The Girl In The Striped Tee: Essence

ESSENCE LIPSTICK AND LIPGLOSS

4:22 PM

Today I come to you with a beauty review that is so overdue it's best if we pretend I meant to delay it this long. I'm a long time fan of essence products, even though with Essence it's honestly a case of hit and miss, so when essence released lipsticks I was a sceptic, to say the least. I can't seem to resist a red lipstick though so I grabbed not one, but two shades of red lipstick and a matte lipgloss to complete the threesome! It may seem excessive but anyone who's seen me out and about knows that I'm all about red. I love how white and bright the colour makes your teeth look and the instant pop of colour it brings to your features, livening them up and making you look like you've put in tons more of an effort than you actually have in some cases. I tried the colours out on myself throughout my six week vac and I have to say I loved the results.

#03 Dare to Wear:

This is the first lipstick I tried on and I have to say I'm obsessed. The product gives a good shine and is smooth and covers the lips in a deep red within a few swipes. I like to think of this red as being more of an everyday shade of red because it's not so bright and jarring but is a nice way to brighten the face (at least that's what I have to be thinking so intently in the picture below). I definitely will be reaching for this shade of red more often.

#02 All You Need is Red:

I agree with the name of this lipstick but I don't agree with its coverage. It was a lot more difficult to get this lipstick to cover my lips and in fact I have to mix it with a bit of the darker red shade when I wore it out. I was disappointed with the inconsistent results and all I can hazard a guess and say is that with the lighter colours it wasn't possible for them to make a formula thick enough to cover the lip adequately.

#07 Essence XXXL Longlasting Lipgloss with Matte Effect:

I have to give credit where credit is due. I usually hate lipgloss because most tend to be sticky and gross but when I saw the words 'Matte Effect' I was drawn to the product. I've been wanting to get my hands on Mac's Ruby Woo for ages and thought this could be a nice precursor to that to see how I would like it. For Matte Effect I give this product a 7 and for colour a 6. It did the same thing as the #02 because it didn't cover my lips entirely so I will have to mixing this with a matte lipstick in future to get the proper effect.

While I wasn't 100% impressed with the results the products give as good as they've got for their affordable price. It's an inexpensive way to try out a lip colour before committing to a shade from Mac or Chanel and for that I applaud Essence for bringing us another affordable way to access makeup.

Have you tried the essence lipsticks? If so, what did you think?

I have been away a while but I hope to be back soon!

Yours In Style

Beauty Review

An Ode to Essence: Long Lasting Eye Pencil

9:55 AM

Price: R 29, 99

This has to be my favourite Essence buy easy peasy, hands down! There's nothing that beats a lined eye whether it be a cat eye or a simple bit of liner to perk up the eyes and make you look wide awake and ready to take charge. This eye pencil is definitely long lasting, it won't smudge or budge as shown by the fact that when I made a swatch on my hand and rubbed over the lines they didn't blur a bit! I love the fact that even though the eye pencil is somewhat thick you can lighten the pressure you exert with your hand when putting it on to draw a thin line which is perfect for those days when you're not feeling so dramatic. Is there anything better than a trusty eye pencil that lasts and lasts and makes you look fabulous just the way you want?

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Beauty Review

An Ode to Essence: Essence Eyeshadow

7:24 AM

Price: R 29, 99

Now I'm actually not much of an eyeshadow girl-in fact a friend of mine and I were talking about that the other day-but I am so keen to get back into being one. I guess the fact that I wear glasses might have discouraged me in that respect but no more! These are two fun shades from essence that are so pretty I enjoy just looking at them from time to time. When I first saw them in the store I was a little afraid they'd be too bright on my skin but they actually look perf! I love the idea of using the orange on it's own for a more subtle look-I say subtle because it blends in great with my skin tone-or pairing up the orange and the green for a more dramatic effect. Once again, with the affordability of this product I really have no excuse for not getting back on the eyeshadow wearing train!

What are your favourite colours?

Yours In Style

Beauty Review

An Ode to Essence: Colour and Go and Nude Glam

7:45 AM

Price: R 19, 99 each

Doing my nails is one of my favourite ways to cheer myself up! In fact if you stop by this blog sometimes you might have seen two of the four nailpolish colours I'm going to talk about in this post featured in other posts.

The first two colours are from the Essence Colour and Go Range and they're called:

1. Hello Marshmallow and

2. That's What I Mint

Pastels are so fun! They're great for Spring but even right now, with it being winter in the southern hemisphere, I enjoy the memory of warmer weather they evoke. The Hello Marshmallow is a pastel purple while the That's What I Mint is a refreshing pastel green and when I'm down I like to use these colours to perk myself up.

