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

NOTW: Of Leopards and Studs

Last week I was wearing a manicure that was inspired from a picture I saw on the internet.  Leopard print, studs and nude nail polish are all three of my favourites when it comes to nails and I combined all three in this manicure.  It does take some patience and a steady hand to accomplish but nonetheless, it is relatively easy.

1. Prep nails with a base coat to protect your natural nails and make the polish last longer.

2. Apply two coats of a nude beige nail polish of your choice and leave to dry thoroughly.  I used Essence Nude Glam in 06 Cookies and Cream.

3. Decide what is going on each nail and I suggest you start with the studs first.

• For nails on which you are going to put a single stud, apply a little clear nail polish at the base of the nail and carefully place the stud right in the middle of the nail.
• For the nails where you are going to do a stud border, work on one half of the nail at a time.  Apply some clear nail polish to half the nail around the edges and work your way adhering rhinestones and making sure to only space them out a little and keep in line. I used the Born Pretty Store Rhinestone Picking Wax Pen to pick-up and place the studs (also from Born Pretty Store).
• Here comes the fun part...leopard print nails! Start by randomly placing largish dots of gold polish (China Glaze Midnight Kiss) on the chosen nails. With a dark brown polish (E.L.F. Chocolate) and a medium sized dotting tool, create jagged 'C'-shapes around the gold dots.  Keep a picture near you to get the print right.

4. Finish off with a glossy top coat once your nails are completely dry. I used AODL UV Gel Top Coat from Born Pretty Store.

Review: Essence Multi Action Blackest Black Mascara & Waterproof Mascara

Today I will be reviewing the latest addition to Essence Cosmetics' Multi Action Mascaras range, namely Blackest Black and the Waterproof versions.

The packaging is identical for both mascaras except for the outside colours.  The brushes, however, are different from each other and I don't really get why because both mascaras are designed to give extra volume, length and curl. If I had to pick my favourite, I'd go for the  Blackest Black's wand because it is more dense. Both mascaras are intensely black and the waterproof one is really waterproof and thus they hold true to their respective names.  The only thing here is that they only come in black; I think if Essence included more colours such as brown and blue, that would be fun too!

I cannot really choose one over the other because they both give a volumised, fanned out look to the lashes and I am also a big fan of the intensity and long lastingess of these mascaras.  Both mascaras are guaranteed not to clump lashes.

Multi Action Waterproof (left) & Multi Action Blackest Black (right)

I recommend these mascaras to budget queens and splurgers alike just because they are a very good alternative to the more expensive mascaras out there.

Retail price is €2 - €3 each for 9ml (as opposed to the 8.5ml of the older versions).  Essence Cosmetics is available in pharmacies and beauty shops all around Malta and Gozo.

PR Samples

October Collective Haul

I think this month I have spent way more than I normally would but Paris is to blame :P In case you missed it, you check out my Paris haul here.  Anyways, with Essence cosmetics releasing their new products this month, I couldn't help myself but to buy a few items. So I will start with those first.

I bought a back-up of the Gel Look Topcost because I like the gel-like shine it gives to my nails and I bought some of their new nail polishes namely: Nude Glam 01 Cotton Candy, Colour & Go 142 Grey-t to be here, 119 Boho Chic, 113 Ballerina's Charm and 120 Cookie Love.  I also wanted to have a go with the Tip Painter and the eyeshadow in 03 Starlight.

The Twilight Saga Breaking Dawn Part 2 Trend Edition has made it's debut on our shores and I got the above products from it. Check out the full review here.

Lastly, I bought this jacket from New Look to further fuel my obsession with plum and burgundy hues (in reality it is more dark than in the picture).

NOTW: Holographic Fusion

I have finally found some time to do proper nail art this week. I have a lot of new polishes that I haven't used yet and I decided to start with one of my favourites... Gosh 549 Holographic Hero which Misha from Enigmatic Rambles kindly sent me.

I had wanted a holographic polish for ages and now I finally have one :D I was unsure how to wear it though so I opted to pair it with black and this is the end result:

Here's a step-by-step tutorial to achieve the look:

1. Start with a base coat to protect your natural nails.

2. When dry, apply two coats of Gosh Holographic Hero to all the nails.

3. For the dots, start by painting half the nail with Essie Licorice in a diagonal fashion and using a medium-sized dotting tool, dot three or four dots along the lower edge of the black polish.  Place your dotter half on the silver polish and half on the black polish to make the black dots look like they are coming out of the black part.  Place black dots on the silver area as shown in the pictures.

4. Repeat with the silver polish on the black end to achieve the full effect.

5. Seal with a top coat to protect your design.