One of the most exciting new Essence products that came in our stores this spring were Velvet Sticks. In the store, I couldn’t decide which shade to take, so I took all five of them. I couldn’t wait to show the swatches to you, although this review comes a bit later as I planned because lately I’m busy, busy, busy (soon you’ll find out why ;)).
Essence Velvet Sticks come in a jumbo pencil shape, each in the colour of the shade, so you can easier recognize them in your storage area. Once you outwear the nib, you have to sharpen them which is a minus for me because I wish these would have a twist up system. One pencil contains 2 g and the price for it is 2,19 €.
The quality of pencils variates from different shades. Mostly all of them are amazing with a very good colour pay off, with the exception of lightest shade Nude Hero which has its imperfections. Their formula is very creamy and it glides on lips easily, although you have to be careful by darker shades to apply them nicely on the edges of the lips. They feel very comfortable on lips and don’t dry them out. Although one could judge by the name that these are matte, their finish is actually more semi-matte because they never lose that gentle shine from the lips. All of them apply evenly with the exception of Nude Hero which applies a bit patchy and can emphasize the imperfection on lips the most. Duration time on lips is different. Nude Hero disappears from my lips within an hour or two, while all other shade (as well as Peony Star) can last around 4 hours. That, of course, depends on how much I eat and drink in between. They do transfer on a glass or service and both lightest shades disappear from lips while eating, but all reddish shades leave a gentle, even stain.
I’m highly satisfied with these, especially for this price, but I have one negative observation – the lack of shade variations. There are only five shades in this collection, but one is nude, one is mauve and other three have all reddish undertone. I wish they would create more variations of shades and also add some pink, purple, orange toned lip pencils.
Nude Hero is a nude shade with a light pink undertone. It's the shade that will suit to the most of the people, but it can apply a bit patchy and it can emphasize dry parts on the lips. Also, it's duration time is not the strongest, it disappears from the lips in an hour or two.
Peony Star is a mauve shade. It's really a gorgeous shade, but it's one of the least unique shades from all five because I found a lot of similar shades in my collection, most of them are from Essence (you can see a comparison photo below). Although Peony Star is the second lightest shade and I could count it among nudes, it works much better on lips than Nude Hero. On my lips, it last almost as long as other three red shades - but that, of course, depends on how much I eat and drink when I wear it.
Mega Melon is a bright red, almost coral shade. It's one of my favourite shades from all five and it's going to be a perfect shade for summer.
Cherry Crash is a classic red shade. I think this is another shade that will look good on everyone.
Although the name says Plum Perfect, this shade is far from being plum. It's a red shade with a brown undertone and it's a second favourite of the bunch.
Essence Velvet Stick Nude Hero
Essence Velvet Stick Peony Star
Essence Velvet Stick Mega Melon
Essence Velvet Stick Cherry Crash
Essence Velvet Stick Plum Perfect
Comparison time
In my collection, I searched for the shades that would be close to five Velvet Stick shades, either by the colour of the packaging or the shade of the product.
First, I compared Nude Hero to some of the nudes in my collection. I was surprised that I don't have more nudes with a light pink undertone. The closest to Nude Hero is old Stay Matt lip cream in shade Velvet Rose, but still a bit darker.
For someone who doesn't wear mauve a lot on her lips and who thought some time ago that this shade looks horrendous on her, I have a lot of shades with a mauve undertone. The closest to Peony Star are Essence lipliner in Plum Cake, which is completely matte and a bit darker and more greyish, and Catrice lipstick Mauve Your lips, which is a bit lighter.
While I expected that Mega Melon will be unique shade, I found a dupe in Catrice Lobster Love lipstick. Still, I'm a huge fan of Mega Melon and I'll wear it a lot during summer.
For the end, I compared Cherry Crash and Plum Perfect with some red shades in my collection. Although my red collection is quite big, I haven't found a lot of similar shades to them. Plum Perfect is definitely a unique shade (at least in my collection) while the closest to Cherry Crash is Essence lipstick NA Rock from old Tribal Summer TE.
Have you tried Essence Velvet Stick lip pencil? Which one is your favourite? If you like this post, you're welcome to share it! Thank you for reading!