Urban Decay Backtalk Vice Lipstick Comparisons (plus a quick review of NYX Slip Tease Full Color Lip Oil in Lowkey)

Affiliate Links

Urban Decay's Vice Lipstick in Backtalk, in their Comfort Matte finish, is one of the most popular shades in that huge line. They even made a whole eye and face palette based on it. It's in that dusty pink/mauve/MLBB (my-lips-but-better) family, which is the largest category of lip products in my hoard. Despite its popularity and my personal preference for this type of shade, there's something about Backtalk that's just a little off when I wear it. It's not that it looks bad, exactly, but it also doesn't make my face look better than it did without any lipstick.

I decided to swatch all my lipsticks that are even remotely similar to see if I can pick out any patterns and discern why Backtalk doesn't work for me. And since I was doing that, I figured I might as well post them here for you, in case you want to find/avoid dupes--or in case you can help me answer my question.

Here are the swatches, in no particular order. The first swatch in every photo is always Urban Decay Backtalk.

1. Urban Decay Backtalk

2. Bite Beauty Pepper (Luminous Creme formula)

3. Bite Beauty Matte Crème Lip Crayon in Glacé

4. BareMinerals GEN NUDE Liquid Lipstick in Swag

5. Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipstick in Lovesick

6. Make Up For Ever Artist Rouge Lipstick in Rosewood

7. Bite Beauty Amuse Bouche Lipstick in Fig

So of the lipsticks in this selection, besides Backtalk, the only two I don't really like on myself are the KVD Lovesick and Bite Fig. Lovesick is a little cooler, with more pink/purple, than Backtalk, and Fig is much warmer and peachier. (Fortunately Lovesick is also a sample, because since it does that dried-up butthole thing to my lips, I wouldn't want to be stuck with a whole tube. Also, I don't buy Kat Von D products.) I'm not sure I'm seeing a pattern here yet.

1. Urban Decay Backtalk (It's interesting how Backtalk will look different depending on what other swatches you put it next to. The lighting is the same!)

2. Bite Beauty Amuse Bouche Lipstick in Rhubarb

3. Maybelline Creamy Matte Lipstick in Touch of Spice (reviewed here)

4. NYX Slip Tease Full Color Lip Oil in Lowkey (which is very, very similar to Touch of Spice--more on this lipstick below!)

5. Colourpop Lux Lipstick in Angel City

6. Nars Satin Lip Pencil in Rikugien

7. Wet N Wild Megalast Lipstick in Rose-bud

Everything here is much warmer than Backtalk, and it all works well for me, so maybe that's something. Rhubarb is slightly blah on me, but I'm guessing it would look great on people who like Revlon Sultry, which is similar to Maybelline Touch of Spice but slightly less flattering on me (review/comparison here).

Side note: has anyone ever come across a dupe for Wet N Wild Rose-bud? I love the color, but the Megalast formula always dries out my lips.

1. Urban Decay Backtalk 

2. L'Oréal Colour Riche La Lacque Lip Pen in Choco-lacque (reviewed here)

3. Urban Decay Revolution Lipstick in Rapture (discontinued, but available in Vice format)

4. Urban Decay Sheer Revolution Lipstick in Sheer Rapture (discontinued)

5. Revlon Balm Stain in Honey (reviewed here)

6. Tom Ford Lip Color Matte in Pussycat

Pussycat looks closest to Backtalk here, and it's also the one I like least on my face, though slightly better than Backtalk. These two lipsticks are both pretty muted (i.e. they have grey added), so that could be a clue. Rapture looks muted when you consider it alone, but next to Backtalk, it's a bit more saturated.

1. Urban Decay Backtalk 

2. Tarte Tarteist Creamy Matte Lip Paint in Birthday Suit (i.e. last year's Sephora birthday gift)

3. LA Girl Matte Lipstick in Snuggle (reviewed here)

4. Burt's Bees Lip Crayon in Sedona Sands

5. Bite Beauty Amuse Bouche Lipstick in Thistle

None of the above is particularly similar to Backtalk, so the fact that most of them work for me isn't especially informative. The exception is Birthday Suit, which is an unflattering beige--I think it's the yellow undertones that set it apart from the superficially similar Snuggle. Come to think of it, though, Thistle is both very muted and pretty cool, and I like it a lot on me. Maybe that's because it's more of a statement corpse-lip, rather than just looking accidentally blah. (I'm wearing it in this Instagram pic, though the lighting isn't great.)

