Essence velvet matte lipstick in ‘Greedy Coffee’.
Essence This Is Me lipstick in ‘Enough’.
I’ve tried many products from Essence over the years, but funnily enough, never their lipstick. I decided to rectify this one evening and purchased two. I’ll admit, I bought ‘Greedy coffee’ for the name alone, as I think it’s hilarious.
‘Greedy coffee’ is part of Essence’s permanent (although with Essence you never know) matte lipstick line. I would say it applies semi-matte, but it can easily become true matte with a quick tissue blot. Greedy coffee is a tawny brick red that pulls quite muted on me. It’s apparently a dupe for Mac’s Brick O’La, so might be worth picking up if you have any interest in that shade. It has a very strong, almost fruity smell that lingers for several minutes after application. It was very easy to apply with no dragging and isn’t, thankfully, a bleeder. It’s not the sort of colour I’d usually go for, but it’s nice to have a more nude option in my collection. One thing I don’t like about it, is the packaging. It’s very clunky plastic and looks like a kinder egg toy. My husband says, ‘it looks wrong,’ what he means by that, we can only guess. Here it is on:
The second lipstick I purchased is from Essence’s ‘This Is Me’ range which consists of eight matching nail varnishes and lipsticks. I thought this was a great idea when I saw it in Wilko, and the colours were lovely. Unfortunately, so did everyone else, as the entire line was always sold out. Over time I managed to pick up two nail varnishes, and finally found the incomplete collection of lipsticks online over at justmylook.com. The shade ‘enough’ is the second darkest in the range, there is one darker; ’strong’, but I can’t find it for love nor money, and I’ve just found out Essence are discontinuing the whole line. A massive shame. ‘Enough’ is a dark, red-based burgundy. The perfect burgundy in my opinion. It has the same sweet, waxy scent as ‘greedy coffee’ and the same smooth, creamy formula. Like ‘greedy coffee’, it’s what I would consider a semi matte, and blotting is required to make it fully matte. The lipstick tube has a lovely design, with a rose gold inner, and a plain white outer. Very sleek, in my opinion. Being a bit of a dark lipstick aficionado I’ve worn ‘enough’ quite a bit. It doesn’t last through eating or drinking, but it’s not the sort of lipstick I expect to. It is easy to apply, doesn’t feather, and doesn’t go patchy, which is a great boon for a darker shade. Here it is on:
Would I repurchase? Yes to ‘Enough’, no to ‘Greedy Coffee’, although both are good, serviceable lipsticks, especially considering they both cost less than £3 each.