Essence Makeup Launches in the UK

- Vicki 11 Comments

I was invited along with lots of other lovely bloggers to the Essence Makeup launch in Manchester & to say I was excited was an understatement. I’d read a few posts about their London launch and that looked like it was a lot of fun, so I was looking forward to hearing all about the brand & meeting up with other bloggers (doesn’t happen often enough).

We were each given cute name badges – very handy when you only know peoples Twitter Handles. There were lots of tables laid out with all kinds of makeup on them, we were encouraged to try out the makeup & have a play – there was so many lovely products & people on hand to colour match us to the bases & give us advice on what best suited skin types. I have tried a few Essence products & I was so excited to see just how big the range actually was. I was lucky enough to have my nails painted by the Pamper Puff Girls & almost a week on my nails are still looking great.

Makeup

Beauty Event

They had a full size makeup stand, like the ones you see in a shop full to the brim with their whole range & we were given an overview to the brand by their German Team. They spoke of how Essence is sold in over 70 countries & that Britain will be getting the range Nationwide in Wilkinson Stores, so keep your eyes open for that in mid-July.

Essence

Essence Products

Essence ltd edition collection

Essence is a fun budget friendly brand that is focused on quality & they excel at being on trend with their range. Although their packaging is quite fun & youthful looking their brand is aimed at people who are young at heart (that’s me for sure). They are proud to be manufactured in Germany & even though they have purse friendly prices they don’t compromise on quality. Of the few products I have tried I can honestly say this is something I have found, the nail polishes are long wearing & very pigmented, also the eyeshadows are buttery and blendable so they get a thumbs up from me. Essence prices start from as little as 99p & only go as high as £6.99 so very affordable. Another plus point is they are proud to be Cruelty Free.

Nail Polish

Essence Makeup

Essence

We had hours to spend chatting to the Essence Team who came over from Germany, they were lovely enough to tell us about their favourite products and spoke with a real passion for their brand. Also, we were given free rein to test, try and get excited about the products, Heidi from Flipside PR was excited for us to really take the products that caught our eye & for a beauty addict that was dangerous, although I was very restrained & was already overwhelmed at how incredible the Goody Bags were.

Essence UK Launch

Its safe to say that we all had so much fun – nails were painted (by the lovely Pamper Puff Girls), beauty secrets were shared, food & drink were consumed & we all welcomed Essence to the UK & think they will be a huge success. They will be tough competition for other budget brands to compete with as their quality and product range it HUGE. I have quite a few Essence products to try out so expect a few reviews coming your way.

Let me know if you’ve tried any products from them & if so what you’d recommend.

4 Of My Current Face Masks

- Vicki 7 Comments

Skincare Face Masks I love using a mask a few times a week & depending on what my skin needs I try to use the right mask to help it out. My skin is generally a little dull and dehydrated and these are a few of the Masks I have been reaching for during June.

ESPA Essential Cleansing Mask £28.00 – This is a lovely soothing Mask, when I use this I put a few drops of my ESPA Pro Serum underneath just so my skin doesn’t dry out & too add a little boost of something extra. This dries like a standard clay mask and leaves my skin feeling very clean, but not stripped at all. I use this at night so when I wake in the morning my skin is looking calm & radiant. This mask is very good at helping with decongested skin too & I find that my skin gets quite decongested in the summer with all the facial SPF so its nice to use a cleansing face mask. The packaging of ESPA products is as luxurious as the skincare inside, this is a lovely glass jar & the lid is so pretty it looks like marble. This pot has lasted me months & I’m nowhere near finished.

SISLEY Black Cream Mask sample size – This is very hydrating and helps combat the signs of fatigue, if you like a mask you can put on & see results quickly then this is the one. After 10 minutes it leaves you skin looking plump and very radiant. If my skin is looking particularly flat & dehydrated I will wear this mask all day (in the house) as it applies clear and feels nice on the skin. Its a great way of giving my skin an intensive hydrating boost. My skin is left looking like the younger me after using this mask & as I said in a previous post even though the price tag of the full size is frightening I will be treating my self at Duty Free next time I fly as this mask it THAT good!

APIVITA Face Mask With Green Clay* £13.00 – This is a lovely mask that is perfect if you have Oily / Combination skin, as it cleanses deep down helping remove excess sebum and preventing breakouts & blackheads. I leave this on for 10 minutes & wash it off with warm water before it dries too hard. I like to use this if my skin is feeling a little more oily than normal or if I feel like my skin is getting a few blemishes. This mask is such great value for money & I think this leaves my skin feeling smooth & balances out my excess oils.