You probably want to see what Backtalk actually looks like on me at this point. (Apologies for the grainy photo.)

Like I said, it's not awful, but a great lipstick will light up your face, and a good lipstick will at least be better than nothing.

I'm not sure what I've learned through this process. I need my MLBB lipsticks to be muted, but not too muted, and more brown than grey, maybe. Or more brown than pink? Thoughts? I have definitely learned that I have way too many similar lipsticks (ok, I already knew that), and that weirdly enough I have never reviewed most of these. Any you'd like to know more about?

I'll tell you more right now about one of them. I recently used Ulta points to pick up a lipstick from one of NYX's 700 or so liquid lipstick lines, a newer one called Slip Tease Full Color Lip Oil. It's full color, sure, but having oil in the name is a bit of a red herring. It's not like YSL Tint-In-Oil or most other products called lip oils. It's less drying than most matte liquid lipsticks, sure, but there's nothing that looks or feels oily about it. (There are a few oils halfway down the ingredients list, but a lot of other things come before them.)

Here is Lowkey on my face:

More flattering, wouldn't you agree, than Backtalk? The rest of my makeup is the same, as is the lighting. Here's a lip swatch:

When you see it all alone, it looks like a rosy pink, but in the swatches above (second set), you can see that it definitely has some brown in it when compared to other lipsticks in the same family. The formula is really lovely. It's slightly moussey and thick enough that you can easily and neatly apply it using just the doe foot (not as thick as the Tarte liquid lipstick, though). It's opaque in one coat, but not so pigmented that it risks getting really messy. The finish is demi-matte. It dries down a bit but not completely, so it retains slip and moisture and feels pretty much like a bullet lipstick--yet it doesn't transfer easily. Wear time is about the same as a decent bullet, so you'll probably have to reapply after a meal. Best of all, it doesn't dry my lips out.

This is one of the nicest lipsticks I've tried recently, and probably the nicest liquid lipstick I've ever used. I'd recommend giving it a try if you see a color you like. That's my one complaint: while I love Lowkey (way to be hip to the new slang, kids), none of the other colors really interests me. There's variety, but something about the selection bores me. Bang Bang and Entice might be ok? I think a terracotta orange would be really great in this formula.

I kind of ordered Lowkey blind (you can never trust Ulta's photos for color accuracy), but it ended up working great. It would be nice if I could work out some kind of rules to predict which lipsticks will work best on me. Do you know what works for you when you see it, or do you have to try everything on like I do?

Do I Need This? Color Correcting (with Urban Decay Naked Skin Color Correcting Fluid in Yellow and NYX Incredible Waterproof Concealer in Green)

Affiliate Links

Welcome to the latest installment of my Do I Need This? series. In these posts, I offer my experience and opinions about whether or not I think a product or technique is worth it. Obviously, you don't really need ANY beauty products, so the answer to the question is always going to be no, to some extent. But is it going to change your life (or face)? Is it going to make things easier? Are you going to notice any difference at all? That's what I'm getting at. You may disagree with my verdict, because we all have different bodies/faces/brains/desires, but I'll try to offer a starting point, at least.

Color correcting seemed to have a moment about a year ago, so as usual I'm coming along after the moment has passed to talk about it. It's weird to me, though, that color correcting could be a trend. When done right, it should be completely imperceptible, and how can that be trendy? It's like setting powder or concealer or moisturizer being temporarily trendy. I don't know. Anyway, a million and one color correcting products and palettes came out last year, and a few more, including the Urban Decay version here, are still popping up.

The idea of color correcting is that if areas of your face, or even your entire face, are "discolored," you can apply the opposite color to neutralize the discoloration--in theory. I put "discolored" in scare quotes because it's not like there are wrong skin tones, exactly, but if, for instance, your face is redder than your neck and that bothers you, there are ways to adjust that.

Do I need to color correct?

Short answer: The technique definitely works, but you might need to experiment to find the right color for your particular issue.

Do I Need This? Glitter Primer (with comparison of NYX Glitter Primer and Too Faced Glitter Glue)

Affiliate Links

Welcome to the latest installment of my Do I Need This? series. In these posts, I offer my experience and opinions about whether or not I think a product or technique is worth it. Obviously, you don't really need ANY beauty products, so the answer to the question is always going to be no, to some extent. But is it going to change your life (or face)? Is it going to make things easier? Are you going to notice any difference at all? That's what I'm getting at. You may disagree with my verdict, because we all have different bodies/faces/brains/desires, but I'll try to offer a starting point, at least.

