My Must Haves Palette by Essence

Disclaimer: I purchased these.

Hey, long time no see! I'm still playing with lots of makeup and skincare and today wanted to share my impressions of the Essence My Must Haves singles, which retail for a whopping $1.99 each at Ulta.  I picked up a bronzer, two blushes, and an eye shadow to go into the 4-pan palette ($3.49). I've been playing with these for over a month now, let's see if they are any good!

First of all, the palette arrived without any packaging and was scratched on top :-(  Not good, Ulta, especially considering the claims against you about reselling products that have been returned. Fortunately, each single comes securely packaged in it's own container and was in good condition, so no complaints there.  They are not magnetized but do fit nicely into the palette, which is a rather flimsy plastic.

The bronzer shade also works as an eyeshadow, and I've been using it as a crease shade as well.  It's best suited for fair complexions and I've reached for it quite a lot in the last month.  There are 3 blushes on Ulta's site and I purchased Rosy Glow and Coral Dream. 

Rosy Glow is the more pigmented of the two, but I like them both and find that they can be built up in color without getting cakey.  The single eye shadow I chose is Brownie Licious, which is a dark brown matte that applies smoothly and can also be built up in color. 

None of these are groundbreaking, but I do like them and would take them with me when traveling for a nice one and done natural look. I hate taking expensive makeup with me when traveling, as I've been known to lose items, plus things get broken. At this price point I wouldn't be heart broken and I do like them!

Pure Nude Be My Highlight by Essence

Disclaimer: I purchased this.

I've had the Be My Highlight baked powder highlighter ($4.49) by Essence since fall of last year, and I've got to say I love it. If you are a fan of natural looking, luminous, glow from within types of products, then this is a winner.

Essence is such an affordable brand, and while not everything I've tried works for me, I've had luck with their blushes, lipsticks, and now this highlighter. There is some powder kickup, but when applied to the skin the finish is a gorgeous satin shimmer that does not emphasize skin imperfections.

This is the highlighter I reach for when I know I'll be in meetings and interacting closely with people all day. I tend to go more low key neutral in those situations, polished as opposed pop, if that makes sense. On days where I know I'll mainly be working in my office, I get a bit more daring. But still relatively neutral :-)

I noticed that Essence products are currently buy 1 get 1 at 50% off at Ulta, making them even more of a better deal. Seriously, the Pure Nude Be My Highlight puts products that cost 7-8x more on notice.  

Can the Essence I Love Colour and I Love Stage Eye Primers Best My Oily Lids?

Disclaimer: I purchased this.

I did a mini-haul of Essence products recently, including two eye primers.  The I Love Colour Eye Intensifying Base is lighter in color and is supposed to give your shadows more intensity, whereas the I Love Stage is a primer for either concealers or your shadows and is supposed to prolong wear without creasing.  At $3.49 each, I figured "what have I got to lose?"

Both primers had good reviews on ulta.com, and I liked the idea of I Love Colour's pale rose-white base color for intensifying shadows, as NYX's Milk pencil never worked for me (creased immediately).  The consistency of I Love Colour is quite rich and creamy and it does blend out nicely. I can only get a few hours wear before my oily lids make mincemeat out of it, and the result at the end of the day was a hot mess. So sad.

I still had hopes that I Love Stage would work, hope springs eternal and all that. Again, the consistency is quite creamy, more so than any other eye primer I've tried. The color definitely leans yellow, but it blends out nicely so that I didn't look particularly jaundiced.

Sadly, I didn't not see much of an improvement and my lids were again a hot mess at the end of the day. Granted, my oily lids are like the ultimate extreme test climate for eye primers, but both of these failed miserably for me.  Fortunately, I'm only out $7, which lessens the sting a bit. I'm still on the hunt for an inexpensive eye primer and will try the Wet 'n Wild one next, having read good reviews on it.

Begining of day (natural light)

End of day (flash)

Clean Face Oil Control Essence by The Face Shop

Disclaimer:  I purchased this.

The Face Shop's Oil Control Essence was part of Memebox's Korean Beauty Starter Set for Oily/Combination Skin that I purchased back in August.  I've been using it since then and thought it was time to post a review with my impressions.

I'll start with a description of my skin:  oily, congested, aging and with occasional breakouts.  I've been an oil slick ever since puberty, to the point where I would wash my face as soon as I got home from school and reapply my makeup before I went to my after school job.  My skin is not quite that oily now but I'd still describe it as oily.  I've tried a plethora of products described as being able to control or cut down on oil production and have been disappointed with most.

