KAT VON D: EVERLASTING LIQUID LIPSTICKS.

REVIEW & SWATCHES.

Kat Von D has tried her hand at almost everything, she began of course tattooing but more recently she's entered into the makeup  world. Her makeup brand started small and as slowly grown over the past few years being stocked by Sephora and have also now branched out to the UK. Her makeup line includes liquid lipsticks, bullet lipsticks, foundation, powder, eyeshadows and more recently she's released a concealer which I want to try! I have 8 shades of her Everlasting Liquid Lipsticks, 'Bow N Arrow', 'Vampira', 'Damned', 'Witches', 'Outlaw', 'Nosferatu', 'Exorcism' & 'Lolita'. 

I got these liquid lipsticks in two lots, 4 from Sephora and 4 from Debenhams UK. Kat Von D only released her brand in the UK within the last month online at Debenhams. Obviously I'm glad to have this brand a lot more accessible to me than it had previously been, however, it would have been nice to be able to try and buy the products in-store, especially foundations and concealers which are difficult to colour match online- hopefully this is in the pipeline. These products are $20 and £16 which work out as the same price when converted which is good as sometimes American products are slightly more expensive once the exchange rate has been considered. Additionally, there is a difference between the shade selection offered between Sephora and Debenhams, there are fewer shades offered by Debenhams. 

One fact that Kat Von D prides herself on is that all of her products are completely cruelty-free and vegan. This is unsurprising as she herself is vegan and I feel there's a large movement happening in the cosmetics industry to strive for cruelty-free altogether which Kat Von D is very vocal about, understandably.

[Shades L-R: Bow N Arrow, Lolita, Outlaw, Nosferatu, Exorcism, Vampira, Damned, Witches]

I really like the packaging of this product, Kat Von D's entire makeup line shares the same gothic feel which is typical of her style and she designs all of this herself. The tube is long and thin which makes it slightly more difficult to store than my other lipsticks as they don't fit in some kinds of acrylic drawers but this isn't a massive issue. The applicator is quite a small thin doe-foot (as pictured) which honestly isn't my favourite. For me, I find it liquid lipsticks easier to apply when they've got a slightly bigger rounded applicator. 

I really really like these products, although honestly they're not the best liquid lipsticks I've tried. I've already included the shade Bow N Arrow as being my ride or die lip product which says a lot about how much I like these although my main criticism is that they can tend to be a bit patchy, especially darker shades. Obviously I don't have the entire collection but with the darker red shades (especially the shade Damned) it can tend to go a bit patchy and not completely opaque. This isn't a massive problem as long as you're careful when you apply and spend a little bit more time doing so. Another thing I've learned is to work with these in very thin layers as if you apply a really thick amount of product at once it can go a little chunky- although this is a common problem with liquid lipsticks so if you're used to using them in general you'll already be aware of this. 

[Wearing: Damned]

Overall I think these products are great for a very acceptable price. They are long wearing and dry down quickly to completely matte. They're comfortable on the lips & don't transfer. Now that they're available in the UK, with the rest of Kat Von D's brand, they're a lot more accessible and I really like that she's branching out all over the world. I'd definitely recommend these, they're not the cheapest (for those looking for cheaper lip products I'm on the search and will be reviewing those soon) but they're definitely great quality for a fair price- I'm always willing to pay slightly more for vegan & cruelty-free products regardless.

thanks for reading, 

CATRIONA

x

SEPTEMBER FAVOURITES.

MY FAVOURITE PRODUCTS OVER THE PAST MONTH.

Firstly before I get into my favourite beauty products of the month I've got to mention my new logo! This was made for me by my friend Tyler and I absolutely love it, definitely a favourite from the month!

• JEFFREE STAR COSMETICS: VELOUR LIQUID LIPSTICK [CELEBRITY SKIN]

I know you're probably sick of hearing about Jeffree Star Velour Liquid Lipsticks but they are genuinely my favourite brand. I've been slowly building my collection of this brand and picking up new ones as they become available. One of the latest additions is 'Celebrity Skin' which is a warm, darkish nude. It goes with basically any makeup look, it's long lasting and suits a range of skin tones. I've been wearing it pretty much non-stop over the past month and it's become my favourite go-to shade to wear. 

