The Catrice Makeup Transformer Drops are not a new phenomenon.
Many brands have their own offering of the concept. However, the Catrice Makeup Transformer Drops are the cheapest version I have come across as of yet on the market. That alone is exciting. Who doesn’t like a bargain? 🙂
If you are unfamiliar with the concept, they are basically a pigment you can add into a foundation to either lighten or darken the shade and customise if to your preferred colour. These drops come in 15ml tubes.
As a pale skinned gal. The Lightening Catrice Makeup Transformer Drops are definitely something that could enrich my foundation wearing life. Alot of the time the palest shade in a foundation range is still too dark for me. The Darkening Drops probably won’t get much use from me personally, but they are equally as important for warming up foundations for darker skinned beauties. Or, of course for fake tan wearing days 🙂
They have a light but creamy consistency that blends super easily with foundation. I was kind of worried about them changing how my foundation applies and lasts on the skin. But, after trying the lightening ones everyday for the past week or so, I can confidently say they don’t on me.
Here it is in action on my skin with a foundation that is a couple of shades too dark for me. Now I will say, some of the transformer products on the market come in white which would give more colour scope. The Catrice offering are more of a very light skin shade.
The Darkening Drops work in much the same way.
I would say add product and mix as you go. The first time I played with these I ended up wasting alot. They’re called drops for a reason, a little goes a long way 🙂
Catrice also say on the website you can use the drops for highlighting and contouring, which makes sense since they are pigmented and blendable, and of course the right kind of shades. Not something I have tried as of yet, but I definitely will at some stage.
Overall, I am a fan of the Catrice Makeup Transformer Drops. A variation of colours would be as always more beneficial to more skin tones. But, for the price point (€3.95), they are a great addition to your personal makeup collection. They are available in retailers now.
Brushes are a crucial part of any makeup lovers arsenal. I think we sometimes forget just how important they are. I know I do. I thought I would do a run down on some of my favourite makeup brushes right now.
The ones I reach for time and time again. I have accumulated alot of brushes over the years and do dip in and out of some of them. Or as I’m sure you can relate, become obsessed with one in particular and then just forget about it a month later. This makeup addict business is very fickle 🙂
This little grouping has been in constant use over the past few months. So much so I’ve really only been washing and using them… dare I say exclusively. They are all from pretty affordable brands too. I have notions of owning some more fancy brushes in my makeup future. I find it hard to splurge though when I know there are affordable brands out there making great tools for a great price point.
There is no real rhyme or reason to this list, but if you’re in the market for a specific brush for a particular use, you might find it helpful 🙂
Zoeva 102 Silk Finish:
This is my go to foundation brush when I’m not using a sponge. I use and like others, this is just my most picked up. I like that it’s quite tightly packed so it doesn’t splay when you’re buffing in product. The rounded shape makes it easy to get around the contours of your face. It’s also really soft and quick to wash too. It’s €14.50 from the Zoeva website here.
My next choice is in the same vein as the Silk Finish. This is like it’s little sister. The Zoeva 110 Face Shape.
It is pretty much the same brush just a third of the size. I saw Lisa Eldridge reach for this so much in her videos, I just had to have it. I adore it for buffing in concealer and cream contour. This is €13.50 here.
Next up is the Real Techniques Setting Brush:
This is quite a small tapered brush. I use it for setting product under the eyes or for when I want to apply a light powder contour. It also works really well for highlight too. The synthetic bristles are soft and moveable. So, it doesn’t apply too much product. I found it on the Feel Unique website here for €8.95.
The Zoeva 126 Luxe Cheek Finish brush has been the only blush brush I have used probably for about two years now.
It’s domed and is a mixture of natural and synthetic hair. It is super soft and allows you to build up product and buff it into the skin all at the same time. I love it. It is on the Zoeva website here for €17.50.
The Real Techniques Blush Brush is another favourite I’ve had for a while. This one is well loved.
It has rounded duo fiber bristles. They aren’t very tightly packed on top, so I love using this for bronzer. I think it’s a bit big to use as a blush brush. It applies powder product quite sheer, so you can build up as you go which is my personal preference. This is on the Boots website at the mo for €9.99 here which is great. It’s usually €14.99.
The Blank Canvas F28 is my go to for applying highlight.
There’s a bit of a domed brush theme going on here, I realise. They just seem to float my beauty boat. The F28 is small and fluffy. It’s a real hair brush, so is very soft. The bristles are long in comparison to the brush size, so it works great at blending highlight really well into the skin. This is currently €7.99 from the Blank Canvas website here.
My last face brush fave is another Real Techniques one. This is their Cheek Brush:
I use this for applying face powder. As someone with oily skin, I need to apply a good layer. I like using a smaller brush to make sure I am getting powder in to the places that really need it. Like the sides of my nose and my chin. This does a great job as I can be precise, but it doesn’t cake my face in product either. There’s a fine line 🙂 This was part of the Nic’s Picks Set, but I believe they do similar individually now.
The Inglot 31T is my go to for eyebrows whether I am using cream or powder:
It’s made of Taklon, so it can be used for either. It is really petite, slanted and narrow so you can be really precise with it. I’ve often used it for liner too and it washes out really well. It is €14 from Inglot in store or online here.
I have four eyeshadow brushes to end things with.
The Debs from Nima is the perfect goat haired blending brush:
It’s super soft and a little bigger than the OG Mac 217. I reach it for it more than the 217 generally because it covers more lid space and it blends out quicker as a result. It is €12 from the Nima website here.
Another Nima brush I use probably more is the Crease Blender from the 5 Piece Eye Detail Set:
It’s a natural hair brush. Great for blending out socket colours and I love it for applying washes of colour all over the lid too. The five piece set is €30 from the website here.
The Large Shader brush is another favourite of mine from the set.
