Another Essence Review back to back. When I first saw these lipstick pencils on Instagram, I was immediately excited and I could not wait until they hit South African shores. It was so worth the wait and I love these lipstick sticks sooo much. There is at least one or two in my handbag, I simply can not go with out them. Let’s jump into the review.
Packaging – I find the thinness of these sticks very convenient as they take little to no space in my lipstick holder and handbag. It is however difficult to keep the pencil like sharp point an they are not twist ups which means they have to be sharpened and that means that each time you sharpen it, you loose a tiny bit of product. That is my only down side. The cap seals quite nicely and secure. I have never had a problem with it coming off (just imagine the mayhem it can cause in a full handbag). There other awesome feature is that the stick is the same color as the lipstick itself and this makes it easier to choose what color you want to use for the day.
Application – At the moment the pencil shaped form makes application easy, however, if you do not try and keep this shape, it just becomes a round tip that can go everywhere. Luckily you have to sharpen the pencil that will provide that shape again. I did find that some of the color go on a bit streaky but with a second layer that is no problem and all of these pencils are very pigmented and provide good color payoff.
Staying Power – The glossy sticks is more comfortable than the velvet sticks on the lips, they do not last as long though. I feel that the Velvet sticks leave a faint stain behind after it has faded but can be easily removed when doing your nightly cleansing regimen. These sticks do not take well to eating and drinking, bu then again most lipsticks do not play nice that way.
Feeling – Like I said before the glossy sticks are much much much more comfortable on the lips, but in the same breathe the velvet sticks are not uncomfortable, they just have a true matte feeling but never dries down completely matte. I also find the velvet sticks to be more pigmented and the glossy stick to be more sheer but still rich in color.
Color Range – There are 10 shade, 5 shades of each formula. The shades I have picked up is as follow (from bottom to top in the picture above)
– Luminous Rosewood
– Poshi Pink
– Mega Melon
– Cherry Crush
– Brilliant Burgundy
I am sure that before the end of the year I will have the full collection, they are so comfortable, affordable and easy to work with.
Where to find – You can find this at Clicks, Dis-Chem and some bigger pharmacies that stock Essence. Some Red Square shops stock Essence as well and their online shop also stock there.
Pricing – They retail for R45 each and you get 2g. It’s a tiny bit less than a normal lipstick but who of you has gone through an entire bullet of lipstick in the last month. Besides, they are so affordable and there are so many colors to choose from.
If you have tried these, please let me know what you thought of them and what colors you own.
View Comments
I love popping one in my work bag - I have the light pink colour and I feel it's basicly foolproof... lol. Stunning review.
Lovely post! I have yet to try these, and whenever I decide that I want to grab one, they never have the colour I want in stock... grrr!
http://sugarspicelifestyle.blogspot.co.za/
HI my friend, thank you for popping by.
The light pink one is awesome. They are great for popping into a bag, some colors dnt even need a mirror.
I'm really considering getting all the other colors as well.
That is extremely frustrating. I hate it when that happens. Have you checked out online (takealot or Red Square)
Hope you get your hands on them. They are worth the trouble. Let me know which color you are looking for. :-)
I LOVE the velvet ones - the peony shade is my fave!
My friend didn't realise that you had to sharpen them - so she thought that once they go blunt they are finished! Bless...
- Jane Wonder -
These lippies look so cute, plus they are really cheap which is an added bonus!
x Rivania | The Glam Unicorn
These look awesome!! :)
https://alifyalifestyle.com/
What nice colors. I need to try this.
Shame on your friend, Luckily its not very expensive.
It made my day.
They are cute, perform very well and are Inexpensive. What more would one want in a lippie, right?