[Jeffree Star Velour Liquid Lipstick- $18, www.jeffreestarcosmetics.com] 

• BOBBI BROWN: VITAMIN ENRICHED FACE BASE 

Bobbi Brown isn't a brand which I've had much to do with but I'd heard so many good reviews about this product I decided I needed to try it out. This is a moisturiser and face primer designed to be used before make up. I've been using this product for about 6 weeks now which I think is important to decide whether skin care products actually work and make a difference. I absolutely love this product, it smells fresh and citrusy and feels really soft on the skin. Most importantly it makes a genuine difference when it comes to the application of makeup- it creates an amazing, moisturised soft base for makeup. It doesn't do much for the actual longevity of makeup, for this I use Nivea Men After Shave Balm but the two products work amazingly together. As a high end skin care product this product is inevitably expensive (£40) however you don't need a lot of product and it's definitely worth the money. 

[Bobbi Brown Vitamin Enriched Face Base- £40, House of Fraser UK] 

• MAYBELLINE: COLOSSAL VOLUME EXPRESS MASCARA [CAT EYES]

As I've said before I've never ever found a mascara I've been majorly overwhelmed with or that has blown me away. That being said I'm really really impressed with this mascara from Maybelline. It has a small, curved wand which is great for getting right into the roots of the lashes and builds them up. I usually use another mascara to add thickness but this one is the best I've used so far to separate and add length. 

[Maybelline Colossal Volume Express Mascara Cat Eyes- £7.99, Boots UK]

• MOROCCAN OIL: MOROCCAN OIL TREATMENT [LIGHT]

One thing I don't really know much about is hair. I'm quite lazy with my hair, I don't really style it most days and I don't get it cut as often as I should. I've recently gone very blonde on the bottom 3/4 of my hair and one thing I was worried about was it looks dry and unhealthy. I was recommended this to combat that and I absolutely love it. I put a few drops of this through the mid to ends of my hair when its wet and also once it's dry when I've styled it. It gets rid of fly aways and also is absorbed into the hair without making it look greasy. Additionally, it smells absolutely amazing and because you only need a few drops it lasts forever, especially if you don't wash your hair that often. 

[Moroccan Oil Treatment Light 25ml- £13.85] 

thanks for reading,

CATRIONA 

x

HOW TO: TRANSFORM MAKEUP FROM DAY TO NIGHT.

WAYS TO MAKE YOUR MAKEUP MORE DRAMATIC. 

Hi!

Today I'm doing something a bit different and showing you different ways you can amp up your makeup if you're wanting to transform it to night-out appropriate. There are several ways you can do this but the aim of this post is to show that almost all makeup looks can be worn in a casual daytime setting or, by changing a few elements, can be worn for fully blown nights out. These are also good tips if you're short for time for getting ready for a night out or can't be bothered to take all your makeup off and reapply. The basis of all these makeup looks are the same: the same foundation, powder, brow products and eyeshadows have been used. 

#1

The first makeup look is a quite natural one (for me). It has no lashes and no eyeliner, which for me are the two things which can take a makeup look from day to night time. Obviously if you feel happy enough wearing this makeup look on a night out then all power to you, but for me it's too simple. 

FACE

• PRIMER: Nivea For Men After Shave Balm [Sensitive] 
• FOUNDATION: NARS Sheer Glow [Shade: Punjab]
• CONCEALER: L.A Girl Pro Conceal [Shade: Porcelain] 
• POWDER: NYX Contour Palette [Shades: Cream & Soft Light] to set under eye area. Kat Von D Lock It Powder Foundation [Shade: Medium 53]
• BRONZER: Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Bronzer
• CONTOUR: Makeup Geek Contour Pan [Shade: Break Up] 
• BLUSH: Milani Baked Blush [Shade: Luminoso] 
• HIGHLIGHT: Becca/Jaclyn Hill Champagne Pop & The Balm Mary-Lou Manizer
• SETTING SPRAY: L'Oreal Infallible Fixing Mist

