Essence Long Lasting Lipsticks (Review & Swatches)

The Essence Long Lasting Lipsticks are something I initially tried out this past summer and now every time I see a display, I know I've got to pick up a new color. I am featuring the shades Dare To Be Nude, Natural Beauty and Wear Berries (pictured bottom to top on the photo above).

These lipsticks are comfortable to wear, moisturizing in a pinch, and easy to apply for a very flattering look no matter which color you choose. It's not a stretch for me to say that these are my most-used and most-loved lipsticks especially since they're kind of a no-brainer to apply (you don't need to use a balm or exfoliate your lips before, or even wear a liner). I find that the darker colors even have staining properties and fade off very nicely throughout the day if I don't re-touch.

The best part is that these lipsticks are very affordable, retailing for only $2.99 each.

Essence Long Lasting Lipstick in Dare To Be Nude

The Dare to Be Nude shade is a neutral nude shade which doesn't lean cool or warm. I really like the creamy smooth application of this lipstick as I've had other nudes which apply much more patchy and I just can't seem to convince myself to wear them. After having worn this lipstick on multiple occasions, this is my go-to nude and this is coming from a girl that really tends to be scared of them.

I've inserted a photo of a lip swatch from the other day so you can see what Dare To Be Nude looks like on my lips. I found it to be very creamy and comfortable to wear and it lasted 6 hours through eating and drinking.

Essence Long Lasting Lipstick in Natural Beauty

 The first shade I picked up from this range is Natural Beauty and I think this is the perfect every day shade, especially for more fair-skinned girls, it gives me a "my lips but better" appearance. It's a medium blue-toned peachy red. I am really a huge fan of this shade, and if you don't pick any other color up from this product line, I highly recommend that you get this one. The consistency is buttery, the lasting power is great and I'm highly addicted to this shade, so much so that it is always in my purse!

Essence Long Lasting Lipstick in Wear Berries

The shade Wear Berries is a little more bold and perfect for the fall - I always lean more towards mauves/plums/berries and terracotta shades for the fall. Wear Berries is a light fuchsia violet shade, equally as comfortable to wear as the previous colors. 

Here's a lip swatch of me wearing Wear Berries recently and you can see how beautifully it reflects light and applies smoothly, looking almost like a second-skin rather than a layer of makeup. 

Swatches of Essence Long Lasting Lipsticks

Here are swatches of all of the shades in Natural and Ambient Light, the coverage is fully opaque with just one swipe and becomes even more intense in color with further swipes.

Colors of Essence Long Lasting Lipsticks

Here are all of the colors offered by Essence in the Long Lasting Lipstick product line. In Canada, you can purchase these at Shoppers Drug Mart in the dedicated Essence display. In the US, you can purchase these from ULTA.

Walmart Beauty Box - Fall 2014 Unboxing & Review

Today was a good day, my Walmart beauty box arrived in the mail!! This box is FREE but costs $5 shipping per quarter (that means you get 4 boxes a year, one per season). As far as I could tell there were two variations of this box, you can check them out out at NouveauCheap. I read from multiple sources that which box was received would depend on the age of the subscribers - I received the < 35 years old box, if this is true.

Contents of Walmart Beauty Box for Fall 2014

I received quite a slew of products, varying from small foil packets (yuck) to deluxe sized samples and even 3 full sized items! So far it's looking like a pretty good deal for just $5.

Contents of Walmart Beauty Box for Fall 2014

You can see I received the following products:

1. L'Oreal - Glossy Balm in Lovely Mocha (Full size)
2. CoverGirl - Glosstini Glowing Nights Nail Polish in #AfterDark (Full size)
3. Secret - Clinical Strength Invisible Solid Deodorant in Completely Clean (Full size)
4. Dove - Pure Care Dry Oil (Deluxe sample)
5. Dove - Advanced Hair Series - Shampoo (Deluxe sample)
6. Dove - Advanced Hair Series - Conditioner (Deluxe sample)
7. Nicki Minaj - Pink Friday Perfume (Sample)
8. L'Oreal - Youth Code Pore Vanisher (Sample)
9. Neutrogena - Nourishing Long Wear Makeup (Sample card & $2 off Coupon)

L'Oreal Glossy Balm in Lovely Mocha

Before and After L'Oreal Glossy Balm in Lovely Mocha

I'm so happy I received this item, it retails for $6.97 at Wal-Mart and I didn't want to shell out the almost-$10 it retails at my local drugstores. This chubby stick L'Oreal Glossy Balm in Lovely Mocha turns out to be a "my lips but better" shade for me. It evens out the color of my lips and adds a nice shine to them, it's very comfortable to wear and you don't need a mirror to apply. This is going into my purse immediately. This product already paid for the shipping of the box in my case.

CoverGirl Glowing Nights in #AfterDark, Swatches from The Polished Spoon

The next most interesting product in the box is the CoverGirl Glowing Nights nail polish in #AfterDark (retails for $2.97 at Wal-Mart). This is a really beautiful turquoise color that is probably most suitable for spring/summer for me.

