Happy New Year! I honestly can't believe how fast 2014 went - it seems like only yesterday we were in 2013.
I've spent the past few days whittling down my makeup collection to compile a list of my ultimate make-up picks of the year. I've taken inspiration from the lovely Vivianna Does Makeup and used her categories to list my choices for the best beauty items of 2014.
2014 was a fantastic year makeup-wise, particularly for us Irish gals. Many of the world's most popular beauty brands made their way to our shores, including Charlotte Tilbury, NYX, Physician's Formula and Wet'N'Wild, to name but a few.
If you've read my blog at any point since I made it last June, I'm sure you'll recognise some of these products - I tend to blog about my loves immediately so many of these items won't come as a surprise. So let's get straight to business: (Wait! One more thing - swatches of everything is at the bottom of the post!)

Base:

• Best Primer: My primer of 2014 is the Smashbox Photo Finish Primer, without a doubt. I've got incredibly oily skin and I have never found a primer as long-lasting as this little guy. It feels light and velvety, keeping my skin matte and my foundation in place. Love, love, love!
• Best Lightweight Foundation: NARS Sheer Matte. Although marketed as a sheer foundation, it's most certainly a buildable choice that you can make into a medium coverage if you wish. I chose it for my lightweight foundation as that's my preferred way of wearing it - it's so natural yet flawless, with fantastic longevity. It's a pricey base choice but in my opinion it is definitely worth investing in. 
• Best Full Coverage Foundation: I'm giving this prize to Maybelline Better Skin Superstay Foundation. I bought this back in June and it is my top foundation of the year, dare I say it. The coverage is nothing short of flawless, it feels light on your skin and blends in seamlessly. It's most definitely the best foundation I've ever come across at the drugstore. 
• Best Tinted Moisturiser: I'm not the biggest fan of tinted moisturisers, however I discovered the Stila Oil Free Sheer Tinted Moisturiser about two years ago and it has become a staple for me in the summer when my skin is clear and behaving itself. It's incredibly sheer but it can be built up to a nice light coverage with two or three layers. The formula is very light so there's no worry that it's going to cake up. It's very long lasting so it's an excellent option for the summer time when you don't need much coverage anyway.
• Best Concealer: No prizes for guessing what I've chosen here - of course, MAC Pro Longwear Concealer! I went through two of them this year, and got a new one for Christmas to keep me going for 2015. There are no concealers on the market that compare to it - it's ideal for highlighting under the eyes as well as covering blemishes. I've also started using it as an eyeshadow base and it works better than any primer I own! 
• Best Powder: Again, no surprise here - my beloved MAC Mineralise Skin Finish Natural. As you can tell from the picture above, it's very well loved! It'll have to be my first beauty purchase of 2015. I would describe this powder as a filter for your face - it just glides over the skin and banishes any imperfections with a light dusting. It has a light coverage so you can even use it on its own with a bit of concealer if you want a natural makeup look. I don't think I will ever find a powder that will overtake my love for this little guy! 
• Best Bronzer: Michael Kors Bronze Powder in Gleam. I love a bronzer with a good sheen to it, no chunky glitter. It's a stunning true bronze with a hint of gold, which is complimentary on every skin tone imaginable. The powder is very finely milled and delivers the most beautiful bronzed sheen to the skin. It's really the only non-matte bronzer that I reach for in my collection.
• Best Blush: I am awarding this to MAC's Dainty blush. It's part of their mineralise range, and is a stunning pink with a golden shimmer, but like the Michael Kors bronzer, it gives a sheen rather than becoming a thick glittery mess on your skin. This is my go-to blush as it looks beautiful paired with any eye and lip look, it's so effortless. 
• Best Contour: I'd like to say Laguna by NARS as I'm obsessed, but I don't think it's a fair pick as I've only had it for the last month or so. Hence, the award is going to NYC's Smooth Skin Bronzer in Sunny. It's the most fantastic contour shade as it's completely matte and is a true golden-bronze, not an orange or muddy brown. It's not too intensely pigmented, so you have great control with it and applying it is a breeze. It's also as cheap as chips, so there's no room for complaint here.
• Best Highlighter: This was a complete no brainer for me. Without a doubt, my highlighter of 2014 is Makeup Revolution's The One Blush Stick in Dream. It is the most stunning, pearlescent pink highlight that is so natural yet striking. I reviewed the whole collection of Blush Sticks, which you can view here. I love Dream because the formula is just outstanding - it has a cream to powder effect and you are in complete control of how it looks on your cheeks - you can apply it sheerly or apply it heavily for an intense highlight.

