New Essence Palettes: All About Nude, All About Paradise, All about Sunrise

If you're near an Ulta or Shoppers Drug Mart/Pharmaprix location that has a little display of Essence Cosmetics, you neeeeeeeed to check out the new 6-pan palettes in their permanent line-up. For 4.99$, I picked up three on a whim and haven't regretted the purchase.

There are four available currently, and I passed on the pastel-hued one, opting for All About Paradise, All About Nude and All About Sunrise.

The texture, finish and pigmentation varies a fair bit between all the palettes, and even between the individual colours in each palette. There are a few matte looking ones that nevertheless pick up a satin sheen when applied, and the rest are shimmers, metallics and satins with shimmer/micro-glitter. Some feel quite dense and creamy, and pick up easily with a brush, while a few are firmer and drier in feel, with a more powdery kickback. I find that the majority of them swatch really beautifully, but they have the same adherence issue that I think is common with budget eyeshadows that lean on the creamier side - whatever combination of ingredients is used to give that texture and good pigmentation doesn't always translate into good "sticking" quality.

That said, the solution is simple enough that I don't view the less than stellar adherence as a major drawback, especially considering the price and the results that can be achieved. I take the extra step of using either a cream base or some concealer on my eyelid (over the primer).

All About Nudes has the most wearable shades, as expected.

The off-white shimmer and light taupe shimmer in the top row have a bit of micro glitter and a slightly drier texture and sheerer finish. The delicate pale pink satin is smooth and soft, with nice pigmentation. For greater intensity, the shimmers benefit from being applied with a damp brush, but in all honesty I prefer the subtle look that can be created using them as is. Sort of a...Your Eyelids But Better? YEBB?

The bottom row doesn't lack for punch though. The iced pink frost is dense and creamy with very good payoff, and the deep, greyed taupe shimmer, and intense mulberry shimmer are just slightly less velvety.

All About Paradise has the most vivid shade range of the three, obviously. This is a great option if you're looking to add some crazy colours into your eyeshadow wardrobe, but you're not inclined to spend the money on something like the Urban Decay Electric palette. This gives you a taste at less than a tenth the price, but that sticky base is a must.

The white-gold shimmer verges on metallic, with a smooth, creamy texture and excellent pigmentation. The peach shimmer is less smooth, with a sort of flaky shimmer that makes it a shade best applied wet or dabbed on with a finger. The hot pink and canary yellow shimmers are gorgeous, and best over a primer to get the best payoff. The aqua and blue shades are both drier feeling, and definitely need that base to showcase their vibrancy, otherwise they sheer out quite a bit.

All About Sunrise is my absolute favourite out of the three palettes, not only because the pigmentation is the best but also because of how beautiful it looks when applied. This is a metallic heavy palette, with all but one shade being a variation on gold.

The white gold frost is buttery, dense and very pigmented, totally gorgeous. The following two are variations on the rose gold idea, the middle one being more pink and warm-toned, the latter one having a deeper, taupe undertone. They're not quite as smooth or creamy as the white gold, but they do have great payoff.

The rich yellow gold has the same formulation as the white gold, while the peach gold is similar the to the rose-toned ones in terms of feel and performance. The brown at the bottom right is the odd man out, being cooler-tone, having a drier texture and much sheerer application. It is nice, however, for balancing out the richness of the rest of the palette.

Below is an eye look created with the All About Sunrise palette a little back. I used a mix of the champagne gold and the rose gold all over the lid, with the peach gold as a dimensional layer in the very middle of the lid. The pale beige gold shade was used in the inner corner, and the light brown in the crease and under the eye, mixed with a touch of the rose gold. The look came out with that sunshine-sparkling-on-water effect, which I think was quite pretty.

Availability: At Pharmaprix/Shoppers locations that carry Essence, in the regular display case. Also at Ulta. Price is 4.99$ CAD per palette. (Which is a freaking STEAL.)

Have you guys spotted these yet? Tried them? What do you think?

(I purchased these items. This post is not sponsored or compensated, all opinions are my own.)