When I was on holiday in Budapest, I picked up tons of cheap make up from the pharmacies over there. One of the brands I saw was called Essence – I don’t think I’ve seen this brand in the UK before but I think it’s sold in Ireland and across Europe. It’s an English language brand and quite a funky young one (reminds me of Miss Sporty) and there’s a big variety of items, especially for nails.
I am a big eyeliner fan so picked up their 100% Splash-Proof eyeliner pencil and liquid eyeliner:
Sometimes it’s the cheaper brands that make great products for less!
First off, these pencils are both very rich and pigmented. Ultra Black – yes they are!
Both are soft and easy to use. The creamy pencil reminds me of gel eyeliner pencils, it works just as well as those and works on the waterline.
The liquid eyeliner I really like as it has the same tip as Lancome Art Liner which has the best sponge tipped applicator. I find these so easy to use.
Here are the swatches which show just how beautifully pigmented they are!
So far so good. The other claim these products have is that they are splash proof – not water proof. I totally agree that they are splash proof – the liquid liner really stays on well. The pencil liner does travel a bit at the end of the day but not so much that it looks panda eyed. It did really well at adhering,as well as a super creamy soft black pencil can. Would I go swimming in it? No. Would I cry prettily in it? Maybe.
My scary tired eye – but you can see the liner looks quite good:
You can get a nice neat line with it too!
I paid about £3 each for these pencils, so BARGAIN! Has anyone ever spotted Essence in the UK?
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi!
I am from Germany and Essence is a German drugstore brand and very very cheap over here. I think you would have paid like 3-4 pounds in total for both products. I usually prefer uk brands over essence but they’re so hard to get -.-
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Lol Essence is considered the crappest, cheapest brand sold in Croatia and Germany (originally German brand) but I love their blushers!! Its considered a big embarrassment if you buy their stuff where I’m from!!
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I’m from the Netherlands and it’s the exact opposite over here. Brands like Catrice and Essence are constantly raved over by NL-bloggers and the shelves are pretty much empty all the time. We love us some Essence!
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Essence is one of the best cheap drugstore brands here in Germany (if you like drugstore makeup, of course.) Their nail polish line and eyeliners in particular are great for the price. And they do make some of the most popular and creative Limited Editions :3
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Whattt Tali? That is kind of weird that it would be a “big embarrassment if you buy their stuff.” Like really, buying something from a specific brand is a SHAME situation? That’s really stupid.
Anyway, Essence is also really easy to get here in the U.S. (at Ulta, for example) and I’ve heard nothing but great things about their eyeliners (gel/cream, pencils, liquid) and nail polishes.
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Essence and Catrice (same German company) are sold in Italy too and they are quite good cheap brands here. Some of their makeup doesn’t work, some other is just great for the price. Splash proof eyeliner and the eyeliner gel, for example, are pretty nice.
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