Eyes:

• Best Brow Product: Benefit's Gimme Brow has been my favourite brow launch of the year. I've found that this year in particular, every reputable makeup brand has stepped up their brow game, but I really think Benefit were on to a winner with this product. It's a brow gel that emulates the look of real hairs so you can have a natural looking brow that isn't sparce. I tend to use this on its own if I'm too lazy to do a full face of makeup with defined brows, and it gives my brows a nice bit of definition without looking like a huge amount of effort went into doing them. I will most definitely be repurchasing this.
• Best Eye Primer: I've raved about this primer countless times here on my blog, it's the Essence I Heart Stage Eye Base. I've used this for about two years now and no other primer comes close to it for me. It has a slight tint to it so it eliminates any discolouration or veining on your lids to provide you with a smooth blank canvas to apply your eyeshadow on top of. 
• Best Single Eyeshadow: I chose Givenchy's Mono Eyeshadow in Modish Brown. I did a full in depth review of it here which you can refer to for swatches and more detail. It's basically a single eyeshadow, a light chocolate brown, that is divided into four squares to give you four finishes. Fairly suave, non? It's so versatile and as you know, I'm a packaging junkie so I adore the classy Givenchy casing. I'm also a fan of a good magnetic closure, so this is an all rounder by my standards.
• Best Eyeshadow Palette: I don't think will come as a surprise to any of you. Charlotte Tilbury's Dolce Vita eyeshadow palette - also known as the make-up love of my life (well, maybe my second as I think my Tom Ford lipstick has won my heart...). Like my Givenchy eyeshadow, I've done a full in-depth review of the palette with swatches which you can view here.  Charlotte Tilbury Cosmetics took the beauty world by storm in 2014, and this product is a true testament as to why she is fast becoming the queen of makeup.
• Best Eyeshadow Stick: I actually had a few in mind for this category, but my winner is the NYX Jumbo Pencil in Milk. NYX launched in Ireland this year and Milk was near impossible to get until about a month after it launched! Anyway, it's the perfect opaque white eyeshadow base or eyeliner that is so versatile. I love to put it under my eyeshadows to really intensify them and improve their longevity. It also looks fabulous as an eyeliner on the waterline.
• Best Eye Pencil: My go-to eye pencil of the year has been the Chanel Intense Eye Pencil in Noir. I read countless reviews of how excellent this one was, so I decided to step away from my beloved Rimmel eye kohl and give this one a whirl. It was most definitely worth it! It's the most long-wearing, intense black eye pencil I have ever tried. It's completely smudge resistant and doesn't budge at all. It's ideal for the tightline as it doesn't transfer at all.
• Best Mascara: The winner here is the Kiko Ultra Tech mascara. This is another firm love that I was introduced to this year when I went to Italy. We don't have Kiko here in Ireland and at €3, I had to snap this mascara up. It's an excellent volumising mascara that is clump free and adds a false-lash effect to your eyelashes. I didn't get the waterproof formula but it doesn't smudge or dry incredibly hard, it's a very comfortable mascara to wear. It's the best I've tried in a while, without a doubt!

