Review: Nyx Jumbo Eye Pencils

A few weeks ago, I decided to order some NYX products. NYX has always been a brand I’ve wanted to try, but because it’s not readily available where I live I never really got the chance to try any of their products. I knew I could order them online, but always thought you had to have them shipped over from the US and I really couldn’t be bothered by that. On a boring Saturday evening, I discovered that a well known Dutch beauty store stocks NYX products in their online shop, so I really couldn’t resist any longer and caved. I ordered a few things, including four of their well-known jumbo eye pencils.

The most popular shade of the Jumbo Eye Pencil is most definitely the shade ‘Milk’, which is, like the name suggests, a white colour. I’ve seen many beauty bloggers use it as an eyeshadow base, to make other eyeshadow colours pop even more. I don’t know why, but I didn’t get ‘Milk’. Instead, I got four neutral shades. I got ‘Yogurt’, a really pretty, pearlescent pink colour. ‘Gold’, is, like the name suggests, a warm, gold colour. ‘French Fries’ is a nice bronze shade, and ‘Dark Brown’ is, again, as the name suggests, a dark brown shade which is so dark it’s almost black.

f.l.t.r.: Yogurt, Gold, French Fries, Dark Brown

All of the shades are extremely pretty and easy to work with. The only shade I don’t really like is ‘Gold’, which I find a little bit too dark for my skintone; it makes me look like I cried. In the photos I’m wearing Yogurt in the inner corner of my eye, Gold on my lower waterline, Dark Brown on my upper lashline and French Fries as a base colour on the eyelid. 

The NYX Jumbo Eye Pencils are super creamy, which makes them really blendable and easy to apply. I do, however, find they take a little while to dry, so when you first apply them they can be a little bit sticky- I sometimes feel that when I apply them on my upper lashline, the colour can transfer to my upper eyelid, which isn’t really a good look. Besides that, they’re extremely pigmented. I mean, look at those swatches- I only went over them once! When I used a transparent eye shadow base, they stayed on all day with minimal creasing. I do think that an eye shadow primer is a must if you, like me, have oily eyelids, to avoid creasing. The pencils contain quite a lot of product (0.18 oz.) which is really nice as well.

The final verdict? I really, really like these. NYX is a pretty cheap brand and I think these Jumbo Eye Pencils are most definitely worth the money. They’re long lasting, the shade range is absolutely beautiful and you get a lot of product for your money. The only downside to this is that it does require sharpening, which can lead to wasting a little bit of the product. I’ve also read that they crease quite a lot on some people. I don’t find they crease on me, as long as I use a good eye shadow base, but it differs among some people. I'm really converted to NYX products and can't wait to try more of their products. 

Have you tried any of these? Would you like to see a review on the other NYX products i bought? 

My Everyday Makeup Routine

Even though I love trying out new products and changing up my makeup from time to time, there are a few products and makeup looks I always come back to. I think I’ve found my perfect makeup routine so far, consisting of really good quality products which are working perfect for me, so I thought I should share my everyday makeup routine with you.

The first thing I do in the morning, after I cleansed, toned and moisturized my skin, is apply some primer. I do have very oily skin with enormous pores -dramatic, I know-, so I do need to apply a really good base in order to prevent getting oily during the day and to keep my makeup last as long as possible, as I don’t like reapplying. My current primer of choice is the Body Shop’s Tea Tree Pore Minimizer. I only need to use the tiniest amount of product, as a little really goes a long way. I really like the consistency of this product, as it leaves my skin velvety smooth and mattified. I don’t really see a significant difference in the size of my pores, but my makeup goes on a lot smoother and my skin doesn’t really get oily when I apply this under my foundation.

