Have you heard? I'm sure you have! A new brand has reached our shores and its not #BreakYourBank kinda brand.. Its Europe's no. 1 selling "Essence Cosmetics"- Affordable, functional, fresh and always evolving. It's pretty exciting actually. Here's a good before and after shot to get the ball rolling!
.jpg "Essence Cosmetics review")
Do I have your attention now?
Ok..So I was sent a couple of their products to review last month. I felt like doing a full one brand look. Never done one of those before so went ahead and bought some more of their products from Farmers NZ. Remember I posted a pic of Essence display over on our Instagram?
So here's a one brand look cum review of Essence products I've used in this look. All Essence and nothing else. Ok..Except Moisturizer and Lip balm.
Products used:
Essence Stay All Day 16h Long Lasting Makeup in '40 Soft Honey'
Essence Mattifying Compact Powder in '10 Light Beige'*
Essence Silky Touch Blush in '60 Life's a Cherry'
Essence Quattro Eyeshadow in '05 To Die For'*
Essence Long Lasting Eye Pencil in '01 Black Fever'*
Essence Superfine Eyeliner Pen*
Essence Lash Princess Volume Mascara*
Essence Lipstick in 'Coral Calling'
To acheive the look-
EYE
I finished the whole eye look with this quad 'To Die For'
Step by Step
- I started by Moisturizing face and neck with Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion (Review here)
- Primed Eyelids with Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion.
- I then moved on to do the eyes first before doing up the face as it was going to be a heavy/dark look. Saves your base makeup from eyeshadow fall-out if any.
- Randomly sketched the Essence long lasting black eye pencil on the lid (1)
- Blended the eye pencil with ring finger and then a flat brush (2) (3)
- From the Quattro Eyeshadow quad, placed the shimmery brown shade on the lid, over the black pencilled area with a flat brush to pack on the color (4) (6) (5)
- With a pencil brush, I've placed the champagne colored highlight in the inner corner of eye and some on the upper lid towards the lash line. (7) Also notice the darker brows, I've filled them with the matte brown shade from the same quad.
- Dark matte brown was also placed on the outer V and crease and blended out. Blend blend blend. (8)
- Tightlined eyes. That's applying black pencil eyeliner in the inner part of upper lid, to fake fuller lashes and have no skin showing. (9)
- Shimmery brown shade on lower lash line using the detailer brush from Real Techniques Core Collection. I got a bit slack with taking pics after here. The step also involves placing pearly highlight shade from the eyeshadow quad under the brow bone, winged liquid liner and curling lashes with my Shu Umera lash curler. (10)
- Mascara (11)
- Finished eye look. (12). I forgot to put anything on my waterline!
FACE
- Applied Essence Stay All Day Long Lasting Foundation with Real Techniques Expert Face brush
- Set the foundation with Essence Mattifying Compact powder
- Used the matte brown shade from Quattro Eyeshadow as a Bronzer to contour cheeks, sides of nose and frame the face.
- Used the lightest pearly shade from Quattro Eyeshadow as a face highlighter- Some under the eyebrows, bridge of nose, top of cheeks & cupids bow.
- Swiped Essence Silky touch blush in 'Life's a Cherry' on the cheeks, kinda blending the highlighter and contour and *TRYING* to make it all look seamless.
LIPS
After lip balm, applied 'Coral Calling' lipstick straight from the tube. No lip liner whatsoever.
DONE!
Sounds exhaustive but it didn't take super long after the eyes were done, which took awfully long, thanks to the crap liquid liner. #SorryNotSorry
Ok. I'll do mini-review of sorts of each of the products used.
1. Essence Stay All Day 16h Long Lasting Makeup in '40 Soft Honey' ($8.55 NZD)- So, I'm a dewy skin kinda person but when I went to store to get a base product from Essence's Range, there was none of the dewy ones available in my skin. I wasn't very keen on BB or CC creams as they never match my skintone. I'm somewhere in the middle of color spectrum, so neither fair nor dark works for me. Booo...
