Review: NYX Blushes in Cinnamon and Desert Rose

Hi everyone! Today I have a review on the NYX Powder Blushes in Cinnamon and Desert Rose. These blushes can be purchased at NYX's website or at Ulta.com or Ulta stores. The blushes are reasonably priced, around $5 or so. I thought since I have been hanging on to these for about a year that I should do a full review on them.

Details:
You get 0.18 oz of product (5.2 grams)
Comes in 12 different shades
Can purchase here
$4.99

Swatches in natural lighting/no flash/blended out

Swatches taken with flash/blended out

Cinnamon

Color is a bright orange. It is not completely matte, it has a bit of a shine to it. The color would be most appropriate for darker skin tones. It pulls very orange on me.

 Desert Rose

Color has some shimmer and shine to it. Somewhat purple colored. Very pigmented. 

Review:
Texture: 7/10

The biggest reason for the decrease in points in this section is that these blushes are very powdery. They crumble very easily when you dip your brush into them. You ALWAYS have to tap off the excess to avoid picking up too much product. 

Pigmentation: 10/10

These blushes are INCREDIBLY pigmented. When I say this, I mean that these are the most pigmented blushes that I own. They are so pigmented that it can easily become a problem when using them. You have to make sure to pick up the smallest amount to begin with and make sure you tap off any excess color. I often will have to take a kabuki brush and blend out the color due to how pigmented they are. 

Blendability: 8/10

The NYX blushes blend somewhat easily. The biggest issue with blending is that it can easily become out of control due to the fallout and high pigmentation. You really have to apply a small amount, blend, and then apply more and blend again. These are not the easiest product to blend. 

Color Selection: 6/10

NYX Powder Blushes come in 12 shades. Despite this, I have found that most of the colors fall into the pink family. There is not a huge difference in some of the colors, leading to a lower rating in this area. If you are a huge fan of pink blushes, you would probably enjoy the color selection of this line. 

Fall out: 7/10

These blushes definitely have fallout due to their powdery texture. You really have to be careful and TAP OFF YOUR BRUSH.

Lasting Power: 8/10

I haven't noticed any problems with the lasting power of these blushes. They get me through an 8 hour work shift just fine. 

Overall 7/10

I am not super crazy about these blushes, but they are OK. Their intense pigmentation can be somewhat problematic as well. I do not think that I would repurchase any of their blushes because I find they are somewhat of a hassle to work with because of the pigmentation and fallout. Do I hate them? Not at all. I just don't find myself reaching for these blushes that much.

If you have an opinion on these, let me know below!

FOTD: Orange

 Hi lovelies! The weather is really kind of overcast and gloomy today, so I thought it would be nice to try out some bright makeup to cheer myself up. When I get an idea, I tend to run with it. So, when I started thinking orange, I knew I was going to do everything orange. I decided to use my orange NYX blush, which is incredibly pigmented. If you haven't tried their blushes, I would recommend trying it out. 

 Products that I used:
Eyes:
BH Cosmetics 88 Standard Shimmer Palette for the lid colors
I used the black out of my UD Naked 2 palette to darken up my waterline as an alternative to eyeliner.
Maybelline Great Lash Waterproof Mascara in Very Black
ELF Liquid Liner in Black
Revlon Brow Fantasy in Dark Blonde




Face: 
Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Foundation in Shade 5 - Light
NYC Bronzer in Sunny
NYX Blush in Cinnamon

Lips:
Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Rendevous

Thoughts on this look? Want more face of the day posts? Let me know what you think below.

Makeup Challenge- Drugstore only

Hi everyone! I thought that it would be really fun to try to create a retro inspired look using purple lipstick instead of red. I thought that a thicker eyeliner with a soft, neutral, purple eye would help me achieve this retro look. I also wanted to do a drugstore only look. Ever since I bought my BH cosmetics palettes, I have not been using any of my drugstore eyeshadows. This challenge gave  me some room to give those products some love. If you like this look, make sure to follow my blog for an upcoming review of the lipstick that I am wearing!

