Initial Impressions | Essence Show Your Feet High Heel Mania Trend Edition

Hello beauties! I'm so excited to be sharing this post with you today! So last Thursday I was able to get my hands on one of the latest Trend Editions from Essence, Show Your Feet High Heel Mania! As soon as I saw this on their website, I was really hoping we get it quick here in Malta and luckily my prayers have been answered!

 

Here are the pictures and initial impressions about the products that makeup this limited edition collection!

 

 

Show Your Feet Toe Nail Polish

 

While I don't get what makes a finger and toe nail polish different, I really liked the bright shades in this collection but since I have similar colours to them, I skipped the nail polishes but one, namely 02 The Pump. It is a beautiful baby pink crème that is opaque in just one coat! I really liked the fact that they named the polishes after different shoes :) The formula is nice and dries fairly quickly so thumbs up! €2.40 for 8ml, available in a total of 5 shades

 

 

Show Your Feet Gel Comfort Pads

 

In my opinion, these are must haves for when you're wearing high heels. The cushions provide a non-slip grip and prevent burning and blisters on the balls of the feet! What's more? They're heart shaped thus suitable for flip flops; and if they lose stickiness, just rinse them with clear water and they're as good as new! €3.60 for 1 pair

 

 

Show Your Feet High Heel Protectors

 

Another innovative product! I'm really in need of these to help prevent ruining my high heels. Basically, these are gel cushions for your heels which just wrap around your heel. Again, if they lose stickiness, you just have to rinse them with clear water! €3.60 for 2 pairs

 

Show Your Feet Designer Sole Sticker

 

This is a fun and innovative product which I knew I would definitely get both varieties of. I'm curious as so see how long these will last and how they will look! €3.60 for 1 pair, available in 01 Into The Wild and 02 Pink Is Beautiful

 

 

Show Your Feet Nail Stickers

 

I loved these so much I got 3 sheets! You get an array of different coloured shoes, stars and hearts, perfect for chic and quick nail art! €2.20 per sheet of 35 stickers

 

Show Your Feet Body Tattoos

 

These body tattoos have been designed for use around the ankles but I will be using them for decorative purposes instead. €2.40 per sheet, available in 2 variations

 

 

 

So, high heel maniacs, Essence got you covered! Will you be getting anything from this collection? In Malta, the High Mania Trend Edition is available at Rotunda Pharmacy, Mosta | Beautika, Siggiewi | Health Plus on Campus.

Review: Essence New In Town Trend Edition {August 2012}

August saw the launch of a lot of new Essence Cosmetics products and some of these products were also featured in the New In Town Trend Edition, however, they are all part of the permanent line of products so you are still in the chance of getting them if you see something that interests you.

The New In Town Trend Edition is all about metropolitan cities and purples, greys and pinks are the predominant colours in this collection.

Stay All Day Longlasting Eyeshadow in 08 The Magic Must Go On and 09 For Faries

Two of three new shades to join the Stay All Day range of cream eyeshadows.  These eyeshadows have fast become firm favourites of mine because they won't settle in the crease and once applied, they last for ages! They offer a metallic finish to any eye look and are guaranteed to give your eyes a brighter appearance.
08 The Magic Must Go On is a metallic mid-purple with tiny gold shimmers
09 For Fairies is a whimsical baby pink with a fine gold sheen running through
I believe they cost €3 or €4 each for 5.5g of product.

Superfine Eyeliner Pen in 01 Deep Black

An essential for creating precise and ultra fine lines on your eyelids.  The eyeliner contains Japanese ink, hence it is smudge-proof and provides intense colouration effortlessly.

Multi Action Blackest Black and Waterproof Mascaras

Essence's best-seller mascara gets re-invented in two new formulations that are both true to their names.  Read my full review here.

Kiss Care Love Lipbalm

These lip balms have been compared to Maybelline's Baby Lips.  Besides moisturizing the lips, they provide a nice tinted sheen.  Available in 4 flavours (3 of which are included in the collection). If I'm not mistaken, retail price is around €2 a pop for 4g of product.

Nail Polish

If you have been following my blog for a while you would know that Essence have changed their nail polish bottles to hold 8ml of product and even the brush and cap have been improved.  The New In Town Collection features 5 new shades of nail polish and I have three of them.

