Review: Essence LE Lights of Orient (Bronzer, Eyebrow Shaper, Gold Nail Polish, Body Splash)

Hey Beauties!

Essence Limited Edition Lights of Orient is in my opinion another one of those best looking Limited Editions by Essence. Kind of like their Merry Berry, this one also seems to be very popular. I too was admiring it on promo photos and decided that I need to pick some up just because of the packaging if nothing else. I am usually not as superficial to get blinded by packaging, but it helps if the products are affordable. Then I kind of fall into the obsession. 


Bronzer 01 Sunkissed Beauty

Bronzer was the one thing that I knew I would get even before I found collection in the store. I love the design and the whole feel of Orient in general. I also like the shade, since it seemed fairly light and warm toned. Btw I have to mention this. Most people seem to think that warm bronzer is bad and you shouldn't buy it and that you should search for something with more neutral undertone. That is total bullshit, because if you have warm skin tone, warm bronzers will look way better on you than red or pink toned. Just putting it out there. Obviously orange toned bronzers will look weird on you if your skin tone is cool. 

Pretty orient inspired design reminds me a bit of Ancient Greek - especially the pattern around the edges. In the center circle is a gold highlighter which gives sheen and lightness to the bronzer. It contains 8 grams of product and it costs 3.59€



Texture is slightly wet. The pigmentation is good. It is fairly light so it might seem to be less pigmented. I prefer it this way, because I like it to be lighter, since my skin tone is also pretty light. It has a satin finish. Doesn't look flat out matte, but has a very subtle sheen of reflection to it. This goes for the bronzer shade. Highlighter has the same texture as bronzer and the same satin finish, which is a bit more reflective than bronzer. It's actually a very lovely finish, super natural. Shimmer in it is very small and it's mostly just finely milled powder.

It lasts on me very well with minimal fading and I think this is amazing for such a cheap product. It seems to stay intact for about 8 hours of wear and then it start to fade a bit.

The shade is warm orange toned light brown, while highlighter is light yellow toned gold. If you mix it with the highlighter in the middle the shade turns into slightly more yellow toned shade with a bit stronger sheen. It's still by no means shimmery or shiny. The finish is very natural, but not flat matte. I really like that.


The bronzer on it's own looks like a warm slightly orange toned shade. It's my lightest bronzer shade compared to Makeup Revolution and Betty-Lou Manizer. Makeup Revolution is a shade or two darker and has more of a yellow undertone compared to Essence. Betty-Lou Manizer is the darkest, most shimmery and very orange toned compared to other two.


Here you can see how my skin looks like with just foundation, concealer and transparent powder (left) and then with the added bronzer (right).




Eyebrow Shaper 01 Sunkissed Beauty

It's in a pencil form and the design is usual nothing special. Outer shade should correspond the shade inside. In it is 0.342 grams of product and it costs 2.49€


It's two sided. On one side you get a waxy pencil and on the other you get a blending sponge. If you take the sponge out there's also small sharpener inside. This way you can always sharpen it to a point (I forgot to take a photo of it though).



Pencil is very waxy, slightly hard. The pigmentation is very good. Shade depends on how much you press it on the skin. The more you press it down, the darker it will look. If you use light feathery strokes, it will look lighter and a bit more sheer. It's quite a dark shade of brown in my opinion. I would say medium brown with a bit of redish undertone. Sponge on the other end can help you blend it, which will also make it sheerer and less obvious (see the photo with bronzer swatch).

And here you can see how it looks like on my brows. It's a fairly strong look compared to my light hair, but I actually really like it. Slight warm redish undertone also looks nice with my warm hair color. 



I compared it to my other favorite pencil - Catrice Eye Brow Stylist in 020 Date With Ash-tone. It's a bit more yellow toned  than Essence. Essence has a very slight red undertone to it and it's also darker than Catrice. 


Nail Polish 01 Golden Gate to Orient

Squared packaged glass nail polish with a classic black plastic top. In it is 11 ml of nail polish and it costs 2.19€



The brush is standard and straight cut. It works fine and spreads product evenly.


I am always on a search for a good gold shade of nail polish. You'd be surprised how many different shades of gold nail polishes are out there. I have a lot of bronzed ones and very light ones. This one seemed like the shade that I don't already own. It's metallic and very light yellow golden. As with any metallic nail polishes you can experience obvious lines with the application. Nothing that a good top coat can't fix. I find that it dries almost to a semi matte finish, but I obviously always apply top coat over it.

I like gold nail polishes for nail art and very rarely wear them on its own. It's not long lasting by no means. On my nails Essence nail polishes chip the second day. Keep in mind that my nails are weak and prone to splitting, so I am definitely not friends with Essence nail polishes. 