Lips:

• Best Lip Balm: I'm awarding this to the famous EOS lip balms. My younger sister is a massive fan of them - her collection proudly boasts over 20 of them! My collection, however, is a little more demure and holds six different flavours. They all smell divine -my personal favourite is Summer Fruits- and they're incredibly moisturising without leaving a greasy residue behind. Their egg shape makes application a dream, and also quite fun! They're a handbag essential for me - I can't be without my little egg lip balms!
• Best Lip Gloss: I found myself scratching my head a little on which lip gloss to choose - it made me come to the realisation that I've definitely been neglecting glossy lips recently! Anyway, I concluded that the best gloss I've tried all year has to be the NYX Butter Gloss in Peaches and Cream. The name is a little misleading as it's certainly not peach - it's a true pink colour that's highly pigmented. It smells like vanilla, almost similar to the MAC lipsticks, and is very buttery - and ultimately true to its name! I plan on trying more colours this year, so let me know if you've any recommendations.
• Best Lip Pencil: An absolute no brainer for me - MAC's Soar lip pencil. Kylie Jenner took over the beauty world with her lip lining techniques, and when it was confirmed that Soar was her weapon of choice, there was not a Soar pencil to be found at any MAC counter. I've used mine non-stop since October - I think I've worn perhaps five make-up looks without it! It's the most versatile lip pencil in my collection, it works well with every lip colour under the sun. I particularly like to put it under light pink lipsticks, it makes them much more flattering and adds a lovely deep tone. If you only have one lip pencil in your life, it has to be this one! 
• Best Nude Lipstick: I've chosen my Essence Stay Matte Lip Cream in Soft Nude. I'm not the biggest fan of nude lipsticks, so as you'll see from the swatches below, this is more a mauve-toned nude. I would go as far as saying this is one of my all-time favourite lip colours - the formula is impeccable, it has fantastic staying power and it doesn't feel drying on your lips, nor does it sit into any dry areas on your lips. The smell is slightly off putting, it smells like very sweet marshmallows, which can be overpowering after a while but it's worth it for such a beautiful lip colour, in my opinion!
• Best Bold Lipstick: My favourite bold lippie of 2014 has got to be MAC's Dodgy Girl lipstick. It was part of May's Kelly Osbourne collection, and it's a matte lilac which is absolutely beautiful, as you can see below. Even though this is the bold lipstick category, I think it's worth mentioning that this lipstick can easily be made into a wearable one by simply adding a slightly darker gloss. It's a true winner that I love in my collection!

And finally, that is everything that I have been loving in 2014! Wishing you all a very Happy New Year - here's to plenty more favourites posts! 

Zara :-) x

My Favourite Transitional Lip Colours For Autumn!

It's weird to think it's officially autumn, considering the weather has been so warm recently. I personally love autumn/winter time - I particularly love the make-up looks for this time of year.
Considering it's not quite the time to whip the Ugg boots out again, I'm going to share my favourite transitional lip colours that are autumnal, but not your standard deep purples that are so popular for the autumn/winter time. These lip colours are more along the lines of berries and mauves, which I absolutely love. I don't suit reds and dark purples very well so I tend to stick with the types of colours I'm showing you here. So let's jump in!

YSL Rouge Volupte #9, €33

In my opinion, no brand does lipsticks quite like YSL do. In terms of packaging, quality, colour selection - I really think the price you pay for them is justified. This particular shade is the perfect transitional colour, it's a beautiful muted raspberry pink. I would say it's a very versatile colour that will suit many skin tones, as it shows up differently on everyone. On me, it looks like more of a berry pink, but other bloggers have photographed themselves wearing it and it looks like a darker bubblegum pink.
The quality of these lipsticks are indescribable - they're so soft and buttery, they just glide on your lips in one opaque swipe. What I love most about this lipstick for Autumn, is that it can be worn with a dramatic eye look or played down make-up. It's a perfect choice for however you like to wear your make-up. And just look at that packaging! Swatches of all the lippies are at the end of the post!

Essence 'Wear Berries' Long Lasting Lipstick, €2.79

This little number has made an appearance on my blog several times, I just love it so much! Essence actually discontinued a few lipsticks from the Long Lasting range, but thankfully my beloved Wear Berries is still available! It's a muted berry shade with a satin finish. It's a great colour to have in your collection because it is appropriate for both day and night looks as it's not an overbearing purple. You can see this on in my Janoskians Make-Up Of The Night post and a more in-depth review of it in my Essence Guide.



