YOUTUBERS GAVE THESE HONEST REVIEWS. LEARN MORE.
GrailPeople

Essence

Ask to find reviews

See reviews of these products

@tati reviewing Essence Foundation Stick at 03:48 in a YouTube Shorts videoFoundation Stick"The moment I tried this, I was so mad at myself for not trying it sooner because this is one of the most gorgeous stick foundations, period. Drugstore or not."$6.99@stephaniemarie reviewing Essence 16 Hour Cover and Last Powder Foundation at 05:04 in a YouTube Shorts video16h Cover & Last Powder Foundation"It really does just perfect your skin. Look at the line here of demarcation. You can see between where I used it and where I haven't."$5.99@carmelnicolebeauty reviewing Essence Silky Blur Hydrating Longwear Foundation at 26:18 in a YouTube Shorts videoSilky Blur Hydrating Longwear Foundation"This is one of the most beautiful foundations I've ever put on my skin."-@juicyjas reviewing Essence Magic Filter Glow Booster at 05:07 in a YouTube Shorts videoMagic Filter Glow Booster"This is really pretty if you want to just enhance your complexion, make any foundation a little bit more glowy."$5.99

Browse more

Foundation Stick
4.9Foundation Stick
  • “The moment I tried this, I was so mad at myself for not trying it sooner because this is one of the most gorgeous stick foundations, period. Drugstore or not”3:40–3:46
  • “It melts into the skin. It's not gummy. It's not patchy. It's not fingerprinty”3:48–3:55
  • “It has the right amount of coverage. It's not too heavy. It's not too light. It wears great”3:55–3:59
  • “You can underpaint with the different shades. They have so many different shades and each tube is like five, six bucks”3:59–4:05
  • “You can bron with this, contour with this, you can brighten with this. One of the greatest launches in 2025. So underrated”4:05–4:11
  • “I'm giving it like a massive thumbs up”4:16–4:20
  • Source: Best Drugstore Makeup of 2025 - Dec 26, 2025
TatiTati7.9M subscribers
4.9Variant: 160Foundation Stick
  • “This only cost about six euros if you can believe that”28:38–28:49
  • “This is a very very lightweight foundation stick. So I would say the coverage is somewhere between light to medium which just suits me on a daily basis”28:45–28:53
  • “Like with the Lumi matte literally blends itself. I mean, if you've ever used the Dior foundation stick and you've seen how blendable that is, this is even more blendable. So, it literally just melts into the skin. It actually blends out like butter”28:56–29:03
  • “I like this because it gives me a really healthy, dewy finish to the skin”29:11–29:19
  • “This is one of the best foundations of the year, but you have to like light coverage, although it is buildable and you have to like a dewy, glowy finish”29:27–29:31
  • Source: The best makeup of 2025 - Dec 29, 2025
Carmel NicoleCarmel Nicole21K subscribers
4.5Variant: 170Foundation Stick
juicyjasjuicyjas1.1M subscribers
4Variant: Medium LightFoundation Stick
em maem ma570K subscribers
1Variant: 140Foundation Stick
  • “My issue with this one is it sits on top of the skin”4:55–5:02
  • “You can even see as I'm applying it, it's just not looking smooth at all”5:00–5:06
  • “This makes the ColourPop look good”5:22–5:27
  • “This Essence one is arguably the worst foundation that I've put on my face this year”5:36–5:44
  • “It is an affordable product, but it's not even worth how affordable Essence can be”5:44–5:49
  • “This one, in my opinion, was a major major fail”5:55–6:01
  • “It's attaching to dry patches that I can assure you really aren't there that no other foundation is going to detect”6:06–6:11
  • “It's literally even making the ColourPop foundation look really smooth”6:13–6:17
  • Source: Worst makeup of 2025 - Jan 1, 2026
Morgan TurnerMorgan Turner370K subscribers
16h Cover & Last Powder Foundation
4.7Variant: Porcelain16h Cover & Last Powder Foundation
  • “It really does just perfect your skin. Look at the line here of demarcation. You can see between where I used it and where I haven't”21:19–21:29
  • “It wears so well. Now, it does have a little bit of color to it, so you do have to make sure that you get your shade. But oh my goodness, I love how long lasting this is. I love how smooth this makes my skin look”21:32–21:36
  • “If I don't want to look like a disco ball up here, this just gives such a gorgeous amount of skin-like finish”21:42–21:54
  • Source: Best makeup under $10 that perform like high-end - Feb 10, 2026
Sophie 🎀Sophie 🎀1.9K subscribers
4.516h Cover & Last Powder Foundation
Stephanie MarieStephanie Marie279K subscribers
Silky Blur Hydrating Longwear Foundation
4.9Variant: 155Silky Blur Hydrating Longwear Foundation
Carmel NicoleCarmel Nicole21K subscribers
Magic Filter Glow Booster
4.3Variant: 30 Medium/TanMagic Filter Glow Booster
  • “This is really pretty if you want to just enhance your complexion, make any foundation a little bit more glowy”5:02–5:07
  • “I love this packaging as well”5:07–5:12
  • “It just gives such a pretty glowy base”5:15–5:19
  • “This is not going to give you any coverage, by the way”5:17–5:21
  • “It's a very sheer glowy product”5:19–5:22
  • “If you like the Hollywood Flawless Filter from Charlotte Tilbury or just any kind of radiance under your makeup, you're going to like this”5:21–5:27
  • “If you want to enhance any of your foundations and make them look ultra glowy, the glow booster is it”16:34–16:39
  • “This is very sheer, but I love the way foundation applies over top of this”
  • Source: Full face of Essence makeup under $10 - Mar 28, 2026
juicyjasjuicyjas1.1M subscribers
Brand note

Essence is the drugstore brand that keeps surprising creators with how good the formulas are for the money. The Super Peptide Glossy Lip Treatment comes up most often — a non-sticky, high-shine gloss with a smooth, hydrating feel that people compare favorably to high-end options. The Soft Touch Butter Bronzer also gets consistent praise for its soft, blurring, easy-to-blend texture. The main trade-off across the line is limited shade ranges, which creators note can exclude a lot of skin tones.

Shop paths

Essence SiteAmazonUlta

Some links are affiliate links.