NYX Emerald City Eye Pencil
Quick Review: NYX Emerald City Eye Pencil
NYX Emerald City Eye Pencil ($3.50) is a darkened forest green with a hint of teal. It leans on the cooler side, but it works well with hazel eyes in particular. It has a fairly matte finish and good color pay off. NYX’s Eye Pencils last nearly all day on me, only slightly fading after eight hours (but from afar, I don’t think anyone would notice), but they are most notable for how soft they are. Use less pressure initially, just to get an idea of how soft these are–if you apply firmer pressure, you may find the tip breaks off.
Welcome to Swatch-all-idays! To start 2011 off on the right foot (or post, as it may be!), Temptalia is going through a backlog of products we have photographed, swatched, and often tested but in a slightly different manner. Quick reviews may be partially incomplete, such as a blush may only be swatched on the arm rather than shown on the face. It is our hope that what we are able to provide is still helpful!
If you want to know more about how products are evaluated, read out Rating System FAQ! 
- Product: 28/30
- Value: 8/10
- Ease of Use: 4/5
- Packaging: 4/5
RECOMMENDATION: If you’re in need of affordable colored pencil eyeliners, NYX has you covered.
AVAILABILITY: NYX
NYX Crystal Gold Liquid Crystal Liner
NYX Crystal Gold Liquid Crystal Liner
NYX Crystal Gold Liquid Crystal Liner ($4.50) are glitter eyeliners with a clear base and colored glitter. The one I’m reviewing is a true yellow gold glitter suspended in a clear base. While you can definitely wear the glitter on its own, it works best layered over your choice of eyeliner. These wear really well without getting glitter all over the place, even hours later, but sometimes, I find I need to a a second pass to get an even layer of glitter.
P.S. — It looks like with all of the holiday sales, these are currently sold out at NYX, but since they are permanent, they should pop back up soon enough.
If you want to know more about how products are evaluated, read out Rating System FAQ!
- Product: 28/30
- Value: 9/10
- Ease of Use: 4/5
- Packaging: 4/5
RECOMMENDATION: If you like glitter, yes, I think these can be really fun. They can really add some oomph to your eyeliner!
AVAILABILITY: NYX
NYX I Dream of Barbados Eyeshadow Palette
Quick Review: NYX I Dream of Barbados Eyeshadow Palette
NYX I Dream of Barbados Eyeshadow Palette ($8.75 for 0.28 oz.) contains five eyeshadows and is part of NYX’s Caribbean Collection of eyeshadow palettes. This particular palette is cool-toned, purple and lilac themed. There is a light-medium pale lilac with a frost finish; charcoal-black with a silver sheen and brown undertones; cotton candy pink with blue undertones and a satin finish; cool-toned bluish gray with a soft frost sheen; and a fuchsia-purple with a satin sheen.
Of the three palettes I’ve tried from this series, this is the most pigmented and most consistent. All five shades had excellent pigmentation, and they applied smoothly and evenly with no powderiness. You can also check out full reviews for I Dream of St. Lucia Eyeshadow Palette and I Dream of St. Thomas Eyeshadow Palette.
Welcome to Swatch-all-idays! To start 2011 off on the right foot (or post, as it may be!), Temptalia is going through a backlog of products we have photographed, swatched, and often tested but in a slightly different manner. Quick reviews may be partially incomplete, such as a blush may only be swatched on the arm rather than shown on the face. It is our hope that what we are able to provide is still helpful!
If you want to know more about how products are evaluated, read out Rating System FAQ!
- Product: 27/30
- Value: 9/10
- Ease of Use: 4/5
- Packaging: 4/5
RECOMMENDATION: I would definitely recommend this for cooler skin tones, but paler skin tones in particular.
AVAILABILITY: NYX
NYX Lip Pencils: Natural, Plum, Auburn, Dolly Pink
Quick Review: NYX Lip Pencils
NYX Lip Pencils ($3.50 for 0.04 oz.) are excellently pigmented lip pencils to enhance, mute, or neutralize your lips. If you can’t find the shade you need amongst NYX’s 53 different lip pencils, I don’t know you ever will! Like most pencils, I recommend swatching it once or twice on the back of your hand, which will soften the point to make it easier to apply to the lips. You can use the slanted edge to get a really crisp line when lining your lips, too. For a traditional lip pencil, these are exceptionally creamy and glide on easily. They also wear well without feeling dry (but they are matte and for most, you’ll want to layer a lipstick on top or a balm underneath if you plan to wear it for extended periods of time).
- Natural (810) is a medium beige with a hint of brown.
- Plum (812) is a deepened, berried red–not really plum to me, though.
- Auburn (801) is a muted brick red with brown.
- Dolly Pink (839) is a bright, blue-based cotton candy pink. This would work well with shades like MAC Snob, Lady Gaga, etc.
If you want to know more about how products are evaluated, read out Rating System FAQ!
- Product: 29/30
- Value: 9/10
- Ease of Use: 4/5
- Packaging: 4/5
RECOMMENDATION: These are lovely lip liners, not even for the price but on their own merits.
AVAILABILITY: NYX
Urban Decay Sin, NYX Yogurt, Urban Decay Midnight Cowboy
NYX Jumbo Eye Pencils vs. Urban Decay 24/7 Shadow Pencils
Though they seem rather similar on the surface and even at first glance, I think the shade ranges differ enough where there is less overlap than expected. For instance, I could not find dupes for Urban Decay’s Midnight Cowboy, Clinic, Narc, or Lit at all. However, I think that Urban Decay’s Sin and Clash definitely have dupes, while Delinquent has something similar but there is a noticeable difference in quality that makes them different.
