Essence products

Essence Website

So since Essence has become widely available in the UK, it has hit the ground running and become a hot set of products to have. So which Essence products should you be on the hunt for ? If your new to the brand then have a look at this affordable brand. 

They say :

Since its launch in 2002, essence stands for trendy and high quality cosmetics at a sensational low price. This principle applies to the selection of our production steps from the very beginning until the completion of our final products. 

Quattro eyeshadow – Different textures ranging from silky shimmering to intensive shine ensure unlimited creativity with your eye make-up. perfectly aligned shades, excellent color-dispersion and long-lasting results make the quattro eyeshadow an absolute favourite.

So the Quattro eyeshadow quad is the only set of shadows I've yet to try from essence. I do think this set of shadows is very handy for travel and does give some good pigment. They are quite shimmery for a daily look, I found using the pink and cream shade mixed on the lid with the brown for the definition within the crease and V. Then all blended it makes for a beautiful eye with a multi dimensional shimmer but not overwhelming. The pearl shade is a beautiful highlight for your face, as i found its quite shimmery for the brow. This set is really handy and for the price is worth having, to have some good travel shadows.

Longlasting lipstick - is longlasting love, you simply have to fall in love with the longlasting lipsticks by essence. the lipsticks provide your lips with intensive color for several hours without drying them out. You're sure to find whatever you’re looking for from bright pink, intensive red, chilled-out berry to subtle nude shades. The essence logo on the texture and the matt, black packaging with a ring of color to match the actual color of the lipstick are true eye-catchers.

The essence lipstick's are really impressive for pigment and quality. This colour is natural beauty and it really is a stunning colour. It looks so pale in the bullet yet it is the most intense pink colour when applied. I was quite taken aback by this colour. Also the packaging is simple but chic, with a black casing and the imprint of the essence "e" on the lipstick. Im going to be checking out some more colours as these again are fabulous for anyone on a budget or wanting to experiment with brighter shades. 

Colour & go Nail polish : colour explosion, the huge colour & go range has the beloved gel-shine finish with a highly intensive shine and an extremely short drying time for perfectly polished nails in a flash! the patented quick & easy brush is particularly flat for an even easier application. The bottle has a cool essence design – with the usual colour-coded cap in the corresponding nail polish colour.

Nail polish I admit is not my favourite area of beauty as I have not done them any favours with my using of acrylics. However when i do try nail colours, I do want to spend affordably and get good quality. This polish shade is so rich and the curved angle of the flatter brush, made it easier to get a good coat on without needing to repeat and possibly streak the finish. The red colour is a rich pigment and lasted well without chipping then removed just as easily with a polish remover. It didn't leave any trace or stain. I really love this colour and i will invest in a few of my favourite colours from this range when the time comes. 

So again another set of beautiful products from essence that can be relied on and used in any environment. Lovely affordable brand that has some real star products and the ones above are testament to the quality available. 

Essence - New products

Essence Europe Website 

So the new Autumn/Winter editions by Essence have been released. Available now at wilkingsons stores, its an affordable line worth trying.  

They say : 

Following trends in a fun and unique style but never expensive. A striking range of caring cosmetic products, essence is the ultimate brand for all beauty queens.

  New for Autumn/Winter 2014 

Soft touch Mousse : 

The range with a delicate mousse texture. Gives your face a smooth and natural-looking, matt complexion while allowing your skin to breathe freely.

Essence mousse in 04 

Unfortunately this mousse was to dark for my skin, it was however very creamy. Smooth to apply and blended into the skin well. I didn't see any cracks in application, nor did it oxidise. I hope to get this in a lighter colour and try it fully as to give a proper review. 

Soo glow!

Cream to powder highlighter and blush bring that glamour and glow. It sets gorgeous accents on your cheekbones, underneath the brows or in the inner corners of your eyes.

Blush No.20 : Everything is better in pink

 This blush gives your complexion a touch of colour for a healthy, fresh look. The creamy texture with a powdery finish, practically melts with your skin. Its easy to apply and blend with your fingers

Amazing pigment that needs only a little dabbed on, then can be blended with a stipple brush. One of the most beautiful shades and great for the winter dry skin. Blends beautifully on the skin. 

Highlight in 20 : Bright up your life

The highlighter gives your complexion a beautiful shimmer. Its creamy texture turns into a velvety, powdery formula upon application. Easy to apply with your fingers.  

