Ah, yet another limited edition! They don't stop coming and they don't stop coming... but this one will be a breeze for me.
This is the Catrice Desert Dune limited edition!
"Discover the Desert Dune Limited Edition – sun-kissed shades and a soft glow for the perfect look."
- Catrice, www.catrice.eu
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| Source: www.catrice.eu |
With that rant out of the way, let's see what's in this LE. Well, nothing for the lips (not even a lip balm???), but there is stuff for the eyes and the face. Namely, a liquid eyeshadow in 3 shades, a matte cream bronzer in 2 shades, and a luminizing mousse blush in 2 shades, as well. Oh, and a hair clip, for whatever reason? I guess that's nice?
Let's start with the face, as that's the base. So... a blush and a bronzer, both look like they would go nicely with each other. Though, do note, both are quite dark. Again, nothing for us pale people here. Sigh.
The bronzer comes in two shades, one that they claim is suitable for light skin (press X o doubt) and one that is suitable for medium and dark skin. Ngl, the longer I am looking at the lighter shade, the more it looks attractive to me. No - must resist! It won't look good on me! From pictures, it looks quite soft and finely milled, and like it would be easy to blend out. I also really like the design; it's all like cracked just how dry soil gets in the desert! And the gold on the lid looks like a mirage on a hot summer day in the desert - how cool! And that's not just a print, it seems to be actually 3D!
Oh, also, these are matte bronzers. Plenty of bronzers come with shimmery particles in them, for that subtle (or not so subtle) glow, but this one is pure matte. Awesome!
The other face product is the blush. It, too, comes in two shades, both very dark. I guess I could just skip this, but I am intrigued either way. This is a mousse blush, so something in between a cream and a liquid blush. I vastly prefer powder blushes because my skin very much dislikes anything creamy or liquid, most of the time, it just separates and becomes patchy. So another reason to ignore this, got it.
The two colours are a brick-like soft burnt orange and a very dark red. Obviously, the brick colour is for medium skintones while the dark red is for dark skintones. I don't agree with how Catrice describe either of these colours; "berry" for the dark red is borderline okay, but calling that brick colour a "pastel pink"... in what universe??? I had to do a double take, like, is my monitor wrongly colour-calibrated or is that a brick colour??? Then they later call it an "apricot colour", which is slightly more accurate. Even disregarding how appropriate these are for my skintone, I just don't like them.
I like the idea of a soft, mousse, buttery formula, tough. I feel like it would be easy to build up and blend out, though it also has the risk of becoming patchy easily. It does sound easy to use, for sure. But the thing I hate is that these are "luminising" blushes; that is, they have a dewy texture and a bunch of shimmer. So if you like matte blushes, stay far away from this one, because it sure looks very shimmery. Shame, I think a lighter rose pink without the shimmer would slap with this formula.
Now, let's shift our focus onto the eyes, which get a liquid eyeshadow in 3 different shades! All are clearly desert inspired, of course, being various shades of warm dark brown or golden (and then a dark purple shade?).
I was initially not very interested in these liquid eyeshadows; I have oily eyelids so most liquid eyeshadows crease like mad and start creasing within like 5 minutes (see here & here for two examples of liquid eyeshadows and how they behave on me). Yes, I tried setting them with various setting sprays, it doesn't work because my eyes are set a bit more deeply on my face so there is simply too much movement there. I accepted this fate, not all products are made for absolutely everyone. But... there is something about that glistening golden taupe... it is so magnificent!
All 3 shades are shimmery and - supposedly - buildable and very blendable. The super blendable part worries me because liquid eyeshadows have ended up being a smudgy mess on my eyes in the past from being so blendable. The formula is apparently lightweight and non-sticky, which would be awesome if true. I also really like the reservoir type applicator, this should make it easy to deposit the right amount of pigment onto the eyelids. Though you'll have to blend it out using brushes or fingers, because this applicator isn't ideal for that. I really like the colour trio, they all go so well together; I can already see a look that could be made with all three:: golden taupe on the middle upper eyelid, dark mauve brown in the outer third of upper eyelid, and the plum shade on the lower lid. Sounds cool! Too bad I have way too oily eyelids to try that :(
And last and certainly not least: a... hair clip???
Say it with me: 3.. 2... 1... F-I-L-L-E-R! It truly is filler, and this is coming from someone who wears hair clips (well, hair claw clips) most of the day every day. I get it, it's a pretty accessory, but wouldn't a coppery lip gloss be a better product to round off the collection? Or hell, a shimmery warm gold nail polish even?
This is one of those hair clips that doesn't actually hold hair - it is purely decorative if your hair is anything more than shoulder length. And while that is nice - don't get me wrong - it is just unnecessary here. It is beautiful, though. I love the 3D hammered gold design. I think it would look gorgeous on dark brown or black hair.
So we come to the conclusion of yet another LE.
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| Source: www.catrice.eu |
While the previous Catrice LE (Eternal Red) was very much spring-coded, they have quickly switched over to summer mood with this one. With high temperatures (what is up with this heat wave currently?) come desert inspired collections, I guess? This mini LE is pretty well thought out; all 4 items go well with each other, it is just the fact that it feels a bit unfinished because there is absolutely zilch for the lips.
The colours are so fitting, though! Everything is warm-toned and quite desert-y. However, there is not a lot that people who are pale like me can use here. It's all for medium-to-darker skin, which is slightly annoying. Perhaps the next LE will have something more appropriate for pale skin? Anyways, I wasn't planning to buy anything from this LE at first, but the more I look at that lighter bronzer and that gold liquid eyeshadow... the more my desire for them grows. Hmm... must resist! I know they won't play nice with my skin... but they are sooo pretty...
So I feel relatively meh about this LE, though it is far from being the worst one.
NEXT: another Essence LE, which is not a pair with this one; it is something completely different. So keep an eye out for that very soon!
See you soon!
Maja
Maja
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