Essence Product Review

Hello Lovelies,

Today I have some make up products to share with you from a brand that up until a couple of months ago I had never tried and that brand is Essence, I had heard a lot about Essence but never tried any of their products so when I received some of their products to try I was very excited to start using them and since then have used them quite a lot and wanted to let you know my thoughts on each product.

I Love Stage Eyeshadow Base

To be honest with you when I first saw the shade of the I Love Stage eyeshadow base I was a little concerned that it would be too dark, I am quite fair skinned and when I saw the product I thought I wouldn't be able to use it but I was wrong and although it does come out quite a dark shade it blended out well and wasn't too dark at all.

I only needed a small amount of product on each eye and as I said it blended out beautifully, I used the doe foot applicator to put some of the product onto my eye lids and blended it out with my ring finger. My eyeshadow applied well over the top of the base and stayed all day without creasing, I got exactly the same effect as I would when using one of my high end eye shadow primers and I was really impressed, the consistency is just right it isn't too thick or thin and I only needed a small amount on each eye so can see it lasting me a very long time too and for just £2.49 it is an amazing product and an equally amazing price tag. 

Sunclub 2 In 1 Bronzing Powder In Sunset

I'm definitely more of a blush kind of girl than bronzer and love blush, when I saw the 2 in 1 Sunclub bronzer I loved the look of it and couldn't wait to try it, coral and pink are my absolute favourite blush colours and the blush in the 2 in 1 I could see was going to be an absolutely stunning shade, I also liked that the bronzer didn't look too muddy and over bearing and I was super excited to try it. The bronzer is a lovely warm toned shade which is ideal for my skin tone and the blush is a beautiful pink with a slight coral undertone and since pink and coral are my favourite blush shades this is perfect for me. The blush/bronzer can be used separately by using the blush and bronzer alone or you can mix the blush and bronzer together to create a gorgeous shade.

I love to use the bronzer and blush separately and mixed together, both look lovely. This is really versatile product with beautiful colours perfect for the summer but also shades that can be worn throughout autumn/winter too. The blush reminds me a lot of MAC spring sheen but is a fraction of the price and at £3.50 it is an incredible price for such a beautiful product.

Long Lasting Lipstick In Shade 12

Lipstick is one of my favourite beauty products and I could not wait to try the essence one out, the shade looked perfect for me in the bullet and once I'd applied it I could see it really was right up my street and a perfect "Zoe shade" the lipstick applied beautifully it didn't drag at all and felt very nourishing on my lips, the shade was opaque in just one swipe and is a beautiful shade it is what I would say a nice raspberry pink shade it isn't too bright and is a perfect shade to wear all year round, I feel some lipsticks are season appropriate and more suited for certain seasons but number 12 is a beautiful shade that is perfect for any season at all. 

The lipstick has a lovely sheen to it without being overly glossy and feels extremely moisturising, it doesn't bleed at all and the wear time is incredible, it lasted for 3/4 hours on my lips before it started to fade and then faded nicely without leaving a horrible line around my lips, it faded away perfectly leaving a raspberry stain to my lips. The lipstick has a lovely scent to it, it's a fruity scent that isn't overpowering at all but I think it's a lovely scent one of the best things about the Essence Long Lasting Lipsticks is the price, they are £2.30 which is absolutely incredible I was shocked when I discovered the price and couldn't believe it, it is an amazing price for such a fabulous product.

In the photograph below I am wearing the Sunclub 2 In 1 Bronzer, the Long Lasting Lipstick and the I Love Stage eye shadow primer. You can't obviously see the eyeshadow primer but I am wearing it with some matte MAC shades over the top, I have mixed the blush and bronzer together to create a lovely shade and the lipstick I feel speaks for itself it's a beautiful shade and I feel it compliments the look perfectly.

