My Lipstick Collection

I cleared out my makeup collection the other day and did a lip count. Are twelve lipsticks too little or too many? Four of them are in a wee palette though so I am not sure if they should be counted or not.

To get an idea of what colours I go for, check out the swatches after the jump:

NYX Haul: Round THREE!

Hello ladies!

Look what I found sitting in the middle of my porch one fine day last week? (HOW the postman got it over the 6-ft gate in the light shower I shall try not to think about. *shivers* )

Believe it or not (but it's true), I've gone a-hauling again with NYX stuff from Cherry Culture. Again. Well, I was celebrating something (to justify the loot) when I made the online purchase, but for the life of me, I can't remember what I was celebrating now. And besides, they were on sale. Which is still on, by the way.

But it doesn't really matter, does it? On to the haul!

The haul this time round is lip heavy, laden with heaps of lip products I've been meaning to try the previous times but it was always out of stock. And while going clickity-click at Cherry Culture, I noticed that they now had new eye palettes too!

(Top: I Dream of St Marteen. Down: I Dream of Barbados.)

With the good experience I had with my (many, many) trios, I thought I'd give these quints a try. A quick check with MUA also told me what I wanted to hear. These palettes got rave reviews, even if there weren't thaat many reviews. Nevertheless, I wanted them. Good enough a reason? *hehe*

I haven't swatched my palettes (still at the petting and stroking stage), but don't the colours just look so lovely? You can click on it for an even bigger photo of the palettes.

(L-R: NYX Diamond Sparkle Lipstick in Salmon, Round Lipstick in Indian Pink, Pumpkin Pie and B52. I finally got my hands on them! (Oooh, what glee!) The colours are relatively accurate here, so I won't bother explaining the colours, but I'll describe the finishes. Salmon is very frosty (duh), Indian Pink has shimmer, Pumpkin Pie and B52 have a creamy finish. Ladies, if you like creamy opaque lipsticks, I think NYX Round Lipsticks are made for you. These babies pack on colour like no tomorrow.

Another product I've been meaning to try. NYX Tinted Lip Spa (L-R: Vintage, Sake and Copacabana). They're basically tinted lip balms. They're quite lovely to use, and are quite pigmented too, so the colour will show. My fave of the three is Sake as it's not too bright, and not too light. But I have one slight problem though. No idea if it's just me (or if anyone can help me out here), are they suppose to be so methol-y? They smell menthol-y (and if I can smell it), and even makes my lips tingle, but there's nothing listed in ingredients which I can think of would give this effect. Eh?

And oh, just one other little prob. The base of the lip spa is really soft, so I can only push it out a weeee little bit to apply, and even then it tends to rub at the side of the tube. Which may not bother some, but it bothers the hell outa me. Sheesh.

And oh, I got two Megashine Lipglosses too! Which I forgot to put in the group shot, then got too lazy to do another group shot. =P

In Natural (top) and Perfect (bottom). Natural's a brown-pink with no shimmer, while Perfect is peachy with shimmer. Ooh, Perfect indeed! They apply with a doe-foot applicator and I've detected no tackiness, no stickiness, and they smell uhh.. fruity. It's just lovely!

So yup. The rundown of my haul. And now for the bestest bit. Ready? - Cherry Culture now ships to MALAYSIA. How awesome is THAT?

So, are you gonna haul?

Guest Review: Eli Finally Caves in to the Siren Call of NYX

Guest reviewer Eli has had her resistance to NYX eroded by the constant raves in the blogosphere.

I had just finished a really depressing lecture on genocide and was all gloom and doom when I stopped by my letterbox on the way back to my room.

The sun burst out shining and dancing. My NYX haul had arrived!


From left to right: Round lipsticks in B52, Circe and Hebe; Black Label Lipstick in Diva (Actually got the last from Makeup Masala two weeks later)

Also, a Mega Shine Lipgloss in Natural and two concealers in beige (top) and medium (bottom).


Syen has already reviewed and compared the Round and Black Label lippies here so I am just going to show swatches and compare the shades.

From left to right: Natural, B52, Circe, Hebe and Diva.

Natural lives up to its name looking like a very pretty colour on my lips. It doesn’t work on days when my lips are redder than usual though. I am thinking of putting this away until spring as the shiny gloss effect seems a bit too much for overcast autumn/ winter days. The strong strawberry scent is a bit of a turn-off and I also find the gloss a bit too sticky for my liking. My hair got stuck to my lips during a windy day last week. Not good.

I am pleased to report that B52 definitely lives up to the hype surrounding this colour. My favourite lippie of the lot, it’s a lovely matte brown shade with a muted hint of pink. A definite MLBB lippie, I have been carrying this everywhere since I laid my hands on it.

