CURRENT BEAUTY FAVOURITES.

PRODUCTS I'VE BEEN LOVING OVER THE PAST FEW MONTHS.

Hi everyone. Firstly I need to apologise for my lack of posts, I've finally finished my second year of uni but as you can imagine the last month or so has been intense! Because of my lack of posts I've decided to put my favourites from the past few months together into my current favourites! Also if anyone has any good ideas for posts let me know what you'd like to see.

UTAN & TONE: DARK WEEKLY SELF TAN LOTION [+ SKINNY TAN MITT]

I know previously I've sang the praises of the Bondi Sands fake tan and the Loving Tan mitt but these two products have blown those out the water. I'm not usually a fan of fake tan lotions, I prefer foams but this is the best fake tan I've ever used. I usually fake tan at night and sleep in it as it's just what I find easiest but this one makes it so easy to do it during the day too as the colour guard (the darker colour it initially leaves you before you wash it off) is a nice colour and you don't look like a piece of mahogany furniture. It also applies flawlessly, the smell is pleasant, although I don't mind the smell of fake tans, and it actually dries completely instead of staying wet and tacky. The tan develops into a lovely dark colour, it fades so naturally and lasts a long time. Additionally, I need to mention this mitt from Skinny Tan which disperses the product evenly and stops it from looking streaky or patchy. This is now my new favourite fake tan and the only one I'll be using. I got mine from Superdrug, it's usually £20 put I got two on a buy one get one half price offer. The mitt was also from superdrug. 

[UTAN & TONE DARK WEEKLY SELF TAN LOTION- £20, SKINNY TAN APPLICATOR MITT- £4.99]

TARTE: TARTELETTE IN BLOOM PALETTE.

This is my first proper product from Tarte Cosmetics. They're a difficult brand to get here in the UK and even though places like Sephora do carry them, they don't carry the full range of products. I decided to bite the bullet and to get some products from the Tarte website, I took advantage of their free international shipping offer so all I had to pay was customs (still annoying). This palette is beautiful, it's got 3 shimmer shades and 9 matte shades. Unfortunately one of my shades (top right- the darkest shade in the palette) arrived smashed but I think I've managed to press it slightly back into shape. These shadows are so lovely, they smell amazing, they're pigmented, buttery and blend amazingly. Also the shimmers are so pigmented and beautiful. I'm so impressed with this palette I've been using it non-stop since I got it. 

[TARTE COSMETICS TARTELETTE IN BLOOM PALETTE- £36]

TARTE: SHAPE TAPE CONTOUR CONCEALER.

If you have access to the internet and you have a pair of eyes you've probably heard of the Tarte Shape Tape concealer. I bought it at the same time as a I bought the previous palette. This product definitely lives up to the hype of being the most full coverage concealer I've ever used and it's so brightening. I got the shade fair because I'm very pale and I like a fairly bright undereye too. I'd definitely pick this up if you're ordering from Tarte, it's so full coverage a little goes a long way so this lasts a long time. 

[TARTE COSMETICS SHAPE TAPE CONCEALER- £19]

THE LASH KULT: EYELASHES.

This is my new favourite brand of dramatic lashes. For a softer day time look I like not as dramatic lashes such as the Ardell Wispies/Demi Wispies but these are perfect if you're looking for something more dramatic. They're not ridiculously big so if you have smaller eyes like me you won't need to trim them down too much, they're easy to put on and they have so many uses out of them. My favourite type of glue to use is the duo- I use the clear ones and the dark one when I've got liner on. They're also a lot cheaper than similar, comparable lashes and they have tonnes of styles, my favourite being Alexa. I can't recommend them enough. They're available through depot and eBay, go check them out!

[THE LASH KULT EYELASHES- £7.99]

KAT VON D BEAUTY: RUST EYESHADOW QUAD. 

This is a lovely little eyeshadow quad from Kat Von D beauty. These are the first eyeshadows I own from this brand and I really like them. This is really good for travelling and producing a cohesive look from just a few shadows. My favourite tones are warm and smoky so these are right up my street. Kat Von D beauty has recently become available in the UK in Debenhams stores so if you're looking to get these I'd definitely go there. This is really good for £17 for the quality of the shadows and the packaging is really great. 

[KAT VON D BEAUTY RUST EYESHADOW QUAD- £17]

MORPHE BRUSHES: FLAWLESS BEAUTY SPONGE. 

As much as I love my Beauty Blender I have been looking for other beauty sponges that aren't as expensive. I've seen these Morphe sponges being raved about left, right and centre so I thought I'd try it. It's half the price of the Beauty Blender so I thought I may as well. This is really good, it's a slightly different texture to the other beauty sponges I'd tried but I really like the fact that its got a bigger, flatter side and also a tapered side. I like to bake parts of my face and under my eyes so I like having a tapered edge. I know they now stock these on Beauty Bay which is great and I'll definitely repurchase these. 

