Essence My Favorite Milkshake Stay with Me Lipgloss Review!

Essence My Favorite Milkshake Stay with Me Lipgloss

The Essence Stay With Me Lipglosses ($2.29 each, Ulta) are a small range of color-intense lipglosses, that leave your lips with creamy, long lasting color - and no sticky trail behind!

There are currently six (6) shades to choose from: Me & My Ice Cream, My Favorite Milkshake, Candy Bar, Kiss Kiss Kiss, Deep Rose and Hottest Pink.

I already own and have re-purchased the shade Me & My Ice Cream on a couple occasions, and when I spotted My Favorite Milkshake, it looked like a perfect natural lip color I can wear for on-the-go.

My Favorite Milkshake is a light, warm, natural pink with medium opacity. I think it's a shade that can work on just about anyone. Despite it being "warm", it's not overly warm and doesn't look yellow or orange on my lips when my skin is lighter. When I'm tan, this color still works perfectly, without washing me out like some pale pinks tend to do. It actually brightens my face up a little bit!

The consistency is a bit thick, but surprisingly moisturizing (kind of like a thick balm) and isn't sticky. The only lipgloss formula that's similar that comes to mind is MAC Cremesheen Glass, or MAC Lipglass without the stickiness. Because of it's thicker texture, the wear time is pretty good with these, but because this shade in particular is pretty light, the color sheers out after a while of wear.

My Favorite Milkshake on my lips

You may notice the unique shaped applicator - it has an hourglass shape that when applied, the middle hugs the contours of your lips for easy application. Even though I've been using the Stay With Me lipglosses for a long time, I'm still deciding whether I like the applicator. For the bottom lip, sure it's great. But you have to use the rounded tip to coat your top lip, which is a little.. well.. different.

It does contain a fragrance like many brands targeted at younger girls do, but it's not something that bothers me. I am a bit sensitive to obnoxious, artificial fruity or sweet scented lip products, but the scent in this gloss is very faint and doesn't bother me one bit - it's kinda fruity, kinda plasticy?

Overall, I really love the Essence Stay With Me Lip glosses. The formula is great, and they feel equally as great on the lips. They often come out with really fun colors, and for those who don't like shimmer, these may be your new best friend! Definitely check them out if you have to access to Essence in your area. 

*Essence is a German drugstore brand with a price range comparable to Wet n Wild or NYC. 

The Round-Up

Pros:

• Creamy (non-sticky) consistency that spreads evenly on the lips
• Good pigmentation - medium opacity
• Non-drying formula
• Good Lasting Power
• This particular color works well on my skintone without washing me out
• Inexpensive

Cons:

• The wand applicator may not be to everyone's liking. I'm 50/50 on it, but I don't mind given the price
• Limited availability 

Price: $2.29, Ulta.

Essence XXXL Shine Lipgloss in Bubble Babe, Super Girl and Nude Candy.

Essence XXXL Shine Lipgloss

I've purchased Essence's XXXL Shine Lipgloss in the past, and I was pretty impressed. I can't really call it a drugstore brand, because in the USA, it's only available in ULTA, but it's one of my favorite bargain brands for lip products. (*edit - there may be other locations depending on your area. The location finder on the Essence website only shows results for those living in Germany, Switzerland and Austria. I have only seen Essence at ULTA in my area.)

Essence XXXL Shine Lipgloss is available in twelve (12) shades: 01 Pure Chic, 03 Timeless Beauty, 04 Rising Star, 05 Super Girl, 07 Big Night Out, 08 Glamour to Go, 09 Party Connection, 14 Bubble Babe, 15 True Love, 17 Fabulous Fuschia, 18 Sparkling Papaya and 19 Nude Candy.

Super Girl is a very sheer watermelon pink with bright pink shimmer.
Bubble Babe is a very sheer, cool cotton candy pink with cool pink and white shimmer.
Nude Candy is a creamy pale pink, reminiscent of Nars Turkish Delight Lipgloss. The color applies fairly opaque in comparison to the other two shades.

Super Girl and Bubble Babe work best applied over a lipstick to add a little bit of glossy shine, as alone, they don't provide much color.

One of my favorite things about the XXXL Shine Lipgloss, is the brush design. It's not your average sponge or doe-foot applicator. It's longer, and flatter than your standard doe-foot. What's nice about the shape is that the applicator picks up the perfect amount of product, and in one sweep it applies the product evenly across your lips. You'll rarely ever have to double dip.

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I also think the packaging is pretty nice. The tubes remind me a bit of MAC Dazzleglasses/Cremesheen Glass or NYX Round Lipglosses. With inexpensive brands, the packaging is sometimes a sore thumb, but I really like these.

