New In: Catrice & Essence make up

Every few months German budgetproof make up brands Essence & Catrice renew their lines to keep it fresh and up to date. So when I was in the store the other day and found the displays had just been restocked I checked it out and went home with some eyeshadow and a blush. Read on to see what I bought, including swatches.

When I say these brands are budgetproof I mean budgetproof. I can’t remember the prices for the individual items, but I know the grand total was somewhere around 25 euros for all these items together. Catrice is a bit more expensive than Essence, with the most expensive item being the eyeshadow quad which retails for around €4.50. Catrice & Essence can be purchased in The Netherlands from Kruidvat and Trekpleister, but Essence is also available in some stores in the US and of course Germany. On to the products!

Eyeshadow quad in no. 080 Yellow Submagreen

These 4 eyeshadows immediately drew my attention in the display. My money is on the fact that it has a bright yellow eyeshadow. As you can see on the swatch the yellow isn’t that bright when swatched, but it is still nicely pigmented. When you use it however it makes for a great pop of color in an otherwise subdued eyelook. The other colors are great for creating a different take on a smokey eyelook. Especially the two colors on the right will work perfectly for that. I will post a Face of the Day with this product some time soon :-).

Single eyeshadow: 640 Don’t Touch my Mosserati, 560 I like to Mauve it, 100 Glamourose

Catrice does some amazing mono eyeshadow colors. Here you see two from the regular line and one from their Intensif’Eye Wet & Dry shadow line. The mossy green color immediately stood out, but I had to take two pictures to have it show up somewhat on camera: the one of the left without a flash, and the one of the right with flash. Can you see the gorgeous gold reflects in there? I’ve never seen a green shadow like that before. The mauve color has a bit of silver sheen to it, but you can really see that on the swatch:

From left to right: 640 Don’t Touch my Mosserati, 560 I like to Mauve it, 100 Glamourose

As you can see, all three eyeshadows are well pigmented. The first two are a bit grainy, but I honestly don’t notice it when I’m using them. Seeing them together like this I think the mauve and rose colors would go nicely together in a look.

Multicolour blush in 060 Strawberry Frappucino

This product is in no way a new color, but I had been eyeballing it for a while without purchasing it. I love how it’s a completely matte pink blush. As you can see on the swatch on the left (where all the colors have been blended together) it makes for a very subtle, barely there cheek color. And I can never have enough of those. The texture is powdery yet creamy. It is soft and easy to work with.

Essence 3D duo eyeshadow in 08 Irresistible Vanilla Latte, 09 Irresistible Chocolates and 06 Irresistible Mermaid Kiss

Quite possibly the piece the resistance of the new Essence collection are these 3D eyeshadows. I believe they retail for €1.90 a pop which is next to nothing. Especially considering that MAC released very similar looking products with their 2012 Christmas collection which cost at least 5x as much.

Swatches: 08 Irresistible Vanilla Latte, 09 Irresistible Chocolates and 06 Irresistible Mermaid Kiss

Again the pigmentation is great and especially the browns are very suitable for every day looks. The texture is good: the shadows go on nicely and blend well. I even think I may have found my new favorite brow highlight in the light cream colored shadow in Irresistible Vanilla Latte. The only bad thing I can think of here, is the fact that the sea green colors in Irresistible Mermaid Kiss are too similar to be able to use them in a look. However, combined with other colors these will work just fine.

Have you purchased any of the new Essence & Catrice products yet?