VIENNA.

PHOTOS & RECOMMENDATIONS. 

Hi! Something really different for you today... I recently went to Vienna and I thought it would be nice to try and shake things up a bit, so I wanted to write a post about my experience and also some recommendations of some things I enjoyed doing if you ever go. I don't really travel a lot, and especially the last few years I haven't been able to do much in the way of holidays so this was a long overdue mini break. I'm also just going to put some photos on here as well, as I took quite a few and it would be nice to have somewhere to display them together!

 (Me & my friend Marie on top of Stephen's Cathedral) 

So we went for 4 full days and 3 nights, which I'd say is a perfect amount of time, although I definitely could have stayed longer. We stayed in Pension City Hotel just off of Stephenplatz (St. Stephen's Square- the main square in the middle of Vienna with the cathedral.) The hotel was perfect, the location was amazing, it was reasonably priced and I can't praise the staff enough, they were welcoming, helpful and friendly. The Cathedral is pretty much the centre of the city, and everything we visited, with one exception, was well within walking distance. 

DAY 1
SIGMUND FREUD MUSEUM & EXPLORING THE CITY.

The first day we arrived and went straight to the hotel where we could left our luggage and headed straight back out. The main thing we did on the first day was visit the Sigmund Freud Museum. Me and my friend both really enjoyed this, especially because as a psychology student I've learned a lot about him already. Admission was €12,00 for adults and €7,50 for students (which Is what I paid). This also included an extensive audioguide which was available in several different languages. This takes about 1-2 hours depending on how thoroughly you listen and read everything, it definitely isn't the biggest of museums but there is plenty to see and hear. We also took a walk around  the city and then down to the river. 

 

DAY 2
SCHÖNBRUNN PALACE & TIERGARTEN (ZOO).

The second day we visited the Schönbrunn Palace, which also had a zoo in the grounds. This is the only day we had to use public transport, although it was very easy to understand. From where we were staying at Stephensplatz the easiest way to get there was the underground train. It was cheap, fast and easy to navigate- if you're going to go here I definitely recommend you take the train. The zoo and the palace are two separate activities although if you buy the 'Winter Pass' you can have access to both for €27.50, this includes full access of the zoo and a tour of the palace. Admission to the zoo is usually €18.50 itself so this is definitely value for money and includes the extended tour of the palace rather than the shortened tour which is also offered. This, again, is accompanied by an audioguide in a  range of languages. 

 

I'd definitely recommend a full day for this activity. On the day we went, we went to the zoo first and then into the palace. The palace shut at 5pm and we had only just finished our tour, we also didn't have time to fully walk round the gardens and grounds, although to get to the zoo you have to walk through the main grounds regardless (unless you're stupid like us and get lost). 

             

DAY 3

ST. STEPHEN'S CATHEDRAL & THE SOUND OF VIENNA.

On day 3 we spent most of the day exploring St. Stephen's Cathedral. We paid €13.90 for an all inclusive ticket which included access to the South Tower, where you could get a spectacular view of the entire city, The North Tower, a guided tour of the interior of the cathedral, a tour of the catacombs and a tour of the treasury. The tour of the cathedral itself came with yet another audioguide, and the tour of the catacombs was lead by a guide who spoke both English and German. The cathedral was absolutely amazing, both inside and out, and the tour of the catacombs was both interesting but also chilling. 

      

After exploring the cathedral we bought tickets to see a concert called 'The Sound of Vienna', which was advertised as a traditional Austrian music concert which showcased the best of Austrian music and culture, namely the music of Strauss & Mozart. We were slightly reluctant to buy tickets to this event as I wasn't really sure if it would be my thing but it was amazing. This was held at Kursalon Wien, again, a short walk from all the main attractions and landmarks. We were offered a reduced price of €31, down from the original €42 but it was well worth the money, it not only included music but singing and dancing. 

(A view of the whole of Vienna, taken from the top of St. Stephen's Cathedral) 

DAY 4 

CAKE & THE MUSEUM OF ART HISTORY.