So I took the plunge with this long lasting foundation. It talked of velvety finish. Ummm..ok..It turned out to be matte. Its matte, long wearing, matches me well and has medium coverage. Shade 40 Soft Honey was a perfect match to my NC 30-35 warm Indian complexion.
The negative bits- It looks cake-y and heavy when layered. So best to stick with one coat for daily wear. It also accentuates dry patches so definitely not a good pick for dry skin like mine. It stays for full work day and starts getting dewy by 6th hour (which I love). The foundation didn't talk of any skin types but after using it I'm convinced its good for oily skin- the wear, the finish, everything.
2. Essence Mattifying Compact Powder in '10 Light Beige'* ($6.30 NZD)
The compact is ideal for setting foundation. Its a shade lighter for me (I'm more like honey/golden beige) but because its so fine and has minimal coverage, it doesn't look odd on the face. I'm thinking its more to the likes of Rimmel Stay matte compact but I can't compare as I haven't used that yet.
3. Essence Silky Touch Blush in '60 Life's a Cherry' ($5.65 NZD)
This blush is love! Just look at the shade..so bright and peppy! Definitely a great summery addition to my blush collection. Its bright coral, silky, highly pigmented and stays on for 5-6 hours before disappearing. Comparable to the NYX's range of blushes. Worth it for the price!
4. Essence Quattro Eyeshadow in '05 To Die For'* ($6.75 NZD)
The only reason I did a heavy eye with this look was to show the versatility of a basic brown eyeshadow quad. We all have one of those lying around. A Revlon or a Maybelline maybe? Its amazing what a lil black pencil underneath can do to take it from Neutral day look to a Glam Night look.
The quad is definitely a keeper. The eye-shadows are pigmented, not chalky at all and easy to blend.
I even used the matte brown shade as Bronzer & Eye-brow filler and the lightest pearl/shimmery shade as Face highlighter. They absolutely rocked! What do you reckon?
5. Essence Long Lasting Eye Pencil in '01 Black Fever'* ($5.65 NZD)
An eye pencil that doesn't give me watery eyes has to be given a bonus point. It didn't react with my eyes, stayed on the waterline for about an hour after moving down to the lower lash line where it stayed on forever. Kinda expected!!! I have no qualms with that. But something to consider if you absolutely need your waterline jet black.
The eye pencil is crazy pigmented, glides smoothly and the darkest black you'd come across. I love it!
6. Essence Superfine Eyeliner Pen in '01 Deep Black'* ($5.65 NZD)
Ok! Don't buy this. Keen on the story?
So, the day I opened it, I was in love. So black, a precision felt tip and ease of use.
Few days later, It feels dry, I can hardly extract any out of the tip (I kept shaking the pen...like you do to a pen) and finally the tip just gave away and wouldn't behave at all. FAIL.
I could only finish one eye with it and had to re-do the other so many times, before chucking it in the bin and doing the other eye with my trusty L'oreal one. A good 15 minutes wasted! Ain't nobody got time for that!
7. Essence Lash Princess Volume Mascara* ($7.45 NZD)
I'll re-purchase it. Definitely my kinda mascra- beautiful packaging, curved brush that reached out to corner lashes, separates each lash, makes them thick n longer, doesn't feel heavy at all and lashes looks completely natural. WIN!
If you're my type, this mascara for just $8 should be on your to-buy list.
8. Essence Longlasting Lipstick in 'Coral Calling' ($5.20 NZD)
A true Coral shade- neither red, nor pink , nor red but a perfect coral. I'm usually a matte lover but wearing matte's require certain discipline (Think lip scrub, lip primer, lip liner and the likes). For once, I actually appreciated the slap on straight from the tube approach. Its buttery, moisturizing, pigmented, glides on smooth and stays good for about 2-3 hours if no food is involved. Not bad for the price I reckon! Definitely good for day wear if you can touch up. And there's heaps of other shades available. I almost had to catch myself from picking up a red again.
That's it for me today!!! A pretty loooong post ..never-ending actually! If you've reached this far. Hi 5!! Mwwah ♥♥♥
So, what did you think of the look? Would you like me to do more "one brand looks"? Whats your take on Essence Cosmetics?