Secret Clinical Strength Invisble Solid Deodorant

The Secret Clinical Strength Invisible Solid Deodorant in Completely Clean is a full sized item which retails for a whopping $11.97 at Wal-Mart (I guess Clinical Strength means it's more expensive?). I don't use these types of deodorants so I will probably pass this on, I prefer to use natural deodorants without Aluminum, parabens, and as few hormone-disrupting ingredients as possible. 

Dove Deluxe Sample Products

The Dove Advanced Hair Series Shampoo and Conditioner (Value: $0.42) and Pure Care Dry Oil (Value: $1.42) were nice additions to the box, I like receiving travel-sized minis of hair-care products because it's just enough for a few uses and gives me a good idea of whether or not I would re-purchase them.

Foil Packets and Small Sample Products

I'm not even going to bother trying to calculate a value for these small samples because I'm sure you can get them for free in magazines or any store. I do like that Neutrogena included a $2 Off Manufacturer's Coupon with their sample card for the Nourishing Long Wear Makeup, so you can use this to stack with your store-rewards and sales. The perfume vial is a standard size of the Nicki Minaj Pink Friday, the smell is of some fruity candy so probably best suited for a younger person (or someone who likes cloyingly sweet scents). 

The L'Oreal YouthCode Pore Vanisher is basically a copy of any other Dimethicone-based primer, so you can expect that same slick feeling on your face when using it - these products always work well to "fill up" any large pores you may have (the cheapest alternative is always to use Anti-Chafing Gel as your primer, it's made up of the same ingredients and sells for a much lower price than cosmetically-branded primers).

Was this box worth it? Heck yes! For $5, I received stuff I'll use, stuff I'll give away, and a bunch of new things to try! The total value of my box was $24.17 (not including the 3 smaller samples) in Wal-Mart prices - this means that at my local drugstore, the price would probably have been closer to $35. The Wal-Mart Beauty Box is a wonderful program and I hope that it continues to have success so they keep it around in the future and more brands want to participate for the great exposure. 

Review & Swatches: Wet n Wild Halloween 2014 Megaslicks Balm Stain - Limited Edition

Wet n Wild has released a whole new Halloween 2014 Collection and it can be found at Walgreens and Duane Reade. I have purchased "2AM Call Time" and "Senorita" and wanted to compare them to two colors from the permanent collection of Megaslicks Balm Stains. I only skipped out on one of these from the Halloween collection, it was a gold color called "You're Golden" but it just wasn't my cup of tea!

Now as you may already know the Megaslicks Balm Stains are a moisturizing formula combining both color and nourishment for your lips. They are an easy alternative to the lipstick and they go on smooth and wear comfortably. They stain the lips, specifically leaving a color if they are darker or brighter-toned (the nudes don't do this as much). The Balm Stains also have a minty refreshing feeling which perks your lips up and even has a slight plumping effect in my experience.

You may be able to tell from the swatch that "Senorita" was by far the most glossy of the Balm Stains, and the new shades ("2AM Call Time" and "Senorita") seemed to apply even more smoothly than "Rico Mauve" and "Pinky Promise" form the permanent collection.

Lip Swatch of Wet n Wild Megaslicks Balm Stain in "Senorita", ambient lighting

"Senorita" is a true red in every sense of the word, it seems to be a mid-tone red that doesn't lean orange or plum. I really love this shade for a night out or a bold lip with a muted eyeshadow look. It made my lips look full, didn't settle into any creases and the shine left a healthy glow.

Lip Swatch of Wet n Wild Megaslicks Balm Stain in "2AM Call Time", with flash

"2AM Call Time" is a bold color, not for the faint of heart! It is a bright purple shade, not cranberry-like in the slightest. It reminds me of more expensive lipsticks such as LimeCrime's which specialize in bold colors. I'm so happy I bought this color, it's truly unique! I can see myself lightly patting this on my lips for a hint of color for daytime.

I was so intrigued by 2AM Call Time and I just had to compare it to other similar colors from the drugstore from my collection. I have the Revlon Colorburst Matte Balm in "Shameless" and the Jordana Twist & Shine in "Cranberry Crush" for comparison.

Wet N Wild Megaslicks Balm Stain "2AM Call Time" Comparison

You can see from the swatches above that the Jordana Twist & Shine Moisturizing Balm Stain in "Cranberry Crush" is the most wearable of the bunch, applying more as a cranberry than a purple. The Revlon Colorburst Matte Balm in "Shameless" is a more matte, blue-toned purple, slightly deeper in saturation than the Wet N Wild Balm Stain in "2AM Call Time". I actually thought the Revlon Balm in "Shameless" was much patchier (you can even tell in the swatch) and it settles into the fine lines of my lips, something that the Wet N Wild Balm Stain does not. The biggest difference between the Revlon and Wet N Wild products is that the latter has a good amount of moisturizing and shine, while the former can be described as drying on the lips and is best worn with another balm underneath.

Do you own any of the Wet N Wild Megaslicks Balm Stains? Which color is your favorite and why? Let me know in the comments below!