Say Hello To The Essence A/W Range!

Hey beaut's!

If you've been reading my blog for a while now you'll know that I'm a bit of a Essence Cosmetics addict, I absolutely love their products because not only are they all so affordable but the quality is actually very good too, I've always loved their lip products and nail polishes the best, their so so good! Anyway...recently Essence launched some fab new bit's for Autumn/Winter and I've been testing a few out over the last month or so and I'm actually pretty shook!!

I'm a sucker for new palettes so I was so excited when I saw Essence had some new ones I could play with. Their both from the new Crystal Power range which is inspired by sparkling crystals and precious stones perfect for the up-coming party season! Firstly theres the Blush & Highlighter Palette (£6.00) which contains two shimmering blushes in berry and apricot tones to give the cheeks a stunning flush and glow, and two highlighters one of which is more golden and super wearable (I've been loving it) and the other is a more sheer icy topper which mixes with other highlighters incredibly well and really glows. Then theres the Crystal Power Eyeshadow Palette (£6.00) which consists of nine eye shadows - eight of which are shimmering metallics and theres one matte shadow. I love the colour way of this palette, most of the shades are super wearable, I've actually been using every shade apart from the green-blue shades as they really aren't me but the rest are right up my street!

Theres also a Crystal Power Lipstick (£2.99) in the shade Be Happy which is super glitzy and fabulous, the lipstick has a nourishing formula enriched with vitamin E so it pampers and protects the lips, and....it's colour changing, the lippie reacts to the pH value of your lips so not only does it add some sparkle it adds a pink flush too! The last product I've been testing out from the Crystal Power range is their nail polish in Be Strong (£2.00), it's a gorgeous glittery rose gold shade and like all of the Essene nail polishes the quality is so good, theres also five other colours to collect which I'm going to need asap!! 

If your looking for a new primer for the winter months then the new Essence Hydrating + Perfecting Primer (£3.79) is a must try, if  you have dry skin or notice you get dryer when it's colder like most of us do then this primer not only helps to prep your skin for foundation but it's so nourishing and moisturising too, I've been loving it so far but I will say if you have oily skin then this is a no go for you unfortunately! Like I said before the Essence lipsticks are my favourites and their Perfect Shine Lipstick (£2.99) is an absolute dream, arhhh it's so creamy and just glides beautifully on the lips and packs a pigmented punch, I love it!

I don't have many contouring products in my stash so I was looking forward to trying the new Contouring Duo Palette (£3.49), the palette has two colour options - lighter skin and darker skin - with a highlighting shade and contouring shade to play with, so far so good with this one although I need more practise on powder contouring he he! Theres also some new single blushers and highlighters that have just been launched, I have the blush in the shade Befitting (£2.50), it's matte medium pink tone which is super versatile and the highlighter I have is in the shade Heroic, which is a light golden shade which is slightly on the safer side so if you like a subtle highlight then this one will be for you!

All Essence products are available in Wilko and you can also now find them online on Feel Unique.

*This post contains gifted items, all opinions are my own!

Essence 'You Better Work Range' Reviewed!

Hey beaut's!

If you've been reading my blog for a while now you'll know that I'm a huge fan of Essence Cosmetics, it's so affordable and actually very good quality  - I literally swoon at their lippies and nail polishes, their so so good! Anyway... recently Essence have launched a gym-proof range named 'You Better Work!' full of everything you need to keep your makeup looking it's best and staying put even in a sweaty gym during your workout or on a mega hot Summers day!

If your anything like me then you don't like to leave the house without a slick of mascara on your lashes and a bit of tinted moisturiser on your face at least, so I was really looking forward to giving the You Better Work Volume & Curl Mascara* a whirl a long with the Tinted Day Cream in Light*. Mascara's have to pass a lot of tests for me, I like something super long lasting that wont transfer, smudge, run or flake and I like plenty of length, volume and curl and Essence have literally answered all of my mascara prayers with their Volume & Curl Mascara. This stuff stays put like nothing else and builds up beautifully, and even though it's waterproof it isn't tough to remove with my cleanser at the end of the day, yassss! 

