Plush Red by NYX

This is the laziest post ever. (academics are closing in on me, guys. I'm cornered) Anyways…I REALLY liked my lipstick today. ^_______^ NYX Cosmetics Jumbo Lip Pencil in Plush Red.

Hugs,
Cat

Fantastic Frugal Find: $1 Matte Lipstick by Jordana

Hey, guys. Ever heard of that cheap-o cosmetic brand called Jordana? I've always noticed it in the bargain section at grocery and drug stores and have always avoided it because the products just looked so terribly cheap and "ghetto".

Anyhoo, I saw a bunch of their matte lipsticks on sale at my local grocery store the other day and thought it would be fun to just give it a try. What'd I have to lose? They were marked down to $1 from $1.50. I picked a bright, red-orange shade called Tangerine Tango.

I was completely floored by the quality of this lipstick! The color is richly pigmented and opaque, the finish is a creamy matte, the scent is reminiscent of M&M's, and it still looked great on my lips when I removed it 7 hours later, with just some slight fading and feathering (my bad, I didn't use any lip liner). I never had to touch up and I didn't find that it was overly drying for a matte formula. For just $1 apiece, I'm pretty sure I'm going to go back and purchase them in every color available.

A little bit of overkill with the electric, metallic blue eyeliner. Lol. Orange and blue were my high school colors, coincidentally.

I used the Naked palette for this look and accented with NYX Studio Liquid Liner in Extreme Blue, another cheapy-but-goody product that I love!

Full face product list:

• UD Naked Skin liquid foundation - 5.0
• ELF Clarifying pressed powder - Honey
• Etude House Drawing Eyebrow pencil - gray/brown
• UDPP - Eden
• NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil - Milk
• UD Naked palette
• NYX Studio Liquid Liner - Extreme Blue
• Sugarpill eyeshadow - Velocity (lower lash line)
• ELF liquid eyeliner - black
• Maybelline Full N Soft Waterproof mascara
• Ardell #403 eyelashes
• ELF Studio blush - Twinkle Pink
• Jordana Matte lipstick - Tangerine Tango

Hope everyone's having a fantastic Saturday! It's sunny and warm out right now, but I'm stuck inside all weekend working hard on my grad project. XD

Hugs,

Cat

NYX Xtreme Lip Cream Swatches: Dolly Girl, Spicy, & Absolute Red

Hello everyone! It seems like a lip swatch kind of day, so I thought I'd share my small collection of NYX Xtreme Lip Creams with everyone this morning. They are described by the company as:

"…not a lipstick nor is it a gloss… a liquid lipstick that goes on with full Xtreme color and intense shine."

Extreme color? Check. Intense shine? Check. They don't feel as emollient as a balm, but they're not drying. They're slightly sticky, but not intolerably so and are fairly resilient, lasting pretty well through 4-5 hours which included eating, drinking, and blotting. I imagine they would last much longer if I were more careful. The only thing that bugs me is the slightly plastic-y smell, but I can overlook it.

 Dolly Girl is a bright, blue-based hot pink which I love even though, according to the rules, this color shouldn't work with yellow undertones. Spicy is a bright, light red with a hint of pink. Absolute red is a deep, vampiric, blood red. Dolly Girl and Spicy applied very smoothly. Absolute Red required a little more work, as the red was extremely intense and pigmented, but the effort to apply was minimal and the results were totally worth it. I ended up wearing Absolute Red all day.

Hope you guys enjoyed the post! Thanks for reading and have a fantastic day!

Hugs,
Cat

Happy New Year!

Attended and all-day event with my wonderful family yesterday (there must have been at least 30 of us)! I did a festive red and gold look for the event:

Here is the product list for the look:

• Etude House Drawing Eyebrow Pencil
• UDPP in Eden
• Maybelline Color Tattoo cream shadow in Gold Rush and loose pigment in Wild Gold
• UD eyeshadow in Cobra and Black Dog (Black Palette)
• Ulta Eye Crayon in Black Tie
• ELF Studio Blush in Twinkle Pink
• NYX Jumbo Lip Pencil in Plush Red
• CoverGirl Blast Flipstick in Stunner (the gold end)

I took a break from eyelashes because I wanted to be comfortable eating, drinking, and chasing after my adorable baby cousins! XD So, I am missing that extra oomph to my look, but I think it turned out alright anyway. :D

I was especially happy with my lipstick.

