Review: Essence Cosmetics Eyeshadows + I ♥ Stage Eyeshadow Base.

Annyeonghaseyo! Isn't the weather being almost too strange? Where I live, it's been raining all day, everyday. I'm the kind of person who whines about the weather all the time (I'm sure most of you are similar) and that is unlikely to change any time soon. Mostly because, thanks to the monsoon, the entire city has been submerged in floods. And because of that, my friends and acquaintances have been cracking boat-jokes and umbrella-jokes like there's no tomorrow. Quite frankly, we need the sun to come up soon or we'll soon be... Well, it's too scary to even imagine. 

I discovered Essence Cosmetics because my favourite Youtuber, Irina from thebeautyvaultxo, often uses their products in her tutorials. Essence is a European cosmetic brand that doesn't test on animals and is extremely pocket-friendly. My heart skipped a beat when I saw that one of our local sites stocked the brand. You can shop for their products here, on Medplusbeauty. The best part is, you get a good amount of product for a low price. If you are looking for a beauty brand that's student/pocket friendly, you'll probably be jumping around when you see their colour and product selection. I picked up some eye products that Irina uses in her tutorials quite often - a mono eyeshadow, two Sparkling Effect mono eyeshadows and the I ♥ Stage Eyeshadow Base.

I bought 3 eyeshadows and I have gotten quite a bit of use out of them. The three colours I purchased are: '55 Shrimp Me Up' - A shimmery coral, '02 Dance All Night' - a gorgeous sparkly champagne shade and '06 Metropolitan' - a pretty, sparkly milk chocolate brown. 

The pigmentation of these little guys is insane, especially 'Metropolitan'. They are quite buttery and are easy to work with. However, they do have a little fallout, so, I usually tend to clean up after them. My favourite shade amongst the three is definitely '02 Dance All Night'. I use it frequently as the highlighting colour for my everyday puppy-eyes. 

The packaging is all plastic. Not that it bothers me or anything. It's actually sturdier than you would imagine. They're also clear, allowing you to see the eyeshadows. 

The best part of these eyeshadows isn't the fact that they're so pigmented, smooth and pretty - it's their quantity and price. You get 2.5 grams of product for ₹199. Yes. Yes. That's right. No, I'm not kidding. 

The swatches are of the three shades (swatched twice) over the I ♥ Stage Eyeshadow Base. The I ♥ Stage Eyeshadow Base is an amazing eye-primer. The consistency is like that of your average liquid concealer and the shade is a neutral flesh hue. Any kind of eyeshadow layered over this would look great. It has a doe-foot applicator which helps in distributing the base equally all over the lid. I am so in love with this eyeshadow primer that I cannot emphasize it enough. You have to buy it if you get a chance. You won't regret it. Best part is, it's ₹299 for 4 ml. Yes, yes. Go over to the site and buy it now! 

Overall, I am thoroughly impressed by Essence Cosmetics. It's affordable, pretty to look at and fun to use. Their product and colour selection is massive. I already have a few products marked out which I will be purchasing next. I am also aware that it's one of those hit-or-miss brands. However, with prices like these, I'm willing to take chances. Give it a chance. You might just be pleasantly surprised.

Rating: ☆☆☆☆/5