The Sultry Season: NYX Hero Lipstick
NYX Hero Lipstick ($4.00 for 0.14 oz.) is a deepened neutral-cool blue-based red with a creamy, glossy finish and opaque color. My NYX Round Lipsticks seem to be scent-free overall, but I do have a few that were brand new and smelled a little on the plastic side, while a couple had more of a general perfume-y feel. I’m not entirely sure why there is so much variation across the board! I love the texture and feel of their Round Lipsticks, though; incredibly creamy and the darker shades are certainly quite pigmented. They do have a fair amount of slip, so they may bleed if you’re prone to to that, and I don’t find they last more than two to three hours, with darker shades on the three hour side and some leaving behind a soft stain.
Is this the right red for you? Would you wear it?
The Sultry Season is a series of posts featuring deep, rich shades of brown, berry, plum, and wine lipsticks and lipglosses — just right for autumn — that runs through October 2010.
NYX Nude on Nude Palette
Cheap, Tawdry Nudes
For a mere $11, you can grab NYX’s Nude on Nude Palette, which contains nine neutral eyeshadows, plus two complementing lip colors. It contains these eyeshadows: pale nude beige (semi-matte finish), semi-sheer mushroom taupe with warm undertones (light shimmer), cool-toned dark brown (satin finish), peachy copper (frosty/metallic sheen), muted copper (frosty), semi-sheer dark gray brown (light shimmer), brightened copper (frosty), browned gold (frosty), and warmed medium-dark chocolate brown (light shimmer). It also contains a reddish rose with lots of shimmer and sheer, medium bubblegum pink for lip colors.
Overall, the eyeshadow quality is pretty good; some shades kick-up a noticeable amount of powder, so you may experience some fall out when using the shades. Nearly all of the shades were nicely pigmented and had a soft, smooth texture. I also like the packaging (except the pull out drawer–feels cheap) — on the outside, it looks sleek and classy.
If you want to know more about how products are evaluated, read out Rating System FAQ! 
- Product: 26/30
- Value: 9/10
- Ease of Use: 4/5
- Packaging: 4/5
RECOMMENDATION: On a budget and want some neutrals? NYX makes it easy to do so without feeling guilty.
AVAILABILITY: NYX
Budget Friendly Beauty: NYX I Dream of St. Lucia Palette
NYX I Dream of St. Lucia Eyeshadow Palette ($8.75 for 0.28 oz.) is a tropical-themed palette with all of the fun, bright shades of the beach. It has a medium grassy green with a semi-matte finish, medium sky blue with a satiny feel, sunny, paled yellow with a frost finish, pop of bubblegum pink with blue undertones and a satin finish, and bright orange with a satin finish.
I love NYX as a brand that provides higher quality products at a very budget-friendly cost. I find NYX eyeshadows to be good but not great–they tend to be a little powdery and fade a bit on the lid. The powderiness can lead to a modest bit of fall out, though a small price to pay to keep within your budget! What’s great about this palette in particular is that I don’t have shades quite like these in some of my higher end brands, so it’s a nice way to complement and supplement my high-end collection, too.
All five shades were pigmented, though the green and blue shades easily faded if you overblended. The yellow and the orange had the best pigmentation, both vibrant with little product, and the yellow shade didn’t fade or sheer out at all (owes to the frost finish, I’d say).
Overall, it’s an excellent palette with good eyeshadows at an even better price. One thing I’d like to see is a reference guide as to what shades the palette actually contains – I couldn’t track down a list of what each was called. I only know that the palette contains some of the original, best selling NYX eyeshadows, but I’d like to know exactly which ones — NYX has so many, and it’s difficult to tell online!
If you want to know more about how products are evaluated, read out Rating System FAQ!
- Product: 26/30
- Value: 9/10
- Ease of Use: 4/5
- Packaging: 4/5
RECOMMENDATION: If you’re on a strict budget or you don’t want to shell out $15-20 per eyeshadow to get your bright eyeshadow fix, NYX has you covered with their I Dream of St. Lucia palette. Five brights for under $10–quite the steal.