It lasted for well over 8 hours through eating and drinking without any feathering and very minimal fading. I never had to reapply and the color remained true in photos until the end of the day. 

Hope everyone enjoyed lovely new year celebrations and, if you don't celebrate the lunar new year, I hope you had a fantastic weekend! Happy Sunday, all!

Hugs,

Cat

Swatches! CoverGirl Flipstick plus NYX Stick Blush and Lip Cream

Hey all!  Got around to swatching my CoverGirl Blast Flipstick and NYX Stick Blushes and Xtreme Lip Creams.  Here you go!

NYX Stick Blush in Hibiscus and Pink Lotus:

Hibiscus (left)  Pink Lotus (right)

Hibiscus (left) Pink Lotus (right)

I LOVE cream blushes and I especially love that these are in convenient stick form.  Why?  Here are 3 good reasons why they're a must-have item for me:

1. No blush brush necessary when I'm in a rush.
2. Portable!  I can throw them in my bag to have on hand for "emergencies".
3. FACT: Blush fades throughout the course of the day.  These are a perfect way to touch up with no mess, no fuss.

They also make an awesome powder blush primer if you want to your rosy cheeks to last through a long day/night of activity.

I chose Hibiscus and Pink Lotus because I wanted a warm tone and a cool tone.  I gotta say, I haven't been really well acquainted with these blushes yet, but I love them already.  Hibiscus is a warm, fleshy coral shade and Pink Lotus is a bright, shimmery Barbie-pink.  Both apply sheer if you want the slightest hint of color, but are buildable if you want an all-out, vibrant flush.

CoverGirl Blast Flipstick in Stunner:

Shimmer Shade

I'm wearing NYX Stick Blush in Hibiscus.

Cream Shade

Shimmer shade layered over cream shade.

Squeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaal!  I'm so in love with this "flipstick".  First off, what a fab idea!  Two contrasting, yet complimentary lipsticks in one with different textures and finishes.  Can be worn one at a time or together.  AWESOME!  The bronze shade is sheer, shimmery.  Fairly subtle when worn alone.  The cream shade, HOLY COW!  Such a spicy red-orange!  How's that for POP?  I love how fiery the colors look when worn together for a multidimensional intensity.  Aptly named Stunner, this one's a keeper for sure.  Don't know where I'm going to wear it, but I'm glad I have it!  Oh, they smell like toasted marshmallows too, yum!

NYX Xtreme Lip Creams in Dolly Girl and Spicy:

Dolly Girl

Spicy

Wow!  These Xtreme Lip Creams are indeed extreme.  They're super-duper pigmented almost like nothing else I've tried before, it doesn't take much.  I look like I'm wearing vinyl on my lips, but in a good way!  I'm really digging the super shiny wet look!  I really can't find any flaw with these except that they smell a little weird...like paint, seriously.  No cutesy candy scents, just straight up utilitarian plastic and paint.  Oh well, you win some you lose some.  I loved the way Spicy looked so much that I'm going out like this tonight!

Well, that's all of it!  Whew, my lips are spent!  I'm extremely happy, however, because this has been a very successful mini haul.  There was nothing I didn't like!  Hope some of you found this review helpful!  Happy Saturday! :D

Hugs,

Cat

Ulta Mini Haul

I recently received a small order from Ulta with some Nyx and Covergirl goodies.  I haven't had a chance to try them, but just thought I'd share what I got.  Swatches and reviews to come soon!

NYX Stick Blush in Hibiscus and Pink Lotus.

NYX Xtreme Lip Cream in Dolly Girl and Spicy.

CoverGirl Blast Flipstick in Stunner:

Don't these colors and products look like so much fun!  I can't wait to try them out!  Stay posted to find out if they were worth it. :D

Hugs,
Cat