NYX Macaron Lippies part 2 Review & Swatches

In case you've been dying with anticipation, you can all breathe a sigh of relief because I'm finally bringing you part 2 of the Nyx Macaron collection.
If you need a refresher on part 1, you can find that here.

Right now all NYX products are currently 40% off at Ulta so if you wanted to try these, now is the perfect time to pick some up!

My complaint that I mentioned in the first half still rings true for the other half- as you can see on the right.
--Alright my first complaint comes from the packaging. Admittedly you get what you pay for. All the lipsticks above that are turned all the way up are the ones that sort of broke.
So the 3 that are low were fine...but the others..when I went to twist up the lipstick for the first time, they were hard to twist and when they came undone they kind of snapped... It's super hard to explain but when you twist the lipstick up as you normally would, it starts to slide back down and does not stay up. The only way to get it to stay up is to twist it all the way.
This makes application a little difficult but I don't mind too much. It's just a minor inconvenience.
I did find other reviews that mentioned it so obviously it's not just me. Hopefully they will fix this issue in future productions.

This second half contains all of my favorites!

From top to bottom we have: Black Sesame, Blue Velvet, Violet, Key Lime, Pistachio, and Coconut

Gorgeous, right! So pigmented and fun!

Black Sesame lip swatch (with flash)

So first we have Black Sesame. This is a true corpse-style lipstick. It's gray and it's fabulous.

Black Sesame lip swatch, daylight bulb

I honestly like it a lot more than I thought I would!

Blue Velvet lip swatch with flash

Blue Velvet is one of the best! It's so vibrant, pigmented, and creamy. The only way I could love this more is if it were a little more matte.

Blue Velvet daylight bulb

Definitely a fun summer color! It reminds me of the OCC lip tar Pool Boy.

Violet lip swatch (with flash)

Violet is FANTASTIC. If you have been wanting a purple lipstick, this is definitely one to snap up. It had the most pigmentation out of the whole collection, and was one of the creamiest ones as well. It just looks so great!

Violet lip swatch, daylight bulb

Key Lime lip swatch with flash

Key Lime is a unique green lipstick. I normally would not reach for green lipstick but this doesn't look that bad! The pigmentation however is not great, and it definitely needs to be built up. I am not one who minds that though but as you can see above even with building it up it's a little patchy.

Key Lime lip swatch, daylight bulb

Next up is my favorite from the whole collection!

Pistachio lip swatch with flash

Pistachio is a cross between mint green and teal, depending on the lighting. It's just extremely unique and beautiful.

Pistachio with daylight bulb

Honestly my swatches do not do this color justice! This one is also very creamy and pigmented.

Last but not least we have a lipstick that will scare most- a white lipstick!
While I highly doubt I will ever wear a white lipstick on it's own, it can be used to lighten up other lipstick shades.

Coconut lip swatch with flash

Let's be real- it looks silly on me! I imagine that with a fun lip liner though, this could make a pretty gradient lip!

Coconut with daylight bulb

Even it if looks a little 'off', an opaque white lipstick is so hard to come by. Of course it took a few coats to get to this point but it IS possible!


So that completes the NYX Macaron collection (minus Rose).

The best: Violet, Blue Velvet, Pistachio - all are extremely vivid and pigmented and less tendency to settle into lip lines
The worst: Key Lime, Orange Blossom, Citron - as could be expected, the lighter, pale colors are a little more difficult. They take more effort to build up and settle really badly into fine lines. If you can get past this and make them work they are definitely unique shades that are a great addition to a makeup kit!

Have you picked up any lipsticks from this collection? Which are your favorites?

Till next time,
Ember Darling

NYX Macaron Lippies Part 1 Review & Swatches

It feels like forever ago when I first heard about the NYX Macaron Lippies (and yes, they are literally called Lippies. I'm not saying that to be obnoxious)..honestly it was before Thanksgiving.
I'm not kidding when I said I stalked NYX waiting for more word about these beautiful pastel lipsticks.

Well they finally went on sale a little bit ago and I bought them all right away! I did not buy Rose, the pink colored one because as I've mentioned before pink isn't really my color.

