NYX Butter Lipstick in Mary Janes - swatch

*Disclaimer - Item show purchased by thepassengerelement blog. All opinions are my own. I am not being compensated for my review*

I wholeheartedly wear my red lip obsession on my sleeve.  No longer hiding the tubes upon tubes of  red goodness.  In keeping true to form with this, I have purchased yet another red...because red.

NYX Butter Lipstick - Mary Janes

NYX's Butter Lipstick in Mary Janes was purchased at my local Ulta for $5.99 USD.  Mary Janes is one of 22 shades in the line.  Inside of the colored tube (which not only matches the color of the bullet, but you also get a clear window to show true to color color :) ), you get 0.16oz of buttery goodness.

ingredients

NYX Mary Janes Butter Lipstick

One thing I have to say right off...holy jesus these are moisturizing!  The word Butter in the title does attest to the formulation and wear of these lipsticks.  Butter Lipsticks have high pigmentation and wonderful slip, without being too high maintenance.  For me, Mary Janes is opaque, but with the highly moisturizing formula, feels extraordinarily light!  Extremely comfortable to wear, in my experience, I could go up to 5 hours of normal use (light drinking/eating) without having to reapply.  It also kept my lips smooth as it wore away and did stain my lips quite a bit.

NYX Mary Janes swatch - overcast/no flash

Mary Janes is a described as a true red.  On my lips, and since I like to swipe my lipstick two or three times, I find that the more I layer, the darker it gets.  You could definitely get this to look vampy if you wanted, and is totally appropriate for a fall red.

Mary Janes swatch - overcast/flash

A deep cherry shade, I love that this does not lean towards any side too much!  Let me touch again on formula...it is moisturizing and it does leave for such wonderful slip on the lips, but it did grab on to a few of my dry patches.  Though I will also state that I generally do not pre-moisturize my lips and on most days, do not have texture problems with application.

For the price, formula, wear and color selection...this is sooo on the money!


*Disclaimer - Item show purchased by thepassengerelement blog. All opinions are my own. I am not being compensated for my review*

NYX Love in Rio Trio in Voodoo Love Spells - swatch

*Disclaimer - Item(s) shown was purchased by thepassengerelement blog.  All opinions are my own.  I am not being compensated for my review.*

A good neutral palette is good to have in your collection, kit, makeup bag.  One that is travel friendly is even better.  NYX has the answer to neutrals on the go...

NYX Voodoo Love Spells Trio

Love In Rio is a series of shadow trios from NYX that range from neutral to vibrant.  Voodoo Love Spells is one of 21 trios in that collection.  Voodoo Love Spells (VLS) was purchased from my local Ulta for $6.00 USD.  Total product contained within the plastic compact is 3 x 0.035oz/1g each.  The compact itself is lightweight, but sturdy and the locking mechanism seals tightly.

NYX Voodoo Love Spells - Ingredients

NYX Voodoo Love Spells Trio - direct sunlight

VLS consists of three shadows.   The colors from left to right are a matte taupe, a medium brown, and a charcoal.  Now, I have a bit of a problem with NYX calling the taupe shade matte, as it does have some micro shimmer, that, once on the skin, leaves behind a subtle sheen that is actually very pretty .  The other darker shades are true mattes.

NYX VLS swatches - sunlight/no flash

NYX VLS swatches - direct sunlight/flash

All swatches above done without primer.  From the first picture above, you can easily see that the first taupe shade that is supposed to be matte is actually a satin.  This is a very sheer, very light version of taupe, and cool at that.  I would have chosen a deeper taupe that was high in sheen for contrast, but the color here is gorgeous, and so is the formula. All shadows are soft and feel creamy in the pan.  The first two shades did not give me trouble when it came to layering and blending.  The charcoal shade was a bit patchy upon application and took a bit more work.  Medium brown is just a straight medium brown, but we all need workhorses like this in our collections, especially for smoking out looks.  The charcoal shade, though lovely in the pan, lacks anything special.