After getting a cake breakfast, and trying traditional cakes including the famous Sachertorte, the final day we spent in the Museum of Art History. We didn't have the full day as we had to catch our flight home in the evening so we didn't want to go too far. We decided to head over to the Museum Quarter and visit the art museum. We had originally planned to visit the Vienna Natural History Museum but it is closed on Tuesdays (be aware of this if you want to go!). The Art Museum was great, we paid €15 entry, and could have paid another €4 for an audioguide, but we decided not to get these as everything was labelled and pretty self-explanatory. The museum was massive, and included exhibits on Roman and Egyptian art and sculptures. 

             

We spent about 3/3 and a half hours in the museum but definitely could have spent more time there if we'd looked at everything more thoroughly. The museum is over 3 floors with many different rooms on each floor, so if you're going to go here I'd recommend dedicating the whole day so you can see everything fully. 

 

Overall, we both had a really great time. The weather was cold, as we'd expected, but it was never unbearable, and if you just dress accordingly you'd be fine. Vienna is a great place for a mini-break, everyone we met there was welcoming and friendly, the city was easy to get around both by public transport and on foot and the city itself is beautiful, especially the architecture. I'd highly recommend it if you're looking for a short holiday not to one of the typical cities. 

I hoped you liked this, it's something slightly different and as I don't really travel much its nice to have somewhere to put photos and memories!

thanks for reading,

CATRIONA 

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DECEMBER FAVOURITES.

MY FAVOURITE PRODUCTS FROM THE PAST MONTH. 

Hi and Happy New Year! Again, I've got to start this post by apologising for my absence, it's a very busy time of year and uni work is killing me. But here I am, with my first post of 2017, my December favourites. I'm also thinking about doing another post with my top beauty products of 2016- although I'm worried this will be a bit samey, and most of the products will already be in previous favourite posts. 

I've also got quite a lot coming up in the next few months so I'll endeavour to get a post up every week as usual, even if they're slightly shorter than what I usually write (I'm aware some of my posts are quite long so I might shorten them but make them more frequent?). I'm also quite active on Instagram where I post mini reviews, photos of new products and a lot more makeup products than make it up onto here, so follow me on there if you're interested, username: catrionabathan. Or you can click the social media icons to the right!

• FUDGE: CLEAN BLONDE VIOLET TONING SHAMPOO

So, as I've said before, hair isn't my thing. I am both blessed and cursed with very long very thick hair which I never really wash or style. I (semi) recently went ombré blonde, I've never had my hair so light before, so I didn't know what to expect. One thing I've struggled he most with is having brassy, yellow tones in my hair which just don't look good, and I wasn't really aware of what a toner was, what they do or why I needed one? Thankfully my friends are less useless than I am and suggested I get a purple shampoo. I started with the £3.99 one from Bodycare and was pretty impressed with the results until I saw this on Beauty Bay. I am SO impressed with this product, it's amazing. It removes 100% of all the brassy tones and you only need to leave it on for a few minutes, there's been a few times where I've left mine on for too long and it's started to turn my hair an almost white/silver. It's so strong, smells great and doesn't leave my hair feeling dry. It's also only £10.75 and contains a really large amount of product. I use this once a week (which is all I wash my hair) and also shampoo my hair with a normal shampoo beforehand. Seriously, if you're blonde, you need this! I've also inserted a photo of my hair so you can see what colour mine is. 

[Fudge Clean Blonde Violet Toning Shampoo-£10.75, Beauty Bay UK]

• MARC JACOBS: RE(MARC)ABLE FOUNDATION

So, I have a new Holy Grail foundation (sorry Nars). I'm planning on doing an entire post on this product because I love it so much. I have never used such a full coverage foundation, especially one where you don't need to apply layers and layers to get the desired coverage. Yes, it is the most expensive foundation I own, but I could be using tonnes and tonnes of layers of foundations costing £20/30 or several drops of this one. It's incredible, I love it. The only issue is it's not too available here in the UK, I got mine from Sephora, although you can order it online from John Lewis, but you've got to colour match online (risky, but worth it). 

