nyx

Wearing NYX Eyebrow Marker in Deep

“NYX wants to mark their territory on your eyebrows…”

Wait, did I really just write that? 🙂

Ouch! Okay, let’s try that again. How about, “Does NYX deserve high marks for their new Eyebrow Marker ($9.75)”?

Available in two shades — Medium (a light brown) and Deep (a medium brown) — the new felt-tip pen lives to fill in sparse eyebrows with a liquid/ink that dries to a matte finish.

Since I have dark hair, I went with the Deep shade, but after the first time I brought it to my brows, I almost set it right back down. Why? Because it’s so sheer — like surprisingly sheer.

Thankfully, it layers well, getting progressively darker with each one. For me, four layers results in a shade that pretty closely matches the color of my hair.

NYX bills Eyebrow Marker as a long-wearing product, and I’ll go along with that, although I wouldn’t wear it to a spinning class. Overall, I think it holds up fairly well under normal conditions and very light sweating (NOTE: it turns slightly gray as it fades), especially if multiple layers are used.

Once it’s dry, it doesn’t smear at all, and I rubbed at it pretty well to test. When it comes time to remove, a little soap and water does the trick.

Now that Eyebrow Marker and I have gotten to know each other, we probably won’t hang out every day. Don’t laugh :), but for the life of me I can’t evenly fill in my left eyebrow with it. Doing my right brow is easy enough (maybe because I’m right handed), but the left is a different story — and it’s an awkward, uncomfortable tale. If you’re more coordinated than I am, and there’s a good chance you are, you’ll probably have better luck with it than I did. Or perhaps if you have better penmanship, LOL!

NYX Eyebrow Maker in Medium (top) and Deep (bottom)

Deep (left) and Medium (right)
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I was really hoping my recent run-in with the NYX Velvet Rope Palette was a harbinger of really rad NYX things to come, but the company’s 10 Color Eyeshadow Palette in Casting Call ($9.75) totally nixed that theory.

With 10 mostly shimmery (there’s one very sheer matte black) powder shadows in shades of gray, silver and one lonely bronze, it’s one of four new palettes recently added to NYX’s “The Runway Collection.”

If you think you’ve seen this palette before…you may have. Are you thinking of the NYX Winter in Moscow Palette ($20)? It had a very similar vibe.

These are colors that would probably look their best on lighter lovelies, with the nuances of the different grays appearing more pronounced than they do on my NC 35 skin. Unfortunately, of the nine shadows I tried on my lids (I didn’t try one of the lighter frosty grays), all of them went on patchy and uneven, so texture may be an issue with these.

I think it was smart of NYX to include a bronze that can work as either a highlighter or a crease color, if for no better reason than to liven up this sea of gray.

NYX Winter in Moscow Palette (left) and Casting Call (right)
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Oh, Beautiful, why do you tease? Yeah, I’m talking to you NYX Mega Shine Lip Gloss in Beautiful ($5.50).

It’s not just the newest of 61 colors in the Mega Shine line; it’s also the first NYX gloss I’ve ever tried.

The line gets raves for texture, color payoff, shade selection and price, and I’ve had great luck with NYX lately, so I had crazy high hopes for their glosses.

Maybe too high.

Don’t get me wrong. I like Beautiful’s color and texture — a subtle shimmery pink on the lips, medium weight texture, not too thick or sticky on the lips — but I just can’t hang with the scent. It’s like a preschool nurse’s office, part cherry cough syrup and plastic with a hint of Play Doh (for warmth and complexity), and it even has a little of the same flavor, too.

I tried to stick it out and leave it on my lips to test for wear time this afternoon, but I gave up after about 10 minutes. I just couldn’t take it anymore.

Still, it sure looks pretty, doesn’t it? I bet it would look killer with smokey eyes… Maybe if I pinch my nose. 🙂

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