NYX Eyes

An affordable cosmetics brand often mentioned by many beauty bloggers and YouTube gurus is 'NYX'.  The brand has always been well recommended, yet not too pricey.  But, I tend to find that, in the UK, 'NYX' products can be quite difficult to source-though I have a tip of where it may be possible for you all to find them.  I was recently shopping at a designer outlet, when I came across a cosmetics discount store, which stocked a number of brands which can be a little more difficult to find, particularly American brands.  So I would recommend checking out designer outlets near you to see what sort of brands your stores may stock-I would love to hear of any other stockists that anyone knows of for 'NYX'.

So anyway, whilst there, I picked up a couple of products to test out the brand, and its quality, before splashing my cash! (Student debt-post uni and a beauty addiction is no joke!) 

I bought a 'NYX' eyeshadow and a 'NYX' shadow brush.

The Eyeshadow:

I brought one of the 'NYX' ultimate pearl shadows in the colour '01 Black Pearl'.

So first things first, lets talk about the packaging: I love the case I think the design is simplistic yet pretty and the window makes it easy to see which colour is inside.  I travel up and down the country a lot and so, whilst I love a palette, singular shadows like this are perfect for packing light and still being able to create amazing look.

This shadow is a black to charcoal colour with a slight shimmer/glitter to it.  It is fairly well pigmented and is great for a smoky eye or night time look.  The best thing about this shadow is how blend-able it is.  It can be made to look very pigmented to create a bold, dark look, or blended lightly to give colours a smoky look with a charcoal tone.

The best technique I have found for using this shadow is to apply it to the outer corner of the eyelid and then to blend it towards the middle of the lid and up towards the crease of the lid using a fluffy brush.  This shadow is great to use on top of another lighter shadow to smoke it out.

Overall, I really like this eyeshadow and would love to try out some other colours.  Unfortunately, I can't remember the exact price of the eyeshadow but it was around £5-£6.

The Brush:

I thought I would also buy one of 'NYX's brushes to review - I bought their 'point brush'.  The brush has a practical long, thin handle which makes precise application easy.  The brush is cut into a dome-shape and it is short cut, which makes this particular brush great for packing on shadow for a pigmented look.  It is a soft, thin brush, meaning it is perfect for applying shadow under the eye near the lower lash line where precision is needed and the skin is delicate.

Again, I was impressed with this product and would be interested to try some of the brand's face brushes to test how they apply product here.  This brush was around £3-4...sorry I can't be more specific with the pricing, I must have hidden this receipt in denial of spending the money!

No7 Trio Concealer

Ever since blemishes first appeared my on my face (which is painfully too long ago) I have faithfully used 'Rimmel's' 'Hide the Blemish Concealer' stick.  It provided great coverage and was available in shades which blended well with my skin tone.  Perfect.  But, whilst buying other 'No7' products recently, I came across 'No7 Trio Concealer'...at which point my loyalty faltered.

The palette that the trio is stored in is very simplistic and not particularly eye catching, but other products from No7 have given good results, so I thought I'd give it a try.  I've included photos of the trio so that you can check out the casing and the shades included (you'll have to excuse that it is a little messy - it is testament to the fact that it is well used!).

The shades of concealer in this trio are perfect for hiding both blemishes and dark under-eye circles.  The lightest shade (top left of the trio) is brilliant for concealing dark under-eye circles - it brightens and lifts the area nicely.  It is well pigmented but also blends easily, so as not to stand out under a powder or foundation finish.  I usually use a combination of the lightest and medium shades to conceal under my eyes.

The medium and darker tones blend together well to conceal red areas and blemishes to provide a good base for foundation or powder to follow.  For blemishes, this trio provides a medium coverage which is perfect for day-wear.  A real plus point is that the cream-based formula isn't drying.  This product can be applied, and blended, using either a brush or your finger but as we're dealing with blemishes here it is important to remember to keep tools clean so as not to cause further break-outs.

The trio retails at £10.50 and can be found in most Boots stores.  Boots are currently running a ‘3 for 2’ deal across their cosmetics ranges - so I recommend buying slightly more expensive products like this when these deals are available.

Kassie Jo x

The perfect brow

I wanted to try some of the products from the new cosmetics range by ‘Soap & Glory’, previously known for their delicious bath and skin care products.  So the last time I went shopping, and Boots had a cheeky 3 for 2 deal, I picked up a few products to test out.  I love the inventive names they use for their range and the packaging is really eye-catching.

The product that I’m raving about to anyone with a pair of eyebrows is ‘Arch De Triumph’ which is their eyebrow pencil.

The pencil has two ends; one a coloured brow pencil and the other a highlighter.  The pencil is available in only one colour, as far as I’m aware, which is a medium brown.  This sounds limiting, but the colour would be suitable for almost every brow colour as it is a build-able coverage which can be varied accordingly to your own eyebrows.  I’ll include a colour swatch in a photo.

 

The technique for this brow pencil is to begin at the inner corner of the brow and use light strokes, moving across the brow, until reaching the outer corner.  With the variable coverage it’s important to build up the colour to match your brows.  It fills in brows so well, whilst leaving them still looking natural and not over done.

The highlighting end of the pencil is used under the arch of your eyebrow.  Just a small amount is needed as it is quite pigmented.  This can then be blended out with your finger to leave the perfect highlight to give a lift to your brow.  Again, I’ll include a swatch of the highlight.

The eyebrow pencil retails at £8, which for both the brow pencil and the highlighter, is a really good price.  It’s also convenient to carry with you as both are contained in one pencil.  Overall, it’s a makeup must have.

Kassie Jo x

An end to bad hair days…or at least a helping hand

So the solution to troublesome hair landed on my doorstep about a month ago and I’ve been using it ever since.  Let me explain-I subscribe to ‘Glossybox’ (I’ll explain more about this in another post), which basically sends sample sizes of products to test, before forking out for the full size.  In one of my recent boxes, I received ‘Paul Mitchell Super Skinny Relaxing Balm’.

Now, I am always doubtful that smoothing products will actually work.  My hair is naturally wavy and without the right products is what can only be described as a frizzy mess.  But after giving this a try, I was so impressed.  The balm really reduces frizz and seems to keep my hair straighter for longer, after using a flat iron.  It also doesn’t leave a matt finish as some balms or serums do, my hair remained light and shiny.

The instructions for use are really simple (though finding them on the bottle isn’t-they were tucked inside the outside label on the sample!).  It says to use 2-4 pumps on damp/wet hair.  I’d really only recommend 3 pumps as a maximum and less on medium length to short hair.  But this can be applied all over, avoiding the roots, and then your hair regime can be continued as normal…blow drying, straightening, curling etc.  Note that hair can be left to dry naturally and the product still does a good job of keeping things under control, which is great if you’re giving hair a break from heated tools or blow drying.

The price of this product is £15.25 for 200ml, which I think is fairly pricey for a single hair care product but the results make this price justifiable.  It can also be found slightly cheaper at some online beauty stores.  One bottle would allow a lot of usage too – the 25ml sample I had lasted me ages.

If you have tried this product out already or decide to check it out, then let me know what you think.  I’d be interested to know how it works on different hair types.

Kassie Jo x

So, what's the craic?

Hi, I'm Kassie Jo, I'm 22 and I am obsessed with makeup. And skincare. And hair care.
This blog intends to keep you up-to-date with all things beauty related.  With honest reviews and recommendations of products which might just revolutionize your life...or at least your morning routine!  I hope to pass on advice about extremely affordable products, which really work, and are actually accessible to us average Joes.  Posts to follow...

Kassie Jo x