Hello!
As most of you probably know; NYX has been making its way over to the UK for some time now, but this year it became even more accessible - landing in Boots stores and also online - yay! For years I followed American beauty vloggers on Youtube and they would talk about their products and how amazing they were, and I could not find a cheap and easy way of getting hold of them - I pretty much tortured myself by watching Reviews, One-Brand Tutorials using NYX products, Drug Store Hauls heavily featuring their products and so on. Then one day last year I was casually browsing the internet and came across some NYX products - in the UK! I made my first purchase late last year and have been trying their products since! I thought it would be a good idea to share my thoughts on what I have tried so far, so some of you can see if they're worth a try!
First Impressions
Before trying any products, NYX intrigued me because of their range in products! It's fair to say that they do not play it safe - they have a wide range in products from nudes to bright colours. Based on other people's reviews their quality was outstanding for their price. What I like is that they are also cruelty free! An affordable brand who do not test on animals, with amazing quality. Unfortunately they are owned by L'oreal who previously tested on animals and sold their products in China. However, they have recently changed their ethical statement regarding animal testing:
Whether this means that they are now cruelty free, I do not know. I suppose its a step in the right direction though?
Brow Products
I ordered this NYX Tame & Frame Pomade in March and have used it non-stop since. Ever since the Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow Pomade grew in popularity, I was curious about eyebrow pomades but didn't fancy paying the Anastasia price - especially when the idea of a pomade for some reason worried me. I was scared that pomades would make my already fairly-full brows look cakey and completely un-natural (which I know they're not 100% natural if I'm using product, but I didn't want them looking like the infamous insta-brows). I had found a pomade in Superdrug but when I swatched the blonde, it looked green! No thank you.
When I found out NYX was being sold on Boots online and saw this, I took the plunge. I chose the shade Blonde and it was £5.50 so I didn't feel as though it would be too damaging to my bank account if I didn't like it. When I first opened it I was a little worried, thinking it looked slightly green in the tub, much like the one I swatched previously, but when I applied it to my brows there was no green-tint whatsoever.
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As you can see, I use an angled brush to apply the product to my brows. When I first apply the product my brows do sometimes look cakey, but after brushing them through with a spoolie brush they don't look heavy at all. At times the product starts looking a little bit dry, but I mix it around with my brush and its as good as new again. I imagine this is the same as most other pomades. I find that once the product is applied to my brows it doesn't smudge at all, even in this summer heat. However it's important to note that I do set my brows after applying the product, so this could be why. At the end of the day, I use a make up wipe to remove the product, and it comes of fairly easily. I used the angled brush to swatch the product on my arm to show you the colour; it's quite a cool blonde which suits me perfectly. My hair and brows are naturally a dark, cool blonde colour, but I have dyed my hair a brighter blonde and I find that this doesn't look ridiculous on my brows despite me enhancing my hair colour. Previously I was using brow powders but the blonde shades were too light and warm and did not look as good (although I didn't realise this until I started using this pomade).
The product is 5 grams. It's stored in a rounded square tub, but does not fill all of this. According to the packaging this product should only be used for 6 months before being thrown away. For the price, I don't think this is too bad. On the other hand, I've already had this product for 3/4 months and have barely used it, so if it goes bad after 6 months I'll be pretty gutted throwing so much product away! I never usually pay too much attention to these expiry dates, and will probably keep this product after 6 months. I'll keep you updated if it does suddenly turn for the worst after this!
Overall I LOVE this product. It's cheap, long-lasting and as I said before, suits me perfectly! It's really improved my brow game and I would recommend this to anyone who has never tried a pomade before. I think my brows look less-sparse but natural (as they can do with product on them). They haven't a vast colour-range like Anastasia Beverly Hills, but they have your basic colours so hopefully you can find a shade that suits you.
Eye Products
This is the NYX Prismatic Eyeshadow in Fireball. If you know me, you know that red/orange shades are my jam. I saw this in the Boots Meadowhall store and fell in love! I swatched it and it felt so buttery that I had to get it.
I had heard beauty vlogger Michelle (ReadySetGlamour) talk about these in one of her videos so my expectations were high! So far, this product has definitely lived up to any expectations I had. It's pigmented and goes on so smoothly, it's so quick and easy to use - I love it. You can wear this on its own and blend it out, but personally I love blending it out with an orange eye shadow. I feel like this colour would suit so many different eye colours, it makes my green eyes look super bright. Also, can we discuss this packaging with the little bow? Adorable. Not only is it cute, it's secure.
