By now I’m sure most of you of aware of Essence, the German cosmetics brand exclusive to Clicks. Thing is, you might not have met her slightly more sophisticated ‘older sister’, CATRICE, who’s exclusive to Dis-Chem.

Much like Essence, CATRICE also offers quality cosmetics at prices that won’t hurt your wallet. CATRICE, however, is incredibly trend driven; so much so that every six months, 25% of their products get updated to ensure the brand always has something new and exciting for you to buy. I also love their adorable product names:

Anyway, I got to attend a CATRICE launch last week, held at Alba lounge in the V&A. Our super-charming host was the brand’s SA importer, Cindy Nell.

She was looking gorgeous in a pair of skin tight leather leggings:

After munching my way though a pile of Turkish Delight that I think was supposed to be table decor (sorry!), I got to browse CATRICE and Essence make-up stands that had been set up for our perusal. Gotta say, I can’t get over how fabulous their pricing is and wish to God the brand had been around back in the day when I was still being paid in pocket money. 

In the 90’s, I used to buy a lot of Revlon and Maybelline goodies. Thing is, they weren’t  cheap and still aren’t today! In fact, a part of me is super bitter that in the US, those brands are considered drugstore ‘cheapies’ but here they’re priced just a few rands below ‘premium’ brands like Arden and Clinique. (To give you an idea, a Revlon nail polish costs R90 which is pretty much on par with a salon brand like Essie. In the states, however you can snap it up at $5 dollars/R40 a bottle!)

Anyway, rant aside, take a look at this gorgeous little two-tone blush: 

Celeb guests included models Tanya van Graan and Brigitte de Villiers who’s just about ready to pop with her baby boy.

Masterchef model Ilse Fourie was there too. I didn’t grab a snap as we were too busy oohing and aahing over the Essence stand. She tells me she’s big fan of their brow kits and loves how they even come with little stencils to help you create the perfect arch. I, however, am dying to get my mitts on this gorgeous lip stain:

 …

Afterwards, each guest left with a huuuuge sack of Essence and CATRICE freebies. Check it out:

A big thank you to Cindy and CATRICE/Essence. I LOVE your stuff to bits and can’t wait to get stuck in so I can tell everyone about my favourites in a later post.

Love, love

Leigh

P.S. Another thing I love about CATRICE and Essence? They create your less typical pro make-up-type products at a price that doesn’t feel like an ‘investment’. For example, CATRICE are offering a Prime and Fine Translucent Loose Powder for R64,95!

Also, Essence have an array of primers, gel eyeliners and so on all for less than R60! So next time you’re in either Dischem or Clicks, make a plan to check out both brands. Each has some seriyas wallet-friendly gems!

X x x