Showing posts with label NYX. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NYX. Show all posts
February 16, 2018
November 24, 2017
Friday Faves Vol. 16: Top 10 Black Friday Sales
Urban Decay: All products on UrbanDecay.com are 25% OFF with Free Shipping from Nov. 24 - Nov. 26! That's actually kind of incredible? I think this also applies to sale items, so scoop up those cheap odds and ends for basically nothing! (p.s. there's an Ulta-exclusive UD palette, the Nocturnal Shadow Box, that'll be $14.50 in the Ulta Black Friday sale -- eek!)
Makeup Geek: 30% OFF everything on their site on Nov. 24! Time to stock up on all those eyeshadow singles you've had your eye on!
Old Navy: 50% OFF your entire purchase from Nov. 22 - Nov. 24! A great opportunity to refresh your pajama wardrobe and also grab cozy basics for your Christmas list.
Macy's: 40% OFF all boots and shoes and 60% OFF all cold weather boots, among many other offers. That's an incredible deal if you've been looking for some snow boots or a great excuse to just buy any shoe, actually.
NYX: 30% OFF your entire purchase on the NYX website and in NYX retail stores. Ummm, first of all, yes. Second of all, I wanna buy, like, 30 Micro Brow pencils. Let the games begin, baby.
Swimsuits For All: 35% OFF site-wide with $3 standard shipping. You might not be thinking about swimwear before winter even hits, but this is precisely the time to grab those deals!
Alternative Apparel: Get 30% OFF site-wide with the code THANKU30 from Nov. 23 - Nov. 27! They have great basics in soft, easy fabrics. This is the time to stockpile hoodies and t-shirts!
Sonicare at Target: Get 50% OFF the Philips Sonicare 2 Series Power Toothbrush at Target in their exclusive colors (there's a great baby pink) and 50% OFF 2-pack brush head refills. This ends up around $35, so it's a great time to finally take the electric toothbrush plunge.
Ulta Beauty: Among many offers, some faves include:
• BOGO FREE on Not Your Mother's Haircare
• BOGO FREE on Batiste Haircare
• $5 (reg. $10.50) OPI Nail Lacquers
• 50% OFF Real Techniques Brush Sets
• 50% OFF EcoTools Brush Sets
• 40% OFF The Body Shop products
• 40% OFF select Anastasia Beverly Hills Glow Kits
Yankee Candle: Buy up to three large candles and get the same number FREE with the code YC17.
What are you buying today?
February 14, 2017
Top 10 Red Lipsticks for Valentine's Day
...or any day, really, because red lipstick is appropriate for any situation. You might be thinking 'who needs ten red lipsticks?' and I'll tell you right away that your instincts are correct - you actually need way more than ten. Kidding! Kind of. Judging from this selection, I obviously have some kind of lipstick-shaped hole in my soul that I'm trying to fill, but you might find yourself with just one classic, made-for-you red in your collection, and that's totally cool too. Also, what's self restraint like?
From lightest to darkest, here are my top 10 red lipsticks for Valentine's Day!
NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream in Morocco
Mmmm, I love a Soft Matte Lip Cream! Smells like a vanilla cupcake dream, goes on smooth and opaque, and wears light as a feather. This is a perfect warm toned red with a great orange tint that's super bold, but still easy to wear.
Colourpop Ultra Matte Lip in Succulent
This shade is a perfect coral-red that manages to be both bright and muted at the same time. You get a true matte finish (and the dryness to match) and the wear is pretty good too. The color is the best part, though, and I've yet to find something else quite the same as this unique shade.
Wet n Wild Lipstick in Purty Persimmon
Wet n Wild Meglast lipsticks are the old faithfuls of the drugstore - they're less than two bucks, super comfortable to wear, come in a large range of great colors and stay put for hours. Purty Persimmon is a lovely orange-red shade that I always get excited to pop on. This is the lipstick that showed me I like warm toned reds too!
