the little lippies that were left behind

     Hi everyone; this post is just to share my pictures of the Nyx Round Lipsticks that I forgot to include in my last Nyx post. Oopsy! Today was also a great mail day- I got in my orders from MAC and Concrete Minerals. Sooo pretty! CM's eye shadows are a whopping 10 grams, and packed full of lovelyness. Also, my pictures have been taken for my Shiro Cosmetics review, so be expecting that by the end of the week-ish :)

hardest post ever :P

     This post has literally been the most difficult one I've done yet. This isn't because I've been hard pressed to come up with charming subject matter, or even because I've been pressed for time; no, what has taken this post over three days to finally get posted was the fact that Fotoflexer has decided to hate me. I had the idea of putting descriptions and color names in the pictures to make them easier and quicker to read. I'm guessing that the heavy use of such features to enable this made Fotoflexer mad at me, so it has decided to stop letting me save pictures directly from the site. This has extended a maybe ten minute process for each finished graphic to around twenty minutes, not just because now I have to email pictures to myself to save them, but because I have to crop images similtaneously (if I try cropping one at a time, the other gets cropped out with the rest of the junk.) Bleh. And if that isn't bad enough, I have a prom eye that I wanted to post the other day but couldn't because my laptop won't detect it on my memory card, even though my camera will. I'll stop ranting now- I justed wanted to explain why I've been MIA despite promising not-too-long-ago several new posts! Now that I'm done flapping my jaws (tapping my fingers?) we'll get into this whole swatch & review deal.

     The only items that I hadn't previously tried were the Nyx Girls Round Lip Glosses, so I'll only be reviewing them in this post. Reviews for everything else can be found in this previous post:  http://chasingbluefeathers.blogspot.com/2011/02/time-to-nyx-having-to-drop-ton-of-cash.html. Whilst fetching this URL I just realized that I left out two lipsticks, which almost sent me into another fit of pulling-out-my-hair. But, because I like my hair (and my sanity), I'm just going to include them in a later blog post. :) By the way, left-clicking on an image will take you to  a new window where the image is much larger, or you can right-click and select "Open in New Tab" or "Open in New Window" to keep this page up and still open the larger images. This is how I do quite a bit of color-comparing when buying new products ;)

Single Eye Shadow

Powder Blush

Mega Shine Lip Gloss

Nyx Girls Round Lip Gloss

Pros: These have a similar consistancy to the Mega Shine glosses, though they are a touch thinner and they lack any sort of added scent. These are also very pigmented and are opaque on the lips, but they can be sheered down if youuse a lighter hand. The glitter/ shimmer is ultra- fine and is a nice touch without having the in-your-face-lipgloss-glitter-residue effect after the gloss wears off (I don't know about anyone else, but I HATE it when the gloss wears off and there are still large bits of glitter spread all over my bare lips... it's not a good look for me!) Another cool things that happens when the glossy-ness wears off is that there is a rich stain left over. The gloss itself hangs around for quite some time (a few hours) but the stain lasts until you physically wear it off, eg. eating, drinking, smooching, et c. I'll stop now with the Latin abbreviations :D

Cons: Since these do stain, care should be taken to not over-apply onto the face, unless you are going for a look that says "I've been noshing on something messy and forgot to use my napkin." The same care should be used around fabrics that don't need accidental polka- dots.

Stars: 5/5

Would I buy again?: I'm interested in how "Whipped" would perform for a nude lip and "Sorbet" looks darling, so probably.

time to Nyx having to drop a ton of cash for effective products

     Like any good  Latin student, I can tell you that Nyx wasn't just the goddess of night, she was the personification of night. She was dark, mysterious, and beautiful... the perfect inspiration for a make up line, right? Nyx cosmetics offers a large line of goodies, and one of the best parts is: there are almost as many color options as there are stars in the night sky ;) In this post I'll be reviewing some of the first products I've tried from this company and sharing some swatches, too.

