Essence Red Lips and Tips Lipstick and Nail Polish Review

Since Essence launched here in the UK, I’ve been really impressed with the quality of their products especially as everything is so affordable and they also have a really impressive range of shades and products for such a budget beauty brand. Essence products are available to purchase on the Wilkinsons website or instore, and the vast majority of their products are under £5 which is amazing.

If you happen to favour red lips and/or nails, I’ve discovered the perfect trio from Essence and it’ll only set you back £4.90 to buy all three. I love wearing red lips and nails during the winter months, as it’s such a classic look and I really love matching red lips with red nails for a more glamorous look.

When it comes to red lipsticks, it can be quite hard to find the right shade to flatter your skintone so I tend to prefer a red with blue undertones especially as shades with a blue undertone tend to give the appearance of whiter teeth.

Whenever I wear red lipstick, I always team it with a matching lip liner. Lip Liners are essential for red lipstick as they help to outline the lips for a neater, more precise application and more importantly, they minimise and prevent any bleeding from the lipstick. Lip liners are also great for improving the longevity of your lipstick when used all over your lips as a base prior to applying your lipstick.

Essence have a range of nine different lipliners which are described as having a smudgeproof and long lasting formula and are only £1 each which is amazing to say the least. I have the shade Femme Fatale* which is the perfect red shade in that it doesn’t lean too cool or too warm so it’d suit a range of red lipstick shades.

The first time I tried this lipliner on my lips, I was stunned by how creamy and smooth it was as it glides across the lips effortlessly without tugging. I wouldn’t describe the liner as being smudgeproof as it can be smudged very easily, but I wouldn’t wear this lipliner alone so the fact it isn’t smudgeproof doesn’t bother me.

The lipstick I’ve been teaming with the Femme Fatale Lip Liner is the Essence Longlasting Lipstick in the shade Adorable Matt*. The Essence Longlasting Lipsticks are only £2.30 each and are available in an impressive sixteen shades with a mixture of matte and satin finishes.

Adorable Matt is the ideal blue toned red that looks slightly glossy once first applied but within half an hour of wear it becomes a lot more matte. Just like the lipliner, this lipstick has amazing colour payoff with intense, opaque colour in just two swipes.

The initial ‘sheen’ of the lipstick helps the lipstick apply evenly and smoothly, as matte lipsticks tend to be quite dry and difficult to apply however this one is very easy to apply and stays in place for at least four hours before touch-up’s are necessary. This shade; Adorable Matt actually reminds me of the limited edition MAC True Love’s Kiss Lipstick from their Maleficent collection, so if you missed the collection, I’d really recommend snapping up this little beauty.

Swatches of the Juicy Love Nail Polish in the Colour & Go formula

There are 100 different shades available in the Colour & Go range with different finishes and textures. When wearing matte red lips, I like to wear a glossy red polish on my nails and the shade Juicy Love £1.60* really compliments Adorable Matt.

I have a few of the Colour & Go Polishes, and I really like them as they all have a great, wide brush which applies the polish quickly and evenly. Juicy Love is opaque in just two coats, and it has a gorgeous mirror like shine without the need for a topcoat. At only £1.60 each, you’d be forgiven for assuming they don’t last for very long on the nails, but Juicy Love lasted for five days before chipping and I’m planning on buying more shades very soon as I love the formula so much.

Do you also like wearing matching lips and nails?

All products featured on Gemma Etc. are PR samples or gifted items, unless otherwise indicated. This post may contain affiliate links. If you wish to find out more, please see my Disclaimer within my navigation bar.

Gemma Etc.

Hi, my name is Gemma, and I’m the writer behind GemmaEtc.com. I’m a true beauty obsessive, and love writing about anything to do with beauty. In addition to Gemma Etc., I also own MakeupMuddle.com, and love sharing my thoughts and feelings about beauty and lifestyle products.

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