Review/Swatch: NYX Black Label Lipstick in Hot Pink and Citrine

I hope not everyone's tired of me doing swatches and reviews of NYX products. I just love their products because most of their products are of great quality for the price. I'm also trying to finish posting reviews about the NYX products that I haven't posted yet, so just bear with me.

NYX Black Label lipstick

This is a step up from their usual NYX round lipstick. From the packaging, design and formulation, this thing looks and feel way better. Of course, this has a higher price point than the former.

Current Price:

P250-P300 depending on where you buy it and if there is a sale going on.

Place bought:

digitaltraincase (they already have a personal website where you can shop premium, hard to find and makeup for professional artists online since multiply has closed down already)

at the moment, I don't see the lipstick from the black label line in stock from their online store.

carton sleeve

actual lipstick

Packaging:

When I bought this, it came with a carton sleeve with nice lace designs at the sides. The product has a good weight to it and it doesn't feel "cheap" as compared to their round lipsticks.

The colors that you see at the bottom of the tube is the same as what you see on the actual lipstick bullet so it's easier to navigate what color you want in your lipstick stash. 

Scent:

it has a nice, faint, fruity scent to it. It actually reminds me of a candy called Frutella.

Ingredients:

ingredients are both indicated on the carton sleeve and on the lipstick cap so that we don't have to keep the carton sleeve after.

Formulation:

it glides on easily, but unlike the NYX round lipstick, it has a better adhesion/staying power on the lips to avoid feathering or smearing which I have experienced with some NYX round lipstick in the past.

Pigmentation:

very pigmented especially for the bolder colors like "citrine" which can act as a stain as it wears off your lips.

Swatches:

Citrine

full-on application

applied sparingly

Hot Pink

full-on application

applied sparingly

Review/Swatch: NYX Matte Lipstick in Merlot and Sweet Pink

Just making a long overdue post about the NYX products that I have purchase in the past.


Remember these? I've already reviewed the NYX Matte lipstick in Sierra in the past, so I'll just babble on with the other 2 Nyx matte lipstick hehe! Most of the description about the lipsticks are just the same with he NYX Matte lipstick in Sierra, so you can skip the descriptions and just go look for the swatches.

Current Price: P250-P300 (depending on where you buy it)

Place bought: I bought this through Digitaltraincase

Packaging:

It is longer in length than the RL (round lipstick) but the weight is lighter which sometimes make it feel flimsy although it's not. 

Scent:

it has a slight pleasant scent (in my opinion), way better than the RL's soapy smell.

Ingredients:

Formulation:

it obviously feels matte (duh..) so be ready to prep your lips with some lipbalm/lip moisturizer. I find that I like this even better than the NYX Matte lipcream because it doesn't dry the edges of my lips (which is a staple problem for me) even if I wear this all day.

Pigmentation:

amazing! This is the reason why I love matte lipsticks because of the great pigmentation in one swipe and if you're like me who likes to purse their lips every now and then, matte lipstick is great because it also lessens the risk of it budging or feathering.

Swatch:

Merlot is more of a deep berry wine color.

Full on Application:

It may look like a bright berry color in the picture, but in person, it looks more like a deep berry red.

Applied sparingly:

Applied in dabbing motion

Sweet pink is a cool toned pink.

 Full on application:

 Applied Sparingly:

also looks great as a tint.

Who says pigmented, matte lipsticks are only good for special occasions?

Reasons Why I Prefer Making Reviews on the Not-So-Latest/Less Reviewed Product Out in the Market

I know I'm very late in the game when it comes to reviewing the latest beauty and skincare products out in the market today, but that's ok with me. Why?

1. Ever since I've had AD (atopic dermatitis), I'm more concerned with the products that works for me rather than what works for the majority of people. Don't get me wrong, I still read reviews of other people about a certain product that I'm interested in, but I only read about the description of the product rather than how it performed on the user. Most of time, I even just read the ingredients in the product to know if I could risk using the product on my skin with less possibility that it will give me adverse reactions.

2. I get tired of people saying that they have "sensitive skin", but they use a crapload of products that a person with "true" sensitive skin would not believe you. In general, everyone should treat their skin as sensitive because it is still a big part of our body, but the word "sensitive skin" is so abused in beauty/skincare reviews that it is getting out of hand. I guess that's the power of insensitive marketing strategy. I've been in and out of the hospital for more than a year for my immunotherapy and the amount of people coming in and out of the hospital with the same problem (or worse) as I have is ridiculously too many to count.

