When I filmed my new essence Fall/Winter 2017 products, easily the most requested product for review was the BLUSHplay Sculpting Blush Palette. And I have to say, it intrigued me to – the layout and colour scheme of it is very similar to my beloved Smashbox LA Lights in Culver City Coral.

You’ll have to pardon my product shots of these – I thought I had colour corrected them appropriately, but I can see now that they’re coming off very red/orange, which is not the shade they truly are in the pan. This trio set is the “Play It Peach” option (they have a more pink-toned one as well) and the coral tones of it are right up my alley. They’ve structured the palette to have a highlighter, a deeper shade (sculpt) and a paler tone (define). I don’t personally layer my blush in any kind of construction like they’re indicating, but I think it is nice to have two blush shades and a complementary highlighter all in one palette.

Despite my product shots looking slightly off-colour, the swatch shots above are bang on. This is a perfect representation of the shades, so you can definitely see that this fits more into the coral/peach side of things.

Those looking for a super reflective highlighter may want to look elsewhere, but the BLUSHplay highlighter is still quite stunning. I know we’re so locked into basically creating a lens flare on our faces now, but there is something to be said for a natural sheen. The highlighter in this palette definitely delivers on the more natural side of things.

What surprised me the most is that I see no colour difference on my cheeks between define (pictured above) and sculpt (pictured below).

I went over my photos so many times to figure out if I had screwed up labelling them and I’m pretty sure I didn’t. Which is why I’m so surprised that the paler shade looks so dark on me! I can only assume that the pale shade has more pigment that I anticipated, and the darker shade has less. Both shades provide a BEAUTIFUL colour on my cheeks, but I’m really stunned that they basically look identical.

Final Thoughts

Although I’m extremely surprised that the two blush shades ended up looking the same (and honestly, I can’t help but wonder if I screwed up application and applied the same shade twice because I really do not get it), I have to point out that the colour(s) are gorgeous. The highlighter is more subtle, but it does provide a beautiful glow to the skin. I also like that the colour tone is in line with the blushes, so you don’t have to be worried about applying a clashing highlighter to your face. The price tag is super low on this ($6.99 CAD), and honestly the product way outperforms the associated price point. This isn’t a “decent for its price tag” product – this is good DESPITE the price tag!

The essence BLUSHplay Sculpting Palette can be purchased on essencemakeup.ca for $6.99 CAD.

The product featured in this post was sent to me for review.

Sometimes I just don’t get the labelling on makeup products. For example, these essence Matt Matt Matt Longlasting Lipglosses. Matte + lipgloss? That’s not a thing. It CANNOT be a thing. By its nature, lipgloss is shiny, so therefore it cannot be matte. What a headscratcher.

Sooooo all that aside, essence says their matt matt matt lipglosses have a “creamy formula with a velvet matte finish”. Which is far more inline with what the product actually is! It’s a soft, moussey formula that has opaque coverage and smells absolutely wonderful. The smell is the first thing that hit me on these – it’s like cake batter and it is *glorious*!

Because of the moussey texture, you’re really getting opaque coverage with these “glosses” in one swipe. Despite the weird shape of the applicator (it’s kinda like an arrowhead), you do actually get precise lines and one pull of the product is enough to cover your lips in their entirety.

It’s funny, I always say this, but I am never drawn to these baby pink shades, and yet I think they look quite nice on me in photos. The shade is La Vie Est Belle, and it was the only shade out of the three that needed a little finessing to get it completely opaque (which is probably due to the colour tint).

Beauty – Approved! is one of those every day, my lips but better colours. Full coverage and beautiful!

A little bit more up my alley, Girl Of Today is a beautiful deep rose colour.

Final Thoughts

First off, these aren’t lipglosses and they’re never going to be lipglosses, so let’s stop right there with the “matte lipgloss” shenanigans because it just ain’t a thing. That aside…

These are a moussey, cream textured lipstick formula that will eventually dry down to a satin finish. They are definitely not transferproof, as they will move around a little bit on your lips (although I had no bleed out even without a lip primer!). They are quite comfortable to wear as the mousse formula is flexible and forgiving. They also aren’t tacky, in case anyone was wondering. I think that’s covered by it not being a lipgloss, but just wanted to point it out as well. I love the cake batter smell, but you won’t taste it very much on your own lips throughout the day. As for wear time… it’s okay, but not as long as the “longlasting” in the name would lead you to believe. Since these are more moussey, you’ll find you need to re-apply every three hours or so. I lost the bulk of the colour on the inner rim of my mouth, but the outsides stayed intact.

The essence matt matt matt lipglosses can be purchased on essencemakeup.com for $3.99 USD each.

The products featured in this post were sent to me for consideration.

New in by essence: Water Kiss Glossy Lip Colours! You may have seen me mention them in my essence Fall Winter 2017 Collection – PR Haul video from a few weeks ago – I was so interested in the texture of these lip products that I felt they warranted a full review.

For North Americans, the essence Water Kisses seem to be an essencemakeup.com exclusive item as I haven’t seen them in stores nor on ulta.com. There are six shades in the range, although only three are depicted in this post. The Water Kiss Glossy Lip Colours have a “super-light, medium-coverage gloss [that] glides on easily, creating an aqua-like sensation on the lips without bleeding or feathering.”

When I first swatched them on my hand I was taken aback – they felt so, SO liquid and just… WET! And yet, they weren’t slopping around on my hand so I had some confidence that they would stay put on my lips. There is a very faint raw/frozen berry scent when you sniff the tube, but I didn’t find it had much taste on my lips.

Swatched out, you can see there’s plenty of pigment in the essence Water Kisses. These are more medium to full coverage, but you will get a hint of your own lip colour peeking through at times.

Perhaps the most interesting thing about these Water Kisses is that while it goes on very fluid and and has that wet-look shine – that particular consistency eventually goes away. As you can see in the middle of each swatch shot, the formula becomes more of a satin finish once it’s had a little bit of time to dry down.

My favourite shade out of the three I tried – this is Deep Sea Love. It’s a beautiful juicy, vibrant red.

Aquatic Chic is a deep raspberry.

Perhaps the most surprising to me, I was impressed with just how much I liked Ocean Girl on my complexion. This is definitely not the kind of shade I gravitate towards, but I really like this one!

Final Thoughts

Although the essence Water Kisses claim to be a “glossy lip colour”, I’d have to argue and say that fundamentally, while they do go on very wet and slick, they don’t actually stay that way. Once they dry down they look far more matte/satin – which is fine by me since the finish is beautiful. However, since they’re billed as a glossy lip colour, I thought it was worth pointing out that that texture will not stick around on your lips. When they dried down, I expected them to either stain or become transferproof – they did neither of those. Which is great for easy removal, but it also means be careful where you put your lips!

Aside from the changing finish of the product, the texture is wonderful and it does stay put on the lips. As with all lip products, I did test these with a primer (I have to guys, I’m not going to work without lip primer on and watching my lipstick gravitate up my lip crevices towards my nose), and these didn’t travel outside my lip line (which I have seen some lip products do despite the primer!). In fact, the edge was very, very similar to the sharpness that you can achieve with a matte liquid lipstick. Super impressed!

Between the texture, colours, longevity and comfort… the essence Water Kisses are a good solid buy… and they’re only $4.99 USD on essencemakeup.com!

The products featured in this post were given to me for consideration. Post contains affiliate links.