The formula is creamy (no stickiness!), and feels great on the lips. Even with the glittery shades, they don't feel gritty on the lips.

From left to right: Nude Candy, Super Girl and Bubble Babe.

Essence XXXL Shine Lipgloss can be purchased at ULTA for $1.99.

Essence #47 Prom Night Lipstick Review!

Essence Prom Night Lipstick

I've pretty much been on an Essence buying rampage lately. I know Essence is nothing new to ULTA, but they're constantly coming out with new products and colors. And, since they're such an affordable brand, you won't be breaking the bank, even with your hands full

Essence Lipstick is available in ten (10) fun colors: #40 Look at Me!, #41 Femme Fatale, #42 Fairytale, #43 Kiss you, #47 Prom Night, #48 Red Carpet, #49 Like a Lady, #50 Creamy Nude, #51 Fifth Avenue and #55 Coralize Me!

Since you can never have enough natural pink lipsticks, I knew that #47 Prom Night would be one of those shades you can throw on your lips daily, and it'll pretty much go with anything. And, at $2, how can you go wrong?

Prom Night is a bubble-gum pink that leans a bit on the cool (slightly purple) side and has a slight frosty finish. I'm not a fan of frost. It makes me think of the 90's when everyone was rocking white, silver and lilac frosty lipsticks (Yeah, I was 11 or 12 years old rocking it too.) This lipstick only has a subtle frost, so don't fear. For those of you that own Rimmel Pink Blush Lipstick, it's pretty similar.

Essence Prom Night Lipstick

READ MORE! (there's a picture of George & Me @ Prom.. haha!)

 

It's pretty sheer at first, but very buildable. For those of you with pigmented lips and don't want the redness peeking through, you may want to tone them down with a little concealer (or MAC Lip Erase) before applying.

For some reason, when I apply lip balm prior, the lipstick doesn't spread evenly. It actually applies better on dry lips. Due to the frost, it feels slightly gritty on the lips, but I think paired with a similar colored lipgloss over top, it looks great!

Still, not bad for the price!

Do you have any favorite Essence lipsticks?

What was I wearing on Prom Night???

I believe it was MAC Florabundance Lipglass, press-on nails and loads of self-tanner (eek!) I wore a tiara because prom fell on my 18th birthday. I had to keep telling everyone "No, I'm not the prom queen." haha!

Essence Get Big! Lashes Volume Boost Mascara Review

 Essence Get Big! Volume Boost Volume Mascara

Essence Get Big! Volume Boost Volume Mascara is one of Essence's newest mascaras. It claims to provide "density and abundance with every application" that won't clump or feel heavy on your lashes. The large brush design is said to reach even the tiniest lashes.

I've tried a couple of Essence's mascaras in the past - Lash Mania Mascara (meh) and their Multi-Action Mascara, which I actually think is pretty good.

They are very inexpensive - I don't think any of them cost over $4. So it's not a big investment if you wanna test out a few of them, or if you're just plain pressed for cash and don't feel like spending a lot on a mascara.

One thing I'm not crazy about is that the mascaras aren't sealed - I'm not sure if it's how they are sold everywhere, but at ULTA, none of them are sealed, and I'm sure people are opening them all day long, thus drying them out. Regardless, for a couple of bucks, I'm willing to give them a try.

I was drawn to the Get Big! Lashes Mascara because of the big honkin' tube and large, fluffy brush. For whatever reason, I'm drawn to trying out mascaras with huge wands even though they are typically ridiculously inconvenient to apply.

  Essence Get Big! Volume Boost Volume Mascara (wearing three coats)

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In my experience, mascaras that are labeled as "volumizing" mascaras typically have wetter formulas. I was expecting the same for this mascara, but it isn't very wet. I'm not sure if that's due to the mascara not being properly sealed, or if that's just the way it is.

I was really pumped for this mascara, and thought it was going to give me super big, volumized, faux-effect lashes. After applying one coat, the mascara looked extremely natural.

Several coats later, a decent amount of volume is achievable, but I was expecting much better. This mascara builds volume without much clumping, and provides no lengthening whatsoever. I know it doesn't claim to lengthen, so I can't really complain.

The results are nice for a standard mascara, not really a voluminous one.

On a side note, it keeps my lashes curled all day, which is always a plus. It also keeps them somewhat soft - no crunch. Additionally, it doesn't flake or smudge.

 Essence Get Big! Volume Boost Volume Mascara

Left: Three coats of mascara, Right: No mascara.

Three coats of mascara (eyes closed)

Three coats of mascara (eyes opened)
Not too impressive, right?

So it's no YSL Faux Cils, but it's still not too bad for $2.99. For the record though, I won't be repurchasing this mascara. I'll be testing out my other options! ;)

 You can find Essence at your local ULTA store or online at ulta.com.