131 Ballerina's Charm is a very pale lilac shade with subtle silver shimmer

133 Oh My Glitter! is a mid-purple with tiny fuchsia and purple shimmer

142 Grey-t To Be Here is a pale dove grey with little flakes leaning towards golden and pink hues

The Colour & Go range boasts a total of 44 gel-shine finish shades selling at only €1.70

Also available are the Multi Action Mascara (pink packaging), Kiss Care Love Lipbalm in 02 Purple Berries, Colour & Go Nail Polishes in 108 Ultimate Pink and 143 I'm The Boss.

PR Samples except Nail Polishes 131 Ballerina's Charm & 142 Grey-t To Be Here

Review: Essence The Twilight Saga Breaking Dawn Part 2 Trend Edition {November 2012}

Essence Cosmetics have come out with The Twilight Saga Breaking Dawn Part 2 Trend Edition well before the November release date. I couldn't skip trying out a few products from this Trend Edition because (i) I had really enjoyed all the products I got from the Vampire's Love Trend Edition released last November (check out the collection here) and (ii) I love the Twilight Saga. 

Last week, I went to Rotunda Pharmacy in Mosta and luckily for me, most of the products were still available.  So this is what I got:

Shimmer Powder in 01 Bella's Secret

This shimmer powder contains pigments that give the skin a beautiful sheen when the light hits it. I like to apply it lightly just on top of my cheekbones, along my nose and on my cupid's bow.  It lasts till I take it off and it didn't break me out. The texture is very silky and the product carries a faint sweet smell that goes away on application.  The product is very pigmented so I suggest using a light hand when applying it and your best bet here is a fan brush. Although made of plastic, the packaging feels quite sturdy. 

Shimmer Powder retails at €3.30 for 11g of product and is only available in one shade.

Shimmer Powder in 01 Bella's Secret (left)
Lipstick in 01 A Piece Of Forever

Lipstick in 01 A Piece Of Forever

I was curious about this gold lipstick and the colour is precisely what lured me into buying it.  I also like the black packaging that apart from staying true to the theme of this Trend Edition, it makes the lipstick more expensive than it actually is.  The transparent band at the centre makes for easier identification.  The lipstick contains gold shimmers that instantly give the lips a nice shimmery appearance and it can also be layered over other lipsticks for some lustre.  It feels very mosturising on the lips and you need reapplying every 2 or so hours. 

This is the only shade of lipstick available in the collection and it retails for €2.70 for 4g of product.

Nail Polishes in 01 Jacob's Protection & 03 A Piece of Forever

I didn't get all the nail polishes this time because I already have similar shades to the two I skipped on. The formula and the brush of the two I got are very easy to work with and the glitter in 01 Jacob's Protection is evenly distributed and doesn't feel gritty.

01 Jacob's Protection is a midnight blue base with lots of blue, green and purple fine glitter

02 Alice Had A Vision Again is a dark purple with silver shimmer

03 A Piece Of Forever is a shiny yellow golden colour

04 Edward's Love is a black base with silver shimmer

Nail Polishes retail for €2.20 for 8ml of product

03 A Piece Of Forever (left) & 01 Jacob's Protection

I skipped on the other products in the collection for various reasons but I basically saw swatches of the products online and they didn't appeal to me as much as I thought they would. For example, the blush looks really red and I don't see me wearing it. Moreover, I already have similar shades for the lipglosses and pigments and lastly I don't really use glitter eyeliners so I overlooked them altogether.

Did you get anything from this collection? Anything you have your eyes on?

Top Nail Polishes for Fall ~ 2012 Edition

Although there may still be a lingering thought that summer is not over yet, it is unfortunately well and truly over...it is getting dark earlier, the evenings are cooler and we are also getting the occasional rainy day so with autumn paving it's way, here are my top nail polishes for this season in no particular order.

1. China Glaze Jungle Queen can be a classified as a close enough dupe to Chanel's Paradoxal. To me it is a very particular purple with eggplant undertones further enhanced by a lighter purple shimmer running through the polish.

2. Essence Vampire's Love Trend Edition 03 True Love is my favourite polish out of the 5 available in this limited edition. Again it is a purple but it leans more towards the red spectrum (therefore it has a warm undertone) and has a nice lighter purple shimmer running through.

3. Catrice Ultimate Nail Lacquer in The Devil Wears Red is perhaps one of my go-to colours every Autumn. It is a sophisticated shade of vine red which turns out to be more brown than red on application of the second.  It is a nice all rounder as it will match most of your autumn wardrobe.