My Overall Thoughts

I am absolutely blown away by all the Essence products and cannot wait to try some more of their range, they have an incredible range of make up and beauty products, you can find Essence at Wilko both in store and online, there is a vast range to choose from online all at amazing prices, I was blown away by the prices when I searched the Wilko website for  products and cannot wait to try some more of their amazing items.

The pigmentation of all 3 products is brilliant, they all applied beautifully and they lasted just as well as any of my high end make up products and I can't believe I haven't tried anything from Essence before now, the products are incredible for the prices and looking at the other products online the prices of everything are fantastically affordable and I will definitely be trying out more products from Essence so watch this space for an Essence haul.

I cannot recommend the products I tried from Essence highly enough, the pigmentation of each product is amazing, all 3 products applied beautifully and had fantastic wear time, the eye shadow primer matches up to any of the much more expensive eye primers I have in my collection and my eye make up lasted well and didn't crease at all. I posted the photograph above to my Instagram account and I got so many compliments on the make up and subsequently received many emails asking what blush and lipstick I was wearing in the photograph, the lipstick is a stunning shade as is the blush, I am completely blown away by the quality of the products for such an affordable and amazing price and would highly recommend you try Essence if you haven't already done so, you can find their products online on the Wilko website and in store at Wilko's too but they do have a vast range on their website.

Have you tried anything from Essence? Is there anything you'd recommend I pick up?

Thank you for reading, much love as always,

Zoe x

✿ This post contains PR samples or gifted items 

Essie Gel Setter Top Coat And Lovie Dovie Polish

Hello Lovelies,

I think it's safe to say I have a bit lot of a problem when it comes to buying nail polish and products, I am a nail polish addict and am drawn to nail polish and products especially certain brands, and one of those brands is Essie and recently I spotted the new Essie Gel Setter Top Coat and could not resist it, I love gel nails and used to have gel manicures on a regular basis but found my nails were suffering as a result so stopped having them around 18 months ago.

So many brands have released their take on gel nail polishes or gel top coats and I think I have tried almost all of them but so far nothing has wowed me or given me that "gel manicure" look but since Essie has been a brand favourite of mine for years I had high hopes for it, Essie are one of my favourite nail polish brands and I have been purchasing their polishes for many years, they apply well and are free from DBD, Toluene and Formaldehyde which is something I look for in a nail polish and I often get asked why I prefer polishes free from those things and why it is important, I am considering writing a post all about it so if you'd like that post please let me know.

The Essie Gel Setter contains 13.5ml of product and is £9.99 which some might say is expensive but my HG topcoat is the Orly Glosser which is around £13.00 for 18ml and although the Orly isn't a gel top coat I do love the shine it gives and lasting power it provides to the polishes I wear, I don't mind paying more for a product if it is a good product and I really wanted the Essie Gel Setter to be a good product, at the time I bought it Boots had an offer where you could purchase the top coat plus any Essie polish for £15.00 so I took advantage of the offer and bought an Essie polish in Lovie Dovie too.

Lovie Dovie is a lovely blue toned pink, described by Essie as a "Flamingo Pink" normally I stay away from blue toned polishes as I have very blue nails due to some medication I take having an effect on my respiratory system but it is such a pretty colour I thought I'd give it a try since it was on offer. I originally bought the Gel Setter to use as part of my "holiday nails" (post on those coming soon) usually I have a manicure and pedicure before my holidays and I would usually choose to have a gel manicure so they would last me for at least one week of my holidays if not the whole holiday but this year I wanted to try and save some money and thought I'd have a "DIY gel manicure" I couldn't wait to try out the Gel Setter and Lovie Dovie and thought I'd give the Gel Setter a trial run before my holiday nails were done and I also wanted to see if the Lovie Dovie would suit me. 

Essie Claims that the Gel Setter top coat will give a "rock hard shine of a gel in a fool proof formula for at home mani and pedi's" I love gel manicures, I love the shine they give and the long lasting formula and since Essie is a brand I've used and loved for years I really wanted the Gel Setter to be everything it claimed it would. I applied 3 coats of the Lovie Dovie allowing each coat to dry fully in between and then applied 1 coat of the Gel Setter over the top. 

