Me: Save money for tattoos and
retirement.
Also me: Ooh, new Essence products!
I don’t know why I’m trusted as an
adult of almost 28 years when I am clearly so financially irresponsible. I miss school days when my biggest
responsibility was making sure I don’t fail science even though I had Mo from
The Simpsons teaching the roof and investigating strange smells in the
lockers.
Alas, life moves on and here I am, a
supposedly functional member of society who makes their own decisions (except
what time I can come home at night – curfews suck).
I recently purchased a few of the new
products from Essence that have just been released. I have decided to review the products while
creating a look with them.
You Better Work! Gym Proof Primer
I’m so glad Essence has answered the
call of its fans and created some affordable primers. A primer creates a barrier between your
foundation and your skin, meaning you’re less likely to suffer breakouts
(although this is not guaranteed if your skin is sensitive or the primer itself
blocks your pores).
This primer promises an instant blurring
effect and extreme long wear under Sweaty Betty conditions. It’s also tinted green to prevent you from
looking like you’re about to have a coronary episode while you’re working out. Bonus: it also has SPF20.
Back in my Tinder days, I had several “first
dates” at the gym where I’d trial run all prospective dates and let them buy me
a Nut Milk smoothie at Kauai afterwards (the most expensive and delicious one
on the menu, thank you very much). This
primer would have been amazing for those dates, when I was pretending to be a
magical unicorn who was “sparkling” not sweating.
Brighten Up! Banana Powder
We’ve seen all our favourite YouTubers
using banana powder to brighten up their under eye area while setting their
foundation and concealer, but realistically we’ve only had access to very
expensive versions of it.
I am fairly ambivalent towards this
product. While it did seem to highlight
my under eye area in synthetic lighting, I didn’t notice much of a difference
in natural lighting. It seemed a little
too translucent to make any significant difference for me, but I am willing to
accept that it may have been my poor lighting.
Mermaid Shadow Box 03 My Shell is My
Castle
Let’s be honest here: you can put
“mermaid” or “unicorn” on anything these days and it’ll sell faster than flower
crowns at Coachella. Not that I’m
judging or anything, because here I am sitting with an eye shadow palette with
a mermaid theme.
I bought this because I thought it was
really cute and I am a marketer’s dream, but I will admit that I am fairly
underwhelmed by the layout and the size differences between the pans. Pigmentation is averagely Essence quality –
shimmers are always much better than mattes.
Although, I should say matte since there is only one matte out of the 10
shades, which is so pale and unpigmented that you can’t even use it as a
transition shade. I ended up using my
All About Roses palette just for a transition shade.
The shimmers are amazing and could
justify buying the entire palette, provided you have a backup for a
transition.
Longlasting Eye Pencil in Deep-Sea
Baby
I don’t even know if this is just a
new shade in the range, because I’ve been using the Longlasting Eye Pencil in
Black Fever for forever and it’s my favourite.
I, however, felt compelled to buy it in navy because of my most recent
obsession with the colour.
There’s not much I can say about this
product, because it’s super pigmented and creamy and blends out like an
absolute dream. I will always recommend
this product.
Glow to Go Illuminating Setting Spray
I’ve said it before but I am so amped
for the fall of matte skin, despite the oily nature of my own. I’ve been mixing illuminating
drops/highlighters/whatever works into my matte foundations for a while now, so
this spray is the cherry on top for countering the mattifying properties of
most other skin products.
FYI: When the bottle says “shake
well”, shake it very well. I found a few
pearly-pink splatters all over my face that I had to blend out with my beauty
blender.
Overall, I love the mermaid-inspired
look I created with the products but my standout product has to be the
illuminating setting spray. I love the
way it reflects light off my face and I am so excited to try it with my
Clinique Even Better Glow foundation.
Wishing you all love and light ♡♡♡