essence and Catrice have come out with a whole bunch of new products, and today I will share my thoughts with you. Aside from the new product updates to the permanent range, there is also a new Trend Edition from essence called The Little X-Mas Factory and a new limited edition collection from Catrice called Contourious.

So, obviously as soon as I saw these in store I bought everything I wanted, only to be sent some products to review a few days later. So, off I went to return the duplicates I had bought, only to come back from Dischem with new essence and Catrice products from the new limited edition collections!

Let’s start with the permanent product updates from essence and then Catrice. These are not all the new products, just the ones I have been sent/bought, there are way too many to list, so rather go check them out at Dischem or online at Takealot.

There are quite a few new *face product launches from essence, and I would highly recommend the Light up your Face Luminizer Palette, the Get Picture Ready Brightening Concealer and the Satin Touch Blush. The Concealer has a cushion applicator, and does a great job of brightening the under-eye area, but unfortunately there are only 2 shades available. I use it under my foundation to brighten the under-eye area, because it is way too light to use over. At first I was not super excited about the blush, but then I tried it, and loved it, the shade I have is Satin Coral and it gives a lovely flush to the cheeks. The highlighting palette has 3 shades, 2 are shimmery (gold and pearl) and 1 is a more matte highlighter, I think this palette is so versatile and can suit all skin tones, and for the price, why not treat yourself!

Next up are the *lip products. The BB Lipgloss in this shade is not a new product, but there is a new light peach shade that has been released. I like that this, as well as the Colour & Care Lipsticks give lips a generous tint of colour while protecting and moisturising. I only bought 2 of the Colour & Care Lipsticks but there are 6 shades to choose from, and some are more pigmented than others. The 2in1 lipstick & liners and matt matt matt lipglosses are amazing,.

There are some new *contouring eyeshadow sets, as well as a new *mascara which I love!!! It gives great volume without clumping, and I love that it has a bit of a dry formula. There are also *the metals eyeshadows, which are perfect for the festive season!

Lastly there are a whole bunch of new *nail colurs, and *nail toppers and *nail treatment polishes. My favourite is the mint green shade called ‘pretty cool life’. I am so glad I bought this hand cream, it is rich and moisturising without being greasy, and is a perfect handbag companion.

Before we move onto Catrice I thought it would be nice to do a little wrap up of all the products I bought, (even if I returned them once I received the press pack), for a glimpse into what I thought was worth my hard earned money. So, I bought the highlighting palette, 2 shades of the 2 in 1 lipstick & liner, 2 shades of the colour and care lipsticks, 2 shades of the matt matt matt lipgloss, 1 shade of the BB lipgloss and the hand cream. There is also meant to be a Strobing Highlighter, which I am yet to see.

Now for Catrice!

So, the Catrice press pack came a little later, so I had already photograped what I bought. I bought 3 of the new Lumiere Eyeshadows, the Healthy Look Mattifying Powder and of course the Deluxe Glow Highlighter. Unfortunately stock has been a bit low, so I couldn’t get my hands on the Matt 6hr Lip Artist in 20, Velvet Matt Lip Cream in 30 and HD Liquid Coverage Foundation yet, but I will definitely get them once they are stocked in Dischem. I already swatched all the testers, so I know the shades I want!

So, I then received a lovely package from *Catrice, with only two duplicates that I needed to return! The highlighter I obviously love. The mascara is really really nice, and in fact I haven’t found a Catrice mascara that I haven’t liked. I do find that this is a bit hard to remove, it is waterproof after all, but nothing my Neutrogena Hydro Boost Micellar Water can’t handle. The Eyematic Eye Powder Pen surprised me, it is so pigmented, non-messy and easy to use!

Now onto the Limited Editions!

The Catrice Contourious Limited Edition is amazing! It is all about highlighting, and slightly about contouring. Below are all the items I bought. I haven’t tried any of them yet, but the Highlighting Stick and Sculpting Powder Palette look really really impressive. There is also a Brow Shaper, Cream Contouring Palette and another lighter pinker shade of the Sculpting Powder Palette.

I also spotted The Little X-Mas Factory Trend Edition from essence, and obviously I needed to buy a few things. The concealer is meant to blur and conceal, and thankfully the shade suits me perfectly. I also bought the Contouring Palette, I just love the bow design and the Hand Cream which smells amazing and has a similiar feel to the hand cream I bought above! There is also a Fragrance, Nail Stickers, Nail Polish, Gold Liquid Liner, Lip Tint and an Eyeshadow Palette. The green and red nail polish shades are musts for the Festive Season.

See anything you NEED?

*Press Samples