        The amount of blogs I've read with people that truly has sensitive skin are only few. So just be careful with what to believe in the internet...people rely on the references in the internet so much that everyone feels like a professional or a doctor of some sorts over night. Always ask the people who have studied and are licensed to whatever problem you have. It is also ethical to ask for their advice rather than ask Dr. Google.

3. I prefer reviewing products that have passed the "hype period" because this gives me a clearer, unbiased perspective about the product I'm using. I'm also the type of person who takes their time using the product before saying anything good or bad about it. I don't know if it's just me, but sometimes, I feel like there's a rat race going on with reviewing products that are just out in the market and everyone wants to be in the "first place" of everything...it's like you have bragging rights of some sorts...

4. I prefer trying the "underdog" products or things that the beauty minority usually use. Sometimes, I discover my staple products by doing this. I also feel like, I'm at least contributing a reference for people who would also like to try the same things that I have tried, but are scared to because they don't see a lot of reviews about it. Don't worry, I still use products that are very popular to the beauty community, as long as it works for my skin.

5. I save more money with my purchases since I'm not following the usual "what's new" crowd and focus on what I really need or want when it comes to skincare and cosmetics. Having this kind of perspective is liberating. I guess I've found my happy place in this.

6. The "organic hype" that's out in the market. It's not that I haven't used products that claims to be organic, but so far, I've had more adverse reactions with products that claims to be, or are "organic", "herbal" or "paraben free". Don't even get me started with the phrase "parabens are not good". Everything in excess are not good. It's same with all the "organic", "herbal", "plant based" hoopla that people recommend. That's why everything is formulated below the "lethal dose" or within the "standard safety margin" of a certain ingredient.

I guess that's about it for now.

Life, Health and Everything in Between Sorta Update...

Hello hello!!!

No, I'm just here to check if my blog is still alive, and I guess it still is. hehehe!

Anyway, I think it's been quite close to a year since I've made reviews and done updates on my Atopic Dermatitis situation. I honestly don't know how to start, so I'll just type away and see where my updates are going!

Since I've passed the board exam and got a job right after that, I've no time to make reviews or even try new products. Another problem came up due to stress and my AD (atopic dermatitis). I'm still undergoing maintenance immunotherapy until now and I'm very glad that a month after I quit my job, I haven't had a severe AD attack until now.

Why did I quit my job?
first of all, for health reasons. I've been so stressed during work that I have no time to really take a rest. Hence, the frequent and severe AD attacks. Second, when I was about to plan to go back to work irregularly, I've found out that I'm going to have another baby again and I can't risk being in a very stressful environment while I'm pregnant.

How about AD during pregnancy?
I've asked my doctor about it and luckily, I"m already on my maintenance dose so it's safe to still continue immunotherapy while I'm pregnant. I've also read some article stating that having maintenance immunotherapy will also benefit and somewhat give immunity to the unborn child to any future allergens that my trigger AD to the offspring. At least, that is what I understand in an article I've read somewhere in the internet (I wouldn't recommend trusting the internet 100% and just ask your doctor about it).

If you're planning to START immunotherapy for AD while pregnant or planning to be pregnant very soon, I suggest to wait a while longer before having a baby because it is not safe to have it all at the same time.

What's up with my current skin condition?
I'm still very, very choosy when it comes to trying new products on my skin and I still prefer skincare products that are either scentless or has a very faint scent. Products that has a very strong scent is already banned in my stash. This rule is the same with cosmetics that I buy.

It has been months since my last AD attack (I guess I'm officially on remission, thank God!) and my skin did a 360 degrees on me again ever since I became pregnant. From my skin being very dry, flaky but blemish free, it turned into a very oily, very blemished monster. My face is currently ruined by acne scars and current acne due to hormones caused by pregnancy. Well, you can't have it all ya know. I just hope, my face survives this dilemma without creating craters after have this hormonal acne. Another bad thing about this is that I can't use my usual adapalene on my face since I'm pregnant. I just have to be patient and be brave about this until this is over. I hope after my pregnancy, my acne will go away...My acne is worse right now than the last time I've been ranting about it.

Will I be making more reviews after this update?
I'm not sure since I've been a very lazy couch potato ever since my pregnancy...I love sleeping even more than when I was not pregnant...oohh, what pregnancy can do for ya..haha! I can't also try products right now
due to my condition, but I'll still try to post once in a while since I haven't done a single review of the products I've already used way before. I've already used up so many products that I already threw away most of them since I cannot guarantee if I can still have time to make reviews often. If I have time, I will make some, if not, then better luck next time...Oh well, that is life.