So when I was in Ireland at the beginning of the month I picked up some bits and pieces from Essence Cosmetics in one of the local pharmacies. If you read my post on Budget Lipsticks here you know that I'm a long time fan of Essence lipsticks, although it's been years since I've used any of their make-up as I'm a bit of a snob when it comes to drugstore powders/eyeshadows etc😂
But I've heard and seen so many positive reviews on their products (not all positive, but enough to make me interested) that I decided I'd give them a go. I've been using these bits for around a month so I'm ready to run through them and tell you what I think. Prices may not be 100% exact, as I can't find my receipt and they vary online - but they are very close. I've had to break this into two parts otherwise it would be too long!
Metal Shock Eye Shadow 03 Galaxy Rocks, €4.90
I believe this comes in 7 shades and my only problem is that I didn't buy them all. In my defence, they were almost sold out and the only ones left were Galaxy Rocks and Solar Explosion. Because I have quite a few gold shadows already I went for Galaxy Rocks - a dark pewter grey with loads of silver sparkle. I swatched this on the back of my hand in the pharmacy and put it back on the shelf as I thought that €4.90 was too much for such a cheap brand. An hour later while having lunch with my Dad I realised that the swatch literally hadn't budged. Obviously I went back and bought it immediately.
The formula of this is creamy and blendable, but you have to work quickly as it dries rapidly. I would suggest using it over a base shadow of a similar colour and using that same shadow to lightly set this. But oh my Lord, the SPARKLE! I am a MONSTER for glitter and sparkle, my inner drag queen lives for it, and this ticks all my boxes. Not only does it last all damn day, the sparkle is insane. Some would say that this is a real night out on the town kind of product, but if you follow my Instagram you know that I pretty much just wear what ever make-up I want to on any given day - mad sparkle and false lashes at 9am on a Monday morning? No problem😂
I love, love, love this product and I am definitely going to pick up more - I especially have my eye on the pink and green ones. They are long-lasting, don't crack or flake off the eyes, and you don't get any fall-out like what I've heard about the Stila Magnificent Metals which cost €28 on BeautyBay. I've put this on at 8am and it's stayed strong until I removed it at 10pm. It's also not difficult to remove, it's come off with an oil (Superfacialist Vit C+, review here), and a cream (L'Oreal Fine Flowers Cleansing Cream, review here). If you're a sparkle monster like me then you need this in your life. it's a bit pricey for a single drugstore shadow, but the effect makes it worth it. Many high-end brands are selling us shadows for a far higher price that don't perform half as well, so well done Essence!
Get Picture Ready Contour Palette,around €4
Dislaimer - I haven't been using this as a contour palette, I've been using it to set my make-up and bronze. The lightest shade has worked really well as a setting powder for under the eyes and the nose, it's fine and not to mattifying. The middle shade is too orange for my pale skin so I can't use it alone on the face, and the deeper shade is too deep. But if I take my powder brush (Tom Ford Powder Brush reviewed here), swirl it through all three shades, tap off the excess and brush it over my forehead, cheekbones and neck it works as a gorgeous bronzer. Using all three together tempers the shades and makes it suitable for light/medium skintones - if you are very pale, this will be too dark for you. The powders are pretty blendable, and if you tap off the excess, apply in small amounts and buff them into the skin you get a gorgeous bronzed effect, which is very important for people like me who need to at least create the illusion of facial definition😂
I would recommend using an oversized powder brush for this one, a smaller brush will result in patchy application. I'm also loving the deepest shade as an eyeshadow - using your bronzer or blush on your eyes is super flattering and brings a lovely symmetry to your makeup. I've been using this in my crease and under my eyes, adding a pop of shimmer on the lid and I'm good to go. It takes less than five minutes and is a great technique if you don't have much time in the mornings. Very impressed with this one, would repurchase.
Strobing Highlighter, around €5-6
Another disclaimer - I haven't been using this as a highlighter, because in my opinion it isn't a highlighter. I own some pretty amazing highlighters from @HudaBeauty, @SarazaarCosmetics and @KikoMilano - both expensive and inexpensive, and this doesn't perform like any of them. It's much more 'powdery' than the highlighters that I'm used to and there is one key element missing - the highlight and shine. Strobing is basically another name for intense highlighting, and you can't do that with this product - there simply isn't enough highlight, there are flecks of sparkle but nowhere near enough for a strobed, highlighted look. So I've been using this as a setting powder. Yes, there are tiny flecks of sparkle but I don't find that they are very visible and because it's supposed to be a highlighter it's not too mattifying - I prefer a natural, luminous finish to my powders so this suits me pretty well.
I probably wouldn't go out of my way to buy it again, but if I saw it around I'd probably pick it up just to have it as an extra powder in compact form is always useful to throw in your handbag. As we say in Ireland, 'Sure it's grand for the price!'. It's not a fantastic setting powder, but it's the kind of thing you pick up at the end of the month when you can't afford the one you really want - it does the job.