This gives an amazing swatch, yet when applied it doesnt buff well with a brush. It seems to just fade away, unlike the amazing blush. Applying with fingers will leave the colour as above, however you may need to let it dry to buff it lightly. 

Shimmering bronze powder 

Keep up your summer tan with the shimmer bronzing powder. The essence sun club range, provides your face & neckline with a lightly tanned finish. Its silky-smooth texture, puts you in the mood for summery complexion. 

Bronzing powder in 01 light

This is a beautiful bronzer and also not to sparkly to be a light contour. Very impressive and great for lighter more fair skins. Didn't leave an orange nor odd shade during the day. Its beautiful and stays true to colour through long wear.

Metal glam eyeshadow

Metal meets glam in metallic and shimmering effects on your eyes. The  ultimate trend, with especially soft texture. Metallic expressive eye make-up guaranteed to be eye-catching. The range of colours is huge, sure to make every beauty’s heart beat faster.

Metal glam 

This was a disappointment as its so beautiful. The top is a spray on of heavy glitter and the brown/bronze underneath, doesnt yeald much pigment. It needs a couple of applications to see true colour. However its so affordable, perfect for those learning to blend. 

Kajal in black and white

Kajal eyeliner

Crazy and vibrant new colour. The kajal pencil creates fashionable colour. Highlights your eyes in cooland trendy colours, to ensure a totally individual style. 

Kajal in Samba green 

The colour is beautiful on this new shade of pencil. It blends nicely for a subtle hint of liner with a creamy texture. Just like the Black & white kajal liners. 

3d Eyeshadow in Lavender dream

3D shadow

With an improved texture thats even softer and easier to blend. The 3D effect (from satin to metallic to shimmering) upon application. Apply moist the  eyeshadow gives a more intense result.

I found these shadows applied well with my finger but took a lot of to apply well with a brush. Once it was applied it did blend out well. They do pack a lot of shimmer and are perfect for those looking to practice with shimmer shades that can easily be blended .The choice is impressive and i do love the Green 3d version as this is beautiful. Overall the shadows are pigmented and work well primer or none. Its affordable to gain the colours you wish to add to your kit and i found this was a perfect subtle grey for a daily light smokey eye. Teamed with a lovely highlight colour, the only thing needed is a Matte to transition and add that main lid colour.

New long-lasting lipstick 

The lipsticks provide your lips,with intensive colour for several hours without drying them out. Your sure to find whatever you’re looking for, from bright pink to subtle nude shades. 

Long lasting lipstick : 14 adorable matt

The essence logo on the texture and the matt, black packaging with a ring of colour to match the actual colour of the lipstick are true eye-catchers. 

Beautiful creamy lipstick that sits well on the lips and doesnt dry out the lips. The lipstick formula is very surprising and well executed both in comfort and pigment. 

Wearing the Essence products, i found that the Blush, Bronzer and Lipstick impressed me the most. They have such rich picgment that not alot is needed and you can blend plus apply them with ease. The Kajal liners are soft and offer very good colour payoff, they are not waterproof so may need touching up.

 The Highlight and Glam eyeshadow i would say are fine, they do take getting used too. They eyeshadow needs a few applications to gain sufficent pigment, so its good for a beginner learning to blend. The highlight again needs to applied with the fingers to gain any pigment, then tapped in rather then blended with your cheek products.

The mousse foundation feels creamy and does seem to blend well. However the colour was to dark for me to review properly. The 3d shadow gave me some colour dry, not much though. I may try these damp, as i think they may work in a similiar fashion too a baked shadow. 

Essence - Products review

Essence Website

 Affordable products that are high quality are what Essence are known for, a German beauty brand that is finally making its way over to us. I'm glad they are becoming more widely available. I have been kindly sent some items to try, plus I also have a few products myself. I'm so grateful to Essence for allowing me to review there line. 

Essence products I recieved :

BB cream/16hr All day foundation

 lightly tinted BB cream ensures a smooth, radiant and flawless complexion. it makes small skin imperfections disappear without blocking your pores and provides intensive moisture with spf 30. 