Unlike what was narrated in “The Odyssey”, Circe did NOT cast a spell over me. Far from bewitching, I look like a ghost out of Ju-On (The Grudge) when I wear this. Guess that it is just my colouring though as Connie looks great wearing Circe in these FOTDs here. Looks great layered under one of my favourite lippies though so I am keeping it to tone down other bright lipsticks, Halloween and when I need to fake being sick for an essay extension.

I am puzzled that Hebe does not show up as red when I swatch it. Hebe is a wearable Christmas red shade with a little shimmer thrown in to keep it from being too boring. My sister claims the shade reminds her of 1940’s movie stars which can be interpreted as either “Yay, I look Ava Gardner glamorous” or “You look like Mum.” Take your pick.

Diva is a pinkish version of B52. Looks nice on me but I find myself reaching for B52 more often than this. Maybe it hasn’t grown on me yet.

As for the NYX concealers, beige comes with a yellow undertone while medium has a peach undertone to it. I think I have been spoilt by my Bobbi Brown cream concealers as I found these too dry and difficult to spread and blend unless I added a drop of moisturiser.

The concealer works fine on blemishes but not on undereye circles. The dry texture was difficult to work with, there wasn’t enough pigmentation and the colours simply didn’t match my skin. Think I will pass this on to my sister or a cousin (the wonders of having a huge family of girls) if it works for them.

Lippies get a huge “yes” from me but a “no” for NYX concealers.

NYX Lipstick Comparison

(l-r): Round Lipsticks Iris and Eros, and Black Label Lipsticks in India and Fire.

In my recent NYX Haul post, Connie and our guest review, Eli, asked how did the NYX Round Lipsticks compare to the Black Label ones.

As I was replying to their questions in the comments section, it suddenly occurred to me that my reply had gotten so long I thought it'd make more sense to reply it as a separate post.

So, here you go girls! (and for every other girl who's asking the same question.)

In terms of pigment, both Round and Black Label lippies are rather pigmented. Each lippie seems to have individual characteristics, so it's hard to just group them together.

(l-r): Round Lipsticks Iris and Eros, and Black Label Lipsticks in India and Fire.

Iris is a little sheer, and perhaps not as striking as the other 3 coz of its shade, which is somewhat closer to my skin colour. In terms of finish, it has a slightly dryer look? Somewhat semi-metallic, if you can call it that.

Eros is very pigmented and has no shimmer. It's not matte, but neither is it full-cream either. Kinda an in-between.

India has no shimmer as well, and it's also a little on the creamy side.

Fire has shimmer and it gives a glossier finish of the four. Of the four, I believe this is my fave finish. =)

So there you go, a round-up of the Round and Black Label lippies. Hope this helps. Although I believe you're gonna have to hunt down the finish before deciding on purchase since they're all such individualistic lipsticks!

NYX Haul: Round Two

So this is what happens when makeup junkies go on a spree. They buy, they like, they buy some more. And they aren't exactly sure when to stop.

Which pretty much sums up Round Two of my NYX hauls.

Shortly after I got my NYX Haul: Round One, I just had to get more? It isn't a question. It's a statement. So read on to see the breakdown and lippie swatches.

Major blush glut (l-r): (top row) Mosaic Powder in Peachy, Dare, Spice and Plummy, and (bottom row) Mocha (which is so not Mocha) and Angel.

No, four mosaics and two blushers is not an overkill. Because Blush Queen said so.

Eyeshadow trios (l-r): Baby Pink/Cotton Candy/Spring Flower, Aquamarine, and Copper/Rust/Bronze. So pretty no? I bought these based on my good experience with my earlier trios. They do not disappoint! Although Baby Pink is kinda sheer.

Lippies (l-r): Round lipsticks in Iris, Eros, and Black Label lipsticks in India and Fire. After missing out on the lippies in the last haul, I knew I had to try them out this time. Black label gives you a more serious, luxe touch, while the Round Lipsticks look fun. I wanted Pumpkin Pie too, but they were sold out when I ordered. =(

(l-r): Iris, Eros, India and Fire. Of the four, I can wear Iris and Fire with ease. The other two need a little more work to wear them. Eros is slightly scary for me still, so I only dab it on instead of swiping it. And surprisingly, India is a rather bubblegum pink lipstick. Not a shade of lipstick I'm used to wearing. So we'll see how it goes.

So there you go folks. What would you say if I said there might be a Round Three on the way?

*grin*

Cafe Me Likey!

A while back, when I posted about my first NYX haul, a reader, Engmin asked if I could do a post showing how to use the NYX Mosaic Powder in Cafe.

Of course I can! =)

Many apologies it's taken a little while, but here it is!

Although it does look rather dark and foreboding in the pan, I'm pleased to announce that it's actually one very friendly bronzer. Instead of giving you streaks of brown, this one is actually gives you more of a golden glow. Which is just lovely.