 From left to right: Mega Shine Lip Gloss, Round Lip Stick, Single Eye Shadows, Candy Glitter Liner, Powder Blush (top), and Eye Shadow Base (bottom.)  

Eyeshadow Base in Natural

Pros: When I first put this on, I fell in love, pretty hard. It's easy to apply and, like usual, I just use my finger. Blending it into my skin is easy, and it's a good match for my medium skin tone. It has a very nice texture- very creamy, but it feels light once applied; it just melts into your skin. Also, there is no "sticky" factor. There is a tackyness that does a wonderful job of grabbing eye shadow and makes it easier to apply. Shadows look more pigmented with this base. It does a decent job of holding my eye shadows in place for around 8 hours. But....

Cons: For some reason this base isn't very compatible with Nyx eye shadows. With the Nyx eye shadows I only got around four hours of creaseless wear.

Stars: 3.5/5

Would I buy again?: Probably not... there's enough in the pot to last for quite a while, and I'm hoping to find something that will last a little longer and with all of my shadows.

Candy Glitter Liner in Disco Queen

Pros: The brush applicator makes it really easy to put the product where you want it and the product itself has a nice, gel- like consistency, so you don't have to worry about it running every which way.

Cons: Not a whole lot of glitter is deposited with each brush- stroke, so it does take some building to get it to be noticeable.

Stars: 3/5

Would I buy again?: I don't think I'll use it enough to have to worry about replacing it. The price point is so reasonable that I wouldn't balk at trying different colors, though.

 No flash.

With flash.

(From left to right: Powder Blush in Peach, Single Eyeshadow in Red Bean Pie, Volcano, and Vanilla Sky, Candy Glitter Liner in Disco Queen.)

Powder Blush in Peach
Pros: My first thought when using this was "Oh my Lawd, this is nice!" This blush is very easy to get on the brush, and easy to apply and blend on skin. It is also very natural- looking and is a matte, so it's very user- friendly for even unexperienced blush -users.

Cons: I only bought one :(

Stars: 5/5

Would I buy again?: Yes! I have another ordered right now.

Single Eye Shadow in Red Bean Pie, Volcano, and Vanilla Sky
Pros: These are super- pigmented, come in fifty- million beautiful colors, and the shimmer/ glitter is fine and not in the least bit chunky. These go on smoothly and vibrantly, and the colors I bought really make my blue eyes pop.

Cons: I tested these on their own and with a base/ primer, and the longest wear I could get without creasing was around four hours. I do have oily lids, but I can get longer lasting wear out of other shadows at comparable  prices.

Stars: 3.5/ 5

Would I buy again?: I went ahead and ordered Morocco, but until I find something to hold these in place better, I shall resist the temptation and not get any more.

No flash.

With flash.

(From left to right: Mega Shine Lip Gloss in Beige, Golden Pink, and Smokey Look, Round Lip Stick in Rosebud.)

Mega Shine Lip Gloss in Beige, Golden Pink, and Smokey Look
Pros: For a gloss, these are fairly long- wearing. Once they do lose their glossy-ness there is a nice stain left behind. These have a plush texture and are nicely pigmented and come in both shimmers and non- shimmers. I was pretty impressed with my colors- Beige and Smokey look are not only beautiful and unique, but also utilitarian (any one should be able to wear them.) I also like the light cherry smell when I first put them on.

Cons: None that I can think of.

Stars: 5/5

Would I buy again?: More are on their way :)

Round Lip Stick in Rosebud
Pros: This lip stick goes on fairly pigmented and very smoothly. I did not experience any drying and there was no "cakey" feeling. Like the lip glosses, after the shine faded there was a nice stain left behind. At the price that I bought this, it has exceded all of my expectations.

Cons: Compared to similar lip sticks this product is not as big, but at the price I bought it for, I don't think that it is really an issue. The glitter is still pretty fine, but not quite as fine as what's in the lip glosses.

Stars: 4/5

Would I buy again?: This is another one that I'm getting more colors in :)