I know by now, most of you makeup lovers have heard of the NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream.

It was literally one of the first liquid lipstick like items at the drugstore and although I didn't hate it, it was not a favorite of mine. Just recently, Nyx released Soft Matte Lipsticks in a traditional lipstick formulas, so of course I had to try them out to see if these perform better for me.




I purchased mine from Ulta and they retail for $6.99.

According to the Ulta Website, these are basically a softer version of a bold matte lip. They have the save Powdery matte finish as the Soft Matte Lip cream with a velvety yet soft color. Another unique feature of this lip color is the bullet. It has an almost square bullet that allows you to easily line and fill in your lips. It's kind of shaped like the Full Throttle lipsticks (Post), but much thicker.

The real question is are these better than Nyx's original matte lipsticks? How to they stand up the the original Matte Lip Creams?

Swatches

Miami Intl (deep fuschia pink)

Tel Amo Del Amo (Blue toned Red)

When in Rome (midtoned Pink nude)

Review

Packaging 4

The packaging of these lipsticks are actually kind of cute. The color matches the color in the tube and you get .128 oz of product. The most unique thing about the packaging in the shape of the bullet. It's square and pointed like a big lip liner tip to make it easier to line and fill the lips. I actually thought that was very functional, although the tip isn't going to stay pointed with continued use.

Pigmentation 3

The pigmentation of this lipstick is actually quite good. It goes on to the lips opaque, but I don't find the shades to be super vibrant. The finish is kind of dull, but I would wear these to work. I think these are perfect for someone who don't need maximum color pay off on an every day basis. It's not my personal preference, but I think anyone can make these work if you end up liking the formula as a whole.

Performance 3

This is not my favorite Nyx lip formula at all!! I found that performance wise it really fell short. First, it doesn't go on with the smoothest application and kind of tugs on the lips. This could be due to the shape of the applicator, but most likely its the actual lipstick. All of the colors really dried out my lips too. These were not very comfortable and came off as soon as I ate something.

 Final Thoughts

Although I love Nyx, these fell short for me. I am definitely going to stick to their original matte formula because its more pigmented and lasts a lot longer on the lips! I even like the Original Matte Lip Creams better than this. I find the apply easier and last longer.

Have you tried these Lipsticks out yet? Drop me a comment below!

 

Follow me on Bloglovin', Instagram, and Pinterest! 

Also like my new Facebook page, where I will be sharing all of my favorite beauty Obsessions!

 Am I the only person who put on highlighter even when you're not wearing a full face of makeup?

If you've been with me for a while, you know there are two things that I obsess over when it comes to makeup, highlighter and Nyx! So when I saw that Nyx was dropping yet another highlighter, but in liquid form I had to run and pick one up to try out.

The Away We Glow highlighter is a liquid illuminator that is highly reflective and super light weight. These can be worn sheer or built all the way up to a full on blinged out highlighter. My favorite way to apply these is under a traditional powder highlighter. Not only does it prolong the wear of the highlighter, but it also takes the sheen up to the next level.  OMG, the formula of these highlighters is so creamy and sticks to the skin for a long lasting finish!!

I also love that these are super easy to apply! You just dab some on directly onto your face from the applicator and blend out with your fingers or a stippling brush.

So what's the final verdict on this highlighter?

I purchased mine from Ulta beauty here and there are 9 available shades.

Swatches

Gold Rush (Mid tone bronze gold)

In sunlight: Swatched from applicator and sheered out with a finger

In natural light: Swatched from applicator and sheered out with a finger

Review

Packaging 3

This liquid highlighter comes in packaging that looks a lot like a liquid lipstick. It contains .22 oz of product and retails for 6.99. The doe foot applicator is tube has a rounded at the end, which I found handy for product placement. The texture of the actual highlighter is similar to the Nyx Cream eye shadows. Very gelee' like, but still really creamy. When dried, the product sets to a sheen powder like finish.

Pigmentation 4

Straight out of the tube, this highlighter is completely opaque like a cream eye shadow. Upon applying one layer and blending out with my finger, I found it to sheer out nicely. The shade I have Gold Rush does not contain any glitter particles, which is a plus for me. In the swatch above, I layered two layers of product so y'all can see just how the product builds up.

Performance 4.5

 This highlighter performs well on the skin, especially when wearing it as a subtle highlight. It is not glittery and gives the most beautiful, yet subtle sheen. This definitely give off a lit from within vibe and is soooo worth it from the price point. The formula is pretty long lasting and lasts even longer layered with a traditional powder highlighter. This product is perfect for everyday use and isn't over the top dramatic.


Try out this highlighter. You will not be disappointed! I would definitely purchase other colors, but I found that a lot of the shades were ideal for lighter skin tones.