I was so impressed by the amazing shine the Gel Setter gave me and hoped that my nails would also remain chip free, and they did! I wore the Lovie Dovie polish for 7 days before removing it to have my nails re painted for my holidays, that is the only reason I removed the polish my nails hadn't chipped at all and still had an amazing shine the only reason I removed the Lovie Dovie polish because I was going on my holidays and wanted to change the polish, I was so impressed with the Gel Setter my nails looked super shiny and stayed super shiny for the duration I wore the polish they didn't lack shine or fade they looked lovely and so many people asked me if I'd had gel nails in preparation for my holidays.

I would highly recommend the Gel Setter top coat it is the first top coat I have tried that does actually give a gel manicure look, I have used it over other polishes too not just Essie and they look like gel too, I am super impressed and will definitely be re purchasing another one and can see this taking over the Orly Glosser as my new HG top coat and that is something I NEVER thought I would say but I love it, I love the shine it gives, the wear time of the polish and the fact that it does actually look like I've had a gel manicure. 

If you would like to try the Essie Gel Setter top coat you can find it on the Boots website where it is £9.99 and currently buy one and get the second half price on selected Essie products which is a great offer especially if like me you love Essie. 

Have you tried the Gel Setter top coat? Do you like gel manicures? And have you tried any of the high street gel top coats or polishes?

Thank you for reading, much love as always, 

Zoe x

Maybelline 24 Hour Colour Tattoo Leather Effect In Creamy Beige

Hello Lovelies, 

On a trip to Boots a couple of months ago for some holiday products I spotted the 

Maybelline Colour Tattoo Leather Effect  in the shade creamy beige, I love the colour tattoo's and already own On And On Bronze and Metallic Pomegranate and a gorgeous white shade that my friend Nikki sent me from America, but when I saw Creamy Beige I was instantly drawn to it, it looked like an extremely wearable shade and one that didn't have any shimmer to it both things I look for in an eye shadow so I picked it up.

As I said I love the colour tattoo's they are a fantastic product and give my MAC Paint Pots a run for their money they are brilliant and for £4.99 I think they are well worth the price, they are fabulous used as both an eye shadow base or as an eye shadow used either alone or with other shadows.

Creamy Beige is a lovely shade it's extremely wearable and doesn't contain any shimmer at all, I wouldn't say it's entirely matte as it does have some sheen to it but it's very slight and a definite sheen not a shimmer, it is lovely to apply and applies well, I use a flat shadow brush to apply it and then blend it out with my MAC 217 brush and then run some under my lower lash too for a super easy look I just use that and apply some mascara but if I want something more I add a darker matte shade to my crease and a pale shade to the inner corners of my eye but more often than not I'll use it on it's own as it looks lovely blended out and blends out to a beautiful shade.

On my recent holiday I wore creamy beige so much and it was one of my most worn products as it was so easy to use, it doesn't crease or move once applied even in the extremely hot temperatures in Greece but yet it removes well, it's a brilliant product and I can see me getting a lot of wear out of it over the coming months. 

I would highly recommend the colour tattoo in creamy beige, it is a lovely wearable shade, it applies well and blends beautifully, it can be worn alone or with other shadows, it removes well and is a fabulous product for the price, I cannot find any negatives at all with the product and will definitely re purchase and also be looking out for some other shades, I just wish we had the shade range the U.S has (cries) there are some other UK shades I'd like to try though so keep an eye out for my hauls and reviews. 

If you would like to try the Maybelline Colour Tattoo in Creamy Beige you can find it Boots or Superdrug for £4.99. 

