Got a few Essence goodies in the November Rubybox, so I've had quite a while to try it...
Essence Colour and Go nail polish in Nude It
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| image from nihrida.com |
Nice colour, crap brush.
I never really LOVED the nude nail trend. I think it suits many people, but I don't love the earthy tones on myself. Essence's Nude It was pretty, though. And after the first coat I thought, "Hey, this could work." It doesn't have that orange or yellow tone that some nudes tend to have, and it also doesn't have the pink undertone. It's a proper, earthy, light-brown type nude. And that's all that was good about it. And the fact that it dries quickly.
I got frustrated painting my nails with this one. I did it over thrice thinking I was the problem, but turns out I wasn't. It didn't come out even at all. Not once. At first it was streaky, and I was expecting a bit of self-levelling, but it just dried that way, and looked terrible, hence not my own picture above. When I tried it the second time with less pressure (thinking maybe I put too much pressure on the brush) it still did that and when I tried to correct it, it just ridged and bubbled.
Annoying. I don't think that the formulation was the problem, but rather the brush. It seemed uneven and very hard. I've got one other Essence nail polish, and it's not as bad as the Nude It one, so maybe it was just that one I got. Still, nothing about it made me want to go out and get it. Not even the fact that it didn't look weird with my complexion.
Essence XXXL Nudes Lipgloss in Pure Beauty
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| image from ebay.co.uk |
I love this. It is surprisingly moisturizing. Whenever my lips are looking a bit dry, I apply this first before my lipstick, just to smooth it out a little. Of course, it is better to continually moisturize your lips and never let it get to that point of dryness, but sometimes one can't help it.
Code for 'I have more important things to do than apply lip balm every 10 minutes.' Either way, this is nice. It doesn't dry your lips with continual use. I used it every day for a week with no other moisturizing lip balms and I had no issues. It doesn't affect other lip colours too much, but I would recommend applying this before your lipstick, unless you want your lipstick to look a shade or two lighter or if your lipstick is the same colour or a very similar nude. It blends very well, and isn't sticky. If you press your lips together, they're not going to stick together or feel uncomfortable when you separate them. It's also not disco ball shimmery. It's has a very subtle shimmer and gives more of a great translucent sheen. The scent is great. It smells like vanilla icing meets toffee and white chocolate, and tastes like that, too.
I know, but it happens. I'd like to try the Glamour to Go, Bubble Babe and Nude Kiss. Maybe even Nude Candy, although it seems a bit light for me.
Essence Metallic eye pencil in White Divine
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Top: Essence Kajal Pencil no.19 All I Want. Read more about it here
Bottom: Essence Metallic Eye Liner in White Divine.
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I absolutely LOVE this eye pencil. It is very soft, so no need to add pressure and drag on the skin of the very delicate eyelid. There's also lots of room to play with the intensity. That is one "coat" in the picture and I used the pencil at an angle, hence it looks like quite a broad line. I love using this on my upper eyelids and then smudging it, so it looks like there's a bit of shimmer, but it's not as intense and obvious as above. It looks great smudged, with nothing else but black liquid/gel liner. This is also great to lightly line your lower
waterline. I don't like lining the waterline with white at all, but if you use this baby very lightly it may make your eyes look bigger and brighter without the chalk-looking effect. Another way you could use this is to line your upper lid finely.
Make sure to sharpen the pencil, k? Also, if you often get highlighting powder in your eye when you try to dab a bit onto the inner corners of your eyes (especially if you're using a brush), or just want something really bright, try this. I actually prefer it to powder. And if you apply too much, just smudge it. And lastly (
I think), make your pout pop by lightly lining your cupids bow with this li'l wonder. And gently smudge it. :-)
What are your favourite Essence goodies? Tried any of the above? Tell me below in the comments section.
Miss B