BROWS

• Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow Pomade [Shade: Chocolate] 
• Rimmel Brow Pencil [Shade: Black Brown]
• L'Oreal Brow Artist Plumper [Shade: Medium/Dark] & Tarte Coloured Clay Tinted Brow Gel [Shade: Rich Brown]

EYES

• EYE PRIMER: NARS Creamy Radiant Concealer [Shade: Chantilly] set with Makeup Geek White Lies

• TRANSITION SHADES: Makeup Geek Creme Brûlée  & Tiki Hut
• OUTER CORNER: 
• Makeup Geek Morocco 
• ON LID: Makeup Geek Casino & Sin City 
• INNER CORNER & BROW BONE: Violet Voss Holy Grail Palette: Crystal 
• WATERLINE EYELINER:  Zoeva Graphic Eyes [Shade: Black to Earth]
• MASCARA: Maybelline Colossal Volume Express Mascara Cat Eyes

LIPS

• LIQUID LIPSTICK: Jeffree Star Cosmetics Velour Liquid Lipstick [Shade: Celebrity Skin]

#2

The second look is pretty much the same as the first, just slightly more dramatic and fine tuned but also with the addition of lashes. The brows are slightly heavier and I've chiselled them out with concealer, and also added Ardell Demi Wispies. Because I have such small eyes adding eyelashes really makes a lot of difference for me. All the face and eye products are the same as in the previous photo.

#3

This is obviously the most dramatic look of the 3, this will be too much for a lot of people but I did wear this look on a night out. All the products used on the face are the same, just more product has been used. The brows are a lot sharper still and more dramatic and also I've used more bronzer and contoured more harshly- but still all with the same products. The main difference is on the eyes, I've added a black winged liner, false lashes, bright colour on the lower lash liner and also a second line of winged liner in bright yellow. Additionally, I've gone with a much more dramatic lip [Dominatrix Liquid Lipstick]- one of the quickest and easiest ways of adding drama to a look is to change the lip colour from nude to something either brighter or darker. 

The extra products I used were: 

• LIQUID LINER: Rimmel Glam Eyes [Shade: Black] & NYX Matte Liquid Liner [Shade: Black] & NYX Vivid Brights Liquid Liner [Shade: Vivid Halo] 
• LOWER LASH LINE: Morphe 12P Palette Bright Yellow 
• LIPS: Jeffree Star Velour Liquid Lipstick [Shade: Dominatrix] 

I hope you enjoyed this post and have seen how all makeup looks are very easy to manipulate depending on when and where you're wanting to wear them! I really love these makeup looks and Makeup Geek shadows are so high quality and easy to work with, you should definitely check them out if you haven't already.

thanks for reading, 

CATRIONA 

x

HAUL: BEAUTY BAY.

BEAUTY BAY, BOOTS & LASHES.

Hi! Today I'm showing you some things I purchased from Beauty Bay- a website here in the UK which stocks lots of brands which can be difficult to get ahold of. I also bought a few bits from Boots and stocked up on lashes but I thought I'd just include them in this post anyway! 

• MORPHE

The first things I bought were these Morphe palettes. The top one is the 35k (Colour Koffee palette) which is a lovely selection of warm browns with a mixture of matte and shimmers. The bottom left is the 12NB palette (Natural Beauty palette), again warm shades with a few shimmers in there. What really attracted me to this palette was the size- a lot of my palettes are quite big and not good for travelling or carrying about in a makeup bag, on a usual day I'll wear a warm smoky eye so I thought this would be ideal for using on the go. The final thing from Morphe was the 12P palette (Picasso palette). Again, this is for me to try and experiment a lot more with colour and this has the main primary colours all in one place so it's ideal. Morphe is a great brand, very very affordable with buttery, pigmented shadows. I'd recommend to everyone.

