A little over a month ago I stumbled across a bin of Essence items that were marked for clearance in my local Shoppers Drug Mart. I had never tried Essence before so I thought it was the perfect opportunity to test out some of their products. Well, I have thoroughly tried and tested each and every product and I want to share my findings. Hint, they were all pretty awesome!
While the packaging is not the most luxurious in the world, it is sturdy and sleek. The clear plastic lets the product itself be the focus and I think that is a smart choice on Essence's part. They are using simple, no fuss packaging to be able to offer their products at a lower price, something we can all appreciate. When it comes to the makeup itself, they get a big thumbs up from me. Starting with the face products, the Silky Touch Blush in 50 Sweetheart, is really quite pretty. It is an incredibly pigmented and smooth peach blush with noticeable shimmer, it can be blended easily and it stays on until the end of the day. The Bloom Me Up Shimmer Powder in 01 Rose it Up is lovely, a gorgeous pink toned champagne highlighter that is finely milled and blendable. Contrary to its name, it actually does not contain much shimmer and creates more of a subtle glow. The Love Letters Highlighting Powder in 01 Love Poem is sadly not quite as successful. It is really chalky and the peachy-golden tone is completely overwhelmed by the amount of intense shimmer. Another winner are the Love Letters Powder Papers. These oil blotting sheets are amazing for soaking up moisture on the skin throughout the day, one sheet will do the whole face, and to top it off they are packaged to look like an old notebook, adorable!
Moving on to the eyes, the Stay No Matter What Eye Shadow Pencil in 07 Whipped White Frosting is simply gorgeous! It is a beautiful golden champagne - no idea where the name came from - that is incredibly creamy and pigmented. It applies smoothly, without creasing, tugging or piling and lasts all day. It has become my go-to for a quick and easy one wash eye on lazy days.
Last but not least are the three Love Letter Nail Polishes and the Bloom Me Up Nail Lace Tips, both of which I loved. I was seriously impressed by these nail polishes and particularly fell in love with Rosy in Love. All three polishes were identical in formulation and application, they were incredibly creamy and smooth and were opaque in 2 coats. The polish seemed to just glide over all of the ridges in my nails and it seemed impossible to mess up. I had not used appliques before so they were a little difficult to apply but after I got the hang of it, they were easy peasy. The designs are gorgeous and they work with so many polish shades and with a topcoat they last about 4 days before peeling off cleanly and not effecting the polish underneath.
Overall, I am so happy that I decided to test out some Essence products. I was pleasantly surprised and incredibly impressed with the quality and performance of most of the products. I will definitely be adding some more Essence to my collection.
Do you have a favourite Essence product?
