Don’t sleep on these! Essence Melted Chrome eyeshadows {Review and swatches}
If you like super metallic eyeshadows that give off a true foiled effect to elevate your eye look, then these Essence Melted Chrome eyeshadows are for you. Read more
Rose Gold? essence All About Bronze {Review and Swatches)
The only essence eyeshadows that have wowed me have been their singles. Their I heart nude single shadows are some of my favourites.
That said, when the essence All About Nudes palette first came in I was not impressed that six-pan palette that blended into . . .
Bosso Ke Mang! Essence v Lancôme mascara
I’ve never paid tooooo much attention to mascara. Not because I don’t like it, truth be told, I feel naked without it.
I have naturally long lashes and I’m often asked if I wear false eyelashes. My eyelashes touching my sunglasses is also a bit annoying But it is what it is . . . I mean on the other hand, I have very weak teeth! Go, figure
I only do a double take when mascara makes my lashes look lifeless or extra voluminous. I don’t care how many people call me a magosha, I love the look of long, thick lashes and I’m sure most of you do too. The mascaras I’m reviewing are volumising mascaras.
Gems at the drugstore: Essence I heart nudes collection
Nudes can be girly and chic, . . . which ever it is . . . it’s usually ON FLEET!
And my heart really wanted to love EVERYTHING from this collection . . . but I didn’t
First off I’ll start with what I didn’t heart
The XXXL nude lip gloss
I got the shades 01 Shy Beauty, which is a milky pink and 03 Taste The Sweets, which a deeper pink.
The pigmentation is subtle and the reservoir brush does offer just the right amount of texture and makes it easy to apply. It’s not gloopy and has a pleasant berry fragrance.
However, both glosses didn’t show up on my pigmented lips. I bought 01 Shy Beauty to wear as a topper on my lipstick, I didn’t expect it too show up. My lips are way too pigmented for that. But it looked like a clear lip gloss over top my lipstick. The darker shade was undetectable. I know this collection is meant to be natural . . . that said, you get subtle, sheer, and then you get ‘it never showed up ‘ . . . enough said.
The nail polishes are amazing. I got the shades 03 I’m Lost In You and 04 Cupcake Topping, which is a beautiful glitter.
Paired together, the combo looked so pretty and it lasted a good 5 days before I saw any fading or chipping.
I was blown away by the single eye shadows.
I was looking for matte single eye shadows to use as transition colours, so when I saw these guys, I grabbed two of them. There was a light rose pink I swatched in store but it swatched chalky so I didn’t pick that up.
These are baked shadows and they are dome shaped. They look like mini MAC Mineralized eye shadows. I got the shades 01 Vanilla Sugar, which is a sheer, subtle beige, which worked great to blend out my crease colour, to tone it down and give it a softer look. This isn’t pigmented enough to wear as a brow bone highlighter or in the inner corner of the eye. It is way to sheer, but very pretty nonetheless.
The other shade I got was 04 Sweet like Chocolate. This colour blew my hair back, it is that awesome.
It’s a soft brown shade that looked beautiful worn alone on the lid. The texture both these shadows are silky and just glided on the lid. You need to build this guy up a bit to show up dark or use it lightly as a transition shade or a sheer wash of colour worn over a primer. Surprisingly, these shadows were really long wearing and I noticed fading after the six-hour mark.
If you get anything from this collection, I recommend trying out these eye shadows. They are incredible and you get a lot of product in a single pan.
So, there were some hits and misses in this collection but those eye shadows are definitely hidden gems at the drug store!!!
Where to buy: Selected Clicks and Dischem stores nationwide
Price: Essence eye shadows: R44,95 each
Essence lip gloss: R 36, 95 each
Essence Nail polish: R32,95
MAC v Essence – a dupe for a dupe!
Sometimes I channel by inner dupist (yes that’s a word) without wanting to.
I recently raved about MAC Springsheen Sheertone Shimmer Blush being a dupe for NARS Orgasm blush, one of the most sought-after blushes in the make up world.
MAC Springsheen is sheer, has a golden glow and is universally flattering.
After doing that review, while looking through my blush collection, a blush that I really like (I retired it for a bit) caught my eye.
It was the Essence Silky Touch Blush in 30 secret it girl.
My inner dupess (yes, it is also a word) chanted, “swatch, swatch, swatch”!
Looking at the pair in the pan, MAC Springsheen Sheertone Shimmer Blush looked much darker in the pan. But I swatched it any way. Hey, you know I like to play.
When I swatched them, the Essence Silky Touch Blush in 30 secret it girl appeared slightly chalky and a lighter pink. It still applied smoothly.
Well, you win some and you lose some, or so I thought . . .
Being a serial dupiest, I had to blend them and yoh, yoh, yoh! I was speechless and coming from a motor mouth like me, that’s saying something. Had I found a dupe for the MAC Springsheen? Yes, the Essence Silky Touch Blush in 30 secret it girl was a dupe!
But I managed , barely, to muster the strength to call my friend and ask him to look at it, he couldn’t tell the difference. I asked him to put on his glasses and he still couldn’t tell the difference. They looked almost identical. Not identical twin sisters, but sisters, close sisters.
These shades are definitely not true to pan when blended out.
While MAC Springsheen Sheertone Shimmer Blush swatched as having more of a golden sheen, the Essence Silky Touch Blush in 30 secret it girl is less opaque, but when blended out, the colour and shimmer is dead on!
To be fair, the MAC blush wears longer than the Essence one. The MAC blush also has that something special about it that I still love.
That said, Essence is creamy with decent wear time and excellent colour pay off.
I don’t mind spending a little more on a blush because it’s quite rare to hit pan over a short time. Unless you pack it on because it makes your heart sing, that’s cool, different blush strokes for different folks!
