Well, I Didn't See This One Coming…

I really feel bad about staring February on a wrong foot but, this is a review I have to get off my chest! Remember how flexible I was regarding the Catrice Absolute Bright Eyeshadow Palette? I truly was able to see the good side, found it really is useful in its niche even when lots of ladies couldn't see the point of a highlighting palette. I still stand by my own words as I'm using it in full swing but there's this other product that contains glitter when I never expected any (it wasn't mentioned anywhere on the packaging) and honestly – how can anyone get the idea that a face primer of all things is suitable to be packed with glitter? It just doesn't make sense to me. Catrice Prime and Fine Anti-Red Base is a multipurpose piece of make-up packaged in a greenish-black tube very reminiscent of Smashbox primers. The design is easy on the eye and practical as the opening has a protective cover and since the tube is soft to the touch, it's really easy to squeeze out exactly the amount your heart desires. This is a pretty basic silicone-based primer. Silicone is at the second position on the ingredients list (CYCLOPENTASILOXANE), along with talc, glycerin, silica etc. I have nothing against silicones in my make-up but my personal preference is not to use them on a daily basis as a very thorough cleansing is the only thing ensuring you don't get clogged pores. That aside, silicone-based primers truly are great at minimizing pores, filling them in, smoothing the skin out and creating a perfect canvas for the rest of your make-up (such as foundation) to ‘sit’ on top flawlessly. 

Osjecam se prilicno lose sto zapocinjem februar u ne toliko pozitivnom tonu no ovu recenziju zaista imam potrebu da ‘skinem sa pleca’. Sjecate se kako sam bila fleksibilna glede Catrice Absolute Bright paletice sjena za oci? Istinski sam mogla uvidjeti njene pozitivne strane, pokazala mi se dosta korisnom konkretno po pitanju osvjetljavanja oka  dok se dosta citateljica premisljalo oko nje, neke uopste nije dojmila. Jos uvijek stojim iza izrecenih i napisanih rijeci, paletica je jos uvijek u redovnoj upotrebi no naisla sam na proizvod koji sadrzi sljokice koje nikada tu ne bih ocekivala (njihovo prisutstvo nije naznaceno na pakovanju) i ruku na srce – stvarno ne mogu shvatiti kako je netko uopste mogao doci na ideju da bazu/prajmer za lice ‘obogati’ sljokicama? To mi naprosto nema smisla. Catrice Prime and Fine baza protiv crvenila (cca 10KM) je kreirana kao multifunkcionalan komad kozmetike koji je upakovan u zelencasto-crnu tubu koja jako podsjeca na Smashbox prajmere. Dizajn je prijatan na oko i praktican te higijenski posto je otvor bio prekriven mini zastitnom folijom a kako je tubica mekana da dodir, sa lakocom proizvod mozete dozirati. U sustini, ovdje se radi o silikonskoj bazi. Silikon (CYCLOPENTASILOXANE) je na visokom drugom mjestu na listi sastojaka zajedno sa talkom, glicerinom, silica gelom itd. Nemam zamjerke protiv silikona u kozmetici no prilagodila sam njihovu upotrebu u svom slucaju svodeci je na minimum ponajvise iz razloga sto je nakon njihove upotrebe temeljito ciscenje koze jedina garancija da silikon nece izazvati zacepljenje pora. Osim te licne preference, silikonske baze su zaista izvrsne po pitanju vizuelnog smanjenja pora gotovo trenutacno po nanosenju. Popunjava ih kao i fine linije, zagladjuje kozu kreirajuci gotovo savrseno platno preko kojeg ce ostatak sminke (npr.podloga) da savrseno ‘sjedne’. 

I like that the texture is indeed oil-free as suggested, it's of an unobtrusive and light scent, it doesn't have an unfortunate ‘slip’, it feels gentle on the skin and seems to be an all- round very decent primer. But then we stumble upon problems. Since this is a ‘Anti-Red Base’ it's of a green tint which helps neutralize redness – something we're familiar with (think: Avene Anti-Rougeurs Cream). However, regardless of highly greeenish tint, this primer has minimal impact on redness – it even makes my complexion quite pale, which isn't to my taste, but it can be corrected with a layer of foundation. The point is, if you're suffering from significant redness (e.g.Rosacea) this really isn't what you're looking for. But the real, true problem I personally have with this base is unnatural amount of sheer glitter it contains. Maybe I could have looked pass some micro shimmer, which creates a subtle sheen on the skin as it usually gets diminished when mixed with a (mattifying) foundation. However, we have chunks of glitter in this primer and you have it in significant amounts. I really am sorry to say that this primer/base makes my face look like a disco ball – something most of us dread. I honestly think that this could have easily be a very solid drugstore silicone-based primer if only it didn't contain glitter. Sure, it's not a champ regarding redness neutralization but it would stand a chance. I think that something like the Revelique Make-Up Gel Base is a far better option – simple, transparent gel (no shimmer, glitter) that does the job beautifully and feels even fresher on the skin. I'm really sorry Catrice, I actually fell in love with some other make-up bits I've been testing lately from your range but this primer is something I'd prefer to forget and I won't identify the brand with it as I know you can do better! Ladies, have you tried it and what do you feel about this subject?

Dopada mi se sto je tekstura zaista nemasna (kako je i obecano), nenametljivog je mirisa, nije previse ‘skliska’ na kozi, njezna je spram tena i cini se kao uopsteno jedna sasvim solidna baza. No, upravo kod te pomisli dolazimo do problema. Posto se radi o bazi koja je namijenjena neutraliziranju crvenila koze, zelencaste je boje i upravo zelena boja je ta koja cini crvenilo manje primjetnim (sjetite se Avene Anti-Rougeurs kreme). Bez obzira koliko primjetan zeleni ton bio, ova krema ima minimalan ucinak na crvenilo – jedino sto sam primjetila jeste da ten cini blijedim sto mi nije posebno drago no tome se moze doskociti sa malo tecne podloge. U svakom slucaju, ako patite od znacajnog crvenila koze (npr.Rosacee) ova baza vjerovatno nece uciniti znacajne pomake sa tim stanjem. Ipak, smatram da stvarni, istinski problem sa ovom bazom lezi u cinjenici da sadrzi neprirodne kolicine sljokica. Mozda sam mogla uciniti nesto sa mikro shimmerom koji obicno kreira suptilan odsjaj i lako ga je ublaziti (matirajucom) podlogom. Mi ovdje imamo krupne sljokice i imamo ih u velikim kolicinama. Zaista mi je zao reci ali ova baza cini da mi lice sjaji kao disko kugla – nesto cega se mnoge od nas pribojavaju. Iskreno mislim da bi se ovdje radilo o sasvim pristojnoj silikonskoj bazi da samo nije tih nesretnih sljokica. Naravno, nije sampion u uklanjanju crvenila ali imala bi sanse da se bori za svoje mjesto u kozmetickom svijetu. Radije bih preporucila nesto poput Revelique Make-Up gel baze – jednostavna, transparentna gelasta tekstura bez sljokica, radi svoj posao bas kako treba i cak ostavlja ljepsi dojam svjezine na licu. Istinski mi je zao Catrice, cak sam se zaljubila u par drugih proizvoda koje testiram i o kojima cu pisati ali – ova baza je nesto sto bih najradije zaboravila. Znam da vi to mozete mnogo bolje i tome se radujem. Drage dame, da li ste vi isprobale ovu bazu i kako se vi osjecate po ovom pitanju?

*Some of these products may have been sent to me for review. For more information, see my disclaimer.