I am really trying to save all my sheckles at the moment so am trying my very best not to buy all the things but am regularly failing. So to keep myself on track I thought I would share some my favourite budget buys to inspire me. I’m going to start with makeup. Here are some of the budget buys that I love!

Kiko Intense Colour Long Lasting Eyeliner (€7.50) – I would like to apologise for my Kiko eyeliner not being in the photos. I was at a hen party last weekend and my clutch bag fell open. A load of my stuff fell out and I thought I’d gotten everything back but in my slightly tipsy state I missed two items – my bank card – and my new Kiko eyeliner. I’m not ashamed to admit that I am more upset about the eyeliner! I can’t get Kiko here so will have to order online. This eyeliner is fab and I think I like it better than my *gasp* Urban Decay 24/7 liners and that’s saying something. It glides on and doesn’t budge all day, which is difficult with my watery allergy prone eyes. A total winner and a bargain!

Penneys Mini Makeup Sponges (€2) – Aww just look at them, they’re so dinky! I picked these up given my recent Beauty Blender obsession. There are three little sponges in slightly different shapes in the pack. They’re not as good as the Beauty Blender but as they’re only designed for concealer they do a good job of getting coverage under the eyes and around the nose. And they’re too cute!

Botanics Radiance Balm (€8.49) – Ok I know everyone and their mother bought this last year when it gained fame but I only got around to buying it a few weeks ago. It’s a gorgeous sheeny liquid that I find quite cooling and moisturising on the skin. It reminds me a little of the Benefit That Gal primer. It leaves a lovely highlight that I can definitely still see once I’ve applied my foundation. Botanics is a little Gem of a brand I tell ya.

Makeup Revolution Iconic 2 palette (€6) – Ok so no secret that I’m a Makeup Revolution fan but it’s started to bug me that they copy other products so much. I much prefer when I see them release palettes that are just theirs, they’re edgy and cool anyways. One of their original releases were the dupes of the Naked palettes. I picked up this Naked 2 dupe a while ago but have been using it quite regularly lately. There’s no arguing that these palettes aren’t original but they are very good quality for the price. They’re not Urban Decay quality in terms of wear time and pigment but they give decent colour payoff.

Catrice Liquid Camouflage Concealer (€3.99)  - You can’t beat Catrice for a budget buy, there isn’t much they do wrong that I’ve tried. When this concealer was launched many people compared it to the classic Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer (another great budget buy). It doesn’t give as quite high coverage but is also less drying that the Collection one. I have dry skin so this one works a bit better for me especially under the eye area. I own the palest shade and it’s really pale so would suit really fair skins.

NYX Butter Glosses (€7) – Well these are a bit of a classic beauty buy but it’s a lot easier to get them now that NYX counters are popping up in some of the larger Boots. The counters I’ve seen so far in Dundrum and Jervis are massive so you are spoilt for choice with the full range of Butter Glosses. I love these as they’re high colour with a glossy finish without being sticky. I also find they last longer than normal glosses. They’re like my type of Pokemon – ‘Gotta catch em all’ – bonus points for working Pokemon into this post!

So that’s just a handful of my favourite budget buys. Do you have a special budget pick that you’d add to the list?

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Over the last few weeks I’ve brought you my favourite bodycare, skincare and products I didn’t rate in 2015. I’m going to wrap up my look back at 2015 with my favourite makeup products. None were new products in 2015 but they were all new to me!

NYX Butter Glosses - Ok so these glosses have been around years but I only finally tried them in 2015. They’re just fab, glossy but not sticky and leave a lovely wash of colour. My favourite shade I’ve tried so far is the coral toned Apple Strudel. I really want to try the new matte based ones. You can read my full review of these here.

Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation - I’ve been a big fan of the Rimmel Wake Me Up concealer for a while now so I thought I’d give the foundation a try. It’s a great medium cover dewy foundation. It’s perfect for my dry skin. A great pick for the day after the night before. It’s also a bargain at just €10.99.

Urban Decay Naked 3 Palette - I got this palette in 2014 and I’m the first to admit that I didn’t love this straight off. I used it a handful of times and relegated it to my stash. I picked this out again last summer and really fell in love with it. It’s perfect for subtle daytime looks and I can vamp it up a bit for night time. Just shows it’s hard for Urban Decay to put a foot wrong with eyeshadows!

