NYX Full Size Sample Surprise

Guess what showed up on my doorstep the other day?

A box FULL of NYX Cosmetics full size products for me to sample. I don't remember ever requesting them; perhaps I entered a sweepstakes & won, but no matter how it happened, I was pretty excited to find a bunch of FREE MAKE-UP on my doorstep.

It was all bundled up in pink tissue paper & placed sweetly inside a BEAUTIFUL black lacy drawstring bag.

This is what I found:

NYX Provocateur Mascara

NYX Collection Noir Liquid Black Liner

NYX Extreme Lip Cream in Bonfire

NYX Bronzer & Blusher Combo in Bora Bora

NYX 5 Color Shadow in The Caribbean Collection: I Dream of St. Marteen

First I played with the eyeshadow palette.

The palette consists of 5 neutral colors. I wear a lot of neutrals so I was really excited to give these a try. I have to admit, I had a hard time putting them on dry. They didn't show up on my skin which is VERY pale to begin with, but then I tried getting my brush wet first & WOW. That did the trick.

The dark brown is a matte color. Although it looks glittery in the palette, it doesn't have much shimmer on the eye. But it is a pretty color, especially in the crease. The camel color didn't show up at all on my eyes wet or dry so I'm not a huge fan of that guy. He's pretty much the exact color of my eyelids. :-) I bet he'd be a lot prettier on someone whose skin tone isn't like mine. He is also a matte color. The middle shade of brown is pretty & DOES have a shimmer to it. I like to brush him over my eyelid & he sparkles. (I love sparkly things.) My most used color in the palette is the white guy. I use him over my entire eyelid. He has a little bit of shimmer & is a beautiful base color for your eye. I can already tell I'm going to be running out of him first. I use him almost every day. And the last little guy is a gold that I LOVE. He is VERY shimmery & is GORGEOUS just about anywhere on your eye. He's an easy way to dress up your look.

I have a problem with my make-up wearing out by the end of the day & I HATE having to re-apply it. These guys withstood the all day test. They were as beautiful at the end of the day as they were when I applied them at 5 am that morning. I wear them all the time now & love them. I will most likely be purchased more eye colors from NYX. I'm loving them.

The 2nd product I tried was the Bronzer/Blusher Combo. I tried to do a sample picture of it on my hand, but the camera couldn't do it justice. I've never been a huge fan of bronzers, but this combo works for me. The blush is the perfect neutral shade & literally adds just a small hint of warmth to your cheeks. Add a little bit of the golden bronzer & you don't look like you've got make-up caked on your face. You look like you just got kissed from the sun. I LOVE NATURAL LOOKS LIKE THIS. This guy did NOT stand up to the all-day test for me & I found I had to reapply him half way through the day, but blush is quick to reapply. I have yet to discover a blush that stays on ALL DAY.

I've never used liquid eyeliner before so it was fun to be adventurous & try

NYX Collection Noir Liquid Black Liner.

I learned very quickly that liquid eyeliner is NOT EASY to put on. ha ha ha. I think it will get easier as I do it more & more. This eyeliner goes on a little TOO easily & stays there FOREVER. So if you can get the hang of it, it will be a LONG WEARING liner for you. As for me, I like my crayon-like liner from Cover Girl. . . . but I plan on practicing with the liquid liner on the weekends when I don't have to get up at the crack of dawn to get 5 kids up & out the door ASAP.

The NYX Xtreme Lip Cream was next on my agenda. I'm always looking for a good lipstick/cream/gloss/etc. that has great color & stays for hours. I have 5 kids to kiss on all day long so I want something that #1: DOESN'T kiss off, #2: DOESN'T dry out my lips, & #3: color that lasts as long as possible. I liked this lip cream. It went on smoothly & didn't dry out my lips. The color was vibrant & bright for several hours even after eating. I had to reapply after about 5 hours, but that's pretty good for a lipstick. It DID kiss off however. But 2 out of 3 is pretty good. Every time I kissed my little 1 year old, he'd get a bright pink mark on his head that WOULD NOT clean off (because the color really does stay for a while). But I did like how moisturized my lips felt & the color did stay for quite some time. I wish they would have sent me a different color than Bonfire. It was FUSCHIA PINK & kind of makes me look like I'm "trying too hard" so I don't think I'll be wearing that particular color again, but I'm interested in trying another one of their lip creams in a different, more neutral color.

And last, but certainly NOT LEAST is the NYX Provocateur Mascara. Boy was this a diamond in the rough. I almost just put it in the back of my make-up drawer because all mascaras are created equal right? NO. NOT RIGHT. This stuff is AMAZING. Out of every product in this bag, THIS was my FAVORITE. It's a nifty little contraption. There are two lids to unscrew. The lower lid has a big fluffy brush & application on your top lashes is a DREAM. Then you unscrew the itty bitty lid from the very top & you find a LONG skinny wand with a nice little brush at the end tailored just for your LOWER LASHES. No more mess on the bottom of your eyes. I would pay out the nose for this stuff! It is AWESOME! I need to order 10 more so I can always have it on hand. My lashes look fuller, blacker, & are NOT CLUMPY AT ALL. This is a miracle worker for sure.

So there you have it. Thank you NYX for sending me such a fun sample bag. Feel free to send me ANYTHING ANYTIME. ;-) You made my day!