Follow me on Bloglovin', Instagram, and Pinterest! 

Also like my new Facebook page, where I will be sharing all of my favorite beauty Obsessions!

As I mentioned in my 2017 Goals post, I am really working on becoming a home owner this year.

Apart of that goal, I had to do a serious over haul of my finances last year and cut so much spending. Before revamping my budget, I was definitely the person who didn't think much about spending money on things I felt I could afford. The following easy to follow tips have really helped me cut my spending by at least 50% and I feel much closer to my goals. I have found by sacrificing a little, I have learned and gained a lot of extra coin.

1. Plan Expenses Ahead of time

The first step to staying on budget is to know all of your expenses and pay them before purchasing anything else. I like to pay my bills before I budget for anything else. I also try to account for and set spending limits for any events or things that I have going on too ahead of time. For example, a friend of mine is getting married soon and I know I will probably want to buy a new dress for her bridal shower, so I put that in my budget at the beginning of the month and make sure I don't over spend and by adding it into the budget, I still save the same amount of money.

 

2. Create Shopping Lists Ahead of Time

This is soo helpful when going food shopping or even shopping in general. Before I head to the store, I make detailed list of the items I need and if there are any sales associated with them and only buy those items. That way, I do not end up with items I don't really need or something that I won't get to use. When I make list, I am much less wasteful.

 

3. Set up a Savings Account and Pay Yourself First

Always make sure you are paying yourself first. If possible, set an amount of money to be taken out of your pay check and routed to a separate savings account that isn't readily available to withdraw from. I personally use online banking (Capital One) as a separate savings account. It takes about 2 business days to transfer any money to my checking account so I think twice before I touch any of that money. This not only helps me to save money, but I also think twice about what I spend on since I can't easily transfer money from my savings.

 

4. Stop Frivolous Spending Habits

Impulse purchases are not your friend when trying to save money. Think about all of the random things that you buy just because they maybe on clearance or things that you buy on a whim.  A lot of the time, you don't need that random shirt that's 75% off  just because it's on sale.

Before purchasing, try taking 15 or 20 minutes to think about if you really want it or not. Another approach to this is to not buy the item for 24 hours. If after 24 hours, you still can't get it off of you mind go ahead and make the purchase. I do this all of the time with online purchases especially. I add things to my cart that I like, but wait 24 hours before actually pulling the trigger. I end up with a lot less stuff this way and a lot more money.

 

5. Give Yourself A Cash Allowance and Ditch the Debit Card

Another tip that has really helped me save money is to leave my Debit and Credit Card at home when I go out especially on the weekends. On Friday, I get an allotted amount out of my checking account and only spend that amount. This has really helped me not go over board in the mall or when I'm catching dinner with my friends. Recently on vacation, I used this method for spending and it really helped me not spend more money than I needed too. 

 Comment some of your favorite money Saving Tips in the Comments Below!

Follow me on Bloglovin', Instagram, and Pinterest! 

Also like my new Facebook page, where I will be sharing all of my favorite beauty Obsessions!

I have been building up a nice little makeup wish list for the past month and the Urban Decay Moondust palette was at the top of my list. I had purchased 2 of the Moondust single shadows over the summer and totally fell in love with them. So when my friend Dana surprised me with the Moondust palette for my birthday I swear I almost cried from excitement.

Anything with glitter sends me over the top and this palette is no exception. It is absolutely gorgeous! Since, I already own a few of the shadows I can already speak to the formula of these shadows and want to share my thoughts and swatches with you all. Let's start with the Urban Decay website description:



"Sexy, twinkling sparkle with a ton of depth and movement. Get ready to send your glitter addiction into overdrive with eight otherworldly NEW shades of planet Earth’s sparkliest shadow in our first-ever Moondust Eyeshadow Palette."

The Moondust eye shadows have a very unique formula, in that they are essentially a hybrid of an eye shadow and a pressed glitter. There can also be used dry for a wash of shimmer or wet for a more concentrated look. This palette retails for $49 and each has .02 oz of product. It also features 8 vibrant shades that are much more bright than the shades in the regular line. Let's look at a few swatches before I give my final thoughts:

Swatched with no primer

swatched with Nyx Dewy Setting Spray as Fixing Spray

As you can see from the swatches, these are absolutely gorgeous wet and dry. My favorites are Spectrum and Element , because I know I will get the most wear out of those colors.

Overall, these fare out so well on the eyes. They are extremely glittery and the glitter is fine so it does have the tendency to get all over the face when used dry. For that reason, I definitely complete my eye shadow before dong my foundation with this. These are the perfect lid shades and also great for patting on top of other shadows. Eye shadow primer or a glitter glue is a must when wearing these on the eyes wet or dry and will make the colors even more vibrant and opaque.