It seems like all my posts in this series are about primer lately. Well, there are a lot of different primers out there these days after all. One of the few types I hadn't tried until recently is glitter primer. Um, because I don't use cosmetic glitter, so why would I? But when I had trouble with a lovely, but crumbly, eyeshadow, resident witch recommended a glitter adhesive. From what I can tell, glitter primer originated with indie makeup companies who designed it to work with their loose pigments and glitters, but it's become more widely available in recent years (the Too Faced primer has been around since at least 2011). I am happy to be educated on the real origins of this type of product, however, if you know more than I do, which wouldn't be hard! I picked the only affordable option I'd seen, NYX Glitter Primer ($6), but I also had two samples of Too Faced Glitter Glue ($20) to try out. I'll compare the two products and try to provide some information so you can decide if glitter primer is something that would be useful to you.

Do you need glitter primer?

Short answer: Maybe, if you already own messy eyeshadows and you really want to make them work. Or glitter!

Old NYX taupe blush vs. new NYX taupe blush (from Sultry Suburbia)

I do have the old version of this blush, which is a popular affordable contouring option for creating natural-looking shadows. Since I rarely bother to contour, I've never been inspired to post about it. But if the fact that the old NYX blush formula has been replaced with a new one worries you, check out this helpful comparison. All is not lost, it seems! (And Sultry Suburbia is a blog well worth reading for the stunning, dramatic makeup looks she creates.)

A whole fucking dissertation on eyebrow products for blondes and redheads, plus a mini review of L'Oreal Voluminous Butterfly mascara (photo-heavy post)

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.
So this is the latest installation of a quasi-series in which I pull out all the products I have in from single category and try to decide what I should keep and what I should get rid of. Spoiler: I decided that I'm going to keep all of my eyebrow shit, because it's practical and really won't ever expire, so I'll use it up eventually. I did come to the radical conclusion that I should stop buying more, though. Duh.

All my eyebrow products (top to bottom): NYX Eyebrow Cake Powder in Auburn/Red; e.l.f. Studio Eyebrow Kit in Light; Milani Brow Tint Pen in Natural Taupe; CoverGirl Brow and Eye Makers in Soft Blond; Avon Ultra Luxury Eyebrow Pencil in Blonde; and Benefit Gimme Brow in Light/Medium. 

My hair color over the last few years has run the gamut from blonde-blonde to strawberry-blonde to dark-blonde to red to really-fucking-red. Some of the products below have served me well no matter my hair color, such as the e.l.f. kit and the Avon pencil. Others, like the NYX kit and the CoverGirl pencil really only well with certain hair colors - but then they work very well.

You can tell from the photo above that almost every brow product I have has been well used, so I know them intimately. Look at those stubby pencils! The one exception is Benefit's Gimme Brow, which I got as a graduation present in May. It actually came from the Benefit vending machine in the Minneapolis airport. That's a thing that exists.

In the past, when I thought about my minimum makeup - like what I'd wear if I was running out the door and only had time for a couple of things - it was always just mascara and blush. Maybe under-eye concealer. Lately, though, I feel like I can really take or leave those things so long as I've filled in my eyebrows a little. They're fairly invisible on their own, and as I've pointed out before, they really do make a difference.

I used to use the sort of technique where you define the bottom edge of the brow completely and then fill the rest in, but recently I've much preferred Lisa Eldridge's method of focusing on the peak of the arch and working lightly out from there. (If you have never watched a Lisa Eldridge video, do it some day when you're in a bad mood or stressed - trust me, she's so soothing.) This method really does create a more natural-looking effect. I do fill in the part closest to my nose more than she does, however, because that's where the hair on my brows is the lightest and thinnest. If I don't add a little extra there, my eyebrows look too far apart - I think they still do sometimes, honestly, but I'm not (yet) totally comfortable filling in where there's no real hair at all. Anyway, as you can see in the photos below, this isn't the super-defined and polished look that you tend to see in closeups of dramatic eye makeup. It doesn't look flawless. Super-defined is pretty, but it's just not what I'm going for. My brows might look a little less than perfect in a super closeup, but no one is looking as closely as my camera is getting in these photos - and the lack of perfection is what makes them look natural, I think. Here's what they usually look like at a normal distance (scroll down).

I hope you have a couple of weeks to read the rest of this post, because as usual I am long-fucking-winded.

