Makeup Review: NYX

Makeup Brand Review time! Over the last 14 months or so I have been steadily collecting NYX makeup. Now, many of you have probably seen NYX in your local ULTA or some drugstores which carry it. Often times, because of the low price we tend to overlook it and think that purchasing department store brand makeup or designer makeup will more better or more pigmented. I am happy to announce that NYX should be a high-end brand. As you can see I have a small collection of their items, I'm still steadily collecting it =D

So I wanted to review some of the items I've tried and see if this might sway your thought on certain products.

The prices listed are for Cherry Culture. I believe the prices vary where you get them.

Eyeshadow Trios $5.50
I have about 5 of these and I have to say that I love them! They are highly pigmented and if you're feeling crafty you can depot these and they fit perfectly into your MAC palettes.There's like over 30 different trios to choose from!

Single Eyeshadows $3.50
There's TONS of different colors and many are really good dupes for MAC colors. I actually prefer their matte Black to MAC's carbon, it's SUPER pigmented and wonderful. You can get like 3 colors for the price of one MAC shadow. You can't beat that!

10 Color Palettes $8.00
I have two of these and I love them, they're perfect for travel all the shadows are very pigmented and there's like 10 different palettes to choose from. They mix in mattes with satins and shimmers so it's not like Urban Decay that all you get is shimmers. Plus, when you calculate the price you're paying per shadow it's like $.80 each!

Jumbo Eye Pencils $3.25
I simply love these! I have 4 of them and I am aching to get more. I use these as a base for the shadows, they're creamy and with a primer that shadow goes no where. If you're going to invest in just one, get the Milk one. The wide base is perfect not only for the eyeshadows but it makes for a great under eye highlighter.

Slim Eye Pencils $2.50
Unfortunately I can't say great things about this liner. I'm not fond of them and I've tried 3 different colors. I find that they're not smooth. they thug at my eye and they're not pigmented. So I'd say put your $2.50 towards something else.

Ultra Pearl Mania $1.50
I have this in a few colors and they're great. They're small little things which you have you use a base with or a primer but using the right base they're very pigmented and fun. They'll great a great metallic look used in the right way.

Jumbo Lip Pencil $3.25

Honestly I was not keen on these. Mostly because they were not good to use as a lip pencil. The line was so big ans they were too creamy. You can use them as a lipstick, that would be a better use.

Round Lip Glosses $2.00

I love these! For $2 I stock up on these because I really really hate sticky lipglosses and these are the perfect consistency. My favorite color is "Kiss", the perfect nude pinky tone that I always carry in my purse.

Round Lipstick $2.25
For a couple of bucks this is the best lipstick in the market. All the ones I've tried have been super pigmented, smooth, creamy and so awesome all around. I have about 7 or 8 of them. My favorite color is B52 but I also LOVE Chloe. Some of these are MAC dupes so you can't beat the price, the quality of them!

Mega Shine Lipgloss $3.75
How much do I adore these? First of all, to me they smell amazing! They are pigmented, not sticky and they stay on! I'm starting to collect these, I only have 3 but I LOVE the three that I have!

Eyeliner Brush $5.00
This is the only brush of them that I have tried and I am mightily impressed. I usually use my Smashbox one (which I believe to be the holy grail of cream liner brushes) and when I got this one I didn't expect much. I was very much proven wrong, I love this one as much as my Smashbox one and this is the one that travels with me!




So that's it! That is my review! I have been working on this post for a few days but bad days at work always got in the way of posting! I hope this helps you out if you're looking for some products.

LUSH of the jungle

I'm not going to lie, I've contemplated closing the blog because I dont always have the time to dedicate to it as it deserves but I figured a few people really love the read it and I might as well keep it updated. I can't promise I will update daily but I will try to keep it going :)

Now... I wanted to write about something I've really been feeling lately. LUSH.

Now, I know LUSH it's really either hit or miss with people. Many people LOVE it and live for it, others dont and many others think it's too expensive.

I have to admit that I really enjoy some of their products and some are just really not my thing.

So I wanted to make a collection of things I've tried, give a mini-review in case you're considering where to start with it.

