Haul & review: Essence Cosmetics.

Early last month the husband had to go to South Africa for work, which I of course took advantage of and sent him on a Drugstore mission. His first attempt was a failure as I asked him to get me some bright nail polishes... He returned with a royal blue, dusty rose and a nude begie/brown... (I asked him to keep the last one) So back he went and returned the other ones as he now had a specific list of items to get me rather than me assuming he pays attention to what I use... Silly me!

I asked for a setting spray, banana powder, clear brow mascara and the polishes seen in the picture.

There's only two cruelty free brands in drugstores as far as I know in South Africa, Physicians Formula and Essence Cosmetics. If you live in Cape Town you can get a hold of NYX.

French manicure beautifying nail polish in the shade Girl's Best French.

Brushed Metals Nail Polish in the shade Can't Stop The Feeling.
One thing these polishes have in common is a very thin formula, you need a minimum of 3 coats plus top coat if you don't want them flaking off within a couple of hours of them drying.

The Gel Nail Polish in the shade Dare It Nude.
I'm not a fan of this formula.

As for my review, I'm underwhelmed.

The banana powder is alright, I was mainly looking for a substitute to the yellow powder in the Kat Von D Shade + Light Eye Palette as I'm phasing it out, I love the products I have from that brand and will use them up but I don't agree with the front characters ethics and I've boycotted brands for way less before.

"You get what you pay for" applies for the rest.

Safe to say I'm over drugstore buys, I can make anything work for me but I shouldn't need to battle to get a product to work the way I expect/need it to. I rather spend more.

I have however not tried the Glow to go setting spray yet as I'm saving it for once I finish my Pixi Fixing Mist.