Essence 10th Anniversary and Catrice Launch

Dear Readers,

As you might be aware of already, we marked the tenth anniversary of Essence yesterday at a special event. Its sister line, namely Catrice, was introduced also introduced during the same night, and boy, I can't wait until March to attack one of the incredible Catrice stands. The event was extremely well organised - the best one I've attended in a while - and it was just the right mixture between relaxed and chic. I met up with the lovely Martina and Denise from Beauty, Fashion and All Things Fabulous and the gorgeous Dyna from Dyna's Random Blog and they were the perfect company one can have at such an event!

Le moi, with awful hair! 

Our invite

The event was held at The George Hotel in the heart of Paceville and I strongly believe that there couldn't have made a better choice of venue. Stands from both Catrice and Essence were set up and we could swatch and admire the beauties that were on display. 

On to a few words about the products we saw. First and foremost, all of you Essence fans out there better brace yourself for some innovative products which should be available very soon. These include a larger variety of mascaras, some new lip products and my absolute favourite: a new limited collection by the name of 'Legends of the Sky'. The colours are just fabulous! Very neutral yet peachy, just my cup of tea :)

Dyna, Denise and Martina

Lush setting

I hinted already that we were given an exclusive preview of a make up line that is new to our islands. Dear Readers, March can't come too soon! This is the month Catrice cosmetics are hitting the stores and I have compiled a list of items to get already. With regard to prices, Catrice is slightly more expensive than Essence, but still under the five euro mark. I mean, how many products from other brands can you buy at that price? Packaging is much more sleek, a little heavier but really pretty to look at. I had the opportunity to swatch some of the items and I love them already. My personal favourites are the mascaras (with some really cool wands!) and their lipstick range! Oh my God, the latter are absolutely breathtaking. Whilst I love anything Essence, I have to admit that I'm not a fan of their lipsticks. They're not matte and pigmented as much as I'd like them to be. But Catrice totally make up for it, and they're definitely the first items I'm going to bag myself come March.

And some live make up is always a must!

almost finished!

I also noticed that the Catrice colours are more refined and sleek, fit for the 'sophisticated woman' and the 'make up junkie' alike. The limited edition from Catrice is called 'Big City Life' with four mini collections: Sydney, Berlin, London and New York. I wish there was a Paris one, maybe next time *hint hint*. Sydney is a lovely mix of pinkish and taupe shades, whereas Berlin is more on the blue side of the spectrum. London has a gorgeous soft yellow nail varnish and the most eclectic variety of colours was included in the New York Collection. Just like Martina, I'm a sucker for Limited Editions and I'll probably buy myself one of these as soon as they're made available!

lovely :)

Big City Life Limited Edition by Catrice

I was very impressed by it all and everyone seemed to enjoy the event! No wonder, the organisers made everyone feel so welcome, especially us bloggers. It was quite different from other events I was invited to. It seems like Malta is finally realising the potential bloggers have and the way we can serve as an intermediary between brands and consumers.

Essence lip glosses

Check out the new limited edition from Essence. There's a ring too!

As an aside, food was delicious too! One of the highlights of the night was meeting a lovely woman who was so inspirational! She encouraged us to stick to blogging and not give up, irrespectively of what others perceive us to be! After yesterday's confused feelings during the day, the words of this kind lady were just was I needed. I now believe she was a guardian angel or a personification of my conscience.  True story.

That GIANT mascara is a godsend

I can't wait for this stand to be available. Should I start a countdown?

Since I know many of you are going to ask where to get Essence products, I'm going to give you my favourite spots to have that settled. Firstly, the largest variety can be found at Tony's Pharmacy in Gzira. I also like the University Health Shop and Tarxien Dispensary (in Tarxien obviously!). Should you want to check whether a pharmacy close to you stocks Essence (and Catrice in the future!), you can join the Essence Cosmetics Malta Facebook Page and ask over there. They're very helpful!

Was I right when I said the lipsticks were fab?

Catrice stand, I love you.

The only thing I wish we could have done was to buy some of the goodies, but Essence and Catrice were extremely generous with us. They surprised us with this huge goodie bag full of Catrice products (which are going to be available from March!) and some of the new products from the Essence skin and make up collections! I can't wait to try them and share them with you! I'm going to film a video about the goodie bag later on today, so stick around, there's a lot to see.

THANK YOU!

In the meantime, you can watch this video with some footage from our night. Thank you Essence and Catrice. You rock!

-B