London Drugs mini-haul + One last Christmas prezzie!

Since it’s so obvious in the picture below, let’s start with my final Christmas present from my boyfriend. He bought me lots of presents leading up to Christmas, but I love surprises, so I told him I just wanted one small thing to unwrap from him as well. This was a bit late, since he ordered it online from ThinkGeek, but I don’t mind because I’m so happy I have it: My Gandalf plushie! They had these a while back, marketed as Lord of the Rings plushies, but because of the Hobbit movie, they released them again, and I was so excited because I’d wanted one last time, but they ran out a day or two before I was going to place my order! I love my squishy little wizard so much… I’m such a nerd… let’s move on to the makeup, shall we? >_>

Because he’s crazy, or too nice for his own good, or both, or something else, my boyfriend buys me a lot of stuff. We needed something to do last week, so he asked for some of the products I’ve been wanting, and I gave him a short list. He decided we were going shopping. I wanted to pick up a white liner, a lip liner, and a brow pencil. I estimated they’d be less than $30… since they were much less than that, David decided I also needed the Real Techniques brushes, since I was looking at them probably somewhat longingly while we were at London Drugs! I’m kinda spoiled…!

On to what I got, and swatches!

NYC Kohl Eye Liner Pencil in White:

I’ve been wanting to try using a white pencil in my waterline for a long time, which is why I finally picked up this pencil. I chose NYC because it was long, very cheap, and because I wasn’t sure at all if I would like the effect, since I’m so used to my black liner in my waterline. This pencil is actually creamier than I expected it to be, considering the brand and price (less than 3 bucks, and it was 40% off!), but it isn’t very pigmented and it takes several swipes to get any visible colour on my waterline.

As for whether I like the look on me: not so much. At least, I don’t like using it on it’s own. I have yet to try using this in the waterline, and a black or colour along the lower lash-line, and I want to try that eventually. This is pretty good, though, as a subtle highlight on my inner corner.

NYX Auto Eyebrow Pencil in Light Brown:

This is a retractable brow pencil on one end, with a small brow brush on the other end, as you can see in the picture. Oddly, the brush end is like a cap, but when you take it off, there’s nothing underneath. Though that’s not all that important. It’s nice to have the brush to tidy up the little hairs in your brows and to even out the colour. The colour goes on really easily, and the pencil is slightly oval shaped, so that it’s easy to draw a very thin, precise line.

Overall, I really like this pencil, the only issue is that I bought one colour too light. It looked good swatched on my hand, but it ends up looking a little orange in my brows, especially if I draw a little too heavily. Still, it’s workable; I’m sure I’ll repurchase eventually in my correct colour.

NYX Retractable Lip Liner in Nude:

I’ve never been a lip-product type of person, but lately, I’ve been starting to like lipsticks a lot more, which is why I wanted to get myself a good liner. I went with a nude coloured liner so that I can use it with a variety of colours, rather than trying to find pinks, berries, and reds to match my different lipsticks. I thought this pencil would be too brown or too dark for my lips, but its actually very hard to tell the difference between the pencil colour and my natural lips. Also, I’m not sure if I should continue using it as I have so far, which is just thickly lining the edges of my lips, or try filling in my lips with the pencil first like I’ve seen some YouTubers do… that almost seems like a waste of a pencil.

Anyways, I have found that my lipsticks last a bit longer and look a bit cleaner over the liner, so I’m happy with it. It also claims to be waterproof, which I hadn’t noticed before. I haven’t tried it enough times to really judge this claim, but that’s cool nonetheless!

Swatches:

Left to right: NYC eye liner, NYX lip liner, NYX brow pencil

And here’s me with the white on my waterline and the brow pencil in my brows. It’s not the perfect colour, but I’ve figured out that if I use it a lot lighter, I get a much more natural line, and the colour doesn’t look so off. That said, I do think I’ll need a darker colour next time, so I don’t end up with orange eyebrows!

And finally…

Real Techniques “Core Collection” brush set:

(Sorry for the weird colouring on this one…)

I forgot to take pictures of the brushes in the packaging, but you can see it in the collective picture above.

These brushes are definitely really nice. I’m not 100% sure what I’ll do with the foundation brush yet, since it seems a little small for foundation. The little brush I’m sure I’ll mainly use for lip products, unless I need it for eyeliner, the flat brush will likely be face powder or setting powder, and the small domed brush will be great for highlighting or contouring. I think I was expecting a little too much from these brushes, because I was expecting them to be softer, though that said, they feel even nicer than my ELF studio brushes, which I was—and still am—in love with.

The case is nice, and would be good for travelling, I’m sure, but for my everyday makeup, it just kinda gets in the way. As these brushes are incorporated into my routine, they’ll probably end up living outside the case with the rest of my brushes! Also, four brushes for only $20 is a pretty great deal, considering the price of single brushes at Sephora, MAC, or Sigma! I definitely think these are a good buy.

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So that’s everything this time! I still have some more reviews and purchases to show you, which I will hopefully get up in good time. Also, I have a pretty good idea what I’m going to buy for my giveaway, but it’s not too late to give me your input if you have any good ideas.

Thanks for reading!