NYX | The Blush Brush

Feb 6, 2012

My Favorite Ways To Go Nude

Nude lips are easy to wear day or night and are a great way to balance a smokey or colorful eye look. Out of all my lipsticks and glosses I most often reach for some shade of nude when I’m getting ready each day. In my opinion the perfect nude shades won’t wash you out or make you look like a creepy dead zombie but will give you a neutral lip that won’t overpower the rest of your makeup. Here’s a list of my favorite shades plus 2 that I would not recommend!

My Faves in no particular order:

Summer Love, Nude Attitude, Honey Love, Creamsicle, Cappuchino,

NYX Round Lipstick in shade Summer Love:

This is a matte pale nude with a subtle pink/beige undertone. I love the formula of this lipstick because even though it’s a matte shade it’s creamy, glossy and doesn’t settle into my lips fine lines. You can purchase it here from the NYX website or you can find it at ULTA

Revlon SuperLusterous Lipstick in shade Nude Attitude:

This is very pale matte Nude with a slight peach undertone. I really like the lasting power of this lipstick and I think it looks best worn with a smokey eye. This washes me out in the summer when I’m tan unless I pair it with a lipgloss.

MAC Matte lipstick in Honey Love:

This is the best nude for me when I’m tan but I do not like it when I’m pale. It’s a slightly darker shade with a beige base. I do find it to be a little drying so I always make sure to put a light lip balm on underneath.

Revlon Lip Butter in shade Creamsicle:

This is a nice peachy nude and while it’s a matte shade the Lip Butter formula is super creamy and hydrating. Your lips will still look glossy but it’s pigmented enough to cover your lips natural pigmentation. I’ve been reaching for this almost everyday since I bought it and I think this is a really easy way to wear a nude lip.

Bonne Bell Liplites in shade Cappuccino:

This is probably my all-time favorite nude lip gloss. It’s super cheap, looks great worn over any nude lipstick and smells delicious. The lasting power of this gloss isn’t great so do expect to reapply it throughout the day. This can be worn on it’s own and still looks great.

NYX Sheer Lip Gloss in shade Shangri-La:

This is very similar to the BonneBell Cappuccino shade but applies a touch thicker. I think the lasting power of this is pretty decent and I don’t find that this feather outside my lipline.

Below are swatches of each shade starting with Summer Love at the bottom:

In order from bottom to top

Another Nude that I love is Revlon Colorburst in soft nude. This is a super easy to wear nude but I couldn’t swatch it because I left it at a friend’s house

I also have two nudes that I find too difficult to wear however just because I don’t like them with my skintone doesn’t mean they might not work for you!

NYX Round lipstick in shade Echo:

This color is just too brown for me. I think it dulls the brightness of my teeth when I wear it and just overall looks very unflattering on me. The formula is still great but I still won’t wear it.

Revlon LipButter in shade Creme Brulee: I love lipbutters and I was most excited to try this shade but I just can’t get it to work for me. I feel like it makes my lips look too pale and is the formula is too slippery to apply a lip gloss over it. I’m going to try it again in the summer when I’m tanner but for now this just doesn’t look flattering on me

There a few MAC shades that I’m dying to try but it’s hard for me to justify spending the 18 dollars when I have so many drugstore nudes that I like. Let me know what you’re favorite nude shades are and your favorite way to wear them!

Nov 6, 2011

Posted by Holly | 0 Comments

Plum Lipstick Haul

Hi everyone

All summer I was obsessed with bright corals, pinks and nudes on my lips but for fall I wanted to try some darker more dramatic colors. I decided a good place to start would be with some gorgeous rich plums. I decided to pick a different color from each of my favorite drugstore brand lipsticks so I have a pretty good variety to talk about.

The first shade I’ll talk about is from the Rimmel Moisture Renew Line in shade Burgundy shine

This color looked more purplish in the tube but when worn is more a reddish wine. It has some goldish flecks in it but they aren’t noticeable when applied. This color is best applied with a brush to prevent feathering around the edges of your lips. I also primed my lips with some concealer before wearing as well to get a more true color. I would also make sure to keep the tube with you during the day so you can touch up when needed. I would wear this lipstick with a neutral or pale gold eyeshadow, winged black eyeliner and a very subtle cheek.

This next color is from Covergirl in the shade smitten. This has a creme shine finish and goes on very pigmented and darker then it looks in the tube. I have a bit of a problem with this formula feathering when I wear it, even if I use a lip liner. I have this issue with a lot of the covergirl lipsticks but I always think the colors are so pretty that I buy them anyways. I would say this is actually a warmer toned purple when you actually have it on. I wore this with a smokey charcoal eye and just a little bronzer to contour my cheeks.