Rimmel London 1000 Kisses 'Wine' Lip Pencil, €4.65

I love good quality lip liners that are creamy enough to use all over the lips, as sometimes I prefer the colour of lip pencils to actual lipsticks! This 1000 Kisses lip pencil from Rimmel is one of my favourite autumn/winter shades as it's so versatile and compliments pretty much every eye look. Sometimes I wear this on its own with a brown lipgloss over it, or I recently found out it looks beautiful underneath the YSL Glossy Stain which I will be showing you next! The best thing about using a lip pencil is that even when you eat or drink it'll have better staying power than a lipstick. I would definitely recommend checking out the Rimmel lip liners even if this shade is not for you, they have a fantastic colour selection!

YSL Glossy Stain #4, €33

And my love affair with YSL continues! This glossy stain is no stranger to my blog, I have featured it in several posts, including my Dirty Dancing Make-Up Of The Night. This lip stain is probably one of my all-time favourite lip colours - it's not something that I would usually go for but I love it so much! The only way I could describe this colour is a red-purple-wine shade. It's quite difficult to describe as it's such a unique colour. I love this for autumn/winter as it's one of those lip products that you have complete control over - you can choose whether the colour is nice and sheer or bold and bright. With these glossy stains, you just keep layering until you get the colour you desire. I know this shade will be my absolute go-to colour for this autumn/winter!

Max Factor Lipfinity Lip Tints, €8.99

Royal Plum

 Last but not least are these lip tints from Max Factor. I love lip tints as they're so hassle-free and allow you to go about your day without worrying about having lipstick on your teeth or having to touch-up throughout the day.
I absolutely love the Max Factor lip tints for autumn/winter as the colours are just so gorgeous but they're not too overpowering. These are my two favourites, but their names are completely wrong - when you look at the swatches below you'll know what I mean! The names don't match the colours at all.

Pink Princess

Names aside, the lip product itself is just magnificent. They apply so smoothly across the lips, and can be built up to whatever intensity you like. I also love how they're in a felt tip pen, as it allows you to double them up as a lip liner too.
My favourite lip tint is Royal Plum, as it really suits my complexion and makes your teeth look super white! Although the colour is called Royal Plum, as I said earlier, the name is totally off. To me, this is more of a cherry colour. But still beautiful none the less! Just don't be fooled by the name!
I have been reading other bloggers' reviews of this product and I've seen many girls express their concerns over how quickly their lip tint dried out. I have had my two for about a year or so now and I still find that they perform the same! Perhaps it's something to do with storage? Anyway, I would totally recommend checking these out the next time you're at a Max Factor stand!

Let me know your favourite autumn/winter shades so I can add them to my wishlist!
Zara :-) x

Make-Up Of The Night: Janoskians Edition!

Today's post is another make-up of the night post! Last night my friends and I went to see the Janoskians and I wanted to share the make-up look I wore! It's a little bit more autumnal, as I personally prefer winter make-up with darker colours! We didn't have much time to get ready for the show so I chose to keep my make-up relatively simple - I just used my new MAC eyeshadow and did a quick winged liner look with a matte black eyeshadow!

                                                     FACE
                                           - Benefit The Porefessional Face Primer
                                           - Bourjois Bronzing Primer
                                           - Maybelline Super Stay Better Skin Foundation in 30 Sand
                                           - MAC Pro Longwear Concealer in NW20
                                           - MAC Mineralise Skin Finish Natural in Medium
                                           - Milani Sunset Duo Bronzer in Sunset Breeze
                                           - MAC Sheertone Blush in Blushbaby
                                           - MAC Mineralise Skin Finish in Centre Of Attention

                                 

                              EYES
      - Urban Decay Primer Potion in Eden
      - MAC Eyeshadow in Antiqued
      - Sephora Matte Black Eyeshadow
         - MAC Gigablack Lash Mascara
                                         
                               LIPS
             - Essence Wear Berries Lipstick
                                                                 





I realise my make-up was very MAC heavy - I've definitely been on a bit of a MAC hype recently! I will have a Best Of The Brand featuring MAC coming soon for my fellow MAC lovers.
Anyway, I hope you liked the make-up look!

