NYX Tinted Brow Mascara

This legacy post has received a facelift (or at least an invigorating facial massage). Content was tidied up; updates with new opinions/insights are in line with notation. April Favorites will run next week.


NYX Cosmetics has come out with a lot of new brow products – a gel, a mascara, a pomade (trying to take on Dipbrow?), new ultra-skinny pencils, etc. In spring of 2015, I picked up the NYX Tinted Brow Mascara in Brunette.

NYX Tinted Brow Mascara - Packaging

 

I was happy with Dipbrow (2018 Update – I did ultimately discontinue use of Dipbrow.) , but trying something new is fun every now and then. I picked this up when I returned the failed NYX Green CC Cream. While I was shopping, the first thing that struck me was the lack of variety in available shades. They have blonde (lighter, taupe-y), chocolate (warm brown), brunette (cool brown), espresso (dark brown), and black (brown-black)…that’s it!

Color Choice

I chose the (supposedly) cooler brown shade, Brunette. Although my hair is fairly warm, I don’t want my brows to be. Upon use, I found that despite perhaps being the cooler of the two, it is quite warm.

NYX Tinted Brow Mascara - Wand

Consistency, Hold, and Application

The consistency of NYX Tinted Brow Mascara is very lightweight, but wet; when you swipe it through your brows, you definitely feel the moisture content. Personally, I found that weird in a brow product and did not care for it. Given that, you don’t have a whole lot of control even though the spoolie with which you apply it is small and stiff. I found myself getting blobs in my brows that were really awkward. Ultimately, I had to gently squeeze the spoolie with a tissue to remove the excess so I was applying the bare minimum – which means I was wasting product to be able to use it.

NYX Tinted Brow Mascara - Hand SwatchNYX Tinted Brow Mascara – Swatch

As far as hold goes? Meh. It’s better than nothing, but if your brows are unruly and you really want them to stay put you need something else. Without sounding like a shill, I’ve only ever tried Anastasia’s clear one, and I was happy with its strong hold (2018 Update – Anastasia Clear Brow Gel still takes the cake but full disclosure – my brows are not unruly). Happy enough to regularly shell out for it? Nope; I’m sure there are other good ones out there.

2018 Update – Simply put, the spoolie is too large for the intended purpose. This is more of a standard, eyelash-mascara applicator rather than one suited for brows. It is difficult to use for the intended purpose, but not impossible.

The Bottom Line

My verdict? This product would be okay as a finishing touch when paired with a powder or pencil. I wouldn’t use this on its own unless your brows are already nigh-flawless.

It is finicky to work with, and the shade range leaves some to be desired. I wouldn’t buy if you’re looking for a one-and-done product, or unless you’re SURE the shade will work for you; in my case, my brows were too warm with this, it was really awkward and obvious.

The KonMari Method Komono – Makeup – Part 2: Spark Joy

I got around to executing the KonMari method on my makeup. This category did not include any skincare or tools. As I went, I realized that the process isn’t hyper conducive to photography, but I did manage to catch a few photos.

(Almost) Everything (that Isn’t a Palette)

Editing My Collection - before KonMari

My initial pass included everything that wasn’t a palette. I realized after capturing this photo that I had missed a few pieces. They were still subject to the same joy-sparking scrutiny, I just didn’t get them in the picture. I had:

  • 2 BB Creams (both Missha Perfect Cover)
  • 6 Concealers
  • 1 Highlighter
  • 5 Face Primers (one not pictured)
  • 8 Single Shadows (one not pictured)
  • 5 Eye Primers/Bases (including a MAC Paint Pot & a NYX Milk pencil)
  • 15 Eyeliners (duplicates not pictured)
  • 8 Blushes (one not pictured)
  • 2 Bronzers (one is packaged with one of the blushes)
  • 2 Face Powders (both Hourglass ALPs)
  • 14 Lipsticks
  • 4 Lip pencils
  • 6 Mascaras
  • 5 Brow Products (Ulta & the dregs of my Gimme Brow not pictured)

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Beauty Hacks & Tips

This legacy post has been given a facelift. Content has been edited for flow and some updates have been added, but the essence is the same!

After comparing my list to so many top hits from Google from silly magazines, I’m confident that MOST of these are not cookie-cutter tips. So many of these, “beauty hacks,” are old hat to me just because I’ve been doing them so long – but it’s come to my attention that some of them are apparently, “sneaky beauty hacks.” I figured, “Why not share?” We’re all trying to streamline our life and make time for other things – even as someone who enjoys beauty, that doesn’t mean I have an hour or two to throw at it on a daily basis – in fact, writing that made me laugh.