I keep trying though, and Clean Face Oil Control Essence has not left me completely disappointed.  I realize that's not a glowing endorsement, but hear me out, because I'm really enjoying it as a daytime essence under my makeup.  It's actually a really nice primer for oily skin!

No doubt that's at least partially due to cyclomethicone being the second ingredient on the list, which acts as a conditioning and carrying agent as well as a humectant.  Cyclomethicone also gives the skin a silky feel and can fill in wrinkles, giving the skin a more plump appearance.  It does not feel like other silicone based primers I've tried (in a positive way), and in general I'm liking the ingredient list.  My skin seems to like it as well, as I've had no unusual breakouts since incorporating this into my routine.

Overall, I'd say I like this enough that I'm two thirds of the way through my bottle, which is pretty good for a fickle skincare product user like me.  Is my skin less oily as a result?  I think so, although it's not a dramatic transformation. Every little bit helps, though.  It doesn't look like Memebox carries this in their regular lineup of products, but you can get it on Amazon for under $12.  There's that as well :-)

Essence Autumn Peach Silky Touch Blush

Disclaimer:  I purchased this.

Essence continues to impress me with their uber inexpensive line of cosmetics, and Autumn Peach did not let me down.  From the pretty stamped design to the color to the performance, this is a great blush that could easily sell for 5 times it's $2.99 price and still be worth it.

For that $3 you are getting a generously sized warm toned peach blush that has just enough shimmer in it to keep the finish from looking flat.  Pigmentation is good and it does not take a lot of effort to build up color, although I don't worry about overdoing it either.

There is a bit of powder kickup but nothing excessive, and the formula wore for a good 8 hours on my oily skin - in the summer no less.  I like Autumn Peach so much that I want more colors, but there are only 4 listed on Ulta and I need more variety!

I'm not sure what makes this an "autumn" peach as opposed to spring  or summer, but here you can see it compared to the Essence Sunkissed Powder I purchased during the same haul (full review here):

I'm seriously getting to the point where I'm wondering what the mid-range/high end brands have on some of drug store offerings these days.  Maybe I'm just getting jaded, or maybe my 3+ years of reviewing items I purchase is showing me high does not necessarily equal better quality. Now, just release some more colors Essence!

Essence Soft Berry Lip Liner

I had a good experience with Essence's lip liner pencil in Wish Me a Rose, so I decided to try a few more.  Enter Soft Berry, a muted, warm leaning wine.

I like wearing lip liners topped with a little gloss as an easy but fairly long lasting lip color.  At about $1.50, these are definitely a good budget friendly option for both a liner and a lip color.  It's not hard to get smooth color that wears comfortably, no doubt aided by the coconut oil and Vitamin E in the formula.

There are 8 different shades available at Ulta, and while the range is fairly limited to neutral tones, reds, and a few pinks, I like the formula.  I hope they add some more diverse shades so I can indulge in a few more!

Sunkissed Beauty Mosaic Powder Compact by Essence

The German brand Essence continues to impress me with their uber affordable yet good quality line of cosmetics.  For example, the Sunkissed Beauty Mosaic Compact Powder is only $4.49 yet provides the fair-skinned with a natural looking, lightly tanned look.

I'm not going to call Sunkissed Beauty a bronzer, because it's more than that.  It can be used as an all over face powder when you blend all the colors together.  Or, it can be used as a highlighter when you use a smaller brush to concentrate on the lighter shades.  Alternatively, you can focus on the dark tan colors for contouring.

But get this:  it also works really well for a neutral eye look that's a step beyond naked.  Quite versatile, no?

Don't let the sparkles scare you off, as they are not of the disco ball variety.  Instead, they keep the color from looking flat yet in no way magnify skin imperfections, of which I've got plenty.

Here I used Sunkissed on both my eyes and face, including as a blush.

If you want to amp it up a bit, add in a bit more color on your cheeks and lips, as well a some inner eye shimmer.  I used Essence's Autumn Peach blush on the apples of my cheeks (review coming soon) and Revlon's Lip Butter in Candy Apple on my lips.  The inner eye shimmer is courtesy of Laura Mercier's Rose Gold Caviar Pencil (such a beauty, see full review here).

Sunkissed Beauty does kick up a lot of powder, but that doesn't translate to chalkiness on the skin. Overall, I'm impressed and will keep my eye out for more bargain beauties from Essence!