NYX Born To Glow Liquid Iluminator (01 Sunbeam) Review

A review after so long! I missed writing here to begin with, but writing reviews-- even more. It's fun to test products, see the different angles it could work (or not), think about who it will be best for, if it's worth the money etc.

In this post I review a liquid highlighter by NYX. It is called "Born To Glow Liquid Illuminator".

 

 Here is what the product blurb says:

Capture that sexy glow with our lightweight, multi-functional illuminator. Use as a foundation base or over cheekbones, décolletage, or cupids bow for that refreshing luminosity that'll have everyone talking.

More tips from NYX on the highlighter:

• What it is: Lightweight multifunctional face moisturizer that provides a luminous glow.
• What it does: Enhances your complexion by adding a touch of shimmer illuminating your skin.
• Why we love it: It provides a glorious, luminous healthy glow instantly!

Artist tips / Suggested use:

• How to use: Apply all over your face to illuminate your features under and over foundation. It can also be blended with your foundation for an additional touch of glow.

WHERE TO BUY: You can buy NYX from Centerpoint! I bought mine from the Centerpoint in Andalus Mall, Jeddah.

Swatches

 

Thoughts . . .

What it is: A face highlighter, yes. A face moisturizer or something to apply all over the face- I wouldn't recommend!

This liquid highlighter by NYX is a beautiful highlight no doubt. But it can cling onto dry areas on the skin. When it does like that, it doesn't look too terrifying but the product is a tad bit difficult to blend on the dry areas so I'd suggest being quick with the application.

Because of the high pigmentation and extreme highlight quality, I would not recommend applying this product all over the face alone (unlike Girl Meets Pearl or That Gal from Benefit- both have a more luminescent quality rather than intense shimmer like this highlighter from NYX).

Perhaps this highlighter can be used all over when mixed with a foundation or moisturizer, but I haven't personally tried this so I cannot recommend with full trust on the result (if you have tried this, then let me know how it turned out!).

What it does: Adds a beautiful highlight! The pigmentation is on spot like I mentioned. The shimmer particles are not as large in size as I'd expected! It's actually quite small and looks like fairy dust on the cheeks, while also giving a wet look (I love!).

I was pretty impressed with this highlighter and it quickly became a favourite (something I did not expect!) I actually thought the shimmer was going to be larger but that was not the case. The product dries from a liquid to a powder finish- so you can get away without a powder highlighter on top and it still looks and stays beautiful and glowy. This highlighter is perfect for big events such as weddings and evening parties. Definitely recommend it to the brides.

P.S- I compared this to Benefit's High Beam liquid highlighter (another personal favourite) and I have good news to share- It's a 90% dupe for sure. I will go in detail on the 10% difference in my High Beam review coming very soon!

OVERALL RATING: 4.5/5 

Over to you- what do you think? Love it or Leave it?

BOURJOIS Volume Glamour Ultra Care Mascara Review

Hello everyone!

This post is a review of the Bourjois Volume Glamour Ultra Care Mascara. :)

Here is a product blurb from the Bourjois website:

ULTRA VOLUME FOR SENSITIVE EYES

Its ultra volumising formula coats lashes from root to tip and protects them against harsh external factors (pollution, rubbing, air conditioning).

Enriched with regenerating and nourishing cotton and sweet almond oils, it has been specially formulated for sensitive eyes.

Its brush that applies so softly thanks to its rounded shape and ultra-soft fibres, gently coats lashes to build volume without clumping.

Result: after only 3 weeks of use, lashes are visually stronger and more resistant, as if nourished from within*
*Clinical test on 22 women with sensitive eyes, of which 7 contact lens wearer

The Good-
-Intense black colour payoff compared to most drugstore mascaras.
-Gives a subtle liner effect on the lash line.
-No hard/stiff lashes, lashes remain soft even after two coats.
-Minimal clumping. One of the least clumping mascara I've ever used!
-Great for a natural look.
-Very comfortable to wear.
-Easy to remove.