Products used:
Eyes:
Covergirl Professional Eye Enhancers in Grape Soda
Covergirl Eye Enhancers Tri eyeshadow (unsure of names of colors, but it was for the lighter brown in the  outer-v
ELF Liquid Eyeliner
Maybelline the Colossal Mascara (Black)
NYC Eyeliner Duet (black)

Face:
Revlon Beyond Natural - 220 light-medium foundation
Elf Fushia Fusion Blush

Lips:
NYX Roundcase lipstick in LSS 601 Castle

New Ulta Makeup

Hi everyone! Yesterday I went to Ulta for the first time in about a month. I haven't ever purchased anything from their brand, so I was unsure how well I would like it. I spent $18 on Ulta products to qualify for the free gift of their products. I will do a haul later to show everything that I got, but for now I wanted to share a look that I created using my new products. I am wearing a peach blush for the first time ever. I'm still a little unsure how it looks on me, so if you could let me know what you think about the blush, that would be wonderful. I also tried contouring my face for the first time using a new bronzer that I bought yesterday. I'm not sure if it made any difference in my face either. I did take these pictures in my dark basement apartment, so that may be changing how these colors would look. The lipstick is from Nyx, and I am absolutely in love with the color. I will be doing a haul on about 8 lipsticks that I have purchased from them, so stay tuned for that!


Products used:
Eyes:
Ulta Eyeshadow quad with stardust, sun-kissed, canyon, and mocha 
NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk
Ulta Dual Ended Eyeliner in Black
Elf Liquid Liner in Black (upper lash line)
Ulta Voluptuous Volume Mascara in Jet Black

Face: 
Revlon Beyond Natural - 220 light-medium foundation
Ulta Extreme Wear Matte finish mousse blush in Peach Glow
Ulta Baked Bronzer

Lips:
NYX Round Case Lipstick in Vitamin

FOTD: Metals Inspired

 Hi everyone! I finally have my laptop back with Internet, so I figured that I would create a Face of The Day to share with you. I took my inspiration from different colored metals. I used a soft color that is almost gold because it really helps bring out my eyes. I layered the colors with a lot of heavy blending to get a more gradient effect. I was really unsure as to what color lipstick would fit this look. Before I started the look, I was really leaning towards a red lip, but as the look developed I ended up changing  my mind. I hope you all like this look. :)

xoxo xmissgumdrop

 Products used:
Eyes:
BH Cosmetics Standard Shimmer Palette for all of the colors except....
Urban Decay Naked Palette Creep (outer-V)
Elf Liquid Eyeliner for upper lash line
BH Cosmetics Waterproof Eyeliner in Onyx for lower lash line (smoked out with a smudge brush that is almost by BH Cosmetics)
Revlon Fabulash in Black


Face:

Revlon Beyond Natural - 220 light-medium foundation
Elf Fushia Fusion Blush


Lips:
Nyx Round Lipstick in Margarita

Any feedback would be fantastic :)

Superbowl Inspired

Hi everyone! I wanted to just create a superbowl inspired look to represent The Patriots. I wore a blue and white dress and paired it with this red lipstick by NYX. It gave the dress a retro feel, which added to the over all look.

Products used:
Urban Decay Naked Palette
Elf Liquid Eyeliner
BH Cosmetics Waterproof Eyeliner in ONYX
Not sure on mascara (I forgot :( )
NYX Round lipstick in EROS

Tutorial: Makeup Challenge - Girl's night out

 Hi everyone! Today's makeup challenge was to create a look for a girl's night out. I really did not want to do a super dark smokey eye because I haven't been using color very often lately. I looked into my BH cosmetics palette when I saw this beautiful pastel greenish color. I instantly fell in love with it and decided to create a sort of smokey eye using it. I also thought it might be helpful to sort of explain how I created this look. This will be my first ever attempt at any kind of tutorial, so I would greatly appreciate it if you would let me know what you thought about the process. Well, let's get started!



Tutorial Directions:
Step 1 - Creating the Base:  
To begin creating this look, you should put down an eyeshadow primer to keep your eyeshadow lasting all day (or in this case night). I chose to use Elf's Eyelid primer that is only $1 at Target. I've found that it works great. After you have your eyelid primer down, put a white base down to make the pastel green show up brighter and more vibrant. I chose to use NYX jumbo eye pencil in Milk. Using your finger, spread it all over the eye until it is mostly blended out.

Step 2 - Creating the Shape:
This step is the most time consuming (at least for me!). To begin creating your shape, use an eyeliner pencil and draw a line from the lash line up and around to your crease area. I have created a red line to show you how to do this.

Once you have created this line with the eyeliner pencil, take a smudge brush and begin to smudge the liner across the shape you have created. You want to get rid of the harsh line from the eyeliner WITHOUT losing the shape. You should also take the smudge brush and pull the eyeshadow down onto the lid from the line. Keep doing this until it looks exactly like you want it to look.