Do I Need This? Makeup Setting Spray

Disclosure: This post contains Amazon affiliate links.
Here is the yet another installment of "Do I Need This?", a series about new and trendy beauty products (or just those that might be unfamiliar and baffling to both of us). I'll offer my experience and opinion about whether or not I think the product under consideration is worth shelling out for. Obviously, you don't need ANY beauty products, so the answer is always going to be no, a little bit. But is it going to change your life (or face)? Is it going to make things easier? Are you going to notice any difference at all if you use it? That's what I'm getting at. You may disagree with my verdict, because we all have different bodies/faces/brains/desires, but I'll try to give you a starting point at least.

I just had to go ahead and write this post that I've been sitting on for at least 6 months. No more dithering. The fact that I've been trying and trying to figure out a way for these products to actually be useful should itself give you an idea of what my verdict is going to be here. I have seen people all over the great wide Internets claim that setting sprays are miraculous, but in the end, I can only base my review on my own personal experience with them. I've tried three sprays at three price points from Urban Decay, NYX, and e.l.f., and also I tried just misting water on my face. All the products I tested have very different ingredients - so none of them are dupes.

Do I need this?

Short answer: Fuck no.

What is it?

Several companies make mists for your face that you are supposed to spritz on after you apply your makeup. They have a couple of advertised benefits: they will make your makeup's finish look more natural and/or they well make your makeup last longer. I have seen them described as "hairspray for your face." Sort of like a primer that you apply last instead of first.

For each of these products, I have tested them several times, over a variety of different types of makeup: medium coverage liquid foundation, tinted moisturizer, powder foundation, and concealer. I don't get into a lot of detail about the distinctions below, because I did not notice that they performed better over one type of makeup or another. I also used a variety of techniques: more or less spray, holding the bottle closer or farther apart, etc. Again, I don't have much to report about better or worse techniques. The one thing I would recommend is that if you wear non-waterproof mascara, you should apply that after you use a spray, because the spray might cause it to dissolve a little and transfer. It's not a huge problem, though.

Swatches and mini-reviews of all my retractable/automatic eyeliners

Disclosure: This post contains some Amazon affiliate links.
This is another one of those posts that is the result of my swatching all of the products I own in a certain category in order to determine if I want to keep them all. I'll write a more detailed post in the near future about how I decide what's working and what's not, since I'll be moving in a couple of months, and so I'm try to sort through my hoard and do away with things I don't need. For now, here are swatches of all the retractable eyeliner pencils I own. There weren't as many as I thought before I pulled them all out! But still too many, in general.

Oops, not the best camera setting. They are all quite straight in reality.

I swatched most of my regular pencil liners (i.e. the type you have to sharpen) a while back. As a rule, twist-up liners are stiffer and/or don't set as well as pencil types (for the reasons outlined here - scroll down to #4). Some of these retractable liners are just as good as some of my pencil liners, though.

On to the swatches!

Swatches (left to right) of:

• ULTA Automatic Eye Liner in Golden Eyes (wearing it in this post) ($8)
• Avon Glow Eye-liner in Copper Paradise ($6 I think? discontinued - but still available on Amazon)
• Jordana Easyliner in Eggplant ($2)
• ULTA Smokey Eyes Automatic Eye Liner in Cobalt (wearing it in this post) ($8, discontinued, but the cobalt one here might be similar)
• Stila Smudge Stick in Blue Ribbon ($20)
• ULTA Automatic Eye Liner in Teal Blue ($8)
• Essence Long-Lasting Eye Pencil in Tu-Tu-Turquoise ($2.50)
• Milani Liquif'Eye in Green ($7)
• NYX Retractable Eye Liner in Gray ($5)

LORAC Stylist eyeshadow palette $15 from HauteLook (plus NYX sale)

Disclosure: This post contains referral links.
I haven't been able to find any swatches of this one, so I'm guessing it is probably new. In my experience (and from what I've read), LORAC eyeshadows are really good quality, and this is super cheap for that brand. You get 8 neutral shadows, and two highlighter shades. It says that it is a "$100 value" for whatever that's worth.

NYX is also on HauteLook right now, if you want to make your shipping costs count.

HauteLook Summer Beauty Bag (14 things for $20 - mostly makeup this time)

This one looks a little better than the last. You get a bag with a travel size Urban Decay eye pencil, full size NYX lipstick, full size Mirenesse lip lacquer, full size LORAC mascara, Diptyque perfume sample, some ponytail holders, several makeup brushes, mini hairspray, mini L'Occitane hairspray, etc. I like it, because it's mostly makeup, and it seems worthwhile for $20.

