- “This has been a constant favorite of mine for so long”10:41–10:49
- Source: What's in my makeup bag and my go-to everyday makeup look - Jan 10, 2026
Essence
See Reviews of These Products
Pure Nude Highlighter"This has been a constant favorite of mine for so long."$4.99
Soft Touch Bouncy Glow"Essence creates some of the greatest products."$5.99
Balm of Sunshine Face & Body Glow Balm"It is a dupe for the Patrick Ta Glow Balm."$6.99
Radiant Light Face Palette"This is pretty."$8.99
Pure Nude Sunlighter Palette"I really do like this bronzer. It's kind of a luminous type bronzer, but it's not super luminous, but it's really beautiful."$14.95
Meta Glow Highlighter"Oh my god, that's so pretty."$5.99
Pure Nude Sunlighter"I love love love this highlight. It's definitely one of my all-time favorites, especially for summer."$4.99Browse More
- “I've shared this as a dupe for some high-end quality highlighters”18:41–18:49
- “Because this is a baked formula, this gives you that natural dewy looking radiance that's so incredibly flattering”18:47–18:54
- “There is zero sparkle or glimmer”18:57–19:01
- “It's just very smooth and natural”19:00–19:05
- “It looks like a liquid highlighter, but it's in powder form”19:03–19:10
- “I love this”
- Source: Top drugstore makeup favorites in every category - Aug 31, 2025
- “If you want to highlight the skin and you want it to look glowy but not crinklify your skin, exaggerate fine lines, not look like a strobe beam during the day, do yourself a favor and get the Essence Pure Nude”10:36–10:41
- “You cannot screw this up”
- “It is literally going to do everything you need her to do and then some”10:52–10:58
- “It is just like the ambient powders”10:58–11:02
- “It gives you a true candle lit glow”
- “I have consistently reached for this product over and over throughout the years”11:00–11:08
- “If I didn't have this in the drawer, like I would go buy another one”
- “This is my favorite in the highlight category from the drugstore”11:39–11:44
- Source: Ultimate drugstore makeup guide: best in each category - Jul 21, 2025
- “This is my all-time favorite drugstore highlighter”11:52–11:58
- “This is my favorite highlighter”12:01–12:03
- “The formula of this is much different than the one that I just showed you”12:04–12:08
- “It's a little bit silkier, a little bit more natural, I guess, if you will”12:08–12:12
- “Like, it's going to give you a glow, but it's going to be much softer than the bouncy highlighter, which gives more of that wet glow”12:12–12:15
- “I just love this highlighter”
- “I wore this on my wedding day and just a classic favorite”12:21–12:28
- “Anytime I want a glow, but I don't want to do too much, this is the go-to”12:25–12:32
- Source: Full face of Essence makeup under $10 - Mar 28, 2026
Variant: Be My Highlight
- “I have hourglass. There's a color in my Hourglass palette in the three palette. You know how pricey Hourglass is? There's a color in there that's the same shade. Can't beat it for five bucks”12:53–12:59
- “Absolutely love it”
- Source: 2025 Holy Grail Drugstore Favorites - Jan 22, 2026
- “If you were to ask me 5 years ago, do I have anything at the drugstore comparable to an Hourglass powder? This would be it”36:47–36:56
- “This is not a highlighter that is a bling in your face highlighter. It is a beautiful lit from within all over glow”37:03–37:13
- “It makes your face look like it doesn't have any powder on it, but it also doesn't make it look like you have a highlighter product on your face. It just looks like that's the kind of skin and makeup that you did. It's undetectable glow”37:16–37:25
- Source: Best makeup under $10 that perform like high-end - Feb 10, 2026
Variant: Be My Highlight
- “I just used a really light one today. I use my Essence Pure Nude”8:26–8:30
- Source: No touch-ups needed drugstore coverage routine - Mar 3, 2026
Variant: 20 Glazed Dew
- “Essence creates some of the greatest products”9:00–9:05
- “They are truly so special and so affordable”9:05–9:11