With primer, these shadows looked fresh for around 7 hours.  There was minimal fallout when working with them and aside from the charcoal shade, were easy to work with.  I have thrown this into my school bag on mornings when I hit the snooze a bit too much and its been nice having an on the go palette that can go from day to night.

Looking forward to grabbing a few more of these trios...

xoxo, D.

NYX eyeshadow base in Skin Tone - swatch/review

NYX eyeshadow base ESB03

Today, I thought I would share my thoughts on NYX's eyeshadow base in Skin Tone (ESB03).  The contents of this pot are 0.25oz/7g.  It comes in a screw top, plastic container that seals very nicely and tight. This usually retails for around $7.00 USD, but goes on sale often.  You can purchase this at NYX site HERE, Ulta stores/online, and Meijer.  This is where it is available in my area.  Their site has a nifty search tool to see if it is available near you.  I have heard of NYX popping up in other stores around the US not mentioned here.

NYX ESB03 Skin Tone ingredients

NYX ESB Skin Tone  - open

When I picked this up at my local Ulta, I was on a base rampage!  I have a bit of a problem...and that is buying eyeshadow bases.  I tend to work long hours, or spend time outside where I do not always have the option to touch up.  A good eyeshadow base is key.  I am always on the lookout for the best, skin toned shadow base, so when I saw NYX's, I jumped at it.

This base is pretty simple.  It claims to improve wearability and staying power of shadow, prevents fall out, and makes shadows more vibrant.  I do not agree with all of those claims.

Let us start with:
wearability - the base itself is creamy, but not so much so that it creases easily.  This makes blending on the eye a dream.  No dragging or pulling of the eye skin.  It feels moisturizing, and dries to a nice matte finish.  It feels very comfortable upon application, as well as throughout the day.

staying power - upon application, the shadow looks fresh and vibrant.  I do not have oily lids, but an 8 hour work day will test the validity of any shadow for sure.  Around hour 5 I do start to see some fading and creasing, although minimal.

vibrancy - I like that the skin toned color of this base did not compete with any of my neutral shadows.  I do use it with more colorful shadows, but I do find because it is not brighter, that they do not stand out 100%.

NYX ESB03 swatch - direct sun

Though it does not last as long as I personally would like it to, this primer is fantastic.  It is perfect for those who are looking for a base that is easy to take off, cost effective and easy to find. I have had mine for about 8 months and I am starting to see a divot in the pot, but I still have a long ways before I am out of product.  I have given this primer to friends who are getting into makeup and they find the ease of use of this product to be great.

See you next time!

Haul 10/08/12 - Ulta (repurchases)

Hello all...what I have today is a haul from the other day.  Some are repurchases and am excited to be able to blog about them now that I have more experience with the products.

Ulta Haul

Products purchased were:

Laura Gellar Balance n Brighten in MEDIUM
NYX Xtreme Lip Cream in Strawberry Jam (repurchase)
Real Techniques Core Brush Collection (repurchase)
Frederick Fekkai Coiff Ironless Balm (repurchase)
NYX eyeshadow bases in White and Skin Tone

I know some of these products get used currently by some of my favorite bloggers...which are yours?

To see a swatch/review of NYX Strawberry Jam, go HERE 

Am currently taking photos of these repurchases and cannot wait to share these reviews with you!!!!!

xoxo

NYX Xtreme Lip Cream - Strawberry Jam

NYX Xtreme Lip Cream - Strawberry Jam

Yes.  Beautiful summer sun.  Bright colors...yes please!

Here I have NYX's Xtreme Lip Cream in Strawberry Jam.  NYX calls this a hybrid between a lipstick, lipgloss and a stain.  I agree with aforementioned descriptors.  This is a encased in a plastic tube with screw top.  Inside is a normal doe foot applicator.

