Review & Swatches: [Essence] Longlasting Lipsticks

Essence is a German drugstore cosmetics brand and is available at Ulta if you live in the U.S. Ulta has only 12 colors of these lipsticks but I'm not sure if those are the only ones the brand has currently. I got 6 colors:

01 Coral Calling

07 Natural Beauty

09 Wear Berries!

13 Love Me

14 Adorable Matt

16 I Am Yours!

Spoiler alert: these lipsticks are among my most favorites! I love them more than the ones from some high-end brands like Bite, Butter London, NARS ... They are my go-to everyday lip colors.

Rating kisses (out of 5): 

* Price: $2.99

* Packaging: just as light as any other drugstore lipsticks; I like that the tube is black so it doesn't look cheap but still has a colored ring around to describe the shade inside.

* Finish: mostly satin, except for the color #14 Adorable Matt which leans a little toward matte finish but not too matte.

* Pigmentation: decent, not crazily pigmented but not sheer whatsoever. I find that pigmentation is build-able without leaving a thick layer of product.

* Texture: super creamy and moisturizing but super lightweight as well. The texture remind me of the Maybelline Color Whisper lipsticks; however, these Essence Longlasting lipsticks don't dry out my lips like the Maybelline Color Whisper lipsticks do and also more opaque.

* Longevity: although the name is "Long-lasting", these lipsticks last about 4-5 hours on me, which I think is reasonable since I always expect to reapply after lunch with ANY lipstick.

Swatches:

From the top:
07 Natural Beauty - nude pink
13 Love Me - warm pink09 Wear Berries! - berry
 16 I Am Yours! - rose
01 Coral Calling - coral
14 Adorable Matt - blue toned red

07 Natural Beauty - Nude pink

The pictures make it look more cool toned than it actually is.

13 Love Me - Warm pink

01 Coral Calling - Coral

 16 I Am Yours! - Rose

09 Wear Berries! - Berry

Again, this one is not as purple as it looks in the picture.

14 Adorable Matt - Cool red

Review: [Essence] Long-Lasting Eye Pencils + [NYX] Soft Matte Lip Creams and Powder Blush #Cinnamon

Hello Lovelies!!!

The products to be reviewed today aren't new, but some might be curious to try these affordable makeup and who knows, you might want to replace your current high-end products.

Essence Long-Lasting Eye Pencils ($2.4 each at Ulta)

Rating Kisses (out of 5): 

I've been having problems with my oily and hooded eyelids. These eyeliners resist pretty well and last quite long. The lines won't smudge unless I'm outside under the hot sun for a long time and sweat. That is when a little bit will transfer onto under my eyes, but not a lot. I've have tried some other brands but didn't find anything as sweat-resistant as this one. The application probably isn't as smooth as the high-end brands but not too hard either. It will get a little dry after a few months so a little warming up the product on your hand will help. So the conclusion is I like them very much because they're very good for the price, but not great.

NYX Soft Matte Lip Creams ($5.99 each at Ulta)

I ordered these lip creams because of the raves I saw everywhere. Among the 22 shades available, I own 5: Antwerp, Morocco, Amsterdam, Monte Carlo and Prague. My favorite is Monte Carlo which is a gorgeous wearable cool red making my teeth very white, hehe. The consistency is creamy and very thick, doesn't look like being in a liquid form, unlike the 3CE Lip Lacquers. However, it feels very light on lips or literally doesn't feel like I have anything on. It also means that it is not moisturizing.

Left to Right: Antwerp, Morocco, Amsterdam, Monte Carlo and Prague (I forgot to take a photo of Morocco on my lips but you can see here that it's a reddish orange)

Antwerp - looks pink to me, not coral.

Amsterdam

Monte Carlo

Prague - very pretty Fall color!

Rating Kisses (out of 5): 

Pros:
- Beautiful matte finish
- Color is vibrant and opaque.
- Nice vanilla scent
- Once set, it stays forever with minimal eating and drinking. After eating/drinking, it does fade but leaves a stain so don't worry about looking dead when it's gone.
- Feels lightweight

Cons:
- A tad drying.
- Take a while before it's set; before then, it will transfer.
- There seems to be too little product in the tube. I've used Antwerp for only 3-4 times and there's barely any product left. (Hmm, did I get a used one? ...)

NYX Powder Blush #Cinnamon ($5.99 at Ulta)

Another popular product from NYX. I bought it just to get this orange color; normally other brands only have some type of a peachy shade.

Rating kisses (out of 5): 

Pros:
- Affordable,
- Smooth texture, easy to blend
- Lovely color

Cons:
- Pigmentation is not very good.
- Doesn't stay long.

Before blending

Blended

theBalm and Ulta Haul

theBalm:

1. Nude'tude Eyeshadow Palette

2. Mary-Lou Manizer (highlighter)

3. Bahama Mama (bronzer)

4. Instain Long-Wearing Powder Blush in Swiss Dot

5. Instain Long-Wearing Powder Blush in Lace

6. Instain Long-Wearing Powder Blush in Pinstripe

1. IT Cosmetics Naturally Pretty Vol 1 Matte Luxe Transforming Palette,

2. Hada Labo Tokyo Replenishing Hydrator

3. Essence Long-lasting Eye Pencils

4. Nyx Soft Matte Lip Creams in Antwerp, Amsterdam, Morocco & Monte Carlo

5. (Sample) Benefit  Cosmetics POREfessional

6. (Sample) Benefit Cosmetics

7. (Sample) Benefit Cosmetics

I will post reviews on these products after quite a bit of time since I want to give you my true experiences.