Catrice Review

Catrice is a German brand whose purpose is to present affordable makeup without sacrificing quality. Their lines include all sorts of products, from nail polish to BB creams to lash treatments to basic makeup brushes, all with very sleek packaging. Their prices are also very affordable. We’ll be reviewing a few of their products to give you an idea of what this brand is really like.

Here we are reviewing Prime and Fine loose translucent powder, Color Infusion Long-lasting Lipstain in Meet Mrs Rosevelt, Ultimate Nail Lacquer in Meet Me in Coral Island and Salmon & Garfunkel, Ultimate Nudes in Cotton Candy at Eiffel Tower, and All round Concealer Palette. We also have two brushes, the Blush Brush and the Smoky Eyes Brush.

Translucent powder:

It is perfect! It is very finely milled and mattifies very well. It is just not supposed to be used with a heavy hand, because you’ll end up with white talcum powder-like areas on your face. It is great for setting concealer, BB cream, lipstick, and more generally anything with a dewy finish you don’t like. However, it is not suitable for women of color, as this powder can turn their complexion into this weird ashy tone.

Lipstain:

This felt-tip lipstain will deposit a subtle or not-so-subtle color on your lips, depending on which color you have chosen. The selection of colors are all beautiful. However, several things have bugged me. First, over a few months, the felt-tip dried and now makes application much harder. Second, this lipstain is extremely drying, and thus has to be used on top of hydrated lips, with a coat of lipbalm on top. Finally, The lipstain migrates to the cracks of your lips after a few hours, leaving you with a scary Halloween look instead of natural, tinted lips.

This lipstain can be used as an alternative to high end lipstains, if used properly: hydrated, non-flaky lips and regular lipbalm touch-ups.

Catrice also offers a liquid lipstain with a lipgloss wand applicator, which I’ve only tested at the stand and is of the same quality, but seems to solve the drying felt-tip problem.

Nail Polishes:

Catrice Nail Polishes offer a large selection and variety of colors and finishes: They have neon, pastels, glitters, shimmers and nudes. Not a fan of glitters and shimmers, I got a neon color, a pastel color and a nude.

The nail polishes come with a nice wide and rounded brush which eases application. The pastel color, Salmon and Garfunkel, has a label indicating it needs two coats, while the neon Meet Me at Coral Island does not. In reality, they both need two coats for an opaque finish.

The nude color is a beige sheer color and perfect as a top coat for a French manicure. It can also be used alone with two coats and adds a classy touch to any look.

They last up to 4 days chip-free.

Concealer Palette:

The palette contains 5 colors: a green corrector, 2 pink-based and 2 beiges. The big advantage of this palette is that it is very versatile: you can mix’n’match the colors till you get the perfect result. However, it is only available in a set of colors, which unfortunately, only suits paler complexions.

This palette is supposed to cater to all concealing needs: redness around the nose and to hide zits (green corrector), dark circles (pink based colors) and imperfections (beige colors). As you can see on the swatches, all of the colors are extremely creamy and aren’t light on the skin at all, which can result in a cakey look unless you apply layer by layer and blend really well until you get the look you wish for. The creaminess of the concealer makes them quite unsuitable for use around the eyes if you have oily lid. 

It does not come with an applicator or a brush. You can use this with your fingers or with a small concealer brush. I believe using your fingers for blending all over ( like it is called! ) is the perfect method to ensure the concealer really covers and settles over your skin and imperfections.

Brushes:

The brushes are made of synthetic hairs. Despite their cheap price being very affordable, they are of very high quality. The Blush Brush deposits just the right amount of color on the cheeks.

The Smoky Eyes Brush is a double-brush: at one end it is an angled brush, and the other end is a blending brush. The angled brush is larger than most angled brushes, and can be used for applying eyeshadow right above and below the upper and lower lashlines. It can also be used with gel eyeliner. The blending brush does blend, but sometimes overblends, taking a lot of color away. I’ve also used it as an eyeshadow applicator, since the hairs are very dense. So you have to use it with a very light hand, and again layering.

Catrice, like any brand, has its’ hits and misses. Overall, it is a very good brand with extremely high value for money. Their large selection of colors in lipsticks, concealers, and nail polishes has to be noted.

They also offer creative limited collections, which sadly come very late to Egypt.

Catrice is available in Sephora Toi, 1 2 3, and according to their Facebook page, Seif Pharmacies, Sett el Hosn, Nagi Center and various other pharmacies. 

This article has been written & swatched by Dina Achraf, and edited by Ayat Seif Elnasr

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