This color is part of the Maybelline Colorsensational line in shade Madison Mauve. It is less pigmented then smitten or burgundy shine and has a bit more glitter in the formula. It’s actually very wearable and looks great with some black eyeliner and lots of mascara on the eyes. I apply this with my finger and usually use a little concealer on my lips before application.

Here is a swatch of the above three shades starting with Burgundy shine, smitten, then Madison Mauve. I feel like all these colors appear alot darker than they swatch so keep that in mind if you purchase them!

Lastly, I’m going to talk about NYX’s round lipstick in the shade LALA. I bought this on a separate day so I didn’t swatch it at the same time as the others.

This color looks a lot like covergirl’s smitten but wears a shade darker on me. I’m always torn about NYX’s round lipsticks. I love the colors but they don’t last very long when I wear them. I have to reapply often and I always have a problem with them feathering or ending up on my teeth! However, I still buy them because they’re inexpensive and some of the colors are really really pretty. This one wasn’t one of my favorites but I’m sure I’ll get some wear out of it this fall and winter season.

I apologize for the poor picture quality! A digital camera is definitely on my must-purchase list! Hopefully these still gave you some ideas though of a few pretty colors to try for fall and winter

Let me know what colors you’ll be wearing this season!

Oct 10, 2011

Posted by Holly | 0 Comments

NYX Jumbo Lip Pencils

The NYX Jumbo Lip Pencils are amazing for any of you who haven’t tried them. I received my first one in a set I purchased off hautelook.com but after I tried it I ended up buying 3 more. They cost $4.99 but I got mine during a buy one get one 50% off sale at ULTA. The texture of these are very creamy and the staying power is surprisingly great. I like them because I don’t need to apply a lip gloss over them and they don’t feather around the edges of my lip line. You can apply them super quick without a brush or even a mirror. I own the colors Chaos, Iris, and Pink Nude. Out of the three Iris is my favorite. Pink Nude looks a little washed out on me, but Chaos is a really pretty vibrant pink that looks great with a neutral eye look. I actually like these more than the NYX round lipsticks. I definitely suggest buying these if you’re looking for a really easy to use lipstick.

Oct 10, 2011

Posted by Holly | 0 Comments

NYX: Nude on Nude Eyeshadow Palette

Hi everyone

For those of you looking for a cheaper alternative to the Urban Decay Naked Palette I suggest you try this NYX dupe.

For $20 you get 20 eyeshadows and 10 glosses. The palette has a nice mix of shimmer and matte shades and are nicely pigmented. The texture isn’t as creamy or blendable as Urban Decay but with a primer you can make some great neutral eye looks. There are some nice highlight shades and the navy and black shades work well in the outer v area or in the crease. I could live without the glosses, they aren’t anything special, but I do use them from time to time. I think this set makes a great gift as well. I bought mine at ULTA but I believe you can order it from the NYX website as well.

This is definitely worth your money and a great overall value.

Sep 29, 2011

Posted by Holly | 1 Comment

NYX Concealer in a Jar

So here is my little jar of NYX concealer

Sorry, the picture isn’t very good!

I purchased mine off cherryculture.com because I wanted to try and it haven’t seen it available at ULTA but you can buy it from the ULTA website where I buy alot of my NYX stuff. It cost 4.50 and I bought a few other things so I didn’t pay any shipping!

I got the shade beige and I’d say its a pretty good match to my skin color. The consistency of this is very creamy and blendable and you do get some good coverage with it. It definitely works around the nose and cheek area to conceal any redness and I use it under my eyebrows after I pluck to cover any irritation I have. When it comes to covering blemishes I’d say this is so so. It goes on pretty well but I find myself having to retouch any really bad spots I have. I’ve tried this under my eyes as well and I think it works fine for that. Its not so thick that it settles in lines and I always set it with a powder.

I’m still looking for that perfect concealer but in the meantime this works well.

Sep 23, 2011

Posted by Holly | 0 Comments

NYX The Runway Collection: Haute Model

This is a really pretty palette that won’t put a dent in your bank account. I picked mine up from cherryculture.com for only $8.50

(These are swatched in order from the top left )

The Runway Collection has a number of 10 shadow palettes to choose from but I think this one stuck out to me because of the teal and goldish brown color. I was just as happy when I saw the colors in person as I was when I saw it online. All of the colors are slightly metallic but none are overly glittery. The goldish brown color in the 2nd row has some slight gold glitter in it but it doesn’t create crazy fall out or interfere with the pigment of the color. Today I wore the bottom brown shade and lined my eyes with the dark green from the top row. While the color payoff isn’t amazing it’s really good for a cheaper brand. I wore this with a primer and didn’t have any problems blending. I think these colors will make some really pretty smoky eye looks and I’m excited to keep playing with it. My only complaint is the two silvery gray colors basically look the same once they are swatched, but they still look pretty.

For those interested in picking up the palette I got mine here