NYX event beauty haul
Makeup brand NYX recently invited me to check out their hero products and latest launches, and while I couldn't stay for long, I was lucky enough to receive a generously filled goodie bag. These are some of my favourites...
Just realised I haven't actually played with the Super Fat Marker yet, but I will.
So the first product that I was destined to love was the NYX Butter Gloss in Fortune Cookie. The reason I jumped on it is because I'm tired of looking for the best price on Amazon for these lip butters! While I was at the event I did tell the lovely host, Irene, that NYX is long overdue to have a store in the UK, because so many of us are a) fed up with Amazon (and Topshop if you're London-based) not supplying all of our needs and b) even the brand's online store often runs out of the products we really want. Fortune Cookie is almost like a cooler-toned version of my favourite, Maple Blondie, so I only really wear it when I want to do a nude glossy lip with a smokey eye, otherwise it can be a little too cool for my yellow-toned skin.
A product I was majorly impressed with was the NYX Wonder Pencil. When I saw that it called itself, amongst other things, a 'reverse lip liner', I was instantly intrigued, and when I tried it, I loved it. This is the perfect lip liner for when you don't want any colour, just something for your lip colour to cling to, especially, if, like me, your skin tone is quite light but your lips are dark. It's also labelled as a concealer - which I won't be trying due to it being a pencil and my not wishing to drag my skin around - and an eye brightener, which I'm assuming is for the water line.
Next is a beautiful illuminating blusher, except it's called Baked Blush Illuminator + Bronzer. I'll cut to the chase with this one; it is pink, do not read the word 'bronzer' and think bronzed. Nope, it's absolutely pink - see above, bottom left. But it does illuminate and is very pretty on the skin. I imagine it would suit any pale or olive-toned skin type, but could look a little ashy on much darker skin tones.
Back to the lips; I was given a Matte Lipstick in Couture Mode and a Butter Lipstick in Fun Size Mini. Both are very similar in tone - think pinky peach, but the matte lipstick is a great texture and has zero drag (unlike some of my favourites from MAC). The Butter lipstick just glides on in a slightly more sheer formula, but still packs a good dose of colour. Oh and I mustn't forget the lovely Soft Matte lip Cream; it reminds me of when Collection first brought out its Cream Puffs, super soft, velvety colour that lasts. The shade I tried was Ibiza, a pinky, raspberry red.
This trio of products is great for great for creating pretty Summer looks.
Although I haven't got around to playing with everything I received, I do need to mention the NYX Doll Eye Mascara and the NYX Bronzer & Blusher. The mascara helped me out when my new-but-I'm-totally-not-feeling-it Max Factor Excess Volume Extreme Impact Mascara let me down BIG time. I am a dedicated Max Factor mascara fan - have been for years - but this newish one adds zero length or volume and leaves imprints on my upper and lower eye areas. Don't know what happened there but anyway, this NYX one stepped in and is okay. It's not volumising as such, but if you like a more spidery look, you'll love it. The Bronzer & Blush offers a lot of colour; the bronzer part reminds me of Nars Laguna but is way more warm and shimmery; I've actually started using the two of them together, using the Nars to contour and the NYX for an instant colour upgrade. The blush side is a very pretty pink that complements the bronzer perfectly.
Yup, I already nicked a chunk out of the bronzer!
Overall I found some great new additions to my makeup essentials in this haul, even if some products, such as the Pore Filler, didn't meet any expectations - I'll stick with my Smashbox Photo Finish for now! But when it comes to affordable beauty, and if you're shopping for some great dupes, NYX is definitely worth playing with. So just open a store already...