NYX Cosmetics – Leave it to Lea

Testing Beauty Youtubers 2021 Favourites

January 25, 2022January 26, 2022by Lea3 Comments

Hey guys! One of the things I look forward to every new year is watching my favourite YouTubers’ do their 2021 favourites (if you haven’t read mine yet, check it out!). I feel like yearly favourites are some of the best recommendations because the product made it to the top of someone’s list. I decided this year to pick up a couple of products that made some influencers’ faves list and test them out for myself. I did a YouTube video trying the products for the first time and also mentioned some products that were already in my collection. Today I’ll be giving you my follow-up to that video after using the products a few more times.

New makeup from Make Up For Ever, Merit, Catrice, Maybelline and NYX Cosmetics

Let’s start with the product that inspired this post. I had seen Allana Davison rave about the Merit Shade Slick Tinted Lip Oil for quite a few months now to the point where I was like I HAVE to try it out. Allana is not only my favourite Youtuber but also this lip oil just seems right up my alley. Merit describes the product as a sheer slick of colour with rosehip oil and shea butter to create healthy-looking lips all day long.

I have to say their description is pretty accurate. The pigmentation is enough that I can wear it by itself for a very natural look or wear it on top of a lip liner for a more defined lip look. It’s not sticky whatsoever since it’s an oil and it’s very comfortable on the lips. Unlike some glosses, it doesn’t look gross if my lips are dry and crusty. Since it’s a lip oil it’s not the most long-wearing, it obviously goes away if I’m eating or drinking. I picked the shade Taupe because I am obsessed with browns and I love it. They have a beautiful range. I might pick one up for my mom for her birthday because I think she would really enjoy this formula. Allana was 100% right with this product.

The next product was a recommendation from Tati. If you watched my video, then you might have seen that I was on the fence about the shade I picked up in the Catrice True Skin Hydrating Foundation. Once I went into different lighting I realize I did get the perfect shade for my winter pale skin. I got the shade Neutral Ivory and I’ll give the brand major products because this foundation is neutral. I often find with drugstore foundation that the shade can lean either too yellow or too pink but this one matches me perfectly.

The foundation is described to be a long-wearing, medium-buildable coverage foundation with a natural ‘real skin’ finish. The foundation is also supposed to be hydrating, is vegan and cruelty-free and comes in 20 shades. I’ll be honest guys, this really isn’t a hydrating foundation. I find that it leans more matte. If I use a hydrating primer it’s not as bad. But because it’s matte, I find that it takes a bit more work to blend out cream products on top. That being said, this foundation is very long-wearing. I have very oily skin and I didn’t really need to powder until the 8-hour mark. If you have dry skin I would pass on this foundation. But if you need something that will look good all day, then check this one out.

The foundation and concealer when I first applied it

The other base product that I got was the Make Up For Ever Ultra HD Self-Setting Concealer. This was another recommendation from Allana. I wanted to try out a new concealer and thought this would be right up my alley. The concealer is described as creamy, with a natural, medium and buildable finish. It also is supposed to have a self-setting formula with up to 12-hour, crease-free wear. I’ve been having issues with my concealers creasing lately so thought this would be a good one to try.

With some concealers, a little goes a long way. Not with this one. Where I apply it is where I get coverage and it doesn’t give much more. This just means that I have to apply more than I usually would. But once it’s applied and blended it’s amazing. The concealer does a good job of neutralizing the blueness I have under my eyes without being really stark and high coverage. I’d be lying to say that it doesn’t crease, especially because I have a very expressive face. But it took a while to crease and didn’t crease that bad. I would say it more just settled into my lines that high creases. From afar you really don’t notice it. I’m not the hugest fan of their shade range because I find that they have more undertones than shades. I wasn’t too confident when picking out a shade, but luckily the shade 20 Soft Sand worked for me. Overall I’m enjoying this concealer and excited to use it more.

The product I’m still on the fence about is the NYX Lift & Snatch Brow Tint Pen. Both Allana and RachhLoves raved about this brow pen. This pen has a micro-brush tip pen that is supposed to be buildable to create hairlike strokes. The pen is supposed to be smudge and transfer-resistant with 16-hour wear. I got the shade Espresso because that’s what I use in NYX’s other brow products.