Bath Melt: Happy Blooming

How it works: You use one of the three blocks as an additive to bubble bar or a bath bomb. It's supposed to leave your skin seriously moisterized.

My thoughts: The sad thing in life is that I dont have a bathtub in my apartment. I only have a shower, which is fine because I'm because I'm a shower-girl. But every once in a while I'll ache for a bath so this is where my work travels come in handy. I take my goodies with me and I soak at the Marriott. Works out great for me since I dont have to clean the tub :) I really love this product, it smells amazing, like exotic fruits and normally I'm anti-fruit smells. I like muskier deeper scents or floral tones but this leaves my skin so smooth that I end up loving it.

Shower Jelly: Whoosh

How it works: You split a small piece from the jello and smush it into your loofa, it'll create bubbles and clean you up!

My thoughts: It's a clean lemony-scent which I'm all for in the mornings because the scent wakes me up and if you follow me on twitter you know I constantly complain about being tired in the morning so to shake sleep off this things helps out a lot. My annoyance is the ripping of the jello. I think I should just cut it up in squares in order to make it easier.

Facial Cleanser: Angels on Bare Skin

How it works: You take a piece of this roll and wash your face with it.

My thoughts: I hate this with the passion of a thousand suns. It smells like lamb marinade to me. However... my mother LOVES it. I bought like $10 worth of this to test it and ended up detesting it so I gave it to my mom and she does nothing but rave about it and how much better her skin feels. She loved it so much I got her a huge chunk some weeks ago and it made her very happy. So I think you either love it or hate it.

Facial Cleanser: Herbalism

How it works: You take a piece of this roll and wash your face with it

My thoughts: I have a strange relationship with Herbalism. We're not friends... we're more of acquaintances. You dig? I guess I'm an old fashioned girl who likes her facial soaps to have suds so I have trouble falling in love with this. The scent is... alright, I guess. I have a tub of it that I got in a swap and I will use it but I'm not sure if I will re-purchase it.

Facial Cleanser: Facial Pharmacy

How it works: Like a bar of soap, you make little suds in your wet hands and wash your face with it

My thoughts: Out of all the cleansers I've tried from LUSH this is my favorite... and I still dont think it's perfect because it doesn't remove my makeup. But if it did I would love it. I love the scent, it's not offensive or anything and the concept is much more traditional which I like. I think I would buy again... I think.

Makeup Removers: Baby Face

How it works: I'm still not sure.

My thoughts: I really want to re-name this to "what the fuck face". I was excited to get a bar of soap so what do I do? I run it under water to make suds and get my makeup off. Yeah. Bad idea. It became a pasty, Vaseline-like mess in my hands and eye. It was not pretty. Later I find out I used it all wrong but by then I hated it and it was sent to permanent time-out in the corner of my vanity. I will most likely be swapping it.

Makeup Removers: Ultra Bland

How it works: Like your grandmother's cold cream, you gently work it into your eye and then wipe it off with baby wipes.

My thoughts: I'm pretty sure I've raved about this before. But seriously: BEST STUFF EVER. I'm on my second tub, I love it so much, removes all my makeup, it's a bit complicated but when a girl is wearing 3 coats of Diorshow Mascara in Carbon Black life is already at complicated. We deal with it.

Solid Conditioner: Jungle

How it works: A chunk of this apparently conditions your hair

My thoughts: I came to the conclusion that the reason this is named 'Jungle' is because George of the Jungle used it to condition his dreads. Now, I tried it. Twice. And I had not had anything leave my hair as nappy and dry since the great Dove disaster of 2004. It was not a good thing. The great Dove disaster of 2004 came when I compulsively bought a Dove conditioner (dont ask me which one, I have deemed all Dove products hazardous to my health) and used it and it dried my hair out so badly that I had to soak it in beer to rejuvenate it. This kind of shit can mess up a girl. So I had the similar reaction to this "jungle conditioner". Unless I want to emulate an extra from a Tarzan flick or begin anew a "Boho chic" look I plan to stay as far away from this as possible. Bad little green block. Bad.

Solid Shampoo: Trichomania

How it works: No one knows

My thoughts: I think I'm being too negative. I didn't like it. It didn't work for me. Ewww.