4. Essie Stylenomics is part of the brand's Fall 2012 collection bearing the same name as the polish. It is the IT colour of the season... a dark green with strong grey undertones that make it look like it is black.

5. Essence Colour & Go in 113 Do You Speak Love? is my favourite red this season. It is dark but not too dark and can carry you from the office to the bar and still look classy and elegant.

Those are my top polishes for this season. Do we have any common favourites? 

Review: Essence Vampire's Love Trend Edition (November 2011)

In anticipation of the Essence Breaking Dawn Trend Edition coming out in November, here's a thorough look at the past year's Vampire's Love Trend Edition.

The Vampire's Love Trend Edition was created with the various vampire series which were all the hype (and still continue to be).  At first, I was only interested in the Cheek Stain or Blush Gelee but when the stand was available at the blogger's event organized by PharmaMT, I also got all 5 nail polishes and the two lip stains.  The other products were either already taken or they didn't appeal to me.

Blush Gelee in 01 Bloody Mary

I was intrigued by this blush because I had never used a jelly blush before and I really wanted to try one. Also, being from Essence I wan't going to break the bank and spend a lot of money on a product I didn't even know I liked.  It took me quite some time to find this on sale as apparently the collection sold out within a few hours so you can imagine my joy when I popped into a pharmacy to get something else from Essence and found this blush calling me out! I grabbed it faster than you can say Essence and it was finally mine!

It may look scary in the bottle and at first I thought about using it as a lip stain instead but after seeing the product featured on other blogs, I convinced myself to use as intended. You really need a teeny tiny amount of this as a little goes a loooong way and make sure to wash your fingers thoroughly as it tends to stain the skin.  I like how it give me a nice healthy, pink flush and it dries to a nice matt finish.  The pump dispenser is very convenient as you can control the amount of product that comes out and the bottle being clear lets you know how much product there is left.  The blush has a sweet smell that eventually fades away. You can have a more in depth review on this product here.  I bought mine for €2.79 for 13ml.

Lipstain in 01 Bloody Mary & 02 True Love

The colours of both of these lip stains are both very reminiscent of vampires and fit the theme exactly. I haven't worn these yet but from the swatches I can definitely say that the colour pay-off is excellent and that they really do stain the lips.  I really love the sweet scent they impart and I am sure I will get a lot of wear of them this Fall season! 01 Bloody Mary is a deep plum while 02 True Love is a nice jelly red.

Blush Gelee in 01 Bloody Mary (left)
Lipstain in 01 Bloody Mary (far right, top) | 02 True Love (far right, bottom)

Nail Polishes

There were 5 nail polishes in this collection all of which are very dusky with a variety of effects. My favourite is 03 True Love. As a general note, the brushes are the perfect size to work with on my nails and the formulas are all easy to work with and they dry quickly.

01 Gold Old Buffy ~ Black creme with gold shimmer

02 Into The Dark ~ Mid navy blue with silver shimmer

03 True Love ~ Metallic plum purple

04 The Dawn is Broken ~ Grey creme with black particles

05 Hunt Me If You Can ~ Black creme with silver shimmer

Also available in the collection were a six piece eyeshadow palette, volume lash powder (now part of the permanent line), shimmer powder, eau de toilette.

I am already planning what to get from the new Breaking Dawn Trend Edition and on top of my wishlist is the perfume. Anyone got any of these products? What will you be getting from the new collection? 

All products were PR samples except the Blush Gelee

Review: Essence Soul Sista Trend Edition (March - April 2012)

The next Trend Edition from Essence that I will be reviewing, is the Soul Sista by Sun Club.I believe this is currently available in various pharmacies around Malta (we get products much later than other countries do). The Soul Sista collection gets you in the mood for summer while being reminiscent of the 1970's with shimmery shades and glittery products too.  I got both eyeshadow palettes, two lipglosses and a nail polish from this collection.

Eyeshadow Palettes in 01 Hey Sista Soul Sista & 02 Call It Boogie

Both palettes are comprised of 8 shades, all of which are fairly pigmented, including the lightest ones. The packaging feels sturdy and they each come with a decent double ended applicator and a small mirror located just under the applicator.  The shades in the two palettes look very much alike and in fact, there are some repeated shades. However, in my opinion, the first palette is more suited for soft looks while the second one is more suited for the more dramatic looks. I suggest using a primer underneath these eyeshadows to make them last longer and enhance the pigmentation.