My foundation and concealer of choice have been featured on the blog before. I dabble in and out of foundations and concealers; I’m not really one to constantly repurchase a product when I run out of it, because I like to try new products with different formulas from time to time. This, however, is my third bottle of the Estée Lauder Double Wear Light foundation and my second one of the Double Wear concealer. I find myself always coming back to the Double Wear range, as it really is quite amazing. I don’t like the normal Double Wear foundation, as it smells and feels a little bit like putting paint on your face, but the light formula is absolutely perfect for me. Whilst the coverage isn’t as high as the original Double Wear, I find it really buildable. It doesn’t really have a scent and is much more blendable and easier to work with. The Double Wear concealer is by far my favorite concealer ever; it has high coverage, stays all day, it dries up matte and you only need the tiniest amount. My only problem with these products is that even the lightest shades are a tiny bit too dark for me, so I really need to make sure to blend it all the way down my neck.

I first apply my foundation, using my fingers to apply it evenly all over my skin. The warmth of my fingers makes the product really melt into the skin. I use pressing and rolling movements with my fingers to distribute the product evenly over my skin, then use my Real Techniques Buffing Brush to make sure everything is blended well. I use the same technique with the concealer.

After I applied my foundation, I do my brows. I don’t apply powder immediately after putting on my base, because I want to give my foundation and concealer some time to dry. For my brows, I use the Benefit Brow Zings kit in the shade light. I only use the powder- I do like the wax, but I find that it makes my eyebrows look a little bit too dark. I’m a blond, so black eyebrows really aren’t a good look! I use the Real Techniques eyebrow brush and apply the product using light, feathery strokes.

After that, I set my makeup using the Clinique Blended Face powder. I prefer loose powders over pressed ones. They’re messy, but they mattify my skin a little bit more and provide a tiny bit more coverage. I just use a random fluffy powder brush and apply the powder with pressing motions, to avoid my foundation from slipping around. I also apply this on my eyes- I don’t own an eyeshadow primer at the moment, and I find that a little bit of powder on the eyelids does the trick just as well.

Moving on to eyes- I change up my eyeshadow nearly every day, but I’ve found an eyeshadow combination which I’m really loving at the moment. As a base, I apply the Maybelline Colour Tattoo in On and On Bronze. This is such an amazing product- it’s super easy to apply and the shade is absolutely gorgeous. I apply this on the entire eyelid using my ring finger to blend it out. After that, I apply a little bit of MAC Sable eyeshadow in the crease, using my MAC 244 blending brush. The combination of these two is so so gorgeous; they really complement each other, and it’s such a quick and easy look as well.

For mascara, I’ve gone back to my trusty Estéé Lauder Sumptuous Extreme mascara- an old favourite of mine. This is literally one of the best mascaras I’ve ever come across, as it’s volumizing, lengthening and separating, all in one. I usually apply two coats- I first coat the roots of the lashes for volume, then put on another coat just on the lengths to make them look as long as possible.

For bronzer, I’ve been loving the Body Shop Honey Bronzer in the lightest shade. This is a really subtle bronzer, which doesn’t look muddy nor orange.

My lip product of choice varies every day, but at the moment I’ve been absolutely adoring the NYX lip gloss in the shade ‘Beige’. It’s just the perfect ‘my lips but better’ shade, and it’s so easy to just throw on, as I don’t like to spend a lot of time on my lips. It does have a pretty strange scent though- it smells like marzipan, which I don’t really like, but you get used to it. It also feels a little bit tingly when you apply it at first, I don’t know if it’s because it has lip plumping properties, but it certainly feels like it!

So that’s my everyday makeup routine. Quick and easy, but foolproof. Most of the products I use are a little bit more expensive, but when it comes to makeup, I definitely prefer quality over quantity. Because my skin is quite acne prone and oily, it’s really hard to find great drugstore products. I don’t really own a lot of makeup, but I do use everything I own, so that’s what counts, right?

What’s your everyday makeup routine? Have you tried some of these products?

Estée Lauder Double Wear foundation & concealer

Excuse the poor iPhone quality of this picture, I'm currently at uni and forgot/lost my SD card at home (dohh!)  so now I'm bound to my trusty old iPhone camera.