[Marc Jacobs Re(Marc)able Foundation- £37, www.johnlewis.com UK]

• JEFFREE STAR COSMETICS: DESIGNER BLOOD VELOUR LIQUID LIPSTICK 

Yes, another Jeffree Star Liquid Lip. I've already done a full post about these liquid lipsticks so again, I won't go into too much detail but I love the colour of this so much. I have Unicorn Blood too, and although I do like it I just didn't find it as dark as I wanted it to be. This is very dark and vampy, and the formula is amazing. He's also improved his packaging so they lock in place tighter. This shade is from his Christmas Holiday collection, which is still available and he's now realised the majority of his shades and products on Beauty Bay- for which I am very thankful. 

[Jeffree Star Velour Liquid Lipstick- Designer Blood-£16, Beauty Bay UK] 

• MILANI: CONCEAL AND PERFECT 2 IN 1 FOUNDATION AND CONCEALER

This is another foundation I've been really liking. The coverage isn't as full as the Marc Jacobs one, but it's also over 1/3 of the price. The coverage is still fantastic, I'd say it's comparable to the Nars sheer glow and the finish is similar too. Milani is a brand which I'm really getting into, their products are great and affordable. One criticism I've got is the shade selection. I got the shade 02- Natural but I can only wear it when I've got a decent layer of fake tan on. Since buying that shade they've added a few more on the Beauty Bay website including the lightest shade, but as with most drugstore/affordable foundations they don't cater to a large range of skin tones. 

[Milani Conceal And Perfeec 2 In 1 Foundation And Concealer-£11, Beauty Bay UK]

• NUME: SIGNATURE TOURMALINE IONIC HAIR DRYER

I haven't had a new hairdryer in about 7 years and I used to get so frustrated that it took around the same amount of time to dry my hair. My hair always looked frizzy and felt dry after using my old dryer, and it would always overheat and cut it. So long story short I decided to invest in a new one. This hairdryer is the same brand as the curling wand I mentioned in another favourites post. It's fantastic. It dries my hair a lot faster than my old one, it has more heat setting and speed settings. It also smooths my hair as it dries it and it doesn't make it feel dry and damaged. I've been trying to take better care of my hair in general, I finally invested in a heat-protectant and I've been using products such as Moroccan Oil and Coconut Oil on it. I really can tell a difference. I really recommend this hairdryer if your hair is long and thick like mine and drying it is a point of contention, I still hate washing and drying my hair but this has made it slightly more bearable. 

[NuMe Signature Tormaline Ionic Hair Dryer-£94.95, Beauty Bay UK]

What were your favourite products of last month? Is there any products you would recommend? 

thanks for reading, 

CATRIONA 

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MAKEUP LOOK: PINK SHIMMERY EYES WITH BLACK LINER AND NUDE LIPS.

PRODUCTS USED.

Hi! Firstly sorry for my absence. December is a very busy month, with uni work, working and Christmas I've found it difficult to find the time to sit down and write properly. That being said I have tried to use my Instagram to offer little reviews and favourite posts when I haven't had time to write a full post- I also offer a lot more makeup looks on there than I post on here so follow me for those. Instagram: catrionabathan. This post is about this pinky shimmery eye with nude lips and a black wing. I really like this look, it's semi-dramatic but also isn't too dark for day-time wear. 

FACE

• PRIMER: Bobbi Brown Vitamin Enriched Face Base & Maybelline Baby Skin Primer.
• FOUNDATION: NARS Sheer Glow Foundation [Shade: Punjab] 
• CONCEALER: L.A Girl Pro Conceal [Shade: Porcelain]
• POWDER: NYX Contour Palette [Shades: Soft Light & Bone] to set under eye area. Kat Von D Lock-It Setting Powder [Shade: Medium 53] & Coty Airspun Powder to bake nose, forehead and lower cheeks [Shade: Translucent]
• BRONZER: Physicians Formula Butter Bronzer [Shade: Light] 
• CONTOUR: Kat Von D Shade & Light Contour Palette [Shades: Sombre & Shadowplay]  
• BLUSH: Milani Baked Blush [Shade: Luminoso] 
• HIGHLIGHT: The Balm Mary-Lou Manizer
• SETTING SPRAY: Gerard Cosmetics Slay All Day Setting Spray [Lavender] 

BROWS

• Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow Pomade [Shade: Chocolate] 
• Rimmel Brow Pencil [Shade: Black Brown]
• L'Oreal Brow Artist Plumper [Shade: Medium/Dark] 

