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Review: Essence LE Made To Sparkle Highlighting & Transforming Prismatic Palette

Essence new Limited Edition is called Made To Sparkle and it's already available in stores. I browsed through the collection, but decided to only get the palette since it looked interesting and I'm always up for buying something new to my collection. The collection features a lot of sparkly products for eyes, face and nails. It's very sparkly themed. 


It's called Essence Made To Sparkle Highlighting & Transforming Prismatic Palette and it's for eyes, cheeks and lips. They've named it 01 Don't Let Anyone Ever Dull Your Sparkle.

It comes in a plastic black packaging with transparent lid. It also has cute gold diamond design on it. It's a bit flimsy, but I expect that for the price.

In it is 7.7 grams of product and it costs 3.29€.


In the palette are four shades. They look more boring in the pan than on the skin. It's basically a collection of fours shades with fine shimmer that can be used as eyeshadows, highlighter, highlighting blush or a topper over lipsticks. 
1 - light shimmery yellow gold shade
2 - light white base with lavender blue sheen
3 - light white base with pink sheen
4 - light mint green with golden sheen

All of these have a shimmery look to them, although you can't see any actual shimmer in it. It's very finely milled and just gives you a lovely sheen. Most of these shades are sheer and can as such be applied over other shades. I feel like the gold shade is the only one that can look really opaque when build up.

Gold is a stunning highlighter shade for light warm skin tone. I actually really like it for that, because it's pigmented, but has no visible shimmer, just a lovely sheen. It also looks gorgeous in the inner corner of the eye.

Lavender blue is great applied over eyeshadow or even colorful lipsticks. I like wearing pink as a highlighter or a topper over pink colored blush. It gives it lovely sheen.

Green is the only shade that isn't really wearable as a highlighter. I would only wear this as an eyeshadow topper or maybe over very dark lipsticks for a fun twist.

Formula is not dry, but also not really wet. It's in between and applies easily. Pigmentation is OK, but it's more of a sheerer formula and you have to really build it up, if you want it to look opaque. I see these more for the skin or as a sheen on top of other shades. If you'll be using it on the lid, I advise you to apply it with fingers, because the brush doesn't really pick up much of that color. 

They are not really long lasting on top of other eyeshadows. They last well in the inner corner of eyes and as highlighters, but on the eyes and lips they just don't look that vibrant and obviously fade a bit through the day. Pink and gold last very well as highlighters, especially if you apply a few more coats. 


I especially like the gold shade as a face highlighter. Here is a comparison with two others. Gold shade from Essence is yellow based gold. Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector Pressed in Moonstone is more champagne colored. It doesn't have that yellow tone to it. theBalm Mary-Lou Manizer is more peach based and slightly darker. 

I have to say that these shades with sheen look much prettier in real life. The color and sheen gets lost on the photos, keep that in mind. Here are some of the looks I created with this palette

Pink shade I used on the center of the lid over a basic matte brown base. I also applied it in the inner corner. It gives off a much more visible pink shine in real life. 




Lips: Avon Mark Liquid Lip Lacquer Matte in Flushed and Passion It


The blue color also looks much more vibrant in real life and you almost can't see that cool blue sheen on the photos. I also used it on the center of the lid and inner corners.



Lips: L.O.V. LIPaffair Matte Guilty Conscience


I applied green color over a matte brown base. This one applies sheerer for something that look very vibrant in the pan. In the inner corners I used gold shade. I also applied gold shade as a highlighter all over my face. Pink and blue color I applied over a mauve brown liquid lipstick to give it a bit of sheen, but it's actually not even that visible in real life. 




Lips: Revlon Ultra HD Matte Lipcolor in Forever + pink and blue shade




I think this is a fun all around palette to have for when you want some sparkle on your eyes, cheeks or even lips. It's not as pigmented as I thought it would be, but the sheerer formula actually looks better as a topper and over the skin. Colors look especially nice as a blush toppers or highlighters. On the eyes they fade quicker and don't look as vibrant. The same goes with lipsticks, since the pigment gets absorbed by the lipstick. If you like something different with fun sheen or are looking for fun highlighting shades, these could be for you. I am most impressed with the gold shade which I love as a highlighter. I also like blue and pink in the inner corners for something slightly more colorful. Green is more of a specific taste color and I might not get that much use out of it. 

