On a recent trip of mine, I found myself at a local department/beauty supplies store with a dear friend of mine who was on the hunt for a new foundation. As she was toying around with the shades and formulas, I wandered not too far away, to the Essence stand.
The display was filled with sets of their new “Lash Princess” mascara, hugging their extra longlasting eyeliner pen. So I thought of all you guys and decided to pick it up…It wasn’t such a splurge anyway…
Let’s see one thing at a time,shall we? The mascara… Packaging wise, it is adorably feminine. All curvy with bows and hearts and so on. The details on the cap are embossed and rubberized, which actually are more than just decorative. They provide you with a secure grip of the cap, so you can apply the mascara with a steady hand. Nice touch. The fact that it is shaped like a corset, is just an added bonus to the whole princess theme going on.
Wand wise…
We are dealing with a curved, natural bristle wand that has a flatter side and a more raised side. The hutch of the raised side helps you reach the root of your lashes, while lifting them up slightly. Upon first application I noticed two things.
One, the wand is small enough to manouvre easily without creating a mess on the lid or the undereye (happens to everyone…) and two, the bristles work very well at coating the lashes completely while keeping them separated nicely. So, with one coat, clumpy lashes are not possible. The only bad thing I have to say about it, is that the bristles are a bit more hard than I would care for. But I think this adds to the separation factor as well.
Moving on to the formula. It is a dry formula. Which, if you know me, I am a huge fan of. It was only logical to expect a dry formula from Essence, since I have used other mascaras from the brand and it is pretty consistent. Plus, it claims to be a “Volume Mascara”.And we all know that the best mascaras for volume are on the drier side.It is black enough, buildable, BUT you need to be a bit more careful when adding several more layers. The separation, will indeed be compromised. As always.
It wears well, and hadn’t I started rubbing my lashes due to an itch I would have noticed no flakes. Which I didn’t, on the left eye that I manage to leave alone. Total count: 2 flakes on my right undereye area, which I take full responsibility for.
Now, on to the liner. Classic felt tip pen, you know the drill.
Small enough, not tiny. Big enough, not huge. If any of you are familiar with the H&M eyeliner pen, this is smaller. Much so. I was really impressed with the performance of this pen, to be completely honest with you. I did not expect much from it, considering the price point, but I am glad to say that I was pleasantly surprised.
I used it on a day that I was wearing a retro look (minimal eyeshadow on the lid, just some champagne base and a cool toned brown on the crease, along with a classic wing) which doesn’t leave much room for errors with the eyeliner, and it made it perfectly easy to create a line.
As you can see, you can create really thin lines, using just the tip, or go thicker tilting the pen on its side. I get really mad when an eyeliner pen doesn’t apply the same on the tip. But this one was cool…
It is blacker than most of the eyeliner pens I have bought, and if you do not try to go over a spot again and again and again it gives you an opaque line straight away. Insisting on a certain spot,before the liner has a chance to dry, can pick up the layer you just placed and create inconsistencies. Two thumbs up from me.
Taking into consideration 1) how picky I am about both mascara and eyeliner, and 2) how ridiculously inexpensive this set was (less than 5 euros) I can say that I am THRILLED I picked it up.
Are you not impressed?
