Essence Long Lasting Lipsticks Review*

Hey Beauties! Because I'm a lipstick addict and because it's summer time what better post to share with you than my favorite all time lipsticks to rock on the beautiful summer days. I currently own seven of the Essence Long Lasting Lipsticks and I'm on the hunt to round out my collection and collect all the shades that I can. If you are Canadian like me, you can sadly only get these at Shoppers because they are exclusive to that drugstore. If you live elsewhere (US, UK and more) you can find them at Ulta and Fred Meyer's according to their website. Essence Cosmetics prices range from about $2 to $10 depending on the products purchase. For this review, the Long Lasting Lipsticks retail for about $2.50 here in Canada and are affordable for almost any budget. Beside's their super affordable price point, the quality of these lipsticks will well exceed the dollar value that is attached to them.

When you first purchase this product the package really is nothing to gaze over, it's a flat black package with a color strip in the middle that indicates the color inside. It also has a small round sticker on the bottom that also shares the likeness of the color. The package does have some weight to it in the bottom area, which works great if you are wanting these to stand up in lipstick holders, however, the twist up inside is lackluster. It's quite easy to wind up but also feels very flimsy and breakable - nothing compared to ELF's $1 packaging but also not like Maybelline's or Revlon's $8-10 packaging that comes with their lipsticks. My favorite part about the packaging is the little touch of Essence that the brand puts on the very top of their lipsticks by imprinting the letter 'e' on top (this can be seen below).

Back Row (left to right): Nude Love (Nude Kiss), Oh! So Matt!, Get The Look and Love Me.
Front Row (left to right): Color Crush, Wear Berries! and Adorable Matt!

Now let's talk a little bit about color! Essence Cosmetics currently has 13 shades of their Long Lasting Lipsticks in the range, with currently no limited edition shades according to their website. Another great thing about these lipsticks it that they come in either a cream or matte finish and this is usually indicated by the word 'Matt' in the title of the lipstick. These lipsticks range from beautiful everyday nude shades, to your lips but better shades and then on to barbie pinks, purple hues, reds and even some trendy 'Kylie Jenner' lip type of colors. I think there is a lipstick for everyone in this collection and if you find that there isn't one for you, these are so affordable that you can try picking two shades and mixing them together. Below I have added some swatches to show you the variety of color that I have just by owning seven as well as the amazing cream and matte formula's.

Swatches (left to right): Nude Love (Nude Kiss), Oh! So Matt!, Get The Look, Love Me,  Color Crush, Wear Berries! and Adorable Matt!

So now that I've filled you with tons of information about the Long Lasting Lipsticks line I think its time to tell you how in love I am. I own a lot of lipsticks (100+ tubes) and chances are I only use about 30 of them due to color issues, formula issues and more. Out of those 30 lipsticks that I tend to pull from 9 times out of 10 one of those lipsticks is one of the Essence Cosmetics Long Lasting Lipsticks. My favorite shade is Nude Love which I believe is now called Nude Kiss but I also love rocking all of the other colors and being able to play with shades that are out of my comfort zone but have an awesome formula. I don't believe that the matte formula's are completely matte, I believe them to be much more a cream matte than other matte lipsticks on the market but I still love that they have the matte feel to them and don't slide around on the lips or feather in lip lines. As for the longevity of these lipsticks, I think they last a decent time, however, I have not fully tested out their potential. I am the type of girl who needs to take her lipstick off when doing anything including eating, drinking and so forth, so I tend to just reapply anyway so sadly I can say they last an average amount of time, 3 - 4 hours. 
Overall I'm really impressed with these little $3 lipsticks and they really do beat out many of the $10 and $15 dollar lipsticks that I've also been lucky enough to purchase. Don't get me wrong there are many brands and lipsticks that I love out in the world of makeup for many reasons. But I love a lightweight, creamy formula that lasts and doesn't smudge and for $3 I will stock up and go crazy for every shade!
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I do want to put a HUGE thank-you in here also, as Essence Cosmetics was kind enough to send me these lipsticks for free without offering or expecting a review of their product. I am beyond pleased with both the service I got from the brand as well as the product itself that it seemed wrong not to rave and share it with my viewers. I also want to put a little message out there that this is my first PR sample post that I have done here on Little Beauty Bug and I am honoured to have done it with Essence Cosmetics, as they have been a brand that I have loved for a while now. Thank you all for being supportive through my journey and for giving me amazing opportunities like this one. As usual please know that all my images, thoughts and content in this post is 100% honest because I wouldn't have it any other way! Thank you! :)
* Please note that products in this post were sent to me by the specified brands PR department for review and or feature on Little Beauty Bug. All opinions, thoughts and content in this post are 100% honest and truthful.  If I did not like the product it simply would not be being featured on my blog. Thank you for your cooperation! *