I paid £5 for this product, which isn't too bad! I've used it a few times since having it and it looks barely touched! Which I hope means it's going to last a while. The packaging suggests that you should stop using this product after 12 months of it being open - again I'll probably go against this advice and continue to use it if I still have product left. I'm glad this product has a longer life than the brow product, otherwise it wouldn't be worth buying and eye shadow that goes bad after 6 months!?
When I tried this product at home I found that it is slightly more powdery than I first experienced in store, but I didn't mind that at all! It means that it's less likely to have any fall-out because it's not super powdery, it's got the pigment of a cream shadow without being a cream product which also means it's less likely to crease. It's the best of both worlds!
As you can see I use a small, flat, rounded brush to apply this product. I think this works perfectly as its big enough to apply the product quickly on my eyes without being too big, and is also flat which makes for a smooth application.
As you can see from the swatches, I used my finger to apply the first swatch. I then used the rounded brush dry to apply the product on my arm, and the same brush again but damp. To dampen my brushes I always use the Make Up Revolution Fixing Make Up Spray, pictured above. Personally, I think this product applies better with a dry brush.
These all swatched the same with the same outcome. This eye shadow is shimmery, but not too shimmery - I find it gives a nice, metallic looking sheen on the eyes, without looking too creamy of greasy. As you can see, it reflects the light nicely, it looks super pretty!
I love this eye shadow. I would definitely go out and buy more. On the Boots website they seem to have 10 shades, ranging from nudes to bright colours. I don't think £5 is too expensive for a single eye shadow, especially when such a little amount goes a long way. On the other hand, you can get entire eye shadow palettes on the high street for a similar sort of price. It all depends on your budget.
I own two NYX liquid eyeliners. One is the NYX Vivid Brights liquid liner in Vivid Violet. The second is the NYX White Liquid Liner.
I think I saw Manny (MannyMUA) using the white eyeliner in a tutorial which completely sold me. I had been looking for a white eyeliner for a while, and was considering purchasing Jeffree Star's Drug Lord (white liquid lipstick) to use as an eyeliner, until I saw this tutorial. I could get hold of Drug Lord for £14 (not including P&P), whereas these eyeliners are £5.50 each.
Here are the swatches of the products - I think you can tell which is which. For these swatches I did a single brush stroke of each colour.
Although the purple is called Vivid Violet, it's not super bright. On the eye this liner is very subtle, but a little bit more interesting than black liner. Of course, it is pigmented, but not a really bright purple (as the name suggests) - which I'm not mad at! It means it's more wearable. If you're too scared to go for a really bright liquid liner, I really recommend this!
The white is really nice, however because it is such a light colour, it does sometimes come off as a little bit streaky. This is easily fixed though; I wait until the product has dried, and quickly fill in any patchiness. I also find that if I get any liner on my lashes (guilty, I do this all the time), the white really stands out! So just be weary of this. If you want a more bold look, I would suggest this white eyeliner!
The brush for these products are the exact same; a soft tip. The handle is nice and long making for easy application. I usually cannot deal with soft-tipped liners, but I think the handle means I have more control, making for an easy to apply. The downside to this is that there is so much less product! The Vivid Violet has 2ml of product, and the White has 2.2ml. When I compared this to other liquid eyeliner I own, it had 6ml! On the other hand, that other liner had an expiry date of 6 months, whereas these are meant to last up to 12 months. I don't use these liners on a daily basis so I feel like they should still last a while, despite how little product is in the bottle.
I definitely want to experiment with more of these Vivid Brights eye liners by NYX, they have a range of colours, from pinks to reds to blues to greens. They would make any nude make up look really pop. Of course NYX make a basic black eyeliner, which I think is a similar consistency to these so would also probably be worth a try.
Next I have this Gel Liner & Smudger by NYX in Teal. I saw Jaclyn Hill using this in a tutorial, and if Jaclyn uses a product - you know it's good. This product is BEAUTIFUL. It'd look amazing with all eye colours. I'm not the best at applying gel eyeliners; I use a small slanted brush (smaller than the one I use for my brows) to apply this and tape to help me along the way. I love pairing this with orange or peach matte shadows - very simple but a pop of colour can do so much to a make up look. The colour looks exactly as it does in the tub when swatched and on the eyes.
This eyeliner was a little more pricey, at £7.50, with 3 grams of product. The lasting life of this liner is also 6 months, whereas the liquid liners were 12 months and cost £2 less. I do think that gel liners do tend to have a shorter life span due to the nature and consistency of them, but usually I don't buy them so can't really say. I wouldn't use this product very often which is a bit of shame because of its short life span, but this product does come in browns and black also, so I suppose its my fault for buying such a bold colour. I don't mind though - I'm hoping this product does last longer than 6 months! If not I'm sure there's some sort of beauty hack online which will help me out if it doesn't.
