[REVIEW] Essence Shine and Sheer Lipstick 02 CUTE NUDE

Earlier on this year, I wrote about Essence's LongWear Lipstick in 06 Barely There. Since then, I've actually acquired more things from the brand - some which I love and some which are meh. A few months ago, I noticed that they repackaged/ revamped their Shine and Sheer Lipstick line. The colours have changed and the packaging have changed as well. I didn't give it much though since I'm not crazy about sheer lipsticks. However, during my frequent random beauty isle visits one day, I decided to pick one up.

I'm on a bit of a nude kick recently. I'm quite fair with cool yellow undertone which makes it hard to find the perfect nude. Joe Fresh's lipstick in Rose was the perfect pinky-nude and I still love that lipstick, but I'm sure all make-up enthusiasts can relate, we never stop even when we've found the perfect shade. The colour I picked up from Essence's Shine and Sheer line is 02 Cute Nude. At Shoppers (Canadian Drugstore), there were testers available. I believe there were 12 colours.  Though when swatched together, they all looked pretty similar.

PACKAGING

Although I can't exactly remembered how these looked before, I'm pretty sure they've made an improvement. The packaging is a simple clear, tinted cap with a silver bullet with a colour coordinated sticker at the bottom. It's not very expensive looking but to me, it's the product that's inside that truly matters + plus, did I mention this was only $3.49 CAD?

SCENT

A soft, sweet vanilla scent with a slight touch of synthetic lipstick smell. On the lips, all I can smell is soft vanilla though. It’s pretty pleasant.

COLOUR

02 Cute Nude is a soft nudey pink. It's very sheer though it can be built up just a bit, not a lot. If you've got pigmented lips, this will just slightly skim over the tops of the lips but it will still allow the natural lip colours to show through. It will not nude out the lips completely no matter how many layers you put on top.  The shine is also more of a moisturized lip balm type of shine rather than a glossy, slick shine. 

PERFORMANCE

I’m glad that they named this line Shine and Sheer because that’s exactly what these are. In addition to being slightly shiny and sheer, they’re actually pretty moisturizing. When I have it on, it’s got a bit of that Nivea lip balm feel. However, also like a lip balm, the wear time on these is pretty weak. I’d say this lipstick only lasts about an hour or two on me. However, since the pigmentation is pretty weak, re-application is easy. I don’t think you need a mirror for it. For $3.49, I can afford to have one in each of my bags so taking it out with me for reapplication on the go isn’t a problem at all. I’m also pleasantly surprised at how well it shows up on my lips. The swatch was pretty sheer so I had low expectations of this showing up on my lips at all. Even though it doesn’t completely cover up my lips, I still love how it tones it down just a bit!

Overall, I recommend trying a shade from this lipstick line. I find it quite refreshing from the trend of super pigmented matte liquid lipsticks that are raging around. Essence's Sheer and Shine lipsticks are just what they claim to be, sheer and shiny. If you don't like it as a lipstick, think of it as a tinted lip balm because they're that comfortable and moisturizing!

2 comments essence, lipstick, review, shoppers

Good Girls Wear Peach

I'm sure bad girls wear peach as well but today, I'd like to share with you my peachy-pink blush collection which includes one of my favourite blushes this month and my favourite blush of 2015. Surprisingly, I don't actually have as many blushes as I thought, especially since I use them daily! Blushes are as staple to me as eyeliner is to my eyes. My face can appear quite flat and round if I don't put some colour to it. Peachy pinks are something I pull out whenever I'm not sure what to wear so they tend to be part of my most used items.

The blush that spurred this post would have to be Essence's Good Girls Wear Peach blush. I've always heard good things about Essence blushes so I picked this one up a few months ago. It's part of their Limited Edition Good Girl Bad Girl collection. I don't enjoy posting about Limited Edition stuff but it seems that Essence release their collections over a large span of time so things that were released in Europe over half a year ago may be just released in Canada. I don't quite understand it yet but for reference purposes, I'm going to post my swatch today.

Essence Good Girl Bad Girl (Good Girls Wear Peach) - I believe this is the only blush in this collection. It's one of the most powdery blushes I've ever own. However despite that, it does have a nice colour pay off. It's a true muted peach shade that is hard to find in the drugstore.  I'm pretty pale so it adds a light bit of colour on my cheeks and give them a bit of definition but not enough where I'm screaming blush. I really like this colour but I'm not sure this will show up all that well on deeper skin tones. Essence should really have released another shade as well so that there's options.  GGWP wore beautifully and at the end of 8hr day, I could still see it on my cheeks. In pan there's a bit of shimmer but on swatches, the shimmers don't really show.

