Tag Archives: Essence

Nail Polish Haul, Anyone?

Posted on September 17, 2012 | Leave a comment

Hi loves!

We’re back to Monday again, which means I have no idea where the weekend went. I had to work Friday and Sunday, so I missed most of it, but that’s okay. Dane and I are going to the driving range (golf) this afternoon, so there’s still fun to be had. I really should fix my manicure… Maybe I’ll bust out one of these new polishes I’ve picked up recently!

Last Monday, Ulta featured their great special of buy one Butter London nail polish and get a second polish free! Of course I took advantage of this steal and picked up a couple for my collection:

Butter London’s Nail Polish in Wallis

I’ve wanted this beauty for a while now. It’s a complex shade of burnished gold mixed with olive green. It’s as dynamic on the nail as it is in the bottle, which is one of the many reasons this polish is worth the $14 price tag. Buy it from Sephora.com for $14.

Butter London Nail Polish in All Hail the Queen

I love this shade! It’s such a wonderful nude, but it’s far from being boring. All Hail the Queen has pink and gold micro-shimmer mixed into the warm taupe base. Again, fantastic formula and a unique shade! Available at ButterLondon.com for $14.

OPI Nail Polish in Number One Nemesis

This shade was just too cool to pass up. It has a blue/black sheer-ish base with tons of small gold glitter. Very pretty and interesting without being too girly. It’s from the Spiderman collection, so it is limited edition, but you should still be able to find it at Ulta or Ulta.com for around $8.50.

Essence Colour & Go Nail Polish in Grey-t to Be Here

I have long loved the inexpensive nail polishes that Essence makes, but they recently redid the packaging and introduced some new colors. This is one of the new shades and I LOVE IT. It’s a blue-based gray with fiery red and orange micro-shimmer. There is an expected difference in quality between the Butter London formula and the Essence formula, but with a good base and top coat, this polish can last for days. $1.99 at Ulta stores or at Ulta.com.

Essence Colour & Go Nail Polish in Oh My Glitter!

Again, I love the new packaging of these little Essence polishes. I bought this color because of the pronounced shimmer in a pretty standard purple base. Oh My Glitter! has purple and light blue sparkles in a medium purple base. As a purple lover, I just couldn’t resist. $1.99 at Ulta stores or Ulta.com.

What have you purchased recently?

 

Alright y’all. We can do this. Let the week commence!

Much love,

Laura

 

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Posted in Hauls, Nail Products

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Party All Night (Or Day) With Essence’s Single Eye Shadow

Posted on July 30, 2012 | Leave a comment

Hi lovelies!

I hope your weekend was worth putting up with Monday. I don’t know about you, but this morning has been rough! It’s going to be one of those “one more cup of coffee” kind of days.

I’m going to try and combat some of the Monday blues by raving about a drugstore shadow that doesn’t disappoint.

Essence Eye Shadow in Party All Night

I’ve been really impressed with this shadow. It’s a metallic, neutral bronze that is smooth, buttery, and blendable. I’ve been impressed with how long this wears, especially over my NYX eye shadow primer. There is minimal fading with this shadow after about 8 hours, which doesn’t bother me.

I love the embossed pattern.

This is such an easy color to wear. Because it’s metallic and neutral (not too warm- or cool-toned), it is the perfect shadow for that one-shadow eye look. Just apply it more heavily on the lid and blend it out into the crease.

Essence Eye Shadow in Party All Night

The Essence single eye shadows have 2.5 grams of product, which is a great value. (MAC shadows have 1.5 grams, for comparison.) There are 18 shades in the single eye shadow range.

Swatch of Essence Eye Shadow in Party All Night (Natural light)

Swatch of Essence Eye Shadow in Party All Night (With flash)

 

Again, this shadow is great on its own, but the best part? It’s only $1.99. CRAZY. Essence products can be found at Ulta.com and in Ulta stores.

*****

What do you think about this shadow? Have you tried it, or do you think you will?

I hope you have a FABULOUS Monday!

Much love,

Lo

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Posted in Eye Products

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Essence Eyebrow Stylist Set and Some Thoughts

Posted on July 10, 2012 | Leave a comment

Like most of us, I love convenience. Take our Keurig, for example. You really can’t get much more convenient than that. Open the lid, insert a K-Cup, close the lid, press brew, and voila! 30-45 seconds later, you have a freshly brewed cup of awesomeness.

My baby.

Coffee convenience is of the utmost importance, just in case you were wondering.

Of course, in the beauty world, there is a need for convenience as well. We can’t always take time to have our in-home spa treatments, right? Today’s product aims to give us convenience in tight little package.

Essence Eyebrow Stylist Set

Essence Eyebrow Stylist Set (back view)

This little set comes with two brow powders, a brush, 3 eyebrow stencils, and some instructions. I was pretty excited about this, especially for the price, and of course for the convenience factor. (I wonder how many times I’ll type that in this post?)