Toner: Tea Tree Water

How it works: It's a toner. How else is it supposed to work?

My thoughts: I love it, I spray a bit in a cotton ball and use it on my face once a day after washing it, it's not drying or harsh and it's a lovely tingly feeling.

Soap: Rock Star

How it works: It's a soap bar.

My thoughts: I like this product. It works excellent. I dont like the smell. Makes me feel like a walking laffy-taffy bar. It's not good. But I like what it does for the skin.

Bubble Bar: The Comforter

How it works: You drop it in the water and it makes soothing bubbles.

My thoughts: This stuff is delightful. I love it. Yes, it smells kinda like cherry but I love playing with it. I have a couple I need to use when I go on my next trip.



As you can see, it's either hit or miss. I love some things, like others and plain old hate some of them. Now, I have plenty more to try. I got the 'naked' pack this week when I went and I want to try more stuff.

The thing about LUSH stores is that they have the nicest people working there. They get all excited about a bar of soap and because they seem to love it so much you think to yourself "OMFG, I NEED THIS ASAP." when you really dont and when you make it home (after hiding the bags from a suspecting significant other) you're like "WOW... I got a $15 bar of soap. Excellent, B." But you can't take it back because I would hate to see their disappointed face taking back the soap. So it becomes a vicious cycle.

Any thoughts on Lush, you guys? Love it, hate it, never tried it?

Review: LORAC's Little Black Palette

Ok, product review time! :)

My relationship with Lorac has been limited. By limited I mean my love for it limits itself to one product and one product only. The brow liner. And that's it. I, for the most part, am not convinced with their product or the pricing of their product. So I usually skip over Lorac when in Ulta or Sephora. Yet this week while I was browsing the kits and palettes that ULTA had for viewing I found this little thing here:

The kit retails for $32 and it includes four pretty large baked shadows and a sample of their eye primer. The packaging drew me in and since I was testing everything else I figured I'd test this. I was surprised... no, SHOCKED that these shadows were not only super pigmented but they were creamy and fantastic. I had to swatch all of them all over the back of my hand much to the sales girl's distress. I didn't even notice the primer, honestly, I was so excited about the shadows. I calculated the price per shadow and it comes to $8 a shadow. I pay almost twice for a MAC one. So I decided to set aside my issues with LORAC and buy the palette. After sneaking it inside the apartment (since I'm supposed to have started a new makeup fast) so the bf wouldn't see it, I happily started playing with it.

I took some pictures of my journey....

As you can see, these colors are just gorgeous. So gorgeous I decided to swatch them:

These shadows are so creamy and "blendable" that I had to imediatelly do a look with them:

See? SO in love with it! Now, let us talk the primer. I used the primer for the look above.

One, I LOVE the squeeze bottle. If you were to purchase the primer on its own it's $20 but it's a squeeze tube. Two dollars more than Urban Decay and you dont have to get all Medieval on the bottle afterward.

Two, I love how rich it is. It's richer than Urban Decay which means I need less.

Three, holds pigment. I did the swatches and the look with the primer and it really pops the shadow.

I have not used it all day to see how it does with creasing but I'm not a good judge of that since I dont have oily lids at all and most primers work for me. But I'm taking my kit with me to Seattle and I plan to testing that baby this week.

Overall? I think it's fab for $32. All four shadows are simply divine, I still refuse to believe this product came from Lorac. Either they've stepped it up or the box and items are mislabeled ;)

You can purchase this product here:
http://www.loraccosmetics.com/p-135-font-colorcb0000-size1newfontbrlittle-black-palettebrfont-size1eye-shadoweye-primerfont.aspx

Note: I might be a bit quiet this week because I'm traveling, sorry!

PRIZE TIME!

Another giveaway so soon? Yup! This time I'm having 2 winners! In the past year I have collected an obscene amount of mineral eyeshadows and pigments. OBSCENE. So I'm giving away 50, yes 50 sample baggies 50 different colors. The amount is enough for about 2-3 eye looks. So multiply that times 50 and you've got a lot of effing eye make-up!