- “Essence highlighters, I love using these. They compare to high, high end, not just kind of high end”9:09–9:14
- “Essence is priced in a way that honestly blows my mind”9:26–9:34
- Source: Drugstore makeup that beats luxury - Apr 20, 2026
Variant: 10 Soft Glaze
- “They are really pretty”11:26–11:28
- “What's nice about these formulas is that they're not overly powdery”11:28–11:31
- “They actually have a very wet silky formula that just melts into the skin”11:29–11:36
- Source: Full face of Essence makeup under $10 - Mar 28, 2026
Variant: 10 Soft Glaze
- “Such a pretty highlight. This has a nice gold undertone to it”9:46–9:52
- Source: Effortless no makeup makeup look under $10 - May 28, 2026
Variant: 30 Glazing Gleam
- “It's just so like putty”14:47–14:49
- “Also really pretty. Really, really pretty, but not like starky”14:54–15:02
- “It kind of like buffers in nicely”15:04–15:08
- Source: Hot new drugstore makeup brutally honest review - Jun 1, 2026
Variant: 10 Soft Glaze
- “It feels beautiful. And I love the look of it when it's on my finger”34:58–35:07
- “It does have glitter in this. So, you have to be a little careful with it”35:03–35:12
- “I definitely get glitter from it. I don't really like glittery highlighters if I'm completely honest”35:34–35:38
- “I do really like it. I'm really getting back into highlighter recently”35:59–36:07
- Source: Full face of new Essence makeup: hits, misses & absolute gems - Mar 23, 2026
Variant: 20 Glazed Dew
- “Okay, that one I'm going to have to keep trying and try again in different light because it's honestly a little hard for me to tell right here how it looks like over texture and stuff”16:37–16:41
- Source: Affordable drugstore makeup under $15 - Jun 3, 2026
Variant: 10 Soft Glaze
- “To the touch, this feels soft and putty-like. Definitely has a little bit of that bounce like they're describing”28:23–28:30
- “On my cheeks, I feel like it kind of just looks like a regular powder highlight that is a little too glittery for my personal liking”28:43–28:50
- “I don't feel like the finish looks dewy either”28:52–28:56
- “This is not going to be one that I keep in my collection”29:03–29:08
- Source: I tried 27 new drugstore beauty launches - May 17, 2026
Variant: 10 Soft Glaze
- “This one here is what got me excited. This one is in the shade 10. Soft soft glaze”5:27–5:35
- “I'm hoping that it's going to be similar to the MAC Bouncing Gleam highlighters that they came out with over the holidays”5:45–5:51
- “The essence one is quite a bit more sparkly”5:56–6:03
- “Oh yeah, it's very glittery on the face”6:14–6:19
- “Underneath of the glitter, it feels very similar to how the MAC one applies”6:31–6:37
- “I just I know I'm not going to use this”6:37–6:41
- “It looks really good on camera”6:39–6:42
- “But in person here, I don't know if I'd want to go to it, you know, unless it's like a very specific kind of look I'm after”6:42–6:50
- Source: Drugstore Makeup That Surprised Me - Jan 14, 2026
- “This one's just dry and it looks very flaky. It also has very chunky glitter and that glitter just exaggerates the dry and patchy look so hard, so big no”4:00–4:07
- Source: Best and worst of latest makeup launches - Feb 25, 2026
- “It is a dupe for the Patrick Ta Glow Balm”2:43–2:49
- “It smells rich. It does smell similar to the Patrick Ta Glow Balm”2:52–2:59
- “This is more of like a balm. So, it's not like an oil, if that makes sense. So, this sticks on a little more aggressively, therefore it lasts longer”3:18–3:27
- “Anyways, it does look amazing for summertime”3:42–3:46
- “It's very sheer as far as the color, but it's so good. It's so pretty. It's an amazing dupe”
- “This one is a lot smaller than the Patrick Ta one, but it's also like $7”3:44–3:49
- Source: Viral drugstore makeup tested - Jul 26, 2026
Variant: 20 Séduction du Soleil
- “It feels like a Jones Road Miracle Balm type of thing, like you push into it, you get things kind of liquefied and it feels actually sort of thin instead of balmy”1:20–1:26