The Not-so-Good-
-Not impressive in making lashes voluminous or increasing them length. The mascara pretty much darkens your natural lashes and gives them a bit more body with separation and that's all.

The verdict-- Love it or leave it?
At first I didn't love it... but now I do! It's a great mascara to achieve that natural look and more importantly, it will be very helpful for a daily basis if one wears mascara that often- because with this, you forget that you're wearing mascara at all because it's so light weight and non-irritating to the eyes! I literally forgot I even had eye makeup on with this mascara just because it's so comfortable to wear! Those who are new to makeup and/or mascaras may really enjoy this one if they've always hated the hard lash look and feel some mascaras give.
If you love drama with your lashes- this mascara may not be your top choice as it doesn't do much for a dramatic look.

About the formula- its a bit on the thicker side. I usually don't prefer thicker formulas but the way in which this specific mascara is made, it somehow seems to work out well.

Mascara wand- a standard bristle brush

Swatch

A word of caution-
Mascara reviews (in specific) are something I feel can be "hit and miss". Each individual has a different lash structure- some have naturally thick lashes, some thin, some naturally have a curl, some have dark lashes and some don't, some have long lashes naturally, and such. So when a person would purchase a mascara, they would do so depending upon their natural lash make up. Your needs may differ from mine and vice versa.
The point I'm trying to make is- while this specific mascara worked out for me, it may not for you. Or if I find it amazing, you may not because it doesn't fit your needs. Regardless, I have done a review in any case this is something you've been looking for :) I hope you find it helpful.

Bourjois Middle East Facebook page- http://www.facebook.com/BourjoisMiddleEast
Bourjois UK website- http://www.bourjois.co.uk/

What is your favourite mascara? 
Have you tried this mascara? What was your experience with it? Let us know :D 

Check us out on Facebook and Twitter or follow us on this blog so that you'll know when the next post is up!

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Until then, tc!

Guest Post: Max Factor

Thank you Manal Mirza for submitting the second 

guest post on the blog, we love it! -VicinityMakeup

________________________________________________________________________

Max factor is one of my favorite products ever. I have been using them since a while now. They are very affordable and work well just like those amazing expensive products. They have the best base-face products ever. I love makeup and I have had a slight bit of experience with it. Therefore, this is what I love and I am sure you’d love them too.

Starting with the Foundation:

The liquid foundation has about six to seven different skin tones for every face. You can find them anywhere in your nearby stores in the mall. The best thing about this foundation is that it really gives a great finish and covers up almost all your blemishes. It is highly recommended for those with dry and normal skin type, as liquid foundations don’t necessarily go well with oily skins.  

The Pan Stick Concealer:

The concealer stick is also a good product to put underneath your eyes or any blemishes or discolorations. It’s best when you don’t have a brush to apply with. You can just dap it right where you want it and use your fingertips to spread it evenly. Sometimes, it’s better to apply this concealer before applying the foundation. The reason is because it might give a bit of greyish discoloration underneath your eyes, or not. I faced this though.

The famous Compact Powder:

This compact powder works great over the foundation in only just a tiny bit of an amount. Sometimes, when you don’t want to apply foundation over your neck or back, this compact is enough to apply over your neck and back just to give an equal face-neck skin tone. This compact powder is also great to put over your face without applying foundation. It is really a handy powder to be put in emergencies when you don’t have a foundation or you just don’t want to use a foundation!

The False Lash Effect Mascaras:

These mascaras are great and give your lashes an extremely false lash effect without the need to put up false lashes. A bunch of these comes in waterproof type but most of the other mascaras that I had were not waterproof but they were as good as Lancome Mascaras. Really!!