Revlon Lipstick in Fire & Ice
A serious classic! This shade is from the olden days of lipstick, basically, and there's a reason it has stood the test of time - it's gorgeous! Such a lovely color that tends to skew warm toned, but somehow seems to work on everyone I've ever seen wear it? You need this.
Rimmel Provocalips in Kiss Me You Fool
I don't know how many more ways I can say this: I'M IN LOVE WITH RIMMEL PROVOCALIPS. Sorry for shouting, but if you still haven't tried these, I don't know what I can do with you. They're the best, last forever, the end. This is the bright cherry red from the range, and I'm telling you - if you need an all day red lip that you can eat pizza and, like, brush your teeth in, this is that red.
MAC Lipstick in Russian Red
There's just something about a smooth tube of MAC lipstick! This is my favorite red from the brand, but I know that's a hot button issue. Are you a Ruby Woo gal? Okay, let's take this outside! JK, don't hit me plz. The cool toned Russian Red has my heart (bringing in this theme nicely!) but honestly all MAC reds are iconic for a reason!
NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Cruella
I didn't know this would change my red lipstick life, but it kinda did! Among literally every red I wear, this is the one that, when I slip it on, looks the smoothest, prettiest and just all around Photoshopped-on-my-lips-est. It's matte, but not too matte and I never even feel it on my lips. It's a great neutral to cool-leaning red that applies like a dream and treats your lips right.
Revlon Matte Balm in Standout
This one is a sleeper hit! It's very similar to MAC Russian Red, with a cool toned hue and matte finish, but it also has a moisturizing quality, complete with minty zing, that you're not going to find in most other lipsticks. I struggle getting a crisp line with it, but it applies so easily and feels so comfortable it's kinda worth it.
Rimmel Provocalips in Play With Fire
See above, and approximately 1,009,342 other blog posts to see how much I love Provocalips. This is a deeper, more cool toned red from the range and I love it just as much as the other red shade. I tend to pull this out for a more dramatic look, but you'd be good with whichever red you like more. Let Provocalips change your life!
Maybelline Lipstick in Smoking Red
Yass, a deep red that goes on opaque in one swipe! You've really done it, Maybelline. I can't tell you how many times in my life I've bought and tossed so called 'black cherry' lipsticks when they go on patchy and pathetic. This is a bit lighter than those shades, but it does the job of coloring my lips evenly. Luckily, it also feels comfortable and lasts, keeping me coming back swipe after swipe.
Red Lipstick Swatches
 |
| See? Duh, they're all v. different, thank you. |
What's your favorite red lip color? Have you tried any of these? Wanna fight me over the top MAC red lipstick?
January 18, 2017
BEAUTY: Top 10 Beauty Products of 2016
Okay, for real? 2016 was not the greatest. Perhaps you've heard? Putting that aside for a moment (we all need a break from the fear/anger/uncontrollable googling sometimes, right?), I want to reflect on the best beauty products I found this year. Some are new, some are just new to me, but they all nestled their way into my heart in 2016 and look like they won't be moving out in 2017, either.
In no particular order...
In no particular order...
L'oreal Voluminous False Fiber Lashes Mascara
in Blackest Black Waterproof
I want to shed a tear from how much I love this stuff, and I can do so comfortable because this little baby is waterproof! Take it from a frequent casual crier! I've worked my way through drugstore mascaras (there was even a spreadsheet involved at one point. whatever.) and I'll never stray again. Gold mirrored packaging? OKAY. The brush is ever so slightly angled, and the old school bristles (no silicone here) taper from large to smaller toward the tip. You get a realistic fanned-out falsies look, and the dry formula holds a curl all damn day. It's one of those love-at-first-swipe mascaras - I don't know why I never hear about this stuff because it's the actual best.
Colourpop Super Shock Shadow in Weenie
 |
| Weenie on the left! |
Honestly, I don't know if there's another eyeshadow I wore more often in 2016 than this! It's perfect for a quick swipe of color, or a full on metallic sheen in-your-face kinda eye. The rose gold shade is over-the-top pigmented and flatters many skin tones. Did I mention this is the softest eyeshadow I've ever swiped my finger across? Well, IT IS. Read more about my love for this eyeshadow here.
