Tribal Summer with essence

Summer it is most certainly not, but I can still feel the tribal heat in my veins as I snuggle under my throw rug using Charlie as a foot warmer! essence have stayed strongly thematic with one of their recent collections, and I think I was suckered into the aesthetic of the Tribal Summer collection more than the actual products...

The major winners from this collection have to be the pigmented and bright lipsticks in Na-Rock* and Waka Waka - yes, even the shade names have gone wild! I adore the sleek black tubes and appreciate the strip of colour around the middle of the tube which tells you which shade you are grabbing at a glance. If you have to grab one thing from this lot, I would push for pink because a pop of fuschia on the lip is perfect for cold Melbourne days (and summer days alike!)

I really wanted to love the Inti Inca pigment, but it isn't as pigmented as I'd hoped it would be and blends out a little too easy for my liking. I still think it is worth picking up and trying out, as it is so much more affordable than other pigments on the market.

Stunning in the pan, but too much shimmer and orange tones for my fair cheeks. Sorry Inti Inca bronzer, it's not me, it's you (but I am going to try you on my lids next to see how you fare)

The Waka Waka liquid blush is a pretty cool release from essence, though I tend to dislike liquid cheek products (Inglot liquid blushes, Benefit tints, they all drive me batty!) Those who love some sheer hot pink cheeks may go mad for this, but I'd recommend the new liquid blush in Glam Me from the essence Metal Glam collection over this one.

Overall it wasn't my favourite essence collection, but my heart is not broken by my haul because everything was so cheap anyway. Hurrah for affordable cosmetics to appease the shopping-obsessed girl in me!

Do you agree that bright lips in winter are awesome? I can see the bright pink Waka Waka lipstick sitting pretty next to my favourite grey scarf!

Emma @ emmabovarybeauty


*Na-Rock lipstick was provided for consideration, I bought the rest of this stash myself. Honesty, always.

Club Ringleader

I have been really enjoying my makeup collection lately - revelling in some new treats, using old favourites and just generally digging my whole stash. A late start at work resulted in me playing around with these beauties, and I was chuffed with the natural look I created.

Too Faced Ringleader is a certified kick-ass shade (bottom left shade in the Pretty Rebel palette!) It is glowy but natural on the lid and much less peachy than I had first thought. Paired with my new shadow obsessed MAC Club (housed in the gorgeous Royal Assets palette) it created a look I loved - so much so that I've been recreating the look by pairing Club with other shades all week.

I probably should have called this look the staples look, as I've been rocking this blush and lip duo quite frequently as well now that I think about it! I think I spent a total of 45mins contemplating my Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush in Radiant Magenta before snatching it up - I hadn't really given them much thought before, so my knee-jerk purchase was a nice surprise on the day. The colour in the pan isn't really translated onto the cheek in my opinion, but the airbrush-esque finish is covetable and I'm one happy chappy.

El cheapo lipstick (Kmart Moisturising lipstick in Naked) + Luxe and pricy gloss (Dior Addict Gloss 363 Dormeuse) = my favourite lip look of late.

Add in some other current staples like Revlon Lash Potion and Too Faced Shadow Insurance and I'm good to go!

How often do you use palettes? Are you a single-shadow loving gal, or love having options like this?

 

Emma @ emmabovaybeauty