PURE Natural Beauty Moisture Plus Treatment Mask £6.00 – This is my least favourite mask out of this line up, it is a nice moisture mask, and does leave my skin looking glowing and healthy but it leaves a greasy residue behind even after washing it off. I will use up the rest of the bottle but I prefer the Origins Drink Up Mask & have one of those in my drawer.

What treatment masks do you like to use, let me know your recomendations & if you like any of the ones I’ve mentioned.

Products that are marked with an * have either been sent to me for my consideration or I’ve received at events. I’m under no obligation to review them on my blog. However if I do, the reviews are 100% my own. 

Delving In To My Sample Stash #1

- Vicki 19 Comments

The lovely Amy over at SRSLYLOU did a post recently all about her mini sample products & It inspired me to have a look through my stash & look a few out to start using. I tend to keep them for short breaks & when I run out of a full size (before repurchasing), but I have no holidays planned for a while (cries) so I thought I would take her lead and start using a few of them. Its a great way of discovering new products and many of my HG products I discovered because of a sample. I also seem to have built up an unhealthy (bordering on hoarding) amount of minis. You seem to acquire quite a few samples these days from things like Subscription Boxes, Magazines & Gift With Purchases so they accumulate quickly.

When I got to routing through my stash I discovered I had quite a few exciting products hiding in there & here are the ones I have added to my routine over the past month.

Sample Sizes Skincare

NUXE Multi Use Dry Oil 10ml – I’m always at a loss on how to use this. So I have been using it on the ends of my hair at night to nourish them especially in this dry hot weather my dark locks have been feeling the brunt of it – I just massage a few drops on the ends and let it work its magic over night. I have also found this is a great for the dry patches on my legs so I have been using it after shaving for an intensive treatment. Let me know how you have found it works best for you. This little 10ml bottle is going to last me all year as a couple of drops seems to go very far.

Benefit It’s Potent Eye Cream 3g – This adorable sample pot was in the recent British Beauty Blogger ‘The Dream Box’. I like using an eye cream & think this is going to be a great day time one as it’s not too heavy or greasy. Its a brightening eye cream which is something I look for & I need all the brightening help I can get under there! I will let you know how I get on with this.

Benefit Some Kinda Gorgeous 1.8g  – This is a sample I have had for a few months but the shade was a little too dark for me until now (hello summer skin). I wouldn’t purchase the full size of this after a couple of hours it is very oily on my skin despite it being a cream to powder formula. If you have normal skin & need a light coverage then this might work for you. I like the light / natural coverage it gives it just doesn’t wear well on me at all.

ESPA Optimal Skin Pro Serum 4ml – All I have is love for this facial serum. I do have the full size which only has a few uses left in it & I’d totally forgot that I had a sample size in my stash. I’s so happy I found this as I’m going to Scotland for a couple of weeks soon & this will be coming with me. It is the perfect overnight treatment, I wake up with glowing, plump and very fresh looking skin. I even put a few drops of this under face masks for an extra skin boost. Although it is an oil it isn’t greasy or too heavy, I have worn this during the day when my skin was really dehydrated & it worked wonders. Its a very versatile serum.

REN Satin Perfection BB Cream 3ml – I love a light coverage & have a number of very well used & loved BB Creams in my collection & this mini sample of the REN one is right up there with the best of them. It gives my skin a dewy (not greasy) finish so looks healthy and natural. This is perfect for those days where I want a little coverage & to even out my complexion but still want my freckles to be visible. For a BB Cream this lasts all day on me without breaking down or oxidising, I wish it had a higher SPF as 15 isn’t that great for a product I tend to use in the Summer.

Kiehl’s Powerful Strength Line Reducing Concentrate 5ml – I suffer from fine lines on on forehead & around my eyes so I’m excited to really put this to the test. I have only used it a couple of times but even in that short space of time my skin looks & feels smoother. I hope that it continues & if so I think I’m going to like the results. This is also over time meant to improve skins radiance with the high concentration of Pure Vitamin C. In terms of texture this feels warm on my skin when I first apply it & the texture is quite silicony but once I massage it in it feels Matte and smooth. I’m excited to see how I get on with it & will let you know.

