Essence cosmetics, which i’ve only ever seen stocked in Wilkinson’s, has been on my radar to try out for a while. Their products are cheap and always look really pretty so that’s why I took a trip with my Mom to Wilkinson’s to pick up a few bits to try.
I purchased 6 products and it came to a total of £15.10, not bad for 5 items! I got a lipstick, mascara, blush, liquid lipstick and an eyeshadow palette… just the basics really!
The first thing I tested out was the In love with the rose eyeshadow palette with 10 shades for £4. They had a few different versions of these but this colour range appealed to me more. They’re mainly shimmer shades and a lot more pigmented than I thought, but aren’t the best. They’re all gorgeous shades but they don’t show up enough on the eyes- unless you apply them with your finger & there’s a lot of fallout. They don’t last very long either and I wish they were more pigmented but nonetheless it is a pretty palette. For the price, i’d give this a 3.5 stars out of 5.
To finish the eyes I went in with the Volume stylist 18hr lash extension mascara for £3. The bottle is super cute and it claims to have fibres in to make the lashes look longer but in all honesty I was so disappointed with this. It did hardly anything for my lashes and definitely didn’t seem like it had fibres in. Although £3 doesn’t seem expensive, it is for a product which unfortunately doesn’t work how you’d expect. 1 star for this! The packaging did remind me a lot of the Roller lash by Benefit but it didn’t seem to be anything like a Benefit mascara.
Since I decided not to buy anything like foundation or concealer (purely because in the store I went to there were 3 shades of foundation and 2 for concealer) I was going to choose a highlighter but I didn’t see any good ones until I saw a glittery gold type of highlight. It was actually blush but I decided to pick it up anyway, for £3 I got the Metal chrome blush in the shade 20 copper crush. For me it’s too dark as a blush and a bit too dark for a highlight too which was disappointing but it has nice pigmentation and goes onto the skin easily and blends nicely. It shimmers on the skin and would look perfect on darker skin or when I have a tan. I’d give this 4 stars.
For the lip products I picked up 2 products- a lipstick and a liquid lipstick. The lipstick I got was the colour up shine on in the shade 03 which was £2.30. The shade is a nice, light, pastel pink and comes up on the lips like a gloss type of look. It goes on slightly patchy but a few swipes and you get a deep pigmentation and really shiny lips. It feels creamy on the lips too and not sticky at all, I think this is my favourite product that I bought! 5 stars and it’s such good value for money.
For the lipstick liquid, I got the colour boost vinylicious in the shade ‘03′ pink interest. I expected the applicator to be like the Too Faced melted range of lipsticks with the squeezy sponge but it wasn’t! I think these applicators are a lot easier and the colour is gorgeous, especially over the top of the lipstick. This was £2.80 and is slightly sticky but other than that there’s not really any issues with it! 4/5 stars.
Overall I think Essence are an alright brand for their pricing and I do want to try out more of their products from different collections in the future to see if those are any better! Have you ever tried their makeup?
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THE DIARY OF ELLIE 
Really enjoyed this post 🙂 I’m not sure if you’ve tried them or not before but their gel nail polishes for £1.80 I think it is are really good 🙂 xx
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My mom got a really pretty pink one but she hasnt tried it yet!x
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They’re really good I love them! 🙂 x
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I’ve always wanted to try essence makeup, I really want to try their locket concealer as apparently it is really full coverage, great post xx
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Loved how honest you were about all the products! I’ve never tried anything from Essence but I’m sure I saw a blog post a few days back saying their primer is amazing so that would be a good product to try!
