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!
I’ve heard great things about Essence, especially the mascara. And they’re cruelty free, which is even better for me! Definitely going to check out the eye shadow and lip gloss. BTW, I love the color on you! I did go ahead and buy another brand of cruelty -free mascara and am so pleased with it – Star Gazer by Pacifica.
Hi Tina! Oh…you will love the eyeshadow!!! And the fact that you have control over the shades that you put into the empty palette is even better! Thank you–I’m glad you like that lip color!! I’ll have to check out the Star Gazer mascara. Pacifica has great scents and I didn’t know that they had a makeup line–thanks for the heads up on that!!! XOXOXOXO
You look fannnnnnntastic! Love the wig and your new colors……
👌👌👌👌👌👍👌
Thanks Debe!!! Yeah. I gotta wait a bit for the waves to loosen up a bit but I am really liking this unit!!!! XOXOXOXO
I think that gloss looks amazing on you, as does the wig!
Thanks Lori. I love the gloss but I’m still hoping the waves on this wig loosen up a bit!! XOXOXOXO!!!
I am loving you in the shorter, curly light shade wigs !!!! I have my eye on a gabor wig.. how comfortable are they for eyeglass wearers? I am looking at a shorter lace front Gabor wig, reviews remark how comfortable it is and lightweight. Thank you!
Hi June! It IS very comfortable and the glasses fit wonderfully! It’s a great summer wig!!! XOXOXOXO!!!
I love your wigs – you look fabulous in every single one! I live in Florida and I so wish I had someone like you close by to help me pick a wig or topper. I think it would be great to change my hair up from time to time. I have two toppers right now and like them both but I am always on the hunt!
xo,
Kellyann
Hi Kellyann. Ugh. I hate my laptop so much. I ended up responding to you thinking you were someone else. I have some toppers but they just no longer work for me. In fact, I received a topper today from Uniwigs to review. It’s beautiful but the density isn’t going to work for me. I’ll still review it though. It could be an asset for putting my hair up!!! XOXOXOXOXO
Haha I love your comment about Bonaparte liking the brunette look better! What’s with Frenchmen? They prefer brunettes! They think blonde actresses are sexy but their wives or girlfriends they prefer brunette. I had my hair highlighted in caramel and my husband wasn’t too thrilled but I did it for me not him(he likes it now) In Québec they adore blondes though….even a girlfriend is called ‘ma blonde’ not sure if they use that term in France. You look adorable in this wig! It really suits you. Although I like the longer one too.
Momcat, ma blonde est une expression québecoise and not used in France. Une blonde often refers to beer. Une bière blonde. Garçon, une blonde, svp. 🙂
Hey Momcat. The Cajuns seem to like blondes–the song Jolie Blonde is a favorite of mine! But it’s true. The Frenchmen love their Bardot but prefer their women to have dark hair and dark features!! Yeah. I wish this wig was just a bit longer but it’s still a good one!!! XOXOXOXO!!!!
Love the whole look. I think the length is just great. My question is, how do you write two blog posts and two youtube videos, make gougeres and a French dinner all in 48 hours?
LOL. Sandy. These days that’s nothing for me. Oh lord–when the three kids were all at home, my life was a constant merry-go-round. Baseball practice, basketball practice, soccer practice, then there were the games, of which both sons could be playing different sports at the same time. Oona with field hockey and Irish Dance. Guitar lessons for Roman. It was crazy but somehow I got it to work. What I’m doing now is easier!!! XOXOXOXOXOXO!!!
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Essence is a German brand. Excellent quality, low prices. It has a cult following here in Spain.
Francesca. Thanks for that bit of information! The quality IS excellent! It’s now Tuesday and I’ve been wearing those shadows since I purchased them. The shadows last all day!!! XOXOXOXOXO!!!!
I had never heard of Essence until recently when a cosmetician recommended their Make Me Brow – a wand for covering a few gray brow hairs and cheap at $3.99…..a great find after wasting over $30 on 3 other products. I’ll have to check out their eyeshadows now. The shorter curlier wigs look great on you!
I’ve had a couple of Essence lip glosses in the past but I think the brand has grown. Their mascaras are great!!! GREAT!!! I don’t even purchase luxury mascara anymore–not worth it. But I’m liking Essence more and more with each purchase. And thank you for your thoughts on the wigs. I’m becoming more fond of the curls!!! XOXOXOXO!!!!
Thanks for the tip – I’ll give the mascara a try!
Definitely. I think you’ll really love it!!! XOXOXOXO!!!
I rarely shop at Ulta because I never find the staff very helpful and sometimes think they are actually ageist…but this post makes me think I’d better give them another try. I do actually like the fact that they carry drugstore brands. I love the “brownie-licious” shade and also really like the gloss on you…I’m still a fan of the Revlon Colorstay lipstick line though…I put some on Sunday morning…didn’t feel well that eve or all day yesterday so didn’t wash my face or remove makeup (shame on me!) and guess what? It’s Tuesday and it’s still there! I will wash my face today, I promise…I also really dig the wig…I like the shorter, highlighted styles on you very much…
Oh Liz. You know I’m not crazy about Ulta’s sales staff either. That’s why I head to the drug store section of Ulta these days. The thing is, they have good prices on the drug store stuff. Walmart is pissing me off because they are carrying less and less of the cheap brands I love!!! OHHHHHHHHHHHH. That Colorstay is amazing stuff. I love it!! Thank you! I’m glad you are enjoying my “new look’ in wigs!XOXOXOXO!!!
oops, I meant to say I put the Colorstay lipstick on on SATURDAY morning…
AND today is MONDAY …
Catherine you look amazing with your new hairdo. I love the lipgloss it is very becoming on you. I really enjoy reading your blog.
Hi Marylou! Thank you so much!! I hope that you will continue to enjoy the blog as well–LOL!!!! XOXOXOXO!!!!
Wow! I love this wig on you! Looks marvelous!
Thank you!!!! XOXOXOXO!!!