NYX Super Fat Eye Marker Carbon Black - Review, Swatch, EOTD

NYX Super Fat Eye Marker Carbon Black

When I was a kid, I was really fond of coloring and would pester my mum to buy me those fat activity/coloring books and would spend hours over them. I had absolutely no talent in drawing but coloring was something I really enjoyed. In fact even now when I buy those books for my 7 yr old niece, I'm the one to finish half the pages :D. Maybe its a throwback to my inner sketch pen loving child but this NYX Super Fat Eye Marker has always intrigued me. A product that makes getting the definition of liquid liner as easy as drawing with a marker… sounds good, right?

NYX Super Fat Eye Marker Carbon Black

I bought the NYX Super Fat Eye Marker a couple of months back when medplusbeauty was having a NYX sale. I wanted a liquid liner but something hassle free and this NYX Marker seemed a perfect choice because I always prefer a thick line of kohl/liner/kajal than a thin one. This product looks and feels exactly like the typical marker and has a pointed felt tip which makes lining eyes very easy. There are quite a few reasons why I like this product as an eye liner and would definitely recommend to you.

1. This can be used by anyone from the eye lining whiz to the nervous newbie who can never get a precise line. The felt tip makes it very easy and all you need to do is follow your eye shape.

2. Pigmentation is great and the color is a rich dark black. I like that the color flows evenly on to the felt tip so there are no uneven patches.

3. The finish is semi-matte. It starts off as slightly glossy and then dries down to a semi-matte finish.

4. Even though the tip is quite thick, you can draw thin lines as well. The winged liner look is very easy to do with this pen.

5. The liner lasts all day! I wear it to work and even after 9 hours there is no smudging or fading.

6. Even though it's smudgeproof, it's not a pain to take off. 

7. Lasts for a long time without the color drying up.

Even though I love this liner, it's not 100% perfect and has a couple of cons. 

1. This works very well on the upper lashline but hardly shows up on the waterline or lower lash line. Tightlining is also something I won't do with this pen.

2. After a month of regular wear, I've seen that the felt tip has bent slightly. Still does a great job though.

I've used the NYX Super Fat Eye Marker on my lids and the Body Shop Color Crush eyeshadow Something Blue on the lower lashline

I really like this liner because its so easy to use. There are plenty of felt tip liners available today but most of them have a very thin tip which makes it difficult for us girls who like wearing a thick line. This does that job perfectly. In the US, I think this is priced around $10. I can't remember exactly how much I paid medplusbeauty for this but it was around Rs 650 (sale price though). Think the MRP is much higher. 

Do you prefer the traditional liquid liners or the felt tip ones? Do share your comments below.

Swatches of Indie Flick, Angel and Natural NYX Matte Lipsticks

Out of all lipstick finishes, matte is my favorite and whenever I hear of any brand bringing out a matte range, my interest level invariably goes up quite a few notches. Case in point, the new Nyx Matte Lipstick range. I wanted to try these out and when I spotted them at Singapore's Sephora, did not hesitate to pick up three of them. There, these lipsticks are priced at 13 SGD which is around Rs 650. 

From L-R - Indie Flick, Angel, Natural

The Nyx mattes are available in 22 shades and they have some beautiful and bright reds, oranges, pinks, corals and neutrals. I consciously stayed away from the pure reds and pinks so picked up a bright orangey red - Indie Flick, one pinkish nude - Natural and one pinkish coral  - Angel. Nyx says that these are 'highly pigmented, richly formulated lipsticks that glide on smoothly, stay put and impart a non-glossy, high-fashion matte finish as they envelop lips in brilliant color'. I agree with everything except that these are not really pure mattes at least the ones I picked up are not. The texture is quite creamy and they have a hint of sheen on the lips. On the lips, the colors come across much brighter, rather neon-ish than what they look like inside the tube so be careful when buying them. A muted shade might not exactly look very muted on the lips! In terms of wear time, I get about 4-5 hours if I don't eat anything. Else, I get about three. 

Out of the three lipsticks I bought, Indie Flick is my favorite because the color is bright and very me. But even i need to tone it down slightly else it just looks too stark. Natural honestly I should not have bought. It washes me out and I will need to wear it on top of a lip pencil or mix it with another shade. Angel is very pretty and bright. Excellent if you have a fair complexion. For those with a darker skin tone, a bit of work is needed to make it look good. 

Angel NYX Matte Lipstick

Indie Flick NYX Matte Lipstick

Natural NYX Matte Lipstick

Which shade did you like the most? Do share in the comments below.

NYX Collection Noir Powder Black Liner - Review & Swatch

I have a confession to make. I know a lot of you beauty bloggers have written posts on how you store your makeup and how to organize stuff and being a beauty blogger, I should be really organised as well. But I'm absolutely not! I hoard stuff and then store them in drawers and boxes all over my house so half the time I don't even find what I'm looking for coz I've forgotten where I've stored it. This habit of mine irritates my mum no end so she gave me an ultimatum last week to sort out the mess or else she would throw away my makeup!! Why do mums always give such terrible threats!! To protect my precious tubes and tubs and bottles, I set about organizing them and came across the NYX Collection Noir Powder Black Liner stashed in the corner of a drawer.

With the Collection Noir, NYX launched eight different formulations of sleek black eyeliners from matte, satin, glossy pencils to liquid and powder liners. I had never tried a powder liner before so that's what attracted me the most and I went ahead and ordered it from B2N for $4.50. At that time, the Indian websites were not selling these but now you can get the collection at Flipkart and Urban Touch. My recommendation - Dunno about the rest of the products but its best to stay away from the Powder Liner. Read on to know why..

