NYX Shine Killer Review

I have been on a primer rampage lately. I don't know what has been the culprit but my skin and my eyes have become the oiliest things on the planet. I had been using the Too Faced Primed and Poorless for ever and it was working just fine and then one day my skin decided to hate me. So after killing what was left of my primer I bought the NYX Shine Killer. Now before this my only other experience with NYX had been with my Butt Naked Pallete and I once tried to order things off of their site but never received them. Now Shine Killer claims to give you a shine free face, with or without makeup, it even has a picture on the back of the box showing you the results of application. Of course I never believe those pictures because chances are they are photo shopped like hell. But I was out of my fancy primer that wasn't doing the job anyway and I was at Target and it was in my hand so it came home with me. Now before I tell you how this worked for me let me really really really emphasize the oily state of my skin so you will fully understand how desperate I was to find a good primer. I use about 3 oil blotting sheets a day because I can't go for more than a few hours before my skin looks like and oil slick. This is not an exaggeration, this isn't made up, that's my life and my skin. So when I say the name of this product is perfect I mean it. I wore this for an eight hour day, AN EIGHT HOUR DAY, and didn't need to use an oil blotting sheet once. This was the only thing I changed. I used the same foundation, the same blush, the same setting powder, this was the only difference and what a difference it made! This is a game changing product and I don't know how I ever lived without it before.

Back to School Makeup: Drugstore Edition

Now I'm 21 years old and my school days are over but I do remember how excited I got before a new year began. It's a fresh start and the opportunity to kind of reinvent myself. It was actually my senior year of high school that I started to get into makeup. Like most teenage girls I was on a budget so I usually bought my new makeup through out the summer and at the drugstore. I have compiled a list of drugstore products that will help you achieve great looks all year round for every occasion. The first thing you need no matter what you choose to wear is a great primer. It will make your makeup last all day and all night so you can worry about bigger and more important things. My favorite eyeshadow primer is $1 primer from E.L.F. Eyeshadow Primer. I have said before it works just as well as my $18 primer from Too Faced and I mean it. You will also need a primer for your face, so you're foundation will last longer and your face will continue to be flawless looking. I personally like the Hard Candy Sheer Envy Primer you can buy at Walmart for $8. However if you have used these products and you don't like them there is a few other alternitives. For eyeshadow primer your other options are L'Oreal De-Crease, Hard Candy Eyeshadow Primer, the $3 Mineral Eyeshadow Primer from E.L.F., or NYX HD Eyeshadow Base. Now for face primers you can choose from Rimmel Fix & Perfect or Rimmel Fix & Perfect Pro, L'Oreal Studio Secrets Primer, or NYC Smooth Skin. I think there's another primer from Almay but I don't know the name of it.

Hard Candy Sheer Envy Primer and E.L.F. Eyelid Primer

For eyeshadow I have a few options. My first suggestion I think makes the most sense and will save you the most money. If you're really on a budget I would recommend buying the new E.L.F. Little Black Beauty Books in both the Warm and Cool Editions. I think it will give you enough options to change your daily look up but it wont cost you a ton of money or take up a ton of space either. The Warm book will give you plenty of options for a great neutral look while the Cool book will give you the ability to do a great smokey eye. You could also mix and match colors and create a fabulous look of your own. The best part is they're only $5 a piece. My other suggestions are the Wet n' Wild trios. I think Walking on Eggshells and Sweet as Candy are the best everyday options. I think even the Cover Girl trios and quads are great. Shimmering Sands is a great option if you want a neutral look.

E.L.F. Little Black Beauty Books, Wet n Wild Waling on Eggshells, and Cover Girl Shimmering Sands

Now as for foundation and mascara I find it's hard to make suggestions. Everyone's skin is different so while one person looks great wearing Maybelline Dream Matte Mouse, it may break someone else out. The same goes for lashes. I have sparse lashes with oily lids. This means I need a thicken waterproof mascara. While my sister has natrualy dark full lashes, all she needs is and eyelash curler and clear mascara to make them stay put. My go to foundation and mascara are the L'Oreal Magic Smooth Souffle and Cover Girl Last Blast Fusion (the waterproof formulation). I do like other foundations like Rimmel's Lasting Finish and Maybelline's Dream Matte Mouse. I haven't found any other mascaras that I just can't live without.

Cover Girl Lash Blast Fusion and L'Oreal Magic Smooth Souffle 

Last but not least concealers and setting powders. Now not everyone need's a concealer, but they don't hurt to have for the occasional blemish or after a late night of studying. I really like Revlon's Photo Ready concealer because it goes on really nice and smooth and it has pretty great coverage. If you use it under your eyes be sure to set it with a powder cause it will crease. If you're looking for an even heavier concealer I would recommend Hard Candy's Glamoflauge Concealer. It reminds me of Makeup Forever's Full Cover Concealer. Now on to setting powders. My new love is Hard Candy's Welcome Matte Powder. I've used it a few times and it really does make a difference with how oily my face gets through out the day. My other favorite powder is L'Oreal True Match Powder. I think it has enough coverage that you could use it as and extra coverage step if you felt you needed it. Even if you don't need the coverage it's a great powder that doesn't get cake-y.

Hard Candy Welcome Matte and Revlon Photo Ready Concealer 

I hope all of this has been helpful and will help you achieve the look you want this school year. Remember to study and make good grades because that will serve you better in life then makeup ever will. Be Fearless. Be  Beautiful. Be You.

Amazon and Walgreens Haul!

I have been using the hell out of my amazon account lately buying mostly makeup books trying to read up on the hobby that I love. Then I decided to see what makeup products I could find on there for a cheaper price than I would if I had bought them from the original manufacturer. First on Amazon I got the Nude 'Tude pallete by The Balm. I had been looking at this pallete for over a year. I loved the colors and I thought the packaging was very cute. However, the packaging that I wanted was no longer available. This pallete came in two "tudes." Feeling nice (the pallete I have here) has a black and white background that matches the front of the packaging. The feeling naughty version, the one that I really wanted, had pinup girls on the inside with the eye shadows covering up their naughty parts. Super cute right?

The Balm Nude 'Tude Pallet

I was able to snag this for $30.90 before S&H and for $37. 88 after. That's not too bad considering it cost $36 when you buy it from The Balm before S&H. I haven't used any of the shadows yet, but they look stunning. I think you'll be able to make several natural and even sultry looks with this pallet. Next in my Amazon haul is my new NYX Butt "Naked" Eyes Pallete. I snagged this for $23.94 after S&H versus paying $25 before S&H when you buy it from the NYX website. This pallete has both shimmer and matte shadows and I love that. I love being able to mix different textures to achieve different looks. There are also some blushes and bronzers that slide out of the bottom. I have used a few of these colors and I think they are just stunning.

NYX Butt "Naked" Pallet

At Walgreens I bought a few things as well. The first thing I picked up was a Wet n Wild Megalast Nail Polish in 213C On a Trip on sale for $.99. Its a beautiful creamy looking purple. I cant wait to slather this on my nails! The next thing I picked up was the Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse Foundation in Classic Ivory for $9.97. I have oily skin and while I have no issues with my current foundation I'm just in the mood to try something new. Hopefully I will have positive things to report back about this foundation. Then last but not least, I picked up the L'Oreal De-Crease Eyeshadow Base for $9.99. As I have mention in my latest posts I have been going a little crazy with trying different primers so of course when I saw this I had to try it. Well that's it for my haul. I hope you enjoyed!