Step 3 - Filling in the Color
After the shape is how you want, it is time to get the color filled in. It is best to fill in the black in the outer-V shape that you created. Put just a little bit of black shadow (I used a matte black from BH Cosmetics.) Use a blending brush and blend it in a circular motion to keep the shadow concentrated in that area. Taking the green pastel color, work from the outer-V to the corner of your eye by patting the shadow onto the lid. Blend the color into the black to create the gradient effect. If you lose too much of the black, make sure to fill it back in to keep the corners darker. Taking a light highlighter color, use your fingers (or a brush) to apply the color to your brow bone to make your eyes pop. Your makeup should be looking like something similar to this picture to the right. Remember to BLEND BLEND BLEND.

Step 4 - Eyeliner and Mascara
The 4th step would be to line your upper lash line with a liquid or cream eyeliner. This will pull the smokey look together. I also smudged black shadow under neath my lower lash line to smoke out the eye even more. Use a eyelash curler to curl your lashes and then apply your favorite mascara. Make sure to apply mascara to your lower lashes, too! (If you prefer fake lashes, this would be the time to apply them). Line your lower waterline with black mascara and smudge it using the smudge brush.

Step 5 - Finishing the Face
After that is done, you should apply your foundation. I used a foundation brush and carefully colored the area around my eye makeup with the foundation. Apply your blush to your cheek bones by making a fishy face. I used ELF Fushia Fusion blush (which I love!) I applied a lipstick by NYX called "Margarita" to finish off the look.

The final look is here to the left! I think this look is very pretty and nice to wear out. It is a little more subtle if you are not so comfortable wearing DARK DARK eyeshadows. I hope you all enjoyed my first tutorial. :)

 Here are the colors that I used.

Products used are featured here in this photo. I did forget to picture the NYX jumbo eye pencil in Milk and the ELF eyelid primer!

Face of the Day - Professional

Hi everyone! Sorry that I have been sparse on the posts. I have been out with food poisoning (Yuck!). This is my first time wearing makeup all week, so this is a proud moment for me. I used my new NYX lipstick that I got at Ulta last weekend. I'm pretty crazy about this color on my lips. The eyes are just once again using my Urban Decay Naked palette. It came out a little bit different than I thought it would, but I like this look.

Products used:
Eyes:
Urban Decay Naked Palette - Buck, Half Baked, Dark Horse, Creep
BH cosmetics waterproof eyeliner in ONYX
ELF Liquid liner in black
Maybelline the Colossal Mascara (Black)

Face:
Elf Blush in Fushia Fusion
Maybelline Dream Liquid Mousse foundation in Creamy Natural (Light 5)

Lips:
NYX Round Lipstick in LSS 619 "Flower"

Makeup Challenge - Steampunk Inspired

Hi everyone. Today's theme is Steampunk inspired. I'm not 100% happy with how this look came out. I really struggled to get the eyeliner the way that I wanted. I went for a gold/black look with orange lipstick. I wasn't sure if I should go with red or orange lipstick, so I just chose orange. I hope that you all enjoy this look. Feedback is appreciated! I also layered my mascara to get length and more volume.

Products used:
Face:
Elf pressed powder (not sure of color)
Covergirl TruBlend Bronzer in 440

Eyes:
BH Cosmetics 88 standard shimmer palette
Bh Cosmetics 88 cool matte palette (for the black only)
Elf Liquid Eyeliner in Black
BH Cosmetics Waterproof Eyeliner in Onyx
Maybelline The Colossal Volume Express Mascara
Revlon Fabulash Waterproof Mascara

Lips:
Nyx round lipstick in LSS507

Makeup Challenge - High Fashion/Runway Model Inspired

Hi everyone. I am sorry that it has been a week since I have done any sort of post. I did just purchase 6 NYX lipsticks that I will be doing a review/haul on very soon. I wanted to try this purple lipstick and step out of my comfort zone of pink/wearable lip colors. I thought that the makeup challenge for today would be perfect (High Fashion Inspired). I just used images.google.com to search for high fashion makeup and then just sort of combined the looks I saw to create this look. I wanted to do a more wearable version, rather than have color all over my face. I hope that this look is interesting to you and make sure you let me know what you think! :)

Products used:
Eyes:
BH cosmetics 88 cool mate palette
BH cosmetics 88 standard shimmer palette (outer V area)
ELF Liquid Eyeliner for upper water line
BH Cosmetics Waterproof Eyeliner in Onyx
Revlon Fabulash Mascara (Black)

Face:
Revlon Beyond Natural - 220 light-medium foundation
Elf Fushia Fusion Blush (I used way more blush than I normally would)