01 Hey Sista Soul Sista

02 Call It Boogie

Lipgloss in 01 Shake Your Booty & 02 Lounge Chair Affair

I managed to get my hands on both of the lipglosses available in the collection and I'm so glad I did! 01 Shake Your Booty is a nice shimmery yellow gold lipgloss which remind me of summer sunsets and golden , sandy beaches while 02 Lounge Chair Affair is a bright neon pink and has summer written all over it! However, the lipglosses are not as pigmented on the lips as they only give a hint of shimmer/colour to the lips.  I do like how moisturizing they feel and the fact that they are not sticky.  They last around 3 hours on me. The tubes hold 6.6ml of gloss.

01 Shake Your Booty

02 Lounge Chair Affair

Nail Polish in 04 Totally Retro Nude

This is the only nail polish that I got from this collection, primarily because I already have shades similar to the other ones available.  The formulation is very nice to work with and only two coats are needed for maximum opacity. Dries fairly quickly and the colour is a nice cream coloured nude with light golden reflects.

04 Totally Retro Nude (swatch no.4)

The collection also consisted of a number of bronzing products and a kabuki brush.

Which product is your favourite out of the whole collection?

PR Samples

Review: Essence Marble Mania Trend Edition (March - April 2012)

Last March/April, Essence released the Marble Mania Trend Edition (limited edition) and I really wanted the blush but the collection sold out in a matter of a few hours and I couldn't find the blush anywhere so you can imagine how my face lit up at the Essence and Catrice bloggers' event held by Pharma MT (importers of the products in Malta) as soon as I saw the whole collection there! Even better, we were allowed to take anything we liked for free! Needless to say, I went up to the display and got hold of the blush faster than you could say Essence! I also got some more products from the Marble Mania collection which I will be reviewing in this post, starting of course with the blush itself! The packaging is pretty standard but I do like the clear compacts and tubes as the marbling effect shows nicely through them.

Blush in 01 Swirlpool

I cannot stop looking at this blush! I was always intrigued by the look of marbled make-up products and this blush has a nice mix of a dark-ish pink, an old rose shade, a mauve-lilac shade and a light peach shade all of which impart a nice, healthy glow to the cheeks when mixed together. The blush has a subtle shimmer to it  which is not that obvious on the cheeks and it smells of roses. For me, this blush has the right pigmentation and I have been using it almost everyday. I want to save it though because it is so beautiful! I just wish Essence release it as part of their permanent collection! On me, it lasts all day until I take it off. You get 7g of product and I think this retailed for like €3 or something.

Blush in 01 Swirlpool, Eyeshadows in 03 Swirl It Baby! & 01 Seriously Mixed Up

Eyeshadows in 01 Seriously Mixed Up & 03 Swirl It Baby!

While I was there, I managed to get two out of the three shades of eyeshadows available in the collection. I didn't get the second shade as I thought it looked similar to the first one when swatched.  01 Seriously Mixed Up is a nice brown swirled with a peachy-pink and some gold accents with a slight silver shimmer while 03 Swirl It Baby! is a mixture of baby pink, old rose, black and silver linings.  The colour payoff of these eyeshadows is amazing and they can be used both wet or dry.  You get 1.5g of product but I don't know the price for them (maybe around €2).

Lipgloss in 02 Peach and Mix

The collection also consisted of two lipglosses but I only managed to get my hands on one.  However, these lipglosses have been re-introduced in the permanent line and will be available in a total of 5 marbled colours which I will surely buy! As the name implies, Peach and Mix is a peachy lipgloss (a mix of coral, creamy peach and orange) with silver shimmer and a sweet vanilla scent.  It gives a super glossy look to the lips and lasts an average of 3 hours.  The shimmer is only slightly noticeable but it still gives the appearance of fuller lips.  The lipgloss comes with a standard doe-foot applicator and does not feel sticky at all. Comes in an 8ml tube.

      

Mascara in 01 Michael's Black or Silver

This is the last product I got from the Marble Mania collection. It intrigued me because I have never seen a marbled mascara before and I wanted to see if there is anything different to it.  Basically, the pearly white parts are silver shimmer particles while the actual mascara is a volumizing one. I find it gives my lashes a nice volumized look and thanks to the shimmer particles, my lashes appear glossier and my eyes wide awake.

So that's my take on the products I have from the Essence Marble Mania Trend Edition.  The other products  in the collection included 4 mini nail polishes and a nail art kit (sponges, a mini striper brush and wooden cuticle pushers).

Did you get any of the products from this collection? What are your thoughts on them?

PR Samples