[MORPHE 35K PALETTE £19.50, MORPHE 12NB PALETTE £11.95, MORPHE 12P PALETTE £11.95]

• MAKEUP GEEK

The next brand which I purchased was Makeup Geek, who, in my opinion, have some of the best eyeshadows available. They're pigmented, buttery, and very easy to blend. Additionally they have an amazing range of colours which they sell by the pan, so you can pick and choose exactly what colours you want. The colours I chose were: Chickadee (top left), Mango Tango (top middle), Poppy (top right), Cherry Cola (middle left), Mocha (middle right) & Dragonfly (bottom). They're all warm shades except for Dragonfly which I just really liked the colour of and I'm going to try and use in a more colourful look. Makeup Geek is a fantastic, affordable brand and I highly recommend them.

[MAKEUP GEEK SINGLE EYESHADOW PAN £5.95] 

• MILANI

Milani is a brand which I haven't really had a lot to do with except for my love of their cult baked blush 'Luminoso'. They're a very affordable brand with a large range of products so I thought I'd pick a few things up to try. The first is a beautiful baked bronzer and as I liked my Makeup Revolution baked bronzer so much I thought I'd give this a go. The shade is 'Soleil' and as far as I'm aware is the only one on the Beauty Bay website- I'll definitely try this out and report back.

[MILANI BAKED BRONZER £8] 

I also picked up 3 of their matte liquid lipsticks- I've seen a lot of good things about Milani's lip products from various beauty gurus so I thought I may as well give them a go. The shades I bought are 10- Adorable (left), 19- Covet (middle) & 20- Sugar (right). I haven't tried them properly yet, I've only swatched them but from my first impressions of that they look amazing. I'll try them properly and report back!

[MILANI MATTE LIP CREAM £8]

• BEAUTY BLENDER 

I also invested in another Beauty Blender. I've already got a pink and a black one so I thought I may as well get the nude one as well. I use and wash my Beauty Blender every day so they do tend to get quite worn out quite quickly. I read somewhere the other day that you're supposed to replace your makeup sponges around every 3 months, which I definitely do not, so I thought it was about time to get a new one. 

[BEAUTY BLENDER NUDE SPONGE £16] 

• Z PALETTE

I also picked up this cute mini Z Palette. I've got a couple of highlight and contour pans which don't really belong in my large eyeshadow Z Palette so I thought I'd get this for them to live in. Additionally, I thought it would be ideal if I wanted to travel with a few single eyeshadows, I could just pop them in here rather than carrying round a full sized Z Palette. 

[Z PALETTE SMALL HOT PINK £8.95]

• L.A. GIRL

I was running low on one of my favourite concealers so I thought I'd also stock up. The top 3 shades are Porcelain, the one I usually use and the lightest shade they do, but I also bought the shade Light Ivory for when I've got a few layers of fake tan on, or to spot conceal on my face. This is a very good, affordable concealer so if you're not looking to splash out give it a go.

[L.A. PRO CONCEAL HIGH DEFININITION CONCEALER £5]

• ZOEVA 

I also got this brush holder from ZOEVA. Zoeva is one of my favourite brands for brushes, they're not too expensive and they're great quality. I picked up this brush holder with the intention of putting my brushes in it (obviously), but I've actually decided to use it to hold all my liquid lipsticks. It's made from quite thick plastic and feels sturdy and fits a decent amount of products in. I'm really glad I bought this!

[ZOEVA CLASSIC BRUSH HOLDER £10.50]

• VIOLET VOSS

I also find it difficult to believe that before buying these I did not own ANY glitter. I had glittery eyeshadows or shimmers etc but no loose glitter. I thought I'd pick up two pots of loose glitter from Violet Voss to try. The first shade is a golden colour called Golden Fairy and the second is a bright purple called Paige. I think they'll be great for adding a bit more drama to a look and especially at the moment, glitter is really on trend (although there's literally no way I'll be putting it anywhere near my hair because I'd never be able to get it out). 

[VIOLET VOSS GLITTER POT £8] 

• NYX 

All these NYX products I bought from Boots, which is pretty much the only place you can get NYX products easily in the UK. The first thing I bought was the All Over Balm (Coconut Oil), it's not made very clear on the packaging exactly what this product is for but I'm just going to use it wherever my skin feels extra dry. The fact that it contains coconut oil means that it'll make a really good moisturiser wherever you choose to use it. 