Here, I've applied only some foundation and powder, before I dust on any bronzer or blush. As you can see, my skin looks somewhat sallow and pale.

So the next step is to use a nice fluffy brush, like say this Coastal Scents one, and lightly dust Cafe on. Just smile, and dust dust dust on your cheeks. Like how you would apply your blush. I like to have the brush go over the area again in a circular buffing manner too. As I didn't find Cafe very pigmented, I could apply up to about three swipes.

Also, after dusting on your cheeks, just lightly go over your forehead and the bridge of your nose, where the sun would hit your face. It'll perk up your complexion in no time.

As you can see here, my complexion seems to have brightened a little. And as you should also be able to see, even after three swipes, it still looks very natural. So don't worry about adding a little more of that Mosaic Powder. You won't end up looking like you fell in the mudpond, promise!

And to finish up the simple look, I just added a wee bit of Bobbi Brown's Nectar blush to the apples of my cheeks. Add lipbalm, and voila! Done!

Oooh, just a little note that I love to use my EcoTools blush brush for bright pigmented blushers. It seems to pick up less pigment and diffuses it nicely over the cheek area for a quick and no-fuss blush application. LOVE!

Easy peasy right? If you don't have Nectar, any bright pink, peach or coral blush should do as well.

Hope this was helpful, Engmin. Do let me know if you've rocked it! =)

Looks: Bronzey Green Eyes for Bloggers' Meet

Helloo! So you girls have seen our little bloggie meet-up. Today I want to share with you the simple look I put together for the meet.

Since I wore a green top with a brown cardi, I decided to do something similar with the eyes, which ended up being a bronzey-green eye do.

Read on to see what I used for the look!

Face

• Illuminare Ultimate All-Day Foundation/Concealer (only as concealer).
• ZA two-way foundation
• MAC Blot powder

Cheeks

• NYX Mosaic Powder in Cafe
• MAC blush in Cubic

Eyes

• Silk Naturals Eye Fix (eye primer)
• NYX Spring Leaf trio (used mainly Spring Leaf for a wash and Green Tea for outer V)
• Shu Uemura eyeshadow in ME Gold 350 for inner part of the eye
• NYX Barely There (from RootBeer trio) for brow highlight
• Stage eyelash curler

Lips

• Lipbalm
• Testimo lipstick in RD145 (thanks dearie! Lovely lovely lipstick!) =D

Okay. That's it! Hope you girls enjoyed the run-down. =)

NYX Haul: Round One

Hehe. After reading and hearing so much about NYX, I think it's about time I finally got my grubby little paws on them.

Okay, actually I had no choice. Dear Bee shot us an email one fine day saying Cherry Culture was having discounts on all NYX products. What's a makeup addict to do but throw in her order, right?

And it was really hilarious how Kahani and I did it. We were both rushing for tight deadlines, but Bee's time-constrained offer was too tempting to pass up. And the addicts in us would NOT relent.

So we ended up juggling between writing our stories, browsing for products on Cherry Culture, then researching them on MUA, AND chatting on Gtalk to compare notes. It was a true test of multitasking skills, I tell you. Thank goodness we're women! Girl Power!!! =D

So read on for more haul piccies and the rundown of what I got!

(From left: NYX blush in Peach, Mosaic Powder in Cafe, blush in Natural.)

After being dubbed Blush Princess, how could I not order a few blushers for starters right? I had heard that the blushers were good, and after trying them out, I must say they do not disappoint. Love Cafe, especially. It works really great as a bronzer.

I also made an order of three eyeshadow trios.

(From left: 1. Copacabana, 2. Barely There/Champagne/RootBeer, and 3.Spring Leaf/Lime Green/Green Tea)

(Both Kahani and I ordered a RootBeer trio each after reading the raves on MUA. And it really is that good! Loves it! Especially the middle colour, Champagne.)

(I haven't played as much with Copacabana, so can't say as much.)

(The Spring Leaf trio is a nice basic palette for green eyes. I used this for a green and bronze look recently, and it worked out nicely.)

(The haul was supposed to have stopped with the trios, but at the very last minute, and no thanks to more raves from MUA, I ended with two eyeshadow singles too - Earthy and Mermaid Green. Earthy is a lovely lovely taupe, and Mermaid Green is a very pretty deep green.)

So there you go. My first NYX haul. I'm rather glad the photos stayed pretty true to the actual colours of the products. What do you girls think? Quite the hoarder, aren't I?

And oh, by the way, if you're wondering why I named this post Round One... it's because I like the stuff I got so much, that I've already made another NYX order from Cherry Culture! LOL.

And this time, I ordered even MORE stuff. So wait up for the next haul post when it arrives.

*Sigh*

What can I say? Makeup and books are my crack.