So basically this review has been a long time coming. They've been out for quite a while now. You can buy them on NYX's website or on Ulta's website. They will be coming to Ulta stores later this summer.

So the Macaron lipsticks are tons of fun colors at a drug store price- which has never really happened before. Everything from yellow to purple to white- all for around $6.

These lipsticks aren't what some people would consider every-day wear. But I enjoy wearing bright and unusual colors, so I do enjoy wearing them.

Lastly, I split these up into 2 posts because there are 11 lipsticks so that's a lot of pictures!

First off my order came in this adorable lace drawstring bag. I thought that was a nice touch. I can keep all of them together and find them easily in my makeup bag.

Here are all the Macaron Lippies in their glory. With my order I got a free gift of Nectar lip liner. I'm not one to complain about a free bonus gift!

Alright my first complaint comes from the packaging. Admittedly you get what you pay for. All the lipsticks above that are turned all the way up are the ones that sort of broke.
So the 3 that are low were fine...but the others..when I went to twist up the lipstick for the first time, they were hard to twist and when they came undone they kind of snapped... It's super hard to explain but when you twist the lipstick up as you normally would, it starts to slide back down and does not stay up. The only way to get it to stay up is to twist it all the way.
This makes application a little difficult but I don't mind too much. It's just a minor inconvenience.
I did find other reviews that mentioned it so obviously it's not just me. Hopefully they will fix this issue in future productions.

Part 1 is going to focus on these colors- Lavender, Citron, Chambord, Orange Blossom, Earl Grey

Hand swatches in the same order as above- Lavender, Citron, Chambord, Orange Blossom, Earl Grey

First up is Lavender. This is a true lavender color which is hard to find in a lipstick.  Most lean really pink. The picture above is taken with flash. 

Here is the lipstick taken with no flash, using daylight bulbs. The color seems a bit more washed out here but then again so does my skin. I just wanted to offer both versions of all the lipsticks so you can see what it looks like in various lighting situations.

This is definitely the type of lipstick that DOES look different depending on what kind of lighting you are in.

Citron, with flash

Citron applied quite patchy. The flash masked some of the imperfections but it definitely settled into dry spots.

It's really pigmented though, which is not easy to say about a yellow lipstick. 

Chambord, with flash

Chambord is a pretty good black lipstick for the price. It's not the best but it's far better than any other drugstore black lipstick I've tried.

Chambord, no flash

This color can also stain your lips if you aren't careful!

Orange Blossom, with flash

This one is very pale but I am surprised how much I like it. This is another color that clings to dry patches so it definitely pays to exfoliate and moisturize before using.

Something about this, I like it a lot. 

Last but not least we have Earl Grey which is a grey-toned pastel blue. This one was ok but the other blue in the collection is better, in my opinion.

I like this color mostly because it is unique. 

I have not worn any of these shades for an extended amount of time yet so I don't know the wear time yet. They don't dry matte and are quite creamy so I imagine it will have a normal wear time- not too long, but not too short either.

I picked these up with a 25% off coupon on NYX's website, and Ulta often has NYX for BOGO 1/2 off. So if you do want to pick these up, you can get them for even CHEAPER if you watch out for a sale. 

These are great colors if you're looking to step outside the box with your color choices, or maybe want to take some fun pictures or dress in a fun costume!

So that's part 1 of the NYX Macaron Lippies. Which one was your favorite? Did you buy any from this collection?

Let's talk about it in the comments!

Maybelline Bleached Neons collection swatches

When I heard about the Bleached Neons collection coming out for a limited time for Summer 2014, I heard nothing but good things which made me immediately keep an eye out for it around here.

The main hype in this collection is the color tattoos. They are apparently identical to the ones that came out for a limited time last year...just under a different name! This is a bummer for people who bought both unknowingly but awesome for people who were sad they missed them the first time around (guess which camp I fall into)

So the one thing I remember most about the original color tattoos was that they were fine on their own but they really shined when over a black eyeliner/eyeshadow. I couldn't wait to buy these and try the technique out for myself.

