NYX Round Lipstick in B52, Chloe, Snow White, Stella - Review, Photos, Swatches

B52, a neutral nude with a hint of pink:

Chloe, a frosty (but not obnoxiously so) fuchsia with an iridescent violet sheen:

Snow White, a deep, deep red with brown undertones:

Stella, a glossy light to medium pink:

L to R: Stella, B52, Chloe, Snow White

What's beautiful about NYX lipsticks is that, because of the low price, I can experiment with shades I most certainly would never regularly wear (Snow White, I'm lookin' at you!) and stash them in case of a costume party, etc. All of these colors were smooth and easy to apply, though Stella was a bit drying. Most B52 swatches I have seen show the pink-ness of this lipstick, which I believe is more true to life; unfortunately it pulls way more nude on my skin tone! Similarly, Snow White looks a little more brick/brown on me than I have seen on other sites. Ah well, such is life!

Overall, these are a great value with a solid formula. See my previous review here for a more in-depth analysis and more swatches! NYX Round Lipsticks are available at Ulta and at various e-tailers such as Cherry Culture.

Thanks for Reading!

NYX Nail Polish in Royal Blue, Boho, Vintage Red, Venetian Glass, Enchanted Forest, Souffle - Review, Photos, Swatches

In honor of Cherry Culture's Valentine's Day sale, I'm posting some of the NYX polishes available for purchase on the site. Personally I know of no brick-and-mortar stores in my area that sell the brand's nail lacquers (though Ulta does carry a plethora of other NYX products!); you may be in the same boat, so CC's 20% off offer may be the ideal time to stock up!

L to R: Boho, Royal Blue, Venetian Glass

L to R: Vintage Red, Enchanted Forest, Souffle

There are two types of nail polishes featured here - NYX Nail Polish Salon ($4), and NYX Girls Nail Polish ($3). The Salons come in a hefty square bottle very reminiscent of Deborah Lippman's packaging, while the Girls have a standard rectangular bottle with a silver cap. Another difference lies in the brushes - the Salon applicators are strangely long with stiff bristles and inferior to the Girls, in my opinion, which are much softer and more manageable. As far as formula goes, the two are comparable and I found no noticeable differences within the finishes.

Royal Blue, a dusty medium blue creme (Salon). It has a bit of a satin finish. Two coats.

Boho, a frosty meadow green (Girls). Three coats.

Vintage Red, a bright pinkish red jelly (Girls). Two coats.

Venetian Glass, a silvery pearl fleck, like crushed glass (Girls). Three coats.

Enchanted Forest, a blue-green jelly base with beautiful gold, green, and blue glitter (Salon). Three coats.

Souffle, a warm brown with reddish gold microshimmer (Salon). Two coats.

So, what do you think? I think all of these are a great value!

Thanks for reading!

Nyx Round Lipstick in Very Berry, Pumpkin Pie, Fig, Saturn, Spellbound - Review, Swatches, Photos

How difficult is it to return to work after a few days off? Very. It's like my own personal law of inertia - once I'm motionless I want to remain motionless and sometimes I think it would have been, on the whole, more productive and restful not to have been on vacation at all! Hopefully this fog of inactivity that settled over my brain will dissipate soon with a bit of hardy mental exercise. Are any of you also in this dismal state of holiday hangover?

Onto beauty-related things... I believe I've waxed poetic over Nyx's Black Label lipsticks, but today I must remedy my inattention to the Round Case lipsticks of the same brand. These are a tad less expensive than the Black Labels ($3.99 each at Ulta, currently $2.50 at Cherry Culture; the Black Label line is about $3.00 more per lipstick) but are pretty neat all the same. I find them fairly neutral on the whole, neither drying nor moisturizing. The Rounds come in a plethora of colors (I counted 168 shades!) and finishes (your usual suspects: cremes, sheers, frosts, shimmers...). Yes, a few of these guys are patchy and/or short-wearing, but most I own possess a perfectly respectable texture, smooth and soft and easy to apply. Average lifespan, discounting the odd outlier, is 2.5-3.5 hours for me. You'll find you can find a color to suit nearly any look you are going for, apart from the most extreme, and you can be sure the quality is solid for a rather small investment; this line is great if you're unsure about what shade might work for you for a certain makeup and want to try a variety of options without a devastating financial commitment. 

Very Berry -

Pumpkin Pie -

Fig -

Saturn -

Spellbound -

L to R - Very Berry, Pumpkin Pie, Fig, Saturn, Spellbound

Hope you found this useful :) Have a very happy New Year's!

NYX Black Label Lipstick Swatches, Review - Poem, Citrine, Nude, Sweet Prawn, Sparkling Flamingo

How's everyone's Monday? Did you greet the start of the work or school week with a smile, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed? If yes, I am a lesser mortal than you; Mondays are always problematic and somehow still manage to catch me off guard, even though they have followed Sundays since at least the 6th century BC. (You'd think a couple of thousand years is enough for humans to adapt..)

To combat the Monday blues, I offer you some random NYX Black Label Lipsticks (as well as the one odd Diamond Sparkle Lipstick).

NYX is and always will be near and dear to my heart as one of the first brands I bought when I started experimenting with makeup but couldn't afford anything beyond the drugstore. These Black Label lipsticks are solid, dependable, and continue to get regular rotation in my makeup bag.

Poem -

Poem is one of my favorite lip colors ever -- such a perfect, vibrant-but-not-obnoxious Barbie pink.

Citrine -

Citrine is a bit of a muted orange-red. Ideal for a flirty summer's kiss :)

Nude -

Skin tone leaning slightly warm. Though you may not be able to discern from the photo Nude is a little patchy and quite slippery, refusing to dry down onto the lips. Weird! This is the only NYX lipstick with which I've had this problem.

Sweet Prawn -

Lovely coral. Another of my NYX favorites!

Sparkling Flamingo -

So shimmery! Even more glistening in person! I'm not big on these types of finishes but they do have their place, and this is a very pretty pink indeed.

The formula on all of these (excepting Nude) is nice, smooth, and not drying. I get about three hours of wear from the Black Labels, which is fine for the perpetual re-applier that I am. As far as I can tell Cherry Culture offers the best price - $5.25 for the Black Label and $4.50 for the Sparkling Diamond.

What are your favorite NYX products?

Thanks for reading! Tomorrow is Tuesday, which means we are slowly inching towards the weekend! ;)