EYES

• EYE PRIMER: Kevyn Aucoin Sensual Skin Enhancer [Shade: SX01] set with Makeup Geek White Lies

• TRANSITION SHADES: 
• Anastasia Beverly Hills Modern Renaissance Palette: Love Letter
• Morphe 35P: Pink Shade
• OUTER CORNER: 
• Violet Voss Holy Grail Palette: Wine N Dine.  
• LOWER LASH LINE:
• Anastasia Beverly Hills Modern Renaissance Palette: Love Letter
• ON LID: Smashbox Shape Matters Palette Shimmer Pink Shade
• INNER CORNER & BROW BONE: 
• Violet Voss Holy Grail Palette: Crystal.  
• LIQUID EYELINER: Rimmel Glam Eyes [Shade: Black] & NYX Matte Liquid Liner [Shade: Black]
• WATERLINE EYELINER:  Zoeva Graphic Eyes [Shade: Black to Earth] 
• MASCARA: Max Factor Voluptuous False Lash Effect [Shade: Black] & Jordana Best Lash [Shade: Black]
• LASHES: Ardell Demi Wispies

LIPS

• LIQUID LIPSTICK: Jeffree Star Cosmetics Velour Liquid Lipstick [Shade: Celebrity Skin & I'm Nude on centre]

thanks for reading, 

CATRIONA 

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HUDA BEAUTY: TEXTURED SHADOWS PALETTE ROSE GOLD EDITION.

REVIEW & SWATCHES. 

Huda Beauty is one of the most influential beauty bloggers in the world. Her Instagram has nearly 16 million followers and from blogging and makeup artistry she's turned her hand to business. Her brand now produces eyelashes, liquid lipsticks and most recently this eyeshadow palette. This is the only Huda Beauty product I own, although I've heard very good things about every single other product, especially the eyelashes. 

I ordered this eyeshadow palette from Cult Beauty, a website here in the UK which stocks hard to get hold of brands. This product is also available from her actual website and other assorted retailers. On Cult Beauty this product was priced at £54 which was slightly more expensive than I'd anticipated although it does contain 18 shades, 6 foiled finishes, 1 shimmer and 11 matte shades. With a price of £54 and containing 18 shades this works out at £3 per pan. 

I absolutely love the look of this palette. I think it looks like a very well thought through cohesive palette with a lot of range of the looks you can create. The colours work very well together, there are enough light & dark colours, transition colours and groups of colours which work together to create a full look. This is often a big criticism of mine- that the shades don't work well together and that you cannot create a look from start to finish using only one palette. Additionally, the colours in this palette are totally up my street, they're mostly warm earthly tones but with a few pops of colours for more out-there looks. 

The packaging for this product is absolutely awful. After looking at several reviews I've seen that the packaging has been highly and widely criticised for being 'too cheap'- I completely agree. There is an outer cardboard sleeve with the iconic Huda Beauty eyes on the front but underneath this the same type of cardboard material. The clear section in the front of the palette is also made out of thin plastic. The whole thing just feels flimsy and un-luxurious (don't know if thats actually a word). For the price of this palette I just expected something sturdier and a bit more substantial. 

L->R: Dubai, Fling, 24K, Rose Gold, Trust Fund, Angelic.

L->R: #Blessed, Bossy, Flamingo, Shy, Bae, Moon Dust.

L->R: Black Truffle, Suede, Coco, Maneater, Henna, Sandalwood.

As for the actual products I just find this palette disappointing, and it totally pains me to say I because I had such high expectations (as did everyone). The matte shadows are nice but not amazing, I prefer the formula of ABH (Anastasia Beverly Hills) and MUG (Makeup Geek) shadows. I've also kind of found that they can tend to muddy up when they're applied and then blended together, although this could just be the way I apply them but I've seen others say this. As for the foiled shadows I find a lot of pros and cons about them. Huda Beauty recommends that they're applied with a finger and not a brush because of their foiled texture, and when I've used my finger they are amazing. They're different to other brands such as MUG foiled eyeshadows or shimmers in that they're very textured and coarse. In some respects this is good but only being able to apply them with a finger leaves a lot of problems. If you're doing any kind of precision work e.g. putting a shimmer on the lid or doing a cut crease, not being able to use a brush makes it very difficult to be at all precise and brushes do not pick up any product AT ALL so using a finger is really the only option. Additionally because these shimmer shades are so textured they are quite heavy on the lid. I've also had problems applying liner over these shadows, my  or my liner breaking up because of them. Don't get me wrong, these shadows are beautiful when used with a finger  (as you'll be able to see from the swatches) but they're difficult to work with and can be uncomfortable to wear. Again, this could be down to my eye shape and size, I don't have a lot of room to work with which definitely doesn't help! 