Body Splash 01 Genie in a Bottle

I wasn't planning on buying this, but then I sprayed it on my hand in the store and I was forced to smell it while deciding what to get and it smelled so good that I was sold.

Body splash comes in a plastic small bottle. Transparent plastic is slightly pink toned. Spray pump is gold and it really reminds me of Victoria's Secret Body Mists. The pump also works the same as Victoria's since it produces a lot of splash with just one spray. You'll get 100 ml of product for the price of 3.29€


Pump produces quite a splash of wet water. It's definitely not a fine mist and be careful not to wet your clothes.



In the bottle is also small gold shimmer. It actually lays on the bottom. Once you shake it, it creates the most magical hypnotizing effect, which I adore. Such a nice visual effect.




Gold shimmer actually transfers on the skin when you spray it. It's small enough that it won't look too obvious on the skin, but it definitely sparkles a little. Splash is very wet so it might not be good to use it on clothes, just the skin.


Essence describes smell as summery and floral which will provide boost of freshness. I totally disagree with them. This is miles away from being fresh. It's a very oriental scent which means strong, woody, a bit spicy and very sweet. I don't smell any flowers in it. But that's just me. On me it's really sweet and woody, which is just my kind of scent. 

Unfortunately, it's not long lasting at all. It's obviously a body splash so you can't expect it to last like a perfume. I find that it's very powerful and strong in the beginning, but it fades in the matter of 30 minutes. By the end of 3 hours I can hardly even smell it on me. It doesn't bother me that much, since I'll use this more on the go and as an additional sweetness to my usual perfumes, but do consider it while buying. 

I love all four products. I think bronzer is such a sophisticated satin finish, especially for Essence and I love light warm toned shade. I also like the eyebrow shaper, although I would prefer it to be just a bit lighter and maybe slightly harder in texture so that I could draw on individual hairs. Nail polish is also not bad and I will definitely use it for nail art, but it's not long lasting on me, so I can't use it on its own. Body splash smells amazing and I adore the whole design of it with the gold shimmer in it. I do wish it would have a more lasting power, but I'll get used to it. If Essence would make a perfume with this scent, I would be all over it. I suggest you to check out this LE in the store, you might find something for yourself. 

8 comments

  1. Jaaa, ta kolekcija je očarala tudi mene. Prav vsak izdelek mi je zelo všeč, da ne omenjam samega izgleda. Komaj čakam, da kaj kupim in potestiram. You look gorgeous! xx

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    1. Res je čudovita :D. Pa še izdelki so dobri, tako da je to še en velik plus. Bronzer me je res navdušil. Hvala :) <3
      xx

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  2. Res lepa kolekcija :) Me mika, ampak iz izkušenj vem, da bodo stvari pristali v škatli pogube :D Bronzer mi je lep in blush, paletka mi ima odličen izbor barv, šminke pa nekako niso bile barve za mojo kožo. Sem jo kar celo spregledala in tisto rose gold od Catrice. Laka sploh ne bi opazila, če ga ne bi ti objavila, ampak je res lep :)

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    1. Hehe :) Jaz pa še kar uporabljam LE izdelke, čeprav sem zdaj tudi malo začela paziti z nakupi, ker je večkrat kaj počivalo v predalih :D. Meni je blush pretemen in nekako bolj jesenski odtenek, šminke pa vsekakor niso bile ravno po mojem okusu. Jaz imam detektor za zlate lake :D. Vedno iščem kakšnega, ker se mi zdi, da je nabor zlatih odtenkov lahko precej velik.

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  3. Na meni Essence laki delujejo enako kot na tebi..ampak je ta zlati bil prelep da bi ga spregledala. Medtem,ko je vodica na moji koži super obstojna,kar par ur jo voham. Medtem,ko na moji sesti vonj izgine po par minutah. Se pa strinjam,da meni ni nič kaj floral. Sem pa obsedena z paletko, odlična pigmentacija in vzdržljivost. :)
    J. ♡

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    1. Sem mislila, da sem spet jaz izjema. Ker vem, da jih veliko obožuje in jim zdržijo po en teden, meni pa res ne :). O super, srečnica. Na meni se pa kar hitro "zlufta". Ja paleto sem tudi gledala, sploh zaradi embalaže, ampak res je nisem "rabila" :D

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  4. Your eyebrows are goals! Such a beautiful shape! :)
    xx

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    1. Oh thank you, but I actually don't like them as much. I mean I wish they would be bushier. Sometimes I even get some bold spots :).
      xx

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