Jess // foundationsandfairytales.wordpress.com
xx
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Gorgeous post lovely! I’ve never tried essence before so I’m super keen to try them! Char // https://lunarchar.com/ xx
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Definitely going to try more from this brand after reading this! Looks like you got some good products which are so affordable xxx
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The Essense makeup is so incredibly cheap and I think it is perfect for younger girls because it is mostly natural looking products, plus it looks really pretty! My friend swears by their mascaras but Im in love with the Benefit Roller Lash and would rather splurge on one I love! The only product of theirs I have tried is a matte liquid lipstick and it is honestly so pretty! I actually really love it which is so surprising!! Loved this little review!! xx
http://zoe-ware.com
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Thank you! I agree that it’s good for girls starting out in makeup! xx
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Essence is good overall but I would agree with their shadows not being their strong suit. Their face products and lip products are awesome though. I know you didn’t like the mascara but essence is typically the mascaras I reach for most. Two faves are lash princess and xtreme volume
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I think i need to try out their other mascara ranges and see if i get on any better with those!xx
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Good plan!
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I’ve never tried essence, but it seems pretty hit and miss from what you’re saying, that blush looks more like a bronzer to me, but I suppose it depends on your skintone
Sophie – https://sophiehearts.net/ x
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Great post as always Ellie! I used to use Essence makeup all the time because they have a ton of really cool products and everything is soooo cheap!! I need to buy some again😊👍🏻
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Loved your honest review of their products! I’ve always looked at trying out their products but never got round to doing so!
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I love your little logo in the end, it’s adorable!
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thank you!x
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I love essence!! You get such great products from there for really good prices xx
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This brand would be great for younger girls just starting to get into make up. The liquid lipstick is a really nice shade!
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I’ve never tried this brand out before but I’ve always seen them in Wilkos! I love that they’re inexpensive x
Ashleigh | http://ashleighwrites.co.uk
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The pastel pink lipstick is gorgeous, what a pretty colour! 😍 It sounds like you got such a bargain with all these products. I’ve never heard of this brand but if I see some of their lipstick I’ll definitely grab myself some. Thanks for the great review Ellie! 💖 xx
Bexa | http://www.hellobexa.com
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I’ve never tried Essence products before! But definitely going to give them a go, I love the pink lipstick colour you chose 🙂
Emma | http://www.lifeofemmax.co.uk
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Such a pretty fun pink!
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I’ve always seen their makeup and been intrigued, might get some next time I’m out in town! Xx
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You should, they’re fun to try out!
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I’ve never tried Essence, but for that cheap price, those eyeshadows are definitely pigmented (sad they don’t show up on the lid very well).
Florence | https://beyondimagination12.blogspot.co.uk/
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i know, it was such a shame!
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I love Essence makeup it’s so reasonable and is really great quality! I’ve tried bits like their mascara and eyeliners but have tried any eyeshadows yet! Really like the one you picked out! X
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Thank you! I do wanna try out more of their stuff!xx
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I really love the color on that eyeshadow palette you picked. It’s too bad they didn’t go on as pigmented as they seem to with your finger swatches! Still quite lovely though!
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Definitely a very aesthetic product!
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I haven’t heard of Essence cosmetics but they look really nice for the price you pay. The shades look really nice and an 18hr lash extension mascara sounds like a winner! For the price you paid, it looks great!
Nancy ♥ exquisitely.me
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Great post! That eyeshadow palette was a lot more pigmented than I would have thought 🙂 Such pretty shades!
-Jenna ❤
Follow me back? The Chic Cupcake
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I’ve been wanting to try some Essence stuff for absolutely ages now. It’s a shame they seem a little hit and miss but I’ve heard amazing things about the blush formula. You can’t really go wrong for the price! x
Sophie
http://www.glowsteady.co.uk
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I 100% agree, i feel like they’re a brand you need to try out yourself to see if they personally work for you! I do wanna try and pick up some other products if i go to a store that stock a bigger range!x
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I used for a while when i was not living in the UK the Essence Products and with some i was excited while others were just not good enough! I really like their lipsticks and the shade you picked is lovely! As for mascaras their best for me is the Get Big Lashes so if you ever find it give it a go! 🙂
http://www.inthemilkytwilight.com
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I saw Essence makeup at Ulta the other day when I was going makeup shopping and this was a really great review!! xx I might have to stop back in and pick up a few of their products. I like that they all seem affordable. The lip products look really nice! I especially like the lipstick! Pastels are so pretty and I’ve been really into them lately when it comes to makeup. Amazing review, hon!! 💛💗
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