Glorious Essence Come To Town Collection Contains a Mac Dupe!

Essence has a special place in my heart. As a brand, it reminds me of why I came to love makeup so much - it's fun, trend-driven, and very expressive. Whenever they release a collection, both the thirteen year old and the cynical twenty-something in me are attracted and as a brand, you can always rely on essence for daily staples and more fun, vividly colourful products.

It's also very tough to top them on price; some essence goodies are perfect for a last-minute Kris Kindle that won't blast a hole in your pocket.

• Essence Come to Town Quattro Eyeshadows (€3.49)

These two little palettes both contain gold and silver. Make a Wish (top right) also contains two  green shades, while Naughty or Nice, top left - my favourite - contains a plum and pink.  the sheen, texture and opacity are excellent - you can see in the photo below!

The collection also contains a shimmering body powder (€4.09), two metallic eye pencils (€2.49), cream blushers (€2.89) and more. My favourite item in the collection has to be a certain lipstick, though.

• Essence Come to Town Lipstick (€2.89)

These lipsticks are great. Is That You, Santa? is a hot tomato red, beautiful for this time of year as well as moisturising and super wearable. Wrapped in Pink is the one that really excites me though. It is a close dupe for my favourite iconic Mac lipstick of all time, Heroine.

You can see heroine on the lips in this vampy tutorial. Sure, wrapped in pink is less intensely blue-purple in hue, and slightly less opaque, but it is also less than €3 to Mac's €19.50.

I love this lipstick - it's a fun way to turn the usual Christmas lip colour on its head!

What do you think of this collection? Will you be rushing out into the crush of Christmas shopping to pick up a few bits? Let us know what you think in the comments!