Beauty Haul: Kit Building!

Now that I've finished my course with The International Make-up Academy, I've begun building my kit and it is soooo expensive fun! Yesterday I picked up essentials for my makeup kit, some which were recommended by my makeup teacher and others which I personally liked. Today's post is a breakdown of these buys and a short review on each!

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Catrice's Camouflage Cream (€3.49) is a perfect dupe for Benefit's Erase Paste and honestly, I would not leave the house without it. It has 100% coverage and is best applied by patting it on with your ring finger. It is important to use the right shade or else is will look all wrong. At €3.49, you can afford to buy two and mix them if needs be!

Sticking with Catrice and concealers, this correcting palette is a nifty staple for my makeup kit as it has all the important shades: peach for undereye circles, a dark and light concealer, an orange-y pink which I will use as a cream blush and green which covers redness. The texture is creamy and light and the coverage is medium but buildable!

This Essence Sun Club bronzer is specifically for blondes and it really is the perfect shade. It has no shimmer or glimmer so it is perfect for effective contouring. You don't need a lot of product and it blends out very naturally. It also has a light coconut smell to it which I adore, especially as we near Summer but a lot of people don't appreciate it so be warned!

I have been lusting after this highlighter ever since my great experience with Topshop's "Infrared" lipstick. I'm told that Benefit actually make Topshop's makeup and brushes, which would explain the amazing quality! This highlighter is called Polished and has quite a lot of product in the little jar. A little goes a looong way and I am so excited to use this product! It will look stunning on someone with a tan, combined with a good contour. It costs €14 but it's worth it for the amount of product you get.

Rimmel's Waterproof eyeliner costing about €7.99. It also comes with a brush which I didn't even picture as it is useless. It is not thin enough to create a fine line, so I recommend using your own brush. The eyeliner is creamy enough that you don't need a whole lot, but isn't so dry that it pulls at your eye. It is smudge-proof and water-proof, trust me! Success!

 Catrice's Prime and Fine face primer costs less than €5 and has received many mixed reviews. Like other bloggers, I found that it does reduce shine and improves the longevity of my foundation. However, others have complained that it made them breakout big time after regular use. I have sensitive skin that breaks out easily but have not had a problem (yet) with this primer. I will post an update if it happens! As its intended use is for my kit, I think it should be fine as reviewers all reacted to the product following regular use and I myself haven't, even after my few uses.

A cheapo pencil sharpener from Catrice. It cost about €2, has a sharpener for large and medium pencils and has a little cover to hold the shavings. Poifect.

I love Rimmel's Soft Kohl black, pencil eyeliner for creating a smokey eye base as I was taught in The International Makeup Academy. It is creamy enough that it can be blended out using your ring finger and glides easily on the waterline.



At the moment you can get Maybelline's Great Lash mascara for just €6 in Penneys! This is a product that I used when I was in The International Makeup Academy. It's a mixed bag for this one: people either love it or hate it. The main reasons that customers  hate it is the brush, which is quite spaced out, and the fact that it gives a 'natural' look. Buuuut.. when a makeup artist applies mascara to a client, they use disposable wands, so the brush isn't too important to me when it's intended for my kit. As for it offering a natural look, I think it would suit a more mature client who wants that look. It is quite a wet formula which I am not be too keen on as it can be messy.

So that's what I've been doing with my spare time/money. Do you see anything you'd like to try? Have you tried anything mentioned? Let me know your experience in the comments!

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