You need an account to browse HauteLook, so go ahead and use my invite link, if you like.

It'll be available until Monday, July 15. What do you think?

Quick review: NYX Rouge Cream Blush in Tea Rose (an ode to trying new things)

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.

NYX Rouge Cream Blush in Tea Rose (natural light).

NYX Rouge Cream Blush in Tea Rose (with flash).

In June's Glam Bag, they included NYX blushes. I was pretty excited about that, because when I complained about not being impressed with NYX, many of you recommended the blushes.

However, when I got my bag and saw that they had sent me a sort of terracotta-colored cream blush called Tea Rose . . . womp womp. I have never been able to get orangey makeup to work on me. I've tried orange lip colors, and they make me look sickly. And brownish blush? What is this, 1996? I'm down with pink, mauve, rose, red, and magenta blushes, but I shy away from orange and brown.

But of course I tried it anyway.

NYX makeup is on HauteLook (30-42% off)

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.
Most things are 39% off. I hear NYX powder blushes and eyeshadows are great, so maybe try those out. And those who love lipstick love their lipstick. Skip the eyeshadow bases.

Here's my NYX tag for more info and reviews. You need an account to browse HauteLook, so use my invite link, if you like.

(Thanks to Sierra for alerting me to the sale!)

Tricky tricky! Which package contains more product? (Eye makeup edition)

Okay, I've got another one for you. This is probably easy to guess, because I have only two products to show you. But let's take a closer look to see how makeup companies use packaging tricks to make you think you're getting more than you are.

Which one of these containers holds more product?

Left: Maybelline Color Tattoo cream eyeshadow; Right: NYX Eyeshadow base

I'm sure you guessed that the NYX pot holds more, because it looks smaller, and you know I'm talking about tricky packaging. If you have ever held these two products in your hands, you will know that not only does the Maybelline pot look larger, it feels much, much heavier. I wish I had a postal scale to weight these, but it's at least twice as heavy. That's because the Maybelline pot is glass and the NYX one is plastic. So by looking at the top of the containers and even picking them up, the Maybelline product seems bigger. That's why you really have to look at the label to understand the amount of product you're getting and its value.

The Maybelline product contains 4 g and the NYX one contains 7 g. It's not just the material the pots are made from that makes you think the first one is more generous - it's also the design of the package. The Maybelline pot has a wider diameter, and both pots are about the same height. But check this out:

Again, Maybelline on the left, NYX on the right.

While the well that the NYX product is in goes halfway to the base of the pot, the Maybelline product only starts at the bottom of the lid. If you look at the Maybelline pot from the side, you can't see any product at all. That's just a big chunk of glass with some shit sitting on top of it! This is a big, bulky pot that is not convenient to store or carry around, designed that way simply to make you feel like you're getting your money's worth. If you stick a pin into each product, it goes down about 3 mm into the Maybelline shadow and at least 11 mm into the NYX base.

These are different types of product, sure, but they both cost $7. I'm not saying you shouldn't buy the Color Tattoo (I happen to like it), but just be aware of how the packaging is designed to fool you, and how much product you're actually getting for your $7. They are nice little eyeshadows, but they are not generous portions. Tricky tricky!

(See the last installment of this series, on nail polish, here.)

What do you think? Would you have been fooled/surprised by these pots?

Do I Need This? Eyeshadow Primer (with comparison, reviews, and photos of seven primers)

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.

Here is the latest installment of "Do I Need This?", a series about new and trendy beauty products (or just those that might be unfamiliar and baffling to both of us). I'll offer my experience and opinion about whether or not I think the product under consideration is worth shelling out for. Obviously, you don't need ANY beauty products, so the answer is always going to be no, a little bit. But is it going to change your life (or face)? Is it going to make things easier? Are you going to notice any difference at all if you use it? That's what I'm getting at. You may disagree with my verdict, because we all have different bodies/faces/brains/desires, but I'll try to give you a starting point at least.

Short answer: Yes, if you wear eyeshadow or eyeliner.

40% off NYX from Cherry Culture until May 9 (good shit for $2-4)

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.
Use code NYX4013. You may know that I have mixed feelings about NYX. I think a lot of it is overrated. Commenters on my post about this issue suggested that NYX blushes and eyeshadows are good bets, though. With this deal, you can get them for $3-4. And as always, I highly recommend the NYX Girls nail polishes, which will be $1.80 each with this sale.

