natural look to more coverage and potential cakeyness (like I experience at L'Oreal's Infallible concealer). There's nothing worse for me than a cakey, obvious texture and with this you get an a lot more seamless blending into a foundation under it or just on the skin. Finish is satin/natural skin texture.

Staying power: It can't compare to full coverage concealers such as The Saem, Collection Lasting Finish or L'Oreal's Infallible, but with some powder staying power is extended by a lot.

Shade: 005 Neutral Light is the second shade in the range of five. It's a passable match for me, especially since the formula has only a medium coverage. 

Packaging: This could be great if the sponge applicator were not empty. Now it feels flimsy and you can't use it for blending like the more firm Maybelline's one, unless it's almost without product. But it's not a big minus, it's just one for me, you can just blend with anything else like pretty much any other concealer. The much bigger issue is the quantity you get. It's only 1.8 ml, which is so much less than most concealers (it's about 1/4 of what you get at Maybelline). I had Bourjois 123 CC Eye concealer which is amazing, but you get a similar amount and it didn't last long. Here you also have a sponge which is bound to absorb extra product. 

Price and availability: It costs 5.09 € in drugstores.

As far as formula and performance is concerned this is a great concealer in my books - it looks natural and covers enough. However, it's just not a great deal when it comes to quantity for the price and you get a lot more if you buy Maybelline's, which has a better packaging too.

Have a great day!

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Oriflame OnColour Collection

concealer eyeliner foundation lipstick mascara Nail polish Oriflame

Oriflame OnColour Collection

Admin   August 08, 2019   Comment  

Oriflame launched a new or renewed collection of makeup products that they described as an explosion of colours. I think this is the successor of the Colourbox line, but I'm not sure whether that one was discontinued or not. In any case it's the same price range and consists of trendy shades. I usually do individual reviews, but not this time, so it's going to be a long post.

 Power Up Foundation

Texture: It's a light and creamy formula similar to tinted moisturisers. It's easy to apply and blend with any method.

Coverage and finish: The foundation has a light coverage and it doesn't look well covered in person, but for some reason it looks very good on camera. Finish is dewy-shiny, so powder will be a must for most people and I don't think this is the best foundation for oily or combination skin. Overall it's not very impressive other that the fact it looks very natural on the skin and you can't tell you're wearing makeup apart from the shine that can be mistaken for a moisturizer.

Shades: This foundation comes in 4 shades and I got 2, 38805 Light Porcelain and 38807 Natural Beige, the first is the lightest is the range. Both shades are way too dark for me and I have to use lightening drops to use them, which is disappointing because their Giordani Gold MasterCreation in Rose Cool Porcelain is a good match for me and I expected Oriflame has light shades across their foundation ranges.

Staying power: I have never experienced a makeup meltdown like I did with Oriflame. This foundation never sets and the rest of the makeup was just smudging during the day, which doesn't happen on my normal-dry skin.

Packaging: These come in regular tubes with a screw lid.

Price: Regular price is 9.90 €, but Oriflame often has discounts.

Perfecting Concealer Stick

Texture: This formula is surprisingly not that hard, waxy stuff that put me off such formulas years ago, but it is summer, so maybe this has an effect. It glides with ease on the skin, but it's not a soft creamy formula that I experienced at Makeup Revolution Fast Base Stick.

Coverage and finish: It's hasn't got a lot of coverage as it doesn't have the best pigmentation and you have to build it up. Maybe that's what's saving it from looking heavy and cakey, but the level of coverage doesn't go above medium and my dark circles tend to peak though this formula. 

Shades: This comes in only two shades, 39914 Natural Beige and 39913 Light Ivory, both are light, so not a lot will find a match here. Unlike the foundation the lightest shade fits me, but the other one isn't that much darker either. 

Staying power: Like I said at foundation, there a meltdown happening at this entire line. Everything is so smudgy, but this concealer tends to last longest.

Packaging: A classic wind up lip balm tube, cheaply made, but it holds.

Price: Regular price is 6.50 €.

Power Face Powder

Texture and finish: This feels finely milled and doesn't look dusty/powdery on the skin no matter how much I apply it. I got the shade 38801 Medium Beige, which is the darkest of the two (other is Light Porcelain), but it is transparent anyway. Since the foundation is so dewy and moisturising, I hoped this would set the makeup, but it did not prevent the meltdown and smudging. I don't use powders in my regular routine and definitely not mattifying ones, so I'm not the best judge or these products, but I was not impressed with this. I tried a brush and a sponge, but nothing worked as I expected. On the plus side it didn't look cakey or did it start to flake my foundation like powders tend to do on me.

Packaging is fairly small and you can a puff with it which isn't the best quality. I also miss a mirror, it's almost a must at powders.

Price: 9.90 €

Big Lash Mascara

Brush: It's got a classic defining plastic brush with two lengths of bristles and it defines ok, though it could fan out the lashes better.

Formula and effect: It's not the best volumising mascara and it's better at just adding a bit of length, but it's nothing impressive. Due to being a regular formula it also doesn't hold my lashes up, so I'm not a fan of this one. It's just average and I prefer their The One Eyes Wide Open & Awake mascara even though that one also doesn't hold the lashes. 

Price: Regular price is 7.90 €.

Perfect Duo Pencil

Texture: A majority of shades is quite hard, though they transfer, you just have to go over the line a few times. The deep brown shade is by far the best performing, soft and most pigmented. They transfer to the waterline, but you have to go over the line several times. It's hard to get used to this quality after using Maybelline's Tattoo for a few months.

