Alexa Lowe

Essence Kalinka Beauty Collection Swatches, Review & Look


I spotted the Essence Kalinka Beauty Collection display at Shoppers Drug Mart and was instantly attracted to its cute packaging. I picked up the only blush in the collection, two out of 3 mono eyeshadows and one out of two lip duos. I’ve included photos, swatches and an overview of each item.

The collection features folklore patterns combined with a bright colour scheme of warm red, orange, apricot, beige, brown, green and brilliant blue. The collection has products for the eyes, lips, face and nails. It also features a matryoshka doll coin purse, but I didn’t see much use in that piece.

Essence Kalinka Beauty Collection Swatches, Review & Look

Kalinka beauty – blush 01 east side story

Kalinka beauty – mono eyeshadow 01 from Russia with love

Kalinka beauty – mono eyeshadow 02 babushka me

Kalinka beauty – duo lip cream 01 meet me @ red square

Essence Kalinka Beauty Collection Swatches & Makeup Look

From left to right:

  • Mono Eyeshadow 01 From Russia With Love
  • Mono Eyeshadow 02 Babushka Me
  • Blush 01 East Side Story
  • Duo Lip Cream 01 Meet Me @ Red Square

Overall thoughts:

From Russian With Love is a matte light peachy orange shade. It’s powdery and difficult to build up. The pigmentation is weak and it requires a primer and/or base to show up on my eye lids.

Babushka Me is a light bronze shimmer and it’s actually very pretty in the crease. It’s not highly pigmented, but it’s still less powdery and easier to work with than From Russia With Love.

East Side Story blush was impressive. It seems powdery in the swatch above, but that is not the case on the cheeks. The blush has a subtle warm sheen. This was my favourite out of the four items.

Lastly, Meet Me @ Red Square is a lip duo. The left shade in the pan is a gloss and the right is more opaque cream (my swatches are reversed, above).

The left lip product is on the sheer side for a cream lipstick. You need to apply the cream shade generously if you want to achieve an opaque look, which to me isn’t worth the effort. There are plenty of cheap lipsticks on the market with batter pigmentation. If you prefer sheer coverage, you may like these.

The small compact is cute, but if you wanted to wear this product out then you will need to carry a lip brush and a mirror. It’s not a long wearing product at all, but it least it doesn’t feel drying.

I’m wearing From Russian With Love on the inner half on the lid and Babushka Me on the outer lid, then blended in the crease. I have East Side Story blush on my cheeks. Lastly, I mixed both shades of the lip duo in Meet Me @ Red Square for my lip colour.

I cannot remember the exact retail price for each item, but every items was under 5$. These are still available at Shoppers Drug Mart or Pharmaprix if you live in Quebec, but they won’t be around much longer since they are limited edition.

Have you tried any Essence products? What did you think of them?

*I purchased these products. See previous posts featuring essence cosmetics.

xx

Related posts:

  1. Essence Stay Matt Lip Cream Swatch & Review
  2. LORAC PRO-To-Go Palette Swatch & Review
  3. Lancome Lip Lover Swatches, Photos & Review


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