Essence Cosmetics - New to ULTA!

While browsing at ULTA yesterday, I noticed a new display of a brand called Essence. The Display had a bunch of pamphlets about the brand and their products (pictured below) Essence is a German brand (low end/drugstore brand) that is available to parts of Europe (The site says its available in Germany, The Netherlands, Belgium, Ireland, Spain, Croatia, Italy, Switzerland and Austria) and its now available in the US. Pretty cool!! Everything is pretty much under $5 and by the looks of it, its very girly and aims at a younger crowd. Maybe like Wet n Wild? I only purchased one baked eyeshadow and a brow pencil to try them out and decide whether I'd want to purchase more. Click here to view all of Essence's products on the ULTA website or click here to view the official website. Oh! & they don't test on animals. :)

I wore the shadow today on my eyes. I just took a bit (dry) and used it as an all over lid color. Its a very nice gold. It slightly started to fade, but overall it works pretty well. I'd purchase other shades since they're only $2.99.

If you'd like me to take a swatch of the brow pencil, let me know. I haven't tried it out yet. They also had another new brand. I can't remember the name and I can't find any info on it. It is LA something. I thought it was LAColors but there is already a brand named that.. hmm confusing. Its a little more expensive than essence.. I would compare the prices to Milani (for example.. they had really pretty jars of eye dusts for $5.99 each) I really wanted to get a couple, but I'm going to wait till there is a sale on it. Any thoughts on the brand?

NOTD: Orly Cotton Candy!

I saw this nail polish in LisaLisaD1's youtube video (link) on Friday and ended up purchasing it. Orly Nail Polishes are now on sale at ULTA for $4.99 (regular $7) and I believe a coupon starts today for $3.50 off your $10 purchase up that is valid till the 13th. This is a beautiful summer/spring color. It's a creamy, opaque, bright pink with a hint of coral. It's a color that would look gorgeous both on hands and toes. I think this is currently my favorite pink polish. This shade of pink is actually my favorite color (peachy pink) It's so hard to find this exact shade.. I've purchased many polishes hoping it would look like this and was left disappointed. I've been eyeballing Essie Van D'go from Essie's Spring Collection.. It looks somewhat similar to this polish but more on the peach side. Hopefully I'll be picking it up this week.

This is two coats with no base or top coat. The finish is very shiny! But I think I will go back and add a top coat.

By the way, Does anyone know a good top coat? I don't think the ones I use work the best. My nails usually get dull in a couple of days. I was going to purchase an OPI top coat, but I wanted to do a little research first. Any suggestions would be great!

I'm in need of a cuticle cream. My cuticles are so hard and cracked. I'm planning on picking up Burt's Bee's Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream and giving it a try.

My Lovely Haul! MAC, Inglot, YSL, OPI!!! With many thanks to Sarah (iheartcosmetics)!!

Hi Guys! I have lots of posts to share with you. :) So If I do a million posts today, I apologize but I try to take advantage of my free time by blogging!

I wanted my 1st post to be about the giveaway I won!! I have never won a giveaway, so I was so overjoyed about winning Sarah's 500 Follower giveaway. I couldn't believe all of the nice things I was going to receive!! It arrived a few days ago and it came on such a perfect day because I was in such a sad/upset mood and it really turned my day into an awesome one.

Sarah is such a sweet girl.. It was incredibly generous of her to purchase these things (which are so expensive!) for her bloggers. If you aren't a follower of her blog, you should definitely check it out. She has really good, useful posts about makeup, self-tanning, etc. We have very similar (if not the same!) tastes in makeup, so I love reading her new posts. Thank you again, Sarah!! I ♥ YOU!

Follow her Blog! http://www.iheartcosmetics.co.uk

Follow her Twitter! http://twitter.com/sarahloolaa

Subscribe to her Youtube!http://www.youtube.com/user/sarahlittlecutie

Here are some pictures and swatches of my prize!

I opened everything while I was at work. She included a very cute, witty card that's displayed on my desk now. Lol, I love cards.

READ MORE!

Review: Bobbi Brown Long Wear Gel Liner in Graphite Shimmer + Photos & Swatches!

Bobbi Brown Long Wear Gel Eyeliner

Product Description - This award-winning liner offers the precision of a liquid liner and the ease of a gel-based formula. Awarded: "Elle" Magazines's ‘Top 5’ (Nov. 2009), "In Style" 'Best Beauty Buy' (2008), and "Allure" ‘Reader's Choice Award’ (2008).

To apply: Dip tip of Ultra Fine Eyeliner Brush into gel formula (coat both sides of brush head). Wipe off excess on tissue before applying to eye. Work quickly as product becomes transfer-resistant once dry.

This is a product I've been wanting to try for EVER! I picked Graphite Shimmer Ink. On the website, it says that it is a dark gray. I would maybe call it a deep charcoal gray with silver flecks. Once applied, it looks much darker. It basically looks black. Its very creamy and spreads very well. For me, it doesn't fade throughout the day. And, at the end of the night, I don't have trouble removing it. I usually will powder my lids so my liner won't smudge or budge, then apply it to my lash line with an angled liner brush. I've been using Sigma's angled brush. I prefer BB now, over MAC Blacktrack Fluidline, Stila Smudgepot & Wet n Wild Creme Liner.

Here are a few descriptions of what I like and don't like about the following liners..
MAC Blacktrack Fluidline - I love this, but the texture always gets dry for me halfway throughout the pot. I LOVE when I first purchase it, but it doesn't ever stay creamy. I can tell its a bit thicker than the other creme liners mentioned. Also, this sometimes crumbles on me. What I do like about it is, it is extremely black and the lasting power is pretty good. I have repurchased this several times.
Stila Black Smudgepot - I love the consistency of this product. The consistency is somewhat similar to BB. It is very creamy and light. It applies very nicely & black. For me though, it fades throughout the day and I'll have to reapply. I'm not sure If I would repurchase this.
Wet n Wild Creme Liner - Again, good creamy consistency. It doesn't crumble for me, but just like the Stila Smudgepot, this fades throughout the day. Great deal though and will probably repurchase b/c of the price and it works well.

Here are some swatches, courtesy of kmbirkel. Indigo Ink & Ivy Ink look gorgeous! They look like they would go well with any of the NARS eye shadows I posted in my previous post! I think Black Ink will be my next purchase.



Do you have a favorite gel/cream liner? What is your preference or HG liner?