Are you going to the Janoskians Got Cake tour? Let me know!
Zara :-)

Essence Launches In The UK: A Guide To Essence Cosmetics!

Hello everyone!
In light of the recent news that Essence has launched in various locations around the UK, I thought I would take the opportunity to offer you a comprehensive guide on all things Essence! Essence has been available here in Ireland for as long as I can remember and it's a huge success story. With fans from teens starting off with make-up to seasoned pros, there's something for everyone in their vast collection.
With prices ranging from about €2 to €5, you really can't go wrong. In this post I've just picked some random and favourite pieces of my Essence collection as we'd be here all day if I was to feature every item I own from them!
So without further ado, sit back and read what Essence can offer you!

BASE MAKE-UP 
The pictures included in this section are old ones from my old blog as I am yet to repurchase these products!

• Essence Soft Touch Mousse Foundation, €4.79

Admittedly, when I first bought this foundation I didn't have incredibly high hopes for it - I didn't expect a good quality foundation at such an inexpensive price. Thankfully, I was pleasantly surprised! It has a soft, fluffy consistency and the coverage is excellent, it can be applied with your fingers for a lighter coverage (which is what I like), or a brush adds a heavier coverage without feeling heavy and cakey. It is a matte finish so I would recommend this for girls who have oily/combo skin. Although it has a matte finish, I would say it gives a beautiful flawless finish that doesn't make your face look one dimensional, like some matte foundations do. At less than €5, I really can't fault this foundation. I had it in the shade 04 Matte Ivory but I felt this was slightly too light for me. So good news for paler ladies - this foundation runs quite light so you should be able to match your skin without any trouble! I'm an NC15/20 in MAC so if you're the same shade as me, look for a shade up in this foundation! 

• Essence Match2Cover Cream Concealer, €3.09

This handy little guy is a great dupe for the Bobbi Brown creamy concealer, in my opinion! You get a concealer on the left for hiding dark circles, and a concealer on the right for disguising blemishes. These are the creamiest, smoothest drugstore concealers I've ever tried! I used them both up completely and they're on my list to repurchase! They cover up blemishes and dark circles completely without creasing or caking. The blemish concealer is great because it doesn't gather around blemishes or look dry on them, likewise with the dark circle concealer. I think this would be a handy little number if you're travelling as it's your two concealer in one tiny palette! 

The one downside to this product is that it only comes in one shade. However if you're lucky enough for it to match your skin tone, you won't regret purchasing it! I'd choose it over some of my high-end concealers any day! 

EYE MAKE-UP

As a self-confessed eye make-up addict, nothing excites me more than the thought of ridiculously cheap, good quality eye products!

• Essence Colour Arts Eye Base & Essence I Heart Stage Eyeshadow Base 

The Essence range offers two different eyeshadow bases - the Colour Arts Eye Base for pigments (left), and the I Heart Stage Eye Base for regular eyeshadow. At €3.09 each, you couldn't leave an Essence stand without one! 

The Colour Arts Eye Base is specially formulated for the application of pigments. It is a transparent, sticky gel that provides a bright effect and lasts all day. It's a bit messy to work with at first but once you get used to the texture it'll completely change the way you apply pigments! I've never seen any eye base like this before so if you can, do pick up a tube! 

The I Heart Stage Eyeshadow Base is my all time favourite eyeshadow primer - I honestly cannot fault anything about it. This is my third tube of it, a tube of it lasts me about a year. This eyeshadow primer has a doe foot applicator and has a colour to it to cover discolouration on the eyelids. It blends so creamy and smooth and blending eyeshadow over it is a dream. As someone with oily eyelids, a good base is vital to me and I don't see myself ever loving a primer as much as I love this one. 

