NYX Lip Lacquer Pot: Okie Dokie Artichokie

NYX Okie Dokie Artichokie

NYX Okie Dokie Artichokie

NYX's Lip Lacquer Pot in Okie Dokie Artichokie is a medium neutral pink with flecks of gold shimmer. The color is sheer when applied to the lips, adding just a touch of color. It is, however, very thick and glossy. I find it to be rather sticky when first applied but it feels better as it warms on my lips. Because this is thick and sticky, I don't like it in pot form because I don't prefer to get it on my fingers. It lasts a few hours, maybe 2-3, which is how I find most lip products tend to wear on me.

There's nothing really special about this product. From what I recall, I believe that this is the most neutral shade in the range. However, it hardly adds pigment to the lips so there isn't much difference from a clear gloss. I don't think it is worth looking into, especially for $6. There are cheaper glosses with more to offer in the way of color and finish than this one.

Nude lips

NYX Okie Dokie Artichokie

Nuance by Salma Hayek Eye Quad: Neutral, Smoky

Nuance by Salma Hayek Eye Quad

Nuance by Salma Hayek Eye Quads: Neutral, Smoky

Nuance by Salma Hayek Eye Quad

As far as I could tell, Walgreens had a monopoly on the drugstore niche in my city when the Rite-Aid's closed down. However, a few CVS's have popped up so I went in today to see what they offered. Their selection was pretty similar but they did carry this Nuance line by Salma Hayek. I believe it is new and being promoted with a Buy One, Get One Free deal. I got these two eyeshadow quads for $8.99.

The packaging is, of course, the focal point. The quads come in these buds that open up into four petals, each with an eyeshadow. In the center of the bud is an eyeshadow sponge. The sponge was a cool surprise, although not useful. I don't love the packaging because it is bulky and you can't tell from the outside which quad you're reaching for. Still, it is an interesting novelty. I haven't seen anything else like it. It might be prone to breakage though.

Nuance by Salma Hayek Eye Quad: Neutral

Top: Frosted Blush, Toasted Almond
Bottom: Champagne Gold, Shimmering Bronze

Frosted Blush, Toasted Almond, Champagne Gold, Shimmering Bronze

The Neutral Quad (#080) offers a light champagne pink ("Frosted Blush"), a medium taupe-brown ("Toasted Almond"), a tan-gold ("Champagne Gold"), and a deep coppery brown with red tones ("Shimmering Bronze"). All but Toasted Almond are shimmery. Toasted Almond is not quite matte as it does have a sheen.

Nuance by Salma Hayek Eye Quad: Smoky

Top: Pearl Teal, Silver Mist
Bottom: Cool Charcoal, Warm Smoke


Pearl Teal, Silver Mist, Cool Charcoal, Warm Smoke

The Smoky Quad (#075) has a blue-green ("Pearl Teal"), a cool-toned opalescent pink that flashes lilac ("Silver Mist"), a blackened green ("Cool Charcoal"), and a gray-purple ("Warm Smoke"). The green shades are shimmery, although Cool Charcoal doesn't look that way when swatched. The pink and purple have sheen but are near matte.

Frosted Blush, Toasted Almond, Champagne Gold, Shimmering Bronze
Pearl Teal, Silver Mist, Cool Charcoal, Warm Smoke

I haven't had the chance to wear these on my eyes yet but my first impressions aren't positive. The pigmentation is weak and required repeated swatching for me to build up enough color. The shadows themselves feel smooth and they come off nicely onto my finger, but they don't transfer onto my skin the same way. Of the two quads, I prefer the Neutral. This is not based on color preference but on the performance of the shadows. These were the easiest to swatch out, with Champagne Gold being the best. The Smoky quad required more work. Silver Mist was chalky, Cool Charcoal was patchy on initial swatch, and Warm Smoke was the worst in color-payoff. The Pearl Teal performed best in this quad.

In all honesty, I am not impressed. The colors in the Neutral quad are nice but bland. They don't show much promise as far as performance but I'll definitely see how it goes. The Smoky quad is sort of bizarre in its color selection. These aren't the sort of shades that you'd expect from a palette meant for smokey eyes. It did remind me of the Chanel Lilium quad, which also has a cool pink, deep green, and gray-purple. This is what drew me to it. However, the way these shadows swatched was really a nightmare. I don't think it will be worth the work to get potential Chanel dupes. Overall, these quads don't seem worth looking into. There are other inexpensive eyeshadows (Wet & Wild's, for example) that outperform these by a lot.