I have 6 products in total to review, and there you have the first three - Part Two is on the way!
Have you tried any of these? Will you try any of these?
A x
But I've heard and seen so many positive reviews on their products (not all positive, but enough to make me interested) that I decided I'd give them a go. I've been using these bits for around a month so I'm ready to run through them and tell you what I think. Prices may not be 100% exact, as I can't find my receipt and they vary online - but they are very close. I've had to break this into two parts otherwise it would be too long!
Metal Shock Eye Shadow 03 Galaxy Rocks, €4.90
I believe this comes in 7 shades and my only problem is that I didn't buy them all. In my defence, they were almost sold out and the only ones left were Galaxy Rocks and Solar Explosion. Because I have quite a few gold shadows already I went for Galaxy Rocks - a dark pewter grey with loads of silver sparkle. I swatched this on the back of my hand in the pharmacy and put it back on the shelf as I thought that €4.90 was too much for such a cheap brand. An hour later while having lunch with my Dad I realised that the swatch literally hadn't budged. Obviously I went back and bought it immediately.
The formula of this is creamy and blendable, but you have to work quickly as it dries rapidly. I would suggest using it over a base shadow of a similar colour and using that same shadow to lightly set this. But oh my Lord, the SPARKLE! I am a MONSTER for glitter and sparkle, my inner drag queen lives for it, and this ticks all my boxes. Not only does it last all damn day, the sparkle is insane. Some would say that this is a real night out on the town kind of product, but if you follow my Instagram you know that I pretty much just wear what ever make-up I want to on any given day - mad sparkle and false lashes at 9am on a Monday morning? No problem😂
I love, love, love this product and I am definitely going to pick up more - I especially have my eye on the pink and green ones. They are long-lasting, don't crack or flake off the eyes, and you don't get any fall-out like what I've heard about the Stila Magnificent Metals which cost €28 on BeautyBay. I've put this on at 8am and it's stayed strong until I removed it at 10pm. It's also not difficult to remove, it's come off with an oil (Superfacialist Vit C+, review here), and a cream (L'Oreal Fine Flowers Cleansing Cream, review here). If you're a sparkle monster like me then you need this in your life. it's a bit pricey for a single drugstore shadow, but the effect makes it worth it. Many high-end brands are selling us shadows for a far higher price that don't perform half as well, so well done Essence!
Get Picture Ready Contour Palette,around €4
Dislaimer - I haven't been using this as a contour palette, I've been using it to set my make-up and bronze. The lightest shade has worked really well as a setting powder for under the eyes and the nose, it's fine and not to mattifying. The middle shade is too orange for my pale skin so I can't use it alone on the face, and the deeper shade is too deep. But if I take my powder brush (Tom Ford Powder Brush reviewed here), swirl it through all three shades, tap off the excess and brush it over my forehead, cheekbones and neck it works as a gorgeous bronzer. Using all three together tempers the shades and makes it suitable for light/medium skintones - if you are very pale, this will be too dark for you. The powders are pretty blendable, and if you tap off the excess, apply in small amounts and buff them into the skin you get a gorgeous bronzed effect, which is very important for people like me who need to at least create the illusion of facial definition😂
I would recommend using an oversized powder brush for this one, a smaller brush will result in patchy application. I'm also loving the deepest shade as an eyeshadow - using your bronzer or blush on your eyes is super flattering and brings a lovely symmetry to your makeup. I've been using this in my crease and under my eyes, adding a pop of shimmer on the lid and I'm good to go. It takes less than five minutes and is a great technique if you don't have much time in the mornings. Very impressed with this one, would repurchase.
Strobing Highlighter, around €5-6
Another disclaimer - I haven't been using this as a highlighter, because in my opinion it isn't a highlighter. I own some pretty amazing highlighters from @HudaBeauty, @SarazaarCosmetics and @KikoMilano - both expensive and inexpensive, and this doesn't perform like any of them. It's much more 'powdery' than the highlighters that I'm used to and there is one key element missing - the highlight and shine. Strobing is basically another name for intense highlighting, and you can't do that with this product - there simply isn't enough highlight, there are flecks of sparkle but nowhere near enough for a strobed, highlighted look. So I've been using this as a setting powder. Yes, there are tiny flecks of sparkle but I don't find that they are very visible and because it's supposed to be a highlighter it's not too mattifying - I prefer a natural, luminous finish to my powders so this suits me pretty well.
I probably wouldn't go out of my way to buy it again, but if I saw it around I'd probably pick it up just to have it as an extra powder in compact form is always useful to throw in your handbag. As we say in Ireland, 'Sure it's grand for the price!'. It's not a fantastic setting powder, but it's the kind of thing you pick up at the end of the month when you can't afford the one you really want - it does the job.
I have 6 products in total to review, and there you have the first three - Part Two is on the way!
Have you tried any of these? Will you try any of these?
A x
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