This BB cream is very light and you only need a small amount. As BB creams give lighter coverage with moisturising qualities. Great for dry skin types as it is so light, plus easy to blend. The shade is leaning towards the yellow side of the spectrum. I found combining with the match 2 concealer (peachy side), under the eyes then balanced out the dark circles. Lovely BB cream for summer and  nice light feeling makeup.

16 hr All day foundation : this long-lasting foundation ensures a smooth and silky complexion all. Its delicate texture allows a simple and even application. 

This is a lovely foundation in application and how it buffed in easily. It's like the BB cream does pull to the yellow side of the spectrum. However I felt that balanced out my red areas. It doesn't last the full 16 hrs, I would say that 8 would be a realistic number. With the spot powder, this prevented it being so noticeable during touch-ups. It's a pump dispenser and I would say, 2 pumps was sufficent for my coverage. So I'm really impressed with the offerings from essence, I would like to see if more pinkish tones are available.

Pure skin anti-spot compact powder 

They say : Radiant, fresh and healthy complexion. Anti-bacterial compact powder covers-up irregularities. Clearderm complex to specially target spots and blackheads. Ensures a smooth, radiant complexion. dermatologically tested.

This powder compliments the BB cream/ foundation amazingly well. It's not chalky or powdery when applied. Finely milled and smells fresh (Non perfumed) with a creamy texture almost. I advise to make sure your foundation is dry, to the touch before applying this powder. As the powder has a creamy feel to it, then any additional cream could cause hard pan to the compact.

Silky touch Blush & Eyeshadows

Silky touch blush : Fresh complexion is essential for perfect style. Natural looking soft as well as brighter shades on your cheeks with this silky-soft blush. 

The most stunning find in my makeup collection. I had seen the swatches and was bowled over, my friend had sold this to me. It's stunning deep berry/pink/rose tones with slight shimmers. Its so pigmented and needs a light hand on application. It's finely milled and the micro shimmers are stunning when they catch the light. 

The eyeshadows are a Mono and a limited edition offering. They are both very pigmented, offering a beautiful shimmery effect. I think the shades are perfect for a inner corner highlight. I personally would use the marbelled shade, to do a smokey nighttime look. These are both pigmented and I would happily purchase more colours to use. 

Eye sorbet - Illuminating Plum

They say : Innovative, long-lasting, gel-texture is easy to apply with your finger. Beautiful shades and lots of shimmer to make your eyes shine as bright as the stars. Also ideal for use as a highlighter.

The eye sorbet surprised me the most. It went onto the lid fine and didn't leave patchy areas. However it wasn't opaque with the base colour but a lid shimmer. So I would apply my eyeshadow first then dab on some of the eye sorbet. This will give a beautiful shimmer. 

Match 2 concealer :

They say : Creamy texture of the concealer, offers high coverage. Conceal impurities, dark circles under your eyes. One kit contains two shades in light and medium beige, can also be mixed. 

The concealer is a creamy and really easy to apply. The light shade is radiant and can be applied, as a concealer or as a highlight. I could use this with a brush or my fingers. I would use my fingers as it warms the concealer nicely. However I would for hygiene purposes, when using over spots switch to a brush. I would also sterilise my concealers just due to the nature of the product. This concealer is very creamy so you will need a setting powder to just set it. 

2 in 1 Eyeliner pen - Black

They say : Do you want a fine line for a classic look or an extravagant line for a dramatic look. The essence 2in1 eyeliner pen, with a fine tip one end and a broad, slanted tip on the other.

This pen is very easy to use. I used the thin side to do my cat flick. I wanted to see how easy it was to achieve a quick look. So in my opinion the thicker side is a little less intense in colour payoff. The pen does not drag and dispenses the liner easily. However it's very wet and you need to be careful that you don't cause transfer. Also I did find when it dried it was intense in colour and had a sheen. I wouldn't advise this to be used on skin that wrinkled, as it could bleed. So it's a liquid eyeliner that's easy to use, be slow with it and it will give great looking results. Above is my first attempt at a cat eye with no paper tape used. The liner is also very easily removed,using a wet towelette or makeup remover. It comes away so easily, I would not advise this to anyone needing waterproof products. 

So that's my review on Essence products one by one. I'm so impressed that I can't wait to purchase more items to review. The quality is second to none and it's so affordable is really surprising. I can't rave enought about essence. If you have any requests to products I should trial, then feel free to leave a comment