Essence Quattro Eyeshadow - To Die For - Review and Swatches

I hope all of you are having a nice, relaxing weekend! Mine is going to be busier than normal, but I'm hoping to get some relaxing and blogging squeezed in too. Around the time this post is going up, I'll be getting ready to go help my future brother-in-law stain a bunch of trim and doors for the new house he is building. Sunday is always laundry day for me, and I also need to try and get caught up on things around the house that I've been neglecting due to being busy and then getting sick. A well-thought-out trip to the grocery store (with a list and everything) should probably happen too, but that might get put off until Monday.

 When I finally got access to an Ulta at my favorite shopping location, I kind of went a little crazy. I picked up several items from NYX, Real Techniques, and Essence. What can I say? I was excited to have those brands easily accessible.

I picked up the Essence quad in To Die For because it seemed like a good basic palette (not that I don't already have plenty of basic palettes).

 This quad retails for $3.99 on Ulta.com. It comes in a clear plastic compact that feels quite sturdy and isn't overly bulky. There aren't any applicators included, which is a plus in my opinion. Since I don't generally use sponge-tip applicators, they are a waste for me and just add to the bulk of the packaging. 

I like the design of the pans as well. It's a cute pattern, and the sizes of the pans coordinate with how much I would use each color. 

 I haven't used the highlight shade much because it has a satin finish to it and seems to have a slight grey tone. My regular highlight shade is completely matte. I will use this shade most often as in inner corner highlight.

As you can see, the assumed lid shade is really close to my skin tone, so the swatch doesn't show up very well. This shade also has a satin finish. While I would say the swatch appears decently pigmented, this shade seems to apply somewhat sheer on the lid.

The two darker brown shades are clearly very similar. The one on the left is a bit warmer and has sparse bits of tiny gold shimmer along with a more apparent satin finish than the other shades; the one on the right is the most matte of the four, although I would still call it a satin. They both work well as crease shades. They blend out easily. 

All four shadows have a really smooth, creamy feel that is pretty impressive for the price. The satin finish of all the shadows is so subtle, they really come off as matte on the eye. Under a primer, they seem to last well throughout the day except for the assumed lid shade. I think it fades throughout the day, especially on the center of my lid, but it's so sheer that it's hard to tell.

Final Thoughts

This is an okay quad. I like the look that it gives, but it isn't anything special. I think it would be nice for someone looking for a everyday drugstore palette without a lot of shimmer or sheen. It would also be a good palette for someone just starting out with makeup who is intimidated by eye shadow. Anyone with a larger collection probably has similar colors and could pass on this without regret. 

Do you have any fun weekend plans or are you doing chores and playing catch-up too? What is your favorite basic shadow quad or trio?

Essence Blushes - Review and Swatches

If you've read even just a couple of my posts, you've probably read a mention about me being pale. It feels really redundant to keep mentioning it, but it does make a big difference when it comes to how I view products.

I love bright colors for my cheeks and lips. I actually think they work well with my fair skin (think Snow White), but I have to be really careful when I apply bright blushes because the Snow White look can quickly become the Extra from Moulin Rouge look. Not good. That's why I decided during one of my many fall shopping trips (Shame on me!) to pick up a couple of blushes that weren't really bright and intense.

I ended up grabbing two blushes from the brand Essence, which is a super-cheap brand sold at Ulta. These blushes are currently selling on Ulta.com for $2.99 each.

Essence Silky Touch Blush in 20 Babydoll

Essence Silky Touch Blush in 10 Adorable

Left to right: Babydoll and Adorable

These blushes do have a soft, silky feel to them, and as you can see from the swatches, they have pretty good pigmentation for inexpensive, light colors. Babydoll is a slightly rose-toned, muted pink, and Adorable is a true, light baby pink. They both have a slight sheen in the pan, but they appear matte when applied.

I love that I can use a normal blush brush to apply these since I have to use a stippling brush for nearly every blush in my collection. The trade-off with these being easy for me to apply is that they don't last as long as some of my other blushes. By the end of a workday, these are pretty much gone. While that's slightly disappointing, there are days when I'm okay with trading-off a little bit of wear time to have something that is hard for me to over-apply, especially for the inexpensive price tag.

Have you tried the Essence blushes? What did you think about them? Are there any other Essence products I should check out? Do you know of any light colored blushes that are easy to apply on fair skin that last all day?