Till then!
Stay Classy peeps :)
Nishu
*PR Sample
Do I have your attention now?
Ok..So I was sent a couple of their products to review last month. I felt like doing a full one brand look. Never done one of those before so went ahead and bought some more of their products from Farmers NZ. Remember I posted a pic of Essence display over on our Instagram?
So here's a one brand look cum review of Essence products I've used in this look. All Essence and nothing else. Ok..Except Moisturizer and Lip balm.
Products used:
Essence Stay All Day 16h Long Lasting Makeup in '40 Soft Honey'
Essence Mattifying Compact Powder in '10 Light Beige'*
Essence Silky Touch Blush in '60 Life's a Cherry'
Essence Quattro Eyeshadow in '05 To Die For'*
Essence Long Lasting Eye Pencil in '01 Black Fever'*
Essence Superfine Eyeliner Pen*
Essence Lash Princess Volume Mascara*
Essence Lipstick in 'Coral Calling'
To acheive the look-
EYE
I finished the whole eye look with this quad 'To Die For'
Step by Step
- I started by Moisturizing face and neck with Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion (Review here)
- Primed Eyelids with Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion.
- I then moved on to do the eyes first before doing up the face as it was going to be a heavy/dark look. Saves your base makeup from eyeshadow fall-out if any.
- Randomly sketched the Essence long lasting black eye pencil on the lid (1)
- Blended the eye pencil with ring finger and then a flat brush (2) (3)
- From the Quattro Eyeshadow quad, placed the shimmery brown shade on the lid, over the black pencilled area with a flat brush to pack on the color (4) (6) (5)
- With a pencil brush, I've placed the champagne colored highlight in the inner corner of eye and some on the upper lid towards the lash line. (7) Also notice the darker brows, I've filled them with the matte brown shade from the same quad.
- Dark matte brown was also placed on the outer V and crease and blended out. Blend blend blend. (8)
- Tightlined eyes. That's applying black pencil eyeliner in the inner part of upper lid, to fake fuller lashes and have no skin showing. (9)
- Shimmery brown shade on lower lash line using the detailer brush from Real Techniques Core Collection. I got a bit slack with taking pics after here. The step also involves placing pearly highlight shade from the eyeshadow quad under the brow bone, winged liquid liner and curling lashes with my Shu Umera lash curler. (10)
- Mascara (11)
- Finished eye look. (12). I forgot to put anything on my waterline!
FACE
- Applied Essence Stay All Day Long Lasting Foundation with Real Techniques Expert Face brush
- Set the foundation with Essence Mattifying Compact powder
- Used the matte brown shade from Quattro Eyeshadow as a Bronzer to contour cheeks, sides of nose and frame the face.
- Used the lightest pearly shade from Quattro Eyeshadow as a face highlighter- Some under the eyebrows, bridge of nose, top of cheeks & cupids bow.
- Swiped Essence Silky touch blush in 'Life's a Cherry' on the cheeks, kinda blending the highlighter and contour and *TRYING* to make it all look seamless.
LIPS
After lip balm, applied 'Coral Calling' lipstick straight from the tube. No lip liner whatsoever.
DONE!
Sounds exhaustive but it didn't take super long after the eyes were done, which took awfully long, thanks to the crap liquid liner. #SorryNotSorry
Ok. I'll do mini-review of sorts of each of the products used.
1. Essence Stay All Day 16h Long Lasting Makeup in '40 Soft Honey' ($8.55 NZD)- So, I'm a dewy skin kinda person but when I went to store to get a base product from Essence's Range, there was none of the dewy ones available in my skin. I wasn't very keen on BB or CC creams as they never match my skintone. I'm somewhere in the middle of color spectrum, so neither fair nor dark works for me. Booo...
So I took the plunge with this long lasting foundation. It talked of velvety finish. Ummm..ok..It turned out to be matte. Its matte, long wearing, matches me well and has medium coverage. Shade 40 Soft Honey was a perfect match to my NC 30-35 warm Indian complexion.
