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Forget blatantly white eyeliners, cakey concealers, and facial illuminators that make you look more greasy than glam. NYX has devised a way to bring the benefits of eye brightening, pimple covering, and facial highlighting together with its Wonder Pencil ($5). Creamy yet slip-resistant, this multifunctional pencil enables you to dot a minute amount of product on to effectively cover up blemishes. And because it's easy to blend, a little goes a long way.

The pencil can also be used to trace your eyes' waterlines for a more perked-up appearance. You can even use it as a lip liner to keep lipsticks long-lasting and prevent them from bleeding. Dab a bit under the brow bone to enhance, and tap on with your fingers to mask dullness under the eyes. What other products do you have that conceal, brighten, and line — all for under five bucks? Available in light, medium, and deep.

When you think of the new year, you likely think of fresh starts and equally fresh makeup looks, and Nyx is helping you kick things off right. Its Butt Naked Eyes Makeup Palette ($25) has a memorable name, but it's the contents within that will give you a natural-looking glow. The compact includes 15 neutral shadows in matte and subtly shimmery, velvety finishes, ranging in color from rich aubergine to sheer vanilla. An assemblage of four blushes allows you to go from a soft, baby pink look to a brighter pop of color style, while two illuminators and one bronzer add warmth and luminosity. All you need is a goes-with-everything golden pink gloss and you're on your way to making 2012 your chicest year yet.

Rich purple is one of this season's hottest shades, and you'll find it all over nail polishes, eye shadows, and handbags. But what about on lips? In their new collections, MAC, Illamasqua, and Yves Saint Laurent, among others, have launched lip colors that run the gamut from aubergine to lilac and magenta. Plum lipstick is a perennial favorite, but traditionally other shades of purple haven't gotten much play.

I tried wearing Nyx Brush On Gloss in Golden Mauve ($6) and liked the color; although, I didn't find other people as responsive. Would you give grape-hued gloss or lipstick a chance, or is this color, like black lipstick before it, likely to remain popular on the runway and not-so-hot in real life?

Here's the story of an Amy Winehouse tribute gone wrong... then right. On Wednesday, NYX cosmetics announced a contest for people to show off their best makeup looks inspired by the late singer. Contestants were invited to create a video tutorial inspired by any of her videos, with instructions to "include 90% of NYX Cosmetics products to create the look." One winner would receive a coupon code for 50 percent off purchases at the brand's ecommerce website.

Not entirely surprisingly, the contest didn't sit well with some people, and yesterday, NYX canceled the whole shebang. "On second thought, we now feel that it would be insensitive to hold this contest," a new missive announced. Instead, the brand is making a donation to the forthcoming Amy Winehouse Foundation, which will help people battling substance abuse. Seems like a more fitting way to remember a woman known not just for her beehive and eyeliner, but for a life marked by talent, triumph, and tragedy.

For Janelle Monae's appearance at the Grammys, makeup artist Oslyn Holder wanted to give her a pretty, '40s-inspired look with classic (yet fun) pops of color. To learn how to get dolled up like Janelle, using products from Nyx, just keep reading.

Since purples, glitters, and textured finishes are just about everywhere these days, I decided to make my own spin on these trends by creating this glittery green and purple holiday manicure. First, I started off with two thin layers of Nyx Fig ($3), which is slightly similar to Chanel's wildly popular Paradoxal. (Be sure to check out a few tips for applying a dark polish here.)

Then, I used the Teal Sparkle Effect shade from CND's Fall/Winter 2010 Night Factory Duo set ($16) as a top coat. The almost-iridescent results I got from combining these cool-toned shades together garnered lots of compliments. And nobody even noticed my less-than-model perfect digits. (It's an an intense job, anyway.)