CATRICE Kaviar Gauche LE 2017

For the third time in a row, Catrice joined forces with the couture bridal designer Caviar Gauche and created a limited edition collection. The previous two were no doubt beautiful (last year's eyeshadow quad is stunning), but this one takes the cake. It's a gorgeous combination of gold with the creamy beige leather that looks so lavish, especially for a drugstore brand, though it's not completely original since Physicians Formula already has a similar line called Nude Wear, except there it's a combination of leather with rose gold and the prices are higher. Collection is already available in shops (in Slovenia) and it contains an eyeshadow palette, a massive highlighter, makeup brushes and a brush bag.

Eye Shadow Palette 

C01 Sand Souci

This caught my attention first because the whole design and the colours look stunning. I've always been a neutral girl at heart and this contains four wearable, everyday shades in different finishes. It's what you'd expect from a bridal designer, so universally flattering, enhancing natural beauty with soft hues and also not super pigmented, but more in a way what Burberry does with their eyeshadows, something you need to apply gradually, therefore avoid overdoing it - well that's the way I like to see it, but what I mean is that you need a few layers for an intense look. One strange thing I noticed at these that I never encountered before is that these swatch better with an eyeshadow brush than fingers. They eyeshadows are on the dry side, so maybe that's why and the eyeshadow brush that's in this collection works best, possibly because it's stiff and synthetic.

There are four shades in the palette:

An iridescent light pink shade that acts as a highlight.

A light gold brown which gives the lids a gentle wash of colour with shine.

A light taupe brown shade that despite looking much darker than that gold brown one is actually similar on the lids. Both are quite light and simple lid colours, so applying this one in the crease doesn't work that well.

A matte cool brown is the most pigmented in the bunch and as you might expect the defining colour due to being both matte and darkest in the palette.

All shades blend well and create nice transitions as I hope you can see on my swatches. Staying power is impressive I must say. Honestly I didn't expect that much mostly because the pigmentation is on the light side except of the darkest shade, but these lasted perfectly applied on my normal lids for 9 hours before I washed it off. There was no creasing and very little fading. 

Overall is it worth it? It's very pretty, that much is sure, but Catrice does have better quality eyeshadows in their singles Art Couleurs formula. They are more buttery and more pigmented, but KG palette contains decent neutrals with a good staying power.

Palette costs € 5.99.

Highlighter 

C01 Éclat D'Or

I think you need to see it in person, but trust me when I say this is a massive highlighter. You get a generous 35.7 g of product (for reference Catrice's High Glow Mineral highlighter has 8 g and TheBalm's Mary-Lou has 8.5 g, so you get about five times as much) and the whole pan is almost the size of my face. It's a regular powder highlighter and though it looks beige-pink in the pan, it's got warm gold shimmer, so it ends up a classic warm champagne highlighter. It's meant for face and body, hence the size, so it's a type of highlighter that's more on the subtle side, but the glow is nicely visible and the shimmer is so fine, you don't see any glitter, just a great glowy effect. The packaging isn't as special as are the other products and it's also feels more fragile, so don't plan to throw it in your bag, as it very likely won't survive. It's got an embossed pattern in the powder, but with a few uses I already erased one of the letters and part of a flower. Staying power is again surprisingly very impressive. Just like the quad, it was still on my face after 9h.

Worth it? It's a great value for money and the tone of the highlighter is gorgeous, however, if you're a fan of strong, very visible highlighters, you might find its glow underwhelming (it's applied heavily on my picture).

Highlighter costs € 5.99

Brushes

Brushes come in two kinds here - individually and in a set. I got the set that contains a powder brush (exclusive for the set), a blush & contour brush and an eye lid brush, plus the makeup bag. I also got an highlighter brush which is only sold individually. All are synthetic. The handles are beautifully made with gold ferules and ends, while the middle is dressed in faux leather. 

Powder Brush

The biggest in the bunch as well as the one that's most dense. It's fluffy and soft, yet due to being dense expect a heavier application of powder. For that same reason it works also for blushes and cream products, including foundations.

Worth it? It's only available in the set, but yeah, it's nice.

Blush & Contour Brush 

Cut at an angle to fit the contours of the face, it can be used for blush, contouring and highlighting, especially since it's not that big. It's soft and picks up colour well, but I wish the bristles were just a bit shorter because I prefer very dense blush brushes that get the job done faster, while this one is more for gradual applications. It blends well and works well with blushes.

Worth it? I like that it's small which fits my small face, but due to longer bristles it applies the blush in a gentler layer than my faithful Ecotools Blush brush. Overall if you really want it, yes, it's worth it.

Price when sold individually: € 5.59

Highlighter Brush

My first fan brush. It's a soft and thin fan brush with thick enough bristles that is picks up highlighter ok and it's also quite precise if you want. It deposits a gentle veil of product, so it's nice for strong highlighters, but I've actually started using it for powder too, especially under the eyes.

Worth it? I never owned a similar brush, so I can't compare, but I like it and it works ok for me.

Eye Lid Brush

A classic shader brush, so the one you use to apply colour on your lid area. Since it's synthetic and a bit stiffer than those with natural bristles, it works better with cream formulas, but it's not problematic with powder eyeshadows too. 

Worth it? Honestly this is the one brush I'd skip. It's just a bit too stiff for my liking and I prefer my other brushes (which are more expensive).

Price when sold individually: € 3.99

One more brush exists for the eyes for blending. It's sold only individually.

Price of the set is 17.49 €.

Brush Bag

Another eye candy in the collection. The faux leather is soft and looks nice quality, overall the whole collection feels and look much more expensive than it is. There is space for five brushes in bag with the slots varying in sizes, so all brushes in this collection fit in here. The closing mechanism works great, so all I can say is that is really such a lovely bag.

Worth it? Hell yeah, it's gorgeous and feels well made.

Price: € 5.99

Did you pick up anything from this collection? Have a great day!