[MORPHE BEAUTY SPONGE- £7.50]

MAUI & SONS: COCONUT OIL.

I am so late to this Coconut Oil bandwagon but I think I finally understand why it's so highly acclaimed. I've replaced my nightly face and body moisturiser with this and I've seen such a difference in my skin, especially my facial skin. My breakouts cleared up so much quicker, it's helped subdue my redness and especially because I fake tan it's played a major part in making it last longer and come off more gradually and naturally. The only negative about this product is that it takes a bit longer to absorb into the skin which is why I use it at night and I wouldn't use it before makeup but it has been one of the only things (skincare wise) that's made me see an actual difference in my skin. I got this one from Primark for around £9, usually tubs like this are a similar price and last a while as a small amount of product goes a long way. I can't recommend this enough. 

[MAUI & SONS COCONUT OIL- £9]

what products have you been liking recently? 

thanks for reading,

CATRIONA 

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MARCH FAVOURITES.

MY FAVOURITE PRODUCTS OVER THE PAST MONTH.

So I missed a monthly favourites post (oops) but I'm back with my favourite products from March and a lot of these I used over February anyway. 

• JEFFREE STAR COSMETICS: ICE COLD SKIN FROST.

My first favourite product of the last few months is this highlighter by Jeffree Star cosmetics in 'Ice Cold'. This is amazingly pigmented and buttery, not to mention the sheer amount of product you get in these highlighters. This shade is definitely more for those with very pale skin, as when I've got a darker foundation on it can tend to look a little ashy. There is a very large range of highlighters which are for all different skin tones and all the ones I have are amazing, I highly recommend. 

[Jeffree Star Cosmetics Skin Frost- £25, Beauty Bay UK]

• RIMMEL: STAY MATTE POWDER.

My second favourite product is this setting powder from Rimmel. Even though it's called Stay Matte I don't think it makes me look too matte, although I do need to use a setting spray. It keeps my oils at bay and keeps my makeup on all day. This one I use is the translucent one but I'm going to invest in the ones with pigment in. Additionally I don't use this powder all over my face, usually I bake under my eyes, my chin and my forehead with a loose powder and I feel like this has really helped my makeup stay all day. Best of all this powder is only around £4/5 making it completely affordable. 

[Rimmel Stay Matte Powder- £3.99, Boots UK]

• GERARD COSMETICS: SLAY ALL DAY LAVENDER SETTING SPRAY.

I had been a bit sceptical about setting sprays, most of all because I never felt like they actually made that much of a difference, OR they'd be too wet and make me look oily and greasy after I'd applied them. After trying this one, however, I absolutely love it. It settles my powders and makes my highlight stand out without making me look wet and greasy. Additionally it makes my makeup last all day. 

[Gerard Cosmetics Stay All Day Setting Spray Lavender- £15, Beauty Bay UK] 

• BONDI SANDS: ULTRA DARK TANNING MOUSSE.

I've already mentioned the Bondi Sands Dark Tanning Mousse in a previous post, that is my favourite fake tan. They then brought out an Ultra Dark formula which I love. Its darker than the previous formula, obviously, but lasts just as well, fades well and is a lovely colour- not too orange. 

[Bondi Sands Ultra Dark Tanning Mousse- £17.99, Superdrug UK]

• MAC COSMETICS: GIVE ME SUN BRONZER. 

I don't know why this has taken so long to make it onto my favourites considering how long I've owned it, but I've just gotten into using this Mac bronzer in 'Give Me Sun'. It is quite a warm bronzer but it doesn't come off too orange or muddy. Additionally it's easy to layer and build, as it's pigmented but very buildable. 

[Mac Cosmetics Give Me Sun Bronzer- £24.50, MAC UK]

what have your favourite products of the month been?

thanks for reading,

CATRIONA

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10 FACTS YOU PROBABLY DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT ME.

10 FACTS ABOUT YOUR AUTHOR CATRIONA YASMIN BATHAN.

Hi! So today I thought I'd do something a little different than my usual and tell you 10 facts about me. I always make blog posts about my opinions on things but apart from my About Me page there isn't really a lot about the girl behind the posts, so I thought this would be fun anyway!