I think that Rehab and Barracuda may also lack dupes, but I do not have the appropriate NYX shades to tell you for sure. Mercury and Wasteland may have dupes, but again, I can’t say for sure.
- Urban Decay Sin seems to be closest to NYX Yogurt, but the latter is darker and pinker.
- Urban Decay Midnight Cowboy is also closest to NYX Yogurt but I would not consider them dupes–Midnight Cowboy is more of a gilded champagne-beige without the pink of Yogurt.
- Urban Decay Clinic has no corresponding dupe in the NYX line. NYX lacks any teal shade.
- Urban Decay Narc has no corresponding dupe in the NYX line. NYX Rocky Mountain Green is a cooler, brighter green, which may be more comparable to Urban Decay Graffiti (which is available as an eyeliner).
- Urban Decay Clash is the one shade I found a strong dupe for, which was NYX Electric Blue, though the NYX version is not quite as bright and requires layering to achieve opaque color.
- Urban Decay Delinquent is similar to NYX Purple Velvet but the swatch will show you how different the pigmentation is between the two of them. Urban Decay’s is significantly more pigmented, and it is more of a jewel-tone purple with less red in its base.
- Urban Decay Lit is a softer, lighter version of NYX Pure Gold, which is much more of a coppery gold.
- Urban Decay Morphine is is a darker version of NYX Oyster, and it also has more of a purple tone, while Oyster pulls pinker.
I don’t have all of NYX’s Jumbo Eye Pencils, but based on Dusty’s swatches that he did for Temptalia back in April, here are my thoughts on some possible similarities:
- Wasteland and/or Rehab may be comparable to Iced Mocha, which looks like it runs lighter and perhaps not as dark.
- Mercury may be comparable to Pots and Pans, but it looks a little darker.
- Barracuda may be comparable to Slate, which looks like it has a bluer cast (less of a silver-gray).
What about the formulas?
Generally speaking (and based on the eight or so NYX Jumbo Eye Pencils I own), NYX has a creamier, more emollient base, which is likely why more people have experienced creasing when using them alone and/or as a base. (You can always remedy this by using an eyeshadow base underneath the pencil itself.) Keep in mind, also, that Urban Decay’s 24/7 Shadow Pencils are still very much untested by the makeup community at large–I can only report on my experience, but I have rather normal lids (neither dry or oily).
Some shades have excellent pigmentation and go on beautifully while other shades do look sheerer when swatched against Urban Decay’s. NYX take longer to dry, so you have more time to work with them and blend them, but it may also mean they have more time to settle into creases and lines on the lid. Urban Decay’s seem to take more elbow grease to remove (just using a makeup remover wipe) than NYX’s. Urban Decay also specifically calls attention to the fact that their pencils are free of parabens and mineral oil, both ingredients found in NYX’s Jumbo Eye Pencils.
Prescriptives Blue Grotto, NYX Emerald City, MUFE #20L, MUFE #12L, Stila Peacock,
NARS Kaliste, Tarina Tarantino Spark of Envy, UD Covet, UD Flipside, YSL #9, Chanel Jade
Teal Eyeliner Comparisons & Dupes
This is a mix of green, blue, and teal–I was going for just, but some of these look rather blue.
- Prescriptives Blue Grotto Eye Kohl is a deep teal-blue with a near matte finish. I swatched this one, even though it’s been discontinued, because I was hoping to find a dupe for it in a permanent liner so I could wear it more often in looks! NARS Kaliste gets very close in color, but NARS Eyeliner migrate so badly on me.
- NYX Emerald City Eye Pencil is a dark forest green.
- Make Up For Ever #20L Aqua Eyes is a green-teal with very fine teal shimmer. (Review)
- Make Up For Ever #12L Aqua Eyes is a medium-dark blue with blue sheen. (Review)
- Stila Peacock Smudge Stick is a bright medium blue. It’s not as teal as you’d think–it definitely pulls rather blue, but it is a beautiful shade. It’s almost a royal blue. (Review)
- NARS Kaliste Eyeliner is a bluish teal with a near matte finish. It’s very similar to Prescriptives Blue Grotto. I love the color and the softness of the pencil, but it smudges so badly on me. (Review)
- Tarina Tarantino Spark of Envy Eyeliner is a medium teal with silver sparkle and reflective sheen. Fans of Urban Decay’s 24/7 Liner formula will also like Tarina Tarantino’s. (Review)
- Urban Decay Covet 24/7 Liner is a dark jewel-tone teal with a satin sheen. (Review)
- Urban Decay Flipside 24/7 Liner is a bright, light-medium blue. (Review)
- YSL #9 Eyeliner is a soft blue with a smidgen of teal. (Review)
- Chanel Jade Stylo Yeux is a green-teal with a satin sheen. (Review)
Thoughts
DUPE ALERT! If you have better luck with NARS Eyeliner than I do, you can dupe with NARS Kaliste Eyeliner.
Product Formulas/Wear: All of these wear all day long on me except NARS Eyeliners and YSL Eyeliners. NARS Eyeliners migrate and smudge terribly on me. I urge you to check out the NARS review and comment section, because some readers had similar experiences while others had great ones! YSL Eyeliners do some smudging and budging, too–not as much as NARS, but still not liners I would go to first.
