essence has recently launched their Matt Matt Matt lipstick range which has eight shades ranging from nudes, to pinks and reds, to some purple and deep vampy shades. For a collection that is limited to only eight shades, they’ve done one heck of a job by covering all of their bases!

In stark contrast to their Sheer + Shine lipsticks (which I really enjoyed), the Matt Matt Matt in chockful of in your face colour with a matte finish. Each shades packs one hell of a pigment punch! But don’t take my word for it, check out these swatches:

essence Matt Matt Matt Lipstick Collection Swatches

My Thoughts

There is NO denying the colour payoff in these lipsticks – the pigment is there and it’s ready to party! I found the longevity on these lipsticks to be incredible – I had no movement, no budging for 4-5 hours (which for me is really good as I don’t tend to wear lipstick for longer than that timespan). My biggest complaint is that I get a little bit of lipstick gathering on the inner rim of my mouth – just where the lipstick ends and the inside of my mouth begins. It’s not a great feeling, but I can easily blend it out with my finger if need be.

It’s worth noting that there is a bit of a plastic fruit scent to these lipsticks. The scent is identical to their long lasting lipstick range though – so if you like that scent, you’ll be fine with these.

The essence Matt Matt Matt lipsticks retail for $3.99 USD each and can be purchased on ulta.com or or for $4.49 CAD on essencemakeup.com.

The products featured in this post were given to me for consideration at a PR event. Post contains some affiliate links.

essence has finally launched their mosaic blushes in Canada! With a $3.99 USD price tag, an embossed pattern with different shades and the ability to purchase online at essencemakeup.com, you’re going to be struggling to not fall head over heels for these guys!

Although Europe has a slightly larger shade selection (four in total), North America will have to do with the two shades we have available to us:

• All You Need Is Pink (the uh… more orange one)
• The Berry Connection (the pink one)

At first swatch, I found that the pink shade was a lot more powdery in texture than I had anticipated. I had to build it up to get the swatches you see above.

I’m not sure if these face swatches above help (since they’re not full face shots), but there you have it. I found that overtop of foundation these blushes performed better (shots above are the blush on my bare skin) because they had something to grip to. On bare skin, these did not perform very well at all.

Overall, I felt the blushes were a little too powdery and not enough pigmented for my own personal taste. It was a bit odd because I wore this occasionally and I thought it looked fine, and then sometimes I wore it and I felt kind of “meh” about it. I prefer essence‘s regular line of blushes (their Silky Touch ones) a lot more in terms of pigmentation and performance, so if I was going to steer you in the direction of a well performing and inexpensive blush, that’s what I’d suggest. These mosaic blushes are pretty to look at, but they just didn’t live up to their beauty I’m afraid!

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

essence recently revealed their Spring/Summer 2016 to Canada and I was excited to see that a lot of their regular lineup of products has changed/been added to. At the last few events I’ve been to, I’ve seen a lot of the same similar items being repromoted, so it was really nice to see something totally new.

One of those totally new products are the Sheer & Shine lipsticks. As with many releases, it’s entirely possible that these have been available in Europe long before North America got them, but since they’re new to me, I was pretty excited to try them out!

The essence Sheer & Shine lipsticks have a “super soft formula [that] feels pleasantly light on your lips and provides them with gorgeous, subtle colour with a fantastic shine in the wanna-have shades nude, brown and pink. The translucent cap is the same colour as the lipstick inside so it’s easy to reach for your favorite shade.”

These are definitely a translucent, sheer formula, but some colours will surprise you with just how much colour they deposit.

essence Sheer & Shine Lipstick Swatches

My First Love is a very, very pale pinky-peach.

Cute Nude is a soft pale peach.

BFF is a pinky-red.

Frosted is an incredibly pale pink.

Sparkling Miracle is a magenta pink shot through with glitter.

Be Happy is a candy apple red.

Glamour Queen is a medium pink-brown with glitter.

All About Cupcake is a pale coral. (You can see me wearing it in my St. Patrick’s Day Makeup Tutorial video.)

Candy Love is a pale to medium pink.

Like a Princess is totally unlike the other shades… it’s a freaking stunning hot pink with a hint of magenta and red.

Final Thoughts

When I first looked at these lipsticks, I thought there was no way in hell that they’d be translucent – I mean the bullet is so bright and vibrant! However, true to their name, the essence Sheer & Shine lipsticks impart a translucent veil of colour (for the most part).

I cannot stress enough how incredibly comfortable these are to wear. They’re like a soft balm on the lips – the kind of product you keep re-applying over and over again just because you like the way it feels. Samantha Jane said it best in her recent essence video (and I’m paraphrasing): “These are an excellent purse product where you can grab them on the go to apply”.

For the most part, they have a very sweet, candy-vanilla scent (although it’s not the same as their lipsticks which is a huge blessing for me since I’m not keen on that scent), however, there were a few shades that didn’t have that sweet scent and instead smelled a bit like plastic. It was a bit strange that the scent wasn’t consistent across the range, so if you’re super sensitive to scent, make sure you give the bullet a whiff before you purchase it.

My swatches above are showing fairly true to colour, so you can discern for yourself which shades would most appeal to you, but the shades I’m in love with are Like A Princess (which definitely packs way more colour punch than the rest of the line!), All About Cupcake and Be Happy. (Sidenote: Shades seems to vary by location and country. These are the ones I received so I would assume all of these are available in Canada.)

If you’re looking for an easy-to-wear lip product that’s comfortable, lightweight and feels quite natural – don’t look any further than the Sheer & Shines!

The essence Sheer & Shine lipsticks can be purchased on ulta.com for $2.99 USD each or at Shopper Drug Mart and Superstores in Canada.

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