Review: NYX Jumbo Eyeshadow Pencil in Cottage Cheese

For years now, I've been hearing that the NYX Jumbo Eyeshadow Pencil in Cottage Cheese is an excellent multi-tasker. If fact, the only reason I think I haven't tried it up until now is that I've had a difficult time finding it in my area. But recently I uncovered a great selection of NYX products at a local beauty supply store, and when I saw that they had the infamous Cottage Cheese in stock, it took me all of two seconds to put this baby in my basket.

NYX Jumbo Eyeshadow Pencil in Cottage Cheese

(retail: $4 on the NYX website)

As is the case with so many products I own, I'm not using this pencil for its intended purpose (as an eyeshadow). No no no! Because using this as eyeshadow would be silly, right? I mean, given the name of the product and all (insert sarcastic tone here).

For years, I've heard that people have actually been using this as an eyeshadow base, and also as a highlighter. Well, I'm here to tell you that Cottage Cheese ROCKS used in both capacities!

First, I put it to the test as an eyeshadow base, using some of my weakest and least pigmented eyeshadows. For the below swatches, I used some of my Aziza shadows which I reviewed here.

As you can see, the three shadows I selected for this experiment are pretty darned weak on their own (some are practically nonexistent). But check out what happens when I layer them over Cottage Cheese. They come alive a bit, don't they?

Since Cottage Cheese is a true winter-white shimmer (actually it's more of a frost), I would only recommend using it as a base with shadows that already contain some shimmer (or at the very least, are satin in texture). If you're going for a matte look, the frost in Cottage Cheese will bleed through and give your eyes a shimmery look, so I just want you to be aware of that.

I've been using Cottage Cheese as a base for several different eyeshadows over the last few weeks, and I've had great success with each of them. Granted, I haven't tried Cottage Cheese as base in the scalding hot Southern California summertime, so I don't know if my fellow oily-skinned gals will be pleased with it during hot weather. But for fall and winter, this one's working like a champ for me.

One very important tip: I've found that the best application technique is to use a thin layer of this product on your lids before you apply your eyeshadow. I swipe it several times across my lid and then with my finger I blend, blend, blend it up and into my crease and finally into the brow-bone region. I do NOT suggest applying a thick layer of this pencil to your lids and then immediately swiping on your eyeshadow because that's just begging for creasing. So remember: blend it like crazy with your finger and try to apply the thinnest layer you can to your lids before you apply your eyeshadow.

Because this pencil has a reputation for being a multi-tasker, I of course had to put Cottage Cheese to the test as a highlighter. Let's take a look:

For this look, I used only two colors on my eyes: Jesse's Girl Mineralized Baked Powder Eye Shadow in Plum Frost (click here if you missed my review of this shadow) and NYX Cottage Cheese as both a primer, and as a highlighter in the inside corners of my eyes and also on my brow-bone.

I definitely could have blended Cottage Cheese more on the inside corners of my eyes, but I wanted to keep it kind of heavy just for dramatic effect, to show you how it can look as a highlighter. I found Cottage Cheese very easy to apply as a highlighter, and it was also easy to build and blend. Oh, and it lasted all night!

So there you have it. The masses are not wrong about this one! NYX Cottage Cheese is a great little multi-tasker and I'm so glad I finally gave it a try. I think it deserves a permanent place in my makeup bag, for sure.

Do you already own Cottage Cheese or any other NYX Jumbo Pencils? What are your favorite shades, and how do you use them?