So what are you waiting for? Go and purchase them and look more beautiful as you already are. J

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About Manal Mirza

Salamualaikum! My Name is Manal Mirza. I am a Muslim. I was inspired to start writing and my perspective way to start writing was on the basic lives of the people around me and how changes could be made. I prove my point logically and through Islamic points and view. I really want a good change to be brought in the lives of people around me even if I know some might read and some might not! I enjoy taking examples from others lives and with experience, I try to quote my articles. But now my blog is more about what I'm learning and I try to pass on the message to everyone. That's the least I could do. Alhumdulillah! I am not perfect myself. I encourage myself even more than others while I am writing my articles over here! I hope that everyone gives it a read and inshAllah people will bring out changes in their lives and help me for the better too! Please share my blog if you like it! JazakAllahu khairan! thanks! 

Make sure to follow my blog: Patienceineverything.blogspot.com 

MILANI Even-Tone Powder Foundation- Review

Hello everyone!

Hope you are doing well! I'm super glad to be finally back with a new post! :D 

In this post, I am reviewing the Milani Even-Tone Powder Foundation.

This powder has become my favourite face powder! 

Picture courtesy- copious.com/listings/makeup-cosmetics-milani-even-tone-powder-foundation-shell-01-light-new

The following was the product blurb on the packaging that convinced me to purchase it-

• Oil-Free Velvety-soft lightweight powder foundation formulated with Aloe Vera Extract to soothe and moisturize.
• Micronized, super-fine light reflecting pigments allow color to stay true and easy to blend while it covers imperfections and evens out skin tone.
• The result is a flawless finish with a soft focus effect.
• Light to medium coverage.

My shade is 01- SHELL.

The product also comes with a cosmetic sponge in a convenient place to keep it in, especially useful for touch-ups.

To give you a background, my skin is mostly dry-combination. I have dryness on my cheek area, the area around my nose and sometimes my forehead. In the winter months the dryness of my skin is at it's peak. 

In the summer, my forehead and nose get less dry than they usually are (i.e oily but still not too much since, my skin is dry for the most part).

The texture of the powder is the smoothest I've ever come across in a face powder- finely milled and not chalky. It has a satin finish- which I love to bits. As a girl with dry skin, it's been kind of hard to find a good face powder that doesn't look chalky, not sit on my face but kind of just fall off (yes!) and make my face look flat. The satin finish of the powder does not make my face look flat- which most powders I've used did. Also, of all the face powders I've tried, only this specific one does not accentuate the dryness of my skin.

Since the coverage of the powder is light to medium, it's more fitted to use as a setting face powder and/or a daily go-to face powder. I use mine for both and love it! Although it definitely can be used as a powder foundation depending on your need. 

And yes, it does moisturize while it's on your skin! My sister and I tested it out and found that it moisturized the dryness on our skin as we kept it on versus another face powder that I was using at the time. We applied each powder on one half of our face and tested it that way. It was a fun little experiment we attempted and were thoroughly pleased! :D

This powder also does a neat job of mattifying the oiler areas of my face when it's hotter. I'm super glad how it's able to do what I want it to do, lol!! :D

Highly recommend this to anyone looking for a good face powder- especially someone with dry skin! I feel this would work on girls with oiler skin types as well. My sister's skin is slightly oiler than mine and she likes this powder as well!  

Now, wondering where to find Milani cosmetics in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia? Milani products are available at a shop called "Beauty Key" in Andalus Mall- first floor, opposite S-mart. 

Does anyone know any place else Milani is available (in Jeddah as well as any other other places in Saudi Arabia)? Please leave a comment if you do, it may be of help to others.

This product retails for SAR 52 (52 riyals)- which I don't think is bad. I've used it multiple times since I bought it and still haven't hit pan! Definitely worth the money in my book!

Pictures and swatches-

Hope this review was helpful to you! Please do leave a comment answering the feedback questions, we'd love to hear from you! :)

Feedback- 

Would you buy this product? If you already have it, how has been your experience with it?

What is YOUR favourite face powder? 