Makeup Forever HD Powder - I’ve run out of this and I really miss it! Similar to the Urban Decay Naked 3 palette I didn’t really know what to make of this one at first. But I did a bit of research and found maybe I’d been using the wrong brush with this. This works best when buffed on to skin with a densely packed brush. It then gives a lovely blurred effect to skin which is perfect for evening makeup especially. Love it!

Catrice Liquid Camouflage Concealer - I was a long time fan of the classic Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer but I found it had started to cake on me a little when my skin was dry. So I had to give this concealer from Catrice a try when it landed. It’s really creamy and gives great coverage without feeling drying. Also major bonus that it’s only €5.

So there you have my favourite makeup products for 2015! Have you tried any of these?

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I don’t regularly write favourites posts as sometimes I’m just a creature of habit and sometimes I forget to properly appreciate some of the new products to join my stash. But I had a real bumper month in October, mainly because it was my birthday so I have a few new favourites to add to my collection.

Smashbox Shapematters 3 in 1 Contouring Palette (€76) – I think the world and it’s mother might have bought this as it was the Boots Star Gift of the week at the start of October and cost just €38 – half it’s normal price. I was really lucky – it cost me nothing – as my mam got me this as part of my birthday present, thanks Mam! It’s a gorgeous palette with shades for contouring cheeks, eyes and eyebrows, in a really classy looking palette, It couldn’t be more up my street.

Agent Provocateur Fatale Perfume (€65) – I’m on a major perfume drought, I’m running out of everything! I got a sample of this perfume with one of my British Beauty Blogger boxes and I fell in love with it. My very kind mam also bought me this for my birthday and I know it wasn’t cheap, she’s so generous. This perfume is really rich and warm, it’s the perfect scent for festive nights.

Hylamide SubQ Anti Age Serum (€36) – I’m quickly running out of this one and I’m dreading it coming to an end. It does a great job at keeping my skin feeling moisturised. It’s a really watery serum that immediately leaves skin feeling refreshed and I can feel my skin soaking up the moisture. I definitely noticed a visible difference in the hydration level of my skin. This costs €36 but I think it’s good value for the quality.

Catrice Liquid Camouflage Concealer (€3.99) – This was a hotly anticipated release from Catrice as they do some great concealers including my favourite camouflage concealer. This doesn’t give quite as high coverage as the camouflage concealer but it also doesn’t feel as heavy on the skin. This gives great coverage for it’s texture and doesn’t settle or flake. I’ll definitely be buying this again.

Naked 3 palette (€46) – I know it’s not new but I’m just loving this palette at the moment. I didn’t hugely love this when I first got it but lately it’s gotten back into my good graces. I find it’s a great one I can wear either day or night. I’m not sure it will ever be as much loved as the original for me but it’s got potential!

So this little bunch are just some of my current favourites. Does anything here catch your eye?

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Well I’m a lip gloss girl through and through. I know it’s not very beauty blogger of me but I rarely wear lipstick and when I do it tends to be a lipgloss/lipstick hybrid such as my favourite Soap and Glory Sexy Motherpucker gloss sticks. Recently I have also been absolutely loving the Catrice Made to Stay Lip Polish but sadly they have been discontinued Every cloud has a silver lining though as the peeps at Catrice sent me this new Shine Appeal Fluid lipstick in shade 07 ‘Better Make a Mauve’ to try.

I got quite excited when I received this because as soon as I opened it, it reminded me of one of my favourite lipglosses of all time. I have a Chanel lipgloss that I’ve had longer than I’d like to admit and I save it for special use because I’m afraid it’s going to run out. They don’t make the shade anymore so I closely guard it. So I squealed a little when I opened this because it was so similar as you can see. The Catrice gloss has a slightly more pink tone to it but it’s close enough for me!

Top – Chanel Bottom – Catrice

It turns out the similarities don’t end there as the glosses are of a similar quality. The Catrice one has a very glossy look but feels more creamy on lips than sticky. This has fairly good staying power but most glosses don’t have much longevity. I would say this is a gloss in it’s truest sense, I’m not sure what ‘Fluid Lipstick’ implies but I might have expected something not quite as glossy. That doesn’t take away from it’s loveliness as a gloss as you can see below.

The Catrice Shine Appeal Fluid Lipstick  closely matches my Chanel gloss both in colour and quality but obviously for a much smaller price tag of €4.49. I’ll definitely be adding a few of these to my already too massive gloss collection! There are eight shades available on Catrice counters in pharmacies nationwide now.

