Longlasting waterproof eye pencils by Catrice

I already wrote about Made to stay pencil by Catrice in February and that I was very pleased by its staying power in my waterline. Today I bring you review of its “relatives”, longlasting eye pencils in colour Black, Brown and Blue.

Price: 2,45€ in Austrian and 2,39€ in Slovakian DM drugstore.

Longlasting waterproof eye pencil by Catrice

Texture: all three pencils have very creamy texture to the point that if you press too hard the tip will break off. You have to be very careful when applying it otherwise you will unnecessarily quickly use it up. I recommend applying them with small angle brush especially when creating a wing. Although there is a sharpener at one end of the pencil I didn’t like using it, it was changing pencil’s shape in a bad way (due to its softness). If you want to smudge them, you can, you have some short time to do that before they set.

Longlasting waterproof eye pencil by Catrice in colours: 050 Brown town Girl, 110 Rendez-blue and 010 New Kids on the black

Colours: all three shades are very pigmented. The shades’ names were on their transparent packaging that I wisely threw away so I’m just guessing according to Catrice website that the colours are 010 New Kids on the black, 050 Brown town Girl and 110 Rendez-blue. Black colour is very intense which is important, blue is very vibrant which I don’t like using on its own, but painted over black liner it looks amazing: darker but still vibrant. Brown is nice alternative to black colour if it’s too intense for you, it has rather warmer undertone.

Longevity: once they set they last very long time. They stay well in waterline just like the Made to stay highlighter pencil that I mentioned previously.

Final verdict: for the price, pigmentation and longevity I think they are definitely a drugstore winner in pencil eyeliner department. Just be careful when applying them so you don’t waste too much...

Restructuring foundation by Peggy Sage

It may be too late to post this review since we are approaching warm weather but for those who constantly battle dry skin here is the foundation for you.

Price: 21,80€ in Hairdis store in Brussels, Belgium, according to Peggy Sage website the brand sells also in France and Switzerland.

Scent: it smells little bit like Nivea, it has this scent of basic creams. I don’t mind it at all.

Restructuring foundation by Peggy Sage

Texture and finish: it has creamy thick texture, similar to Nivea in white pot. It is ideal for dry skin, while regular foundations exaggerate dry spots this one actually gives the skin some relief and makes the dry looking complexion nicer. It has semi matt finish so it is not extremely glowy as one would think.

Colour: only 7 shades on offer. I had hard time finding my winter shade and ended up with Beige Noisette which is darker and more neutral tone than my skin.

Coverage: medium coverage, this foundation covers skin discoloration and some small imperfections.

Restructuring foundation by Peggy Sage in colour BEige Noisette

Longevity: on my dry skin it lasted all day long (and I didn’t powder). This foundation is great for mature skin as well as it gives healthy look to the skin. I think normal skin girls can use it too together with powder, for oily girls this foundation would be too greasy and heavy.

Final verdict: I absolutely love this foundation, especially for winter month. It hides my dry patches and makes my skin look nice. It’s a pity that the colour doesn’t match me right because this foundation doesn’t like to be mixed with other foundations. I will try to go back to the shop and see if they have any new lighter shades.

Makeup sponge by Ebelin, dupe for Beauty Blender?

There’s been lot of Beauty Blender dupes released past 3 years and all I’ve tried so far haven’t even come close to Beauty Blender. I stumbled across yet another dupe in DM drugstore, this time by Ebelin, so let’s see if it’s any good.

Price: you can buy Beauty Blender (BB) for 16,90€ from French Sephora, with 20% off seasonal sale, you can buy it for 13,52€. Makeup sponge by Ebelin costs 2,25€ in Austrian DM drugstore (in Slovakia the price is probably similar).

Makeup sponge by Ebelin and Beauty Blender

How it’s used: before the application you wet the sponge and squeeze extra water. The fact that it’s wet helps to keep the product you are applying on the sponge and not soaking in. The BB allows flawless application of any cream products such as primer, foundation, concealer, cream bronzer, blush or highlighter. Recently I’ve seen makeup artists using it with under eye powder as well, I tried it and it works nice. You can watch the instructional videos on the Beauty Blender website.

Texture:

Beauty blender: has unique texture, it is very soft sponge that doubles in size when wet. When used, it beautifully applies the product and softly bounces off your skin.

Makeup sponge by Ebelin: it has rather rubbery texture that is not soft to the touch as the BB. You cannot squeeze it completely to the point that you would feel your fingers through the material as it is in case of BB. When it’s wet it doubles its size just like BB but it doesn’t bounce softly so the experience is not as nice as with the BB.

Makeup sponge by Ebelin (right) and Beauty Blender (left) : both dry

Skin look after using each sponge:

Beauty blender: I use it for foundation and under eye concealer; it allows flawless application, taking away extra cream product if I apply too much of it. I also use it for under eye powder and it cancels powder-like look immediately.

Makeup sponge by Ebelin: surprisingly it works quite well; it gives flawless look to my foundation too. On the other hand since it is not possible to squeeze it very well, it is hard to use it for under eye concealer and powder.

Makeup sponge be Ebelin (right) and Beauty Blender (left) : both wet

Final verdict: this is probably the closest dupe to Beauty Blender if I’m not counting sponge by Real Techniques (it doesn’t try to be a BB dupe, but everybody compares it to it anyway). For the price and relatively good job, I think the sponge by Ebelin is a good alternative to expensive BB sponge. I will definitely use it but then I’ll go back to Beauty Blender. It is the best makeup sponge in the world.