Check out my NYX tag for other things to try and things to avoid.

Why does everyone seem to like NYX cosmetics so much? What are the supposedly-stellar products they make?

You may have noticed that I haven't had much luck with the NYX products I've tried so far. The Butter Gloss is fine, though the color I have isn't flattering for me. Other than that? I don't know. Their eyeshadow primer works well enough, but you can get great primers for much cheaper. I like the packaging, and I wonder if the fact that it looks more expensive than it is, and that they make products that seem to replace more expensive things, is the real appeal. But the brand isn't particularly cheap - most of it is more expensive than your typical drugstore makeup.

The Science of Chic recently reviewed NYX's Bronze Smokey Look Kit, which looks good and has nice packaging - but as it turns out, the quality, performance, and color choices of the actual products are all sub-par.

Have you found something from NYX that was really fucking good? Actually better than the best e.l.f. and Wet N Wild choices, which are a third the price or less? What am I missing? At this point, I am ready to write them off completely.

Oh, wait, the NYX Girls nail polishes are SPECTACULAR and cost $2 each. But I tend to categorize nail polish separately from face/color cosmetics.

Fix Your Face: Swatches and Reviews of NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream and Butter Gloss and Revlon Balm Stains and Lip Butters (with LOTS of photos) AND 40% off from ULTA this week)

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.
ULTA has a sale on this week only (until April 13) for 40% off NYX, Revlon, Physician's Formula, and Almay. It's both online and in store (and you can combine it with their usual $3.50 off $10 coupon, code available on their main page).

I thought I've give you some options by swatching a few things that I've been meaning to post for a while now: NYX and Revlon lip products. None of these products are brand new, so if you want to find product shots or information about the packaging, etc., a quick google search will yield plenty of results. I thought I'd just give you my own opinion and show you what I've got on hand.

You may have noticed that I haven't had a lot of luck with most of the NYX products I've tried so far. But a couple of exceptions that you might like are the Soft Matte Lip Color and Butter Gloss. Here are swatches of the two shades I have:

NYX Soft Matte Lip Color in San Paulo and NYX Butter Gloss
in Creme Brule (natural light).

Fix Your Face Quickie: NYX Studio Perfect Primer (in Clear) Review

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.
It costs $12, and it is exactly the same as the Monistat, the Smashbox, the Lancome, etc. Just buy the Monistat for $7.

(See my review of NYX HD Studio Photogenic Primer here.)

An alternative to the Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette for $13? (From Beauty Broadcast)

Disclosure: This post contains an affiliate link.

Beauty Broadcast swatches the NYX One Night in Morocco palette and suggests that it might make a good alternative to the Urban Decay Naked Basics eyeshadow palette, which includes only 6 shades of eyeshadow for $27. The NYX palette has 8 eyeshadows, a primer, and 4 lip colors for $13. Not a dupe, exactly, but the colors and the quality look quite similar. Sounds good!

Fix Your Face Quickie Review: NYX Slim Sparkle Eye Pencil in Bronze Shimmer (with swatches)

Disclosure: This post contains an Amazon affiliate link.
I feel like I have a bunch of NYX products, but that I haven't reviewed many. But then I realized that it's because I feel kind of blah about them. They're not terrible, but not amazing - and usually it's one of those qualities or the other than inspires me to review something. So here is a review of an okay eyeliner, because if you're thinking of buying it, it's probably useful to know that it's okay. This is NYX Slim Sparkle Eye Pencil in Bronze Shimmer, which costs about $3.50, so even for just okay, the price is decent:

Without flash.

With flash.

NYX cosmetics are on HauteLook today

There are a lot of cool sets and palettes for up to 50% off. I can't tell if it's 50% the usual price, or 50% off the "actual value", which is usually kind of inflated. Still, if you've been wanting to try something from this brand, here it is for cheaper than usual.

Their matte lipsticks are very popular with people who like matte lipsticks, and there are sets of 4 for $15. For $15.50 there's a nice nude/pink lipstick set with 6 items, including one of the soft matte lip creams. If you like matte lips, those are especially cool. I keep meaning to review the one I have, and forgetting. There's a set of 4 different types of black eyeliner for $13.50. I'm also really tempted by the set of three primers, but I'm not going to recommend it, because I haven't tried them. I am going to go google some reviews, though . . .

You'll need a HauteLook account to browse, so here is my invite link, in case you haven't signed up yet.