(I've included a picture of the pans after they've been used so you can see just how textured and chunky the shadows are.)

Overall I've just found this palette disappointing. £54 is a lot to pay for an eyeshadow palette, I feel I'd be a lot more forgiving if it was cheaper but raising the price also raises expectations. I will, of course, continue to use this palette, I hate being wasteful of makeup and I always try to use up a product even if it's not my favourite but I definitely wouldn't repurchase this product and, for the price, I don't think I'd recommend it. 

thanks for reading,

CATRIONA

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YOUTUBE MADE ME BUY IT.

PRODUCTS I'VE BOUGHT SOLELY BECAUSE OF YOUTUBE. 

Hi! Today I'm doing something slightly different, and I'm showing you products I've bought because of recommendations from YouTubers! I watch a lot of YouTube, it's a slight addiction, but I feel like its a good way to learn and find out about the latest products. Makeup and skin care is not 'one size fits all', so what works well for other people may not work for you, it's definitely important to remember that, and even though I haven't liked all of these products it's definitely taught me what I do like and what I'm personally looking for in certain products. I got this idea from YouTube (shock) from KathleenLights but it's a great idea and I had a lot of the same products as she did! A lot of the products in my previous posts were purchased because of YouTube so I've tried to look at things I haven't already mentioned because obviously the products I've already talked about I liked! 

• PHYSICIANS FORMULA: BUTTER BRONZER [LIGHT]

The first item is the Physicians Formula Butter Bronzer in the shade Light. I got this because of several YouTubers talking about it. This isn't a brand that I'd heard of outside YouTube and isn't very easily accessed in the UK. I love this product. It smells amazing and it's one of the most natural bronzers I own. I do like matte bronzers but this one is luminous and is the best at replicating natural sunlight. I got this from eBay and it's relatively cheap compared to high end brands, I'm assuming if this brand is sold in the country you're in it'll be ever cheaper. Depending on how tanned I am I like to layer this on top of a darker matte bronzer to add luminosity and and make it look (slightly) more natural. 

• ZOEVA: SMOKY PALETTE

I really like Zoeva as a brand, and until YouTube I hadn't really heard much about them. Zoeva make some of my favourite makeup brushes, they're amazing quality and very affordable. They also have a good range of makeup, mainly eye products. After seeing this palette on Jamie Genevieve's channel I decided to invest. As much as I like Zoeva as a brand I just don't love this product; I also have the Coco Blend palette which I feel similarly about. I just don't feel like the shadows blend or are as pigmented as other, similarly affordable, brands. Additionally, and this is totally my fault, I just don't really like cool toned colours on my eyes personally and this is quite a cool toned palette. Don't get me wrong, I feel this is a great starter palette and it's a very reasonable price, but I just don't find myself reaching for it that often. 

• LUSH COSMETICS: CUP O' COFFEE SCRUB

As with the last product, I first saw this on the channel of Jamie Genevieve. I always used to feel intimidated when I went into Lush because I had no idea what I was looking for, what my skin type was or what it needed. I love this product and I've repurchased it several times since I started using it. It's a reasonably coarse face and body scrub which is amazing for exfoliating. I personally hate coffee, and I hate the smell of coffee but I've just learned to get over it because I like this product so much. Of course that won't be a problem if you like the smell. I use this all over my body but particularly my face. The only thing I would say is that because it contains small granules they can tend to work their way up into the hairline. Because of that I only use it on days I wash my hair (which is only around once a week) so that you can properly get it out your hair. Additionally, because I don't use it that often it lasts me quite a long time, although Lush products do have very clear expiration dates.