• Essence Eyeliner Pen (€3.09)

This is a felt tip liquid eyeliner, which is great because it allows you to get the intensity of a liquid liner without the struggle of applying it. The nib of this pen is quite thick, but I believe they have brought out a newer version of this that has a much thinner nib, which is great news.  I think this is a great choice for those who aren't too comfortable using liquid or gel liners as these pens give you great control and really allow you to get a good grip, something that liquid liners don't really offer as the handles are usually quite long.

It is definitely a more convenient choice than a gel eyeliner, particularly for travelling, as there is no brush needed and it's a perfect size for throwing in your bag. My worst habit with this little guy is forgetting to replace the cap when I'm finished using it, which results in me having to buy a new one of these much more regularly! At the moment I have a back-up one to keep me going in case of a slip up!

• Essence Big Bright Eyes Highlighting Pencil & Essence Kajal Pencil

 I only bought the Big Bright Eyes Highlighting Pencil recently - I've been all into highlighting recently and at €1.99 I couldn't resist! It's a small pencil that it designed for highlighting the brow bone or tear duct, or it can be used to line the waterline. It comes in three different shades and this one is called Highlight It... Pearly. I love it - it's creamy, easy to blend and gives the most stunning shine to the highlighted area. As you can see from the swatch, it looks quite harsh and scary when you first apply it but once it's blended it looks absolutely beautiful without giving your eyes a disco ball glitter effect.

The Kajal Pencil is a true deep black, as you can see from the swatch. It's a lovely smooth liner, it doesn't drag your eyes and it is smudge-proof. At €1.89, you really can't go wrong.
They have since released more colours of the pencil which I may try and get back to you on!

• Essence Single Eyeshadow & Essence Lash & Brow Gel Mascara

 And to conclude this section of my Essence guide is a single eyeshadow and their brow gel.
To be honest with you, I only own about four single shadows from Essence. The pigmentation is great as you can see on the right - this one is called Shrimp Me Up and it's a beautiful shimmery peach. I bought this with the intention of using it as a blush but I like it more as an eyeshadow, especially for the summer. As you can see from the swatch, it is a nice shade and it does have decent colour pay-off. It feels buttery and has good staying power when on the lids but I don't think the shadows would be my #1 recommendation if you could only choose one item from Essence to buy. They do have a nice colour range - and at only €1.99 I suppose it'll do no harm to have a play with them!

And as for the brow gel - it is my go-to product for setting my brows! There's not really much to say about it apart from that, however it doesn't make your brows too sticky or wet, so that's always a bonus! It'll set you back €2.49.


LIPS 
Now for my favourite part! Essence have got some of the best lip products I've ever tried - they tick all the boxes in terms of colour range, quality and pigmentation. Not to mention the crazy-cheap prices!

• Essence XXXL Lipglosses, €2.49

These glosses were actually my first ever purchase from Essence! Well, not these exact shades - I have since thrown out my old ones and these are some newer ones! I have more of these glosses but these are my favourites. Essence offer these glosses in two finishes - matte and gloss. The matte ones are quite limited as there are only three shades (I have two, a pink and a nude), but their XXXL Shine glosses boast 12 beautiful shades. The three glosses you can see here on the left are, from top to bottom, Velvet Rose, Sparkling Papaya and Peach And Mix. They smell lovely and sweet, and they aren't incredibly sticky as lip glosses go. They also have excellent staying power and are pigmented enough to wear on their own, but also light enough to let a lipstick shine through. The matte ones are my favourites - they are perfection! They aren't drying, they stain your lips to ensure colour for the whole day and they have a gorgeous marshmallow scent! They apply so smoothly and don't patch. My only drawback with the mattes is the lack of colour selection! The matte range only has three = a nude, a pink and a red. These glosses would probably top my Essence favourites list. The shine glosses have such a vast colour selection you are bound to find a shade (or six....) that is perfect for you! 