Shades: 5 shades of these are available and I got three combinations:

- 36088 Mocha & Rosegold which is a dark brown and light brown-gold-ish combination

- 36089 Blue & Sapphire, a medium blue and dark blue combination

- 36090 Green & Turquoise, a mossy green and turquoise that leans more to blue combination

Staying power: Honestly, these are the most infuriating product in the selection. A few seconds after I apply them on my upper eyelid they transfer to my crease, I deliberately didn't want to clean it up for the pictures because doing that is futile with these as they immediately transfer again. Even with a ton of powder under it, I get the same result and my eyelids aren't at all oily. They perform much better in the waterline and surprisingly don't last only an hour, so if you're getting these, stick to the waterline.

Price: Regular price is 6.50 €.

Creamy Lipstick

Texture: These are run-of the-mill regular creamy lipstick with a shiny finish and semi-opaque to full pigmentation. They glide with ease on the lips and feels almost like a lip balm, so they are great for those with dry lips, just get a light shade because they can get messy and need frequent reapplication. 

Shades: There are 20 shades in this range. 

38742 Blush Nude 

Shade Blush Nude is gorgeous, it's a lovely nude and it's a shame about the staying power, but it's actually very similar to Oriflame's The One lipstick in Pink Flair which is better quality.

38775 Clover Lilac

Clover Lilac a medium violet. Depending on your skin tone, it might look more pink than on me.

38750 Deep Red 

Deep Red is a classic burgundy and a messy one at that. After eating I ended up with lipstick on my nose and I still don't know how exactly that happened. Stick with the light shades at this formula and go for the The One Colour Stylist for the dark ones.

Staying power is their weakness, especially at the lightest shade which is gone in an hour, but ever Deep Red is not that much more impressive. I got about three or four hours with Deep Red, but it wasn't in the best state. 

Packaging is cheap, but it works and the cap holds. 

Regular price is 6.50 €.

Nail Polish

Formula: These are the best products in the OnColour line and so lovely to use. They don't state they are gel nail polishes, regardless they behave similarly and they are very smooth to apply. One coat is enough, even at the darkest Deep Plum shade and I don't think I have any such shades that wouldn't be sheer with the first coat. 

Shades: 
- 38983 Soft Pink is a pink coral with a cream finish. It's very likely it will look more pink on darker skin tones.
- 38992 Deep PlumDeep plum is pretty much black and it's hard to see that violet jelly-ness or a violet reflection, especially since it's so quickly fully opaque.
- 38996 Silver Black is a graphite grey with silver frost.

You already know that asking me how well nail polishes lash is futile because everything lasts well on me, but Lana from Lana Talks gave this formula a thumbs up, so I think this is a formula worth trying. She swatched shade Cloud Blue.

20 shades in total exist, 5 are special shimmery shades.

Regular price is 6.50 € for 5 ml.

Have a great day!

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L'Oréal Infallible More than Concealer

concealer L'Oreal

L'Oréal Infallible More than Concealer

Admin   July 21, 2019   Comment  

We never had much of L'Oreal concealers here, at least in the drugstores I visit most often, so this immediately caught my attention when I saw it on the stand. I'm always hoping for a liquid formula that would be similar to Bourjois Radiance Reveal or Maybelline the Eraser in a pale enough shade (by the way I just found it! It's the new Maybelline Eraser shade 00 Ivory), but this is another one in a long line of full coverage formulas just like five similar concealers I have. This is the concealer with the highest coverage I know in our drugstores.

Texture and coverage: Formula is the thickest concealer I've tried and I think it's also one most high-covering one, sharing its place with the Saem which doesn't come in such pale shades as L'Oreal's. Compared to other similar concealers, including Saem, it's harder to blend, though it's got its good days and bad days, as on some days it looks very heavy and on some days it looks ok. I haven't made the connection what influences the application as I've always used the same skin care under it and foundation choice also wasn't the cause. It likes to crease under the eyes and definitely emphasises lines, so it's not my favourite formula, however, it covers a lot. Finish is satin matte. This is formula best used for covering small imperfections like spots, while for larger areas I prefer Look by Bipa and Essence Camouflage + Glow, though they have slightly less coverage.

I just applied it in the triangle under the eyes and nose. You can see where the application ends and the slight piling at the top edge of the cheeks, which is another occasional problem with this formula.

I took the before-after pictures twice, the second time without the extra L'Oreal makeup I was testing at the same time. I think it's obvious here how heavy this can look and emphasises the texture of the skin, but like I said, this has its good and bad days.

Staying power: As is usual for such concealers, it manages to lasts well on the skin and actually it manages to look better after application, less obvious, it's just that it worsens the look of the lines that's the problem.

Shade: I got the shade 326 Vanilla, which based on the numbers might not even be lightest in the range, but it's very surprisingly light enough for me. In fact it's one of the lightest ones I have (beaten only by the Eraser 00 Ivory and Nars Chantilly, none pictured above because I just one The Eraser and Nars' is empty) and the lightest with a yellow undertone, which isn't my perfect fit, but it blends in because my skin tone is neutral.

Packaging: The applicator is huge, similar to the applicator on Deborah Extra Cover foundation and I was excited to try it, but I'm not loving it. The product collects on the tip, so you don't have the benefits of a large applicator, which actually doesn't bother me, but it's very hard to use it for more precise concealing.

Price and availability: It costs 10.99 €. I think DM has the largest selection of shades, since I've seen 4 or 5 colours, while I've only seen two colours in Müller.  

More than Concealer is not my favourite because it's quite a thick and heavy formula even compared to its competition, but it does cover a lot, which will be a big plus for some and I have to give praise to L'Oreal for having such a pale shade (and actually selling it here). I don't need a lot of coverage and I resent it makes my lines look so much worse, so I'd pick Essence's high coverage formula over this one from the selection in our drugstores, but that's just my choice. 

Have a great day!

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