It is no secret I am a huge Essence fan. The German make-up brand is not only affordable, but has great products and fun little limited edition collections, which is quite rare for a drugstore brand.
The newest collection to hit stores is Beach Cruisers, available now at Shoppers Drug Mart. Naturally I had to pick up the bronzer and blush, as I am growing quite the collection of Essence face products.
Life is a Beach is one of the lightest bronzers I have. It has an imprint of a palm tree that is a few shades lighter than the base powder. The texture of the product is smooth as it is quite finely milled. The base powder, is a neutral light brown that manages to show up quite a bit on my skin (NC25ish on face) while the little palm tree acts more like a highlighter and manages to lighten up the final result when I swirl my brush in. It's a great bronzer for the heavy handed gals out there. The smell took me by surprise and I actually quite liked it: a sublte hint of cocoa and coconut that manages to linger on for quite a bit after application.
Summer Break is a...wait for it... ombre blush. I know, I know, let's all take a moment and think of MAC's Ripe Peach, which I sadly don't own so I can't compare the two. This blush is a perfect example why I love Essence so much: they know how to bring fun little products to the mass market. The formula is quite pigmented and it requires the lightest of touch as it can pick up a lot of product in one swipe. The texture is smooth but the fact that so much product gets dislodged so easily can make it difficult to work with. The way this blush performs reminds me a lot of the La Femme blushes. The funnest part of this blush is of course the fact that you have two colors bleeding into each other: a pinky peach on one side and a full fledged bright coral on the other. Both colors remind me of MAC's Marine Life; similar tone/color combo. Wear is quite good but the fact that I have to be so careful and light handed makes me skip this blush on a day to day basis. I also kinda don't want to ruin it... it's so pretty in the pan! All in all, the perfect summer blush.
Labels: beach cruisers, blush, bronzer, EN, essence, life is a beach, marine life, ombre blush, ripe peach, summer break