If you're interested in participating please email me your name & email at youvegotshoes@gmail.com with the subject "SAMPLES!!" and I will enter you to be one of the two lucky winners! I will select the colors at random from all the colors I've got so I'm pretty sure you'll find at least something you love, lol

The deadline for entering is May 8th. I will announce the winner May 9th in the blog.

The Battle of the Mascaras

My very favorite beauty product is mascaras (aside from eyeshadows because who doesn't love eyeshadows??). I have a thing about lashes. I just love all sorts of mascaras, I've put more gunk in my eye than it's usually recommended. So I figured I'd share my top 8 favorite mascaras of all time.

1. Covergirl's Lashblast (about $8)
I know this is like a cult favorite but in case you've never tried it - try it. I really dont understand what you're waiting for.I love this so much I have it in a few 'types' and a few shades. The wand is weird when you first use it but because I have large eyes I dont have a problem getting the tiny hairs.

2. Loreal's Voluminous (about $10)
I think this was the first mascara I used in High School that was actually good and when I used it I was like 'WHOA' that's what lashes can do? I used it for many years and then I forgot it and left it behind and then I recently re-discovered it. It comes in all sorts now, I've been meaning to try it in the 'Blackest Black' one, once my current tube is out I may go for that one.

3. Lancome's Definicils (about $24)
A friend bought me my first tube because she fell in love with this mascara. Thank god I discovered this after college when I had my first 'real' job because otherwise I wouldn't have been able to feed my addiction. I love this mascara SO much. I have already long lashes but it makes them even more amazing which I just love. It's not horrible to remove either, I dont use the waterproof formula either. I think I have bought like 10 of these tubes in my life. This is also good if you're got small eyes with small lashes because the wand is so thin.

4. Maybelline's The Colossal Volume Mascara (about $6)
I own this one in brown because I wanted a more 'natural' look mascara but it surprised the hell out of me when even in brown it's amazingly awesome. I was so impressed with this that I got tubes for my friends when they were in sale at Target. I was having lunch with Alex the other day and I noticed her lashes were amazing and she said 'that mascara you got me, I have to say that it's the best mascara I have ever tried'. And for Alex to admit I'm right takes all the Olympian gods, if you get my drift ;)

5. Dior's Diorshow Extase Mascara ($28)
This is a pretty recent acquisition of mine but I am in - IN LOVE - with it. I believe it's worth all twenty-eight dollars of it. This is an insane mascara. However, I dont use it everyday. This is a weekend-nights or special events mascara. I keep it well sealed until used so it wont dry out but this is a absolutely fabulous mascara, especially when you're doing a smoky eye look. Gives a true -fake lash- feel to your lashes.

6. Max Factor's 2000 Calorie Mascara ($10)
This one is very hard to find these days since Max Factor is being pulled from US shelves. But you can easily find it internationally. My cousin in Puerto Rico sends them to me <3 But this mascara is absolutely divine and kicks ass of those twice it's price. I have it in the very black one and I just love it. This is also my friend Glenda's, who is a professional makeup artist, favorite mascara along with Lashblast.

7. Loreal's Double Extend Carbon Black Mascara (about $10)
This mascara and I became bffs this past weekend and I'm already wondering how I ever lived without it. The answer is that I didn't - honestly! The trick to this one is to let the white primer part dry first and then go in with the carbon black, otherwise you get gray lashes and that doesn't look good on anyone. But once you get the gist of it, by your second coat of black you're wondering if you're seeing things. It's really that amazing, I have been wearing everyday since Saturday when I got it.Even the bf commented on it and he, like most men, dont understand the general use of lashes to begin with.

8. Maybelline's XXL Pro 24 HR Bold (about $7)
This was discovery on a whim, I just felt bold and picked it up without hearing about it and I was very much impressed. I am loving these 'double' sided wands. I took it with me to my trip to Washington and I got several compliments on it, it creates a really wonderful bold lash. They have several kinds of it also.


And that's it! I hope this helps if you're in the market for a new mascara and you're welcomed to suggest some to me. I have in mind to purchase the Givenchy one so perhaps this will one day be a top 9 favorite mascaras, lol.

