Hey guys! I know it's been a minute since I've posted over here, but I took a little bit of time away from blogging to really enjoy the holidays with friends and family... and then I basically got hit by a big truck of illness and have spent the last few days in bed pretty much unable to function. HAPPY NEW YEAR! 

Anyway, I had a few different posts planned to start off 2017, but I decided to go a slightly lazy route since I'm still recovering and come in with a haul for you guys! And, trust me, this haul is LONG time coming. I made this order on Cyber Monday (Nov. 28) and received it yesterday (Jan. 3). Yup. It took 3 weeks for them to process my order. At 24 days after I ordered, they sent me a message telling me that a limited edition product I ordered had gone out of stock. And finally after 5 weeks of waiting, my order arrived. I still love essence products, guys, but I have to be honest and tell you I'm never ordering from their website again. Not only is their Canadian shipping absolutely offensive, but the delivery time for my order was unacceptable. 

However, like I said, I still love their products and am pretty happy with almost everything that I picked up, so keep reading to see the haul!

The Velvets Eyeshadow Singles 

Shades: 07 You Better Mauve, 01 Fluffy Clouds, 05 Taupe Secret

I really, really, really wanted to get my hands on these as soon as I saw previews of them and was actually really bummed that they were going to be an online exclusive, so I absolutely had to pick them up in this order. Honestly, it's kind of amazing that I didn't straight up buy every shade and I really had to hold myself back. The shades I did pick up are GORGEOUS though. The photos are picking up a lot warmer than the actual shades are in real life. You Better Mauve is a really stunning midtone true mauve shade. Fluffy Clouds is a pale cream shade with a hint of yellow tone to it. And Taupe Secret is a really standard light taupe grey. They're all really beautifully pigmented and creamy in texture and I really can't wait to put them on my eyes.

Light Up Your Face Luminizer Palette

Shade: 10 Ready, Set, Glow!

This palette definitely isn't what I thought it was going to be based on the pictures I'd seen online. I was expecting everything to be a little bit lighter, but there is definitely some depth to the two outer shades. I think that this is trying to function in the way that Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette does, but I can already tell from swatching that it's really not going to. I think I'll definitely get use of the two outer shades as bronzers, particularly the one on the left which seems to have a satin finish and a pink undertone, but the highlighter shade in the center is a little bit thick and powdery for my taste and has really fine micro glitters in it that I just don't particularly like. I am going to try this on my face, but I don't have the highest of hopes for it.

Mosaic Blush

Shade: 40 The Berry Connection

This is a product that I've pretty much been DYING to get my hands on, and I definitely would have bough both shades in the more peachy one hadn't been out of stock. Still, I'm really, really glad I grabbed this one and I think this very berry pink shade is going to be a perfect winter shade for my fair skin to give me that just in from the cold look. I love essence blushes, I really do, and I'll happily pick up pretty much any blush from them that I can get my hands on. 

Matt Matt Matt Lipsticks  

Shades: 08 It's A Statement, 02 Perfect Match

I was really curious to see what essence would do with this matte lipstick formula and I have to say my first impression is really, really positive. These are really creamy and pigmented, making them super easy to apply. They also have a good amount of cling, without too much slip, but they also feel like there's some hydration there when I press my lips together. When it comes to these shades, I'm definitely drawn more to Perfect Match, which is a neutral rosy mauve shade that falls pretty firmly into the Your Lips But Better category. I think this is one that I'll reach for a lot more often. It's A Statement is pretty well named. This is a really deep cranberry with a hint of brown that applies really full colour without any of the streakiness that you can often find in this type of shade. It'll definitely be a fall shade for me, though. Overall, my first impression of these lipsticks is really good and I want to get my hands on more!

So there you have it! My very, very, very long awaited essence haul. Honestly, now that I have the products in hand, I'm not as annoyed about the time it took them to get here... but at the same time, I'm definitely soured on ordering from essence in the future and hope pretty strongly that the products that they put out that appeal to me will be ones that are available locally in store.

If you've ordered from essence, I'd love to hear about your experience in the comments!

Thanks for reading!