I had to go down to the Priceline near my work today to get some deodorant, so I thought I'd check out the latest from my personal Brand-of-the-Moment, Essence. I loved the things I got from their Cherry Girl range a while back, so I wanted to have a look at the
Circus Circus range, which was released in Australia earlier this month. It debuted in Europe in December 2011 ... I can't believe it's taken all this time to come to our shores! We're always on the tail-end of these things, it seems. It's a little bit frustrating. Not only that, but as it was designed for the Christmas/Winter party season in Europe, it seems a little incongruous to release it in Australia in March. Just saying!
The range lived up to its reputation on the shiny side of things, with lots of gold, red and purple glitter. The eyeshadows were a bit disappointing: while metallic, they were dark, grungy shades. I was expecting brights for a circus theme. There was a choice of two lip glosses in shades of glittery red and pink. The nail polishes were much more enticing, with double-ended bottles filled with gold glitter, red, purple and pink. The fragrance was housed in an exciting-looking multi-faceted bottle with an old-fashioned bulb spray. The scent however- a slightly spicy yet generic floral - didn't inspire me to purchase.
I was hoping to pick up a lipstick or gloss in a coral tone, as I wanted one to match with my Essence Cherry Girl eye palette. Even after a year of beauty box subscriptions, I still don't have a coral lip colour! Plenty of reds, a few pinks, but no coral! I ended up choosing XXL Shine in Sparkling Papaya from Essence's regular range, and their Nail Art Express Dry Drops. Of course they were cheaper than fabled brand Seche Vite, and if they're half as good as S.V. is reputed to be, they should be all right.
Sorry about the awful photo, I'll do a proper swatch later.