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

First Light Cosmetics

First Light mineral makeup is a UK british make-up company, bringing affordable and quality mineral foundations, Blush, Bronzer and eyeshadows etc. They also offer the best tools with an assurance of cruelty free products. Now this post is going to have a lot of pictures,as i want to show the quality in the pigments etc plus tell you more detail to how it applies and feels.

As said on there website plus details of the brilliant fact they also trade in some of London's most prestigious markets, meaning you can try and sample this brand up close for yourself.

First Light Cosmetics is a young British label, offering gorgeous, natural, chemical-free products, that are not tested on animals. We offer high quality mineral makeup made in UK. Our product is made of minerals that are so finely crushed and ground that they feel as weightless as silk.  We are a London based Company. Occasionally on Saturday we trade in Spitalfields Market, one of the oldest and most beautiful of London's Markets.  We will publish the dates on our Facebook page. We are member of NMTF. Find us also on I Love Markets, a new vibrant social network connecting all the exciting and cool markets in London.

I was kindly sent some products to trial for them and i must say a massive thank you. As the sample sizes in the bags were brilliant. I could get a real feel for the makeup plus have enough to play around with mixing different shades, dependant on my skin tone. I generally thought i could not wear mineral makeup due to my dry skin and it enhancing the dry patches i have at times. So after a lot of research (Youtube tutorials) and playing with methods. I finally figured it out and its not that hard at all. 

So these are the Products above and i really love the beautiful logo they have embossed on there packaging.

Lipstick in Dusk and Candlelight 

Candlelight is the raspberry red and Dusk is the nude brown 

 

So the first two products i want to share are the lipsticks. They come in the standard tube and are to me very highly pigmented. Its my first experience with mineral lipstick so I'm not sure on how it should react or apply. This was buttery but the minerals used are pressed into the lipstick so whilst you may feel that its a little lumpy, its not the quality being bad, far from it. 

From my understanding mineral lipstick is pigments pressed with natural oils, so like a powder you get the odd lump the same applies with the lipstick. This didn't impede my application and experienced no product loss, the only thing i did do was use a lip brush on further applications. Its only because the warmth is making the oils warm and once its again cool it reforms. By all means you can use this from the tube, Its just a mineral makeup tip.

Rich deep red Candlelight was my all time favourite to use as it didn't bleed or feather. Nor did Dusk and i used this as a day time nude. It was lovely and creamy. Not drying on the lips as really did make them stand out with no loss of pigment. 

Eyeshadows in Midnight Mauve and Japanese Blossom 

So we come to the Eyeshadows/Pigments, now I'm going to classify them more as an eyeshadow but you can pack these on with some makeup mixer to use them as pigment to so very universal in use. So these were the two i was kindly sent and wow, it was like they knew me and my colour loves.

 I love purples and rose gold colours, as they bring out my green eyes so much. Its what i have mostly in my collection but never have found a lovely rose gold. I've done a look with all these products at the end of the post.

 Now with mineral makeup you would expect a lot of fallout. However with the right base i packed this on with little fallout and in-fact the purple once applied then blended out so easily. Plus i could build the colour, I used my tape trick to prevent a glitter overload on the apple of my cheek. Im so impressed with these mineral shadows i think i may need to crack my others out. I literally thought they would be such hard work but nope i was proved so wrong. 

Foundations in Perfect day, Peach blossom, Spring morning and Breeze in Beaches

So i had originally been sent these in bags as the picture shows above, but i potted them so that they would be protected and also store better. It was a mix from the light collection and fair skin. As i have a Cool undertone with a tendency to then, completely change come summer to more neutral. So this gives you a chance to take literally a little finger full. Then colour mix to your complexion. These pictures are enhanced so what looks like a pile is actually a end of a teaspoon amount. You need so little, i used all four colours adding a little more of the cooler tones. Then mixed in a little container i have. Now when i had finished i kept what i had left, as its literally so little you need why throw good makeup away. I just labelled it accordingly. 

So firstly i will say as I'm on the dry to combination skin type. I moisturised, then applied a light concealer followed by a primer. Then allowed that all to absorb and was ready to apply. Now at first i was told to lightly tap it into the skin which i did on the areas i would need a fuller coverage.

Then taking a stippling brush worked my way around the face making sure to dab rather then swirl. It was so odd to me as i use full coverage and love that flawless look so when you see my picture you will understand why i was so shocked with the results. I am so impressed and now my skin is going back to its normal "summer" complexion, i can say i would rather mineral foundation, now that i know how to apply properly then a full heavy duty cream foundation. Its nice to know i have an alternative option if i decide to just dash and go rather then blending and all that faff. 

