Swatches > Essence | Underwater

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Underwater is a really pretty bright, almost royal blue ocean water shade.  I picked it up at Ulta for just  $1, and I have to say I'm not underwhelmed by this shade.  It applied pretty good ,but did take about three coats to get the achieved look in the pics.  I'm not a fan of doing three coats, so I'd have to say that was one of the only downsides to this polish.  Its a cheaper polish, so you have to expect that the formula isn't going to be a good as some of your more expensive polishes.  Nonetheless, I really liked how it looked on it, but it was short lived.  As with all blues, greens, and reds I found that it stained my fingers when removing it and that some of my nails, for some reason, just refused to dry completely so there were finger prints and smudges.  It could have been a lack of patience on my part, but again I really despise having to apply more than 2 coats of any polish, except for glitters of course.

xoxo,

~Tenns

Review > Essence Lash Mania | Ultra Volume Mascara

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To begin with, I'll say I really like this mascara, so this will be a pretty cut and dry review.  After a week of use I feel I can adequately convey my experience with this product, so let's get going:

Pros:

• Price- its about $4 which you absolutely can not beat and I'll tell you why in another pro
• Size- 0.3 fl. oz./10 mL
• Brush- this is the "pro" I was referencing in the first post.  The brush is very reminiscent of the Benefit Bad Girl Mascara brush, big and full and really does add tons of volume.
• Application- it applies very well, smoothly covering each lash.  It is also a good layering mascara, I'd say three coats max!  I didn't experience and clumping and was able to work through my lashes easily in applying two or more coats.
• Formula- as mentioned, this really is a voluminizing mascara that covers each lash amazingly.  The formula is surprisingly nice and thick, but not too thick.  The formula itself has a good balance of shine to it, not too much nor is it dry.
• Packaging- Large tube, black and silver graphics, cute!

 

Cons:

• Formula- This mascara flakes, my eyes actually get quite irritated after a days work b/c they flakes start falling in my eyes.
• Packaging- It comes just how you see it, not sealed or on any other type of packaging.  This was alarming to me, because with any product you put on the face, especially the eyes, I would prefer to purchase it inside of sealed packaging.  If it even had had a safety seal on it and no packaging I would have been okay with that.  Anyone can just open one in the store and put it on or open it to see what it looks like, exposing it to bacteria.  I grabbed the second or third one back hoping that no one had opened it.
• Size- This is not a purse-friendly size.  Its a rather large tube and if you carry a small purse, like say a clutch, it would take up some room.  Think of the size of a basic highlighter or jumbo Sharpie marker.

 

Overall, I am unlikely to re-purchase this product, because of the packaging even though I love the brush.  I just don't deem it as safe as purchasing a product that is sealed.  You might ask, Tenns, why did you even purchase the mascara if you were that alarmed?  Well to be honest, I opened the first one in the line on the display, thinking it was a tester, to see what the brush was like and I really wanted the mascara.  I then realized that none of the mascaras had seals on them and ended up grabbing the second or third mascara in the line.  I did this, because I assumed I wasn't the first person to open up the first one and was absolutely not going to purchase it.  Anyways, if none of this freaks you out and you don't mind a bit of flakage, this actually is a decent mascara with a great brush that is light on the wallet.

Available @ Ulta stores and Ulta.com

xoxo,

~Tenns

 

 

Swatches > Essence | Fabuless & Flowers

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In keeping with my promise to swatch and review the Essence products from my Ulta haul, I present the nail color:  Fabuless <---cute name, right?!  The pictures with the flash are much more accurate, but I went ahead and posted a non-flash (below).  Fabuless is a dark charcoal (how redundant…but that’s honestly the best way to describe it) that has a little bit of shimmer/pearlescent to it.  Its not your typically flat, black nail polish, although its not one of those super rich shiny polishes.

The consistency is quite nice for a .99 cent polish.  I had no problems with application, however 2 coats minimum is needed.  I didn’t find it particularly thick or thin, just a regular smooth consistency.  The bottle claims that it dries in one second, however I can’t say that completely true for me.  I’ll say it was completely dry to the touch after about 7-10 secs.  Even without a top coat this polish looks pretty good, but I did apply the China Glaze Fast Forward Top Coat on top for a more finished look. I also decided to jazz up the polish w/ a single white stamped flower.  I thought it added good balance and an elegant look to the near-black polish.  Overall, I really like this polish and I plan to purchase more from the line.

Available @ Ulta.com and Ulta stores.

Price: $.99/ea

Size: 0.1 fl. oz.

 

xoxo,

 

~Tenns

 

Ulta Haul and new product line: Essence

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So I was visiting my Mom this weekend and today we dropped by Ulta to browse for some goodies.  We ended up getting some good stuff.  I’ve posted a YT video about all of it as well, so I don’t want to be redundant w/ this post.  However, I did want to go into a little more detail about some of the products more than I did in the video.  Mainly, this new product line that Ulta has started to carry called Essence.  Funny thing is that I was catching up on reading blogs that I’m subscribed to and TravelsWithEuridice did a post of the line.  I’d never heard of it and it was super ironic that I came across a post giving some insight on it.  Apparently, the line is German and was supposed to debut in Ulta stores in April, but Ulta already has it out.  The products are very affordable, like seriously affordable and with the recession still being a factor for many, this line is a good alternative to other more expensive lines that carry like products.  They even have a Konad knock off, which of course I had to get.  Even funnier was that I’d be browsing around before I purchased my Konad to see if I could find it anywhere other than online and I came up with no luck, until of course I already have mines and wasn’t looking for it anymore and say the Essence one.  Anyhow, I’m pretty excited about this line and look forward to getting some more things from it.

 

Don’t forget to watch my video and be on the lookout for swatches of the polishes!

 

 

xoxo,

 

~Tenns