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Review: Sleek Highlighting Palette - Solstice

Prepare yourself for some serious glow. Today's review is of Sleek's Highlighting Palette in shade Solstice. Everyone has been raving about this palette and I wasn't even that interested in it. Until I saw it in the store and actually swatched it in person. I immediately knew that I'm gonna love it.


I didn't knew that this palette had such a sleek packaging. It's metallic gold looking, actually plastic, and it has magnetic closing. Because of the shiny packaging this gets dirty in no time. 


In it you also get a full mirror, which is helpful if you're applying makeup on the go. Mini brush is useless, because it's really stiff and scratchy. In it is 9 grams of products and I got it for 13.99€.



In the palette you get four shades of highlighter. Three are powder and one is a cream version. They also have a darker version of this palette. This one is for fair and light to medium skin tones.




Ecliptic is rose champagne shade. It looks really dark in the pan but goes on sheerer and has a very light pink white reflection to it. It looks a bit less reflective than all the other shades. Texture is creamy, smooth and it applies nicely. It's not too greasy that it would make it slide all over the face.

Hemisphere looks scarily lavender in the pan, but is in fact a light lavender shade with a very bright white reflection. It has a dry texture to it. To me it feels like baked blushes in a way.

Subsolar is the lightest shade. It's slightly yellow toned, barely noticeable, and it has very reflective white sheen to it. Texture is a bit wet like and it's the most pigmented of these all.

Equinox is a very light peach with a white sheen. It's the same baked like dry formula as Hemisphere.

If you have fair skin tone, Subsolar is perfect for you. I'd say it has just a bit of warm yellow tone to it, but it has a very cool sheen to it in general. Hemisphere has a tiny bit of lavender tone to it and a very cool white sheen. It's perfect for light to medium skin tones. Equinox is a bit darker, because of the peach undertone and I've been using it now that I still have some tan. But it also has a very cool white sheen. It's more for light to medium skin tones. Ecliptic is also a bit darker because of the champagne pink undertone and it's again more suitable for light to medium skin tones. This one has a bit less reflective sheen, but it's still cool toned. It's a bit more natural looking as others.

Keep in mind that those are heavy swatches. 


If you blend these out or just apply them lightly, you almost can't tell a difference between them. They all have a very reflective white sheen to it, which essentially makes them all very similar. The undertones in each gives it just a bit of yellow, peach, pink or lavender undertone. But it's very subtle.

They all have tiny shimmer in it and there's no visible glitter in them, just a lovely sheen.



I am fascinated by the look of these on the skin. Most highlighters have a strong powdery base which leaves some sort of shade on your skin. These almost look transparent and give you an insane reflection. It's the most reflective highlighters I've ever tried.

They are all well pigmented and stay on my face for the whole day. All powders are super reflective, but can be sheered down to a light glow from within or build up to a serious metallic shine.

I applied all of these in hopes of showing you how they look like on the skin. Unfortunately my camera doesn't really show the difference between them. Once applied, they actually look very similar in real life too.

Ecliptic




Hemisphere




Subsolar




Equinox




I also compared it to some of my other highlighters.

Essence Soo Glow! Cream to Powder Highlighter in 10 Look On The Bright Side is almost as white as Subsolar, but it has just slightly light gold sheen to it. Essentially it's warmer, but still looks very cool in general and white based. Essence LE Metal Glam Highlighter Powder in 01 Gold Digger is also really metallic, but not as white as Subsolar. It's a lighter gold shade and a lot warmer. Essence LE Merry Berry Highlighter Powder in 01 I Love My Golden Pumps is a lot more natural, less reflective and more neutral light champagne shade. It's slightly pinkier and less metallic version than Essence Metal Glam one. theBalm Mary-Lou Manizer is the darkest of this selection and has the most champagne base which almost looks peachy compared to others. It's also a lot warmer than Subsolar.