NYX Candy Glitter Liner- Swatches and Review (Blue, Disco Queen, Jade, Red)

Hey everyone!!
I'm so sorry for the long wait. I was quite busy for the past few months but now I'm back and will hopefully update on a more regular basis :D I've planned a ton of stuff coming up which I can't wait to share with you all that will make this blog more interesting and fun!
Anyways, without further ado, I've got a review for you guys! Before I start off, I want you all to know that I absolutely LOVE NYX! It's probably the best drugstore line out there which offers great quality with reasonable prices.
The product I'm reviewing today from them is the Candy Glitter Liner. I got to know about this through Makeup Geek... and quickly fell in love with it. I am a glitter lover so this was among those things which come in my must-have list.
NYX describes this as "Perfect for drawing precise lines of glitter for a dazzling effect, NYX's Candy Glitter Liners are infused with moisturizing ingredients to not only offer sparkle but condition as well"
What I think about it- The pigmentation is just A-MAZING! These glitter liners are just perfect to make any look fun and colourful and are available in a wide range of colours. They wear for a pretty long time too.
I have used the glitter liners from Mikyajy too, and in my opinion NYX beats them easily- both in pigmentation and application. I have the Silver (01) and Blue (06) from Mikyajy and 4 colours from NYX. These are in Red, Blue, Jade and Disco Queen.
Although these liners apply bright on their own, for a bolder effect, first apply a black liquid liner, wait for it to dry and then apply the glitter liner on top. This really pops up the color!

NYX products are available at Centerpoint in Andalus Mall, Jeddah.
I assume it should be available at other Centerpoint locations here too but I can confirm it only after I've visited them. If any of you guys know if NYX is available at others too, just let me know in the comments :)

These Candy Glitter Liners retail for SAR 21.

Here are some swatches and photos comparing both the Mikyajy and NYX liners :)

NYX Liners and swatches-


You can see I've used Disco Queen quite a lot.

1- Jade
2- Disco Queen
3- Red
4- Blue



Mikyajy Liners and swatches-


1- Silver
2- Blue


I really recommend the NYX glitter liners for all glitter lovers out there.
If you are not much of a glitter lover when it comes to makeup, this may not be your cup of tea. Try the Mikyajy ones instead.

Hope this review was helpful for you guys and just let me know if you guys want to see more NYX product reviews. :)

Feedback-
Are you a fan of glitter liners?
Would you buy this product? If you already have it, how has been your experience with it?

Review- Estee Lauder: Double Wear Stay-in-Place Eyeshadow Base

Double Wear Stay-in-Place EyeShadow Base

Here is another review for you guys! :D
So, I bought this at Va Va Voom in Andalus Mall for SAR 79. My actual purpose to go that mall was to get Too Faced Eyeshadow Insurance eye primer at Sephora, since I have read a lot of reviews on it which say that it could probably be the best eyeshadow base ever... but unfortunately it was out of stock and I really wanted an eyeshadow base for an upcoming day-long event that I needed to attend so, my mission to get Too Faced turned into a hunt for a base I didn't have any clue of.
I ended up getting this base by Estee Lauder- Double Wear Stay-in-Place eyeshadow base.
And I must say it is AWESOME! My eyeshadow stayed crease-free and had the same intensity when I applied it at first perfectly for a complete 14 HOURS! I am not exaggerating at all! After returning from the mall, I checked out the review for this base at tons of websites, which didn't help me at all to even get an idea of how this would work since some reviews rated this product 10/10 and some... well, 0/10! So, yes, you may imagine my situation.
But I am so glad right now that I purchased this product! I cannot imagine how some of the reviews rated it 0/10. Estee Lauder claims this product to have "15-hour staying power-- extends the wear of eyeshadow and keeps it in place, smooth and crease-free". And it stays true to every word!!
Aside from Va Va Voom, I believe this can be purchased at Paris Gallery as well and everywhere else where designer brands are sold.

Would you buy this product?
If you already have it, how has been your experience with it?

