Review: NYX Jumbo Eye Pencils in 605 Strawberry Milk, 621A Pure Gold, & 604 Milk

I love NYX Jumbo Eye Pencils. Melt on the lid and glide across the skin like butter in a hot skillet. Generally not that impressed by eye pencils but there are winners out there and these are among them!

I have usually met pencils I dislike. Likes are few. I like Urban Decay's eyeliner pencils and Shadow Pencils a lot. Creamy, with a certain glide if they don't have any glitter (I find the Delinquent Shadow Pencil a bit gritty). I had never really been interested in NYX's Jumbo Pencils, but I did get interested thanks to YouTube videos.

604 Milk is the love of the makeup world. A perfect white base for all eyeshadows. I know NYX has a potted white eyeshadow base but well, I don't need anymore little pots of product rolling around in my makeup bag or bathroom! I never really thought I needed Milk up till now.

604 Milk - all plastic, 605 Strawberry Milk - wood

NYX's pencils are simple on packaging, but easy to find and read. Some were wood, all are now plastic but all need to be sharpened. They have a clear cap so you can see the color of the pencil (yay!) and an opaque white cap on the other side to cover non-useable the end of the pencil. Thanks to the pencil being all out white outside, it won't be so easily lost on a black background such as in makeup bags or purses. The text is easy to read, with the color name and code near the bottom of the label on the front beneath the NYX logo and the Jumbo pencil logo. The plastic pencils are longer than the wood pencils, but both have the same amount of 5g/0.18 oz. Plastic pencils have entirely replaced the wood versions but still need to be sharpened.

These pencils are soft on skin and will melt easily on the eyelid when in use so they'll glide along without skipping. Really, you can use them to cover your whole lid in color without tugging! These will also melt easily in heat, so popping them in the fridge will make them firm back up. I haven't yet sharpened 605 Strawberry Milk (JEP605) or 621A Pure Gold (JEP621A) but I know this will be a bit of a pain because of the pencil's firm-yet-soft consistency. I might have to put them in the freezer merely to sharpen them!

From left to right: 605 Strawberry Milk, 604 Milk, 621A Pure Gold

Starting with 621A Pure Gold, it's an opaque gold that looks a bit bronze-like but is definitely gold when swatch. It has a sheen to it that's quite lovely. There's shimmer in this that translates on the lid but only very close up. I wouldn't normally use or wear gold but I bough the pencil for a gold glitter eye look and have used it occasionally since then. 605 Strawberry Milk is exactly like it's name: the pink color of strawberry milk! It has a sheen to it as well, and is fairly reflective. It can look white at some angles. This, like Pure Gold, has shimmer to it. 604 Milk, however, lacks in both departments: no shimmer, slight sheen. Just basic white and that's just fine! It works well as a base to make bright eyeshadow pop and make pastel eyeshadow more opaque. These can be used as eyeliner, by the way! I tested this by using the side of the tip of Pure Gold to line my lashline. It's admittedly a fairly bold line but I tried using an eyeliner brush without success. To make it stay, even with primer, I put gold eyeshadow over it (Half Baked from the NAKED palette by Urban Decay).

Without flash; from left to right: 605 Strawberry Milk, 604 Milk, 621A Pure Gold

With flash; from left to right: 605 Strawberry Milk, 604 Milk, 621A Pure Gold

These can crease without primer but make a lovely base for eyeshadow with primer under the Jumbo Pencil. I plan to use 605 Strawberry Milk with Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Loose Colour Concentrate in Datura, which is sheerer dry but makes a great inner corner highlight for a little pop.

Without flash. First swatch is bare skin, second is over Milk; left to right: Birthday Suit, Lavender, Mint

With flash; same as above.

I also wanted to show you 604 Milk in action. I used three of light eyeshadows that can take some work through building up: NYX Nude Matte Eyeshadow in Birthday Suit (obviously, I messed up the swatches for this!), the mint and the lavender from Wet n Wild's Going in the Wild palette. I made a bit of a mess but I had to use a brush rather than my finger to apply the shades over 604 Milk. I suggest patting the shade on with a brush because of how sticky Milk is as a base.

If you want to check out the Jumbo Eye Pencils, which I recommend you do, you can find them in your local Ulta, NYXCosmetics.com as well as other online retailers, and wherever you buy NYX should have them. Not making promises! These go for $4.49 at Ulta but are frequently part of the "Buy One Get One 50% Off" sales. Another good base would be Black Bean, a black pencil, that could become a staple when set with black eyeshadow.

SPOOKEHDOOM