Essence Blushlighter Gradient Powder Blush 03 Cassis Sunburst

I was not super happy when I first brought this home and tried it. For one the colour was completely different than I imagined after seeing it online (it was already the time of no testers), I felt it's not glowy much and the formula was dusty, however, my opinion completely changed now and it's become one of my favourite cheek products. There are four shades of these, all warm and combining the highlighter side with a blush on the other.

Texture: Like I said above, from the start the formula didn't look very tightly packed, so there was a lot of loose powder kicked up when I swiped the brush, but it looks like I've gone through that top layer and the one bellow is much smoother. It now also blend considerably better than when new, it's actually very easy to apply now. It's not quite as lovely as L.O.V. blushes, but also not that far behind. 

Shade: I got the shade 03 Cassis Sunburst, which looked a mauve-pink shade on Essence's pictures, but this is actually peachy pink shade, so not very unique, yet probably the most "safe colour". All the rest looked peachy-orange or brown, so I’m missing a neutral-cool pink-mauve shade in this range, but I've grown to really like this shade. Shimmer size in this is perfect. It's super fine, just like in L.O.V. blushes, so when light hits the cheeks, they don't look textured, it just looks like a lovely glow. It's more on the natural side and that's precisely why I love it. I still use a separate highlighter on the tops of the cheekbones for an extra glow, but for the cheeks the perfect amount of it on its own. Pigmentation is ok, but I suspect people with a darker skin tone will have to layer this one a lot, though at times I get almost too much pigment. It has to do with the fact that only the left side is properly "blushy" and the other is mostly just a highlight, so it matters from which side you swipe the brush when picking up the colour and it's can be difficult to get the balance just right.

Staying power: I haven't noticed anything special about this one. It neither disappears to fast, nor last terribly long, so it's kind of average. 

Packaging: This has a simple clear packaging that's nicely thin, which I appreciate and so far it's closing ok. These clear Essence packaging tend to break quickly either on the hinges or the front closing system, so we'll see if this one is any better. 

Price and availability: I got mine in Műller for 4.29 €.

This slowly became one of my favourites and I haven't put it down often since I got it. I particularly love how fine the shimmer is and this formula reminds me a lot of L.O.V. blushes. I hope Essence adds a simple pink shade or something mauve, so I can expand my collections someday.