My goods! Left to right. Maybelline master drama Chromatic eyeliner in turn on the teal, Color tattoo in Sunwashed Sky , Color Show nail polish in Bleached in Peach, and Color Tattoo in Shimmering Sea

Here's a close up of the color tattoos and nail polish

I tried showing the tip of this eyeliner. It's soft and wonderful.

Maybelline Chromatic eyeliner in Turn on the teal - with flash

Take a look at that swatch. I'm in love! I'm actually sitting here wondering this asking myself why I haven't used it in any looks yet. I don't know why, it's gorgeous! 

Maybelline chromatic eyeliner Turn on the teal - daylight bulb, no flash

Anyway I'm definitely smitten with this eyeliner it's probably one of my favorites! 

I am very tempted to go and pick up some other shades, as there was a pink, purple and more.

Unfortunately i don't have any better pictures of the nail polish. I purchased it to use in a Easter manicure which I never got to post because after a certain point it seemed odd to post an easter mani, am I right? 

Swatches of that polish soon. But for what its worth, I liked it!

Now for the real star of the show- the color tattoos

Maybelline bleached neons Color tattoos

Here are the two side by side...they look a bit different in pictures but in person they looked very similar to be honest. If you can't see the lids, Sunwashed Sky is in the left, and Shimmering Sea is on the right.

Let's take a look at Sunwashed Sky first.

Right away you can tell it's beautiful

Here I have a swatch of the color tattoo on its own on the left, and over black eyeshadow on the right. As you can see, the shadow really comes alive when placed over a black base.

I love the duochorme shift that becomes much more obvious over a black shadow. I had some trouble layering it but I think it's because I tried doing it over a powder eyeshadow. I think these would look good over a creamy pencil liner- like the cheap wet n wild ones I got in the packs I've reviewed lately. 

I think Shimmering Sea is my favorite of the two!

I like the way Shimmering Sea  looks on its own. It looks good over black but not as much as Sunwashed Sky does. 

All in all I think there are several things worth picking up if you see this display. Basically everything in this post! Haha! I highly recommend all of it. 

Have you seen this display in your area? I'll be honest I was surprised when I saw they restocked ours after I picked htese up. It still remains mostly full when I pass by! So you should still find them near you but don't wait too long as these are limited edition!

Profusion Endless Jewels swatches

You might remember around Christmas time I bought a few Profusion palettes because they only seem to pop up at drugstores during the holiday season.

I never got a chance to talk about this one but I really wanted to share some swatches with you because the colors are so so pretty!

The outside sheds some light on what the inside looks like- it is a little booklet that has two levels of products inside.

The top layer looks like this and I'm sure you immediately see some great colors. My eye went straight to the mint green on the bottom, then gazed approvingly at the pink, purple, and navy shades.

This is the left side of the first row. Shimmery white, olive with a gold tint (Almost a khaki color) and a champagne.

this is the right side of the top row. More pale colors in the white/pink/cream family.

The 2nd row is extremely pigmented and includes some gorgeous colors.

The purple and blue from the middle row are so gorgeous!

This is the bottom row and you can see that beautiful minty color above. Ignore the bottom left color, I was trying to show a comparison to something but I don't remember what, ha!

When you flip open the top layer you can see the bottom layer which has 9 eyeshadows, 2 blushes, 6 lipglosses, and one crappy dual ended brush.

I must say I hate when companies put lip products and powder in the same area because the powder kicks up and makes the lip products gross. Luckily, I'm not a fan of using these types of lip products anyway so to me they are just a waste of space.

Here's a close up of the shadows because I'm so into the blue-teal shades!

yeah. they're beautiful.

It's hard to see the purple above so I included a second picture.

Here's the 2nd row of colors and the blushes. Honestly those colors look pretty similar to some of the colors in the top layer! The blushes are okay but nothing special to me. The one on the right is too orange or my skintone I think.

Here are swatches of the lip products which are not that impressive if we're being honest.

So this palette is one that I wish I could depot my favorites from and forget the rest. Even though all of the shadows are pigmented and pretty, I just don't have a use for most of them.

Overall, this palette was well worth the $5! If you caught it after Christmas was over, it was on clearance for even cheaper.

What do you think of this palette? Worth five bucks?!