• KAT VON D: SHADE & LIGHT CONTOUR PALETTE

I can't specifically remember which YouTuber I saw mention this product although it was probably ALL of them. I probably would've bought this product anyway because it's so popular. As you can probably tell from the photo I really like this product, although it's not my favourite contour palette out there. I don't get much use out of the two right hand colours because they're too dark for me but the other colours are great, especially the cooler toned contour colour. She's recently brought out a second contour palette with refillable pans which is amazing because my only criticism of this one you'd have to buy a whole new palette if you run out of one colour. 

• ILLAMASQUA: SKIN BASE FOUNDATION

Once again, I bought this product because of Jamie Genevieve. I had previously bought the other Illamasqua Rich Liquid foundation because of YouTube which I absolutely hated, I just couldn't get it to work with my skin at all, so I bought this one in the hope it would be better. I quite like this foundation, although my biggest problem was that I got the wrong shade which is totally my fault. Additionally I never felt like the foundation actually dried and set properly, it would always feel like it was transferring and sliding around which I obviously wasn't a fan of. I don't really use this foundation at all anymore, I feel like you can get better foundations for the same price, or cheaper.

• BECCA COSMETICS: JACLYN HILL CHAMPAGNE POP HIGHLIGHT

OBVIOUSLY, I got this product because of YouTube. Jaclyn Hill is one of the most successful YouTubers out there and she's collaborated with many cosmetics companies, most famously of course, with Becca Cosmetics. I do really like this product, although it works most effectively for me when I've got a bit of a tan. Because I'm quite pale naturally it isn't as evident on my skin on top of my paler foundations. I haven't actually hit pan on this product, I accidentally put my finger in it and ended up digging out loads of product, it's so sad. I'm glad I got this product and it's actually made me want more Becca highlighters. 

• MAKEUP FOREVER: ULTRA HD STICK FOUNDATION

This product I bought because of NikkieTutorials, who, most famously, introduced us all to the Nivea Post Shave Balm as a primer. This is the Makeup Forever Ultra HD Stick Foundation. I'd never tried a stick foundation before this so I wasn't sure to expect. My reservations with stick foundations are that they are hard to apply and don't blend very effectively. I've subsequently seen loads and loads of people swear by this product but I just cannot seem to get it to work for me. Every time I use it I feel like I'm dragging the product across my skin to try and blend it out and after all of that dragging there's barely any product left on my face. I've definitely had a problem with my skin seeming dry and products (particularly cream products) being difficult to blend out. I'm going to try and make more of an effort to rectify this with my skin, perhaps by prepping it differently, because I can't believe that this works for so many people and not for me!

• BEAUTY BLENDER: ORIGINAL BEAUTY BLENDER 

I can't even believe I didn't use a Beauty Blender for ages, now I can't live without them. I used to apply my foundation with a big kabuki brush but it always used to leave brush marks all over my face and foundation. I've never been unhappy with the finish of my foundation when using a Beauty Blender, and it's amazing for blending out concealer, under eye concealer and cream highlight/contour. I personally wash my Beauty Blender every time I use it, mainly because I find that it soaks a lot of product in which then makes it not blend out as nicely when it's dirty. I've tried the Real Techniques sponge but I just don't like that one as much, it's a bit too big and firm. 

• NUME: CURLING WAND

The final item is a curling wand! I've tried so many curling wands that just haven't worked for me. My hair is particularly difficult to curl because it's long and very very thick, so usually the curls just drop out. Also now that my hair is blonde on the ends it holds curls a lot easier- this is the only curling wand I've used that's ever been able to create curls that hold. This wand came with 3 detachable barrels, I think the one shown is the medium one, and I use it with with the heat glove so I don't burn myself (although I've burnt myself loads because I'm clumsy). I've also just bought a hair dryer from the same brand. 

I really like most of these products, and even if I haven't loved some of them they've been good in helping me learn what I like and what works for me. As with all products what works for one person may not work for someone else so I would always advise that you do research and look at a full spectrum of reviews! Let me know any different blog posts or reviews you'd like to see- I'd be happy for some requests!

thanks for reading,

CATRIONA

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