However, if you’re looking for a great coral /peach blush on a budget or just want to try out a new shade, the Essence Silky Touch Blush in 30 secret it girl is definitely worth buying.
Price: Essence Silky Touch Blush in 30 secret it girl around R70 for 5g of product
Where to buy: Essence counters (Most likely to find at Dischem and Clicks)
Price: MAC Springsheen Sheertone Shimmer Blush for 6g of product.
Where to buy: www.maccosmetics.co.za or MAC counters nationwide
Price: R235
Mini Haul! Inglot, Mac, NYX, Essence
Hi BB beauties, this is a mini haul of some products I picked up over the past 2 weeks. Most of these products I’ve never tried before, but if you have, let me know. I’d love to hear your thoughts on these products.
Full reviews of these products and demos to follow
Products I got:
MAC Mineralize Skinfinish (Give me Sun)
MAC Brush Cleanser
MAC Gentle Off Eye and Lip make up remover
Cala Fan Brush
Cala Blending Brush (eyes)
Cala Angled Eye Shadow Brush
Eyelure Naturals Starter Kit
Broadway imPress Press-on Manicure (Short Length)
L.A Colours 3D Blush Contour (CBL810 Love Bird)
NYX Jumbo Pencils ( Milk and Forest Green)
Revlon Photoready Skinlights (100 bare Natural)
Inglot Make Up Under Base
Inglot AMC Cream Foundation
Inglot HD Sculpting Powder
Inglot Lipstick – 278
Inglot 02M Breathable Nail Enamel Colour 678 (R169)
Inglot 02M Breathable Top coat
Inglot 02M Base Coat
Inglot AMC Face and Body Illuminator: (63)
Inglot Liquid eyeliner (25)
Inglot AMC Eyeliner Gel (77)
Xoxo
Prativa
Beauty Bugle
Soooo no . . . Essence Soo Glow Highlighters
If you follow me, you know I’m obsessed with highlighters and rose gold and some other stuff . . .
To be fair, the highlighters I have, are not very budget friendly, so I have been on the hunt for a cream highlighter that is good quality and easy on the pocket.
Lo and Behold. . The Essence Soo Glow! Cream to powder highlighter!
I have not been this excited since the MAC Magnetic nude collection of 2013 . . . and that was epic!
These creamy highlighters remind me of MAC’s cream colour bases. But they are less pigmented and very lightweight, which is great if you’re new to the highlighter game.
The colour is not as intense as it looks in the pan and the two shades 10 Look On The Bright Side and 20 Bright Up Your Life are very similar in shades despite one looking pink and the other looking pearl in the pan.
The subtlety of the shades can bee seen and while most would say the pearl is for lighter skin tones and the rosier one is for darker skin tones, you know that I disagree with that. Different coloured highlighters do different things on different skin tones, so don’t follow that basic tenant always.
Back to the Sooo Glow cream to powder highlighters, Because they are soooo creamy in the pan, I expected it to go onto my face wet so I could blend it in and then wait for it set dry. However, when I applied it to the highest points of my cheekbones, it dried immediately, leaving me no time to blend. Because of this, I had no control of the product and the highlighter faded into a strip of matte shimmery dust.
The best way to use this would be to apply a generous amount in one stroke in a ‘C’ formation from the highest point of your cheekbones and swipe upward toward the temple then blend out. There is no time to blend or manipulate the product as it sets on contact. If you keep rubbing it into the skin, it will disappear and you will look like you applied sparkly eye shadow of the top of your cheekbones. There is no sheen to this product and I look for that in a highlighter.
I wouldn’t recommend using this on matte make up as it will fade into highlighter heaven. The best way to use it would be on dewy make up or over a BB cream so the product has something to adhere to.
I’m not in love with the product, it doesn’t perform like other highlighters and the formula is difficult to work with. It looks pigmented when swatched but isn’t so much when applied to the face. It works great as a brow bone highlighter.
It you like a sprinkle of fairy dust, this is for you. It’s not bad, I just don’t think it is a highlighter. It’s something though . . . well I guess my hunt continues.
Where to buy: Clicks or Dischem
Price: R69
Orange Essence
Blush – Essence – Vintage District – It’s Popul-Art
Yesterday I went to Clicks to pick up some cotton pads and as I walked past the makeup aisle, a glint of gold caught my eye. It was a blush with a gold spray of a flower fantasy pattern and I wondered why I hadn’t seen it before. There was just one left, so I knew it was fate.
The price nearly knocked me off my feet. R45 bucks for a blush? I snapped it up together with a lipstick and gloss duo in the Vintage Peach.
So I’m probably a bit late on this, but this blush and lip product is way too pretty not to share my thoughts on it. It’s a pity that the gold colour is an overspray because he gold is very beautiful, That said, get a few wears of the gold and peach mixed together , it gives of the peachy/coral, golden colour with an amazing shimmer.
When you say goodbye to the gold, you’re left with a pretty decent peach, satin finish blush. While it goes on bright, the colour fades fast and only wears for about two to three hours. This is not not an investment buy, but it’s a nice blush to add to your collection if you u like the peachy coral shades of blush and don’t want to break the bank to get them. It’s a pity this is a LE blush. You can still go out and check Dischem and Clicks, I’m sure you’ll be able to find a few floating around.
Now for the lip duo. I got the shade in Vintage Peach [a peach-orange with a slight gold sheen. The colour payoff in the lips stick is very poor but the gloss is highly pigmented and you can pull off wearing the gloss by itself. With orange being huge this spring, this is definitely a lip-gloss I be looking to shaking up my look.
Overall, Essence has done really well in developing these LE collections and the formulas have really improved .These colours are bang on for spring. I wish I had known about this collection earlier, would have loved to have tried the nail polishes and eye shadows.
Great value for money, on trend and beautiful for the price.