Essence- love at first try! And why is it one of my favorite affordable makeup brands?

To all makeup lovers,

Let’s talk quality, let’s talk price! That’s what’s important for all of us ladies. We are always in search of something affordable but also of good quality, right?

If you are based in Europe you just cannot say you never heard of Essence. It is currently a leading cosmetics company on the market. Their products vary from eye shadows and nail polish to makeup brushes and eye shadow glitter. It is a very budget-friendly brand which also values quality. What also makes an impression on me is that their products are completely cruelty-free and animal violence-free. Some of their products also rank high on vegan and natural scale.

However, as mentioned before what all of us ladies are looking at when we buy makeup is price and quality. Essence is a quite affordable brand considering their good-quality products. I’ve been using Essence for a long time and I absolutely love this brand. Of course, I also use other brands, such as Maybelline (which is part of L’Oreal), L’Oreal, NYX, Mac, Lancome, etc. However, I really like the great variety and trendiness of the Essence products.

In this sense, if you fancy affordable but still good quality makeup, you will definitely like Kokie Cosmetics as well. Check out Una's favorite Kokie Cosmetics makeup products.

To go back to Essence, I have some favorites in different categories that I would like to share with you:

Makeup primer Fresh&Fit

I really love this primer because it gives you the healthy glow and makes your skin look fresh, even when you didn’t have much sleep. If you are like me and you like keeping your look natural, without using too much makeup, this primer is pretty much everything you need for a base. I usually apply BB cream on top but if you prefer to use foundation that works also.

Mosaic compact powder

Next, I use bronze glow mosaic powder to do basic contouring of my cheek bones and forehead suitable for my face shape. I like this powder because it is really light and brings sun-kissed bronze glow to your face. It is also mosaic and when blended, the selection of different colors gives me the perfect shade, just enough to brighten my face. As my skin is really white I use it for a slight contour but if your skin is a bit darker and it fits, you can also use it instead of blush to brighten your face. It is a perfect fit for your summer tan. 

CC Correct to perfect muti-benefit pearls

Sometimes I use the cc pearls just to get a slight matt effect if my face looks shinier than usual. They also add a very light touch to your makeup. Although the label says “Correct to perfect”, they are not a substitute to your face powder or your concealer. Therefore, be sure not to apply too much if you don’t want to end up with a kind of reddish, orangy shade to your skin. 

Eye shadow all about.. Roses palette

My favorite eye shadow palette! I honestly love it. The rose gold, nude, grayish shades perfectly fit my skin and eye color. Even when I use the darkest shades my look is still natural with a little more accent on my eyes but never too much. For my everyday look I usually use only the light shades to brighten my eyes. I love the way you can easily go from a day to night look by using the darker shades. The pigments are just well enough balanced that you get a nice coverage but at the same time a lovely glow which is perfect if you are not going for a really bold look. 

Eyebrow pencil Dark chocolate shade

Occasionally, I also use an eyebrow pencil to emphasize my eyebrows. I like this pencil because it is easy to apply and blend without wasting much time. I usually don’t like spending much time doing my makeup, so I always look for products that are easy to apply. It actually has been really difficult for me to find the right shade that perfectly fits my brows’ color so that they don’t look unnatural. The Dark chocolate shade is still not perfect, but it is just good enough. Nevertheless, I like my eyebrows natural, so I rarely ever use it. 

Mascara Volume stylish Lash Extension, Volume stylish Curl & hold, Instant Volume Boost

To finish my natural look, I usually like using Essence Volume stylish Lash Extension mascara because it is extremely easy to apply and gives a nice natural look without making your lashes look like spider legs. I also bought the Volume stylish Curl & hold mascara which curves your lashes just enough to bring a bit more volume. The new one that I recently bought is the Instant Volume Boost mascara. It has an intense black color so it is suitable for a bolder look to make your eyes pop, especially if they are bright like mine. The brushes are designed in a way so that they don’t make your lashes stick together but separate them instead to keep the natural look.

I’ve tried many different mascara brands throughout the years, like L’Oreal, Maybelline and even Lancome but Essence is my favorite one at the moment. It seems more chemicals- and additions-free than all others that I’ve tried till now. For instance, when I was using one of the popular L’Oreal mascaras my lashes started falling, which has never happened with any of the Essence mascaras that I’ve used. 

Lip gloss Shine Shine Shine and Matt Matt Matt

When it comes to lip stick and lip gloss, my favorite ever brand is NYX. However, I’ve fallen in love with the Shine Shine Shine lip gloss that I bought (02 Smile, Sparkle, Shine). It is the perfect finish to my everyday natural look. As you can see I absolutely love it! :D

As for the Matt Matt Matt lip gloss, I was curious and wanted to try it out. I am usually drawn to bright lip colors because of my skin and eyes color so bright colors fit me really well. That’s why I bought shade 11 Drama Club lip gloss. I love the intense color, and although it is not as lasting as the NYX cream lipsticks, it still has good coverage. 

Nail polish The Gel

I am usually really picky when it comes to nail polish because I used to be a manicurist and quality matters for me. At the same time, I don’t want to overspend on nail polish. Essence Gel nail polish became my best friend since I first tried it. It has perfectly even coverage and this gel-like finish that makes it look fancy. It is really easy to apply, as you don’t necessarily have to apply it more than once, and it is relatively long-lasting.

Quick Dry drops

 For me it’s really painfully annoying when I have to wait for my nail polish to dry. In the end, I always end up messing it up just before it’s fully dried. That’s why I really like the quick dry drops. It usually takes about 60 seconds for the nail polish to dry. However, if I do more than one layer I usually put two drops per nail just in case. 

Metal Shock nail powder

When I first bought the Metal Shock nail powder I honestly wasn’t sure if I would be satisfied with the result. It was quite unclear how to use it because there was no explanation provided with the product. The only tip written on the box was to check some tutorials on Youtube in order to see how it’s done. Besides that, it’s actually really easy to use but it can be quite messy as well because the glitter powder sticks everywhere. The result, of course, is not the same as on most tutorials because it doesn’t have that mirror-like effect but it still brings a nice shiny touch to your nail polish.

Essence is a really popular budget-friendly cosmetics brand and you can find their products in every drug store. So, you definitely must have seen the Essence products last time you visited the drug store. In the Netherlands it’s really easy to find their stand in Etos or Kruidvat. As I already mentioned, Essence beauty products are very affordable. To give an example I did a small research on some of the makeup brands that I am using and compared the prices to the same category products.

Table: Product comparison between the popular drugstore brands in the Netherlands (with prices)

Overall, I must say that for me it really was love at first try. I honestly love Essence beauty products as there is a nice balance between price and quality. They are easy to apply so I don’t have to spend hours in front of the mirror to do just a basic makeup. If you haven’t tried any of the Essence products, I definitely recommend you do.

I cannot wait to see the new line this fall! What about you?

Love,

Petya.