Relatively Small Nyx Soft Matte Lip Cream Review

I know these are old, but as they have persevered through the ages (there are vlogs about the soft mattes going back to at least 2010) I figured there must be something good about them.

I had originally tried Nyx's matte lipstick and I hated it. It was incredibly drying and patchy, I'm already on the fence about traditional lipstick tubes and this was a terrible combination of two things I'm rather wary of.


At first I was completely enamored with the soft matte lip creams because they were less drying, in a packaging I preferred, and had a similar scent to the butter glosses (I also hate lip glosses). However, as the novelty of them wore off and I went about trying the thousands of other lipstick options in the world I realized they really weren't that great.

Swatches

 The hand swatches are just one swipe, the lip swatches were 2-3 swipes on bare lips, no primer or liner.


Sydney- supposed to be lavender but it looks more pink to me. Not that that is a bad thing because it makes it more wearable but I love the idea of pastels and not just vampy lip colors. This color looks beautiful on the hand swatch but I just don't like how it turned out on my lips.

Istanbul- the color on the tube does not match the color of the actual product. I expected this to be the color of Milan.  You know how if you make a line with a white board marker and then go back over it the color comes up? Well, Istanbul did exactly that which is why my edges suck particularly bad.



Milan- Yet another color inconsistency, this is a hot pink and I expected it to be the color of Istanbul. It feathered and bled quite a bit.

 Ibiza- An orange red, true to color. Very pretty but also bleeds like no other.

 Copenhagen- A gorgeous color, but its semi-sheer so the color of your natural lips will change how it looks on your lips. In this case the other creams stained, which is why Copenhagen looks more red or maroon.

Product Break-Down

Advantages
- Affordable at <6 a="" p="" piece="">- Come in a HUGE variety of colors
- A little more moisturizing because of its cream form
- doe foot applicator is a little more precise than your traditional tube

Disadvantages
- Shade discrepancies (tube does not always match actual product color
- Bleeds
- The smudgery of this lip product should be illegal. I am super clumsy, and this product just likes to get all up in your business. Nyx Soft Matte lip cream is that one friend you give your phone to so that they can look at a single picture who then feels like they can just keep on scrolling.

Notes
- Darker shades tend to stain
- Smells sweet like a decent artificial cupcake scent, only slightly different from the Butter Glosses
- Lighter shades especially last like 3 hours at the most (not counting residual stain)
- Never really sets up, it is very much a lipstick, it transfers though it does dry down some so that it transfers less.

Final Thoughts

If I were to give this a star rating, it would get 3 of 5. It's not a bad product, and if you think it looks interesting go ahead and pick one up, but at least for me personally it isn't worth all the hype its getting. I can see how there are people out there who would love it though, because it is an affordable, less drying matte lip color and if you are willing to keep up with the maintenance, these might be a great option.

Maybelline Baby Lips Electro

 Yet another collection from Baby Lips, I think there is 4 now if you count the originals.


These are only 4 of the six shades because, as I have mentioned before, I am allowing myself no more hot pink lippies. Every time I say this though it seems like pink would have been a good option to swatch, but it is what it is.




The tubes with a little product rolled up so that you can see what I am putting on my lips:

The MSRP on these is $4.




Here is the product swatched on my hand (I also discovered that they look beautiful on a tissue but that is not an accurate representation of this product so it isn't here), the yellow and the green are very sheer, only the orange and the purple seem to have any real pigmentation.

It was this difference in pigmentation that made me wish I had bought the other two pinks, because I can't say how those would react.







Fierce N' Tangy (Yellow)- There is nothing fierce about this product. I do get a slight yellow sheen, but it is so sheer that the only thing its going to do is make you look jaundiced. It does smell lemoney though, so that is pretty fun.

Minty Sheer (Green)- it is sheer alright, basically a clear lip balm. There is almost zero pigmentation to this one. This one smells minty, like spearmint.