Face Products
This is the NYX High Definition Blush in Taupe. I bought this because Nikkie Tutorials said that this would be the perfect contour shade for us pale little ghosties and I agree. Again, I've also seen Michelle talk about this in one of her videos and she recommends it, even on her darker skin tone. It's a cool-toned, matte brown which as daft as it sounds, makes for a really natural looking contour. I use this small duo fibre brush to apply this product and it works really well! It lightly and evenly applies the product. This product can also be built up nicely.
I do think that this product is very powdery and has a lot of fallout! Of course it doesn't fall down my face (even if it did - that's why baking exists!), but when I've finished contouring there is a lot of left over product all over the sides of the compact, as you can see in the picture.
This cost me £5.50 from Boots, and weighs 4.5 grams and lasts 6 months. I have used this everyday since I got it in March and I'm not sure if you can tell, but I have made a fair dint in the product. I find that powders don't go bad after their expiry date so I will continue to use this and I'm not worried about its life span.
Of course this product is a blush, not a bronzer or a contour shade. On the Boots website I found there were 24 shades of this blush which goes to show that there is a lot of variety, to suit a range of different skin tones and also preferences. I think some of these blushes are also shimmery, not just matte. For the price, I would say this product is worth it. The only downside is the amount of spare product after use, but this could be down to the brush I use. It lasts a fairly long time when its used daily (lets ignore that expiry date), the compact is small and thin so it'll fit perfectly in your makeup bag, its perfect for travelling due to its plastic packaging and come on, again with this cute little bow?! NYX, you're killing me with how cute this detail is.
This is the NYX Face & Body Glitter in Teal (if you haven't already guessed, I love teal). Although this is for the face and body I do risk my eye sight and use it on my lids. I have also used this on on the lips! Both of which looked amazing. It is quite hard getting this glitter to stick to you, so I use a 'sticky' product on my brush. If I'm using this product on my eyes, I dampen my brush using the Make Up Revolution Aqua Primer which has Glycerine in - the glue of the make up world! I still get a lot of fallout using this technique, I definitely should have invested in their glitter glue! But for now, it works.
This product is gorgeous, it comes in a range of shades. I paid £5,50 in Boots. The product lasts 24 months and contains 2.5 grams. I've used this product on my eyes, it's clear I don't listen to advice given by the experts so I'll probably use this product past the 2 year point (if there's any left).
Lip Products
These are the NYX Wicked Lippie Sticks. This range of lipstick seems to be more adventurous - your more unusual, less 'wearable' colours. The pinky-purple shade is called Power, and the forest green colour is called Risque. Risque was the first lipstick and product I bought from NYX late last year from Selfridges- I think it was about £5.50?
These lipsticks are super creamy and moisturising. However, their lasting power is not great, they transfer easily but they are super easy to re-apply - that's the nature of lipstick like this though. Considering the colour these lipsticks are quite sheer, but also build-able. I like the packaging, it's nice and light - it'd be good to throw in your handbag (which is handy due to them needing a touch up). In the middle you can see the colour which is a nice touch. I know with some brands like M.A.C, you cannot see the colour of the lipstick which is awkward when you have quite a few colours in the same packaging. With NYX' lipstick, you can easily see what colour you're selecting. Sadly though, this packaging is not the best quality! The mechanism that pushes the lipstick up to apply it in Risque, is loose or broken, which means when I press the product on my lips to apply it, it pushes itself back down.
I do like the NYX Wicked Lippie Sticks, but I probably wouldn't buy anymore. 1) because they're not as wearable, 2) because I prefer liquid lipsticks and 3), they're not their best quality product. They are a lot of fun though.
The next product is the NYX Macaron Lippie in Blue Velvet. This range of lipstick is like the cute alternative to the Wicked lipsticks. The Wicked lipsticks are darker, more vampy shades, whereas the Macaron lipsticks are softer, perhaps even more pastel colours. These lipsticks also aren't your everyday shades.
The packaging is very similar, you can see the product colour through the middle. It's the same size and they retail at the same price. The lasting power is the same, however these Macaron lipsticks are matte, whereas the Wicked lipsticks are sheer and less opaque. This means that these products may last a little bit longer on the lips. These products retail for the same price. Again, I do like this lipstick, but I probably wouldn't buy anymore, for the same reasons as the Wicked Lippies.
Please excuse the purple in this lipstick; its because I've applied this blue over a purple liquid lipstick and it's stained it.
