NYX lip product mini haul

I've really only recently discovered NYX, which I've only ever found at Ulta, but so far I like what I have tried. I'm a lip product junkie and the ones from this brand are reasonably priced which makes them a double threat! Ulta recently had this brand on sale for 40% off so these are the lip products I picked up - - -

From left to right:

- Mega Shine Lip Gloss in Pink Rose #163, Ulta $5.49

- Xtreme Lip Cream in Natural #10, Ulta $5.99

- Xtreme Lip Cream in Skin Tone #08, Ulta $5.99

- Xtreme Lip Cream in Buttery Nude #04, Ulta $5.99

- Round Case Lipstick in Strawberry Milk # 595, Ulta $3.99

- Soft Matte Lip Cream in Milan #11, Ulta $5.99

- Soft Matte Lip Cream in Tokyo #03, Ulta $5.99

I really like this lip gloss; this shade is incredibly wearable and great for when you want some color but nothing over the top. It's a soft rose pink with a touch of shimmer and is buildable. In the swatch I did a couple passes so you can see that it is fairly pigmented. It has a great soft applicator and a nice fruity smell to it (I refuse to wear glosses that smell bad; I've tried and failed miserably). This is also fairly long lasting and moisturizing. I already have my eye on some more shades!

These Xtreme Lip Creams are unlike any product I've ever tried before. The packaging says "It's not a lipstick, nor is it gloss. It's like nothing you've experienced before. It's a liquid lipstick that goes on with full xtreme color and intense shine." This is a really good description of exactly what it is! 

Because these are literally liquid lipsticks and not lipglosses, I find them a bit drying so I apply them to bare lips first, let it dry, and then apply a little bit of potted gloss or lipgloss over. They don't have a fruity smell like the lipgloss but instead have a sweet plastic smell that I don't find unpleasant enough for me not to wear.

I purchased three neutral colors and in the swatches I applied several coats. The first photo I took near a window for natural light and the second is an indoor lighting shot. 

Overall, I like the unique idea of these but find them too drying and needing too much 'babysitting' (always checking in the mirror to make sure my lips don't look too dry or needing re-touching) to become one of my go-to items. 

It's hard for me to really speak to this lipstick because I think the problem may be that I just picked the wrong shade. Ulta says that this is NYX's best selling lipstick and has a velvety texture with high shine and I have to say I agree with those points but I just don't like this particular shade. Because I like the texture, I would be willing to purchase this in another color. 

Strawberry Milk is a light baby pink that looks somewhat frosty when applied; something I also don't like for myself. This lipstick also has an odd smell to it. I can't describe it as anything else but what white mushrooms smell like lol. Luckily, the smell goes away after it's applied. 

So I know the whole matte look is pretty much over, but I hemmed and hawed for so long about jumping on that bandwagon that I basically ended up missing it lol. So at 40% off I figured I would finally cave and try it!

Despite the fact that I am obsessed with keeping my lips moisturized, I thought I would hate these because matte tends to look and feel drying but I actually found that I was able to tolerate these better than I thought I would. 

The color on top is the lighter color, Tokyo, which I am still playing around with and not as comfortable wearing just because it is such a light color; I worry that it makes my lips look cracked and dry. The bottom color, Milan, is far more wearable for me and I actually love the shade. On my lips it ends up looking like a medium hued rose pink. Once it starts feeling a little too dry, I can apply a gloss or even just chapstick and it looks like a pretty colored rose gloss.