Essence Bloggers’ Beauty Secrets Palette

New Essence Makeup Collection

Essence bloggers beauty secrets palette

I adore the German brand Essence all their products are cruelty free and extremely affordable. I have so many favourites from their makeup range and since it launched into Wilko stores a couple of years ago its so much easier to get hold of all my Essence essentials.

Essence recently collaborated with four bloggers as part of the bloggers beauty secrets trend edition and gave them the opportunity to design their very own makeup palette & nail polish. I have been testing out the two products designed by the lovely Mary, who blogs over at Strike a Pose.

Essence Cosmetics Shape & Shadows Eye Contouring Palette

This palette is a multi use eye & brow palette and was inspired by glamorous Hollywood women who influenced style and fashion. It comes beautifully packaged in a sturdy cardboard flip top palette with a magnetic close and it has a fun geometric print.

Inside you get a fab sized mirror, which I did not expect to find as Essence is a more affordable brand but its nice to see that they have included one & I like the unusual shape of it.

New Essence Makeup Collection

Inside you get 4 shadows, a highlighter, a prime & fix brow wax and also a small dual ended brush. One end has an angled brush and the other a cute brow spoolie, I have to say I’ve been using this brush and its great, ideal travel size and the spoolie is fantastic as brushing through your bows to tame them and even out the product. Very cute indeed.

Three of the shadows are lovely neutral matte shades and these double up as both shadows and great brow colours too. I mix the two darkest colours to make the perfect shade to fill in my brows. The powder is pigmented and quite soft so they’re easy to blend and create that natural full brow. I don’t really use the wax as I prefer to set my brows with a clear gel but if you like wax then it is included in here.

These matte shades also work really well as eyeshadows and are great either all over the lid or blended out in the crease. They do take a little work to build up a good amount of colour on the lids and Hazel Grace is quite light so isn’t going to give yo too much payoff but I like to use this shade as a transition shade.

Essence Shape and Shadow Palette

Marilyn Metallic is a beautiful copper rose and is my favourite shade in the palette. Its not too sparkly but it has the most pretty metallic finish and when the light catches it looks really nice. I have been wearing this packed on top of Audrey Highbrow and I love the two together.

The highlighter Billie Vanilli is a frosty cream and it looks nice under your brows and in the inner corners to add some brightness and add a little lift to your eye look. Its not a subtle highlight but if you like to add that extra illumination to your eyes & definition to your brows then its a pretty shade for that!Essence Shape and Shadow Palette Swatches

Essence Bloggers’ Beauty Secrets Nail Polish in All Eyes on Me

The nail polish wasn’t for me, its a pretty grey beige shade but it has a matte finish and I’m not personally a fan of that trend so I have passed it on to my sister in law & she loves it. So it wasn’t a complete fail. The nail polish was easy to apply, it dried evenly, the colour was pigmented and only needed one coat. I didn’t wear it for long so I can’t tell you if it has good staying power, but I did like the colour just not the finish.

Essence Bloggers Beauty Secrets Collection

Above are all four of the palettes & polishes from this collection. Which ones do you like the look of?

Essence is available exclusively nationwide at Wilko Stores & online at www.wilko.com

Urban Decay Alice Through the Looking Glass Lipsticks

UD Alice Through The Looking Glass Collection

Urban Decay Alice Through The Looking Glass Lipsticks

This limited edition Alice Through The Looking Glass collection from Urban Decay is just insane – the eyeshadow palette is full of bold beautiful shades and the packaging is luxurious and so much fun. The lipsticks are equally as vibrant and bold. I’m not really known for wearing a super bold lip but I’ve promised myself that I’m going to try & be brave enough to wear a few of these out and about.

There are five limited edition lipstick shades which are diverse and bold in colour they range from more wearable red, nude and berry shades to the more vibrant purple shimmer and a stunning blue. They are all very pigmented and feel lovely on the lips.

