NYX Swatches: Single eyeshadows and Strawberry Milk Jumbo Eye Pencils

You may have spotted these shadows in my MAC Franken Palette. I actually picked these up in the UK at the same outlet shop I got my Angel blush in. From memory they cost about £4 which is more than they do in the US but I suppose I didn’t have to pay shipping. Here we have White Frost (er it’s white and frosty shock horror, Flamingo (shimmery peach which makes quite a nice blush actually) and Tropical (dirty pinkish beige).

All three are soft, pigmented and very easy to work with. These are swatched without a base. I use all my shadows with a primer and I’ve never suffered any fading or creasing. The quality of NYX shadows always impresses me. I need more I tell you! (Left to right White Frost, Flamingo, Tropical)

Just for kicks I’ll throw in a swatch of Strawberry Milk. I can’t for the life of me remember what this cost. The Jumbo Eye pencils make fantastic bases. I personally love using this under Barry M Pink/ Gold dazzle dust. It grabs the loose eyeshadow and sticks it to your lid like glue. The shimmery pink really intensifies any pink shadows you use over it and the creamy formula doesn’t tug on my lid. Love it! Just use a primer under them and a thin layer to prevent creasing.

*I bought all the above products with my own pennies*

NYX Angel Blush

The more products I try from NYX the more I fall in love. They are definitely in my top three favourite high street brands (the other two being Sleek and Barry M). I found this in an outlet centre in Warrington Bank Quay of all places and I think it cost about £6. For UK folks trying to get a hold of NYX I’ve ordered from Cherry Culture before and had good service. This is a powder blush in a soft pale pink shade. It isn’t overly cool toned though which suits me down to the ground and blue/ pink blushes don’t quite look right on me for some reason. Odd because blue/ pink lipsticks look fab. This is probably best for paler skin as I suspect it might look a little ashy on darker skin tones.

It’s a matte finish which I personally love. As with all the NYX powder products I’ve tried it is supremely soft to the touch and blends very well. In terms of pigmentation it has the best of both worlds, pigmented but not scarily so. It is difficult even for me to end up looking like a clown with this as it’s just so user friendly. Incidentally I find this a great colour to sweep over Maybelline Dream Mousse Blush in Dolly Pink. The combination wears like iron even on hot, sweaty summer days. 

I’m finding myself hankering after some of the cream NYX blushes next. Does anyone have any colour recommendations? X

*I bought this myself*

Some NYX Single Eyeshadow Staples: Herb and Highlight

Yes I’m going to moan again about how in the UK we can’t just walk into a drugstore and buy NYX. But still, it isn’t fair. These are fab! Here I have Highlight which is a pale matte cream. It doesn’t show up on my skin at all so is useless as an actual highlight however I use it all the time in the same way as I use MAC Blanc Type. It’s invaluable for blending out colours that I’ve over applied and softening any harsh edges. The colour is slightly deeper than Blanc Type so I’m using Highlight almost exclusively since my holiday. I also have Herb here which is a shimmery golden olive green. It is muted enough to be work appropriate so it gets a lot of use as a crease colour when I get bored of work safe taupe’s and browns.



The quality is fantastic, I find them to be pigmented and soft/ blendable. They can occasionally be a touch powder so do remember to tap any excess off your brush before applying. For a few US $ (prices vary from a couple up to around $5) you get 2.7g of product which represents fantastic value for money. For comparison an £11 MAC shadow gets you 1.5g of products.
The packaging is sleek, simple and black with a handy clear lid so you can find the colour you’re looking for easily. I like the quilted design on the product itself too. These just feel well thought through and better quality than the price would suggest. I’d happily buy more of these (in fact I have 3 others) and when Highlight runs out I may well be buying a replacement. Love them! Xxx

*I bought these*

NYX Pearl Mania Pigments: Rust, Penny and Nude

Wow that Cherry Culture haul has lasted us a while hasn’t it! This is the last instalment of the NYX products I bought then (though I have bought some more since in the UK!). I think these little pigments were $1something making them rather barginous. Rust is a deep, warm red bronze. Penny is similar but cooler toned. Nude is a pale yellow cream. All three are shimmery but Nude less so.

You get which is less that most loose shadows buts let’s face it I’ve never used up a shadow in my life so any more would be a waste. The packaging is kind of awkward. The labels also seal the shadows so you need to peel them off to get in them. I didn’t want to do this as I like having the colour name to refer to so I trimmed them down instead. The narrow neck of the pot makes spillage less of a problem but also makes it difficult to get at the product. The pots are plastic instead of glass making them a bit more travel friendly than most pigments.

These are all swatched dry with no primer (Penny on the left then Rust and Nude). They are incredibly pigmented. They benefit from a sticky base just to give them something to grab to and prevent fallout. The powder is finely milled and glides on easily but as always when working with loose shadows/ pigments I like to do my eyes first and foundation after in case of fallout. MY favourite way to wear Rust and Penny is wet as a liner. Nude makes a fab highlight and is also useful for blending out edges.