Lips:
NYX Round Lipstick in LSS 601 "Castle"

Makeup Challenge - Fairy Inspired

Happy Friday everyone! For today's makeup challenge, I created a fairy-inspired look. For inspiration, I just googled fairy makeup/pictures of fairies. I really wanted to create a more wearable/softer look. I'm sure that most people would rather do a BOLD fairy look, but it just wasn't for me. I used a shimmery pink and a shimmery blue for the lid. I blended them together until the look was very soft. I also used some glitter on the inner eyelid to brighten the look up even more. I really hope that you all enjoyed this look! Let me know what you think. :)

Products used:
Eyes:
BH Cosmetics 88 standard shimmer palette
NYX Glitter Cream Palette
Elf Liquid Eyeliner in Black
BH Cosmetics Waterproof Eyeliner in Onyx
Maybelline The Colossal Volume Express Mascara
NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk

Face:
Elf Blush - Fushia Fusion
Revlon Beyond Natural - 220 light-medium foundation
Covergirl TruBlend Bronzer in 440

Lips:
Revlon Lip Butter in Peach Parfait

Makeup Challenge - Flower inspired

Hey guys! Today's look is a makeup challenge that is flower inspired. For my inspiration, I chose daisies. I thought about the yellow of the inside of the flower and the green of the stem for the lid look. I finished it off using a white eyeliner on the bottom lashline, topped with some white eyeshadow for the white part of the flower. I am pretty happy with how the look turned out. To see my inspiration, click on the following link: here



Products used:
Eyes:
Elf eyelid primer
BH cosmetics 88 cool matte palette
BH cosmetics 88 standard shimmer palette
NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk
Elf Liquid Eyeliner in Black
Revlon Fabulash Waterproof Mascara

Face:
Elf Blush - Fushia Fusion - loving this blush btw
Maybelline Dream Liquid Mousse Foundation in "5"



Lips:
Wet n Wild lip gloss

Makeup Challenge - Barbie Look

Hey guys! I decided to create a January Makeup challenge that would have a variety of looks that I would not wear or try out on a normal basis. Today's the first day and the theme is Barbie inspired. I wanted to do one of Barbie's "pinker" looks. I added this pink sweater by Aeropostale to give the look more of a pink feel. I straightened my hair so that it would be flat like hers normally is. I really would have loved to still have blonde hair for this look. Here's the look I ended up coming up with. I'm super excited about this lipstick because I think it fits the look really well.



Products used:
Eyes:
Elf eyelid primer
BH cosmetics 88 cool matte palette
BH cosmetics 88 standard shimmer palette
NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk
Elf Liquid Eyeliner in Black
BH Cosmetics Waterproof Eyeliner in Onyx
Revlon Fabulash Waterproof Mascara

Face:
Elf Blush - Fushia Fusion - loving this blush btw
Revlon Beyond Natural - 220 light-medium foundation
Elf Concealer

Lips:
Elf Lipstick in 7702 "Classy"

That's the final look. I hope you all enjoyed this.

Sunset Eye

Hey everyone! I have been looking at a lot of "sunset inspired" makeup looks. Ex, sunset eye 1. I decided to use my BH cosmetics cool matte palette and try out some of the brighter colors. Here's the look that I ended up creating. I'm pretty happy with it because it makes my eyes seem brighter and happy!


Products used:
Eyes:
BH cosmetics 88 cool matte palette
NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk
Elf Liquid Eyeliner in Black
BH Cosmetics Waterproof Eyeliner in Onyx
Revlon Fabulash Waterproof Mascara

Face:
Elf Blush - Fushia Fusion
Revlon Beyond Natural - 220 light-medium foundation
Elf Concealer

Lips:
Elf Lipstick in 7702 "Classy"
Wet n Wild - Megaslick lip gloss in 569A - Candy Apple

I hope you all enjoyed this look. Please follow and comment!

BH Cosmetics Haul/Review

Hey all! I finally have my review of BH cosmetics for you. Here's the video. Make sure you comment/like/subscribe to the video.

Products reviewed in video:
88 Cool Matte Palette
88 Standard Shimmer Palette
Waterproof Eyeliner in Onyx
Classic smudge brush
Blending Brush



The only product that I would not recommend would be the waterproof eyeliner. It is super hard to sharpen, which makes it difficult to use. My eyeliner also came with the tip broken, so I had to immediately sharpen it. Their eyeshadows are very pigmented and pretty! I also love their brushes, which have really nice bristles and are easy to blend eyeshadows with.

 An upclose look at the makeup in this video.