Today's shop has been sponsored by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. As always, all opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that make this blog possible!
#TargetYourEssence #CollectiveBias
Oh, Valentines Day, how you throw all of us into a frenzy of what should I wear from face to toe. And yes, that includes me.
Recently I've become sort of a nomad schlepping my things from one place to another and using my office as a storage space - the joys of not owning your own apartment (yet). We'll chat more about that later.
To be honest, most of my things are in storage for fear of losing things during my moves. That includes my cute dresses and pricey cosmetics (perfect timing right?). And ladies, going barefaced or wearing the same dress for the fifth time in a row is not an option for me on Valentine's Day. It's the one day we're given to go all out in the name of love so let's take advantage of the guilt-free primp sessions. (This of course, excludes brides-to-be).
For reference, Essence Cosmetics was launched in Germany in the early 2000s but they’re known worldwide for their always on trend colors for lips, nails, and eyes. Back to present-day, Essence is finally stateside and available at over 500 select Target locations nationwide (and online). Also, Target has been killing it lately in their makeup & skincare aisle so highly recommend you spend some time there.
The line is known for its affordable price points (nail polish for $1.99 And bronzer a for $4.99) and makes treating yourself painless. The quality is pretty amazing too: eyeshadows are easy to blend and highly pigmented, the same is true for their blush (when applying know that a little goes a long way), and their “gel” nail polishes have a nice gel-like shine.
And when it comes to lips… well, we all know how much I obsess over lip color. Their selections of nudes (lipstick & gloss combined) create a flawless finish.
The line is pretty big and comes in a variety of colors so anyone will be able to find something they love, and have fun creating a variety of looks.
Coming home with brand new makeup inspired me to create an easy look for a night out so follow the steps down below. Make sure you start with a flawless base for the best outcome.
EYES
Starting with the All About Eyes in Bronze Palette I applied about 1-2 layers of the deep brown/gold layered (marked as 1) for a subtle color. After that dusted my inner corners with a lighter gold (marked as 2).
I then drew a thin line with the Eyeliner Pen and winged the end. I find using a pen, rather than a pencil, helps give me a smoother line without any feathered edges.
Once, the pen dried I applied the Make Me Brow Gel Mascara (a must-have) to help frame my face. I found that two coats work great; start towards your inner brows and work your way out. Apply more if you're into bold brows.
You can you also do your brows after any powder setting - hence le bronzer & blush seen here.
FACE
Next we bronze. I love using the Sun Club Bronzer to contour my face and this one is made for easy blending. As shown below, use a sculpting or kabuki brush to draw out a line from your ear to the middle of your cheekbone and then blend. After that, I like to dust a 3 (forehead, cheekbone, jawline) onto the left and right side of my face with the bronzer and blend accordingly.
Grab the Blush Up! (I made a boo-boo and grabbed pink instead of coral, so grab the coral for this one!) and smile. Dust the apples of your cheeks for color but apply gently - the color is highly pigmented. Swatch it on your skin (I use my arm) so you get an idea of how much to apply.
EYES (AGAIN)
There's nothing worse than getting bronzer or any other sort of powder stuck to your fresh mascaraed eyes. So once our face and the powder business is done head back to your eyes and apply two coats of I Heart Extreme Mascara. If you have straight lashes like me, you may want to curl them first.
LIPS
Finally, we move onto our the lips. Like I said before I'm obsessed with nudes so nude lip it is. I applied the Long Lasting Lipstick in Nude Love, blotted, and then reapplied another coat. Then I applied a top coat of XXXL Shine Lip Gloss in Brown.
THE FINAL LOOK
In the end I'm left feeling like a peachy queen with an ultra-luxe lippie. And of course, ready to take on the world.
