Essence recently expanded the collection available in Canada including some much sought after colours and products that Europe has had for a while. Some of these are Loblaws exclusives while others are in Shoppers Drug Mart or online so you may have to hunt around to find them all. The majority of Essence products are priced at under $5 and the quality for that price is amazing. Are you going to get Champagne Pop quality in their Pure Nude highlighter? Nope, but it is significantly better than some of the drug store brands that cost 3-4 times as much.
Essence Favourites – Eye Products
I have a separate post planned showing you the I Heart Colour Intensifying Eyeshadow Base so I won’t go into too much detail, but if you have used the I <3 Stage base you will adore this one!
My other favourites include the Essence Smokey 2-in-1 khol liner in white or black that is super soft for lining the waterline. Like most kohl liners, they cannot be easily sharpened so I hate paying too much for them, so Essence wins on price alone for these but the quality is great too. While I am generally not a fan of dip eyeliners, the latest releases include two that have found their way into my makeup bag. A matte liner and a super soft one. Both are nice black blacks and don’t appear green/blue over shadows and actually have a lot of control in the liner.
For eyeshadows, The Velvets are great single shadows, but some shades perform better than others. I have swatches coming up soon showing you the eyeshadow base so again, won’t go into detail but the shades that I liked, I loved and had to mention in my Essence Favourites even though there are a few I would not use. The 2-in-1 eye shadow pencil and liners are chunky pencils that I do not find great for liner but I love the waterproof eyeshadows. My eyes water a lot and I tend to mess up my shadow rubbing them and this manages to stay put yet doesn’t need scrubbing to remove it with makeup remover.
Essence Favourites – Face Products
Makeup setting sprays can seem a little gimmicky, but they can make your makeup last longer. If you have never tried one, at $5, Essence’s Keep It Perfect is one of the cheapest on the market but performs better than many of the drug store ones. Yes, MAC lasts longer but is also a lot pricier and I wil use an extra spritz of Essence’s and save my hard earned dollars.
There are not that many easily accessible super affordable highlighters in Canada, so it is great to see Essence Pure Nude Highlighter so easily available. It is a little warm for me going into winter but will likely be a summer time staple and made it into my Essence favourites because not everyone has super pale skin.
I rarely dislike Essence’s blushes, they have a few that the shades are not me but I generally like the range. Their Silky Touch in Baby Doll is my absolute favourite and I reach for it more often than any expensive blush I own. So when I saw a pink Mosaic Blush I was delighted and it lived up to my expectations.
Essence Favourites – Lip Products
I fell in love with lip oils when I tried Quo’s as part of the nautical collection this summer so it is great to see that Essence came out with an affordable Prettifying Lip Oil. They are light much give a little gloss without being greasy and give the same moisturizing effect as more expensive oils. The colour doesn’t show so there is little difference between the two available.
The Essence 2-in-1 Lipstick & Liners are similar to the smokey kohl liners for your eyes, great but cannot be sharpened. I love the more precision tip for my thin lips as I can get a bit of colour to the corners without going outside the natural lip-line. They come in really wearable colours too. My only issue is that the lids keep popping off. They are fine when stored upright in a jar on my desk but got bashed around in my makeup bag.
The BB Lipgloss from Essence are great, decent colour without too much for an almost natural look but also moisturize your lips with added shea butter. They are not super glossy but natural looking and wearable.
What products made it into your Essence Favourites?
Essence is one of the few brands you can actually get quite affordable in NZ, great post, I’ll definitely be getting a lot of these next time I pop into the store!
Kathy x
Essence is killing it, oh my gosh! I have to go see if I can get my hands of some of these. Essence is really making a name for themselves, and yes, their I Love Stage Primer is fantastic! It’s my go to now! 😀
The quality of Essence for the price is amazing. I mean, they do have some misses (so do high end companies) but in general