The Tinted Day Cream (£3.80) is actually very good, it has a light-weight formula as you'd expect with a light coverage but some how it makes my skin look super healthy and is perfect for that 'no makeup look', it has a nice matte finish as well so it keeps shine and sweat at bay and it also features a UV filter to keep your skin protected in the sun which is always a bonus! I can see myself using this loads in the Spring/Summer months that's for sure!

Setting sprays are absolutely huge right now and I bloody love a good setting spray to make me look all glowy and dewy however the You Better Work Fixing Spray* (£3.00) is actually mystifying so I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about it at first. The spray itself is very refreshing and cooling so I can see why this little beauty would come in handy at the gym and whens it's hot, and if you like a matte finish then I cant recommend this enough as it really does set your base makeup and keep shine at bay, but for me right now I do prefer something more dewy but definitely in Summer I'll be reaching for this a lot when I want to look matte and not a sweaty mess lol!

Finally I've been giving the Eye Primer* (£2.80) from the collection a whirl! I've found a little bit of this goes a long way, you literally need the smallest amount to get a nice base for your eyeshadow to blend on top of! I've actually found that this particular primer works really well with eyeshadow crayons, it really keeps the creamy formula in place without creasing which is something I've previously struggled with!

All Essence products are available from Wilko stores or online HERE.

*This post contains gifted press samples, all opinions are my own!

Essence #INSTA Perfect Foundation + Tools Reviewed!

Hey beaut's!

Around a month ago a lovely parcel from Essence dropped on my front door of some samples of their latest foundation launch #INSTA Perfect along with a couple of their beauty tools and I couldn't wait to delve straight in and get trying them all out!

The Essence #INSTA Perfect Foundation* comes in 9 different shades which I have to say is a step up for Essence because usually they do lack a bit on the shade range front when it comes to their foundations. Within the 9 shades there is an ok'ish selection for light, medium and darker skin tones and Essence also encourage you to mix and match this particular foundation if necessary to create your perfect shade, for instance you can use the darker shades to darker up a colour and use the lighter shades to lighten up a colour, just like the colour adjusting drops you can get.

The foundation itself has a strong matte finish, with a light yet buildable coverage that is long lasting and waterproof, yet super lightweight, I literally feel like I'm wearing nothing when I have this foundation on, it's really lovely. After giving this a good test  I have to say the resemblance the #INSTA Perfect Foundation has to MAC's Face and Body Foundation is uncanny, it's just like it apart from Face and Body isn't as matte as Essence's offering. Everything from the packaging to the thin, water like constancy and easy buildable coverage is so similar to Face and Body so if your after a dupe... Essence is where the parties at! I can definitely see this being my foundation of choice for the Spring and Summer months because of how light it is and it's waterproof so it stays well and for £4.50 a bottle you really cant go wrong, what a beauty bargain!

I've also been giving the Essence Super Beauty Sponge* (£3.00) and the

Essence Make Up Buffer Brush* (£3.50) a whirl too. The sponge is available in three colours, orange, pink and blue and has the most innovative shape that can reach and blend everywhere around the face, even in those hard-to-reach areas! I've really been enjoying using the sponge actually, I usually use a Beauty Blender to apply my foundation and this sponge works and blends just as well as my Beauty Blender which is a major bonus! I've also been really impressed by the Buffer Brush, the rose gold, white and grey design is so pretty and the brush itself works so well at buffing in foundation because of its densely packed bristles. Also the quality of the bristles feel super lux, they are soooo soft and gentle on my skin and the brush feels much more expensive than it actually is!

All Essence products are available from Wilko stores or online HERE.

5 Amazing Makeup Products Under £5!

Hi beaut's!

When it comes to makeup I'm a real bargain hunter, I love finding fabulous things that wont cost me a fortune, I mean who doesn't! It's a bit trial and error when you buy more affordable makeup because sometimes the quality can be a little lack luster but I thought I'd share five absolute gems that are all £5.00 or under, your defietly going to need these in your makeup loving life!