Urban Decay Alice in Wonderland Lipsticks

The packaging is just as eye catching as the lipstick shades themselves, they have a bold bright floral kaleidoscope pattern on both the outer cardboard as well as the actual lipstick packaging. This collection is as you would expect from such a colourful film as Alice Through The Looking Glass, its fun, exciting and a little playful.

The lipsticks are named after key characters from the film and I still can’t decide what my favourite shade is. You will have to let me know what shade is your favourite.

Urban Decay Disney Alice Lipsticks

Urban Decay Limited Edition Alice Lipsticks

Alice – Sheen Shimmer

This is a beautiful creamy sheer nude with a pink shift which looks gorgeous when the light hits it. This is the least vibrant of the 5 lipsticks but the pink shift in this formula gives it that pop of pink shimmer and makes it just that little more special. Yes its a nude lipstick but as you would expect from Alice its subtle and beautiful with a sparkle running through. This is a very pretty shade indeed and Its so hard to pick up the shimmer in photos.

Mad – Hatter Metallized

This is such a fun intense purple and I so want this to look good on me but I need a little practice in applying it, as It looked a little patchy on the lips. Its so bold and vibrant and although gorgeous the colour intimidates me slightly but Mad Hatter deserves such a quirky shade and I’ve seen this on a few people and it looks incredible, so I’m determined to wear it.

Urban Decay Alice Lipstick Swatches

Mirana (White Queen) Metallized

This is a beautiful deep rich berry shade, its quite dark on the lips but I just love these autumnal shades and this is one of my favourites from the collection. It can feel quite dry on the lips & it took a little perseverance to get an even coverage but I think thats quite common with the darker more matte shades.

Iracebeth – (Red Queen) Comfort Matte

This is such beautiful pigmented true red and the colour stays put for hours. This is lovely formula to apply and it dries down to a matte finish and compared to most matte formulas this doesn’t feel to dry on my lips. Its a gorgeous bright red and one that would look good on anyone.

Time Metallized

I think this is the quirkiest shade in the collection and it is a gun metal navy with silver shimmer, so it has it all going on! This isn’t a one swipe & you’re done lippie you need to take your time when applying to make sure you get an even application. I salute anyone who is able to wear this out and about, I love this shade but out of the collection I think its the hardest to wear and to apply.

UD Alice Through The Looking Glass Collection

So I would say the Urban Decay Alice Through The Looking Glass Lipsticks* offer something for everyone and invites you to step outside your makeup comfort zone. At first glance you may think the collection is a little off the wall or too quirky maybe, but it wouldn’t be doing the film justice if Urban Decay released a tame, subtle selection of everyday Pinks and Nudes. This is a fitting collection for a visually vibrant film.

My stand out shades are Iracebeth (gorgeous red) and Mirana (deep, rich berry) I think I will wear these two the most.

*PR Samples

Urban Decay Pulp Fiction Giveaway

As my blog is turning 4 in a couple of weeks I thought it was the perfect excuse to hold a giveaway to say thank you for taking the time to read my blog, commenting & interacting with me across my social media platforms. Blogging is something I enjoy so much and have met so many lovely people & brands over the years. I am excited for 2016 and looking forward to producing the best content I can.

So I’m giving away the limited edition Urban Decay Pulp Fiction Palette (sold out) its one of my favourite palettes and I love mine. Pulp Fiction is also one of my all time favourite films.

Urban Decay Pulp Fiction Palette

Urban Decay Pulp Fiction Palette

The Pulp Fiction Palette comes in black & yellow packaging & has the famous Ezekiel passage on the top written in red. The packaging is cardboard but its very sturdy and it comes with a large mirror in the lid. This palette has 5 shadows & they’re a mixture of mattes & satin finishes. This palette features 3 new colours from Urban Decay

Urban Decay Lets Talk Beauty Giveaway

      • Righteous – Light cream matte
      • Tyranny  – Warm brown matte
      • Vengeance – Deep taupe brown matte
      • Furious – Pearly white satin
      • Anger – Black satin with a hint of sparkle

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway is open to UK residents ONLY

The giveaway is open for one week & the lucky winner must respond within 48 hours

Good Luck x