The negative bits- It looks cake-y and heavy when layered. So best to stick with one coat for daily wear. It also accentuates dry patches so definitely not a good pick for dry skin like mine. It stays for full work day and starts getting dewy by 6th hour (which I love). The foundation didn't talk of any skin types but after using it I'm convinced its good for oily skin- the wear, the finish, everything.
2. Essence Mattifying Compact Powder in '10 Light Beige'* ($6.30 NZD)
The compact is ideal for setting foundation. Its a shade lighter for me (I'm more like honey/golden beige) but because its so fine and has minimal coverage, it doesn't look odd on the face. I'm thinking its more to the likes of Rimmel Stay matte compact but I can't compare as I haven't used that yet.
3. Essence Silky Touch Blush in '60 Life's a Cherry' ($5.65 NZD)
This blush is love! Just look at the shade..so bright and peppy! Definitely a great summery addition to my blush collection. Its bright coral, silky, highly pigmented and stays on for 5-6 hours before disappearing. Comparable to the NYX's range of blushes. Worth it for the price!
4. Essence Quattro Eyeshadow in '05 To Die For'* ($6.75 NZD)
The only reason I did a heavy eye with this look was to show the versatility of a basic brown eyeshadow quad. We all have one of those lying around. A Revlon or a Maybelline maybe? Its amazing what a lil black pencil underneath can do to take it from Neutral day look to a Glam Night look.
The quad is definitely a keeper. The eye-shadows are pigmented, not chalky at all and easy to blend.
I even used the matte brown shade as Bronzer & Eye-brow filler and the lightest pearl/shimmery shade as Face highlighter. They absolutely rocked! What do you reckon?
5. Essence Long Lasting Eye Pencil in '01 Black Fever'* ($5.65 NZD)
An eye pencil that doesn't give me watery eyes has to be given a bonus point. It didn't react with my eyes, stayed on the waterline for about an hour after moving down to the lower lash line where it stayed on forever. Kinda expected!!! I have no qualms with that. But something to consider if you absolutely need your waterline jet black.
The eye pencil is crazy pigmented, glides smoothly and the darkest black you'd come across. I love it!
6. Essence Superfine Eyeliner Pen in '01 Deep Black'* ($5.65 NZD)
Ok! Don't buy this. Keen on the story?
So, the day I opened it, I was in love. So black, a precision felt tip and ease of use.
Few days later, It feels dry, I can hardly extract any out of the tip (I kept shaking the pen...like you do to a pen) and finally the tip just gave away and wouldn't behave at all. FAIL.
I could only finish one eye with it and had to re-do the other so many times, before chucking it in the bin and doing the other eye with my trusty L'oreal one. A good 15 minutes wasted! Ain't nobody got time for that!
7. Essence Lash Princess Volume Mascara* ($7.45 NZD)
I'll re-purchase it. Definitely my kinda mascra- beautiful packaging, curved brush that reached out to corner lashes, separates each lash, makes them thick n longer, doesn't feel heavy at all and lashes looks completely natural. WIN!
If you're my type, this mascara for just $8 should be on your to-buy list.
8. Essence Longlasting Lipstick in 'Coral Calling' ($5.20 NZD)
A true Coral shade- neither red, nor pink , nor red but a perfect coral. I'm usually a matte lover but wearing matte's require certain discipline (Think lip scrub, lip primer, lip liner and the likes). For once, I actually appreciated the slap on straight from the tube approach. Its buttery, moisturizing, pigmented, glides on smooth and stays good for about 2-3 hours if no food is involved. Not bad for the price I reckon! Definitely good for day wear if you can touch up. And there's heaps of other shades available. I almost had to catch myself from picking up a red again.
That's it for me today!!! A pretty loooong post ..never-ending actually! If you've reached this far. Hi 5!! Mwwah ♥♥♥
So, what did you think of the look? Would you like me to do more "one brand looks"? Whats your take on Essence Cosmetics?
Till then!
Stay Classy peeps :)
Nishu
*PR Sample
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