Well now, let me introduce you to my most loved/hated product. A product which I sometimes love so much that I just can't get enough of it and wear it every day, but also sometimes hate so much that it disappears into my huge box of make up and doesn't see daylight for a few weeks. Yes, it's one of the most famous and loved foundations of half the female population- Estée Lauder Double Wear foundation.
I've used this foundation when I was 16 and loved it so much that I wore it everyday, until it got empty. Then, being the beauty-obsessive I am, I did naturally have to purchase and try another foundation, so I've never really thought about this little gem again. Then, when I saw Kate (which is one of my favourite beauty bloggers out there, she is literally one of the most gorgeous persons ever and really knows her skincare!) blogging about it and bearing in mind how gorgeous and healthy yet still natural her skin does always look, I decided to cave in and buy it. I first got matched and the colour was terrible on me- it was at least 4 shades to dark and it made me look like a giant orange. So a littlewile later I decided to buy the lightest shade available in Belgium, 2N2, Fresco. Now that's one thing I don't really like about this foundation; it's still too dark for me. This foundation has got much lighter shades that would fit caucasion skintones so much better, but they just don't seem to be available anywhere in Belgium. Another thing that I don't really like about this is that it sometimes can feel a little bit too heavy. Another downside about this is that it doesn't have a pump. MAC foundation pumps do fit, but I don't own any MAC foundation, sigh.

But I think I'm in the loving-phase right now. Yes, I'm wearing it again every single day, and yes, I love the finish, the coverage it gives and that, even though this claims to be "medium to full coverage", it still does look so very natural. I first warm a little bit of this foundation up on the back of my hand and then buff it in really well into my skin- application is key with these kind of foundations. I don't find that I need to use any powder on my oily skin, which is such a plus since powder can make this foundation look a little bit over the top and very cakey. I find that my skin doesn't really get oily throughout the day, which is most certainly a plus! It does last me all day, which is never the case with any foundation I wear, so yeah, it's pretty darn amazing ;).

The Double Wear concealer however, is what I've been calling my all-time favourite concealer since I got it. It's full coverage yet still looks natural. I do, however, only use this on blemishes and other little imperfections on my skin and then use the Yves Saint Laurent Touche Éclat under my eyes. I love it. It's such a great colour match (I wear 01 - Light, which is the lightest shade) and I love it. I don't find that I need to use any/much concealer when I'm wearing Double Wear on it's own, but when I'm in a 'hate' phase with Double Wear, I do use a very light foundation and then this and the Touche Éclat and I feel pretty darn great, too. I couldn't recommend this enough, and even though it's so much more expensive than the famous Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer, which they don't sell here, this is such great value for money and I will definitely be repurchasing this. This one does also have a better colour range, which might be worth considering ;)

Have you ever tried Double Wear foundation and/or the Double Wear concealer? I've never seen anyone talking about the concealer, which I thought was quite odd! Will you be trying them out after reading this review?

MAC cremesheen lipstick in speed dial

I'm a sucker for lipsticks. They brighten your face up, they can transform you from looking tired and grumpy into a glamourous lady, and they just form a nice addition to your make up. Lipstick is the only thing that I use on a rotation- I mostly just use the same make up items nowadays. Even if it's just a neutral colour, it seems to do so much more for my façade and I just love putting it on, it always makes me remember of being little and watching my mom put on her own lipstick.

Well, I love MAC lipsticks. They have great selection of colours and formulas to apply for every person's personal taste. There's also something about the way they smell- I know, I'm weird, right? They remember me of biscuits or something, which is probably just me being very weird but whatever haha. They also last for a really long time! I applied mine at 7 o'clock this morning and it lasted on me until Lunchtime, without having to do any touch-up! Bear in mind that I had already eaten an apple and drank a lot of water, haha ;) Even when I finished my lunch, there was still a little hint of colour noticeable on my lips.

The colour is just absolutely gorgeous. It has got a lot of glitter in it, but I don't think that's very noticeable on the lips. It goes on very smoothly and stays on for a good few hours. Unfortunately, it's a very bright lipstick. My friend pointed this out for me once and I have to say that she's right; it may not be for you if you prefer nude lipsticks, but I sure do love it!