UPDATE 8/22:

I gave the Neutral quad a try today and was pleasantly surprised to find that these shadows applied just fine to the lids. Pigmentation was nice and blending was easy. They wear well with little fading. I guess you can't always judge by swatches! This still isn't a palette that I'm excited about because I think it's a bit boring, but it does perform well. I'm still under the impression that a brand like Wet & Wild will outperform these and for cheaper, but $9 is not bad for four very safe, basic shades and novel packaging if you're interested.

Frosted Blush in inner corner, Toasted Almond across lid, Shimmering Bronze on outer corner

Too Faced Glamour Dust: Glampire

Too Faced Glampire

Too Faced Glampire

Too Faced's Glamour Dust in Glampire is a gorgeous and complex shade that's rather difficult to describe. It's a deep mauve pink with intense glitter that ends up reminding me of a red/green duochrome. Hopefully you can see what I mean in my swatch photos. It is described by Too Faced as a "peacock brown," which reinforces my perception of this as a duochrome.

The application was quite nice. I was wary of applying a glitter, firstly because fallout seemed inevitable and secondly because I'm too old for glitter. However, I was pleasantly surprised on both fronts! The fallout was minimal when I applied this over a cream base (I can't remember which). I think I noticed only one stray glitter. I didn't find the glitter to be overwhelming either. The sparkle was lovely but I don't think it looked like I had dumped glitter all over my eyes. I think it's great how the glitter is combined with a shade that is neutral enough that it doesn't cry out for attention.

This is clearly a glitter shadow so one can't expect it not to sparkle. The color is beautiful and its formula is easy to work with, which is all you can really ask for. I got this on sale for $10 on Urban Outfitter's website, which I think is a great deal. It goes for $17 full-price, which I find to be pricey but the shade is unique enough that I think it can be justified. I personally would not pay full price just because I'm not someone who will reach for glitter very often. I have to say, though, that this is probably a great glitter shadow for people like me who like to play it safe because it is so neutral.

Too Faced Glampire

Too Faced Glampire

Glampire across lid with brown shadow on outer corner

Glampire across lid with brown shadow on outer corner

Chanel Nail Colour: Graphite

Chanel Graphite

This is a nail color that I was very excited about. It looked so beautiful and unique in the swatches that I saw. I guess I am drawn to metallic finishes.

I still think the color is cool but I'm not as crazy about it as I thought I would be. I expected this to be a gunmetal gray but it actually has a strong green cast. I'm not sure if that's apparent in my photos. The shade includes abundant gold shimmer which I think yellows the color so much that it ends up looking green. Maybe that's just me.

Like Black Pearl (which I've reviewed here), the formula was a dream. Smooth application and fast dry time. I don't remember how long it has been since I applied it. Probably 5 days or so, and it has not chipped at all.

I thought the finish on this might be comparable to NYX's Sunday Afternoon (review here), which is a metallic/foil polish, but Graphite looks less like foil to me and more just metallic. I actually prefer the final color and finish of the NYX polish. I have to say, though, that Graphite's formula is far better (which it better be for the price!). While I did not have any problems with the application of the NYX polish, I did note that the initial coat was sparse and thin as it appeared to be a translucent base with glitter. Graphite, on the other hand, was dense with shimmer and showed up nearly opaque even with the first coat.

Graphite is, of course, a pricey polish at $25. While the color is not my personal favorite, its performance is stellar. I recommend it if you are attracted to the color, which is certainly complex and unique.

Chanel Graphite (natural light)

Chanel Graphite (with flash)

Boots Natural Collection: Willow, Milk Chocolate, Asteroid

Clockwise from top: Milk Chocolate, Asteroid, Willow

Clockwise from top: Milk Chocolate, Asteroid, Willow

I found these eyeshadows at Boots in London. They were extremely affordable at £1.79 (about $3). I, of course, bought three neutral shades in Willow, Milk Chocolate, and Asteroid.

Willow is a light shimmery nude shade. Milk Chocolate is a misnomer, in my opinion, because it looks to me like a deeper matte nude rather than a brown. Asteroid is a deeper brown with golden shimmer.

Willow is my favorite of the three. It comes off lighter on my skin that I would expect from just looking at it in the pot. It's a surprisingly nice brightening color. There are light cream shades that are too white or stark against my skin but Willow has enough nude tones in it that it's flattering. Willow is pigmented and smooth to apply as well. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for the other two. Milk Chocolate feels smooth and buttery but it comes off looking dry and chalky. Asteroid is not pigmented enough and is rather dry to the touch.

These colors make for a great neutral look and are extremely affordable but I would only recommend Willow. It's a very pretty brightening shade that I have not encountered before, which is surprising since it does not actually look very unique in the pot. I like how UK drugstores have testers for everything so definitely give it a try if you can.