Oh! Orange-  Finally something with pigmentation. It makes my lips a very subtle coral color, nothing particularly electrifying about it. I think they tried to do an orange scent with this one, and then failed miserably. The scent is weak a little weird like they couldn't be bothered to choose between Orange Crush and True Orange.

I don't know how you mess up the smell of oranges, especially when you clearly understand the smell of lemons.

Berry Bomb (Purple)- This was what I was expecting from all of them. It has the traditional Baby Lips scent and a sort of electric sheen to it.

To the right are swatches of the Clinique Baby Tint in Flowering Freesia. Clinique's runs a bit pinker, which is why it is not as electric, but they look similar enough that if you want that very sheer wash of moisturizing color without the 17$ price tag, you could pick Berry Bomb up instead.

Final Thoughts

Overall, the collection seems okay. I did go ahead and do some searching for lip swatches of the pink and red colors, and those ones looked pigmented as well, so they just happened to completely fail on the two most interesting and unique shades in the whole collection. I would recommend these to young girls (they have coordinated scents, and bright packaging, but are so sheer it's pretty difficult to screw up) and people who like the idea of a truly sheer moisturizing lip color but not the price tag of higher end products

Let's Talk: Two-Step Liquid Lip Color

A few years ago I discovered the joys of the two-step lip color. I have been using Maybelline and Revlon's lippies interchangeably for quite a while. I tend to lean towards Maybelline because it has a balm on the other side instead of a gloss like the Revlon.

Recently, I have been intrigued by Covergirl's Outlast, and as I have been needing a coral lippie, I was able to justify purchasing it. Upon doing this, I realized that I had never really put any of the brands head to head. Thus, this experiment was born. All of these brands are similar in cost, running right around $7- $10 each at my Walgreens and intended to do the same thing.

We are testing multiple things

- Application
- Staying Power
- Reaction to Lip Liner
- Comfort



 Bare lips for reference above and a showcase of the products I used on the left. For the record, while I would usually use my Elf Lip Lock pencil, the Lord and Berry one is thinner. I am certain they are basically the same thing otherwise.

 Revlon Colorstay  and Rimmel Provocalips have an up to 16 hour wear time, while Maybelline Super Stay and Covergirl Outlast supposedly have up to 24 hours of wear time.

Test #1

Revlon Constant Coral, Covergirl Coral Sunset, Maybelline On and On Orchid

This photo was taken at approximately 5:45PM, just after initial application of color and top coat. I specifically chose three very different colors in order to more easily determine which was which on my lips.

At 6:00 PM I begin eating pizza- pizza is greasy to this is a true test of resilience

Now, at 6:50 PM after having nearly made myself sick on pizza and chocolate, the areas where the lip liner was have come away, and there is inner lip wear, but it is still there.

My conclusion is that two-step lip colors are intended to be used without a lip liner for best results. 

At 8:30 PM I noticed my center lip color, especially on my bottom lip was crumbling away.

When I went to bed at 11:00 PM this is what my lips looked like



And finally, this is what my lips looked like at 9:45 the next morning. The Revlon was the only color I would say lasted for the entire stated time. It is still patchy, but I would count it.

Test #2

Revlon Bare Maximum vs. Rimmel Provocalips in I'll Call You

These brands both have the same lasting time, and I have yet to be able to showcase the Rimmel lippie. At 4 PM I put on one single coat of each of these lipsticks.

At 4:30 PM I started sucking on a lollipop. Minor color transfer from Rimmel onto the stick but no appearance change on the lips





6:30 PM after having eaten dinner: some fading, but it is minimal enough that I think just reapplying the top coat would be fine









9:30 AM the next morning, after a lovely evening of vomiting (TMI I know, but both the colors stayed pretty well). These products both won hardcore, Rimmel is cheaper but I like the top coat the least, the color selection is quite limited, and it is quite a bit patchier as well.

