Hi loves,
Today, I thought I'd do a brand review on Essence cosmetics and just tell you all about my favourite products from the brand.
Essence is a German drugstore brand that first caught my eye ...many many moons ago on my first overseas trip, wide-eyed and bushy-tailed. way before it became available in South Africa. I was super-excited when it became available in Clicks and Dischem. It's a cruelty-free brand, that's super-affordable and they make amazing colour products; my favourites are the nail polishes and the eyeliners. Below, I talk about my impressions of the different types of products and my favourites and not-favourites.
Lip products
The best lipsticks from Essence always seem to be part of a limited edition range: I've swatched lipsticks from the permanent range but I'm never impressed. I've picked up the limited edition lipsticks though. I love the formula of the Lights of the Orient lipsticks; 02 Bellydancing queen is my favourite from the collection and 03 Princess Jasmine's Choice paired with the Miss you much lipliner gives a mauvey nude.
I recently tried the metal shock lipsticks and liquid lipsticks from the Metal Shock collection; I love the formula of the lipsticks, they're very comfortable to wear and highly pigmented. the Liquid lipsticks are pigmented but they feel more like lipgloss and don't have very good staying power.
Eye Products
Essence eyeliners are the best you can find at the drugstore, especially given the price you're paying. My favourites are the long-lasting liners: I have them in five colours and they last all day without fading.
Eye shadows are not my favourite; I've tried the palette from the Lights of the Orient collection, it's decent but it doesn't have any mattes in it, so you need to pair it with mattes from elsewhere.
I recently tried out the Metal Shock shadows; these are really good dupes for the Stila liquid shadows. The pigmentation is amazing, you don't get any fallout and they don't fade or crease during the day.
Moonlight cream shadows are also new; I've tried the shade cosmic, which is a duo-chrome brown with teal micro glitter. This shadow feels a bit wet, and has a consistency and feel similar to that of the Colourpop Supershock highlighters.
Face products
Now this is where I feel Essence needs to put in more effort, because this is just sad. I've tried out the mousse foundation: it applies well but they do feel heavy on my skin. They dark shades also run a bit orange, which doesn't suit me, since I have neutral undertones. But they don't last all day and they transfer quite easily.
Nail products
The nail range from essence is probably my favourite of the lot. It's super affordable and just delivers as well as or even better than some of the high end nail products.
The colour selection and pigmentation is impressive and at R29.95 its a no-brainer.
Final thoughts: My holy grail products from Essence are definitely the nail products, they always come through for me. The Metal Shock products for nails and eyes are keepers, but it's a pity they're limited edition. They're still available in Clicks stores, so now's the time to get them.
Have you tried anything from Essence? What are your favourites? Comment below.
Today, I thought I'd do a brand review on Essence cosmetics and just tell you all about my favourite products from the brand.
Essence is a German drugstore brand that first caught my eye ...many many moons ago on my first overseas trip, wide-eyed and bushy-tailed. way before it became available in South Africa. I was super-excited when it became available in Clicks and Dischem. It's a cruelty-free brand, that's super-affordable and they make amazing colour products; my favourites are the nail polishes and the eyeliners. Below, I talk about my impressions of the different types of products and my favourites and not-favourites.
Lip products
The best lipsticks from Essence always seem to be part of a limited edition range: I've swatched lipsticks from the permanent range but I'm never impressed. I've picked up the limited edition lipsticks though. I love the formula of the Lights of the Orient lipsticks; 02 Bellydancing queen is my favourite from the collection and 03 Princess Jasmine's Choice paired with the Miss you much lipliner gives a mauvey nude.
 |
| Soft neutral look with the Lights of the Orient eye shadow palette and the Metal art lip & liner in 02 you're mermazing. On my lips is 03 Princess Jasmine's Choice with the Jumbo 2-in-1 lip pencil. |
I recently tried the metal shock lipsticks and liquid lipsticks from the Metal Shock collection; I love the formula of the lipsticks, they're very comfortable to wear and highly pigmented. the Liquid lipsticks are pigmented but they feel more like lipgloss and don't have very good staying power.
 |
| Essence Metal Shock Lipstick in 07 Venom |
 |
| It's a bit loud... but I love it. |
Eye Products
Essence eyeliners are the best you can find at the drugstore, especially given the price you're paying. My favourites are the long-lasting liners: I have them in five colours and they last all day without fading.
Eye shadows are not my favourite; I've tried the palette from the Lights of the Orient collection, it's decent but it doesn't have any mattes in it, so you need to pair it with mattes from elsewhere.
I recently tried out the Metal Shock shadows; these are really good dupes for the Stila liquid shadows. The pigmentation is amazing, you don't get any fallout and they don't fade or crease during the day.
 |
| Metal Shock shadow in 03 galaxy rocks, matte shadows used for transition and crease are from the Saharan II palette from Juvia's Place. |
Moonlight cream shadows are also new; I've tried the shade cosmic, which is a duo-chrome brown with teal micro glitter. This shadow feels a bit wet, and has a consistency and feel similar to that of the Colourpop Supershock highlighters.
 |
| Moonlight eyes cream shadow in 03 cosmic with matte shadows from the Nubian II palette from Juvia's Place. |
Face products
Now this is where I feel Essence needs to put in more effort, because this is just sad. I've tried out the mousse foundation: it applies well but they do feel heavy on my skin. They dark shades also run a bit orange, which doesn't suit me, since I have neutral undertones. But they don't last all day and they transfer quite easily.
Nail products
The nail range from essence is probably my favourite of the lot. It's super affordable and just delivers as well as or even better than some of the high end nail products.
The colour selection and pigmentation is impressive and at R29.95 its a no-brainer.
Their base and top coats are the best I've ever tried; they wear better than Sally Hansen and Ciaté. My manicure usually lasts at least 5 days before it starts to chip. They range in price from R49.95 to R54.95.
The Metal Shock limited Edition range has some polish and powders and I'm really enjoying the Metal Shock Powders and they're really fun to play with. I've been using them for the last month to do metallic and duo-chrome manicures and I'm really impressed with the results. |
| Current favourites |
Have you tried anything from Essence? What are your favourites? Comment below.
See you in my next post,
xoxo
