Remember in the last post I mentioned that I would be reviewing a couple of inexpensive drug store cosmetics I purchased yesterday.
It happened that I ran to Ulta (much to my dismay because I’m not crazy about the store’s staff) because I wanted to pick up a highlighter from Essence cosmetics that Tati recommended.
The highlighter was sold out but that didn’t stop me from checking out the other goods and goods they were!
You are now most likely well-aware of my lust for eyeshadow palettes that you can create yourself. Well—didn’t Essence follow on the trend! My crossed eyes almost uncrossed in delight when I spotted an empty palette and little shadows that you could purchase to fit into it.
Yes. I did. I purchased an empty and four shadows? How could I not when there was a bogo happening? The palette was $4.99 and the shadows $1.99 each. With the bogo, two of the shadows were a buck apiece.
The Essence Cosmetics “My Must Have” palette. At $4.99 this is a must buy!
How did these shadows compare with the MAC and Makeup Geek shadows I have? I’ll tell you!
Like MAC and MUG, the refills are packaged similarly.
Overall, I like these shadows a lot. The Brownie’licious is the best of the lot. It is heavily pigmented, blends well and the color is fantastic. It definitely can compete with the MAC and MUG shadows.
Brownie’licious. Good enough to eat! And the shadows are made in Italy!
Very nicely pigmented. In this photo the color looks a bit on the warm side when in reality, it is more cool-toned. I LOVE this color and it applies so nicely. It’s more of a satin shadow which is very mature-woman friendly!
The others are not bad..
All I Need is a nice transition color. It’s a light beige/caramel color that I like. Nice pigment and the finish is a beautiful satiny shimmer! And don’t pay attention to the experts saying we older women should not wear shimmer. We should! I said so!
All I need IS a beautiful neutral that is a great transition shade.
The next shade I chose for my palette is “Go Goldie”. It’s really not very gold, but has a nice shimmer. It reminds me a bit of MUG’s Shimma Shimma shade!
Not really that gold, but nevertheless a great shimmery shade. I used this under my brow bone. It’s also nicely pigmented.
Last of all, Let it Glow, a highlighter powder. As a shadow this is way too ashy…
…but as a highlighter, I applied it over my Well-Rested. It works!
How did this fare? Overall, this palette with the shadows falls between a B+ and an A-. I think if you are looking for a “lighter” look and not a dark eye, this is great. The highlighter shade was just too ashy and powdery and the shadows ran the gamut of pigment—but that Brownie’licious is one of the best I’ve ever had!
I’m pretty happy with my choices. From left to right. Brownie’licious; All I Need; Go Goldie; Let it glow. The total for the palette with shadows–Eleven bucks. Not bad.
I also picked up yet another lip gloss. Shine, Shine, Shine wet look lip gloss in the color “Happiness In a Bottle”—and I thought happiness in a bottle was Champagne! For $2.99, this gloss is not bad at all! Surprisingly, it has good lasting power. As I write this, I applied over an hour ago and it’s still in place—trust me, for a gloss, that’s great timing.
This is shiney alright!!
The color–in the happy little bottle, the color comes off as more of a dusty mauvy pink. It’s got more gold and warmth in it and is darker—still, it’s a nice color. This will look great after a day at the beach! I love the applicator because the doe foot is larger and very soft.
Essence did great with this applicator!!!
Overall, I give this a B+ simply because the color was just a bit “off” for me.
STOP THE PRESSES!! THIS JUST IN!
As I was about to finish this post, Bonaparte brought the mail in. I got hair mail. For quite some time, I’ve had my eye on the wig “Modern Motif” from Gabor Wigs. In perusing the clearance/sale section I spotted her in Toasted Pecan and went in for the click.
Here’s the unboxing!
Nicely packaged in this box! These boxes are great for storage by the way!
What do I think of this wig? I happen to like it a lot. The wave/curl pattern is right up my alley. It’s funny because although my bio hair is frizzy and has a weird curl pattern, I could never achieve beautiful loose waves or curls. That’s what I love about wigs—they afford you the kind of hair you could never achieve.
Here she is folks! Isn’t she cute? Oh..and I’m wearing all the makeup I reviewed! My eyes have been done with the colors from the Essence palette I made and on my lips is the Shine shine shine gloss!
The color is fine. I’m loving the blondes these days—Bonaparte isn’t overly fond of them but he’s coming around. The color, Toasted Pecan, is a light brown with blonde highlights!
Here’s a view of the back. It looks so shiny and blonde from the bathroom lighting but trust me, this wig isn’t shiny and it isn’t as blonde.
The cap construction is great. No bra straps for adjusting—it’s all Velcro. The cap stretches to form to my head. It is a bit snug but that’s a good thing since over time, the cap will stretch.
The cap construction. Lots of comfort and I love the Velcro adjustable straps!
Again, the color is Toasted Pecan
This wig has a nice amount of fullness and volume and I love that. Big hair can never be too big!
I thought the wig would be longer but I’m still very much delighted with Modern Motif!
My only “eh” is that I thought this wig would be just a tad longer—just a tad. But the longer I wear this (so far, a half hour!), the more I like it. The shorter length means a longer shelf life and that’s a good thing! I’m going to review this on my YouTube channel later!
She’s really nice!
So that’s about it for today. This has been a busy week so I’m going to relax by watching cooking shows on TV and getting ready for the work week.
Here’s my review of the makeup on my YouTube channel. Enjoy and have a great remainder of the day!!! Seriously—Essence cosmetics is a great brand for the money. I’m a fan of the brand’s mascaras and it’s always nice to have a true drug store price point for drug store cosmetics!