Etude House Cookie Blusher (#6 Grapefruit Jelly): This is my favourite blush in 2015 and I love it so much, I'm already contemplating on buying a backup despite not having hit pan yet. I've reviewed it in its own post here. Comparing it to GGWP, it's much brighter and have a lot more pink in it. It's also not powdery at all. 

Tony Moly Crystal Blusher (#3 Pleasure Peach): This is very similar to GGWP but with a bit of pink added in and also brighter. I've reviewed the all the Crystal Blushers I own in this post. The texture is drier and more powdery than Etude House but less definitely less powdery than GGWP. It's also very long lasting. 

I'm wearing GGWP  - it's just a light wash of colour that is hardly detectable. On the lips I have Too Face Melted Lipstick in Melted Peony.

Etude House's Grapefruit Jelly is still my favourite but if you ever come across GGWP, it's not a bad idea to pick it up, especially since it's only $3.50 CDN. 

12 comments blush, collection, essence, etude house, Tony Moly, too faced

[MOTD] Falsies + Berry Lips with Bite Beauty Kir Royale

Back in university, I used to be obsessed with falsies. It was when I first started using makeup and I was so shocked by how different my eyes could look with falsies. One of my friends who loved makeup at that time wouldn't leave the door without the Shu Uemura Farfallina daily. Unlike her, I didn't have the guts, and still don't, to wear falsies everyday. I also couldn't afford to bust out $20+ for it. So I started small with the drugstore Ardell lashes and progressed onto Quo lashes. Eventually I started accumulating so many pairs that I started storing them in a box. The fact is, I don't ever wear falsies unless it's a formal event and over the years, I haven't been to that many - at least not as many as the pairs of falsies I have.

Today, I decided to bust a pair out and just let my makeup crazed self go cray cray with the shadows and the falsies and as you can see - even at cray cray level, it looks pretty neutral. Normally I would have hid the lash band with a black liquid liner but my Kat Von D Tattoo liner just went out of ink today.

(*Ops almost forgot the star of the show - Bite Beauty in Kir Royale. )

Products Used

I'm wearing a pair of falsies I got from eBay many years ago. I can't remember exactly which seller I purchased from nor what the style is called. All I remember is that it was ridiculously cheap compared to how much I was paying per pair in the drugstore.  Here is a link to something that looks similar - falsies.

On my lips is Bite Beauty's Luminous Creme Lipstick in Kir Royale which I got using my Sephora Reward Points last month. Although the pictures are picking out the pinks in it, it's definitely more red in real life. If you missed out on the Kir Royale mini kit, don't worry, I heard that they will be releasing a full size. I applied using the bullet and then smoothed out the edges with a brush. For a more accurate colour swatch, please take a look at this swatch. 

Additional Products

Aritaum Shine Fix Eyes in #13 Brown Bunny

Aritaum Shine Fix Eyes in #2 Pink Oyster

Innisfree Ampoule Intense Cushion #21

Nature Republic Botanical Cake Eyebrow

essence eyeliner in Teddy
Nars Laguna Bronzing Powder
Nars Orgasm Blush
Tony Moly Circle Lens Mascara
Darkness Lash Glue

2 comments Aritaum, Bite Beauty, essence, Innisfree, motd, Nars, physician's formula, Tony Moly

Everyday Favourites: Autumn 2015

I'd like to say I'm a pretty simple person and even with my love for beauty, there are very few things I wear on a daily basis.  Today, I'd like to show you some of these things that I've been consistently gravitating towards this season. 

Victoria Secret's Victoria: Gone are the fresh, sparkling, fruity and floral scents of the summer and in comes the warm and musky scents that remind people of sweaters and hot cocoa. Victoria is by far one of the most unique scents I've ever smelled. Since I don't particularly have a good nose that can differentiate scents, this is saying a lot. Although it's still kind of fruity (Berry notes) and floral (Victoria roses) it's soften by the mix of warm note from creme brûlée creating a lovely autumn appropriate scent without being overly sweet.

Maybelline Colour Tattoo in 80 Creamy Beige: I'm sure you've all heard about the Maybelline Colour Tattoos. Creamy Beige is from their Leather Collection that's part of their permanent line. It's a nice, matte beige colour that I like to throw on just to give my eyes a bit more depth. I found out that I like applying this with a flat brush more than with my fingers. I just pat the colour on my eye lid and blend out the edges with a brush. When I apply this with my fingers, I find that the product sticks to my finger and tugs when I try to blend it out on the lids.