None are dupes for Subsolar. Essence Soo Glow! Cream to Powder Highlighter in 10 Look On The Bright Side has the most similar white base, but it's just slightly warmer (yellow gold) and it doesn't have enough of reflective particles. In terms of reflectivness or shine, Essence LE Metal Glam Highlighter Powder in 01 Gold Digger, is the closest to it, but still not enough reflective.


Essence Pure Nude Highlighter in 10 Be My Highlight has the most similar peach base to Equinox, but is a lot more subtle, has very small shimmer and doesn't have that white sheen or shine to it. It's like if you'd put white shimmer on top of Essence Pure Nude.


I think this palette is absolutely worth the money. Some individual highlighters cost more than this palette of fours. They are all well pigmented, have crazy reflection, good lasting power and can be applied sheer or bold. You get one cream and three powders. I would have liked to seen a bit more variations in terms of shades. For example some shades could have golden sheen instead of the white. They all have cool white sheen to them, but just have different base tones. I try to match them with the tone of my makeup. For example, for bronzy and warm looks, I would use Equinox and for plum looks, I would use Hemisphere. If you're on a hunt for crazy reflective highlighters that still look natural in a way (a bit transparent on the skin) then this palette is definitely calling your name, 

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Review: theBalm Hot Mama! Shadow/Blush

Hey Beauties!

Hot Mama has become one my new favorite blushes. As you may know I love highlighters and this is a very shimmery glowy coral blush. I usually go for peach blushes, so this is a nice alternative for those days when you really want your cheeks to convey that healthy pretty glow. 


theBalm has signature vintage or rather retro packaging through their whole line. This blush comes in a cardboard packaging with a retro design of a woman in a tropical place. I am not crazy about the design. I much prefer their Manizer packaging, which is really cute, although still a bit retro. I like that it's easy to carry around and has magnetic closing. 


Hot Mama can be used as a shadow or a blush. In the packaging is 7.08 grams and I think it costs around 20€. 

Here is the ingredients list.


This looks a lot more orange in the pan than it does on the skin. If you take a glance at it, you would think another orange blush, but it's much more dimensional on the actual skin. 



The base of it it's pretty pink, but golden sheen on top of it makes it look coral. It's such a unique shade and the golden sheen on it is everything. 

Mary-Lou Manizer is my favorite highlighter of all time and it's a light golden champagne shade. Hot Mama has a darker and more yellow golden sheen on top of it, but the formula of gold sheen seems very similar to Mary. It's finely milled and it gives a beautiful sheen rather than glittery look.


Texture is a tiny bit wet, which means it stays on like crazy. It's one of the most long lasting blushes that I own. I can wear this the whole day and at the end it still looks exactly the same. 

It's also crazy pigmented so be careful when applying it. You need the tiniest amount on the brush. Sometimes I struggle to apply just a light flush, because I almost always overdue it. 

It gives the cheeks a very natural healthy flush of color and makes them stand out a bit more, because of the gold sheen. You could probably skip highlighter with this blush, if you don't like it to be too glowy. The glowy sheen makes it look very fresh and dewy looking which I really like.

Obviously you can also wear this on your eyes and it works great there too, but I always use it as a blush. 




I usually go for peach blushes and I very rarely use pink. Hot Mama is the perfect coral addition to my collection. I have nothing that's the same color. The one that comes closest to it, it's blush shade from Makeup Revolution Ultra Sculpt and Contour Kit in Ultra Fair C01. In the pan they look exactly the same, but once swatched, this one is even more gold, peachier and lighter. Hot Mama is a lot more pigmented and the gold sheen is not as obvious. Milani Baked Blush in Luminoso has the most similar finish, except that Hot Mama has a bit more sheen to it and more glow. 


I absolutely love the finish of this blush. Gold sheen is everything to me. If the base would be a bit peachier, I would probably wear it all the time. But because it's pink based, I like to pair it with more brighter lip colors and not so much with my very neutral makeup looks. It's crazily pigmented and stays on my skin the whole day. I think the price is good for the amount you get, but is on a bit more expensive side. If you love coral shades and adore highlighting blushes with golden sheen, you'll definitely love this.

*Product was sent to me for review purposes. 
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