Review: NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream

Tomorrow would mark a month since my last entry! Goodness. The sales conference I've been working on for the past few months finally sprung into being in the first few days of March, and now that's over, I'm refocusing on my daily work tasks and on getting my social life back, haha. Beauty-wise, I had the opportunity to road-test a few products I've had for awhile (e.g. UD Naked!), so expect reviews on those hopefully soon.

One of the products I've taken to using lately are the NYX Soft Matte Lip Creams. Prior to these, I have never tried any matte shade, so I was pretty excited when I ordered the Milan shade from Digital Traincase along with my NYX Round Lipsticks. Moving forward, I wanted to try giving red a go, starting with a subtler finish. I was able to purchase Amsterdam from Pure Beauty in Serendra.

NYX Soft Matte Lip Creams retail for only P290 + shipping (free if your purchase is P400+) on DT, but in Pure Beauty it's P379. The latter is still actually quite reasonable if you factor in overhead costs especially given the area, but if you plan to purchase multiple shades, online is the way to go. Oh, and if you're planning to buy from the NYX website, Google the shades you want. The swatches are mostly rubbish.

My tube of Milan looks nothing like that swatch.

The tubes are colored according to shade, and the handle is a rubberized black--very nice to hold, but prone to staining and hard to clean. Each tube is labeled with the shade name, batch code, item description and ingredients. The lip creams are cruelty-free (look for the rabbit icon) and hypoallergenic. It has a standard doe-foot applicator that tends to pick up a wee bit too much product, since it's quite pigmented.

Which brings us to the product itself: it's pigmented and goes on smoothly. It's easy to spread around and be precise about it as well, using the applicator. It dries to a soft matte finish that just looks absolutely lovely. Also it has the most incredible scent I've ever had the opportunity to experience in a lip product; it's like rich buttercream chiffon cake. Mmm.

However... as a person with perennially dry lips, using this lip cream is a little more challenging. Exfoliation with a damp toothbrush is a must, and so is a layer of my favorite lipbalm. If I miss either, the matte finish of the lip cream makes my lips into a flaky, colorful mess in less than half a workday. Also, if I don't give the lipbalm enough time to settle, the lip cream slides around and dries up in streaks if not blended properly. The nature of the finish clings to the lips but results in a shorter wear time in particularly dry areas.

Amsterdam is an in-your-face red, and I chuckle at the appropriate shade name;
Milan is a pretty pink that gives just enough brightness to the face.

Despite the many cons and additional prep time, I am enamored by the NYX Soft Matte Lip Creams. I absolutely love the finish because it's so different from what I usually wear, and the shades I have are gorgeous. I'm willing to go the extra step of caring for my lip area with these, but they are not perfect. Still, I'm planning to purchase more when I have a little extra cash to spare--eyeing Antwerp and Monte Carlo next.

Have you tried the NYX Soft Matte Lip Creams? What are your thoughts?