Review- Mikyajy: Black I

One of the best products from Mikyajy- The Black I has "everything you need to get smokey-eyed look is in one special pack that will have you hooked forever".

BEST FOR- Smokey eye addicts, someone who loves the colour Black, a makeup geek who loves to add new items to her makeup collection.

PRICE- SAR 150.00

Comes with Black I Line and Shadow Pencil, Black I Jumbo Eye Crayon, Black I Dip Eye Liner, Black I Mascara and Black I Eyeshadow.

Line and Shadow Pencil, Jumbo Eye Crayon, Eyeshadow- The pigmentation in these products is amazing! The colours are solid black and completely matte. All have long staying power with high intensity of colour.
The Line and Shadow Pencil has a soft applicator at the end which can be used to soften out any harsh lines.
However, for those of you with watery eyes, it may subject to fading away sooner than you think. To prevent this, after applying your pencil liner, set it with the eyeshadow.
Jumbo Eye Crayon can be used as a base for the smokey eye as well as a liner pencil.

Dip Eye Liner- It has a felt tip which makes applying liquid liner with much better convenience. It has strong colour and does not fade away fast.

Mascara- Gives lift, volume and some length. I personally am very impressed with this mascara. It has become one of my favourite mascaras to use!

I find this set of makeup high in quality and very economical. It's not easy to find a good black matte eyeshadow which is easy to blend and has good colour, a characteristic which I found in the Black I Eyeshadow. This set is a makeup essential on my part! Once you get this, you won't need to buy any other black coloured makeup product!
Plus, five excellent products for 150 Riyals?! That's an offer too good to resist!

Mikyajy has a tutorial on its official website based on these products which is very helpful! -
Link: http://www.mikyajy.com/blog/?p=7
Their Facebook page on Black I-
Link: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=2775011&id=159456683838&fbid=168272108838

Swatches- 1- Eyeshadow
2- Dip Eye Liner
3- Jumbo Eye Crayon
4- Line and Shadow Pencil



Store Locations- http://www.mikyajy.com/store/index.php?store=true



Would you buy this product?
If you already have it, how has been your experience with it?

An Overview- Mikyajy: Young, Trendy, Friendly

Mikyajy is a department store makeup brand here, in the Middle East. Since its launch in 1999, it has acquired immense popularity.
Mikyajy fills up a lot of my and especially my sisters makeup collection. It was the first department store makeup brand we were introduced to, and I must say, we are really impressed!! We have used many products from this brand- eye shadows, blushes, concealers, powder, eye liners, makeup kits, perfumes, lipsticks, lip glosses- You name it! So here is my overview on this brand in totality and I am quite confident when I state it since I (more like, all the girls in my family! Hahah!) have been using this product for quite a long time now.
What they offer- They have a wide selection of items. Face makeup products, Eye makeup products, Lip makeup products, Body Care, Fragrances, Makeup tools (such as makeup brushes, makeup sponges, manicure makeup wipes etc), Skincare and Makeup Boxes/Kits in various sizes.
Quality- Nicely pigmented eye shadows and lipsticks with vibrant colours. This brand offers quality makeup. I would recommend it to anyone newly starting out with makeup. Even their makeup brushes are of really good texture and quality.
Price- For the quality that they provide, I'd say Mikyajy cosmetics are reasonably priced. The products are worth investing upon.
The following are my recommendations from Mikyajy that I consider buying, or at least, having a look on-
My Top Picks- Black I Makeup Kit
                          Their makeup palettes and compacts
                          Products from their Sabaya, 22K
                          and Minx makeup line
                          Makeup Tools

Visit their official website (you can also find their store locations throughout the kingdom)- 
http://www.mikyajy.com/

Mikyajy official Facebook page-
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mikyajy/159456683838?v=wall

 Look from the Groovy Compacts Color Palette- Mikyajy

What are YOUR favorite products from Mikyajy?