First Impressions: Essence Cosmetics

I’m pretty fanatic about the bargain cosmetics brands, so it seems nuts that I haven’t tried essence cosmetics before! Especially since I can easily buy their products in drugstores near me.Got you interested? Then click to see what I have to say about 8 different essence products!

To start, you are being forewarned that photos aren’t up to my personal standards. It was a dark, rainy day in April and natural lighting just didn’t want to work for me. Nonetheless, you can hopefully get the general idea of things.

1. Sun Club All-in-One Bronzing Highlighter (in 02 Sun Glow)

• Although I can’t possibly get away with contouring with this very warm bronzing powder, it’s still lovely. It warms up the face in a kind of subtle way and the shimmer isn’t too obnoxious.
• This is fairly light, so darker skin tones might not get the desired effects with this stuff.
• The pigment is crazy. Once I got the blush on from below, I definitely needed a kabuki to blend and tone both of them down.
• Smells exactly like cocoa butter, omg how.

2. Silky Touch Blush (in 80 Autumn Peach)

• The texture is super soft and buttery. Awesome
• HOLY COW, insane pigmentation. Use with caution, I repeat, use with caution! 
• This colour is quite nice, it’s a not-there-yet matte finish. I like.
• Success number 2 for essence, yipppppee~

3. 3D Eyeshadow (in 03 Choco Cupcake)

• Can we just take a minute to admire the shape of this eyeshadow? Isn’t that gorgeous? And doesn’t it look like something worth a heck of a lot more than 3.99$CAN?
• So, if you are familiar with the Wet n Wild Eyeshadow Trios, you will know what these eyeshadows are like. In short, they’re awesome.
• Suppppper soft and buttery. Like, you’ll want to use your fingers to apply instead of your brush, Not a lot of fall out strangely.
• I love. Amazing stuff. Success number 3! We’re on a roll!

4. 2-in-1 Eyeliner Pen

• So…
• This eyeliner looks pretty promising, right? Super black swatch and all. However…
• The brush isn’t flexible at all; it makes winging so much harder than it already is.
• Not only that but it dries out really quickly. I had to go back and forth between the ends when doing one eye.
• The roll we were on has ended. This was a pain in the derrière to work with. Big thumbs down.

5. Long-Lasting Eye Pencil (in 17 Tu-Tu-Turquoise)

• This colour is really out of the norm for me. But I’ve been meaning to try out some bright eyeliners and well, here we are.
• The pigment is pretty good, wasn’t sure how the glittery bits would work out, but it didn’t bother my waterline at all!
• It does need the tiniest amount of warming up for it to glide smoothly. It’s really not that bad.
• Considering I put this in my waterline, I was not expecting much staying power but I was, again, wrong. It stayed vibrant for hours!
• We’re back on track with success #4!

6. Lash Princess Volume Mascara

• The wand is pretty interesting, right? Hence why I chose it.
• I’m really apprehensive about trying out new mascaras, especially those with dryer formulas because they usually smudge on my lower lash line like crazy. It’s an issue.
• BUT, I was very pleasantly surprised by this!
• It separates the lashes very well, I could build product without it getting clumpy. I wouldn’t say it’s the most volumizing mascara out there, but it does okay. It actually keeps my curl pretty well. Another rare feat in the average mascara.
• Overall, VERY impressed. Success number 5!!

7. Lipliner (in 05 Soft Berry)

• I don’t have many lip liners. I don’t really use them much but hey, why not start now?
• SO, this colour is right up my alley. I put this on and was like, man I would wear this all day, any day.
• Good pigment, appropriately dry and matte.
• Downside, you have to sharpen this. Oh, woe is me.
• Love. Success #6. Jeez.

8. XXXL Shine Lipgloss (in 01 Pure Chic)

• This was the real tester. Why? Because I have hated lipglosses for ages.
• And you know what? I actually really liked this! I can’t believe it!
• It’s a great texture and it’s not too sticky. Lasts a long time. It feels lovely and it doesn’t smell sickeningly sweet like half the lipglosses out there.
• I don’t like the flat doe-head applicator though. I find it a little awkward.
• Here we go again. Success #7. I just. Essence, where have you been all my life?

Conclusion:

• I HATE myself right now. Why did I not get into essence cosmetics before now? They’re so affortable and amazing.
• I recommend completely– Okay, maybe not the 2-in-1 liquid eyeliner. That was a fail.
• Every product mentioned above was used in this look!

All right, I shall be off!

Much love,
Nadine, T.M.E

ps:

My dog was observing this entire process quietly…or not.