Review - Essence gel tint in Deep red

Hi Beauts.

A few weeks ago I noticed a few beauty bloggers writing posts about the brand Essence hitting some Wilkinsons stores in the UK. If I'm honest, I hadn't really heard much about the brand, but after trawling the Internet for a wee while I spotted a few things that looked good. 

The nearest Wilkinsons to me that stocks Essence is Sunderland, so I headed over there to check out their selection. 

Along with eyeliners, lipsticks, blushes, mascara's etc, I spotted the gel tint which looked pretty unusual. I've tried lip tints before some I've like and some not so much, but never a gel formula.

I picked up the shade Deep red as I thought it'd be perfect for the Christmas season. In the actual tube it looks to be just that, a deep red. However when swatched it's more of a pink toned red and when applied to the lips it's even lighter.

(12:00pm when I applied)

The formula is very much like a gel (true to its name) and I found the application smooth, but a little messy. It had quite a thin sheer consistency and I needed to apply three coats to get the above colour.  It remained a little tacky on the lips for a good half hour then once dry it barely felt like there was anything on the lips.

After around an hour I noticed the colour started to fade, and left a lighter pinky red behind - still pretty but not as vibrant. This didn't feel at all drying on my lips, and didn't seem to stick to any dry spots/fine lines which other lip tints have.

The colour completely wore off after 4 hours, still pretty good going for the price if you ask me.

Quick run down:

Light pinky red lip stain with a gel like formula. Leaves the lips feeling slightly tacky then dries after around 30 minutes. Not very long lasting - fades slightly within an hour put still a pretty shade. Also smells strangely of strawberry jam.....I'll leave that thought with y'all ;P

* Price - £1.99

* Product - 5ml

* Shades - 4

Have you tried anything from Essence? What products would you recommend? 

Stacey x