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It’s been ages since I’ve written one of these posts but I know I sure do love reading other peoples so I thought I’d show you what’s in my makeup bag today! First up is the bag itself. This is a lovely Penney’s find and I like it for carting around my day to day makeup in my bag as you really can’t miss the neon pink when rummaging. I’d prefer if it was slightly wider but it does the job. Here’s what’s currently inside –  links to posts in the title if I’ve done a full review…

Revlon Colorstay Foundation – I rarely wear anything else. It gives me the long lasting coverage I need for a day in the office without drying out my skin. I repurchase this very regularly. I wear shade 220 in the dry skin version. This one costs about €17.99 but you can often get it on offer.

Rimmel Wake Me Up Concealer – If you’ve missed me harping on about this, where have you been. This is my concealer of choice for under eyes. And it costs just €5.99, sure where would you be going.

Bourjois Concealer Stick – I got this at a bargain stand at the Pro Beauty show but I quite like it. It’s maybe a bit pale for me but is a nice creamy concealer for covering blemishes. I’m not sure if this is till being sold can’t seem to find it. 

Makeup Forever HD Powder – I just love the airbrushed finish this gives and it doesn’t feel cakey or heavy on the skin. I got this little pot in the states and its lasting aaages. I think the full size is €34.

Makeup Revolution Ultra Brightening Contour Kit – My little darling Makeup Revolution. This palette contains a great bronzer and highlighter. I’m not as keen on the blusher but I’ll use it in a pinch. A great multitasker to have in the bag and it costs just €4.99.

Sleek i-divine Au Natural Palette – This is a recent addition to the makeup bag and I’m really liking it. The Sleek i-divine palettes are great for carting around as they’re slim and have a massive mirror on the inside. This selection of shades is perfect for day to night makeup with a good mix of neutral shades and costs just €9.99.

Catrice Kohl Eye Liner – Lads you just can’t step too far wrong with Catrice. Their kohl is giving me the same finish as my favourite Urban Decay (but granted colour range not as cool as UD). But these are just €3. Deadly. 

Benefit They’re Real Mascara – I don’t wear mascara everyday but when I do lately I’ve been wearing this. I feel I owe Benefit a bit of an apology as I had previously said I don’t like this! But I’ve found as the mascara has dried out it performs really well, it just doesn’t work for me when it’s brand new and the formula is so wet. I got this little mini one in a set I think but the full size is €26.

A bajillion lip crayons – these are usually floating around the bag, in little pockets or in my coat. Not sure it counts as in the makeup bag but they’re everywhere. My brand of choice is Soap and Glory Sexy Motherpucker lipgloss sticks but I own many, many others.

So this is what I’m carting around with me lately. What are your top products at the moment?

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I think anyone who uses products from Catrice would agree that they are really great value for money. The brand can more than compete with some pricier brands with the quality of their products. Occasionally Catrice put some products on sale at 50% off when they are discontinuing lines to make room for shiny new products. When an average product from Catrice costs about €5, a 50% discount makes these sales a super bargain. I was pottering by one of my local Catrice counters when I spotted the familiar yellow 50% off labels and knew I had to take a look. Here’s what I picked up…

Photofinish Foundation (Was €6.99 – reduced to €3.50)
I have yet to try a Catrice foundation but was a huge fan of their now sadly discontinued BB cream. I seriously loved that stuff and bought four tubes of it when it went on sale. This foundation promises a light formula but flawless coverage that should last 18hours. I picked up the lightest shade 001 Ivory but at first glance this probably won’t suit really pale skin tones but I think it might just be perfect for me. This foundation is being discontinued to make way for the new 12 hour matte mousse makeup I think.

Ultimate Shine Gel Colour Lipstick (Was €4.49 – reduced to €2.25)
I’m not a big lippie wearer but I do like the lipstick/gloss hybrids such as my favourite YSL Rouge Volupte Shine lipsticks. Catrice are discontinuing this whole range so I picked the lightest shade 100 – Sweet Macaron which is a hint of pretty pink. Judging from the first swatch these are right up me street, light, moisturising with a hint of colour. Won’t last hours but are easy to reapply without ruining your face. These lipsticks are going to make room for the Luminous Lips lipstick range.