Arhh Makeup Geek Eyeshadows, these babies can be found on Beauty Bay where you buy the shadows singly and build your own palette, I think building your own palette is a money saver in itself because you literally buy all the shades you know your going to wear meaning theres no more wasted, un-loved shadows! The Makeup Geek Shadows come in at £4.95 each and I cant stress enough how worth it they are, each shadow is well pigmented, applies and blends beautifully and they last really well on my oily eyelids! I even prefer the quality of these shadows over my MAC eyeshadow pans and the Makeup Geek shades are half the price of the MAC shades too!

A good foundation is hard to find when your on a budget but the Revolution Fast Base Foundation is a serous winner for me! The foundation itself is just £5.00 and has a whopping 18 shades ranging from fair to deep, in cool, neutral and warm undertones which I think is amazing! The formula is super creamy and melts onto the skin when you swipe it on, it blends in so easily and the coverage is lovely, I'd say medium but buildable with a very dewy finish which I like, maybe too dewy for oily skinned gals but definitely perfect if your normal to dry! For £5.00 though you really cant go wrong with this foundation and the shade range is so so good!

I'm a bit of a highlighter addict so when I saw Primark where selling highlighters for £2.50 I was all over that s**t! The Primark highlighters actually come in a range of shades but I opted for Mink Pink which is a champagne-baby pink shade which is so metallic it looks like foil on your skin, it's so blinding! The formula is nice, it picks up on the brush well and blends onto the skin beautifully, a little bit really goes a long way too so theres no need to build up the powder on the brush! Overall for £2.50 this highlighter is incredible, if you like your highlighter to shine as bright as the sun your going to be needing this little beauty!

Barry M's lip liners are literally incredible, I'm actually in the middle of collecting all of their shades because I honestly don't think I'll reach for an expensive lip liner again after trying Barry M's offerings! Their lip liners are creamy but create precise lines at the same time, their well pigmented, feel super comfortable on the lips and only cost £2.99 each! I have lip liners from MAC and Charlotte Tilbury that I bought in the past which where pricey and I still prefer my Barry M ones, their just so nice!

Finally if your after a good glitter glue then the Essence Glitter Primer is where the parties at! This stuff is so good at keeping your glitters or pigments in place all day, the primer easily blends out and covers well and creates a nice dewy base for the glitters to adhere too, and a major plus for me is that it isn't sticky or heavy and it comes in at just £2.80 woohoo!

What are some of your makeup favourites that are under £5.00? I'd love to know beaut's!

Glowing Skin On A Budget With Essence!

Hey beaut's!

It's Summer, it's super hot and it's time to ready, set glowww! You cant beat glowy makeup during the Summer months can you and Essence have made it very easy for us to glow this season with their super affordable glow-worthy products!

Glow To Go Highlighter Palette* £4.50

If your after a radiant sun-kissed look then look no further because this little palette has two highlighting shades and two bronzer shades that will do just that! All four powders within the palette are metallics, the first two are highlighting shades going from a yellow gold to a classic champagne then theres two bronzer shades the first being a warm toned glowy bronze and then the second is a stunning rose gold which I think works better as an eyeshadow or highlighter personally! The texture of the shades is slightly firmer than I'm used to with a metallic but they all pick up on the brush well and blend with ease revealed a blinding glow, all of the shades do contain some ever so slight shimmers but nothing too OTT! If you want to be a bronzed goddess then this palette will definitely be for you, if I was going on holiday this would be a definite 'must pack' for me because using these shades on freshly tanned skin would look so beaut!

Glow To Go Illuminating Setting Spray* £3.30

Setting spray is pretty much a makeup essential especially during these super hot summer days that we are having in the UK right now, and when I saw that Essence had launched an illuminating setting spray I was chuffed to bits, I just love to glow! The spray itself is really good and does keep my makeup set into place a lot longer than if I didn't use it at all, it leaves a pinky radiant finish to the skin which isn't glittery more holographic which I'm obsessed with! The only thing I will say is you must give the bottle a very good shake before use and hold it at arms length as you spray, if you don't your left with highlighter splats across your face rather than a radiant mist! The spray also smells divine, really fresh and light! 

Holo Wow! Dewy Lip Shine in Scarab Wings* £2.80

The Essence Dewy Lip Shines can literally transform any lip look, they have a glossy 

 light-reflecting, holographic shine which look awesome worn on it's own or over your favourite lippie! The shade I have is Scarab Wings which is a translucent purple with thousands of blue, green and yellow glitters suspended within it, it's so pretty!

