New Essence Sheer and Shine Lipstick Review: Cute Nude & Candy Love!

I was at my local Shoppers Drug Mart the other day and whenever I'm there I always have to check out the Essence makeup display to see if they have anything new. That's when I saw their new Sheer and Shine lipsticks and I couldn't resist, so I grab a couple to share with you. 

They had 9 shades to choose from and a nice range of colours from nudes to pinks and corals and deeper shades. I went for the two nudes that I knew I would get the most use of and it's a pretty safe bet that they'll suit me too. 

I picked out #02 Cute Nude a nice sheer pinky nude and #12 Candy Love a sheer light berry toned pink with blue undertones.

 Cute Nude (left) Candy Love (right)

Here they are swatched in daylight. Cute Nude is the paler colour and Candy Love is pinker.

The swatches here have been built up with a few swipes. One swipe would be much more sheer. Either way, you will not end up with an opaque lipstick look, which I'm not a huge fan of on myself.

I find that they are nice and moisturizing and they don't leave a stain. They are easily built up to get more colour (as pictured). They don't last too long as they have a balm-like texture. I find these are great everyday lipsticks to throw in my purse, and these are the kind of shades you can just slap on and go! They also don't settle into lip lines. I love them both but I like Candy Love a little bit more as it has more colour and I find that blue-based pinks really suit me.

If you have aging or even just dehydrated lips I think you would really like these. Same, if you have a lot of lip lines as I do and you can't pull off all the matte lip looks. I think this type of formula and these lighter colours are good for creating a more youthful look on the lips. 

I'm really liking these and at only $3.49 you really can't go wrong. I'm generally a nude and pink lips kind of person, but if you want something a lot darker or deeper they have that too, they just won't be opaque. And, did I mention that Essence is cruelty-free!?

Have you tried any of these new lippies? If so, how do you like them?

Amy

xoxo

Cruelty Free, Affordable Lipstick Dupe! #Review

I'm always on the lookout for cruelty-free, affordable dupes in makeup, skincare, hair care, really in anything!  My go to lip colour is usually a nude, nude-pink or something along that line. And, quite by accident I found a dupe in a nude-pink shade that I adore!

Here they are side by side:

Pictured on the left is the cruelty-free dupe, which is Essence Long-lasting Lipstick in Nude Love (11). On the right we have CoverGirl's Lip Perfection Lipstick in Honeyed (258):

Here are the swatches on the back of my hand. As you can see they are quite nude in colour.  The swatch pictured on top is the one by Essence, it is slightly rosier than CoverGirl's (pictured below.) Neither are matte, they both have a similar sheen.

As a test, I wore one on my top lip and the other on the bottom and I could not see a difference at all. The feel on the lips was similar, CoverGirl's may have felt slightly more drying.  They also wore for the same amount of time on my lips, I did not find either of them long-lasting. They both wore like a typical lipstick (IMO). They would need to be re-applied, which I really don't mind- these are the kind of colours I can kind of "slap-on-and-go." Also, the Essence lipstick lacks that infamous CoverGirl scent that many are not a fan of.

The Essence Long Lasting Lipstick is only $2.99 and can be found at Shoppers Drug Mart in Canada. (And this colour "nude love" goes quite nicely with many of the Essence creamy lip liners that are only $1.49 each. I often wear this lipstick with their liner in "nude"- Gorg!)

The CoverGirl lipstick retails for approx. $8.99

I would love to hear if you have any cruelty-free affordable dupes!

xo Amy