- “Scent on this. Why does it smell just a little bit like vanilla? I like that”1:46–1:53
- “But there's a sheerness to this bronzer balm, too. Like I wouldn't rely on it to literally do a lot of contouring on my skin”
- “Feels hydrating, but the color payoff is pretty gentle here”
- “I think it's making that foundation stick just seem a little more at home on my skin”
- “The Balm of Sunshine Face and Body Glow Balm worked in nicely, gave my skin a little more freshness alongside a foundation stick that was probably a little light for me. So I think that did well”1:06–1:14
- Source: Affordable at Ulta: New Essence Makeup GRWM - Jul 7, 2026
- “This is pretty”
- “It's not overly glowy, which is why I do really enjoy it”32:03–32:04
- “It adds like a natural glow to the skin without being too over the top”32:06–32:09
- “That Essence palette is stunning”32:23–32:23
- “Such a great option”32:26–32:26
- Source: Drugstore makeup outperforms high end - Jun 1, 2026
Variant: Glow Icon
- “I definitely think the highlighter and the bronzer are glowier than the blushes”6:59–7:09
- “If I don't want a super intense glowy look, I'll just use the blushes”7:07–7:11
- “It's just a nice customizable palette”7:15–7:19
- “I do prefer this highlighter and this bronzer to Hourglass highlighters and bronzers I've tried”7:34–7:38
- “I think the Hourglass blushes I've tried are maybe a little bit better”7:38–7:45
- “If you're looking for like a sheer kind of soft glowy wash of color, these are a really great alternative”7:49–7:55
- “This entire palette is $11 compared to like one Hourglass product, which is probably close to 50 these days”7:55–8:00
- “Definitely not an identical dupe, but a great alternative”8:02–8:06
- Source: I tried all of the newest essence makeup (what's truly worth trying) - Jun 11, 2026
Variant: Signature Light
- “We are not short on pigment here. Gentle swatches and I've got loads”8:34–8:43
- “I think this is totally going to get the job done”8:46–8:50
- “To me, I mean in just touching and swatching them at first, they feel much more pigmented than Hourglass powders, more immediately like heavy-duty on color”9:58–10:03
- “Wow, guys. Watch out. I tapped off excess. I tapped off on my hand and I really only just gently dabbed it in, but I've got loads. I'm blending and blending, but I've got a serious cheek here now”10:43–10:48
- “Caution, caution, high pigment zone”11:26–11:29
- “The bronzer was great in here for me and the highlight's doing awesome, too”12:46–12:51
- “Extreme pigment with this palette. So, I got the darker of the two shades cuz it was the only one they had. You guys saw this went on with a lot of intensity”25:13–25:19
- Source: Affordable at Ulta: New Essence Makeup GRWM - Jul 7, 2026
Variant: Light
- “I really do like this bronzer. It's kind of a luminous type bronzer, but it's not super luminous, but it's really beautiful”28:47–28:53
- “I really like this highlighter”28:55–28:59
- “I don't like the blushes. The blushes are... Yeah, they leave a lot to be desired, to be honest”28:59–29:04
- Source: Full face of new Essence makeup: hits, misses & absolute gems - Mar 23, 2026
- “Oh my god, that's so pretty”
- “It's not so intense like you would think it would be”23:19–23:24
- “It doesn't leave a cast. You can't see it from the front. Some highlighters leave like a gray cast and you can see like this weird line, but this one doesn't”23:24–23:28
- “Oh my god, that's stunning”
- Source: Full face of Essence Cosmetics - Feb 7, 2026
Variant: Be My Sunlight
- “I love love love this highlight. It's definitely one of my all-time favorites, especially for summer”21:48–21:52
- “It just kind of gives your skin that um like golden hour glow”21:54–22:00
- “It's a really subtle highlight”22:20–22:24
- “It's just one of my go-tos when I want a little bit of like a warmer, slightly more subdued highlight”22:22–22:28
- Source: Current go-to everyday look: top makeup under $5 - May 21, 2026
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.
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