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 two favourite drugstore foundations

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/digital camera.

Now I have to admit that I'm not usually one for drugstore foundations- I'm quite a bit of a snob when it comes down to what I put on my face. I've heard such amazing things about these two foundations however, that the beauty obsessive in me eventually had to have them. I've been using these two for quite some time now, so I thought it was time to share what I think about these little gems.

First of all, the packaging of these is really cute. They don't look as luxury as Chanel or Estée Lauder foundations, but it's the inside that counts, right? The Rimmel Wake me Up foundation is stored in a glass bottle, whereas the Bourjois foundation is housed in a little plastic bottle, which makes the Rimmel foundation feel a little bit more luxurious than the Bourjois one. Since they're both drugstore foundations the shade range isn't great. I find that the lightest Bourjois shade- which I have- is a little bit lighter than the Rimmel one. I don't really mind, but paler or darker girls should bear this in mind.

Now on to what's in the bottles- the actual foundation. The Rimmel Wake me Up foundation is supposed to, as you could probably tell from the bottle, wake your skin up and has got a tiny bit of shimmer in it. The Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum is supposed to give your skin a nice radiant boost and revive your complexion- so they are both supposed to do pretty much the same thing. When you put the foundations on your hand, they both smell really nice- Bourjois smells like peaches and fruit, I find (which is quite obvious since it has got fruit in it which are 'healthy' for your skin, even though I don't think it makes much of a difference), and the Rimmel One smells quite lemony. Bear in mind that if you've got quite sensitive skin, these probably won't be for you since they are quite perfumed and might break you out.
Now on to the coverage. The Bourjois Healthy Mix serum claims to give you a light coverage, but I do find it quite buildable. The finish is so beautiful, it really does make your skin look so much more brighter and just amazing. The Rimmel Wake me Up gives you a medium coverage, but you can build it up to full.

Well then, you may think, but how's the lasting power? I too find the lasting powder of a foundation the most important thing, and since I've got quite oily to combination skin, foundations tend to slip off of my face quite easily. The Healthy Mix Serum has got a semi-matte finish, and although I do like it so much, I find that my skin gets oily rather quickly- 3 to 4 ours after application. And yes, I do use a power on top of it! The Wake me Up foundation lasts a little bit longer on my skin, but after 4 or 5 hours or so the oil starts coming through. I do find that, if you've got oily skin like I do, you need to use an oil free primer and a powder to set your foundation- I use Benefit's Porefessional Primer and Rimmel's Stay Matte Pressed powder, which are both amazing.

Have you ever tried one of these foundations? What do you think of them?

origins super spot remover

I purchased this product a little while ago, when I payed the Origins counter a little visit and decided to splurge out on some of their products- sorry bank balance. Since I've suffered with acne for several years and it has only recently calmed down, my skin is far from perfect and I do still suffer from occasional breakouts. There isn't a day when I don't have a spot. During my teens, I felt very insecure about my skin, which I why I started wearing make up. I've tried so many spot treatments, some of them good, some of them very, very bad (I'm looking at you, clearasil!) and now I'm at the point where almost all of my acne is gone and, like I said above, my skin is looking pretty clear except for the occasional breakouts I suffer with. I do really feel like the condition of my skin has improved so much since I picked up an outrageous intrest for skincare, and I'm so thankful for that. So since I do suffer from some spots, I figured I needed to invest in a little spot treatment. Not one like clearasil, where you wash your face with such a drying product that your spots only get worse, no, but a little product that you could locally apply. I previously tried Lush's Grease Lightning, which was good, but I wanted to try a new spot treatment, so after reading Anna's and then Zoe's post about this little gem I was sold.

The good thing about this product is; it does actually work. Well now, I can hear you all thinking; aren't all these products supposed to work?! But you would be surprised at the amount of skincare that doesn't live up to it's claims. I don't know if I'm allowed to say it, but most of the time it are the cheaper things that don't do the job. There. I've said it.

First things first; this product smells lovely. It smells a little bit like tea tree, which is a smell I do absolutely adore. I apply this locally with a cotton bud, just to keep things hygienic, and from the instant you've applied it, you can feel it stinging. This makes me feel like it does actually work, although sometimes it starts burning and feels like my skin is melting off, so be careful with the amount you apply of this. I only apply this in the evening after my toner but before my moisturiser, since I find it a little bit drying. I used this on my flight to Tunisia two weeks ago and combined with the drying airco, it really didn't work well- I left the airplane with two extremely dry patches on both sides of my chin, haha. You can apply this two or three times a day, but be sure not to overuse it as I do find it can work a little bit too well, haha.

