Hey Beauties!
Summer limited editions tend to be one of my favorites, as well as December ones. Usually it's all about the glow, bronze and fun colors. This year's Essence Limited Edition The Beach House is another pretty and cute collection. It gives off a summer beach house vibe with a chevron design. I got the chance to test a few products before they come into the store and here are my thoughts on what you should get and what you can forget about.
Duo Eyeshadow - 01 Build Me a Sandcastle
It's a duo eyeshadow in transparent plastic pot. In it is 2 grams of product and it costs 2.19€. It has a pretty chevron design embossed in it.
Lighter shade is like an off white or even light beige. The other shade is a light taupe with a very slight tint of olive green. Both shades are so close to my skin tone that it seems like I am not wearing anything. Definitely a very light eye shadow shades. On darker skin tones this will probably look very dusty.
Texture is slightly wet, which means it doesn't really have a fall out. Both shades look matte, but actually have a satin finish. Because they are so light, the pigmentation is also not there or at least it seems so. In general they look like nothing on me and I am disappointed by that.
Duo Blush - 01 Give Me Vitamin Sea!
Blush also comes in a transparent plastic pot. In it is 9 grams of product and it costs 3.59€. It has the same chevron embossed design.
It also has wet texture, which almost feels creamy. Contrary to eye shadow, blush has a really good pigmentation. I don't like my blush to be too strong, so I have to use light application with this one. Finish is also satin, because it has small sheen to it without having any shimmer.
Lightest shade is a salmon pink with a white base. Darker shade is coral (mix of peach and pink). When you mix them, you get a bit lighter coral shade. I actually find this shade really wearable and it would probably suit many different skin tones. I like to use it lightly on me and it gives me such a natural flush of color.
Beach Glow Fluid - 01 Girls Just Wanna Have Sun
This is a shimmery fluid for sun-kissed complexion. It can be applied on cheeks for light accent or used on skin and neckline for a more intense look. You can also mix it with your day cream.
It comes in a white plastic tube with beige chevron design. Easy to carry around with you and hygienic. In it is 30 ml of product and it costs 3.79€.
I was most excited about this product. You know me and the glow, I love everything shiny. This is a creamy, slightly liquid fluid. It's very smooth and you can really thin it out. In general this doesn't provide coverage, just a light tint.
It's very yellow golden bronzed shade. Seems almost metallic and it also has small silver shimmer in it. In my opinion this would look even prettier without the unnecessary silver shimmer chunks. They're not huge, but they still seem out of place, since they look kind of sparse.
The sheen that this gives is so pretty. If you thin it out you get a slight tint. If you build it up, you can create a proper highlighter or bronzer, depending on how light or dark your skin is. For me it's dark, so I use it as a bronzer or on top of bronzer. You can build it up from really sheer to intense glow.
It dries really quickly, so you need to apply it in layers. That being said, if you want really metallic glow, I suggest you put it on and leave it for a few minutes until it's just about dry and then blend it out. This will give you a much thicker application.
Obviously you can mix it with body moisturizer for a really pretty all over glow. I am saving this product, because I really want to use it once I get some tan, especially on my body. It will look so pretty.
Here I used it as an all over shimmery bronzer.
Lipstick - 02 A Summer Kinda Girl
Lipstick comes in a pastel coral plastic. It has silver details. Kind of the usual packaging for Essence lipsticks. In doesn't say how much is in it, but it costs 2.99€.
It's sort of pinky peach shade on the outside and in the middle is darker berry shade. When you apply it on the lips it actually looks like a light pinky coral.
It's one of those creamy and sheer lipsticks that you can put on where ever and don't have to worry about it much. It almost feels like a mix of lip balm and lipstick and sits on the lips comfortably. It doesn't dry them out. In fact, I almost feel like it's moisturizing in a way.
Obviously, it's not long lasting and you will need to reapply it. But because the shade is light, it wears off nicely. This is definitely a no fuss fun colored summer product to throw in the bag.
Kabuki Brush - 01 Don't Make a Wave!
I really like design of this kabuki brush. It has white handle that looks like metal, but is in fact plastic. It also has super cute peach chevron design with small star fishes. On it says Every Summer Has a Story. It costs 4.99€.
Let me just point out that this is a huge brush. Seriously. It says that it can be used with duo blush or other powder products, but for me personally this is way too big to be used for blush. I tried it with bronzer, but it's a bit too fluffy to provide precise application. It would be amazing for applying bronzer or highlighter on body, since it's fluffy and doesn't pick up too much product.
Bristles are really soft and copper brown.
Here are swatches of all the products. You can click on the photo to get a closer look.
I also applied all the products on my face for you to get the general idea of how the shades look like on my skin tone.
Eye shadow is a total miss for me. I am really pale and it looks like nothing on me. I would definitely skip this if I were you. Blush is actually really nice and the satin coral shade looks really pretty and natural. It would suit many different skin tone. If you're looking for a natural flush of color, go for it. Lipstick is also nice and good for anyone that wants just a tiny flush of color and moisturizing formula. This is on the go lipstick to carry with you. I would prefer a bit peachier shade for my personal taste. Kabuki brush is good, if you're looking for something soft for the body. It provides light application. For the face is just too big. My favorite is definitely beach glow fluid and I would recommend this one to anyone who wants something bronze tinted with a nice gold sheen. I could do without the silver shimmer in it, but it doesn't bother me that much. You can mix this with any cream and create an all over body glow. Darker skin tones can use this as highlighter and lighter as bronzer. I like that the formula let's you sheer it out or build it up to a hyper intense metallic glow. All in all, a pretty summery breezy limited edition. I just wish eye shadows would be a bit more colorful and maybe even shimmery.
Collection will be available in stores in June and July 2016. I encourage you to check it out, if you have your eye on certain products. Limited editions are known to get sold out quickly.
Apart from these that I showed you, you can also get some other bits. Lipstick comes in another shade called 01 Beachy Keen, which looks a bit darker. There is also another duo eyeshadow in the shade 02 Sea You Soon! which seems to be a mix of white and coral.
In the collection are also four nail polishes with different effects: 01 Beachy Keen (water shine effects), 02 A Summer Kinda Girl (water shine effect), 03 Sandy Toes & Salty Kisses (sea salt effect) and 04 Splish Splash (matt effect). Each costs 2.19€. To create fun manicures you can also get tip guides for creating stripes, waves or zigzag. They cost 1.19€.
In the collection is also included a little mini beach bag with mint and white chevron design. It costs 3.29€.
*PR product.