Let’s get on with it!

Before I had highlights!

Hair Hacks

  • Maximize efficacy of your dry shampoo. It will absorb oils as you sleep so you aren’t in such a rush in the morning. As much as I love dry shampoo, sometimes I want it to do what it does faster than it does. Solution? Use your dry shampoo at night before you go to sleep. I like Batiste and Psssst!  [2022 update: Skip conventional dry shampoos; many of them are being found to contain cancer-causing benzene. Use tapioca starch instead!]
  • If you buy large bottles of shampoo and conditioner (such as Tresemme’s 39oz monstrosities [2022 update: Screw Tresemme, they repeatedly sell and resell formulas that lead to hair loss]) and transfer them to smaller bottles, you will be pleased to learn that the caps for Dawn dish soap fit on a lot of bottles that take pumps. Pumps aren’t the best for transferring thick product to other containers, but swapping one of those caps makes life a LOT easier. (2018 Update: These bottle couplers are nice too if you need to combine contents a lot – but I still use Dawn caps for all sorts of things. Reduce, reuse, recycle, save money etc.)

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PSA: Palette

This is a legacy post that has been given a facelift. Content remains the same with a little added flavor. ;)

Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears:

There’s an epidemic, you see. I’ve kept my response contained as best I can, but I’m fighting the urge to go all Katie Holmes-in-The Giver, being a shrieking harpy about

precisionoflanguagePRECISION. OF. LANGUAGE.

But I’m not Jonah’s mom, and we aren’t in some dystopian, baby-murdering (spoilers, not sorry, the book is old) society, and I prefer to teach than scold.

This:

This is a pallet.

is a pallet.

For the sake of argument, here’s a definition.

a portable platform on which goods can be moved, stacked, and stored, especially with the aid of a forklift.

You’ve probably seen one, right? Maybe you’ve (ever) been in a Lowes. Maybe you were at Wal-Mart late at night. Perhaps you, yourself, have worked in a retail outfit and had to stock stuff. The only time this has anything to do with cosmetics is perhaps when Sephora receives a shipment; when there is a pallet of palettes.

Moving on,

This

Naked2 Basics Palette - More than one of these would be palettes, not pallets.

is a palette.

When people say things like, “that’s a really nice pallet,” when talking about, say, Lorac PRO or a Viseart palette, the image that fills my mind silly: it is an expertly crafted, robust shipping platform. Maybe it’s even sanded, stained, and lacquered in gold. I deeply regret being a crappy artist because I would love to illustrate the image that fills my mind like Hyperbole and a Half brought us the Alot…but alas.

Extra Credit (2018)

These items are also not to be confused with palate which refers to the roof of your mouth or to the discerning appreciation of flavors.

Anyway, I digress. This has been a Public Service Announcement. You now have the vocabulary tools to stop being that guy.

Bi-Weekly WTF :: Vol 8 – MAC 217 Discontinued

MAC 217

Within the last three months, MAC discontinued the classic construction of their perennially popular 217 brush in favor of a synthetic bristle version, the 217S. The change came not only for the cult favorite 217 but for the entire MAC brush line. The 224, for instance, is now the 224S.

For some, this is extremely exciting; synthetic bristles make the brush accessible to vegans and those with animal cruelty-related concerns.

The Disappointment

For many others, however, the new brush is not achieving the same rave reviews as the original. With 2.5/5 reviews at most retailers who carry MAC, the performance of the new, synthetic version doesn’t quite live up to consumers’ expectations. After all, if you take two brushes that are cut identically but one is natural hair and one is Taklon, the way they pick up and distribute color is going to be vastly different. The way they feel on your skin will differ, too.

The Perplexing

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March 2018 Favorites

March 2018 FavoritesMarch 2018 Favorites
1. Scunci Stay Tight Barettes; long & short, $4.50 / 2. Wet n Wild Walking on Eggshells, $3 /
3. CND Solaroil, $8 / 4. Aveeno Stress Relief Body Wash, $7 / 5. Sensationail Express Gel, My Cherry Amour, $6

Without a purpose in mind, my March 2018 Favorites shaped up to be accessible in terms of where you can purchase (drugstore! Target! Online!) as well as an awesome <$10 each month. I shudder when I see favorites posts and videos where all the products are $25+; for most people, that just isn’t realistic. Details on my favorites after the jump.

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