NYX Micro Brow Pencil in Ash Brown
The search is over! I've tried gels, creams, other pencils - even high end ones - but there's just something about this one. The pencil is very thin, giving you the ability to draw tiny hair-like strokes and define the border of a brow without looking like you took a Crayola to your face. This shade is dead on for me, and I love that it's a true ashy color - no secret red tinge here! I've already bought this like four times, guys. IT'S THE ONE!
Skinfood Salmon Darkcircle Concealer Cream in #1
My sister opened my eyes (face pun!) to this Korean wonder product and I'm so glad she did! The texture is super creamy, so it never accentuates dryness around your eyes, or pulls your skin when you pat it in. In fact, it totally moisturizes that area, leaving a smooth and perfectly blended finish that works wonders in brightening up your skin. The pigmentation is great, and I kind of feel like this tub will last forever, which I'm totally fine with.
Wet n Wild Contour Palette in Dulce de Leche
This is a real score, because I bought on a whim when it was on sale for, like, less than two bucks. The powder is soft and blend-able (though you'll be on fallout patrol) and the shade is pretty perfect for me. I was used to a very cool-toned contour, and thought this might be a hair too warm-toned, but it turned out to be just what I needed. The staying power has been good for me, and I grab this guy almost every time I do my makeup. Worth it for the contour shade alone!
NYX BB Cream in 02 Natural
Ugh. Choosing face makeup is hard. When I needed a new go-to, days of research and review scouring left me overwhelmed. I impulse purchased this, and ended up digging it a lot. All that obsessive research went unused, and things still ended up great. I feel like there's a lesson I'll refuse to learn in there somewhere. This BB is the perfect skin-melding formula to even out tones, and (mostly) cover blemishes, but not look or feel mask-like at all. I never feel it! You can clumsily slap it on with your fingers or carefully blend it with a foundation brush, and either way it seems to dissolve into your face within minutes, making you look like a clearer version of yourself. Gotta note that the shade range is criminal - three similar-looking colors for fair to light-medium skin, which is bullshit and dismissive. I happen to fit right in the middle of their range, but they still lose a point for this.
Milani Everyday Eyes Palette in Bare Necessities
I've already told you how much I dig this palette, and my feelings remained strong throughout '16. Just a perfect neutral eye palette, with excellent pigmentation, and some serious shimmer in several shades. With the addition of metallic gold you can do something a little more glam too, and you'll be hard pressed to find a day that this palette doesn't give you exactly what you need (at least when it comes to eyeshadow).
Maybelline The Loaded Bolds Lipstick in Smoking Red
Anyone who's into lipstick doesn't need any more red lipsticks - I'm sure there's a scientific theory about this - but I grabbed this anyway because it's slightly different than my other reds. It's a vampy deep red, yet still bright and easy to wear. Not quite a black cherry, but definitely not a cherry red (not a girl, not yet a woman), this shade falls flatly in between those two different, yet confusingly similar-sounding, shades. It's opaque in one swipe and creamy enough not to dry you out. It's perfect for fall because it's basically the color of autumn leaves and magic. For a cheap thrill that turns into more, you can't really beat it.
Tocca Perfume Rollerball in Florence
I picked up a pack of four Tocca mini rollerballs hoping I'd love one, but it turned out I loved them all! Florence has been the standout, though, and the sweet mix of bergamot and gardenia gives me this instant feeling of nostalgia and happiness that I can't quite place. I have no memories associated with this scent, but somehow it tricks me into thinking I do! I still have more than half of this mini left, but I'd be open to upgrading to full size when the time comes.
Maroma Perfume Oil in Night Jasmine
This was a random find at a local hippie store that sells eco-friendly toothpaste alongside fresh eggs from chickens down the street. I guess you could say I wasn't looking for perfume there. When I smelled this oil, though, I was instantly flooded with the memory of a garden I played in as a child. The memory had been trapped in my brain and this shook it free! This is a sweet, sultry jasmine and it usually makes people tell me that I smell good, which is always a bonus.
 |
| My pretties... |
What were your top beauty products of 2016?
