NYX Ultra Pearl Mania

Good evening all!

This is going to be a post on NYX Ultra Pearl Mania in shades Mink, Oro and Walnut. I've never tried pigments before so I wasn't sure what to expect. I purchased them from ebay, for 3 in total it only came to about $10 with shipping, soo cheap!

L-R: Walnut, Mink and Oro. These bottles are tiny! About half the size of my index finger. The lid is a screw on cap with a tiny mouth so you won't be able to fit a brush inside or pour it into the lid. 

I've poured a little bit of each into this box above with small compartments, I've never used it for anything so its come in handy. A little bit goes a long way. You can re-pot them into a larger pot if you have any handy (a clean, empty lipgloss tub would work). The mouth of the actual tube is very small as you can see, this packaging is totally impractical but for the $2 RRP price it can be dismissed. 

Above are swatches, L - R: Mink, Oro and Walnut. They have been swatched using a slightly damp brush. Absolutely stunning colours and quite pigmented. 

Heres a quick look I have done using Mink (damp brush), sorry its a bit messy. I absolutely love how this colour looks with my eyes and can't wait to wear it to work! 

Do you own any of these? Are you in love with them too?

My 10 drugstore favourites

In no particular order...

1. Sleek blushes
They are about $6-7 (AUD) and you get 8g of product in a compact rectangular case with a mirror. MAC powder blushes are 6g and don't have a mirror so I think I prefer the Sleek casing.
These blushes are incredibly pigmented. Warning - they can become addictive! I use them daily and my MAC blushes have been pushed aside for these guys.

Here are some pictures I have used on other blog posts

Sunrise (left) and Honour (right) - refer to my previous post for more info if you are interested in these two!

Sleek blushes: Sunrise and Honour 

Above: Honour 

Above: Rose Gold - said to be a dupe of NARS Orgasm blush

 Cases

If you're interested in Sleek, you can buy their products from their website.
http://www.sleekmakeup.com/



2. Milani Press Powder
I bought this for $5.75. I guess I've never really been a pressed powder girl before but I love this. It gives a flawless coverage on its own and is great for shine control. It comes with a handy mirror and sponge. I also find it is long lasting. It has 10g of product so its probably going to last me a while.

I bought this from beautyjoint.com




3. L.A Girl Pro Conceal
A fantastic concealer for $2.50. Again, concealer wasn't a product I paid much attention to but this changed my beauty routine. I use them almost every day to cover areas of redness. It has a creamy consistency to it and the brush tip applicator can be used to blend but I prefer to use my fingers.

I bought this from beautyjoint.com



4. Ecotools Brushes
Not only is this brand pocket friendly, they are doing their bit for the environment. Their products are 100% cruelty-free (as their website says) with recycled aluminium and bamboo for the handles. 1% of their profits go towards environmental organisations, so not only will you look good but you feel good too!
If you're ever used one of their brushes, you would know that they are incredibly soft. I use a kabuki brush of theirs for when I use mineral powder foundation and sometimes I find myself just aimlessly rubbing the brush on my face, because it feels so soft. Please tell me I'm not the only one...?

Their prices vary depending on which brush/set you buy, but they can be purchased from Priceline as well as on their website.

This eyeshadow brush costs $4 on ecotools.com

5. Face of Australia Liquid Eyeliner

I bought this for around $9 quite a while ago and this is the third time I've repurchased it. It makes liquid eyeliner application really easy with the precise tip. I always get compliments when I use it to do a winged eyeliner look. A great tool to have in your makeup kit for doing a dramatic look.

I bought this from Big W.



6. MUA eyeshadow palettes
I have two of these so far and they are amazing. They are about 4 pounds on the MUA website. Talk about value for money! There has been a lot of hype about these lately and rightfully so. 12 eyeshadows at an affordable price. I want them all. 

Here are the ones I have

Above: The Undressed palette - read more about it here

Above: The Dusk til Dawn palette - read more about it here

7. Rimmel Extra Super Lash Mascara
$12.95 for this, pretty cheap (in Aus!) for a mascara. Nothing too fancy, but it does the job for daily wear. The brush is good and so far I haven't experienced clumping. 

Rimmel products can be bought from Big W, supermarkets such as Coles and Bilo, Target and I'm sure there are other stores too.




8. NYX Mega Shine Lip Gloss
Soo shiny! Bought this one for $5.49 and its generous with its 11ml of gloss. It pretty much gives you everything you want in a lipgloss - shine, colour and its not all gooey and sticky. Super cute tube too.

The colour above is Spongecake. 
This can be bought from beautyjoint.com



9. Ulta3 nail polish
$2 polish. What more can I say? The formula is excellent quality, the brush is small but that can be forgiven. You get 13mL of polish which is quite a lot. The colour range is also great. With a base coat and top coat, they last me about 5-7 days. 

Above: the colour 'Jade'

Above: the colour 'Bouquet'



10. Rimmel Lasting Finish Lipstick
These are $10 and are one of my most reliable lipsticks. Great colour and lasts about 4 hours on me. I have quite a few of these and will continue to repurchase.

The colour above is Birthday Suit.
Again, Rimmel products are widely available in Australia.


Well, this concludes my list! What are some of your drugstore faves?

Experiments with lipsticks of the wrong shade (for me)

If you're anything like me, a large percentage of your beauty buys are either online or inspired by something you've seen online. I have fallen victim to buying quite a few things online and they turn out to be awful for me. Lipsticks seem to be a particular issue for me, so I have a bunch of them sitting around doing nothing but collecting dust! 

Today I thought I would try to mix them with other lipsticks to see if I could make these shades more wearable.

First up is NYX Round Lipstick in Tea Rose. I bought this one online after having a look at a few swatches. It's a shame the colour doesn't work for me because I really like the creamy consistency. I expected it to be a bit more peachy pink but it is more pink than anything else.

Yikes. You can probably see why I can't/don't wear this! Bubblegum pink doesn't suit my skin tone. That, and I don't have the confidence to pull off crazy shades anyway.

So I have tried to mix this with a darker colour to make it a darker berry pink, something I am more comfortable with. I have added Rimmel Lasting Finish in Temptation. I don't use this Rimmel one much either, it's a nice red but probably too blue toned for me. Mixing them together produces a deeper pink.

Sorry about the blurry photo! But the main thing here is just that this pink is a bit more in my comfort zone. This colour is something I'm much more likely to wear.

Alright, moving on. This one is Maybelline Colour Sensational Lipstick in Coral Desire. The lipstick itself is a gorgeous pale coral but when swatched - what?! Where did the colour go?! 

Yes I smeared my lips in vanilla frosting here. No, not really, but that is how Coral Desire turns out. I don't fancy wearing white frost on my lips, to be honest.

Again, I have mixed it with another lipstick that I don't use too much. I have added Revlon Colorburst Lipstick in Sienna, a chocolate brown. This translates to a bronzey shimmer.

I actually really like this combination. It is something I can definitely wear and not be paranoid that I have alien lips.

What are your thoughts on mixing lipstick shades? Do you do it too?