XLC09 Strawberry Jam
Net.Wt. 0.23oz(7ml)

open view - NYX Xtreme Lip Cream Strawberry Jam

This really is a lipstick with lipgloss mixed in with a stain.  This color in particular looks like a reddened, blue based pink mixed with latex.  The shine in this at first application verges on patent leather!  This is very thick and emollient in the beginning.  There is a scent to this that is slightly sweet, not organic, not chemically, not really anything.  Sugary.  This is an extremely opaque gloss, but I do warn you, that the gloss part of this equation is not long lasting.  I have worn this for an 8 hour work day and two things are true in my experience, first shiny, then matte stain.  The shine/moisture factor of this gloss does wear off after a few hours, and it turns into the most beautiful matte lipstain.  I have a few of these lip creams and they are very pigmented.  This has stained my hands, lips.  For those that do not like stains, this may not be for you.  I find that it does remain a bit tacky so that I may rub my lips together, but once set as a stain, does not offer any type of moisture.

NYX XLC Strawberry Jam - direct sunlight

NYX XLC Strawberry Jam - direct sunlight

I purchased this product at Ulta.  These run for $6.00 USD.

Learn more at www.nyxcosmetics.com

Thanks for stopping by!

What's in my makeup bag? 04/2012

I am one of those people that will walk around with a 1,000 lb handbag.  And most of that is my makeup bag, sadly.  I forget to clean it out and it just piles up!

Yummy makeup bag insides :)

Way too many lip products!  In order are:

• L'Oreal Color Riche Balm in Nourishing Nude
• Mustela Hydra Stick (used for lips and cheeks)
• Dior Lip Glow and Lip Maximizer
• Rosebud Salve
• Benefit's Benetint Balm

Everyday essentials

Items used daily:

• EcoTools baby kabuki
• NYX lipliner in 828 Ever
• LORAC Front of the line Pro liquid liner
• Makeup for Ever Smoky Lash mascara
• A colorscience sample pot (filled with Coty Airspun powder)
• Estee Lauder Double Matte compact in Medium 3
• Rohto V Ice eye drops
• Stila Kohl Kajal in Onyx
• Stila Convertible Color in Orchid #8 (I think, this is not sold stand alone, I got it in a kit)
• Urban Decay De Slick in a Tube sample size

Am well aware I probably do not need this much.  But then again, you never know when you need to look drop dead gorgeous when you are on the go!!! :)

See ya later xoxo

Ulta Haul - 3/25/2012

How is everyone doing on this calm Sunday night?

We had a quirky weather weekend here in the land of Michigan.  Rain, sun, cold, heat, you name it, it was here. It was also a busy weekend for Mr. R and I as we went shopping, cleaned the apartment, hung out with friends, ran errands.

Saturday brought about a small window of me time and that equaled to a haul at Ulta.  They are having their 21 days of Beauty.  To learn more about it, GO HERE.

Here is the damage... :)

Haulage - Ulta 3.24.12

They had a ton of big name kits on sale!  I decided to go with LORAC's Lashes, Luster, Liner kit ($29 usd) and Cargo's Fresh Face Complexion kit in Medium ($32 usd) This was on sale for $10 off!  [i will be making more in depth posts about these kits]

For skincare, I picked up Exuviance's SkinRise Bionic Tonic pads.  These are a part of my routine and cannot do without them.  From H2O, they had a b1g1 for their products, and I picked up the Oasis mist.  Just a normal mineral spritz I like to use in the summer or to remove any powdery look.

To end with the makeup, Urban Decay's Last Call shadow made it into my basket!  Along with lip liners and a soft matte lip cream from NYX, a LORAC Behind the Scenes primer that was $10 usd this weekend!!!!!  Benefit's Benetint balm was on my wish list...sorry for adding the Fresh Sugar lip treatment, that was from a Sephora haul two weeks ago that I had cast aside.

For the Urban Decay purchase, I received a deluxe De Slick facial spray.

As stated above, I will do individual posts about all the products shown.

What did you guys and gals haul this weekend?