Catrice Ultimate Shine Gel Colour Lipstick

Made To Stay Smoothing Lip Polish (Was €5.49 – reduced to €2.75)
This product is new enough to the Catrice family, it’s a combo lipstick/stain/gloss that promises 8 hours of wear. Again as I’m not a big traditional lipstick fan this seems like my kind of product. They had this one shade on sale 030 Strawberry’s Secret. It’s a coraly kind of red, might be a bit bright for me but I need to try some new looks this year.

Made to Stay Smoothing Lip Polish

Nail Polish in Fuschiarama (was €2.99 – reduced to €1.50)
The Catrice polishes are amazing quality for their price. I already own at least 10 if not more of these. There are loads of polishes in the sale including the full Crushed Crystal range and the glitter range that was out towards Christmas. I chose a neutral pink as I know I will definitely get some wear out of this for spring.

So there you have it my mini Catrice Sale haul. I got €19.95 worth of products for the bargain price of €9.45. Other items I spotted in the sale were the Quattro shadow palettes, I think the full range of these are being discontinued and there are some lovely colours. The Smoky Liners are all on sale as well as two of the mascaras. Lots of goodies to be found! What are your favourite Catrice products?

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Catrice Crushed Crystals

I was excited when I recently browsed my local Catrice counter, there seemed to be lots of newness! In particular there look to be lots of lovely new nail polish shades and that is always guaranteed to put a smile on my face.

As a nail polish magpie of course these new Crushed Crystals polishes caught my eye! They are sand effect type polishes with a shot of glitter through them and I have to say I like them a lot. I picked up two shades the bright pink Call Me Princess and PLUMdog Millionaire. I love the names Catrice come up with, my mams favourite polish is called Pinky and the Brain

I think I love Call Me Princess a bit! It’s a coral pink base with a rose gold shimmer through it, isn’t it fab? I think this is a great pick for summer.

Crushed Crystals Call Me Princess

PLUMDog Millionaire is a dark purple base with a shot of purple and blue glitter running through. It’s a bit more subtle than the pink but it’s very pretty.

Crushed Crystals PLUMdog Millionaire

Below are the other Crushed Crystals shades available (bottle images from Catrice website here). I have just noticed that Oysters and Champagne looks similar to Maybelline Brocades in Knitted Gold which is a beautiful polish that I get lots of wear out of.

Catrice polishes are just fab quality and great value for money, what do you think? These cost just €3.69 so go grab them, I think I’m going to get the rest of them!

The post Catrice Crushed Crystals Nail Polishes appeared first on Beauty Angel.

Catrice BB Cream – If you haven’t noticed me rave about this yet where have you been hiding?? I think this might be my favourite overall product of 2013. It’s the perfect finish, not too heavy not too light. A nice dewy look but not shiny. It also has an SPF30. It’s just a great product and is a total bargain for €6.50. It’s my go to choice for a light makeup look. Catrice do some really great products, they always impress.

Sleek i-divine Palettes – I’m sure many seasoned bloggers will roll their eyes at this one and say – duh! These have been blogger favourites for ages now but I only bought my first one a few months ago when Sleek arrived in Liffey Valley. I wasn’t expecting to be impressed but I was very wrong. The eyeshadow palettes only cost €9.99 but the quality for this price is brilliant. They’re fairly well pigmented with lovely matte and shimmer finishes that last. I only own the Oh So Special palette (here) at the moment but I see more of these in my future!

Real Techniques Expert Face Brush – I had tried many foundation brushes over the years and although they were good I definitely felt like I needed to work with them a bit. When I tried this brush I couldn’t believe it gives such a flawless finish without too much effort. I can apply my foundation flawlessly in a minute with this. It’s also not too expensive at €13.

Revlon Colorstay Foundation – I was struggling to get my foundation to last the day so I went on a hunt for a medium coverage long lasting foundation. I did a LOT of research and Revlon got mentioned again and again. I was a bit dubious but decided it wasn’t a bank breaking investment. I bought the dry skin version. This is now my go to foundation for day to day wear. It gives good medium coverage with a lasting semi-matte finish. Topped with a bit of powder it really does get my face to the end of the day. It costs about €18.

Soap and Glory Sexy Mother Pucker Gloss Sticks – This is a late comer to the list but I’m including them because they’re that good! I spotted a Christmas set of these in November and had been lusting after it for a while. Then I saw Karen at Lovely Girlie Bits rave about them and knew they had to be mine. I was lucky that by pure coincidence my friend Debs got me these for Christmas! I thought they might be too pigmented but they’re a lovely light gloss stick with a moisturising finish that lasts well. I’ve been using them non stop since I got them – thanks Debs! They cost about €9 each.