(top to bottom) Velvet Rose, Sparkling Papaya, Peach And Mix.

• Essence Long Lasting Lipstick, €2.79 & Essence Lip Liner, €1.79 

 The Long Wearing Lipsticks are relatively new to the Essence family, and the shade I have shown here is 09 Wear Berries. This is one of my top 6 lipsticks - I absolutely adore it! It's a muted berry shade that is creamy and opaque with a satin finish. It stays true to its promise of being a long wearing lipstick, and is an absolutely beautiful shade for all year round, but I love it in winter especially. The smell is lovely too, it's not too overbearing and it doesn't leave a taste in your mouth. The range selection with these little guys is quite good - there are 13 shades to choose from, varying between soft nudes and bold pinks and reds.

And as for the lip liner - these are the best lip liners on the market in my opinion! This one here is 07 Cute Pink, and it is such a flattering shade under most pink lipsticks. These are the smoothest, creamiest lip liners I own - they don't drag your lips if you choose to fill in your lips with them, they don't smudge and they're long wearing. To tell you the truth, I would choose these over MAC lip pencils any day! MAC lip liners will set you back €15, these little bad boys won't even set you back €2! Sure where would you get it?!

 NAIL POLISHES

Last but not least in the permanent collection are the Essence Nail Polishes. They cost €1.89 and have the best colour selection I've ever seen on one make-up stand. So here are a few of my favourite picks! 

These swatches on my nails are only one coat of each nail polish.

 They have recently brought out their 'Sand and Sparkle' effects, I have the pink one (seen here) and they are absolutely fantastic!
All their polishes last about 7 days on me without a top coat.

(l-r) Rock N Roll, Fatal, Hello Rosy, You Belong To Me.

As you can see from the swatches on the right, the colours are opaque and shiny. Would you believe that's only one coat of each nail polish?! The pigmentation is beautiful, they really are colour and go polishes - they dry in 60 seconds and are chip resistant. You need to pick up one (or ten) ASAP!

And as a Bonus Jonas, I'm going to show you some pieces from their old limited edition collections. That is one of my favourite things about Essence as a brand - they release collections to coincide with popular movies, themes, etc. for example they released a Twilight collection at the same time the last film was released in 2012, and they had a Justin Bieber collection that was released around the time of his Believe Tour. Obviously none of these items are available any more, but I thought they'd be great to show you so you could get an idea of how much thought goes into their limited edition ranges. They are excellent and are great pieces to add to your make-up collection if the range is in collaboration with someone or something you're interested in.

 So instead of showing you each collection bit by bit, I'm doing it in the same format as above, by eyes, lips and face! I won't go into too much detail as I don't think there's much of a need considering the products are unavailable, so I'll just show you swatches and what collection they're from!

FACE

•  Essence Breaking Dawn Part 2 Collection - 'Renesmee Red' Blush
• Essence Justin Bieber Beauty Beats Collection - 'Swaaaag!' Highlighter (favourite name by far)
• Essence OZ The Great And Powerful Collection - 'Beware The Wicked Witch' Cream Blush

Beware The Wicked Witch

Renesmee Red

Swaaag!

     

 EYES

Essence Breaking Dawn Part 2 Collection Pigments: A Piece Of Forever (left)
Alice Had A Vision - Again (right)

LIPS

Essence Breaking Dawn Part 2 Collection -
Renesmee Red (left)
Alice Had A Vision - Again (right)

NAILS

Essence Snow White Collection - Dopey
Essence Breaking Dawn Collection - Jacob's Protection











And that is the end of my guide to Essence Cosmetics! I hope you enjoyed this post and that it has served you some ideas of what Essence products may be for you. If you'd like any more detail on any of the products mentioned, please let me know!
For those living in the UK, here's a link to the Essence Facebook page so you can see if it is stocked anywhere near you: https://www.facebook.com/essencecosmeticsUK
For anyone else wanting some more Essence news, here's their website: http://www.essence.eu/ie/home/

Thanks for reading! What's your favourite Essence product?!
Zara :-) x