Unfortunately, the idea in theory is much better than in execution.

First of all, the stencils are essentially all the same shape:

Essence Eyebrow Stylist Set stencils

Not much of a difference, right? I don’t really like how one-size-fits-all they are.

While this is a common gripe for beauty lovers, the brush it came with is essentially useless, though if I had to use it in a pinch, it might work.

The brush from the Essence Eyebrow Stylist Set

And finally, because of how the package opens and works, when you need to use the powder, this is your option:

Powders from the Essence Eyebrow Stylist Set

Not the worst thing in the world, but the plastic that surrounds the pans is very flimsy and hard to hold on to as you use the product. The package opens from one of the ends, but if it opened like a compact, this would actually be much more useful.

I actually really like the powder and find that it works well for me. I’m not sure it comes across in the photos, but the powders are warm-toned, which goes well with my current hair color.

Brow powders from the Essence Eyebrow Stylist Set (natural light)

The price on this isn’t too shabby- $2.79. But considering the powder is the only decent part of the product, you might as well just buy an eyeshadow! I really like Essence products, but this one just isn’t a winner for me.

You can find Essence products at Ulta stores and at Ulta.com.

*****

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to deal with a hole in my ceiling.

Much love,

Lo

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Posted in Eye Products, Tools

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Cover Up!

Posted on June 22, 2012 | 2 Comments

Happy Friday, lovelies!

I think it’s safe to say that we all love makeup and want to look flawless every day, yes? But sometimes (a lot of the time?), we don’t have the energy/time/will to put on a full face of makeup before we head out for the day. We find those “cheats” that help up do less in the mornings, yet yield results almost as good as if we stood in front of the mirror for half an hour.

One of my favorites is to only put foundation/concealer in my T-zone, which is where most of my blemishes are. Time is cut because I’m not putting on a full face of foundation, yet I still get the desired results of evened-out skin tone and spot cover. The product I’m showing you today works perfectly for this purpose, and more!

Essence Cover Stick in Matt Sand

I have absolutely no idea why there is no “e” on the end of “Matt”.

Essence Cover Stick in Matt Sand

Essence Cover Stick in Matt Sand (This photo has been edited to be the most true to color as possible.)

Obviously the packaging is incredibly convenient, due to the stick form, but the product is actually really great as well. It goes on with a cream-to-powder finish that doesn’t dry out on my skin. (There is nothing cute about concealer-covered flaky dry spots. UGH.)

Essence Cover Stick in Matt Sand swatches (natural light)

Essence Cover Stick in Matt Sand swatches (with flash)

Please ignore the sparkles in the above photo! The Cover Stick doesn’t have ANY sparkle, shimmer, or glitter in it. I had been swatching other products. Ooops!

I was really surprised at just how well this covered, especially for a $2 product! It lasts about 6 hours before wearing off, especially if you’ve been sweating or if you have oily skin. (Setting with a powder will always help products last longer on the skin.)

The biggest issue with this product for me is the shade range. As in, there’s only 3. Let’s face it: that’s just not realistic. To my knowledge, Matt Sand is the lightest shade and even that’s a wee bit dark for me. Hopefully Essence will get it together and offer more shades that accurately represent their customer base!

If this looks like a product you’d be interested in, you can purchase it at Ulta stores or at Ulta.com.

So what do you think? Interested in trying it out?

 

I hope you’re all doing great, and again, HAPPY FRIDAY!

Much love,

Lo

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Posted in Foundation/Bases/Powders

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Stay All Day and Hang Out For a While

Posted on March 20, 2012 | Leave a comment

Lately there’s been a huge movement in long-wearing, cream shadows, thanks in part to Maybelline‘s affordable Color Tattoo line. MAKE UP FOR EVER has had their amazing Aqua Creams out for a while, but at $22 a pot, their popularity is limited. Now, the super-inexpensive line Essence, found at Ulta, has come out with their own cream shadow.

This color is called Glammy Goes To… and it’s a silvery taupe (isn’t everything, these days?) that seems pretty neutral. It’s a really easy color to wear and easier to apply.

I’m really impressed by it’s consistency and texture, but mostly by the fact that the product lives up to the claims. This little nugget actually lasts for a really long time… 8, 9 hours without creasing? WINNER WINNER CHICKEN DINNER.

One solid shmear on the right, rubbed out on the left.

WOW, do I need some lotion.

 

These little gems are only $3 and in my ever-so-humble opinion, SO WORTH IT. There’s a copper and true silver color as well, which of course I’d like to possess and try out. I hope they produce some new colors!

Have you tried these yet? Interested?

Much love y’all,

Lo

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Posted in Eye Products, New Products

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