Budget Pick - Essence Blushes

If you have been reading my blog for a while it's no secret that I have a special love for blush. I am convinced that you can't have too many blushes. They're something I like to collect and also something that actually gets used up. And let's be honest, who doesn't like a good deal. I asked a friend of mine to bring me a few blushes from Central Europe and I have put them to a test. These are Essence Silky Touch Blushes from a permanent line and the Nauti Girl Blush from a limited edition collection. To find out my thoughts, stay tuned!

Essence is an affordable cruelty-free makeup brand that has recently become available in Finland, yes! In Finland you can find it at the Tokmanni chain. I got mine from Austria but now I know if I want to repurchase I can get it locally. In the USA you can purchase Essence at Ulta. Besides blushes, I have also tried their lipliners, nail polishes and lipsticks. A separate review will be coming up on those, so keep your eyes peeled. Essence Silk Touch Blushes come in a round compact and you get 5g of product. I appreciate that the packaging is see-through. This means you can easily find the right colour amidst an overwhelming amount of blushes, if you are like me. It's plastic but doesn't feel flimsy. Sure it's nothing fancy but considering the price point it serves it's purpose well.

Essence Silky Touch Blush in 10 Adorable and 40 Natural Beauty

Now let's talk about the actual product. The shades I got are 40 Natural Beauty (brownish-nude) and 10 Adorable (rosy-pink). On the Essence website they have 6 shades altogether. In Finland I saw only 4 shades on display. I have to say that the colour range isn't too diverse. For example 10 Adorable and 20 Babydoll are very similar. The texture of these blushes is silky soft, hence the name. It doesn't kick off a lot of powder when you dip your brush, which was a positive surprise. In the pan they look pretty matte but when swatched or applied on the cheeks you can see a sheen. I don't mind a slight sheen as long as it's not chunky glitter. They are quite well pigmented. They are not as opaque as the Makeup Geek blushes but they are not bad at all. I would have expected no colour payoff whatsoever, but they swatch beautifully and you can build up the colour to your liking. When applied on the cheeks I haven't noticed any patchiness or streakiness. They also wear nicely throughout the day, I would say a good 5 hours. They have no scent to them, which is a plus. I don't know if you have tried the Lancome blushes, but the scent gets to me every time. In terms of ingredients Essence Silk Touch Blushes do contain talc and parabens. 

Essence Nauti Girl Blush in 01 Anchors Aweigh!

Next I have here the Nauti Girl Blush in 01 Anchors Aweigh! from the Essence Nauti Girl limited edition collection. As the name implies it has been inspired by sailing, marine style and the nautical colour scheme of red, blue and grey. This blush comes in a slightly different packaging. It's still see-through but a square shaped compact with a cute anchor imprint on the actual product. You get 8g of product and it's the only blush in the collection. I would describe the colour as a bright coral. The packaging doesn't feel flimsy but a tiny bit bulky for my liking. In terms of pigmentation I think it's quite sheer and not as impressive as the original Silky Touch Blushes. If you want the colour to translate exactly like you see it in the pan you need a lot of building up. That being said, it could be a good thing if you are starting up with makeup and afraid to overdo it in the blush department. The texture is not as silky smooth as with the Silky Touch Blushes but still decent and not powdery. I wore it the other day and it started to fade after about 5 hours. As with the other Essence blushes it contains talc. 

L-R: 01 Anchors Aweigh!, 10 Adorable and 40 Natural Beauty

Overall my thoughts are that these are good budget options. If you are looking for everyday neutral colours you can't go wrong with these. They are smooth, easy to blend and wear well throughout the day. Would I say these are better than Catrice blushes I reviewed recently? I don't think so. But if you can't get your hands on Catrice then these are really good alternatives. However, if you are sensitive to talc or parabens I would say skip these. Instead try the Makeup Geek blushes, they are paraben and talc free. Essence Silk Touch Blushes retail for under 3,00€ depending where you buy them, but nevertheless it's a bargain! These would be amazing for travel and even if they do get damaged you can easily replace them as they don't cost a fortune. I don't take my expensive powder products with me when I travel and I had to learn it the hard way.

Let me know what your all time favourite blush is, maybe I am missing out on something!

Cheers,
Muffy