NYX Butter Lipstick

My obsession for lip products is a well-documented fact that I repeat on my blog and social media pages consistently! You will find me impersonating the spirit of drab and lazy attire with unkempt hair... rocking a killer color on the lips with on-point brows :-D The brows and lips will be in the couture capital of Milan while everything else will be emerging from the metropolitan slums. Just to give a stark contrast :-)

I had been obsessing over NYX Butter Lipstick since its launch. One thing or another delayed the purchase and I turned indifferent... till I found them perched on the NYX makeup counter I surprisingly came across in Centerpoint, The Mall of Emirates, Dubai. It felt like Alice wandering into a Wonderland. NYX - on SALE <3 <3 I vanished from my husband's side like a bolt. Otherwise, I am as fast as a turtle stampeding through a buttered glass (as someone put it in a comic). The first day I got two shades, but they were not enough. I returned the next day to bag two more. Did my passion for NYX Butter Lipsticks pay off? Read up, loves:

NYX Butter Lipstick ($6) claims to deliver high impact full coverage pigmented color that is lightweight and non-sticky. The creamy lipstick promises hydration with color payoff in a total of 22 shades. I spotted several shades stocked at Just4Girls.PK too! When I was visiting UAE last summers, the NYX counter in Centerpoint, Mall of Emirates carried only 6-7 shades from the range. I picked 4 - one from each color family. Purple/Plum, Pink, Coral, Red

HUNK - A cool-toned purple-magenta. I have tried this shade in different lights (and on different people), its color ranges from anything purple to pink. Unique and interesting choice for all seasons & occasions.

LITTLE SUSIE - A neutral pale pink color. It's refreshing and age-appropriate for young teens as well as casual day out for all those who wish to sport a barbie-pink flattering desi skin tones.

FIREBALL - A sheer coral pink with buildable coverage. Again, it leans more orange in some lights and coral-pink in other. I have similar shades in my collection, but this is certainly a treat to wear.

BIG CHERRY - A cherry-red with strong pink undertones. Very flattering on both fair & dusky skin tones. 

Let's see how each of these performed on me as per the claims:

Hunk

It is an unusual color - very interesting, if you like to experiment with bold lips while roaming around the safe territory - this is your best bet! My husband always frowns on anything berry - he's always say, why "PURPLE"? -_- It's a lost cause discussing color spectrum with him, but I do like my berry colors. And I don't have as many as he claims that I have :P It is like having that alter-ego which you can flaunt (as and when needed). I gravitated towards this as soon as I swatched it in-store. On my pigmented lips, one swipe gives a semi-opaque coverage. The sheer coverage can be built up. For this particular shade, I feel that its pigmentation does not appear 100% even beyond - say - 7/8 swipes. I felt that it was sheerer than the rest. It is emollient, but not the soft-creamy type. That is a plus point because I wore this outdoors and kept it in my bag during the scorching summers and it did not melt. I still recommend caution because too many of my lipsticks have suffered bullet damage as they've kept in the makeup bag for an extended period of time. Even though it did not dry out my lips, I did not find it hydrating specifically. Just a comfortable formula to wear. Transferability, yes. That is pretty obvious with a finish like this. It did not dry out my lips and stayed on for an impressive duration of 4 hours without meals. Beyond that, it left behind a beautiful magenta stain that stays put for another 3-4 hours. It fades evenly, so at the end of a 10-hour period of wearing it, I still find a slight tint or an ombre outline around my lips (unless I wipe my lips with a tissue).

Little Susie

Little Susie is a cliche shade for me. From Guerlain to Revlon, I just find the soft neutral bubbly pinks to be a must-have. It's the lipstick that I put on just while dashing out of the house for some grocery. Nothing too high maintenance, yet very girly. I find it to be quite similar to Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter in Sweet Tart. The difference is - NYX Butter Lipstick is less creamy/melt-y, with coverage that can be built up to being semi-opaque with a sheer first swipe. Personally, I like this to be on the sheerer side for casual usage. However, I tested it out by wearing it with a grey-silver smoky eyes on a formal occasion. It is best that you try that with some liner. It does not bleed on my lips, but the wear-time was shorter. Nearly 3-4 hours with no tint/stain left behind. The texture and hydration was the same - not moisturizing or overly creamy - just the right consistency.

Fireball

I am wary of Corals, in general. They do not flatter my pigmented lips and require me to prep my face up with some foundation before I can sport them. Fireball was an interesting pick for me. I did not grab it immediately, but swatched on my arm among other lip products. Then, I roamed around the mall and returned to Centerpoint at the end of the day to grab a t-shirt my husband had liked before. A quick round to the cosmetics section, and I saw that the previous swatch of the lipstick left a neat tint. Beautifully orange coral. I got this one on a whim and have not regretted one bit. Just like Little Susie, I have different shades in my stash matching to this one, but it is the easiest to work with on-the-go. I make the best usage out of it in Summers since almost all clothes in my wardrobe complement this shade :-D It wears for around 4 hours with a nice tint leftover that lasts another hour or two. If you're vigorously chewing on your lips, it might not last as long. The formulation for this was less buttery in comparison to others of the same range - nothing that would be of concern though. It's pink-coral, so you might get one between Little Susie and Fireball, if you do not wish to get similar shades. I am not color-blind, these ARE different... but close enough like... umm... first cousins perhaps?

Big Cherry

Due to strong pink undertones, Big Cherry ranges from deep pink to red under different lights. I am fond of reds, but my inclination is towards opaque reds. For some reason reds and sheer coverage do not work out well for me. Nevertheless, this was one of the most pigmented shades from the first swipe and can be built up to an almost-opaque coverage through multiple swipes. I do not get enough opportunity to wear it frequently. Still, it is the best pick for those who want to venture into young-reds without going overboard. If you line your lips lightly with a pink-red liner, this one gives you a luscious red pout. For natural look, I wear a couple of swipes of this and blot. The result is almost the same tint as Benefit's cult favorite BENETINT - with the added advantage of no-dryness. Tints tend to dry my lips out at the end of the wear-time. So... the full throttle lasting power of this is good 3-4 hours. It fades faster than other shades, although it is not creamier than the rest. The tint lasts for another 2 or so hours. It's a gorgeous color and a must-have for sure.

Let's feast our eyes with the buttery goodness of NYX Butter Lipstick swatches under different lights. Since I took the pictures at an almost-day-end, the quality of photography is perhaps not as good as I would have wanted it to be:

Single Swipe - Natural Light/No Flash

Multiple Swipes - Natural Light/No Flash

Multiple Swipes - Natural Light/With Flash

I thoroughly enjoy the comfortable and decent wear-time of the NYX Butter Lipsticks. They are not a replacement for a lip balm, but something you can sport without one and not face flaky dry lips at the end of the day. They are a decent balance for those who wish to venture into bolder shades without in-your-face kind of a formulation. It is pretty easy to work with and best-suited for casual wear. 

NYX Butter Lipsticks are available through drugstores like Ulta, QVC, Drugstore.com, Walgreens, Walmart, etc. Folks in Pakistan can pre-order via Facebook pages or grab these shades & more from Just4Girls.PK for PKR 1,150/- each.

If you have tried NYX Butter Lipsticks or wish to pick a few shades out of these - I'd love to hear it from you in the comments <3

Cheers,

Bia