Have you already tried this lipstick? What are your favourite lipsticks by MAC?

xoxo, Charlotte

weekly wishlist #1

From left to right, up to down: three dresses from Arkclothing.com, Michael Kors watch, Topshop Vectra studdes slippers, Mac Espresso eyeshadow, Liz Earle Young Skin try-me kit, Asos Cross Earrings.

1, 2 and 3 - A few dresses for the holidays which I just can't seem to choose from. The middle one is my current favorite, because it seems a little more festive, and the other ones look like I would wear them on a normal day. I first really, really wanted  this dress, but it seemed to be sold out and only available with the top in red and the bottom in black, boo :(

4 - I've wanted a Michael Kors watch for ages now, even more since a shop has opened nearby. Well Santa, I've been a very, very good girl....

5 - Even though everyone seems to have them and I normally don't like it when someone has got the same item at me, these seem soooo comfortable and look just great with every outfit. I also really really like the studs, it makes it 'cooler', if you know what I mean haha ;)

6 - This just seems like a really nice colour on my eyes, and I could also use it to fill in my eyebrows.... Santa?

7 - I've read some really good things about Liz Earle products' on Emma's and Vivianna's blog, so I'm really curious about it! It has various products in it, all in a mini-version, so I can see what I like and eventually want to buy! It also isn't very expensive.

8 - Another item everybody seems to want - the Asos cross earrings. I would prefer them in gold, but I just can't seem to find them anywhere! However, silver would be a nice change for once, since I always wear gold :)


So what's on your current wishlist? Let me know, so I can get inspired some more! :) I'm goingto have a chill day with my boyfriend today!

chanel perfection lumière

Chanel Perfection Lumière long-wear flawless fluid makeup SPF10

 I know, I know- these are an awful lot of pictures, but I felt like I needed to show it to you in all of its full glory. A few weeks ago, I wanted to buy the Chanel Pro Lumière foudnation because I've heard some really good reviews about it, so you can all imagine how disappointed I was when it seemed to be all discontinued. However, I wouldn't let my head hang down, so I decided I to buy the Mat Lumière foundation. I really liked it- it kept my skin from getting oily and breaking out, but it wasn't the right colour for me, it was too yellowish. So when I heard Chanel would bring out the Perfection Lumière foundations, which is supposed to be like the new Pro Lumière, I couldn't wait to try it, so when my Mat Lumière (waw, that's an awful lot of 'Lumières' in one post, haha!) ran out, I happily ran to the Chanel counter to buy myself a brand new flacon of the Perfection Lumière.


Because my skin is, like, very very pale, I asked the lady for some advise, and this time she gave me the right colour - nr. 12 Beige Rosé instead of nr.20 Beige, which is more pink instead of yellow, and the colour is so much better for me! You can't see any foundation lines anymore, which I'm glad of because I think they are sooooo disgusting!


So as you can imagine, I couldn't wait to try it, so I did! The other day, to be exactly, because I don't want to waste any product haha as Chanel is quite expensive haha, greedy me :) So when I did some of the product on my hand, the first thing that struck me was the smell of it. It's perfumed, which I think is not a bad thing 'cause the Mat Lumière didn't smell that good. It smells like Chanel Daycrème, which I absolutely love because it smells really fresh and it's just the smell for me, I guess! So I applied it all over my face, happy because the scent is that good, and it really gave me a good coverage. Not great- it's lighter than the Mat Lumière, which gives slighter more coverage-, but it did the trick for me. I have to say, it makes my skin look a lot more oilier, even when I put my MAC Studio Careblend powder over it, but overall it lasted for a good whole day at school and the oiliness wasn't that bad! I think Mat Lumière is better for my slightly oilier skin and Perfection Lumière is better for the dryer skin.

So what are you all up to this weekend? Got any plans? I've got absolutely nothing to do today, except for revising for my exams, since my parents wouldn't let me spend the weekend with my boyfriend as the absolute twats they are, but tomorrow we will be together for one year so we're planning to do something special and go to the sauna! Afterwards we really want to do something romantic, so any suggestions?

I really hope y'all are having a good and awesome weekend! Sorry for the tad long post - I tend to over-analyse things way too easily, haha ;)