Essence Matt Matt Matt Lipstick in 02 Perfect Match

With the recent update of the Essence assortment (but I think the spring /summer update will be here soon) we got a new line of lipsticks. As you can see from the name, they're supposed to be matt. There are eight shades in the line, mine is the second lightest.

Essence says that the light, creamy texture of the new lipstick range unites a high colour-dispersion with a matt finish.

The packaging is the same as the Sheer & Shine lipstick range with the difference that here the lid is matt. I like it, it is a step up from the packaging of their first lipsticks (remember the packaging for kiddies? :) )

The smell is also quite pleasant, I can't describe it properly, but at least is not that artificial smell that their first Longlasting lipsticks had.

Even if this lipstick is matte, there are no claims about the longevity, even though being matte we presume that it will last rather well. And in this case I can say it does. After four hours of not eating (chocolate doesn't count, ok) and after lunch (not very greasy, I have to admit this), the lipstick is still on my lips and it looks ok. It's not exactly like when I applied it, but it's close. Definitely still on the lips, and without that hideous liplining effect. So I'm satisfied with that.

It does apply smoothly, but to achieve the full colour I had to go over my lips several times, but it doesn't bother me. The lipstick is definitely matte and you can also feel it on the lips. So if you have really dry lips it could bother you. When you apply it looks satin matte, but after a couple of minutes the finish transforms into regular matte. After four hours it even looks like a liquid lipstick on my lips. But I have to say that I didn't experience any flaking and clinging on dry patches (like the feeling I have when I apply my Essence longlasting lipstick Velvet Matt 23). 

1. Bourjois velvet - Nude-ist

2. Essence - Perfect match

3. Sleek Matte Me - Birthday Suit

The colour is dusty rose with a hint of brown. I think it suits me and when I wear it it's not so in your face. A nice everyday colour. 

Have a great day :)

What I'm reading + NOTD pt.35

Here it is, the final part of Jonathan Stange & Mr. Norrell. This third part has the title Ivan Uskglass. As you may noticed, in the Slovene publication the book is divided in three parts. Which is not a bad idea, I think. The book as a whole is quite extensive and at times not the easiest read, so it's nice to have a break every once in a while with some other book to read in between, and with the book divided in three parts it's easy to do so.

I'm glad that I managed to read it till the end, because now I can say that it is a good book. Although it has magicians in it, it is not your typical book about wizards with a lot of action and great duels. At the end there is a duel of some sort, but I believe that the supporters of action won't find this book very appealing. I, on the other hand, didn’t mind the lack of action and I think that the story nicely builds tension throughout the whole book and the ending is not very typical either. There is also some humour in the book, provided with the style of writing and not because of the funny situation.

In the third book begins a dangerous battle between Strange and Norrell which overwhelms the one between England and France. And their own obsessions and secret dabblings with the dark arts are going to cause more trouble than they can imagine.

On the nails I have jet again one of the Essence old nail polishes (Nude it!), one that wasn't many times on my nails, mainly because of the colour. I bought when the mannequin nails were a thing. This colour is a wrong colour for mannequin nails for me, but I think that this is not necessarily bad. The colour reminds me of cappuccino and it's not bad that is such a light colour because than is not so visible when it chips :) No problems with the formula, two easy coats were enough for full coverage.

Have a great day :)

Essence longlasting lipstick Velvet Matt 23 and swatches of other nudes in my collection

A couple of weeks ago I bought myself a lipstick from Essence, it was a new addition to their regular assortment. So I thought to myself why not show you the swatches of it and in the meantime compare it to other nude shades that I have in my collection.

The lipstick is from the longlasting line with the name Velvet Matt 23. It seems like Essence couldn't be bothered coming up with names anymore, because we have also a lipstick called Velvet Matt 24. If all the other lipsticks have also different names with numbers, why stop now? Number 23 is indeed matte, but if you have dry lips the lipstick will emphasise dry patches. The lipstick barely has any smell and this is good, because the smell of other longlasting essence lipstick is not plerasant, artificial smell of crayons, who likes that? On the swatches you will see that is most similar to the discontinued essence stay matt lip cream in the colour Velvet Rose.

1. Rimmel Moisture Renew Lipstick 180 Vintage Pink is the darkest of the lipsticks and even if the name suggests that is pink it has violet undertones. It's creamy and moisturising, but I'm not too fond of the smell, since it's again very artificial.

2. Essence lipliner 06 Satin Mauve is very similar to Rimmel one, but a little bit darker and matt. This was my first lipliner ever and I bought it long before the 90's trend. Then I was, oh, I got this one, I should use it more. You can clearly see the violet undertones when on my lips, but I like it (and can you actually believe that Essence didn’t discontinue this colour for this long, like 6 years or more?).

3. Catrice Ultimate Shine 190 Gentle nude is Back (but not anymore- discontinued, the whole range actually) is very creamy and it feels nice on the lips. The longevity is not the best since it's so creamy. And it’s definitely on the cooler side.

4. Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet 07 Nude-ist with the perfect name for this post, but it stands out the most. Even on my lips it doesn’t look nude, but it is a rose colour. I like the formula, it's the most longlasting and matt and the application is easy and it feels nice on the lips. It has a slight artificial smell but once on the lips you can't smell it anymore.

5. Essence longlasting lipstick 05 Cool Nude is similar to Catrice one but is not so cool, it's on the warmer side, even if the name says differently. It is creamy, but not like Catrice one and it is a little bit darker. The smell is horrible, the artificial smell, that some compare it to crayons.

6. Essence stay matt lip cream 01 Velvet Rose (discontinued) is on pinker side, like the name says it's matt, but the lip creams that are now in circulations have better formulas, which means that are more matte and really longlasting, and this one is not longlasting. But then again I think everyone was sad when Essence decided to discontinue this range. They could add more colours to the range, but no, let's discontinue them. The smell is really good. It smells like candy.

7. Essence lipliner 01 Soft Rose (discontinued) is a true nude in my opinion; it's a little lighter than my lips, so it shows on the lips. These Essence lipliner are very soft and a lot of people like them, but be careful, all my lipliners have grey caps, but the new one have coloured caps and some say that the formula has also changed, not just the caps. Actually I have one coloured cap and I think that is really a bit harder than the grey cap ones.

8. Essence longlasting lipstick velvet matt 23

9. Essence longlasting lipliner 05 Lovely Frappuccino is the true 90's colour on me. It is brown, very brown. And if I recommend just one formula of all of these I would say get yourself one f these ones. The formula is great, it applies nicely because is soft enough, but on the lips is matte and even if I had a little bit dry lips it didn't show one bit. Just perfect. I would like to have more colours of the longlasting lipliner shade.

The swatches on the lips together:

So this is my nudes’ collection. I hope there was some useful information for you. I’m still not good at describing colours and all, but at least you can see swatches ;)

Have a great day :)