Drugstore Must Have Makeup ft. Essence Cosmetics

I’m a sucker for budget friendly beauty products, so once I discovered the quality of Essence Cosmetics makeup, I just knew I had to make a big stink about this stellar drugstore brand.

From gorgeous eyeshadows, luscious lip glosses, shimmering highlights and length defying mascara, Essence Cosmetics is one brand that promises a stunning full face of makeup at an amazing price.

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Essence Cosmetics Ola Rio + Salut Paris Eyeshadow Palettes – $9.99USD

I got a pastel-coloured Essence eyeshadow palette during the summer and loved the quality, so when I noticed that Essence came out with their 4 locale-themed palettes – Ola Rio, G’Day Sidney, Salut Paris and Hello New York – I knew I had to try one.

Based on the colour story, I decided first on Ola Rio and was seriously impressed!

The pigmentation is great, the powder formulas are super soft and fine, and they all blend really well. I don’t have issues with the shadows fading throughout the day either – they look just as good after 10 hours of wear as they did when first applied.

I also appreciate how the shimmers can be applied easily with a dry brush; most shimmers need to be applied with a wet brush or a finger to get good pigmentation, but not with this palette.

I can dip into the shimmers with the same brush that I use for the mattes and it’s instant pigment.

I feel like these Essence eyeshadows are the quality that Revolution Beauty should be aspiring to. I bought several of the MUR palettes last year, but while I enjoy them, these Essence eyeshadows are even better.

Based on how well these shadows performed, I decided to grab the Salut Paris palette and have been enjoying that one as well.

Essence Cosmetics  Volume Stylist 18HR Lash Extension Mascara – $4.99

Essence has over 15 different mascara formulas to choose from and it’s well known that their mascaras can give you stunning lashes for pennies on the dollar.

The Volume Stylist Lash Extension Mascara seemed to be the only one I could find that had lengthening properties, so it made it into my shopping bag. It’s formulated with lash lengthening fibres and promises voluminous lashes for 18 hours.

The brush is small but effective and the handle has a comfy braided design that helps you grip it. I get lashes for days with this mascara and unlike most fibre-based mascaras, it removes easily at the end of the day.

I loved it so much, I wore it for about 22 hours the day of my brother’s wedding and opted to skip adding false lashes – it was that good.

I later purchased the hold+curl mascara from the brand, but I’m still testing this one one so no review on it yet.

RELATED READING: 13 Mascara Tips For Great Lashes

 

Essence Cosmetics Shine Shine Shine Lip Gloss – $2.99USD

I featured one of these high shine glosses in my Spring Drugstore lip picks post and loved it so much I grabbed another one Shine Shine Shine Gloss in the deep purple shade “Runway Your Way”.

These glosses are so luxurious on the lips and make my pout look like glass. They don’t get sticky or gunky when you wear them and are gorgeous on their own or worn on top of a lipstick.

Their formula is very similar to that of the Fenty lip glosses, but a hell of a lot cheaper!

Essence Cosmetics  Melted Chrome Eyeshadow – $4.99USD

A bit of shimmer caught my eye when I glanced over at the Melted Chrome shadows. I picked up this deep gray shade called “Platinum Nights”, the perfect gray for anyone who loves glitter-infused shadows.

You can sweep this over the eye for a soft gray-glitter look or use it as a shadow topper for some extra sparkle – the formula is super soft!

I find you get more glitter than pigment with this one, so applying it with a wet brush is in order for best results.

BUY IT: ULTA

Essence Cosmetics Pure Nude Spacelighter – $4.99USD

I can’t resist an affordable highlighter and this baked Spacelighter from Essence fit the bill. It gives the skin a very soft, luminescent shimmer and the powder is super fine and smooth – no chunks or chalkiness to be seen!

I was expecting a soft silver hue to this highlight shade, but it actually has a light pink shift to it, which was unexpected but super purdy.

BUY IT: ULTA

RELATED READING: 6 Ways To Apply Highlighter For Glowing Goddess Skin

Essence Cosmetics Make Me Brow Eyebrow Mascara

This tinted brow gel helps hold my brows in place and gives them a little extra boost in the colour department.

The brush is easy to use and it works as well as the Glossier Boy Brow, only much cheaper and with slightly less thickening properties.

BUY IT: ULTA

RELATED READING: Glossier Haul ft. Brow Flick, Boy Brow + Cloud Paint

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Have you tried any makeup from Essence Cosmetics yet? You really must!