I use this for the exact job it was created for. For applying base eyeshadow colours and for setting my eyeshadow primer too. Super soft and easy to use.
My final pick is the Zoeva 223 Petit Eye Blender:
It’s another Taklon brush, so great for creams. I use it to apply shadow on my lower lash line though. It’s quite dense but tapered at the top. So you can apply a good amount of product with it, blending it out as you go. A blown out lower lash line has been my go to look of late. The 223 is €10.50 from the Zoeva website here.
And there you have my favourite makeup brushes right at this moment in makeup time 🙂 Tell me, what are your favourites?
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I know it’s a tad early, but Christmas is only a few weeks away now. I am a big fan of Santy season, I’ll take any excuse to talk about it here on Beautynook 🙂 I haven’t done a Get Ready With Me style video in a while so, I thought I would start the season off with a Festive Makeup GRWM 🙂
I reckon I can call it festive makeup because I added some Christmas music over it and used a bit of sparkle.
I did speed the video up, but I edited very little of it out, so this is my makeup pretty much from start to finish, just 4 times as fast. I was going out that night so I did apply a fair bit of slap, but sure we’re all makeup lovers here, right? 🙂
Some of the main products I used were:
Dermalogica Hydra Blur Primer.
L’Oreal Infallible 24 HR Matte (full review here). Mixed with the L’Oreal True Match Foundation.
Anything I missed and you are curious about, just ask 🙂 As always, you can watch the video above by just clicking on it. Or head over to my YouTube channel here to watch my festive makeup get ready with me video there.
As always thanks for taking the time to click. I personally love watching these types of videos as well as making them myself.
https://i2.wp.com/beautynook.ie/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/maxresdefault-5.jpg?fit=1280%2C720&ssl=17201280Gemhttps://beautynook.ie/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Logo.pngGem2016-11-25 18:16:452016-11-25 18:21:45Festive Makeup Get Ready With Me
I am on my second bottle of the La Roche Posay Toleriane Ultra Eye Contour.
I picked this up after seeing Sinèad from The Beautiful Truth talking about it. And, I am so glad I did!
As you probably know because I always go on about it. My skin is predominately oily. However, I do suffer with dryness under my eyes. So, I was on the hunt for an eye cream that cleared it up as it can not only be uncomfortable. It can make applying makeup a pain in the bum too. I also didn’t want to spend a tonne of money on something, in case it didn’t do the job. I can say hand on heart the La Roche Posay Toleriane Ultra Eye Contour has ticked all of the eye cream boxes for me 🙂
It is specifically designed for sensitive eyes. And according to La Roche Posay here, it is ‘preservative-free, paraben-free, fragrance-free, alcohol-free, colorant-free, lanolin-free.’
It comes within a pump dispenser which I always find handy.
And the formula itself is in a separate airtight bag within the bottle.
This is supposed to keep the formula fresh. On a side note, the pump doesn’t dispense too much product. You can somewhat control the amount of cream you want. The pump has a spring mechanism. I don’t find myself rubbing excess cream into my hands after applying it 🙂
The formula is what I would describe as a creamy gel.
Even though it feels hydrating on the skin, it absorbs really quickly and doesn’t feel tacky or leave a film behind. I have been using it both morning and evening for the past few months and have found a significant reduction in the dryness under my eyes as a result. I use a probably a pea sized amount tapped out around each eye.
Overall, I am a big fan of the La Roche Posay Toleriane Ultra Eye Contour. To be fair I would have to be to repurchase it. I can be a bit flaky when it comes to my beauty products (no pun intended 🙂 ) I think it is a really good price too. I got mine in a local pharmacy for €14. You can pick it up from Boots in store or online here too.
I am a big Pixiwoo fan as well as being a Real Techiniques fan. If you didn’t know Real Techniques stems from sisters Sam and Nic Chapman. They are both professional makeup artist, youtubers, authors and creators of Real Techniques.
I have alot of Real Techniques brushes in my collection and am a big fan of their Miracle Complexion sponge. This year they have expanded their makeup sponge range. I want to talk about one of them in this post, the Miracle Sculpting Sponge.
I bought the Miracle Sculpting Sponge after seeing Sharon Farrell talking about it and using it on her Youtube channel (which I will link here). You should totally check her out 🙂
It’s a funny looking sponge I know. I think it’s shaped a bit like a pointy snowman myself 🙂
It is described as having six surfaces, so you can use it to apply and blend contour, highlight as well as foundation, concealer and powder. They can say you can use it wet or dry too. I, so far have only used it wet. Here is the comparison in size between wet and dry.
In Gemma terms. I love this sponge. It is really soft and squidgy and it’s latex free. When wet, it expands so it covers more surface area. It also doesn’t soak up all your products and blends liquids in super easy. The shape does take a minute to get used too in your hand. I use it for applying foundation, concealer, cream contour and bronzer. But, I also really love using it for applying my setting powder. I am going through a bit of under eye baking faze and this sponge really works a treat for it because you you can get right in under the eyes using the small, flat pointed end.
I do like that it has a different sized em…ends. I use the big flat end for foundation then the more rounded end on the opposite side for cream concealer. But, when it comes to deep cleaning it can cause a bit of a problem. Mine was ruined by scrubbing it too hard and the skinnier neck part of it split. I didn’t have it very long when it happened which is annoying, so it’s just something to note. Don’t be too heavy handed with it. Although saying that, I am still using it damaged and it is working grand for me.
Overall, I am a big fan of the Real Techniques Miracle Sculpting Sponge.
For me, it wins over the Miracle Complexion Sponge, not because of the shape but because it’s softer and feels nicer (dare I say more bouncier) on the skin :).
You can buy them from Boots in store or online here and Cloud10Beauty here. They retail for between €7 and €8 depending on where you buy.