Holo Wow! Prisma Jumbo Eye Pencil in My Little Fairy* £2.80

I have so much love for eyeshadow sticks because their so quick and easy to use, you can simply scribble the colour on your eyelids and either use your finger or a brush to blend the colour out and your ready to go! Essence have a new selection of jumbo eyeshadow sticks in their Holo Wow collection, I have the shade My Little Fairy which is a baby blue shade with a holographic pink shift to it, it's so nice! These work well as an eyeshadow base, as eyeliner liner or as I said before you can just wear them alone to as a pop of colour to your lids! One major plus I noticed with this was just how well it lasted, it doesn't claim to be waterproof but it doesn't budge with water or soap and it takes a good makeup remover to get this bad boy off so bare that in mind!

3D Dewy Look Stick £3.50* and Holo Wow Sparkle Stick* £3.50

The 3D Dewy Look Stick is unlike anything I've ever tried before, it's a wet-look balm that emphasis's the cheekbones without any glitter or shimmer particles, instead you just look naturally dewy! The balm itself is enriched shea butter which pampers the skin whilst you wear it and it isn't heavy, thick or sticky in the slightest, I think it looks great on the eyes too if your going for that super trendy wet look to the eye. The Holo Wow Sparkle Stick is literally my new favourite thing to highlight with, it has a cream formulation which blends in beautifully and again isn't sticky at all. What I love the most is how pretty it looks on the skin, it has a glowy pink shift with minute gold sparkles - perfect for jazzing up those cheekbones on the daily or for festivals, my swatch does it no justice at all! 

All Essence products are available from Wilko stores or online HERE.

Essence Get Your Glitter On Loose Glitters and Pigments Collection Review

Hey beaut's!

Glitter makeup and all things sparkly are right up my street, if I could shower in glitter I think I would he he, so you can imagine my excitement when the new 'Essence Get Your Glitter On Loose Glitters and Pigments Collection' dropped on my doorstep. Glitter makeup is huge right now, so whether you want some glitter face art for a festival or for walking around your local supermarket (cause I would so do that) or if you want to add some sparkle to your eyeshadow look then Essence have us totally covered with this new collection. 

(From left to right - Life Of The Party, Holo White Out, Copper Queen, Chameleon, Golden Nuggets, Star Child, Super Girl, Punk Pinata)

The Essence Get Your Glitter On Loose Glitters and Pigments Collection* consists of 15 loose glitters and pigments, a glitter glue primer and a glitter/pigment applicator all of which you can find online or in store at Wilko. The loose glitters and pigments come in an array of colours and designs, theres everything from multi coloured hex glitters to silver and gold glitter stars, coarse glitter flakes, colourful confetti and fine fairy dust, theres literally everything a glitter loving gal could ever want at just £3.00 a pop, bargain! The glitters a pigments all come on little glass jars with screw on lids, the only thing to watch out for is that theres no stopper or sifter so if your not careful your might have a glitter explosion on your hands when you open up a pot he he.

The glitters and pigments all apply well with the Essence Get Your Glitter On Glitter Primer* (£2.80), it's always a concern when using glitter than it will just fall out everywhere and not stay in place but this stuff is really good at acting like a glue. It's a pearlescent cream which has such a nice pink shift too it, I've found a little goes a long way with this though as it easily blends out and covers well and creates a nice dewy base for the glitters to adhere too, and a major plus for me is that is isn't sticky or heavy woohoo!

The collection also has a handy 'Sili Helpers Glitter & Pigment Applicator*' (£1.50) which makes applying glitters so much easier. The applicator has a silicone head that picks up and deposits the glitter really well and helps with precision if your doing something like a spotlight eye or cut-crease, and what even better is that it just wipes clean!

If your planning on going to any festivals/parties or even if your a bit of a glitter makeup addict like me then I cant recommend this collection enough, everything is super pretty and it's so affordable, you can beat a glittery bargain can you he he!

You can find the Essence Get Your Glitter On Loose Glitters and Pigments Collection HERE.