This palette is sooo fun and a perfect addition to my collection for evening looks and will be perfect for Holidays. I wouldn't stray away from these during the day either because when used dry the effect they give is much more subtle. Below are a few looks I completed using the Moondust shadows as my lid shades.

Follow me on Bloglovin', Instagram, and Pinterest!

 

Share this Post!!

Sunglasses have always been a wardrobe essential for me. Not only do they protect your eyes from the sun, but also add a touch of edge to any look. I personally love simple black sunglasses, but I absolutely live for statement sunglasses. From Round Frames to Bold and Colorful, if it looks good on me, I will wear them.

This Spring, statement glasses are a big trend and I want to share some of my favorite pairs from my sunglasses collection. Most of these glasses are from random places like Ebay and Amazon, but I also feature some pairs from Forever 21 and Nordstrom.

Forever 21 - 7.90

Ebay - 13.99 Similar here.

Forever 21 - $7.90

White frames are Chloe from NordstromAdd caption

 

Follow me on Bloglovin', Instagram, and Pinterest! 

Also like my new Facebook page, where I will be sharing all of my favorite beauty Obsessions!

Here are some cool frames I found, feel free to check them out! All of these styles are under $50 too!

Recently, I posted an Ulta haul that featured a bunch of products I picked up in the month of December, including some brand new Nyx Cosmetics launches for 2017.

One of the items I picked up was the Duo Chromatic Illuminating Powder in "Crushed Bloom" and I have been wearing this non stop so I just had to run and tell y'all all about this powder!

These Duo Chromatic Powders seem to be Nyx's answer to The Anastasia Beverly Hill's Moonchild Palette and the just launched Kat Von D Alchemy palette. The real question is, do these measure up?

These are available at Ulta and on the Nyx website and retail for $6.99. Ulta describes these as " silky powders that blend like a dream". The formula also contains light catching pearls that look different from every angle, which really intrigued me because a lot of highlighters have duo chrome claims, but never get it right

Currently there are 5 available shades in this range.

Swatches

Crushed Bloom

Review

I will be rating all aspects based on Pigmentation, Packaging, and Performance on a scale from 1 - 5.

Packaging 4

The packing on this product is pretty standard and not to special. At .21oz, there is a bunch of product so I can basically never see myself using the whole thing. The texture of the powder is actually really silky and smooth, which will help the powder blend well.

Pigmentation 4

Crushed Bloom is a pink tone highlighter with opal reflect. The glitter particles are minimal, so this powder gives a sheeny glow and is not a glitter bomb, which I prefer. This shade is definitely going to be a blush topper for my girls that are lighter. On dark skin, this is a gorgeous highlight for any one who likes be stand out. The pigmentation on this shade is amazing, its swatches opaque, but doesn't lose its color integrity when sheered out! Meaning you actually can see the duochromatic effect on your face.

Performance 5

Piggy backing off the pigmentation, this also performed really well on my face. I spent about 2 weeks wearing this under different conditions and it lasted about 6 hrs when I had on a full face of makeup. When I wore it with a bare face, I found that it didn't last as long, but I still got about 4 hours of wear. For application, I primarily used a fan brush and applied it sparsely on the high points of my face and found that that worked out really well, but you could also use a blush brush. Lastly, this blends out much better than I expected! I also love that you able to build up the intensity so it can be super subtle or a full on pink highlighter.

Does it measure up to the ABH Moonchild Glow Kit?

I think these powders are a good alternative to the ABH Moonchild palette. Especially if you know you won't use all of the shades, 'cause I mean who really needs a green highlighter.
I swatched the shade Pink Heart from the Moonchild Kit next to Crushed Bloom and found it to be almost identical except Pink Heart has a tad bit more glitter and only slightly more reflective. On the skin they honestly look the same ! So if you want the Moonchild look without paying the price, these are definitely your best bet.

Edit:

I did end up picking up two more shades: Snow Rose and Lavender Steel so I want to add some pictures and swatches here.

L to R: Snow Rose, Lavender Steel, Peach Kiss from Makeup Revolution

For a Full Review on the ABH Moonchild Glow Kit click HERE.

Here are a few of my other Nyx Faves

NYX Bright Idea Illuminating Stick Review

NYX Vivid Brights Eyeliner Review

NYX Prismatic Eyeshadow Review 

NYX Ombre Blush Review

NYX Ombre Lip Duo Review

NYX Electro Liner Review

Follow me on Bloglovin', Instagram, and Pinterest! 

Also like my new Facebook page, where I will be sharing all of my favorite beauty Obsessions!