Etude House Surprise Concealer: This is an amazing concealer that doesn't get enough hype. It's got a doe foot applicator and blends like a dream. It's also really pigmented and affordable.

Essence Long Lasting Lipstick in Barely There: Worn on it's own, this lipstick ages me. I'm sure that this is a beautiful MLBB on many people, but with my light skin tone, this is definitely a bit brown on its own. However, combined with soft brown smokey eyes and a nudey mauve blush, I look mature and put together and it's a look that really differs from my usual of pinks and fuchsias. I wore it in this MOTD.

Physician's Formula Ultra Nourishing Argan Oil: This has made such a difference in my skin that I think I'm really addicted. I add a few drops into my moisturizer during the day and during the night and it just leaves my skin super soft, hydrated, and supple. Reviewed here.

Random:

English Breakfast Tea (not in picture): As I was making myself a cup of tea, I realize that English Breakfast tea is something I enjoy having everyday. Orange Pekoe was my previous favourite but I've ran out of that so English Breakfast it is.

10 comments essence, etude house, favourite, maybelline, Perfume, physician's formula, skincare

[MOTD] Rosy Brown Lips with Essence's Barely There Lipstick

Nudes and browns have never been my color... or so I thought. I watched this Bubzbeauty video, and I was really inspired by her Mac Velvety Teddy lip color. It's hard to wear a brown lip color and pull it off on its own if you've got pale skin but I've discovered that if you combine the look with brown eyeshadow and contour, you can look really put together. 

I'm not confident that I will be wearing brown lipstick often enough to invest in a Mac lipstick, so I searched online for the next best thing which is Wet N' Wild Bare It All. That's unavailable where I live, so the next alternative is essence Barely There.

 This is actually my second time trying a brown lipstick and I'm so glad I did. The first brown lipstick I tried was a mauvey brown lipstick that looked horrible on my skin tone. It made me look so sick that I was just convinced that browns and mauves aren't for me. While mauvey browns still don't work for me, rosey browns do! Once again, I am reminded that colours work for everyone as long as you find the right tone. 

The camera is picking up slightly more pink than there is in real life. 

Essence's 06 Barely There is an excellent way for pale people to test the water with brown lipsticks and it would also make a nice natural, My Lips But Better color for people who have darker skin tones. The rosiness makes it look quite natural but the brown gives it a slight uniqueness. The essence Long Lasting lipstick formula is quite moisturizing and creamy. It's really comfortable and easy to apply which is really amazing. Despite the name, I would describe the staying power to be decent but not what I would call long lasting. On my lips, it does come off onto things like mugs and napkins and when it does that, it fades beautifully. 

I've actually recommended Barely There to a couple of friends before and both backed from it due to how dark the lipstick bullet looks. In the swatch below, you can see that Barely There is a nice and natural colour. Nothing to be afraid of. 

This is more true to color.  This lipstick has lovely pigmentation.  If you want to sheer the color out, you can apply it with a lip brush instead of directly from the bullet. 

Products Used

essence 06 Barely There, Tony Moly Circle Lens Mascara, Etude House Surprise Concealer, Maybelline Color Tattoo in 80 Creamy Beige, Innisfree Eco Gel Liner in Brown, Too Cool For School Artclass, Tarte Off The Cuff Blush Palette (dark mauve shade), Holika Holika Single Eyeshadow in SBK01 (not in photo)

While trying to create a brownish smokey eye, I fell in love with the Maybelline Color Tattoo in 80 Creamy Beige. It's a few shades darker than my skin tone and the edges blended out beautifully. It really created a soft base for the other darker browns I pat on top of it. I finished off the look with a brown liner instead of black to keep the eyes soft. 

About essence

In case you are unfamiliar with essence, it's a German company that has recently expanded into North America over the last two years. You can find it at Shoppers Drug Mart if you live in Canada. They have a wide range of cosmetics with nothing over $5. What's amazing about it is that many of their products are fantastic for the pricing. As with all brands there are hits and misses. The hits of essence would have to be their Long Lasting Lipsticks, lip liners, and silk blushes. 

Have you tried essence? If so, what are you favourite items?

* As usual, everything was purchased by me. Not a sponsored post. 

8 comments essence, etude house, Innisfree, lipstick, maybelline, motd, tarte, Tony Moly, too cool for school