1.  I currently live in Newcastle in the UK. That's in the North East, and it's where the series 'Geordie Shore' is filmed. 
2. I attend Northumbria University, I am currently in my second year of studying Psychology with Criminology. 
3. Even though I live in the UK my family are from England, Scotland and Burma. 
4. My first name is Scottish and my surname is Burmese. Catriona is pronounced 'Cat-ree-oh-nah' and Bathan is pronounced 'Bah-than'. 
5. I currently have 15 piercings, including my lip, tongue, nose and ear but at one point I had over 20 including the back of my neck. 
6. Cats are my favourite thing in the entire world. I have 4 cats and 1 dog. They're called Paddy, Kitten, Smudge and Louis, and my dog is called Lola. 
7. If I had to say I was addicted to one thing it would definitely be Diet Coke, although my favourite drink in the world is Irn Bru. 
8. My favourite colour is grey, although my favourite colour to wear is black. 
9. My favourite band is Biffy Clyro, but my other favourite bands are Modern Baseball, Catfish & The Bottlemen, Maxïmo Park, The Story So Far & Ben Howard. 
10. My favourite films are the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, my favourite one is the Two Towers. 

I hope this wasn't too boring! I thought it would be slightly different from the normal thing and would be quite nice. 

thanks for reading, 

CATRIONA 

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FAVOURITE HIGH END FOUNDATIONS.

MY FAVOURITE FOUNDATIONS FROM HIGH END BRANDS.

Hi! Today I'm doing the second half of my 'favourite foundations' post. Last month I did a post dedicated to my favourite drug store/affordable foundations so check that out if you're interested! I have a lot less favourite high end foundations, but the ones I do like are my holy grails which I'll always repurchase. What I like about high end foundations it that they generally tend to have a better shade selection. More affordable brands don't go light enough to cater to really light skin tones such as mine, and I've found that they often tend to look quite orange/pink, whereas I have yellow undertones so these don't suit me. 

ESTÉE LAUDER: DOUBLE WEAR FOUNDATION.

The first foundation is the infamous Double Wear by Estée Lauder. I really like this foundation, it's one of the most heavy duty foundations out there and if you set it properly it will stay put. The finish of this is definitely matte, especially when set with powders although if I've got a long day I generally tend to go matte anyway because it allows for my natural oils to come through more before I start looking horrifically oily. The things I don't like about this foundation are that the bottle doesn't have a pump- it's really irritating as when you pour out product loads tends to come out and you end up wasting some. Another drawback of this foundation is that it does flashback as it has SPF in, meaning that for flash photography and events involving pictures it might not be ideal. The shade I have is a light yellow undertoned one, called Bone. This foundation is a pretty standard price for a high end foundation (£31) but if you want some heavy duty coverage then try it out. 

NARS: ALL DAY LUMINOUS FOUNDATION.

My second favourite foundation is the All Day Luminous Foundation by Nars. Nars only have two foundations and they're both in this favourites post. One thing I really like about Nars foundations is that they have a lot of yellow shades which is good for people like me. I don't usually like water-based foundations, which is what this is, as I don't feel like they offer very good coverage but this one is really great. It blends out really nicely and gives a full coverage without looking cakey or heavy. This foundation also comes with a pump (yay) whereas the other Nars foundation doesn't. At £34 this is slightly more expensive but it really is a beautiful foundation.

MARC JACOBS: RE(MARC)ABLE FOUNDATION.

So I've talked about this foundation about 10,000 times so I'll try and make this brief. If you're looking for the fullest coverage possible, this is for you. It takes a bit of buffing in because it is so full coverage but the finish is fantastic. One thing I've found is that it can sometimes accentuate dry skin, but on a day to day basis I usually mix this with a thinner, more watery foundation to combat that. This is the most expensive foundation mentioned, £37, but instead of using pumps of foundation to get my desired coverage this only takes a few drops. I have 3 shades, but this one is Ivory. If you like full coverage, check this out. 

NARS: SHEER GLOW FOUNDATION.

This used to be my ultimate holy grail foundation before I discovered the Marc Jacobs one, BUT I still love this. Out of the two Nars foundations this one is definitely my favourite, I find the coverage slightly better and the finish slightly more dewy and long lasting. Despite the name the coverage is not 'sheer' and the finish isn't massively 'glowy', although with everything this depends on how it's set. I love the combination of this foundation and the Kat Von D Lock It Powder foundation, they work amazingly together. This is slightly cheaper than the All Day Luminous, £32, but doesn't come with a pump, although once you've bought a pump you can just transfer it from bottle to bottle. The shades I have in my Nars foundations are Deauville (lighter) and Punjab (darker) and they're perfect. 

COVER FX: CUSTOM COVER DROPS.

Finally, this isn't a foundation but I thought it deserved a mention. This is the Cover FX custom cover drops. These are drops of pigment designed to be added to foundations or tinted moisturisers to add coverage. These are fantastic- there's been a few foundations I've liked but the coverage just wasn't enough for me, this has totally solved that. This is available in loads of different shades so they can also be used to lighten/darken foundations. These are £36 but as you only use 2-3 drops at a time they last a long time, a lot longer than a foundation would!

Which high end foundations are your favourite? 

thanks for reading,

CATRIONA 

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JANUARY FAVOURITES.