This product is the NYX Liquid Suede lipstick in the shade Stone Fox. It's as it looks in the picture - a grey lipstick. This product cost me £6.90 from Boots. This lipstick is like a creamier version of a liquid lipstick. I don't find that this lipstick dries to a complete matte, but it does dry down. I have eaten in this lipstick and I didn't have much transfer, and the product stays on my lips pretty well. I haven't worn this out of the house though to really test its lasting power. If you don't like liquid lipsticks because of how drying they are, these Liquid Suedes are worth a try - they're super comfortable on the lips in comparison. These Liquid Suedes come in a range of colours, from more wearable shades to bright blues, similar to the Blue Velvet Macaron Lippie. A grey lipstick has always intrigued me so when I saw this, I had to get it!
The packaging suggests that this lipstick will go bad after 6 months, however I've owned other liquid lipsticks for longer than that and they seem to be fine. I'm hoping this is the same!
Moving on to the NYX Lingerie; their range of nude liquid lipsticks. I bought this lipstick last month and I am obsessed. I definitely want to collect all of these. This is in the shade Embellishment and it is beautiful! Obviously it isn't a nude on my paper white skin, but it is in the nude family. This product dries down completely matte in less than 2 minutes. The lasting power of this is amazing! It lasts all day, it layers nicely if you do need to touch up and isn't as drying as other liquid lipsticks I own.
These lipsticks cost £6.50. I have paid £14-£20 on liquid lipsticks and the quality of the NYX Lingerie is just as good. This also has an expiry of 6 months, which isn't bad considering the price. I have found that this product applies better after a good shake - this I find with most liquid lipsticks.
Comparisons
As I own quite a few liquid lipsticks that look similar to this shade, I thought I'd make a few comparisons. This picture shows NYX Lingerie in Embellishment, Kat Von D's Everlasting Liquid Lipstick in Requiem and Jeffree Star's Velour Liquid Lipstick in Androgyny.
The NYX Lingerie packaging isn't as decorated as Kat Von D's or Jeffree's, however I still think it looks nice and sleek. All three products dry as they look in their packaging so you know exactly what colour you're getting. Just by looking at the products in the tube, Androgyny is more raspberry toned compared to Embellishment, and Requiem appears more pink and a few shades lighter. Embellishment is a very unique shade, made up of greys, lilacs, pinks and browns. You can see that these shades differ slightly, but are from the same colour family.
These are the shades swatched, including the NYX Liquid Suede in Stone Fox (I LOVE this colour!!). I let this shade dry down for about two minutes and as you can see, it stays quite shiny and wet looking. Embellishment is a lovely pink/purple grey shade. It's very wearable for lots of different skin tones. As you can see, Androgyny is much more pink and brighter, definitely not as nude. Requiem is much paler than Embellishment; in the tube these colours look relatively similar, but they're strikingly different. Requiem is a very pale pink/purple nude with grey undertones - I love this shade with my skin tone, but may not look as good on darker skin tones (that's not to say that people with darker skin tones can't slay this lip colour). However, Embellishment and Requiem have very similar undertones, but Embellishment is several shades darker. I would say the Requiem can be quite streaky due to how light the shade is, whereas Androgyny and Embellishment don't have this issue. I like that these products are similar but different, it means I haven't wasted my money for one, but also gives me a lot of options.
I also thought I'd make a few comparisons between the applicators. (ew, how gross does Androgyny look? Oops). Kat Von D's applicator is very small and rounded, I do love this applicator. Sadly I have quite small lips so this makes applying the lipstick very easy! Jeffree has designed his applicator to go around the contour of your lips - it's a brilliant idea, but doesn't work for me. I often have to line my lips with a lip brush before applying his lipsticks because for some reason I cannot use this applicator! I have grown up with applicators similar to Kat Von D's, so over the years I may have got used to applicators like this, but as Jeffree's is so unique, it takes a lot of adjusting to! NYX Liquid Suedes and Lingeries have the same applicator; it's very long, thing and quite boxy. It looks rather awkward to apply but I find it much easier than Jeffree's! Despite how long and thin it is. I find that I can apply Kat Von D's and NYX' lipsticks straight onto my lips without lining them, and this is all down to the applicator.
Overall, I think NYX products are amazing! Most of their products are high quality, pigmented and offer a lot of variety. They're also so affordable and now readily available. Anyone could find something that suits them at NYX, whatever their preference is in make up. I would 10/10 recommend their products.
If you've made it to the end of this blog post, you're clearly very dedicated - thank you!
Heather ☾