According to NYX, you can 'avoid harsh lines with the Powder Black Liner that consists of a refined powder formula. Line your top and bottom lash line easily with the soft tip applicator and create an intense or simple look with just a stroke'!

The only thing that I like about the product is the packaging. Its a shiny black pot with the name of the product written across the elongated cap. Inside, there is a narrow doe foot sponge applicator to line the eyes. 

Now lets get to what I do not like about the liner and there are many!

1. The pigmentation - I was expecting a rich black but this is more of a greyish black. I can still accept the color but what I hate is that it hardly shows up when applying the first time. To get some semblance of color, I need to line my lids and waterline at least 3-4 times! Was the same when I swatched on my hand for the picture below.

2. Application - Even though the powder is quite refined, the application is not smooth at all. It does not glide over the lids and is very uneven. Because of the slightly wobbly applicator, lining the eyes becomes really difficult.

3. Fallout - The powder flies all over while applying and I always get specks of black on my cheeks while using this which I absolutely hate. Too messy to use!

4. Staying Power - When used on its own, it stays for about 1-2 hrs and then fades away. Another negative point!

After I got this, I was really bummed on how to use it. I did not want to just give it away or let it sit idle before throwing so I devised a way. What I do now is I apply one line of kohl on the lids and on the waterline and then apply the powder liner on top. The powder sticks on to the kohl so its a little less messy and the effect is a nice soft, smoky look. More than the lids, this works very well for the waterline.

There is absolutely nothing special about this product and I would not recommend it at all. This has actually put me off powder liners and I don't intend buying one again. Much prefer the pencil, gel and liquid liner to this. So much easier to use!

Have you tried a powder liner? What's your experience?

NYX Slim Lipliner Pencils Hot Pink & Fuchsia - Review, Swatches

Honestly, I've never really used a lip pencil for the purpose of lining my lips. I buy them to use as a base for my lipsticks and also as a standalone lip color coz they are cheaper than lipsticks (unless its a MAC or a high-end brand), are available in a wide range of colors and are very easy to carry around.

The NYX Slim Lip pencils are undoubtedly one of the best budget pencils available in the market now and they come in 60 gorgeous colors!. Outside of India, they are really cheap at $3.50 dollars. Healthkart and medplusbeauty sells these as well but I've never found the colors that I'd like to buy. No doubt these can be bought from cherryculture, B2N etc but after my repeated cases of missing packages, I've become very apprehensive of ordering anything from international websites. So how did I get hold of these? I requested Erica Singh and she got them for me from Mumbai at Rs 275 each.

I got two shades - Hot Pink, a true bright hot pink and Fuchsia, well a gorgeous fuchsia. Since, I use them as lipsticks, I got rid of the pointed tip by rubbing it against the back of my hand. It's much easier to use the pencil if its a bit blunt on top. Would have preferred a twist up pencil than one that needs to be sharpened though. I hate sharpening!

The best thing about the NYX slim pencils is that they are very smooth to apply. Despite having a matte finish, they are not drying at all. They are creamy and glide on effortlessly. Unless you have very dry lips, these should not be a problem at all. The color payoff is pretty good too and I've not faced any issue with feathering or bleeding. As a lipstick, it lasts for about 4 hours and leaves a pretty pink stain behind after fading away. When layered with a lipstick on top, the wear time is around 6-7 hrs. 

Check out the swatches. The colors look quite similar when swatched but Fuchsia is darker than Hot Pink.

Fuchsia on top and Hot Pink below

Check out the NYX slim pencils if you want the precision of a liner and the pigmentation and creaminess of a lipstick rolled into one at a reasonable price. These are really fab and I would definitely recommend these to everyone. I'm getting a few more for sure!

In a nutshell:

Pros:

1. Great color pay off

2. Glides on smoothly

3. Wide range of colors available. Check these out if you are looking for dupes of MAC lip pencils.

4. Stays on for a long time

5. Not drying

6. No feathering or bleeding

7. Reasonably priced

Cons:

1. Availability 

2. Not a twist up pencil

3. Can be drying on those with very dry lips

Have you tried the NYX pencils?Do share the shades that are your favs.

NYX Shiva

One of my favorite pastimes is to browse through online shopping websites, specially the makeup ones. I can do this for hours at end. Comparing prices, checking out what’s new, hunting for good deals, all of this gives me such a thrill!..It was during one of these lazy nothing to do but browse new makeup sites evening that I came across Shiva. More than the color, what attracted me to this lippie was definitely the name. I still can’t figure out the connection between Shiva and a fuchsia lipstick. But then if we can apply Poseidon, Apollo and Zeus on our lips, why leave Shiva behind?? Right?

If you are looking for an affordable (Got this for around 160 Rs from http://www.beautyjoint.com) fuchsia lipstick with purple shimmer and a decent staying power (about 2-3 hrs), this is not that bad. The round lipsticks are well known for its super creamy texture but this is actually quite matte. I like the fact that I don’t have to keep it in the fridge during summer as is the case with my other NYX lippies. Pigmentation is not that great. One swipe will not give you a whole lot of color so you will have to build on it. The smell is too plasticky for my taste but I’m living with it. A dupe of Shiva would be Maybelline's Iced Orchid.

Other than the gorgeous color, there’s really nothing extraordinary about this lippie. Tad disappointed  …kinda expected Shiva to knock the Apollo’s and Poseidon’s out of the park!

Take a look at the pics…