NYX has come to Ireland! Overview, lots of photos and swatches!

It's here!  I think I've been more excited about the news that budget brand NYX was coming to Ireland more than anything else this year because any time I've been in New York, I've tried to stock up on products but now I can get them anywhere.  I fear for my bank balance but what can you do!

Last week, a load of goodies arrived at Girlie Towers and that meant one thing, I had to go in search for more because as soon as I saw what they sent, The Want went into overdrive and all hell broke loose.  That's the mark of a true makeup junkie isn't it?  You get sent stuff and then go and buy more! Ah well, it was for the blog and all *ahem*  So yes, I haven't tested everything properly so this will be more of an overview and swatch fest rather than reviews, but have no doubt that you'll be seeing a lot of these goodies on the blog over the coming weeks as I try to pack as much on to my face as possible!

Face

As someone with oily combo skin, I can't wait to try the NYX Stay Matte But Not Flat liquid foundation and if it helps me through the summer months without needing to powder my skin, then we'll be on to a winner.  The same goes for the NYX Photogenic Concealer.  I've tried it a little bit and so far so great!  The consistency seems to be nice and creamy, and the formula is pigmented, so I can't wait to slap it on my visage this week and hide my zombie dark circles.  I bought the NYX Wonder Pencil a while ago and it's a great little tool for doing pinpoint concealing and you can use it on the waterline too to brighten up the eyes, under your brow bone and as a lip liner to stop any lip products from bleeding or feathering.

On to blushes.  I went to buy Taupe a while back online but got caught up in the Butter Glosses and forget to get it, so I finally found it over the weekend and can't wait to try it out as a contour.  Of the three I have, it's the least pigmented but looks cool toned enough to chisel me out some cheekbones. I'm very into cheekbones now after seeing Maleficent over the weekend.  Natural is a soft coraly peachy pinky shade that's brighter in person than in the swatch below and I think I'll be getting lots of wear out of it this summer.  Dusty Rose is a shade I bought ages ago, lost and then recently found.  It looks like a lovely autumn blush or one I'll wear when I want to look all professional!  I'll report back on my scientific findings when I get stuck into them properly, scientific findings being do they give me Angeline Jolie cheekbones and give me a flush on the cheeks, the likes of which have never been seen before.

L-R: NYX Blush Natural, Taupe, Dusty Rose

The NYX Bronzer & Blusher combo is one of those multifunctional products we like to bring away with us on holidays because it's lightweight and has a grand sized mirror in it too.  It's half bronzer, half blush and the duo Ibiza has a warm bronze shade and a shimmer pink blush that fair skinned ladies will enjoy.

Eyes

I've a few other NYX palettes in my stash from over the years and am excited to play with the NYX Love in Paris A La Mode eyeshadow palette which has 9 neutral shades and a mix of mattes and shimmers.  First impressions are that the mattes aren't great, but the shimmers are lahffly and easy to work with.  A full review will be up soon.

Any beauty junkie worth their salt will have heard of the NYX Jumbo Eye Pencils and they've been long revered as a fantastic base for shadows, keeping them in place longer and making the colours stand out more.  Purple Velvet is a wonderful metallic shade that will make my green eyes stand out and Milk, well Milk is the one that I searched New York for but couldn't find.  Sheered out, this white shade makes lighter eyeshadows become even more pigmented when used as a base and adds lightness to an eye makeup look too.  A must have.

For eyebrows, the NYX Auto Eyebrow Pencil has a pencil on one end and a brush on the other.  Now, I was given the shade Auburn to play with which is far too warm a shade for my brows but the pencil itself is nice and hard so I'll most likely pick up my shade soon and give it a proper whirl.  If I was being really picky, I'd love for something to be under the cap that the brush is on.  I instinctively pulled it off assuming there was something under the brush, but no, 'tis empty FYI.

Finally the NYX Felt Tip Liner in Extreme Black was a bit of a let down on first impressions.  I generally find that felt tip liners feather on me and you can see in the swatch on my hand below that it does.  Also, my liner seemed to have a greeny tinge to it and wasn't extreme black as the name suggested.  What I did love about it is the big nib and it helped create a fine point on the flick.  I found I had to do one eye, put the cap back on and stand it upside down because it dried out on me, but again, that's what I generally find with felt tip liners.   