Despite the awkward packaging I do like these. I’m not sure I’l be buying any more though as they are so difficult to get too. Most morning I cannot be bothered faffing about trying to get some on my brush so they just don’t get used as much as they deserve to be. I could depot them I suppose... maybe I will! What do you think, is the packaging a deal breaker for you? X

*I bought these myself. My reviews are always my honest opinion. For more info see the disclosure policy on the left*

NYX Round Lipsticks: B52, Jupiter and Frosted Beige

I think these were less than $2 each from Cherry Culture and yet they are fantastic quality and seem to have a bit of a cult following. Youtube seems to contain a fair bit of makeup snobbery with high end often being the be all and end all and yet many people who might turn their noses up at drugstore brands will sing the cheap and cheerful praises of NYX from the rooftops. And for very good reason!

The main problem with ordering these online is that the swatches are rubbish. Google for actual swatches because the ones on the website bear little to no resemblance to the lipstick that you will get. I expected B52 to be much lighter but as you can see it’s actually fairly deep with quite a lot of brown in it. I’ll be waiting till Autumn is in full swing to wear this one.

Jupiter is a bright pink with some blue in it but it is surprisingly wearable. I like this with a pale cream eyeshadow all over the lid and winged eyeliner. All of the shades here are relatively sheer so you can leave them light or build them up to get the desired look. This has a bit of shimmer to it but it isn’t crazily frosty unlike...

Frosted Beige! It’s a beigey neutral and it is (shock horror) really quite frosty. I like to tone is down with a none shimmery gloss over the top.

*B52 on top then Jupiter then Frosted Beige

The formula is creamy on all three of these and whilst they aren’t really moisturising they don’t dry my lips out. The colours don’t last too long with me needing to reapply every 3-4 hours. Overall I’m really impressed with the quality of these and I do plan on buying more in future. I will be more thoroughly researching the colours though... x

*I bought these myself. My reviews are always my honest opinion*

NYX Blush: Peach

I’m one of these people who goes through little mini obsessions within my makeup obsession as a whole. Right now the focus of my attention is blush. I went through the summer slathered in SPF, mainly sitting indoors and most importantly in Scotland. I am just as pale as I was 6 months ago so I rely on blush to give me a touch of colour in order to avoid being carted off to the morgue. I’ve heard so many good things about the NYX blushes that I had to pop one in my cart during that long ago Cherry Culture haul.

I LOVE the packaging on these and the single eyeshadows. The pattern on the powder is so cute and I love that you can see right in to the colour. And do you know what? I love the product more. The powder is so silky soft that it’s a joy to use. It just glides on and practically blends itself though you do need to be careful with your brush so as not to kick up dust.

The colour is, shockingly, a soft peach. It’s quite pink but could pull either way depending on your skin tone. It’s wearable and summery so it’s been getting a lot of use over the last month. I find this to be as pigmented as some of my MAC blushes but not as full on as say Illamasqua. This makes it user friendly at 6am which is normally when I’m putting my slap on.

Prices vary wildly from a couple of dollars to £6. Next Cherry Culture haul I think some more of these will be coming home to me! Xx

*I bought this myself. My reviews are always my honest and open, for more info see the disclosure policy in the menu on the left*

Collection Overview – Cream Shadows

As a general rule I like my eyeshadows pigmented and bold. A great way to increase the colour saturation of even sheer shadows is to pop a sticky cream base under them. I never wear them alone with the exception of the Benefit Creaseless Creams as cream shadows crease on me within seconds. I wear them over primer in a thin layer then pack powder shadow on top. I won’t have space in this post to review things but everything has been reviewed on my blog before so check out the label in the right hand column if you want to know more about any of them. 

I have NYX Jumbo Eye pencils in Milk (white), Strawberry Milk (shimmery pink), Pots & Pans (shimmery silver) and Black Bean (which I depotted into the plastic pot in the middle of the picture). There are two Barbara Daly Soufflé shadows in Haze (purple) and Sea-Foam (green). Revlon Illuminance Cream Shadow quad in Copper Canyon, Sleek Molton Metal Duo (Pewter and Gold Leaf), No7 Stay Perfect eyeshadow in Pewter and finally Bloom Eye Paint in Champagne. 

Swatched left to right: NYX Black Bean, NYX Strawberry Milk, NYX Pots & Pans, NYX Milk, Barbara Daly Sea-Foam, Barbara Daly Haze. 

Sleek Pewter, Sleek Gold Leaf, Bloom Champagne, No7 Pewter. 

Revlon Illuminance Cream Shadows. 

 Benefit Creaseless Creams in Pre-Nup and Skinny Jeans. 