AVAILABILITY: NYX
NYX Jumbo Eye Pencils: Pure Gold, Electric Blue, Purple Velvet, Rocky Mountain Green
New Jumbo Eye Pencil Shades for Summer
Just in time for summer, NYX has added four new perfect-for-the-season shades of their Jumbo Eye Pencils ($4.00 for 0.18 oz.). These are oversized eyeliners that can be used as an eyeshadow, eyeshadow base, or eyeliner.
- Pure Gold is a coppered gold. It has a frost finish, and it’s not exactly “pure gold,” since it looks rather coppery. It’s a beautiful color nonetheless!
- Electric Blue is a brightened sky blue with silver shimmer and a satin-frost finish.
- Purple Velvet is a royal purple with a violet shimmer-sheen.
- Rocky Mountain Green is a lightened emerald green with a silver pearl finish.
I like the Jumbo Eye Pencils as eyeshadow bases the most, because their jumbo-sized points are easier to use in applying it all over the eye. Similarly, the pencil is often a bit unwieldy when trying to use it as an eyeliner, just because it is so much bigger and the point that much less precise for lining. I think it would be cool if these were double-sided with the same color on both, but one side is a normal-sized pencil, while the other is the jumbo-size! Best of both worlds, yeah?
I’m able to wear the Jumbo Eye Pencils alone without any creasing, but I think oilier eyelids will experience at least some, minimal creasing. I think they work really well to layer under eyeshadows, especially to give them more pop.
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: 3/5
RECOMMENDATION: These make for great eyeshadow bases, and if you’re in the market for some colored eyeshadow bases for your eyeshadow stash, hard to go wrong with one of these!
AVAILABILITY: NYX
The Summer Season: NYX 24 Karat Lipstick
NYX 24 Karat Lipstick ($5.50) is an ultra shimmery, borderline glittery metallic copper with a copper-brown color base. This is a very, very bronzy shade, and I definitely think it’s more suitable for tanner skin. It has a high-shine that’s more metallic than shimmery. I love that the color is entirely opaque! I get about two to three hours of wear with this particular lipstick, and I didn’t notice any scent other than waxiness of the lipstick itself. No real taste, either!
Is this the right bronze for you? Would you wear it?
The Summer Season is a series of posts featuring bright, vibrant shades of coral, orange, and pink lipsticks and lipglosses — all perfect for a summer of fun — that runs through July 2010.
NYX Ultimate Pearl Eyeshadow in Blonde Pearl
NYX Blonde Pearl Ultimate Pearl Eyeshadow ($7.00) is a brightened yellow gold with a soft frost finish. It’s nicely pigmented, and it has a very smooth, silky finish. Blonde Pearl is part of a new eyeeshadow formula packed with more shimmer for “a soft, shimmery, iridescent look.” The last NYX eyeshadows I tried were among their Trios, and the Pearl formula definitely has a smoother, more finely milled feel to it. It doesn’t have any powdery-ness. I did find that when used with a brush, it will diffuse a little, but it stays true-to-color for the most part.
It’s a good eyeshadow, and for the price–as compared to high end alternatives–it’s a bargain. Compared to other NYX eyeshadows, I’m not sure they’re significantly better than their singles ($5.50). The $7 price tag for a single eyeshadow seems a little steep for a brand known for their affordability. Blonde Pearl reminds me a lot of MAC’s Goldmine eyeshadow, though, so it’s a nice, slightly more affordable alternative.
If you want to know more about how products are evaluated, read out Rating System FAQ!
- Product: 26/30
- Value: 7/10
- Ease of Use: 4/5
- Packaging: 4/5
Recommendation: For a more affordable alternative to high-end eyeshadow, NYX’s Pearl formula is still worth checking out, but it may not be significantly better than other NYX shadows.
Availability: NYX