What cool stuff will you be hunting down in 2017?
What cool stuff will you be hunting down in 2017?
June 1, 2016
BEAUTY: New at the Drugstore Spring 2016
Having picked up some newbies here and there with a plethora of coupons mixed with sales, I realized I had a bit of a haul to share, and what am I here for if not to share my overly specific opinions on things you've never asked me about? I do what I can.
Let it be said: NYX makes some of the best damn liquid eyeliners in the drugstore - nay, the world! My ride-or-die everyday liner is the NYX Collection Noir Liquid Black Liner, and all the things I love about it are captured in the Vivid Brights line: a thin, flexible brush tip, opaque formula, and smooth application. I wouldn't necessarily classify these shades as vivid and bright, though. They're great colors (the full line contains 9 rainbow-spanning shades) and add a pop to your eyes, but I was expecting these to be VIVID and BRIGHT, but they're more like vivid and bright, you know? Still, I love 'em and their all day staying power so I'll reach for them when I need a little oomph on my eye.
Around this time last year, I was shouting my love for Provocalips from the rooftops (assuming, of course, that a blog post and vigorous texting with my sister are the modern day equivalent of rooftops). I'm in love with this stuff! No other lip color has ever lasted as long or as well on my lips. Plus, it's like stupid cheap and available basically everywhere. I'm done trying to convince you; honestly, it's your loss if you sleep on this stuff. What you do need to know, though, is that three new shades are now available, and the two I've purchased are just as great as the rest. The other new shade is a deeper berry color, but it looked too similar to Kiss Fatal for me to pick up.
I feel like I'm in high school again! Why? Because that's the last time I consciously purchased a CoverGirl eyeshadow. I love me some CoverGirl 3-in-1 foundation, but their eyeshadows usually leave me underwhelmed, with the exception of the eyeshadow single Disco Ball, which I wore almost exclusively from the late nineties through the early 00s. So much glittery fallout, so little time. Sigh. ANYWAY, I kept seeing swatches of this palette and was shocked how good it looked. It's obviously an attempt at a Naked 3 dupe, but these are nowhere near Urban Decay quality. I found that the shades swatch well, but lack some of that pigmentation when applied with brushes, which is a bummer, and no matter what colors I used my eye ended up a bit muddy looking within a few hours, even with an eye primer. Not a total miss, but not the drugstore beacon I was hoping for.
Here we have two products that I couldn't feel more differently about! First, the Jordana: this is a typical liquid lipstick, but what stood out to me was how very matte this looks when it dries down. It's almost chalky, but in a good way? It's surprisingly comfortable for just how matte it is, and lightyears more comfortable than, say, the ColourPop Matte Lips. Raspberry Tart, pictured here, is the perfect cool toned pink that my collection was missing. Bonus: the doe foot applicator has a little scoop shape so just enough product comes out. It's the little things.
Okay, bummer of all bummers: Moscow, this lovely midnight blue shade of Soft Matte Lip Cream, suuuuuuucks. Yes, I meant each and every one of those u's. Don't get me wrong, I love the SMLC line, but this shade is a streaky mess. Lack of pigmentation is one thing, but you can't even build the color up without cracking or wiping off the underneath layers. I tried a navy eyeliner as a base, and that too was rebuffed. This is the lipstick that does not want to be worn. There are so few cheap and accessible blue lipsticks that this is a real loss. Moscow, we hardly knew ye.
This is my first nail tattoo purchase, waterless or otherwise, and it was on a complete whim, but I'm kind of loving how simple these are to use. You just cut around the design, peel it from the backing, press it on your nail and seal with a topcoat. They have great staying power and look lovely over a bright polish base or on naked nails. The roses are fun, but not 100% my jam, so I'm impatiently waiting for some new designs to be released.
Have you found any great new products lately? Can you point me in the direction of the best blue lipstick? How many rose-themed manicures do you think I can realistically get away with before people start to talk?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
