I’m a clothes and beauty junkie. I love finding new styles and products to try. The good ones I love to be able to recommend to you.

Price point doesn’t really matter to me. I’ve used as many great drugstore products as I have terrible expensive label products. Although I’m tempted to love something more just because it’s made by a particular company, I really try to be honest about what I expect from cosmetics and what they actually deliver.

Recently I found a new-to-me brand at my local Target. Lipstick is my all-time favorite makeup product and I saw two gorgeous colors that I had to have. The price? About $3 each. The brand? Essence Cosmetics.

Essence is a cosmetics brand that was started in Germany in 2007 and didn’t even make it over to the US until 2008. Until recently you could only buy it in Ulta Beauty stores, and Target just started selling it in select stores. Their philosophy is that beauty should be fun, products should be quality, and the price should be low.

My first Essence purchased included the XXXL Shine Lip Gloss in Pretty in Hibiscus, Liquid Lipstick in Show Off!, Contour Powder Duo, and the Just Say No to Dark Circles corrector.

I have to admit, for the price, this brand is not bad. Although I didn’t try the entire range of products, those I did try I liked. The lipsticks are both long-wearing. The Liquid Lipstick is very pigmented and isn’t overly sticky. The XXXL Shine Gloss is not as pigmented, but still has great color and shine, and it too isn’t overly sticky. My fellow lip gloss girls can attest there’s nothing worse than having to drag your hair out of your lip gloss over, and over, and over…

For a fair-skinned girl such as myself, it’s difficult to find the right contour color. If it has too much warmth in it, it looks too much like a bronzer. The right contour for my skin tone almost has to look a little grayish. This one from Essence is perfect; it’s just the right balance between cool and warm. I’ve also used the Contour Duo as eyeshadow, and it makes a pretty neutral eye.

Honestly I don’t have a huge problem with dark circles under my eyes, but I wanted to try the Say No! stick to try to add a little bit of not-overwhelming highlight to my undereye area. It works and has been added to my everyday arsenal.

New products for not a lot of money- thumbs up from me!

What new products have you tried or what are you dying to try? Leave me a comment and let me know!