An ESSENCE cosmetics review/haul

Essence is a very affordable (aka cheap) European brand of cosmetics that is not only great for people new to makeup, it also causes less concerns on the wallet. The first 'counter' that I had come across in Singapore was in Ngee Ann city's Watson's. Most, if not all the items are under SGD10, and some even far below SGD5!!

For the price, you can't expect everything to be fabulous. But Essence carries a few worthy products to rave about and some not so outstanding ones.

One of my favourite products will be the I LOVE EXTREME mascara!

It has a really thick brush and a semi-dry consistency that coats your lashes effectively. Its formula is very black and intense and really gives the drama. It is not waterproof, but does not smudge if you don't rub your eyes or anything along those lines. I do, however, notice that it comes off a little from my lower lashes throughout the day. I have since switched to the Dolly Wink for lower lashes.

Retails at Watson's (Ngee Ann City) for SGD6.10. 

Next up, stuff I bought from the Essence warehouse sale last weekend.

From top to bottom: Colour & Shine lipstick pencil, Liquid eyeliner, Eyeshadow primer, Lip Stain

I spent a total of SGD8 on these four products. It was rather disappointing as the sale did not include most of their staples. However, I really like the liquid liner (SGD1)! It has the usual brush tip, but the formula dries matte. Unlike most liquid liners which dries shiny, this gives a gel liner sort of effect. It's not waterproof/budgeproof, handle with care!

Next to the liner swatch would be the eyeshadow primer. I have been wanting to try using an eyeshadow primer. This actually works quite well. My eyeshadows, when swatched above this, appeared more pigmented and stayed on longer.

Now to the not so awesome products.

The lipstain works really well, the colour's great, but it reallllllyyy stains... However, I can't bring myself to love the taste of it. It just tastes bad! Let's just give it another go, maybe I'll like the product enough to ditch my distaste for the smell.

The lipstick pencil is kinda poor as well. The pencil itself is really soft it breaks everytime I use it, and a clump of product gets stuck inside the pencil when I sharpen it. Boo. Smells like cherry.

Overall I do think Essence is a great brand, especially with other great products like their lip liners, and stayon eye liners. I guess the warehouse sale was just to clear unsold and unpopular products!

Until next time!

Cheers,
HL