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.

Mini-Review: NYX Round Lipsticks in Fig and Georgia

Adding another review to the plethora of NYX round lipstick reviews! This product is so well-documented online and I am not surprised. It's impossible to find a shade you won't like since they have a dizzying number of colors and finishes, it's creamy, and it's cheap. It does have a distinct scent but you can't smell it on your lips anyway, so other than that there is really no reason to pass on a tube. Or two. Or five.

This will be a mini-review as I've already gone over the formula and packaging in a previous entry, click here to read! I'll be focusing on the shades for this one.

Review: MAC Cremesheen Lipstick in Crème In Your Coffee, and a dupe!

Photo credit: MAC

Description: Colour plus texture for the lips. Stands out on the runway. Simmers on the street! What made M·A·C famous.

Price & Amount: MAC lipsticks cost Php950 (~$22) for 3g and are available in their stores in Glorietta, Shang, Rockwell, Mall of Asia, and Trinoma. However, I bought mine from Duty Free where it's Php750 (~$17). In the U.S., I believe these go for $14.50.

Packaging: Easily recognizable bullet-shaped lipstick with the M.A.C. label printed on the cap and tube. Has more heft than my drugstore lipsticks and closes with a more reliable-sounding click.

Review: When I first approached the MAC counter in Duty Free with the intention of buying a lipstick, I didn't really think about the finish. I was more interested in getting something that I'd use everyday, to get my money's worth from spending so much on a small tube. I first looked for Twig, which I've read from various beauty blogs as a good everyday shade, but it was out of stock! I decided to go with my gut feel on what looks nice and ended up with Crème In Your Coffee, which is a creamy mid-tone pink brown. On my lips the pink shows up quite nicely!

CIYC as seen on the MAC website.

Crème In Your Coffee is a cremesheen finish. I found this description from scandalousbeauty: "Ultra sheer and uber moist, it features flat pigments and a creamy high shine finish to lips." I wouldn't say CIYC is sheer, because I find that I get a healthy amount of color from this lipstick. The shine doesn't hurt it either. It is very creamy and easy to apply. Best of all, it wears comfortably and looks beautiful on the lips for a much longer time than any of the lippies I've tried so far. I often exfoliate my lips in the middle of the day because for some reason it already looks a bit bad by then, and it's harder to prep them for a reapplication of whatever shade I'm sporting that day. The freshly applied shade looks uneven and unappealing. This lipstick is the only one that doesn't do that. 

Etude House LUCIDarling Lipstick in No. 10 (L) next to CIYC (R).

My other everyday lipstick (before my NYX ones) is noticeably sheerer in comparison, but both have high shine that looks very pretty on the lips. It's noticeably pinker in the swatch above than in the shade from the website, which is a more accurate rendition of how it looks when I slick it on. Crème In Your Coffee wears better as well, of course. Either there is a reason why good lipsticks are expensive, or I'm just really impressed with this finish. This shade is a good introduction to MAC lipsticks, especially when you can't find the more popular shades in-store. Highly recommended!

However, if you're just after the shade, strapped for cash or can't get MAC where you are, might I suggest an alternative?

L-R: EH LUCIDarling No. 10, NYX B52, MAC Crème In Your Coffee

NYX's B52 is a close dupe! Less shine, more color, and just as pretty.

Review: NYX Round Lipsticks

Photo credit: NYX (cropped by me)

Description: A velvet-textured lipstick formulated with mineral oils to provide moisturizing benefits and rich colors. NYX's top selling lipstick, the Round Lipstick offers long-lasting, non-smudging color.

Price & Amount: Amount is 4 g./0.14 oz. This retails for $4 from the NYX website. Locally, this is available for P299 in Pure Beauty in Serendra & Beauty Cocktails in Glorietta 4. I was able to buy this for P160 from Digital Traincase, though prices by online sellers can go as high as P250.

Packaging: Black and white plastic tube with a clear part at the bottom that shows you the shade, which is quite helpful considering the rest of the packaging. It looks and feels cheap, but hey, it is cheap. The locking mechanism when you twist the lipstick down for storage is more obvious and reassuring here compared to the other lipsticks I own (MAC, Maybelline, Etude). I found this to be true for all but one of the lipsticks I have, which is really loose on the other hand. Inconsistencies in packaging perhaps, or just bad luck.

Review: When I received the NYX Round Lipsticks from Sol of Digital Traincase after coming home from work, I had to resist using them right then and there because I wanted to experiment with taking product pictures during daytime. The next morning I snapped so many pictures and used two cameras, so forgive me for the trigger-happy entry.

My general thoughts:

• Wide, overwhelming selection of shades and finishes. Swatches on the website, however, may be rather inaccurate and give no indication of the finish. Best to Google around for a particular shade that catches your fancy to see how it would really look on the lips.
• Very pigmented and creamy. I find that they stay put until I eat or drink, at which point it disappears. The creaminess of the lipstick means I have to exfoliate thoroughly beforehand or it catches onto any and all dry patches. Settles into fine lines a bit as well, though it's not as obvious with the darker shades.
• Synthetic scent and taste, but something I can live with. The scent could cause headaches if you really sniff it (which I did for testing purposes, haha).
• They are also drying, and cause trouble for my already dry lips. I slather on more balm and have to give it time to settle before applying the lipstick, or else it will just slide.
• The price (depending on where you buy) allows you to indulge without fear of wasting money. Thus, I ordered a couple of bold shades to try next to the everyday ones I really wanted.