All in all it's a really good product which actually lives up to its claims and does what it says on the bottle. I really would repurchase this, although I might invest in the new Super Spot Remover Pads Origins came out with a little while ago. Have you used this? What did you think about it and would you use the new pads? Let me know!

l'oréal rouge caresse lipsticks

I went out shopping today and bought some amaaaaaazing bits and bobs, including these two L'Oréal Rouge Caresse lipsticks. I had been on the hunt for one for soooo long and when I saw them on offer in my local drugstore (two for €16 instead of almost €30!) I couldn't resist. I do already have the colour Dating Coral (which I did also buy on an offer, for almost half the price!) but I somehow seem to have lost it already, boo! It's such a shame since it was such a nice colour.

This time, I decided for the colours 'Aphrodite Scarlet' and 'Tempting Lilac'; one bright shade and one more neutral shade. L'Oréal describes it as a lightweight flush of colour with a delicate, moisturising structure and that is exactly what these lipsticks feel like. They may seem bright at first- especially Aphrodite Scarlet-, but they go on the lips very, very softly and apply like a dream. You don't even need to look into the mirror when you apply the lipsticks, and since every woman needs a lipstick which you can apply anywhere and at any time of the day, these ones are perfect. Lots of people compare them to the Revlon lipbutters, which I would love to try but unfortunately, there is no Revlon counter near where I live, so these need to suffice for me, haha.

I made some very, very cheeky purchases today which I'm very happy about, including the Rimmel Wake Me Up foundation (which I'm absolutely loooooving so far!), some Yves Saint Laurent bits (I like to say their full name, haha) and some more beautiful and very good stuff. I do love a good make up shopping trip! I can't wait to try the stuff I've bought more thoroughly (do you even say that?!) and show them to you, but for now, you have to wait for a little bit longer :)

xoxo,
Charlotte

MAC lovelorn lipstick

I saw this gorgeous lipstick when I went into the MAC counter a few weeks ago when I went shopping with my mom. I was actually looking for Hue, but this one grabbed my attention and I've been wearing it everyday since. It's the perfect, natural pinky colour! I'm sorry I don't have pictures of me wearing this, but I'm sure you can find some swatches on good ol' google. I'm on the hunt for another MAC lipstick when I go shopping in a few days, what are your favourite lipsticks? Or just in general your favourite products by them? I'm really sorry that this is such a boring blogpost, but I just got back from y boyfriend and I'm really tired! I've promised myself to blog every day for the whole of July, but my internet collection broke down for some kind of stupid reason and so I only got access to the world wibe web today again! Which I'm sooooo happy about, haha!

xoxo, Charlotte

clarins instant light natural lip perfector

Clarins Instant Light Natural Lip Perfector in 001 - Rose Shimmer

I didn't really understand the hype around this product at first. I saw Anna raving about it, and after seeing Barbara and Lily recommending it, I decided to get this. However I always thought lipglosses are one of the most boring beauty purchases, it gets described as 'the best lipgloss ever' on quite a few beauty sites and being the beauty obsessant I am, I obviously had to try it! I found it quite pricey for 'just a lipgloss' but then again, since so many people recommended it, I just decided to buy it when I walked in the shop!
Since I'm a blondie with bright blue eyes and a very light skin, I decided that the pink one would be the one that would suit me the most. This lipgloss comes in three colours, a pinky, a peachy and a more taupey/neutral  colour, so it doesn't have a very wide colour range but I think that there's a colour for everyone's wanting!

Clarins describes the product as 'The ideal lip perfector for smooth, perfectly shaped lips with subtle, natural colour. A soft, gel formula that nourishes, repairs and protects. Day after day, lips are visibly more beautiful.', so they basically claim that it is a cross between a lipgloss and a lipbalm which seems to perfect your lips whilst giving them a subtle hint of colour. They're right. It has the colour of a lipgloss, but it feels as nourishing as a lipbalm and it is absolutely not sticky at all. The smell is also great! It smells a little bit like caramel but it also reminds me a little bit of the MAC lipsticks, one way or another (?!). It does seem to makem y lips look a tiny little bit fuller and the shape of my lips seems a lot more 'beautiful', if that does make any sense?! I don't really find that it does give any colour to my lips, but they do seem a little bit more pinky-ish and let's be honest, no product is perfect, haha.
It also comes in a really nice tube with an applicator I've never ever seen before! It's some kind of a mini-spunge with some little holes in it. I don't think it's very hygienic, but I don't really care about that haha. I really like this lipgloss and I definitely want to try more Clarins products! Any recommendations?