The next two colours are from the Essence Nude Glam Range and they're called:

1. Iced Strawberry Cream and

2. Cafe Olé.

The Iced Strawberry Cream is a wonderful pink shade with this soft sheen that's great for during the week because it blends right in with your outfits while giving you a fun, feminine look. The Cafe Olé is, I have to admit, my absolute favourite. I love it's simplicity and the way it makes me feel effortlessly and understatedly glam!

The Essence nailpolishes are great ways to get fun shades at an affordable price. I like the fact that the price makes the colours accessible. When I apply the nailpolish I use two coats and the colour will last an average of 3-4 days before it starts chipping. Now, I have to admit, that's not the most impressive length of time but with a base coat and top coat this duration can be extended. The coats dry within a few minutes and have a glossy finish. Overall purchasing any of the Essence nailpolishes is, in my humble opinion, a good way to go.

Do you have an Essence nailpolish favourite?

Yours In Style

Beauty Review

An Ode to Essence: Smokey Eye Set

8:12 AM

Price: R29, 99

Are you one of those people that perfected the smokey eye when it first became all the rage? I wasn't! In fact, the first time I attempted the look I ended up looking like I'd had a rough night before the night got started! After a few attempts I managed to get it looking better but it never looked quite its best until I came across the Essence Smokey Eye Set (very clever of them I have to say). I bought the grey set but they're sold in various colours like purple and brown and they come with instructions on the back to help you figure out which shadow to apply first and where (helpful for a beginner like I was).

The set comes with two shadows and an applicator brush with two sides. The shadow on the left is the typical shadow consistency with a bit of shine (perf for evenings out) while the shadow on the right has more of a putty consistency (so it has staying power) and is meant to be used as a liner which you then smudge out. I always get scared I'll overdo it when I decide to do a smokey eye but this set helps me keep it subtle and with it's affordable price I have to declare it a favourite! A little Essence long lasting eye pencil (review coming soon) because I like my liner to be nice and dark and you have the perfect night time look to go out!

What's your favourite eye makeup look?

Yours In Style

Essence

An Ode To Essence: A Series

10:21 AM

Since I've started beauty blogging I've learnt a lot about makeup (but never enough because there's always something you didn't know or couldn't have expected) and in my learning I've come to love brands like Lancôme and Mac and a few of those other brand names causing a friend to good-naturedly remark on my 'expensive taste' and claim that since she's living on a 'student budget' there's no way she could afford some of the stuff on this blog (I say 'good-naturedly' because she was quite clearly exaggerating and it amused me to no end). I was going through my makeup bag recently (I like to do that sometimes when I want to try new looks) I remembered my friends words and, after coming across all my Essence buys, decided what would be better than sharing some of my favourites with you?

Essence is an English brand of makeup that sells fun, affordable and reliable products great for the makeup beginner but also perfect for the veteran who wants to try something out before venturing to pick out a more expensive option. The key pull for me with Essence products is the affordability, there just isn't a brand with their consistency that sells beauty products at that price! So while I do stock some of the higher end products, I believe you can never go wrong with an Essence buy!

I was originally going to do this as a single post just to talk about the products briefly but then I realised I had too many pictures for one post and more importantly, too much to say in a single post. So...I decided to do it as a series that'll run on the blog for two weeks. I've decided to call the series 'An ode to Essence'. Join me these next two weeks as I rave (and hopefully offer a useful opinion too) about my Essence favourites.

Yours in Style

Blush

#FOTD: Like A Kardashian

7:54 AM

Saw this pic of Kourtney Kardashian and it just reminded me of how much I love her signature red liplook. I had to give it a try!

Here's my 'Like a Kardashian' #FOTD featuring:
Make Up For Ever Bronzer/ Yardley Oatmeal Pressed Powder/ Lancôme Doll Eyes Mascara/ Essence Long Lasting Eye Pencil/ NYX Rose Blush/ Mac Red Lipstick

Liner on the bottom of the eye was definitely a new experience for me! I always feel like I'm gonna take an eye out or something with the pen but this time I went for it just to give it a go! I also did the hair up (some of you know it's usually down).

As you can see I used two bases and two liners. Honestly, the only explanation I can give is I love the mixed effect.

What do you think?

Hope everyone's having a great week!

Thanks to everyone who's stopped by and left a comment:)

Image courtesy of www.glamandgloss.com

Yours In Style
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