I think this is a good brow pen, I’m just not sure I like brow pens. When I first tried the pen it had been ages since I’d gotten my brows done. I had to be so precise since my eyebrows didn’t have much shape so it took forever for me to do my brows. The pen is quite pigmented so it created a bold brow very quickly. I have since gotten my brows done so now it’s just a case of filling in the bald spots. I once again find that because the pen is so pigmented that it creates a very bold brow. That’s not necessarily a bad thing if I was doing full game and wanted something to balance out my face. But for every day it’s too much since I naturally have a lot of brow hairs. I think if you’re someone with not a lot of natural brow hairs you’ll love this because it’s easy to create the hairs. I’ll continue playing around with the pen because maybe there is just a learning curve, but for now, I’m not sold on the whole brow pen train.

And the final product I picked up was recommended by THREE Youtubers – Tati, Rachhloves and Jamie Paige. And that is the Maybelline Lifter Lip Gloss. This lip gloss was going around the internet as being a dupe for the Fenty Beauty lip glosses. Maybelline describes their glosses as having hyaluronic acid to deliver lasting hydrating and fuller-looking lips. I got the shade Moon, which is supposed to be a dupe for Fenty’s Fussy shade.

This might be crazy, but I think I prefer the Maybelline formula! The glosses look very similar on the lips, giving a subtle sparkle to the lip and a very juicy and shiny look. The Maybelline gloss is slightly thinner than the Fenty one, which I prefer. I don’t like a very thick and sticky gloss, I prefer something I little thinner and smoother. That being shade, the Fenty one does last longer so it depends on what you rather have. There is no doubt you can’t bet the Maybelline price. The internet loves this gloss and I’d have to agree with the internet that they are pretty great!

And that’s my thoughts on the beauty products I picked up based on beauty YouTuber’s recommendations. If you enjoyed this post let me know and maybe I’ll do a part two? And if you’ve used any of these products let me know if you agree or disagree with my thoughts!

xoxo

Lea

Beauty, empties, Makeup, Review, Skincare

Product Empties July 2021

July 20, 2021July 20, 2021by Lea1 Comment

Hey guys! It’s been a couple of months but today I’m going to be sharing some of my product empties. I always like doing these posts because I’ve finished the product so I have a good idea of what the product is like. So let’s get into it.

The first product is perfume! Back in the spring, I got into wearing perfume daily. I never wore perfume much and found all my perfumes were just sitting unused. So I made it my mission to use them more and because of that, I finished the True Religion Hippie Chic. I’m 90% sure that this perfume is discontinued because it’s only available on Amazon and eBay. Which is fine with me because I wouldn’t repurchase it. This was the first perfume I got as a teenager and while it’s a good teen scent it’s not as much my thing anymore. The notes are Red Apple, Raspberry, Pomegranate, Hibiscus, Lily-of-the-Valley, Star Jasmine, Wood and Musk. It’s much fruitier than what I typically go for. It was good for when I was a teen but now I like other scents.

The next product is the Cetaphil Extra Gentle Daily Scrub. I’m currently on the hunt for my favourite exfoliator. I liked the Murad AHA/BHA Exfoliating Cleanser and I’ve been comparing everything I tried to that one. I like an exfoliator that has something physical to it, but not necessarily St. Ives level of physical. That’s why I liked the Murad one because it was slightly physical but also chemical as well. This Cetaphil one was just too gentle for me. It says that there are micro-fine bamboo particles but I didn’t feel any. It wasn’t bad, like my face still felt clean after using it. But it was more similar to using a cleanser than an exfoliator. Still on the hunt for my favourite but it might be the Murad one.

