Mini-Haul! - essence and Catrice

If you've seen some of my videos and previous posts, I'm sure you guys know by now that I'm a big fan of essence cosmetics. Besides the fact that it's such a budget-friendly brand, I love the fact that their products are really good quality and while they may not all be winners, they get the job done and it's a great brand for experimenting because of the relatively lovw price tag. Anyway, one of the main things I love is that essence comes out with new products often and I've been keeping an eye on the essence website for new products I would like to try and finally, they came out in-store!

So beginning at the bottom is the new 24h waterproof eyeliner pen. This is part of essence's "STAYS no matter what" range which is supposd to be really long-wearing. For me personally, I was curious because, as you guys know, with my oily eyelids, many eye liners simply fail me. Maybelline's gel eyeliner is the winner for me and I recently discovered a new favourite from Korean cosmetics brand Etude House and it was a similar liner to this essence one which is why this one from essence got me curious.
I can offer an initial opinion of this eyeliner from the two times I've used it. It is definitely longer-lasting than the other essence liners I've used. However, for me or someone with oily eyelids, this will not last 24 hours and smudges. The tip is great for creating a fine, black line or thicker if you prefer and if you have normal eyelids, this would be more long-wearing. 

The essence manicure helper is a great idea. However, it just wasn't as good as I expected. I feel like the ledge where you're supposed to rest your fingernail could be thinner. And I would have preferred if the whole product was wider to give more stability when applying nail polish. However, I still can get use out of it.

In the middle row, the new essence i love extreme mascara was my most exciting puchase! If you guys have seen my last mascara review video, you would know how much I love the original i love extreme mascara. Biggest brush and such a thick formula that just lets me pack on the product for crazy volume! So I was very excited to see essence was coming up with another version. Initial thought - really liking it. Builds great volume and length and I find I can layer coat after coat to really pump up my lashes. It's a plastic bristle brush, completely different from the original and goes in the direction of CoverGirl's Lashblast but I love this brush better than the CoverGirl one. It's straight and the bristles go down to the very tip which makes it perfect for getting into those smaller inner lashes and the outer corners. Really enjoying this mascara so far. Only downside, I've noticed some flaking after a while but I'll have to use it a bit more to be sure.

You guys would probably know as well that I love essence's maximum definition mascara to use under the i love extreme mascara. So I was equally interested to see they had come out with their maximum length mascara. Initial thought - definitely enjoying this one! Gives me great definition and length and works great under the new i love extreme. So far, I'm feeling it's a definite upgrade from the maximum definition.

The no. 122 nail polish from essence is an irridescent shade that appears metallic grey then purple or green depending on where the light hits. I've used it once and have had it on for a week now and the quality is really good for the price. I applied only one layer and got a rich application, the large brush is really handy and I've had no chipping, bearing in mind I did seal it with essence's top coat.

I haven't yet tried the colour & change nail polish but I'm looking forward to it. There are 4 shades in this range and using the designer, you can create designs on your nails. If it works out, this is great for lazy people like myself who like to do their nails but don't want to spend ages on them! :)

I haven't tried the cuticle remover either but basically, it's a gel that you apply once a week on cuticles and it's supposed to soften them after 15 seconds after which time you can then push the cuticles back.

Last of all is the Catrice Lip & Cheek colour from Catrice's Neo Geisha Limited Edition collection. It's a true red shade that's very creamy and can be used on both the lips and cheeks.
On that note, do keep an eye out for Catrice's new Limited Edition collection called Candy Shock. I've got my eye on their baked eyeshadows, the multi colour blush and the multi colour highlighter. 

So, that was my mini-haul from last weekend. I'm looking forward to trying everything out and please let me know if you have any questions about any of the products. And do remember any opinions I've given above are all initial thoughts from first uses. 

Wishing you all a great weekend! :)