Essence £10 make-up challenge and reviews
I was sent some make-up from Essence, an established European beauty brand that launched in the UK earlier this year, and challenged to make up my face with just £10 of Essence cosmetics. I used to love seeing the colourful Essence displays in continental Europe and once bought a spot gel from the brand (“anti-pickel gel” haha) but this is my first time trying out the make-up.
The brand is cheap and cheerful (think teenagers on a Saturday afternoon), with items starting from 99p and mostly under £3. Still, I found it quite hard to keep within £10 because the bits I was drawn to were all closer to £3 than 99p, as is always the way. I got it down to the following:
- Quattro eyeshadow (£2.99)
- Kajal eyeliner (£0.99)
- The Lash Curler volume & curl mascara (£3.29)
- Soo Blush! cream to powder blusher (£2.79)
Total: £10.06. Sadly I couldn’t afford a lip or nail product with my pocket money!
This is how it all looked on. Yes, I know, I wasn’t very adventurous and didn’t stray far from my usual look. What can I say… I like my neutrals!
My favourite piece is the Soo Blush! cream to powder blusher. It has a melty, creamy consistency which is easy to apply with fingers. It stays creamy just long enough to allow you to blend it to where you need it, and then transforms into a silky powder on the skin. Unlike many cream blushers, I can apply it on top of other make-up, even powder, without it pilling or smearing.
The shade “Sweet as a Peach” is the fresh, neutral-toned, peachy shade I’m always drawn to with blushers. It goes on sheer and leaves a delicate wash of colour on the cheeks, instantly perking me up. It also has a slight sheen (without shimmer) which makes me look much more radiant than I feel these days. I really like this blush and it’s been added to my everyday make-up. Swatch below.
The two lighter shades in this eyeshadow quad are not very pigmented at all, and are barely visible when applied so I didn’t have any use for them. But the darker shades are surprisingly silky and pigmented, particularly the shimmery bronze shade which gives a rich, deep colour on the lids (although it doesn’t look it in the swatch below for some reason!).
The kajal is a matte black when applied, more like a very dark grey than black. It’s goes on without tugging, but otherwise there’s not too much to say about it… it’s not a gel pencil and it’s not waterproof, it’s a basic eyeliner that you can easily soften and smudge with a brush if you wish.
The Lash Curler volume & curl mascara
I was intrigued by this mascara because the wand can be freely rotated inside the lid which is meant to allow you to twist the brush up your lashes. It’s a bit gimmicky, and I didn’t find it any easier or more effective than just using the wand as normal. But the mascara itself isn’t bad at all. It’s not as thickening or lengthening as I would normally go for, but it goes on smoothly without clumping even with multiple layers, and doesn’t smudge or flake during the day. It’s also not bad at lifting the lashes upwards. I have found myself using this mascara again for a quick, “natural” look. But you won’t get a dramatic effect from this one.
The brush is a standard bristly one. I normally get better results with plastic/rubbery bristles so I’d be up for looking at other Essence mascaras with that kind of wand to see if they give more effect on me.
Overall, I think the Essence brand is cute, affordable and well worth a look. There will be some misses amongst the hits (e.g. the liquid eyeliner is too thin and wet, and the lip products are on the sheer side), but the quality is much better than the prices suggest, and I really do love the cream to powder blusher.
Essence cosmetics are available from Wilko stores (and Wilko.com) or at standalone Essence stores in Westfield West London and Manchester Arndale. You can also see the range of products on the Essence website.
Disclosure: PR samples