Jump for photos and swatches!

Review: Maybelline Moisture Extreme Lipcolor

Photo credit: Maybelline New York

Note: The Moisture Extreme lipstick is sold in the Philippines as the ColorSensational Moisture Extreme lipcolor. What a mouthful.

Description:

• Sumptuous satin lipcolor with built-in balm
• All-day, deep-down moisture nourishment
• Anti-chap ingredients repair and protect lips
• Contains Vitamins C, E, and Jojoba

Price & Amount: P299 for 4.0 g/0.14 oz. However, I managed to get mine in Singapore because the L'Oreal Beauty Sale was happening right in our hotel at the time. If I remember correctly, they were going for two for SGD$10 (around P330 at the time). Bargain!

Packaging: Shiny red plastic that stands out in your makeup bag. It feels very light and flimsy, but the cap is pretty secure. A con for these lipsticks when they were sold in Singapore is that all the shades have the same red packaging, which meant that to know which shade you were picking up you had to look at the bottom. Definitely not a grab-and-go lipstick here if you have more than one shade in your bag. In the Philippines, however, the packaging color is according to the color family the shade is in (pink, red, orange, brown), so it's easier.

Review:
Here are some of the shades, freshly bought and sitting on the hotel desk in Singapore:

I gave most of these away to friends, but was left with five pretty shades.

With flash. L-R: Pink Bloom, Light Berry, Coral Pink, Buff, Papaya Milk

Of the five shades, Pink Bloom is the only color that I can confidently swipe on. All the others pack a lot of color and require more precise application. Dabbing on the lips already gives an even layer of color and all the shades are very buildable. I reapply after a meal because they do transfer when you eat or drink; otherwise, they stay put and just look a bit faded at the end of the day. While they do feel a bit moisturizing, they emphasize fine lines and do not look nice on peeling lips. I still put balm underneath and regularly exfoliate. My favorite is Pink Bloom because it's perfect for everyday, but I also like how Light Berry brightens up the face due to its purple undertone. Coral Pink & Buff are perfect for those client meetings/trainings, while Papaya Milk... I've only ever worn it outside the house once, and that was to a 20's-themed party. I'm not sure if I can carry reds yet!

I recommend these for people who are looking for comfortable, pigmented lipsticks that won't break the bank. Maybelline regularly has sales as well so you can probably get them even cheaper. :)

Review: Etude House LUCIDarling Fantastic Rouge Lipstick

Happy New Year! :) Starting off with a review of one of my favorite lipsticks:

Look at all those pretty colors!

Description (from box): Makeup line promotes LED (Light Emitting Diode) color, radiance and clarity to makeup expression.

Price & Amount: P478 per 4.5 g / 0.15 oz.

Packaging (photos from Etude House Philippines):

The lipstick is housed in a flower-shaped plastic case with a bow design at the bottom. Underneath is a sticker with the shade number (and name, presumably, but it's all in Korean). Pretty but it feels cheap. The case is a bit bigger than a MAC lipstick.

Review: I have this in No. 10 Mocha Beige (English names can be seen here). There are 11 shades available, though the 11th was released only recently in the Golden Ratio collection. I used this image as a reference for picking shades:

The original 10 shades.

I liked No. 10 because it seemed to be the most natural and I didn't want an attention-grabbing shade. I found the guide to be near-true (see swatch below), because I did end up going away with No. 10 when I used the testers. Side story: I have this fear of using lipstick testers, but I was lucky enough to be the first to use the ones in Etude House's kiosk inside the SM Fairview department store. So I tested to my heart's content!

No. 10 Mocha Beige (on top). The bottom one is from MAC, which I'll review in another post!

No. 10 is indeed a brown-toned lipstick, but on my lips it leaves a hint of pink plus a little shine (the LED effect, I suppose!). It's very suitable for everyday wear, which was just what I was looking for in a lipstick. I did find this to settle in lines after awhile, so it's best to use a lip balm underneath. It's my SOP to use lip balm so this wasn't a problem for me. When reapplying it's best to take the entire thing off (say, after a meal) and slick on a fresh coat of balm + lipstick. It takes a little more time, which may be a turn-off for some. And the nice thing about MLBB lipsticks is that when it starts to fade, it's not as noticeable ;)

Will I repurchase? Yes! But I won't for now because there are so many more brands of lipstick to try out there. Also, I feel bad about purchasing so many MLBB shades for some reason. I almost bought NYX's B52 but it looked too close to the two everyday shades I already have (plus I felt it was overpriced for 299 pesos :c). Ironically, I'm also a bit scared to try brighter, bolder lipsticks. We'll see! It's a new year, after all. :) Any brands and shades of lipstick to recommend? Please share in the comments!