The new fall releases from essence are starting to pop up online and in stores and I plan on picking them up and reviewing them soon, but recently I got the opportunity to try out some other products from the brand that are in their more recent releases but not quite new. I figured I would give you guys a quick review on these products before moving on to the even newer products! essence is one brand that I'm pretty much down to try anything from, because not only are they really affordable but they also have a lot of serious winners in the line. 

Wanna see what I've recently been testing out? Keep reading!

essence Shape Your Face Contouring Palette in 10 Ready Set Peach*

The darker of the two shade selections of the Shape Your Face palettes, Ready Set Peach contains a matte bronzer/contour shade, a matte highlight, and a glowy peach shade that skews a little bit apricot in tone. While the contour shade is a little bit dark for my fair complexion, I find that I can use it where I want a little bit more depth when I combine and blend it with a lighter bronzer. The matte highlight shade is pretty close to my skin tone, so it doesn't offer much of a highlight but I do like it to soften the edges of bronzer so that I get a smooth blend without adding too much contrast to my face. The blush is really where this shines for me. I'm a pretty big fan of essence blushes, so I was completely down to try this out. This is a true peach that skews more orange than pink and packs a lot of glow, making it perfect for a really glowy summer look. I have to say that this isn't my favorite essence product I've tried, but I do enjoy the blush and can work with the other powders as well. 

essence Soo Glow! Cream To Powder Highlighter in Look On The Bright Side*

I've actually been wanting to try this for ages, ever since I saw that it was released in Europe, and I'm a little bit in love with it. This white cream has a golden shift and sheen to it that, on my skin tone, gives a really natural dewy look to the skin. If you're looking for a really intense, metallic highlight, this probably won't impress you much, but if you like a natural glow that looks healthy and dewy on the skin this could really be for you. Because this is a cream to powder formula, I don't find it sticky on the skin and I haven't had any issue with this getting greasy or weird throughout the day. I'm not sure how this shade would look on deeper skin tones, but on my fair skin it looks really gorgeous. 

The essence Matt Matt Matt Lipstick formula is actually one of my favorites in the drugstore, so I was really excited to add another shade to my collection - I have almost all of them now! I hadn't picked up this bold pink shade yet because I wasn't entirely sure it would be to my taste, but when applied to the lips I feel like it's a kind of wearable bold that's great for summer looks. It's almost like it has just a little bit of depth that keeps it from feeling like too much, even though it definitely isn't a wallflower type of shade. I also think that this formula is perfect for these types of shades because I really don't have any trouble with it bleeding or moving around too much on the lips as you wear it. For more about the essence Matt Matt Matt lipsticks, check out my original review here. 

I'm not much of a gloss type of girl myself, as you probably know if you read this blog, so this isn't my favorite just in terms of personal taste. That said, I think this is a great gloss to toss in your bag if you like a light, glossy lip that doesn't have any shimmer or pack too dense pigmentation. This is really easy to wear, gives a good amount of shine to make the lips appear more plump, and doesn't feel sticky as you wear it. Even though I'm not a big gloss person, I do think this is a good formula and I've found myself reaching for it when I want something low maintenance and subtle for my lips. I also do think that this is quite a hydrating gloss and makes my lips feel really good while I'm wearing it. If you want more colour on your lips, this is available in more shades, but I actually think this nude shade is exactly to my taste for a gloss. 

essence Water Kiss Glossy Lip Color in 03 Aquatic Chic*

I wasn't entirely sure what to make of this product when I first tried it out, because it doesn't perform like a gloss the way I was expecting, but when I figured it out I actually fell a little bit in love. This product has a thin, watery texture that's quite a bit lighter than a typical gloss or a liquid lipstick, and though it does definitely apply with some shine to the finish, that tends to fade. As the shine fades, you're left with just the colour on the lips. The way I actually like to use this is to apply it with the doe foot applicator and then work it into my lips with a fingertip to remove some of the slip and shine so that I get down to just the colour. On me, this mauve shade gives a distinctly your lips but better type of look that works really well with the staining effect, because it makes it look like my lips are naturally more pigmented than they are. I've actually gotten compliments when wearing this and I'm really interested to see how other shades in this range work for me. 

I believe I did try the original I Love Extreme Volume Mascara and quite liked it when it first came out, but I was definitely interested in trying out the waterproof formula. I'm 100% sold on this. In my opinion, one of the best things that essence does is their mascaras and I've had real success with several of them in the past. This product has a fairly giant, natural bristle brush that isn't my personal favorite, but the density and splay of the bristles really separate and help to add length to the lashes as it volumizes. I love the volume that this builds on me and the fact that it holds a curl and stays voluminous without smudging or flaking throughout the day. I mean, what more can you ask for? Seriously, if you're looking for an affordable drugstore mascara, I highly recommend checking out the options from essence. 

Honestly, guys, essence just continues to impress me with what they have in their range. Not only are most of their products in the $5 and under range, but they have some really great formulas and shades. For me, the must try products of these ones that I've tried are definitely the Soo Glow! Cream To Powder Highlighter* and the Water Kiss Glossy Lip Colour*, because they are unique to other things happening in the drugstore at the moment and they have really great formulas. That said, I always 100% recommend essence mascaras and blushes and I think the Matt Matt Matt Lipsticks are absolutely incredible so I would recommend those as well. 

Look for an upcoming review of the new essence releases that are just coming out now, it's in the works! 

Thanks for reading!