bargain

The Loch Ness Monster and Bigfoot are questionable, but the monster who steals socks from the dryer? — totally real. And he has a side job stealing lipsticks from legal assistants who ride the bus to work. For serious!

Back when I worked in one of San Francisco’s cubicle jungles, I used to ride the 38AX Geary Express to work, and on more than one occasion, somewhere between the time I’d step out of my apartment and sit down at my desk at work, I’d lose at least one tube of lipstick.

It was the weirdest thing! — like I was being targeted by a makeup pickpocket.

But now I know the truth: monster. 🙂

The silver lining to being the frequent victim of a makeup monster was that it gave me an excuse to go to one of the four Walgreens stores near work to get a tube of “emergency lipstick.”

I wish these Essence Lipsticks had been around back then because, GURL, they’re kind of amazing (and only $2.49 each)!

These cuties come in 10 colors, some with matte and some with shimmer finishes. Each one comes in a tube the same color as the lipstick inside, which actually really helps locate a particular color. The packaging feels pretty sturdy, too, which is a nice change of pace from the flimsy lipstick packaging that many budget lines use.

Right now I’m stuck on Kiss You, a shimmery cool pink with silver glitter. The consistency’s thin, and wear time is only about three hours, but that’s fairly typical of a lipstick that isn’t billed as long wearing.

Kiss You has a lightweight, smooth, slick texture that feels wonderful on my lips, and based on the reviews on ulta.com, the other colors should, too. I don’t mind the faint vanilla flavor and scent, but for the record, both of them fade fast.

Kiss You also layers well, so it’s easy to take from sheer up to opaque coverage, but no matter how many layers I wear, it doesn’t dry out my lips.

Oh, and have I mentioned that these are just $2.49 each?

$2.49!

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Essence continues to rock me like a hurricane (and take the drugstore makeup world by storm). What fab, little steals these pigmented, long-wearing Gel Eyeliners are! They come in three shades — matte black Midnight in Paris, shimmery taupe London Baby and shimmery purple Berlin Rocks — and cost a mere $3.49 each.

The fluffy texture of this shoestring wedding of whipped mousse and $15 MAC Fluidline doesn’t hold these back at all. In fact, with the Sonia Kashuk bent brush, I find them surprisingly easy to apply, and since they’re also quick drying — like, in less than a minute — I finish lining with them in less time than it takes to say, “Ben McKenzie is hot!”

Well, ya know. 🙂

And even without the help of my trusty NARS Pro Prime Smudge Eyeshadow Base, they stay put all day long without creasing or fading.

Midnight in Paris on the left; London Baby on the right
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Today, the first official day of summer, has been the hottest day of the year so far, yet shortly after it topped 92 °F this afternoon (33 °C) I exclaimed, “cool!”

Thanks to the shine-preventing power of powder (in this case MAC Blot), you may not be able to tell from these pics that my air conditioner is busted. I considered retreating with my water noodle to a pool, but then I would have had to wait before telling you about these bargain basement glosses from Essence.

Dang, right? Today has been all about the glosses. 🙂

The Essence line, an import from Germany, is still new to U.S. shores. Price-wise, it fits nicely next to other drugstore lines like NYC New York Color and Wet n Wild, and can be found at Ulta stores and also online.

From the left: Me & My Ice Cream, I Like Cotton Candy, Candy Bar, Trendsetter, Kiss Kiss Kiss and Berry Me

Although I felt just so-so about Essence’s $2 eyeshadows, their Stay With Me Longlasting Lipglosses ($2.29) are in a whole different league. If I hadn’t known better, I would have pegged these as $18 glosses from a high-end brand.

Why do I like Essence Longlasting Lipgloss?

• Pigment like whoa! — These are some of the boldest, richest drugstore lipglosses I’ve seen in a really long time, and kudos for their creamy finish. For sheerer coverage, all it takes is a few dots dabbed on the lips.
• That feels good — I feel like cheering, “These feel good, oh, they feel so good, UH!” 🙂 Non-sticky and smooth, they’re like slightly thicker MAC Cremesheen Glasses, and moisturizing as all heck.
• You’re sweet — I’m not often a fan of candy-flavored lip products, but these, I like. They taste and smell faintly of red gummy bears (fades after about 10 minutes), which takes me back to the fights I used to have over those with my brother back in the day.

I like all six of the colors, but I purplish pink I Like Cotton Candy (a dead ringer for Benefit’s discontinued Kiss Me Gloss) and Candy Bar, a pinkish coral that looks great with summery golds and teals.

Swatches from the left: Me & My Ice Cream, I Like Cotton Candy, Candy Bar, Trendsetter, Kiss Kiss Kiss and Berry Me
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