Merumaya Iconic Youth Serum – This was a Twitter sample giveaway that my friend Hayley nominated me for & you all know my love for the British Skincare brand Merumaya – unrivalled skincare at affordable prices (honestly they’re that good). I have the full size of this too & love how nourishing this is & it really smooths out my skin. I’m hoping that this will help with my dull looking complexion & give me a boost of radiance. Did anyone else get a sample of this? Are you liking it?

Elemental Herbology Cell Plumping Facial Hydrator SPF 8 15ml – If you have more mature skin you will enjoy this moisturiser, it plumps, hydrates and firms so thats great for skin thats looking for a little more than just a standard moisturiser. I like to use this when my skin is feeling quite dry & dehydrated as its lightweight but very nourishing. It smells very botanical and luxurious. I find it wears well under my makeup & helps my foundation go on smoothly. I’m not sure I would purchase the full size as that costs £44.00. I will finish this sample up and see if it really WOWS me enough to part with that amount of cash.

Bourjois Mini Blush in 04 1g- This is the sweetest blush, its tiny and very travel friendly. Its a cream blush so quite nice for the warmer months when you want to wear lightweight makeup & look all glowing & healthy. This is a peachy shade and has quite an iridescent finish to it so I like to wear it as more of a cheek highlighter & I just tap a little on to the high points of my cheek with my finger & blend it in. It reflects the light & gives you a pinch of colour. Its a sweet little product & I think I rescued it from my sample stash just in time for Summer!

By Terry Baume De Rose 3g – How was such a blooming lovely product sat unloved in my sample box? Its a crime I tell you. I have had this sat on my desk for the past couple of weeks & I love using it, maybe a little too much as its going down quite quickly. This leaves my lips so soft, it is hydrating too & working from home I get very dry lips & this has been soothing them back to their kissable glory (errr OK, so they’re just very soft). No need to reapply a hundred times a day, this is long lasting and once applied your lips will be smooth & feel lovely for hours. I know once this is finished I will be buying the full size pot.

 

Just Not For Me #1

- Vicki 43 Comments

I don’t often post about products I don’t like as I tend to take my time researching my makeup & skincare buys so I don’t have that many, but I have been saving up a few things that haven’t worked for me and thought I would let you know what they are.

Skincare

Naked Skin Blinking Lovely Eye Makeup Remover – I bought this from my local Savers a couple of weeks ago for £1.99 & I’ve tried a few products from this brand that are great but this eye makeup remover I found really stung my eyes. I don’t have overly sensitive eyes but I just couldn’t use this without it hurting so I had to stop using it. I have passed this on to a friend and it doesn’t sting for her so it must just be personal preference & my eyes are more sensitive than I thought.

Smashbox Halo Yellow Colour Correcting Powder  – This is a yellow toned finally milled powder that is for people that suffer from uneven skin tone and redness but I just didn’t see that much of an improvement when I had this on. It didn’t sit very well on me & I expected a little more from it, especially for the price. I think this was one of those impulse purchases I regret, I should have read a few reviews first. I think a liquid corrector would be better for me, as powder can look a little heavy on me & often sinks in to my fine lines.

Colours

Seventeen Wild Metallic Eyes in Wild Nude – I love a cream shadow and have quite the addiction to buying them. This Seventeen one is in a gorgeous deep metallic brown & I had high hopes for it but the formula was quite greasy and didn’t apply well to my eye. The pigmentation was patchy and it only lasted about an hour before the colour was all but gone. Not one I would even pass on to a friend. Stick to the Maybelline colour tattoos if you need a budget friendly cream shadow,

Maybelline Baby Lips – These aren’t terrible & I do have a few I’m using up but the hype around these was so big. I gave in to the hype & bought quite a few. These are hardly tinted at all & they don’t show up on my lips. I wouldn’t say they were hydrating, they make your lips feel nice and smooth but in terms of being moisturising I wouldn’t say they were. There are other budget friendly lip balms I’d recommend before these & they are Apivita and the Caudalie lip conditioner. So if you want more than a cute packaged lip smoother I’d opt for another lipbalm

Benefit The Porefessional – I so wanted to like this & have tried it many times but for some reason it doesn’t sit well under my makeup, it makes my foundation look patchy . It also feels quite greasy on my oily t zone after a couple of hours and it started to look flakey so unfortunately I have to pass the stash of minis I have on to a friend (good for her, bad for me). If you have any primer suggestions for oily skin then I’d love to hear them.