[NYX ALL OVER BALM COCONUT OIL £5.50]

The second thing I bought were 2 of the Blotting Powders, in Light & Light Medium.  They're marketed as setting powders which don't have too much pigment therefore aren't adding too much coverage to the face. These will be good for more natural makeup looks or for touching up during the day, I'm going to try the light one to set under my eyes as well. 

[NYX BLOTTING POWDER £10.50]

Finally I bought some refills for my favourite NYX Contour Kit, these are a light slightly pinkier shade called Soft Light. They're very affordable so whenever I see them I just grab a few. 

[NYX HIGHLIGHT & CONTOUR REFILL PANS £3.25] 

• LASHES 

Finally, I stocked up on some of my favourite lashes. Ardell Demi Wispies are sold quite commonly in the UK for around £6 per pair, including on Beauty Bay and in Boots, however you can get these 4 packs on Amazon for just under £8 each! I also thought I'd try the full Wispies which are a bit bigger (they could prove a bit too big for my eyes) and I picked up a few different brands, Eyelure, Morphe and Red Cherry- all very affordable. 

thanks for reading,

CATRIONA

x

MAKEUP LOOK: PURPLE EYES WITH WHITE LINER & NUDE LIPS.

PRODUCTS USED.

Hi! Today I'm showing you the products I used to create this bright purple eye with white liner. It goes without saying that it's definitely not the most wearable of looks but it was really fun to create and I think it looks really cool. I'm really enjoying experimenting with makeup a bit more outside my comfort zone as I think we can all get stuck in ruts sometimes. Obviously the main focus is on the eyes so I've kept the lips nice and simple although if you wanted to make this look even more bold you could add a colourful lip. Here are the products I used:

FACE

• PRIMER: Nivea For Men After Shave Balm [Sensitive] 
• FOUNDATION: NARS All Day Luminous [Shade: Deauville]
• CONCEALER: L.A Girl Pro Conceal [Shade: Porcelain] mixed with Lasting Perfection Ultimate Wear Concealer [Shade: Fair] 
• POWDER: NYX Contour Palette [Shades: Soft Light & Bone] to set under eye area. Maybelline Fit Me! Set + Smooth Powder [Shade: 120]
• BRONZER: NYX Contour Palette [Shades: Tan, Toffee & Sculpt]
• CONTOUR: NYX Contour Palette [Shade: Sculpt] 
• BLUSH: Milani Baked Blush [Shade: Luminoso] 
• HIGHLIGHT: Anastasia Beverly Hills Sundipped Glow Kit [Shades: Moonstone & Summer]
• SETTING SPRAY: L'Oreal Infallible Fixing Mist

BROWS

• Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow Pomade [Shade: Chocolate] 
• Rimmel Brow Pencil [Shade: Black Brown]
• L'Oreal Brow Artist Plumper [Shade: Medium/Dark] & Tarte Coloured Clay Tinted Brow Gel [Shade: Rich Brown]

EYES

• EYE PRIMER: NARS Creamy Radiant Concealer [Shade: Chantilly] set with Makeup Geek White Lies

For this look I used the Morphe 35P palette. The shades don't have names so I've taken photos and I'll say which shades I used. 

• TRANSITION SHADES: Bottom left shade (warm brown) 
• OUTER CORNER: 
• 5th shade from the left on the bottom row (warmish purple)
• 2nd, 3rd and 4th shades in the far right hand column (bright purples)
• ON LID: Top right shade (shimmery lavender)  
• INNER CORNER & BROW BONE: Violet Voss Holy Grail Palette: Crystal 
• LIQUID EYELINER: Rimmel Glam Eyes [Shade: Black] & NYX Matte Liquid Liner [Shade: White]
• WATERLINE EYELINER:  Zoeva Graphic Eyes [Shade: Black to Earth] 
• MASCARA: Max Factor Voluptuous False Lash Effect [Shade: Black] & Jordana Best Lash [Shade: Black]
• LASHES: Red Cherry Lashes [#43] 

LIPS

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

I hope you enjoyed reading, I really like this makeup look if you're looking for something slightly more out there! Let me know if there's any makeup looks you'd like to see.

thanks for reading, 

CATRIONA

x