Blush in Kohilo, Zephyr and Bronzer in Santorini 

So now we come to the Blush and bronzers and really again, i would use these as eyeshadows as the pigment is amazing.  Santorini is a golden bronzer that just makes you radiate and you literally need a dab, i again took tiny little dots of an amount then stippled my brush and tapped them off to apply. As they blend so effortlessly. Now i took a light hand as i used Kohilo as a highlight/blush then used a little Zephyr and Santorini mixed to tone its all in together. The dusky pinkness of Zephyr really brings these colours together.  Finely milled and just a joy to apply as its not makeup thats caking or feeling heavy as you apply the layers. Its light, fresh and flawless plus i really wasn't used to it but i love the final look. 

So as you can see i went really lightly on the blush and bronze colours just to give a hint of colour. The eyes were done with the base being a Colour tattoo in Rose Gold, packed on the Japanese blossom and Midnight mauve, blended then simply used a liquid eyeliner and kohl for the waterline. 

The lipstick i did a duo effect with the Candlelight being on the bottom lip and the cupids bow lined the top lip, then taking dusk i filled my upper lip with this to really make the colours pop. 

I can honestly hand on heart say I'm so impressed this is flawless looking to me and i love heavy cream foundation. Now i was also sent an eyeshadow brush to use and I'm sorry i got it in a mess, so when i have it cleaned i will Instagram a picture of it to the side of my blog. Its a soft tool that picks up the minerals well, helped with packing on eyeshadow so probably is why i suffered very little to no fallout. 

---------------------------------------

So you can find all you need here 

First Light Mineral makeup

At the minute they have a brilliant offer for samples of the makeup available. 

BUY £2.50 SAMPLE AND GET £2.50 DISCOUNT ON YOUR NEXT PURCHASE

Buy a First Light Cosmetics sample for £2.50 and we will give you a discount code for the same amount when you purchase the full product.

You can buy as many samples as you want and get a discount to the sum you spent in one card transaction. With the sample we will post you a discount code to use next time you want to buy our products online.

This offer it is specially addressed to the Foundations since we know it is difficult to find the right one. But you can purchase Finishing Powder, Bronzers and Blushers as well

You can find and buy sample on the product page, selecting the option "2g sample £2.50"

------------------------------------------

So what do you think of my look and first look with Mineral Products ?

Soap and Glory Cosmetics - Glow all out / Love at First blush

Now i love the Soap and Glory range, I have the Bronzo powder, Lip stuff eyeshadow and whipped body wash. I have liked the face powder the most in Bronzo as its not too heavy and leaves a nice glow to the skin. So i decided to get the 3 for 2 offer and purchase the others. Now i wanted the "Its a blot" powder also, however i could not find it for love nor money. So i need to order it online next payday and i admit i may be getting more items as well.

So this time i bought the Glow all out which is a luminizing powder and Love at first blush which is surprisingly lol a Blusher. I also got the Kick ass concealer but il review that separately as i feel it needs its own review being that it does something different for your face.

Glow all Out - Luminizing powder

So the luminizer is a light powder and embossed with the Soap and glory logo. It is a pearlscent powder that gives that glow to the cheeks. The powder is soft and you don't need much at all, it doesn't cake but it also doesn't feel heavy so i would be in a natural when applying so you can see how much glow your adding to your skin. It brings the cheeks out so well and I've used it and had all three powders on me. They also compliment each other, now you may see the shimmers in each and it can go overboard if you don't dust off the excess. However you can reach a lovely balance and make your skin glow and look amazing. Also you wont look like a glitter-ball so don't worry as this Glow all out can be added to a plainer blush if you wanted to add something to it. So its really about seeing swatches in store and what you want out of a powder.

Love at first blush - Blusher 

Now love at first blush is really lovely and it has a 3 wheel pie like setting in the pan, you could use this alone and grab a smaller contoured brush to pick up separately the blush, highlight and bronze shades individually. I swirled my brush in the pan and it gave me a luminized - blush almost berry colour, really lovely and natural. So for the day i would only use this as my main blush and contour, now I'm not a mad contour woman as i have a rounder face and honestly looks like I've just got 2 sponges of bronzer on my cheeks also yes i do blend it properly but it just does not work so i use bronzer to colour me up as i can look pale in the winter until summer.

My look with Soap and Glory Powders

So this is my look with all 3 powders on (Bronzo, Glow all out and Love at first blush) and i really like the finished effect, i will upload a natural light picture when i receive the "All a blot" pressed powder as i will be interested to see how that powder feels all over and sets a foundation into place.

Do you own any Soap and Glory Cosmetics ?