For spring, Essence released a new limited edition makeup collection called Bloom Baby Bloom. This capsule collection featured a few products and there were a few that sparked my interest. Out of everything on offer, I decided to try two of the baked highlighters and the primer oil. A primer oil is a product I had never used before. The baked highlighters I was familiar with, but not with these particular ones of course. So let’s see how I fared!
Review: Essence Bloom Baby Bloom limited edition primer oil & baked highlighter
I love trying Essence products mainly because it is so affordable. These highlighters retail for €3.89 and the primer oil retails for €4.59. The concept behind this collection is a floral inspired spring collection that adds glow. That is definitely the theme of this collection. The highlighters are super blinding, the blushlighter (not in this review) had a tremendous amount of glow and the primer oil is not just a primer oil. No, it’s a healthy glow primer oil. So if you are all about that glow, these products make be up your street.
Essence Bloom Baby Bloom Healthy Glow Primer Oil
And when I spotted this one I was most intrigued. So that is why we are zooming in on this straight away. Because I have never tried a primer oil before. Well, not until I tried this. So far I have used it a few times and it definitely a different experience from other primers I have tried. First of all, this feels like a face oil. It is OILY. So not one I think will work for oily skin types. However, if you are like me and you have a dry skin type, this may work very well.
What does the primer oil have to offer?
I have generally had great experience with using the Essence primers that come in these glass bottles with a little pipette. I like that packaging as it is easy to apply and for an oil quite essential as it can get quite messy. So a dropper is a great packaging style for this product. What I also like is that this primer comes with 30 ml of product, where usually these Essence primers come with just 15 mls. The product promises a healthy glow and I can tell you: that is definitely what it gives.
How does the primer oil swatch?
As you can see one drop has a very runny texture so this is product you need to work with quickly. When you blend this in, it leaves a very glowy, dare I say it, almost greasy texture. One thing to know: this product has a floral scent to it. It is quite strong at first, but it does disappear quite quickly so it doesn’t cause any discomfort in the end. However, fragrance is a great irritant, so if you have sensitive skin, you may want to be careful with this one.
How does the primer oil apply?
I have found that the best way to apply this is to put a drop on the part of your face and to rub it in quickly with your fingers. If you would like to see me use this, then stay tuned for tomorrow’s video as I will be using it in my upcoming Full Face of Essence. In these pictures there is no great difference in the before and after. What I have noticed though is that this gives a very glowy look to my foundation. My base makeup ends up looking dewier. The one worry I had: wear time. As this is a straight up oil, I thought this might mess with my makeup. However, I have found this product does not affect it negatively. I do think that this product will be better for me in the fall/ winter season rather than right now.
Essence Bloom Baby Bloom Baked Highlighter 02 Rose & Shine!
The collection features two face highlighters. One in a lighter shade and one in a darker shade. This is the lighter shade of the two that I knew for sure would work out for me. This is a rose colored baked highlighter: it has a light pink base shade with a strong pink flash. It is definitely a great shade if you have a lighter skin tone.
Essence Bloom Baby Bloom Baked Highlighter 01 Daisy Me Glowing
The second highlighter in this collection is much darker at first glance. It looks like a rose gold, but these pictures do not do it justice. I was unable to capture on camera the gorgeous glitters that this has suspended inside it. It has a rose bronze base shade, but there are tons of larger flecks of pink sparkle to it. I figured this would be too dark for me, but I wanted to showcase it any way and try it.
How do these highlighter swatch?
Here we can see the darker highlighter to the left and the lighter one to the right. This pictures possibly showcases both shades best. You can see some of that chunky glitter in the darker shade, but also that pink hue of the lighter one. As you can see, these are quite full on highlighters that are not for the faint of heart. With a brush, they of course sheer out and to my surprise, the dark shade, is not that dark.
How do these highlighters apply?
To show you a side by side comparison of the two, I applied both highlighters to the two different side of my face. I had already applied a different highlighter first, so I topped that one up with these two. The lighter highligher shows up most like a true highlighter on my face. You can see that pink hue quite nicely and it is one of those ‘kapow’ blinding highlighters. The darker highlighter looks more subtle in terms of its shade, but I had not expected it to actually work and still highlight my face. It seems to have a more cool toned base pigment to it that hardly shows up in the pan and the swatch. The only downside to the darker highlighter? The chunky texture. You can’t see it here, but the larger glitter particles are most definitely there. And those stay put and I found that I can feel them as I take off my makeup at night. Not a great sensation.
My final thoughts
Essence has put out a fun spring collection with their Bloom Baby Bloom products. The primer oil is definitely my favorite product here and I think I will be using it some more throughout the month as I put it in my shop my stash. However, I might save it for the winter time, when my skin feels drier and I like heavier coverage foundations. This is one that I think might allow me to make some more mattifying foundations work on my dry skin that otherwise would not work. The highlighters are nice, but I definitely prefer the lighter one of the two. That shade is smoother and suits my skin tone better. The darker highlighter is a great one too, but the shade is not necessarily for me and where the chunky glitters make this a more unique shade, they in the end do not add much to the product.
Would I recommend the Bloom Baby Bloom collection by Essence?
This may by now be harder to find as I think this may be on its way out. The primer oil is a great one to try if you have dry skin. Not if you have have oily skin. The highlighters are too pale for anyone deeper than a lighter complexion and I do think that they are a little less unique than I had initially thought. Yes, they are unique for Essence’s line, but in general this is not a mindblowing product. Yes, the texture is nice. Yes, these apply nicely to the face. But they are not that unique that you have start chasing them down.
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