Neutrals from NYX

 Of course after last week's rant about the over-abundance of neutrals, I would have to review a neutral-hued product! I've actually had this mini-palette for quite a while and have been meaning to give it a good look. It's from NYX's Love in Paris collection and is called "Parisian Chic." I chose this particular one because it had a nice combination of shimmery and sparkly golden colors with some nice taupes, too. I figured it would be a good one for me to use to do a neutral smoky eye, like so:

I used four colors from the palette to create this look, and topped it off with a little Urban Decay 24/7 liner in West. I applied the colors dry over a base of Urban Decay's shadow primer and then spritzed myself with some makeup setting spray and headed over to troupe practice. After an hour of building up a good sweat, I came home and found that I had a little color loss. I had also noticed this after wearing it all day on a non-dance day last week.

So far I'm not really convinced that this eye shadow can stand up to hardcore dancing. However, I do really like to use it for daily wear when I want to look nice. A quick swipe of a couple colors from this palette gives me a slightly glamorous neutral eye look that is great for daytime meetings with clients or fellow dancers. I also think this might be a good choice for the student dancer who is only going to be dancing for a few minutes at the recital and wants something she can make use of outside of her dance life, too. The packaging is compact, sturdy, and closes securely, so it should travel well. NYX offers 10 different Love in Paris palettes that are each only $10 for 9 colors, so they're worth a try, especially since they are Cruelty Free.

NYX Wonder Pencil

 On a recent dance troupe trip to Ulta, I picked up the NYX Wonder Pencil, along with a couple other NYX products that I'll be reviewing soon. They have a reputation for producing relatively high-quality products at a great price, including a lot of dupes of more expensive products.

The Wonder Pencil (shown here in "Light" because I am incredibly pale) is a multi-purpose concealer pencil. it has a fine tip like a liner pencil, which makes it ideal for lining your lips, covering small blemishes, or brightening your waterline. I use it a lot for that last one, including in the top image here. It helps make your eyes look larger and more alert, but it's very subtle so you can easily use it for daytime or "natural" looks.

I don't use it for covering the circles under my eyes, because I still feel like my Urban Decay concealer pencil is better for that, as the thicker pencil makes for a quicker application.

The Wonder Pencil has a really smooth, easy application and seems to hold up well to being worn for dance. It keeps creamy lipstick from wandering when used as a liner. It's really affordable, really versatile, and easy to throw in your dance bag for quick touch-ups. I'd call this one a win!