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22 December 2016

One Last Post for 2016: Merry Christmas!

I was planning on writing a couple of blog posts before leaving on holiday but never got round to it. Fast forward to a week into my holiday and I've only just realised this, oops. The husband and I are in Cape Town for Christmas and we're currently at my mom's house. The Christmas tree is finally up, all my presents are wrapped, Christmas carols are blasting through the speakers, and the smell of a braaivleis (barbecue) fire fills the air. I've also had the pleasure of seeing a few close relatives whom I haven't seen since last Christmas, due to the PhD, and I can say that it does my soul good.


The blog has slowly been gaining momentum during the last few months of 2016 as I've finished up my thesis and settled into my permanent job and our new house (which wasn't without drama, as most of you know). I have a few things planned for 2017 and I hope that you will return to the blog after the holidays to take a look at what I'm up to.

I'd like to wish all my subscribers and readers a very merry Christmas and a prosperous new year. I know for a lot of people 2016 has been a terrible year and I wish you all just the very best for the coming year. Please stay safe on the roads if you're travelling, and enjoy your holiday. Goodness knows, we've earned it this year!

Until next year!

Hildegarde

xoxo


08 December 2016

New In: Catrice Contourious Collection

The newest limited edition collection from Catrice is simply stunning. Everything is based around contouring and accentuating your best features. There are quite a few goodies in the range but today I'll show you what I picked up. This is about half of the available range, maybe a bit less. For the full range, go take a look here.



Sculpting Powder Palette in "C01 Pale Perfectionist"



This palette contains a contour shade (cool-toned brown), a blush (dusty pink), and a highlighter (pale gold). I haven't used the contour shade that much, but I do think that it's a good shade for me (hence choosing the lighter of the two palettes). The blush is a summery pink and really brightens up the complexion. The highlighter is pretty, but not quite as pigmented as some of their other highlighters. You really have to work the brush around in there, you can't just lightly "swish" across the top. If you're looking for major impact you'll need a slightly stiffer brush, but if you're scared of looking too glowy, then this will be a good start for you.

Strobing Duo Highlighter





Although the strobing highlighter is extremely pretty, I'm not entirely sure why it's there. I mean, isn't it just a highlighter? The top part of the compact is lighter than the middle, and the bottom part is more pinky than the middle. Again, I do not know why that is. I do know that it makes for a stunning highlight on the cheekbones without looking like a disco ball. As you can see it comes across a very pretty gold when swishing a brush through the compact.

Highlighting stick in "C01 Gentle Glow"








Ah, this little stick immediately drew my attention. It's a twist-up stick highlighter but it's so creamy and smooth. It's not patchy at all and leaves the most gorgeous creamy shade on your skin. It's difficult to say what the exact colour is, because to me it's somewhere between gold and silver. It contains shimmer but luckily it doesn't spread around your face. In the above photo, from left to right: highlighter stick, strobing highlighter, highlighter palette.

There is a very special reason why I bought this... Some of you will remember the Topshop Glow Sticks from way back when they still stocked their makeup shelves. I have it in the shade "Play up" (you can read about it here). As you can see, the packaging is about 99% the same: the two sticks are even the same size!





The main differences, however, are the price, texture, and the colour. The Topshop stick cost R169 two years ago, while the Catrice one is less than R100. The Catrice stick is much more creamy, but the Topshop one might be a bit close to its end-date. Both colours are stunning, though. The Topshop stick is more golden, where the Catrice stick is more white and silver.

Lip Contour & Colour in "C01 Nude"




This has to be one of my favourite products in this collection. The one end of the product is a pointed crayon that is very creamy and goes on matt. I use that to line my lips and fill them in. The other half of the product is a doe foot applicator dipped in a liquid lipstick/gloss type consistency. I apply the liquid lipstick/gloss over the pencil and it looks stunning. I am completely besotted with this! In the above photo you can see from top to bottom: just the crayon, just the gloss, the gloss applied on top of the crayon. I raved about it here previously. Since posting my November favourites I went back and bought the other lip shade. The shade "C02 Rosewood" is a more pinky version of this, and although stunning, I still prefer the nude shade. It wears incredibly well and I am quite frankly devastated that this is limited edition...

And that was the Catrice Contourious collection in a nutshell! Have you bought anything from the collection? Let me know!

Until next time!

Hildegarde
xoxo

05 December 2016

Monthly Favourites: November

I don't know about you, but 2016 has kicked my butt! It's been a long year filled with hard work and late nights, not to mention all the horrible and weird things that has happened in local and world news! Somehow, though, we've made it to the end of November...



The only skincare favourite this month is the REN Resurfacing AHA Concentrate. I apply a few drops of this to my skin at night: after cleansing and toning, and before my serum. The water-consistency penetrates my skin immediately and there is no stinging. The next morning my skin is smooth and clear, definitely a winner! You can read about my nighttime skincare routine here.

Next up is makeup, and quite a lot of it! I've spoken about the Catrice HD Liquid Coverage foundation in "030 Sand Beige" here, and I've been loving it this past month. I can see myself using this for the entire summer, to be honest. The Wet N Wild Eyeshadow Primer has surpassed all my other eyeshadow primers - I now exclusively use this. It comes out as a pale cream and it creates a smooth, almost siliconey, base. Anything applied on top of this does. not. move. Drugstore eyeshadows, higher end eyeshadows, metallic foils, everything stays put for a full eight hours (sometimes longer). And when I say "stays put", I mean there is zero creasing. It's incredible and if you suffer from oily eyelids like I do, don't walk, run and go buy it. I can't remember the exact price of this, but, being Wet N Wild I know that it was less than R100. The tube is also 10 ml, so it will last a long time.

Another drugstore find is the newly released NYX HD Finishing Powder in the shade "Banana". I have been stalking Clicks's online store for weeks, but it keeps on being out of stock. Luckily I found it at the newly opened gigantic NYX counter at Menlyn. It's quite a recent addition to my makeup routine, but it's already secured its place as a favourite. The pale yellow powder is finely milled but it doesn't leave a white or grey cast on the skin, instead it brightens the under-eye area when used to set under-eye concealer. This compact will probably last me a lifetime as I currently only use it under my eyes. It was around R160 or R170 and Clicks currently has a 3-for-2 on all NYX products.

I spoke about the new essence Matt Matt Matt Lipglosses here and I've especially been loving the pink shade called "03 Girl of today". Another lip product that I've been besotted with the past few weeks is the limited edition Lip Contour & Colour from Catrice in the shade "C01 Nude". The one end features a matt pointed crayon to line (and overline) your lips with, and the other end features a doe foot applicator with a slightly glossy liquid lipstick/lipgloss. The colour is perfection and, even though it's glossy, it stays put for hours with moderate eating and drinking. I will be doing a post on the Catrice Contorious range this week, so stay tuned.

My last favourite for the month is a nail oil from essence. The Repairing Nail Oil comes in a teeny little bottle with a doe foot applicator and boasts argan oil as one of its ingredients. It smells delicious- like jelly sweets! I apply a little bit to each nail once or twice a day and I can really say that the state of my cuticles have improved. It's also cheap as chips and easy to throw into your handbag or keep on your desk (like I do).

What were your favourites for November? Let me know in the comment section.

Until next time!

Hildegarde
xoxo