My favourites are the NYX pencils, No7 Pewter and of course the Benefit Creaseless Creams. I certainly wouldn’t bother with the Barbara Daly ones again as they have almost no colour pay off x

*All bought by me*

NYX Jumbo Eye Pencils

I was so excited to finally get my grubby mitts on these in my recent Cherry culture haul. For those with easy access to NYX these will be old news but for me the prospect of coloured eyeshadow bases for a couple of US$ was very exciting indeed. These are super thick eye pencils, probably too thick to be used as conventional eyeliner but that’s not what I use them for anyway.


Have you ever had an eyeshadow that you have loved the colour of in the pan but on the lid it is just too sheer? Even over a regular primer it just isn’t what the pan promised. An example for me is MAC Gazette Grey which is a gorgeous dirty grey in the pan with yellow and green flecks but a pale light grey wash in my lids. However layer GG over Pots and Pans (the silver) and you get a much more satisfying result. I Like to use milk (the white) under matte pastels to really make them pop and black bean (black) sheered out as a base for any smoky eye.

The pencils are incredibly soft so you don’t end up tugging on your lid when applying. You can also use a brush to apply them rather than drawing directly on the lid for a thinner layer. The texture is a little tacky so great for grabbing shadow but it’s also a bit creamy so I recommend layering these over something like UDPP to prevent creasing if you’re like me and have oily lids.

I’m really impressed with these and I plan on picking up some more colours in the future. They just go to show that you don’t have to pay a fortune to get effective coloured eyeshadow bases. Xxx

*I bought the above products with my own money. I always give my honest opinion of a product. For further info see my disclaimer in the menu on the left*

NYX Lipgloss Swatches: Real Nude and Mauve

As part of my Cherry Culture haul I picked up a couple of NYX glosses. I’m definitely more of a lippie girls than a gloss girl but at those prices I was keen to try them out. Here we have Real Nude (ironically a mauve nude) and Mauve (which doesn’t look that Mauve to me). How odd. In the pic Real Nude is on the left and Mauve is on the right. Mauve looks like more of a mid toned pink to me.

As the swatches show these are fairly pigmented for glosses. They are smooth and none sticky too which I love. The applicators are doe foot which some people love (like me) and some don’t. I personally find they give a more even application.

Despite loving all these things about the glosses I have only worn each one a couple of times. Now this isn’t going to be a bad thing for everyone and everyone will have their own preference but to me things STINK. I mean they properly hum.... They have this sweet sugary orange kind of smell, kind of similar to the ELF All Over Colour Stick I hated so much. I’m not a massive fan of sweet foods or scents and I balk at this fragrance every time. Sorry NYX! I love your other stuff and I’m sure plenty of other people love this fragrance but I don’t want it anywhere near me...

*I bought the above product with my own money. I always give my honest opinion of a product. For further info see my disclaimer in the menu on the left*

I’ve been very very naughty over at Cherry Culture...

I know. I only just spent somewhat more than perhaps I should be spending at MAC but I maintain I ordered this lot before I saw how gorgeous the In The Groove collection was so it doesn’t count. Plus I took advantage of the 20% off code that was available a couple of weeks ago and my haul came in just under the benchmark for import fees making this probably the best value for money haul I’ve ever done. And I really wanted to try NYX. And... and... enough justification, here is what I got!

Holy NYX fest! All that for $35 plus shipping? Yup! (Shipping to the UK was about $27 if anyone is interested). I can’t wait to play with this lot!

I got three jumbo eye pencils; 603 Pots and Pans (silver), 601 Black Bean (black) and the oh so famous 604 milk (white). I’ve only swatched these so I don’ know how they are going to work for me yet as eyeshadow bases but I can report that they are the creamiest eye pencils I have ever known.

The ever popular round lipsticks also needed trying (according to moi) so I picked up B52, Frosted Beige and Jupiter. Now online swatches are rarely accurate and the ones on Cherry Culture, at least for the lippies, are no different. I would seriously recommend searching for real swatches online before ordering. That said I do love the colours I ended up with even if they aren’t quite what I was expecting.

Three Ultra Pearl Mania loose shadows also ‘fell’ into my basket in the colours Penny, Rust and Nude. Highlight and Herb powder shadows also jumped in for the ride. All three look gorgeous! I also picked up a blush in Peach which is sooo silky smooth. Oh and two glosses in Real Nude and Mauve.

The only disappointment so far is the 10 colour eyeshadow palette in Catwalk. Observe;

Meh. Oh if only I’d picked something brighter! Maybe I was thinking wearable nudes? I’ll try it and get back to you.

Swatches from In The Groove with start going up tomorrow if you’re interested and these will follow shortly. Also upcoming is an explanation as to why there haven’t been any NOTD posts lately and my master plan to rectify the situation (read: grow actually nails). Enjoy! xx