Mini Beauty Reviews: NYX, Ardell, & Clinique

My post today is a little different than usual. Originally, I was going to post a review of the Clinique High Impact Extreme Volume Mascara. But then I thought that would be a super short post and there were a few other new (to me) beauty bits that I could also write about. So rather than write 3 different short posts over the next week, I decided to combine them all into 1 post.

So I have for you today, the NYX Angel Veil Skin Perfecting Primer, the Ardell Brow Pencil, and as mentioned above – the Clinique High Impact Extreme Volume Mascara.

First up, the NYX Angel Veil Skin Perfecting Primer.

It claims to be a “velvety smooth primer that creates a uniform canvas”. I’ve been using this for a few weeks now and it has been really nice on my skin. It absorbs quickly and I haven’t had any trouble with makeup application over it. As you can see in the above picture, the primer is like a cream. It doesn’t feel silicon-y at all in texture. It actually reminds me a little of sunscreen in consistency but it’s not thick. I don’t notice my makeup wearing down any quicker than usual so overall I would say it’s a good buy.

Next up, the Ardell Brow Pencil.

When my beloved IT Cosmetics Brow Power pencil was all finished I started using this Ardell one. I had gotten this Ardell one a long time ago at the supermarket because I was away and thought I had forgotten my IT Cosmetics one. Turns out I didn’t forget it so this Ardell one stayed unopened. When I first started using it last week I was a little eh about it. I have to press down harder than with my IT Cosmetics one which was a bit creamier, so this one seemed like more work. And truthfully it is a little more work, but now that I’ve gotten used to it and I know how hard I have to press and what kind of short strokes work – the process has been much quicker than earlier. What’s good about this brow pencil in comparison to the IT Cosmetics one is that it is a mechanical pencil so I don’t have to keep sharpening it. On the other hand, since it is mechanical it’s hard for me to tell how much product is left (I have a fear of turning up a product too far and not being able to get it back down) whereas with one you have to sharpen you can obviously see how much product is left. Overall, this was a good drugstore find and I would definitely consider purchasing it again.

Lastly, the Clinique High Impact Extreme Volume Mascara.

I really enjoy this mascara. It definitely separates and voluminously fans out my lashes though it doesn’t do any favors of keeping the curl. At least it doesn’t make my lashes droop though! I am liking the volume building, but one downside to this mascara is that it smudges easily. There is a waterproof version so I’m sure that one is smudge-proof. The smudging isn’t so bad that it would discourage me from repurchasing this though!