You know I don’t like lipgloss, so it took a while to get the motivation to be posting today’s review. In the new spring/ summer 2019 line up, Essence didn’t release a single new lipstick, but only a lip balm and some glosses. Since that launch they have released a new line of nude lipsticks which I am hoping to try, but some of the most interesting shades seem to have sold out. For now, however let’s have a look at some other new Essence lip products.
Essence My Beauty Lip Ritual Moisturizing Lip Balm | Plumping Nudes Lipgloss Big Bang |Crystal Wet Look Lipgloss Soul Crystal
Let’s start on a positive note. This being Essence products you’ll know these are super affordable. The lip balm retails for €1.99. The glosses both retail for €2.39 each. The lip balm is available in three different variations, the wet look gloss comes in three shades and the plumping gloss comes in seven different shades. Now before we get into this: gloss is NOT my thing. I cannot stress this enough, because I feel it greatly affects my experience with these products. If you do like gloss however, then these may be perfectly up your street which is why I still want to show you these.
Essence My Beauty Lip Ritual Moisturizing Lip Balm
I am not too picky with lip balm: I generally like them and this is one that will be nice to put on in the morning as you are getting ready. It is very moisturizing, feels great and I feel it works well when applied before putting on lipstick. This is not the kind of lip balm I would recommend for a night time lip balm as it is quite thin and won’t stay put all night. But for a quick touch up throughout the day this is a good one. The format is also easy to carry around. So chuck this in your bag and you will always have some lip balm handy.
Essence Crystal Wet Look lipgloss Soul Crystal
A wet look gloss. I wasn’t sure what to expect from this, but I definitely picked it because it looks like a steely lavender in the the tube. I love interesting lip shades and this looks like it could really give a pretty shine to the lips. However, one of the reasons why I don’t like gloss is because it is sticky and it makes everything stick to my lips and I am predicting this will be no different.
The Packaging
When I pulled out the wand I was a bit disappointed. The wand itself is not the issue: that just comes with a standard paddle shaped applicator that is common in most lipgloss. But as you can see it looks like there is hardly any product on this applicator. So we’ll see how that goes.
Essence Plumping Nudes lipgloss Big Bang
The other gloss I got promises to be a plumping lipgloss. Now I am always a bit skeptical of how much plumping this will actually do. Often the effect is just not that stellar. But I do love the shade of this. Where the other gloss has a bit of sparkle to it, this is a full cream lipgloss in pretty nude shade. I have had more success with creamy glosses in the past as they are generally less sticky.
The Packaging
The other gloss looked like there was no product on the applicator and this one looks like there may be a bit too much. The applicator is essentially the same, but it just seems like the stopper isn’t working as good on this one and on the other gloss it is a bit too effective. Overall I do like this applicator though as it is quite easy to use and precise enough to apply the product.
The Swatches
Since this is a gloss review, you will have to look carefully to see these swatched as two out of three products are quite sheer. On the left you can see a bit of a sheer sheen and that is the swatch for the balm. You can probably barely see it. In the middle is the Wet Look gloss. It is a bit disappointing as it applies sheer and is super shiny. I had hoped it would contain a bit of a lavender sparkle. The plumping gloss is on the right and is the only product with a clear amount of pigmentation. For a gloss it is quite pigmented too.
The Application
On the top left are my lips without anything on. Top right are my lips with the balm. As you can see it add a cool toned sheen to my lips and it feels very comfortable. Bottom left is the Plumping Nude gloss and that is very pretty. It is a my lips but better shade but I don’t notice much of a plumping effect. This is not one of those glosses that tingles, but it does make your lips look fuller because of the shiner this has. The Wet Look gloss is on the bottom right and as predicted this looks best layered over another shade. I am still disappointed it doesn’t have anything other going for it than a bit of shine though.
The Conclusion
I am terribly sorry if this review seemed overly negative, but gloss will never be my favorite makeup product. However, I know people love them and so I wanted to try these to see if I could like them too. The Essence My Beauty Ritual lip balm is probably my favorite of the three and one I can see myself use more often . The Essence Plumping Nudes lipgloss is pretty and not too uncomfortable, but this being a gloss I know I won’t reach for this. The final gloss, the Essence Crystal Wet Look lipgloss is the biggest disappointed as it looks much more spectacular in the tube than on the lips.
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