MY FAVOURITE PRODUCTS FROM THE PAST MONTH.

Hi hope you're all well. Today I'm showing you my favourites from the past month!

• LOVING TAN: DELUXE FAKE TAN MITT. 

My first favourite of this month is this fake tan mitt by Loving Tan. I can't really remember when or how I got this fake tan mitt but I've had it for a while and just forgot I had it. It is incredible. I used to use really cheap fake tan mitts which were about £2 and never applied the product in a nice way (I don't know why I'm surprised). This one is a velour thick mitt which applies the product seamlessly and smoothly. The tan I currently use is the Bondi Sands Dark Mousse which I really like. I can't remember how I came to try this mitt and not Loving Tan fake tan, it's just difficult to get in the UK. I'd whole heartedly recommend this fake tan mitt, and because of the quality it will last a lot longer than other, more flimsy, mitts.

[Loving Tan Deluxe Tanning Mitt- £13.99, LovingTan.com]

• TOO FACED: BETTER THAN SEX MASCARA. 

I never find mascaras particularly impressive, as I've said before, so when I heard that the Too Faced Better Than Sex mascara was the best thing ever I was reluctant to spent £19 on it. That being said I'm so impressed with this mascara. The wand is big but not too big so that it smudges all over my eyes if I'm careful. It lengthens and separates my lashes really nicely too. Don't get me wrong I do still prefer to use false lashes as well just because my natural lashes are nothing special but this still makes my natural lashes as good as they can be.

[Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara- £19, Boots UK]

• FARSALI: ROSE GOLD ELIXIR. 

This beauty oil is all over YouTube and influencers' instagrams. I got this oil around 2 months go but with items such as these, skin care etc, I like to give things a fair amount of use before I pass judgement on them. I love this oil. Recently my skin has been all over, going from very oily to very dry, especially on my cheeks. I use this oil at night and also put a few drops on my beauty blender when I'm blending out foundation, it works especially well with matte foundations if I don't want them to be so matte or my skin is feeling dry. Additionally, it's amazing for adding to cream contour kits which I haven't been able to use previously because I've found them to be too dry and drag on my skin (I'll talk more about this for my next product). This product is fantastic, smells amazing, and it's one of those skincare products where I can genuinely feel a difference. This oil, as a lot of beauty oils are, is expensive but as you only use a few drops at a time it lasts for a long time. I got mine from the official Farsali website but literally the day I'm writing this it's become available on Beauty Bay which is very convenient. 

[Farsali Rose Gold Elixir- £49, Beauty Bay] 

• ANASTASIA BEVERLY HILLS: CREAM CONTOUR KIT. 

So I haven't really been a big fan of cream contouring in general. Every cream contour kit I've had has been difficult to blend out, probably because of the dryness of my skin. I've had this contour kit for over a year now and barely used it, but I've literally fallen in love with it after discovering the Farsali Rose Gold Elixir. Adding a few drops of the beauty oil makes these creams extremely bendable and more natural-looking than powders. This palette is in the shade light and has a great selection of colours for highlighting and contouring for pale skin. This palette is quite expensive, I haven't tried any more affordable cream contour kits but now that I like cream contouring I'll definitely be trying more out. 

[Anastasia Beverly Hills Cream Contour Kit Light- £39, Beauty Bay] 

• L.A. GIRL: PRO COVERAGE FOUNDATION. 

I feel like recently I've found a lot of affordable foundations that I've really liked, and this is no different. This is the L.A. Girl Pro Coverage foundation and I really like it. I thought I might like this foundation as their concealer is one of my favourite products. I love this foundation. It's a very dewy finish and until set with powder stays very very wet, although this is fine if you set it properly. The coverage is fantastic, I love the finish and best of all it's only £11. This is the shade 02 Natural which is too dark for me (SHOCK) and they only have one shade lighter than this one which I've just purchased to try. I'd recommend this foundation if you like full coverage and have normal/dry skin. If your skin is really oily it may be a bit too dewy for your liking.

[L.A. Girl Pro Coverage Foundation- £11, Beauty Bay] 

• HOUSE OF LASHES: MINI WISPIES. 

My final favourite product of this month was these House of Lashes falsies in 'Mini Wispies'. I'm die hard for my Ardell Demi Wispies as I find they're one of the only pairs of lashes that suit my small eyes size and shape. That being said, I found this range of 'mini' lashes by House of Lashes which are in their normal styles but are smaller and have smaller lash bands. These are lovely, they fit really well and don't swamp my eyes. I get all my lashes from falseeyelashes.co.uk for a really reasonable price. Definitely check these out if you're like me and have smaller eyes that you struggle to find lashes for!

What products have you been liking this past month?

thanks for reading,

CATRIONA

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