Final Thoughts

So every brand has a different idea of corals. Nudes I understand, most brands have hopped on the bandwagon of making many nude shades because hey, people don't all have the same skin color. Coral though, I get that it is a personal preference, and I agree that there is some shade range but the red Revlon lippie I used is supposed to be coral, and that is not coral, it is a bright red, maybe orange if you want to go there. 

None of them actually lasted 24 hours on my mouth, or even 16 really. I didn't expect them to, at least not on an actual human who eats and talks and occasionally rubs at their mouths.

Ultimately, once I got them on my lips, they preformed relatively similarly with the biggest variation being in lasting time.  I think it is really about what you like to see in color range, initial application, packaging, how you like to apply your lipstick, and what top coat you want that really matters here. So below are my personal pros and cons, so that if you're interested you can get an idea of what you like. 

Covergirl Outlast- $10

Pros

- Has the largest color range

- I like their lip balm the best
Cons

Two tubes for one product 

Lip balm is scented

Crumbled off easily after a few hours 

Application can be a little streaky
Product can get gloopy before drying

Actual Lasting Time- Safely 3 hours
Reccomended For- People who love to change their lip color but still want transfer-proof qualities

Revlon Colorstay Overtime- $10

Pros

Slim Packaging

Solid one-swipe coverage
Held up better than the rest

Cons

Gloss with strange brush for top coat

Most pathetic color range

Don't seem to understand what colors are- that red lippie I have been showing you is supposed to be coral.



Actual Lasting Time- safely 10 hours
Recommended for- people who like shine and staying power

Maybelline Super Stay- $7

Pros

Unscented Lip Balm

Solid one-swipe coverage

Cons

Large container size

Larger applicator

Everything leans pink in their line of colors

Scented color (but it goes away quickly)

Actual Lasting Time- Safely 3 hours

Recommended For- People who want the least expensive transfer-proof lipstick they can change up often.

Rimmel Provocalips- $7

Pros

By far the most comfortable on the lips 

Solid one-swipe coverage

Has staining power

Cons

Lacks complete smudge-proofness

Weird opening and closing mechanism

Scented top coat

Color transfers onto top coat wand even after allowing sufficient drying time.

Actual Lasting Time- Safely 9 hours
Recommended For- People who like staying power, like staining, really want comfort, and enjoy less glossy finishes

Pixi Shea Butter Lip Balms

I'm fairly certain I mentioned these in a favorites at one point, and I discovered they carry the whole line at Target, so it's not even difficult to go get them. While I was tempted to buy the entire collection my wallet and vast lippie collection has thanked me for not doing so. Instead I have almost the entire collection, minus Pixi Pink because I told myself I was not allowed to buy more hot pink lippies.







Price: 8$ per lippie
If you are really into them though they do a set of three (comfort clear, honey nectar, and ripe raspberry) for 16$.

They also do sets of 4 on Birchbox.com for 28$, but that is only a 4$ savings where the set of three for 16$ you actually get one free, so its cheaper (even if you want the whole collection actually)

Scent: They have a sweet scent to them, which I personally find absolutely delicious.

Feel: They go on smooth and don't have any of the waxy feeling you get from original Chapstick or EOS, but they still feel quite moisturizing.





Colors and Swatches:

Left to right; Ripe Raspberry, Coral Crush, Natural Rose, Honey Nectar

Comfort Clear- clear, it is weirdly pink in the tube, but goes on completely clear, and without any noticeable formula change.







Honey Nectar- a pink nude, my personal favorite as it is my go to MLBB color.








Natural Rose- a semi-mauvey pink and a close color match for UD's Revolution Lipstick in Rush. When I was working through a lipstick sample of it, I brought along Natural Rose to be my lip balm touch-up color.



Coral Crush- An orange leaning coral.

Ripe Raspberry- A raspberry red. I was concerned about the hand swatch, because it looked very pink, but it is subtly raspberry colored, like after you've eaten a whole bag of frozen raspberries (no? just me? okay) except that it is evenly colored.