I think the next product has been discontinued or at least renamed. I finished the Tarte Ready, Set, Radiant Skin mist and I can’t seem to find it anywhere. But on the Tarte website, they have the Rainforest of the Sea 4-in-1 Mist which sounds similar. Either way, I’m not sure I would repurchase it. The mist isn’t the finest and sprays droplets everywhere. I also found that the formula is more hydrating than setting down makeup. Then I read somewhere that it’s good to wet the face before applying hyaluronic acid and decided to try this mist and loved it for that use! Since the mist wasn’t fine it got my face wet quickly. It also provided extra skincare benefits on top of the hyaluronic acid. And finally, it has a cucumber scent that is nice while applying skincare. The reason why I wouldn’t repurchase is I think I can get a mist for cheaper than this that would do a similar job.

Taking a step away from skincare, I had a deluxe sample of the Drunk Elephant Sili Body Lotion. This lotion is meant to restore dry, dull and irritated skin. It was a thin liquid but was quite hydrating. It was easy to spread all over the body and sank into the skin easily. The scent was pretty basic. There is no added fragrance so it just smells like a combo of the marula and shea butter in the lotion. If you don’t like overly fragranced body lotions, then you’ll love this. I, on the other hand, love scented body lotions so I won’t be picking this up again because the scent was pretty basic.

Another body product, this one I did not like, was the Quo Vanilla Brulee Salt Scrub. I was looking to try a new body scrub and saw this one. I wasn’t able to smell it so I just bought it on a whim. I thought it would be a nice vanilla scent but no it just smells like straight-up salt and vanilla extract – not very pleasant. I also find that the scrub melts away easily so I can’t get a good scrub in before it dissolves. Was not a fan and will not be repurchasing.

The next product is a sample of the Origins Checks and Balances Frothy Face Wash. This cleanser should be right up my alley because it’s meant for oily skin to remove makeup, impurities and surface oils. But I found it was a little too aggressive. My face always felt tight after I used it. It also has a strong mint scent, which isn’t my favourite. I always had to hold my breath while using it. Overall not my favourite and I wouldn’t purchase a full size.

If you’ve read any of my product empties posts, then you’ll know I love the Fresh Soy Face Cleanser. Sephora usually has the deluxe sample as a point perk so I always have one kicking around. And for a good reason because this cleanser is gentle but effective. This is a great second cleanser to use after removing makeup because it’ll get rid of any leftover makeup and cleanse the skin but not strip it. And I love the light cucumber scent. You need to try this cleanser if you haven’t already yet.

A product that I haven’t finished but will be throwing away is the Wander Beauty Lift Off Purifying and Brightening Peel Off Mask. I know that peel-off masks were big a couple of years ago and I had this one kicking around because I got it in my Boxycharm. I decided to use it the other day after not using it in months. It broke me out so badly. And not just around my chin, where I normally get acne. I had small pimples all over my face. I know for sure it was because of this mask. It might be expired but I believe my face just doesn’t like peel-off masks so I decided to get rid of it.

Now one of my favourite products that I have already repurchased is the Ole Henriksen Balancing Force Oil Control Toner. I can’t live without this stuff. I do notice a difference in the texture of my skin when I don’t use it. The toner evens out my face and helps keep the oils at bay. If you deal with texture skin and oiliness, you need this toner in your life.

Now for a drugstore product, I have the NYX Dewy Finish Setting Spray. I’ve mentioned this spray quite a bit on my blog because it’s so good. It helps melt all the product into the skin and makes me look dewy but not oily. And it’s also so affordable, it’s only $11. This is like my third bottle and I see myself buying more in the future. I purchase the Radiant Finish to test it out and see if it’s any different compared to the dewy.

And the final product is my BareMinerals Translucent Powder Duo. If you’ve been keeping up with my project pan then this powder is probably familiar to you. I finished the matte side of the powder and don’t like the glow side so I decided it was time to just toss it out. It feels pretty good to finish a makeup product up because that doesn’t happen very often. Unfortunately, the powder has been discontinued so there isn’t much point in me giving a review since you can’t purchase it. But I just wanted to mention it since I’m proud that I finished it!

