Review: ESSENCE - The Velvets :)

Hello! One of this spring new launches were also these The Velvets mono eyeshadows by Essence. And of course, I couldn't resist trying them out. I have two from the collection of total nine shades, I tested shades 08 Coral me maybe ...  and 09 Bahama-mama! Now let's see how they fared!

These come in a plastic transparent packaging, very small and light, easy to transport. They do close up well, at least mine are sturdy and don't open easy. They contain 2.8 grams of product, once opened these should last you for 36 months. 

What attracted my attention in the firt place was the gorgeous embossing pattern! It looks soo luxurious and fine that I just couldn't resist getting at least one shade! Later on I also received one shade as a gift! Lucky girl, right? 

The collection is called The Velvets as they promise to be silky smooth, which they totaly are! They may seem to have a matte finish, but to me these have more like a silky satin finish. There is no visible shimmer in the two shades I have, but the finish does reflect some light. The texture of these is really soft, as promised, easy to use and apply. They do dust a tiny bit, but comparing to other Essence eyeshadows I have these don't dust or fall out too much. The swathces you can see later on are made without any primer, just layered eyeshadows.

Shade Coral me maybe.. is a light peachy pink shade with a gentle shine to it and the shade Bahama-mama is a baby blue with also some shine to it. The Coral me maybe may seem a bit strong, but the coral in the name is misleading as it's not really a coral eyeshadow, it's more of a warm pink with peachy undertone. They both seem intense shades in the packaging, however the shade Bahama-mama is more intense and needs less layers to get it really strong. Usually I just need a layer or two and I'm good, with Coral me maybe ... shade I can apply up to five layers and it just won't show as well on camera. In reall life the shade looks warm on my skin and lovely, perfect for blending and mixing with other shades and especially for daytime looks, but even then it needs to be worked up a bit more than Bahama-mama.

Considering the rest of the shades I find it very interesting they decided to include such a bright baby blue eyeshadow as well as the rest of these are really calm, neutrals, warm shades for every day use. I however love the shade Bahama-mama more than Coral me maybe... as it's simply more lively and reminds me of summer and warm days! 

Anyway, I feel like the pigmentation of these might be a bit misleading. They seem very strong and vibrant on my hands, especially the Bahama-mama shade, but once you try to apply it and mix it with other shades these seem to need a  lot more work. I am not saying don't try these, I am just saying that those of you who already have a bunch of similar shades from other brands might not find these suitable for your needs. They blend well, but a bit too well, I feel like I need to reapply a lot to get the intensity back. I haven't tried the darker shades so those might be better at pigmentation. Lasting power is decent, but nothing out of the ordinary. 

Hope this post was helpful to you! Let me know if you have tried any of these shades and how they worked for you?

Thanks for reading!

Love, UniqaPoly!