While perusing my local Shopper’s Drug Mart this weekend,  I noticed a new display in the cosmetics aisle for Essence make-up. What first attracted me was all the brightly coloured nail polishes, but what kept my attention were the prices! None of the items were over $5!

As cheap as they were, I honestly didn’t expect much, but I saw that Essence had some unique products so I picked up a few to try and share with you!

First up – Essence “Colour & Go Quick Drying Nail Polish”

These mini nail polishes come in a wide variety of fun and bright shades, in glitter, duo chrome and creme finishes.

I picked up the following: (in order of photo) 44 Modern Romance, 35 You Belong to me, 39 Lime Up!, 86 A Lovely Secret, 38 Choose Me! and 91 Glamorous Life

All of these polishes were opaque in 2 coats, and true to colour. I was particularly impressed with the glitter shades. They had a nice helping of glitter with a well pigmented base, so you don’t need to layer 10 coats to get opaque coverage.

All of the non-glitter shades have a fine micro shimmer, even though they look like cremes in the bottle, but it’s very subtle and helps adds dimension to the pastel shades.

They were definitely on the quicker side of drying, but nothing too spectacular in that department.

What I loved: Modern Romance – it’s hard to find a light nude pink colour with an opaque formula.

What I’d leave: A Lovely Secret – love the base colour, but the purple and blue shimmer looks dull in some light, almost like a fine blue sand throughout the polish.

Overall, for $1.50 a bottle, how can you go wrong?

Next up – the “Stay With Me Longlasting Lipgloss”

I picked up the shade 02 My Favourite Milkshake, a light pinky coral. This lipgloss has medium opacity, and is a little thick but not sticky. I love the colour, and the formula was not drying. While I would not consider it to be a long wearing lipgloss, it did stick around for a couple of hours. Overall, this lipgloss was nothing to write home about, but at $2.99 it’s a great option from the drugstore.

Next – Essence Gel Eyeliner

I was really excited about the next product, the gel eyeliner in 02 London Baby.

This waterproof eyeliner is a beautiful deep brown colour with shimmer that gives it a purple hue in some light.  However, it was less gel-like and more creamy. Very creamy. Too creamy in my opinion. The creaminess makes it easy to apply and blend, but it doesn’t go on very opaque when applied with an angled eyeliner brush. However, it can be layered, and dries down to a steadfast long lasting finish. For $3.99, this is a good affordable option for a “gel” liner, but I still prefer my MAC Fluidline!

Lastly, my favourite product of the bunch -

Essence’s “Stay All Day Long Lasting Eyeshadow” in 02 Glammy Goes To… This long-wearing creme eyeshadow is reminiscent of the Maybelline Colour Tattoo Cream Gel Shadow, but for only $3.99. There is a very basic shade range, but I love this beautiful shimmering champagne colour. It is beautiful on its own, and would make a great base for a ton of different eyeshadow looks.

Overall, I am very impressed with this line and will definitely be picking up some more products in the future!

Note that Essence is a brand that was started in Europe. Americans can purchase their products at Ulta, H-E-B and Fred Meyer, while Canadians like me can grab them at Shoppers and Pharmaprix!

Have you tried any Essence products? What are your favorite low-cost drugstore brands? Leave us a comment!

Written by Jessica Knox