Makeup: March Favorites

Now that March is finally behind us and April happily smiles at us I'd like to take a moment to post my 'March Favorites' in terms of makeup. These are the products I have either discovered, recently bought and am in love with once more. Or it could be something I had and re-discovered and now am in love with. Please keep in mind that this is makeup and it works differently on everyone depending on their skin tone, skin pigmentation, body chemistry etc.

1. Smashbox Lip Gloss in Trendspotter (off ebay for $9)

I've always enjoyed Smashbox's glosses but I really really love this color. It's the perfect nude-y pink shade for Spring.

2. ELF's Contouring Blush & Bronzing Powder ($3)
I continue to be amazed at ELF's products. This one is my current fave of them, their set carries the perfect light blush shade and the perfect contouring shade. It's great for my traveling because it's two in one. Very pigmented and lasts me all day.

3. Benefit's High Beam ($24)
I've never honestly used this product though it's been quite a cult favorite for a while now. I got this Benefit kit thing and this came in it. I never purchased it because I couldn't justify spending $24 on a highlighter. Yet... now that I've been using my sample sized one for two weeks now I realize why people love it so much. Dabbed and blended under the eye instantly wakes you up. This is one I am buying a full size of it soon.

4. MAC's Eyeshadow in 'Woodwinked' ($11)
I had a period of three months when I went crazy and bought like too many MAC eyeshadows. Then I forgot about them for pigments and such. Now I've re-discovered them and realized why I bought 'Woodwinked' to begin with. It's absolutely brilliant. That's why!

5. Heavenly Natural Beauty's mineral shadow in 'Bambi' ($1.75 for sample jar, $5 for full jar)
I bought a whole bunch of things from HNB some weeks ago, tons of samples because I didn't know what I wanted. Yeah... this color is perfection. It blends so well, not a lot of fall out on me. It's just my perfect skin tone with a lovely lustre glimmer to it. It's perfect for daily wear.

6. Spring nails. (from L-R) Chi's In Between the Sheets, Sally Hansen's Lively Lilac, Maybelline's Pie in the Sky & Rimmel's Steel Gray.
It's not deep-buried secret that I love my polishes. These four just happen to be my 4 favorites this month. They just scream Spring.

7. Loreal's Studio Secrets Primer ($11)
Yeah... I'm a bit addicted to this thing. I wish it came in a more friendly jar. I wish it was in a tube. But this baby kicks my Smashbox Primer's butt. That's saying A LOT for me. I'm a Smashbox Primer loyalist since it first came out. Now... I'm finding myself ignoring it in favor of this one. As you can see, I need a new jar.

8. Lipsticks - MAC's Marquise D' & NYX's Tea Rose.
I had the MAC one forever ago but it fell behind my bed and bf recently found it when I was making him my furniture around. Now I'm like "NEW LIPSTICK!" and I've been wearing it nearly every day. The NYX one is just gorgeous, it comes with me in my purse wherever life may lead me.

9. ELF's Eye Makeup Remover Pads ($1)
Yeah. $1. One fucking dollar! Sorry. It's just too much for me, after years oppressed into accepting inflated makeup prices I come across this baby for $1!!!! Not that big, this is why I compared it to a US quarter, but this little thin pad thing takes off ALL of my makeup. It comes with I think 18 pads and I use one on each eye. Plus it's so tiny and perfect, fits in my luggage without making TSA think I'm some sort of a terrorist. Win, win!

10. Viktor & Rolf's FLOWERBOMB perfume (prices vary)
Alex, my bff, who is allergic to life gets tons of makeup from her cousin that works in the Nars counter at Neiman Marcus. She also gets perfumes. I'm lucky enough that Alex has an allergy list to rival a Connecticut resident and I get all the 'left overs'. Including all the perfumes. I love minis because I travel so much, they're perfect for traveling so I took this with me in my recent trip and I must say this perfume must love my body chemistry. Because I was innocently browsing a home design magazine when this man slides up to me and tells me 'you smell great' and then walks away. I know, I know - a bit creepy - but I didn't see him again. Apparently he just needed to tell me this so I will take it as a good thing rather than freak out. Hence I'm dubbing FLOWERBOMB the perfume that attracts strange men in airports.

And that's it, folks!