L-R: Willow, Milk Chocolate, Asteroid

Kiko Eyeshadow: 124 (Satin Taupe Dupe), 125

Kiko Eye Shadow: #124, #125

Kiko Eye Shadow: #124, #125

Here are some more makeup items that I was fortunate to get my hands on while traversing Europe. I stumbled upon the Kiko store in Barcelona. I had never heard of this brand before but I couldn't resist the temptation of a stand-alone cosmetics shop. My eyes first landed on the nail polishes, which were extensive in their color selection and cheap to boot! They were 2.50 euro each. I naturally wandered over to their eye section next where the prices were a little less thrilling, though not bad by any means. I made a conscious effort to be selective and walked away with these two shadows in #124 and #125.

#124 picks up rather pink on my camera but to my naked eye, it looks like a cool-ish brown taupe. #125 is in the same vein but deeper and more cool-toned with stronger gray cast. I did not realize it at the time but #124 is very similar to MAC's beloved Satin Taupe. I've done a comparison. To my naked eye, Satin Taupe is warmer and more brown than #124. When swatched, the colors are nearly identical though Satin Taupe is more shimmery and a touch deeper. Its formula is also smoother.

These were 4.90 euro, which comes out to about $7.50 for 3g of product (twice the amount of MAC's eyeshadows). Not a bad deal! When it comes to the formula, however, MAC certainly outperforms Kiko. Kiko's shadows are not bad but they are a bit dry and harder to blend (you can probably tell in my pictures of the colors on my lids). The pigmentation is fine but not exceptional. They do fade with wear. I have tried less expensive shadows that I believe perform better. I have to say, however, that Kiko offers the advantage of a wide color selection. You are less likely to get that with cheaper drugstore brands.

In summary, Kiko's eyeshadows are okay in their performance but they do have a nice color range that includes some highly sought after shades for a good price. If you don't mind working a little harder to apply the shadows, then these may be worth looking into.

Kiko Eye Shadow: #124, #125

Kiko Eye Shadow: #124, #125 vs. MAC Satin Taupe

MAC Satin Taupe, Kiko #124, Kiko #125

Morning: #124 across lid, #125 on outer corner

After 9 hours: #124 across lid, #125 on outer corner

Barry M Dazzle Dusts: 11, 25, 51, 53, 89, 97

Barry M Dazzle Dusts
Top L-R: 25, 11, 51
Bottom L-R: 53, 89, 97

I had the good fortune to spend some time in Europe back in June (my first time off the continent!). We stopped a few days in London. I'm not going to lie; one of my top priorities was to pick up cosmetic items that I had been ogling for some time. Some of my favorite Youtubers are UK gurus who use drugstore products that are not easy to get a hold of here. Our hotel was a block away from Superdrug and Boots so I happily indulged.

Here are the Barry M Dazzle Dusts that I brought home with me. I actually expected them to be cheaper but they were okay at 3 for £10 (~$16). The packaging doesn't indicate the amount of product but you get a little pot filled to the brim.

L-R: 25, 11, 51, 53, 89, 97

L-R: 25, 11, 51, 53, 89, 97

L-R: 25, 11, 51, 53, 89, 97

25 Rust is an antique gold shade. 11 Charcoal is as its name indicates, a dark charcoal gray. 51 Mushroom is a gorgeous mauvey lilac color that has something very wearable about it. Lighter purples tend to scare me because I think most of them are very cool toned whereas Mushroom is not. I'd say it's a neutral shade. 53 Chocolate is a warm bronze brown shade with red tones. 89 Oyster Grey is another gorgeous one, a grayish purple with pink shimmer. 97 Dark Chocolate doesn't quite fit the name. To me, it looks like a dark charcoal gray with gold shimmer.

These were smooth to apply and nice to work with. They are very pigmented and blend without losing much intensity. I thought that they wore quite well, though they did fade over time as you can see in my pictures.

Overall, I do like these though I don't think that the products are exceptional in any way. If they were priced better, I would completely recommend them. At their current price (regularly price £4.59/$7.50 per jar), I would suggest that you look into shades that you find unique. For me, 51 Mushroom and 89 Oyster Grey were totally worth it. The colors are lovely and I don't think I have anything like them. I was shocked that I wore purple on my lids but there is a neutral quality to these colors that make them approachable. The other colors I could do without because I think they're easily duplicated.

25: Rust

11: Charcoal

51: Mushroom

53: Chocolate

89: Oyster Grey

97: Dark Chocolate

51 in inner corner, 89 across lid, 53 on outer corner

After 10 hours: 51 in inner corner, 89 across lid, 53 on outer corner