If you’ve been inside a Shoppers Drug Mart recently, you might have noticed a new brand of cosmetics in town! Essence Cosmetics is an affordable brand all the way from Europe. All of these products retail for less than $5 each! I’m really excited to try some of their products and read on to see what I think!
So many pretty colors!
Lips/Cheeks
essence longlasting lipsticks: These two lipsticks are super pigmented and apply very creamy. I have Coral Calling which is more of a pink than coral. I also have Adorable Matt which is a semi-matte true red. There is a slightly sweet scent/taste. 4/5
essence XXXL shine lipgloss: Oh man, this color looked sooo cute but it is unfortunately so unflattering when applied. I have the shade Frosted Pink and it is frosty to the point of silver and just does not look classy. Good thing is that it smells amazing and the applicator is flexible which is unique. 1/5
essence silky touch blush: This is probably my FAVORITE product out of the whole bunch! I have the shade autumn peach and it’s a super pretty aprioct-y color. Pigmentation is good and smooth to apply. 5/5
Swatches of the above products.
Eyeshadow
I got some eyeshadows in colors I don’t normally wear but it’s always fun to experiment right?
essence eyeshadows: These eyeshadows came in different “effects” and had different finishes as a result. There’s mint candy which is holographic and I didn’t like this because I couldn’t get good pigmentation. The blue and the purple are miss atlantis(shimmer effect) and disco diva(metallic). Both of these gave decent pigmentation and were smooth to use. But overall they weren’t outstanding. 3/5
essence all about candies eyeshadow: This was the first thing I saw from the whole package cause the colors are so cute! But unfortunately all the colors are super sheer. I think I might display this though since I still think the colors in the pan are so darn cute! 1/5
The swatches of eyeshadows. And the lipstick stain from the earlier swatch haha.
Others
This is the essence gel eye pencil (waterproof). I’m so sorry that I can’t find the shade name but this is so gorgeous! It glides amazingly smooth, bright pigmentation, and stays on pretty well! This eyeliner is also “made in Italy”, so fancy *wink*! 5/5 for sure!!
I haven’t had a chance to try the essence colour &go nail polishes yet but they have a fat brush which is a good sign!
Overall, I’m really impressed by the color selection and quality of this value brand! My favorites were the blush and the eyeliner! I feel like essence could really compete against ELF to become a top value brand in North America. The quality is quite good for drugstore although the packaging makes it look kind of cheap. I’ll definitely be keeping tabs on this brand and hopefully it’ll shake up the expensive Canadian drugstore makeup market 😛
Have you tried anything from the essence cosmetics line? Let me know what caught your eye!