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| Best of the brand - Essence |
Essence is amazing, just saying. For years I saw this wonderfully cheap brand on blogs and wished I could get my hands on it. Just under 2 years ago the brand hit British soil when it launched in 4 Wilkinsons stores. None of these were near me so I waited, impatiently at first. I actually sort of forgot to keep checking and then a few months ago I went to my local Wilko, and lo-and-behold, there was a huge Essence display. Hurray! Since then I've tried out quite a few of their products so thought I'd show you my favourites.
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| Essence Crystal Eyeliners |
First off is the Crystal liquid eyeliners. These little beauties are full of that duochromey goodness which I do so adore! 07 Blue Heaven gives a blue teal sheen, while 06 Rosy Rush is a pinky peach. They have to be swatched to be believed, they're so good! They are very thin and don't crack, they work great as liner but also on top of shadows to really make them stand out. Great on the inner corner. Once dry, they don't smudge or fade.
And the best bit is they are only £2.40 each, here.
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| Essence Crystal Eyeliners Top: 07 Blue Heaven Bottom: 06 Rosy Rush |
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| Essence Effect Eyeshadow |
Another Essence love of mine is their Effect eyeshadows which are a liquid that dry down completely and don't crease. I like them best as a base for powder shadow but they're also great for a really intense metallic lid if you keep layering them. 03 Indian's Lifestyle is a metallic warm pink, 06 UK's Stonehenge is a metallic taupey brown and probably the easiest one to wear, and 01 Egypt's Treasure is a bronze. I can't find these online any more but they were in store last time I checked, although in a basket rather than in the proper stand, so perhaps are discontinued.
They are/were £1 each.
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| Essence Effect eyeshadows in T-B: 03 Indian's Lifestyle, 06 UK's Stonehenge, 01 Egypt's Treasure |
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| Essence Longlasting Lipstick Nude in 05 Cool Nude |
Admittedly, this lipstick, 05 Cool Nude from the Longlasting Nude range, is the only Essence lipstick I've tried. It's the perfect everyday colour for me, a rosy mauve. I would say it is medium coverage as it's a bit too slippery to build up the opacity. It only lasts on the lips for a few hours but it is just fine if you use a lip liner to cover your lips first.
It is only £2.30, here.
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| Essence Longlasting Lipstick Nude in 05 Cool Nude |
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| Essence lip liners |
Tying in perfectly with that lipstick is the Essence lip liners. I haven't been able to get my hands on 11 In The Nude yet as it's always out of stock, but I have all of the other coloured ones currently available. There is also a clear one to prevent bleeding, but I already have 2 of those. They perform really well, I'd say they're comparable in pay-off and texture to the NYX ones, which I also love. The two I use the most are 15 Honey Berry and 06 Satin Mauve.
They are £1 each here.
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| Essence lip liners L-R: 08 Red Blush, 12 Wish Me A Rose, 07 Cute Pink, 05 Soft Berry, 05 Honey Berry, 06 Satin Mauve, 14 Femme Fetale |
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| Essence Effect lipgloss |
Last, but not least, are the Effect lipglosses. These are glittery, metallic, opalescent or holographic. I have 01 Frosty Flakes (poor name choice) which is a sheer peach with small holographic glitter and larger 'flakes' and 05 Pink Galaxy a very sheer pink with pink and peach shimmer in it. I don't tend to wear them alone but paired with a lipstick or liner they can be stunning!
These are £2.50 each here.
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| Essence Effect lipgloss L-R: 01 Frosty Flakes, 05 Pink Galaxy |
An honourable mention goes to the Essence All About Matt fixing compact powder, which I forgot to photograph. It does what it says on the tin, great for touch-ups throughout the day. I definitely prefer it to the Soap & Glory version which filmed up and became unusable pretty quickly. It is £3, here.
I haven't tried any of the other face products as I'm generally wary of cheap foundations and concealers. Please let me know if you've tried them!
Fret not if you do not have a Wilko near you, their online store stocks Essence too. It's free to deliver to store or £3.50 for Standard Delivery. It's a bit of pain to trawl through as each colour is listed separately, but boy is it worth it! The website also features them by colour number, rather than colour name, which is why I've stated the number when possible. Try to find swatches online though as the casing colour doesn't always match up. For instance, I ordered one of the eye pencils which looked like it would be metallic pink (remember, no name and no description), but when it arrived it was a pretty average purple. Boo.
I love that a budget brand has some really exciting products that I've not seen anywhere else before! I think it's definitely worth checking Essence out and seeing if anything takes your fancy. For the amazing prices you can't really go wrong!
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