So there you have it, my makeup picks of 2013. They’re all very budget friendly now that I see them, showing you don’t have to spend a fortune for a great quality product. Did you have a favourite makeup product in 2013?

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What I love about it

I love Catrice because of the quality of their makeup at seriously good value prices. I don’t think there is anything in the range that costs much above €10. They do great staple ranges of eyeshadows, foundations, concealers, mascaras and not forgetting nails. They always do quirky limited edition collections and some of my favourites from Catrice come from the limited edition ranges.

Product picks

Well one of my favourite makeup products of all time is from Catrice – their BB cream. You can read my full review here but I just think it is such a fab product for €6.50. It gives lovely dewy light/medium coverage and protects your skin with an SPF30. What’s not to love. Their Prime and Fine primer is great value for money and will definitely add some longevity to your makeup. You also have to own a Catrice nail polish. I think they cost about €3.99, there is a fab selection of colours and I find they wear really well. The dusky pink above is one of my favourites but was unfortunately limited edition. Other picks are their gel eyeliner and lipglosses, actually I don’t think there are many products I tried that I didn’t love!

What I’d like to try next

Given the quality of the BB cream, I really want to try one of their foundations a try. I’m thinking of getting the Photofinish foundation which promises long wearing medium-full coverage, I’m very curious to see how good it is! Also I’m addicted to blushes and have yet to try a Catrice blusher so I may have a little lunchtime splurge shortly.

I’d highly recommend Catrice for any cash strapped beauty addicts out there. Are you a fan? Is there a product you love?

The post Brand Focus: Catrice appeared first on Beauty Angel.

I really like reading other bloggers monthly favourite posts so I thought I’d start my own. I think it’s a nice way to get a quick idea of peoples beauty habits and how they change with the seasons.

Well July will forever be remembered as the ‘Summer of 13’ when the weather in Ireland was completely scorchio and BBQ and alfresco drinking/dining – mainly drinking – became an everyday occurrence! The weather is taking a bit of a turn at the moment but we live in hope that July conditions will return. With the hot weather a key feature, some of my go to picks in July were:

July Favourites Face and Body

Vichy Mattifying Face Fluid SPF50

I am a paley pale lady so protecting my skin in all the sun has been mucho important. I have been wearing this on my face and chest every day. It is a bit heavier than I would like but it’s great because of the matte effect of it and it keeps shine at bay.

Palmers Natural Bronze Body Lotion

As I said I’m paley pale but have been getting envious of all my sallow ladies who were getting a lovely tan in this weather. I will have a review coming up on this product shortly but I love it. It gives you a tan comparable to some much more expensive tanning products!

Dermalogica Soothing Protection Spray

Instant cooler downer thank you very much! I don’t know about you but the only thing I don’t like about the nice weather is not being able to get cool at night time. I’ve used this spray for years as a way of toning my skin or adding a bit of extra moisture. But I also noticed it’s cooling effect in the hot weather so it has been working overtime and is nearly all used up!

Sure Compressed Deodorant

I love the new compressed deodorants. They’re small bottles you can throw in your handbag but they last as long as the bigger deodorant cans. And its good for the planet too. The little bottle was a godsend in the hot July weather.

July Favourites Makeup

Illamasqua Blush in Tremble

I just love it – that is all. Illamasqua blushers rock.

Esteé Lauder Double Wear Light

The weather got so hot that instead of opting for a lighter base, I started to need something that would resist the heat for a full day in work. I decided to dig out my old reliable Esteé Lauder. This stuff really lasts and lasts although it can have a tendency to settle in pores a little. But I could rely on it not to completely melt off.

Catrice BB Cream

If you haven’t heard me go on about this a squigillion times before you’re obviously not following me on Twitter, which you should @beautyangelblog – ha ha twitter plug! At weekends I was wearing this as I don’t need as heavy a base but it gives good coverage and has SPF30. You can read my full review here but it’s only €6.50! You can get it in some Penney’s, Dunne’s and independent chemists.

Rimmel Polish in Instyle Coral

This lovely pale coral has been my staple for my toes in July. It’s so pretty and goes nicely with my (fake) tanned feet. Don’t worry I’m not going to show you my feet, you will never ever see my feet, I promise!

Did you have anything you really loved in July?

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