I really don't like to post a lot of reviews of single products, but I don't seem to have a lot of inspiration at the moment! I have a review of a MAC lipstick and another skincare product which I absolutely love coming up, so let me know if you want to see anything else on my blog! I'm also planning on posting some personal updates. Maybe every Sunday?

xoxo, Charlotte

OPI do you lilac it?

I am currently obsessed with pastel colours. I think they are lovely for spring, so I think it's needless to say that I can't wait for spring to come! I want the sun to shine so that everyone gets happier again, I want to leave the house without having to wear a huge fluffy coat and having to hide my face in my scarf, I want to hear the sound of birds when I wake up, I want to have a nice and cute little picnick with my boyfriend. So when I saw this nailpolish, it immediately reminded me of spring and lovely lavender fields in France!
Okay, so I have to admit that this is only my second nailpolish by OPI. I bought my first one, Last friday night by the Katy Perry collection, back in the Christmas break with money I got for Christmas. I really liked the quality of it back then, but I really couldn't justify spending €14 on just a nailpolish.
Being a shopaholic like I am, you can imagina that I really couldn't resist getting this one when I saw it in the shop. I took it and immediately rushed to the till, feeling a little bit guilty as I took the money out of my wallet and gave it to the lady, but the guiltiness disappeared as soon as I applied it on my nails.
It's such a lovely lavender-ish colour, perfect for spring! It's also really long-lasting. I usually find that most of my (cheap ass) nailpolishes wear of rather quickly because I'm not very carefull with things, but this one lasts me for ages! I think it's really worth the price, OPI nailpolishes are amazing and have a great quality.
I normally always apply two coats of nailpolish and then use a topcoat, but being lazy as I am I just couldn't be annoyed to search for my topcoat, so I just applied two layers and it's fantastic! One layer could have been enough because it really doesn't have a transparent finish, but I just applied two coats to be sure it would look beautiful. It gets opaque after one layer though.

Do you own any OPI nail polishes? What's your favourite colour?

xoxo, Charlotte

la roche-posay effaclar k

Excuse the bad quality of this picture, but I was in a hurry :)

I've always been on the hunt for that one skincare product that's just perfect for me. A product which I can use daily, without making my skin look too oily or too dry, and I think that I've finally found it.
When I went to the pharmacy when I was ill, la Roche-Posay immediately caught my eye. I've heard about the brand a few times but never really got round trying it. So, with my acne being quite bad at the time, I caved in and bought this gem.
On the cover it says that it's a 'renovative solution for people with oily skin', so you can imagine how eager I was for trying it out, since my skin can get quite oily at times.
I only have one conclusion: it's perfect. It moisturises my skin and makes a great base for my make up, it refines my pores and makes my skin feel so soft without making it too dry. It's hard to find a product which combines all of these 'essentials', if I can say so myself! My acne significantly reduced until the point I only got a few tiny spots left, so I can honestly say that I love this product.

Have you tried anything of la Roche-Posay yet? Is there any other skin care item you swear by?

xoxo, Charlotte

clinique supermoisture makeup

So I ran out of my Chanel Perfection Lumière foundation the other day, and since I have got Wednesday afternoons off from school, I thought I should quickly hop into town to buy a new one! I firsted wanted to go for either Chanel Vitalumière Aqua or the Estée Lauder Double Wear Light ones, but after reading a few not-so-good reviews about them, I decided to ask the woman in the counter if she knew of a good foundation. She never asked for my skin type, so I didn't knew if I were to trust her, but know I'm glad I did!
She went to the Clinique stand and tried a few colours on my skin until we finally found a suitable colour for my skin tone. When I then saw that she chose an extremely moisturising foundation, I started panicking a bit because my skin can get very oily at times and I always stay far, far away from everything that will hydrate my skin. The minute she put the foundation on me however, I immediately saw that it was just perfect! It gives my skin a really nice glow and makes me feel all radiant and glowy.

Because I use a lot of drying products to prevent my skin from breaking out, my skin can get very dry at times. To compensate the dryness, my skin will produce a lot of oil during the day, so all those products I use don't really have any effect. I have learned now that using a good moisturiser/moisturising foundation will keep my skin in a better balance because it doesn't have to produce that much oil anymore and it also makes my skin look really shiny (but in a good way!) and radiant. It has quite a dewy finish and good coverage, which lasted me for a whole day!

I use it in nr. 04, Ivory, which is the palest pink shade they have. It says that it is suitable for very dry to dry combination skin, but don't let that put you off of buying it!It has got a sheer to moderate coverage rate and is really refreshing for your skin. As a lightweight foundation, it doesn't feel too heavy or cakey, and it lasts all day long!

What's your favourite foundation? Any 'holy grails' that you can't live without?

xoxo, Charlotte

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