And those are the products that I finished recently! Let me know in the comments if you guys have tried any of these products before and what your thoughts were on them.

xoxo

Lea

Beauty, Drugstore, Makeup, Review

13 Best Beauty Under $15

June 25, 2021June 24, 2021by Lea1 Comment

Hey guys! I’m back with the second part of my best affordable beauty posts. If you haven’t read my best beauty under $10 post, I highly recommend checking it out because it’s full of good products. Today everything will be under $15, which seems to be the most popular price category in the Canadian drugstore. In today’s post, everything is listed in Canadian dollars.

Best drugstore, affordable beauty under $15

Starting with the base, I have two concealers. The first is the NYX Can’t Stop Won’t Stop Concealer. If you’re looking for a full coverage concealer this is the one to get. It has a matte formula so this is great if you want something for full glam looks. There are 24 different shades and it’s $12.49. My other concealer recommendation is the Makeup Revolution Conceal & Define Concealer. This concealer is also full coverage and matte but it’s so lightweight. And they are 50 different shades so you’ll be able to find one that matches. The best part is that the concealer is only $12.99.

You don’t need to spend a lot of money to get a good setting spray! The NYX Dewy Finish Setting Spray is one of my favourites. It helps set my makeup and makes everything look more natural and seamless. Unlike some other dewy sprays I’ve tried, this doesn’t make me look oily or just spray a bunch of glitters all over my face. And at only $11.49, it’s half the price of Mac Prep + Prime Fix+.

One of my favourite drugstore mascara is the Covergirl Exhibitionist Mascara. I’m surprised that more people aren’t talking about this mascara because I think it’s a dupe for the TooFaced Better Than Sex mascara. The wands are identical and the formulas are quite similar. This mascara gives me volume and defined length. And no flaking or smudging. For $12.99 this is a great mascara (and it’s currently on sale).

If you want to get into false lases, then you have to go with Ardell lashes. They have so many different styles and they have multiple packs as well if there is a certain style you like. My favourites are the Ardell Faux Mink Demi Wispies. The lash band is invisible so it blends in seamlessly with my makeup. I find this style is on the more natural side where it adds volume but it’s not over the top nor too long. And they’re only $10.47, the perfect price if you don’t wear falsies very often or only once per pair.

My favourite drugstore brow pencil is the NYX Precision Brow Pencil. At first, I wasn’t a fan of the shape because it’s more oblong than a fine tip. But the shape is great for filling in brows quickly (perfect for when I’m running late in the morning 😝). The formula is stiff enough that I have good control but creamy enough that I can wipe away any mistakes. It has a spoolie attached which is always helpful to have when doing brows. The best part is that it’s only $12.99.

Maybelline makes great powder face products. If you read my top five products from my top five brands then these products might be familiar. For face powder, the Maybelline Fit Me Matte + Poreless is the best at $11.99. This powder helps set my makeup without making me look cakey. For bronzer check out the Maybelline FaceStudio City Bronzer, costing you $10.99. The colour is gorgeous, just make sure to use a light hand because this stuff is pigmented. And finally, for highlight check out the Maybelline Master Chrome Metallic Highlighter. This is the best highlight you can get at the drugstore and it’s only $13.99.

If you want to complete the face and get a good blush, then check out the Milani Rose Powder Blushes. These blushes are quite finely milled so they look so soft and ethereal on the face. And they are buildable so you don’t have to worry about accidentally applying too much. These Milani blushes are only $11.49.

I have two different lipstick options. The first is a classic, the Maybelline Colour Sensational lipsticks. These are some of the best lipsticks at the drugstore and their formula reminds me a lot of MAC lipsticks. There are over 30 different shades and they’re only $10.99. If you want something a little creamier then check out the Burt’s Bee Natural Lipsticks. Not as many shade choices but they feel so comfortable on the lips and are only $10.99.

Finally, if you want something shiny, then check out the Burt’s Bee Natural Lip Shine. The squeezy tube makes it easy to apply to the lips. The formula is on the sheerer side colour-wise but delivers great shine to the lips. The lip shines are $10.99.

And those are my best makeup products under $15. I hope you guys enjoyed this post and found it helpful! Let me know what some of your affordable makeup products are. I have one more installment in this series, under $20, so stay tuned for that!

xoxo

Lea