Lunch or makeup?

Sometimes I end up buying  makeup with my lunch money. Do you? I really wanted to check out the Essence Dark Romance collection so I popped into Priceline today. Unfortunately, the store I went to was fairly wiped out. But I've seen so many blog posts on the collection that I knew what I wanted.

Essence Dark Romance Velvet Mousse Blush in '02 Red Romance'

Essence Lipstick in 'Wear Berries'

Dark Romance Blush

I've never even seen a mousse blush before! It kind of reminds me of red velvet icing. It was only $4.50 so I couldn't pass it up. I don't have a colour like this in my collection, it's a bit scary but hopefully I can make it work...

Essence Lipstick

This isn't part of the DR collection (all the DR lippies were gone!) but I've seen this shade doing the rounds on various blogs so I had to grab it. I love how pretty it is and the packaging is gorgeous. Absolute bargain for the $4.10 (I think?) that I paid for it! I can't wait to use it.

What do you think of Essence products? Have you checked out the new collection?

Essence XXXL Shine Lipgloss

Apologies for my absence this week! It was my birthday the other day, which kept me busy, but the main reason I haven't been able to post is that I've been having major internet dramas and haven't been able to get online. Anyway, I recently purchased two of the Essence XXXL Shine Lipglosses. They were really cheap, as all Essence products are, and even though I don't usually buy lipgloss, I was curious to try these out. 

Big Night Out (top)

Fabulous Fuschia

On first thoughts, these take me back to my younger days. They do smell quite sweet and candy-like. On application, these are non-sticky, smooth and add a nice glossy finish with a hint of colour. 

Fabulous Fuschia

Big Night Out

Big Night Out is a gorgeous peachy pink with a lot of micro glitter. I adore how shiny it looks! You can see a FOTD post of me wearing it here. Fabulous Fuschia, disappointingly, didn't have much colour to it, but was more of a clear gloss with noticeable glitter particles. Bit of a shame, because in the tube it looks like a nice colour. On the lips, it still looks pretty though.

One thing I want to mention is the applicator. I've never used an applicator like this before. It's larger than your standard lipgloss applicator, but it's also flexible so it bends and moves as you apply it to your lips. I actually really like this because I find it helps you apply it more evenly. 

I've been wearing these to work, and also just for casual occasions. Wear time is about 2 hours without eating or drinking, which is fairly standard. 

Overall, I think these are really great for the price ($3ish) and I'll probably pick up another few next time I'm at an Essence stand! 

Have you tried these before?