Thank you for reading, much love as always, 

Zoe x

Nip + Fab Glycolic Fix Daily Cleansing Pads

Hello Lovelies,

I'm pretty sure you know by now that I'm a bit of lot of a skin care geek, I love skin care and trying out new things and last summer I found the Nip + Fab Glycolic Fix Daily Cleansing Pads on sale for £6.00 on the Debenhams website and thought I'd give them a try, I bought 2 tubs of the pads as I'd heard a lot of good things about them and thought it was too good a price to miss.

I like to use an acid toner after cleansing and before using a hydrating toner as part of my daily skin care routine as I find it helps with my extremely dry and dehydrated skin and is great for exfoliating helping to remove dead skin cells and even out fine lines and for a long time I had been using the Pixi Glow tonic as my acid toner (review post here) and although the Pixi was becoming more easily available it was becoming more and more expensive as the hype around it grew and I had already been trying out other options so when I spotted the Nip + Fab pads on sale I knew I had to try them, since then I have re purchased the Nip + Fab pads many times but for some reason never featured them on my blog and recently Nip + Fab have changed their packaging and I'd bought some more pads so I thought it was high time I shared my thoughts on them with you.

What Nip + Fab Claim

Exfoliating Facial Pads

Unveil younger-looking skin. 60 radiance-boosting pads, soaked in exfoliating glycolic acid retexture + resurface skin whilst witch hazel helps to tone. This moisturising formula with hyaluronic acid + soothing blue daisy helps to reveal brighter + smoother looking skin.

+ glycolic acid retextures + resurfaces

+ hyaluronic acid moisturises + refreshes

+ blue daisy soothes + calms

My Thoughts

As I said I like to use an acid toner after cleansing and before using a hydrating toner as part of my skin care routine, I find using an acid toner helps with my very dry and dehydrated skin helping to remove dead skin cells and exfoliate my skin and also helping with any fine lines I have and brightening my skin,  I have also noticed since using the products I do, my pores are less of a problem too although pores are not doors and can't be closed I feel they do look better which is an added bonus. I have tried many different acid toners over the years and used Pixi Glow for a long time but around a year ago I started to research other products and use other things including the Nip + Fab pads. 

The pads are easy to use and I use them by sweeping one side of the pad all over my face starting at my forehead and working my way down to my neck, I then flip the pad over to the other side and do the same thing again and my skin is left feeling soft and smooth and not dry at all, the pads really help with my dry and dehydrated skin and leave my skin feeling and looking brighter. I have very sensitive and eczema prone skin and have had no issues at all since I started using the pads just over a year ago. 

Overall Thoughts & Would I Re Purchase?

I have been really impressed by the Nip + Fab pads and have re purchased them many times, I do usually pick them up when they are on some sort of offer and recently picked up 2 tubs when Superdrug had them on offer for just over £6.00 but I wouldn't hesitate to pay full price for them, they are £12.99 full price and in my opinion well worth the price tag, I haven't re purchased the Pixi Glow since I started using the pads as they give me better results than the Pixi Glow as I don't find them as drying and they are much more economical as I don't have to buy cotton pads separately, they never dry up in the tub which was one of my concerns but didn't need to be and are great for travelling as they are nice and compact. 

My skin is left feeling smooth and fresh and looking brighter, I love the pads for exfoliating my skin and removing dead skin cells but also for brightening and helping with fine lines and dehydration, they do exactly what they say they will and I am super impressed, if you usually use the Pixi Glow or another type of acid toner I would recommend trying the Nip + Fab pads, I have tried out several acid toners over the last couple of years now but haven't re purchased any other brands as much as Nip + Fab. 

I would definitely re purchase and have done several times and would highly recommend the Nip + Fab pads, if you would like to try them you can find them here at Boots (skin care currently 3 for 2) and here at Superdrug for £12.99, have you tried the Nip + Fab pads? Do you like to use an acid toner? And do you have any skin care recommendations for me? Let me know in the comments below. 

Thank you for reading, much love as always, 

Zoe x