Lips

It wouldn't be an NYX post without mention of the Butter Glosses.  I've six in my collection now and yes, I'll be getting more because these are amazing!

I already had three in my stash from an online purchase a while ago and Tiramisu is still one of my all time favourite lip products and you can see these three in action here.

L-R: NYX Butter Gloss Tiramisu, Cherry Cheese Cake, Peach Cobbler

The three new additions to my Butter Gloss stash are Apple Strudel, Peaches and Cream and Creme Brule.  Don't they make you happy to just look at?  I love how the packaging shows you what the colour is exactly and I really do need to complete the collection I think...  I've now just realised that I'm missing Strawberry Parfait, the one that was sent to me and I probably have it on my desk at work because it's gorgeous and I had it on all last week.

L-R: NYX Butter Gloss Apple Strudel, Peaches and Cream, Creme Brule

I'll be doing a full review with lip swatches soon so I'll save you the big description now, but long story short, you need these.

L-R: NYX Butter Gloss Creme Brule, Apple Strudel, Peaches and Cream

You know I do love my lip crayons too and after being sent the NYX Jumbo Lip Pencil in Plush Red, I knew I was going to have to try more and with no testers in the chemist, I had to eyeball it.

I bought Pink Brown (left) which is nowhere near pink or brown when applied!  It's a peachy shade with gold shimmer and is slightly too frosty for my liking, but I'll make it work.  It's like Nars Orgasm in lipstick form.  Plush Red (middle) is absolutely STUNNING and is the perfect blue toned red shade that makes me feel glamorous when I tried it on so I shall be pairing that with a winged liner look to go full Hollywood glam soon!  Finally, I also bought Soft Fuchsia (right) and again, that ain't fuchsia!  It's one of those brown neutral shades that brings me back to the 90s and I love it.

L-R: NYX Jumbo Lip Pencil Pink Brown, Plush Red, Soft Fuchsia

Formula wise, these guys are super soft and creamy, leading me to believe that they might bleed and move around a bit, but I'll test them out properly and let you know.  I also wondered how I was going to be able to sharpen them and because they're so soft, I'll be doing that soon but also because of the softness, I worried that things would get messy when I went to sharpen them.  A quick search on Google and it seems that all you have to do is set them in the freezer for 15 minutes and then sharpen them.  I'll try it out myself and let you know how I get on with them.

L-R: NYX Jumbo Lip Pencil Soft Fuchsia, Pink Brown, Plush Red

Finally we have the NYX Lip Liner Pencil in Nude Beige which is a light brown liner that again, is very 90s appropriate and I'll be getting stuck into some nude lips soon.  Speaking of nude lips, can we take a look at the NYX lipstick in shade 617 Summer Love which has the potential of being a fabulous nude with it's pinky brown undertones.  I'm very intrigued at the NYX Matte Lipsticks and the shade 01 Nude is an odd name for a bright peach colour!  But I'll be testing it out properly and will let you know how I get on.  Last but not least is one of the regular NYX lipsticks again in the shade 550 Indian Pink and it seems to be a darker lipstick version of Nars Orgasm but is more wearable compared to the Jumbo Lip Pencil in Pink Brown.

Top:  NYX Lip Liner Nude Beige.
L-R: NYX Lipstick Summer Love, NYX Matte Lipstick Nude, NYX Lipstick Indian Pink

L-R: NYX Lipstick Summer Love, Indian Pink, NYX Matte Lipstick Nude,  NYX Lip Liner Nude Beige

Lads, all I can say is if you find yourself upon an NYX stand, then buy stuff because a) we don't have a full list of stockists other than this one which doesn't have the right name of the pharmacy I found it in and b) you can bet that stands will be bare once any beauty junkie comes across them!  I got my bits in the Northwood Pharmacy Santry and picked up the last Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk, so sorry if they haven't restocked it yet!

I'm hoping to get a full list of prices and will update the post but lads, this is a very good thing.  I feel that all is well in the world now that NYX is here and can't wait to get stuck in to all of these products properly.

Has anything taken your fancy here or do you know what I need to try next?  Suggestions welcome!