Review: NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream in Sao Paulo & Antwerp

So yeah...my attempted Zipia haul was a huge fail ;_; eheh oh well, it's probably a sign that I need to stop shopping ^_^;;   If anyone is interested, let me know...because I just think I'm going to hold off until then :| The thought of going through a survey exhausts me *sigh*

Also, question: Do you guys prefer having full posts on the homepage of the blog or do you prefer clicking "Read More"?   I've just been thinking have Page Breaks would allow me to have more entries per page and might cut down on image loading...what do you guys think?

Anyway - another NYX review!  These babies are lovely - smooth, rich, and the only American brand of matte lipstick I would recommend.  As a general rule I favor lip tints and glosses but my love of the Etude House Dear Darling Ultra Shine Lip Stick and Holika Holika Aqua Muse Watery Lipstick, which remain to this day my favorite lipsticks (the latter would be much better without the soap taste tho) - eventually led me to try more lipsticks. NYX has by far the most affordable and quality lipsticks you can get I think and these are a good addition to NYX's lipstick collection.

Purchased at: $4.50 @ Cherry Culture



Packaging: Simple and to the point - it's just a plastic tube with a fingerprint-prone twist cap that I could do without (same material as NARS makeup, yuck). Classic doe foot. Overall, nothing fancy but I like how compact and sturdy it is.  My two complaints: 1.) I wish they printed the lip colors on side instead of using stickers on the bottom.  It looks cheap and peels off easily. 2.) The cap material...it gets dirty so easily.

Scent: A creamy, rich (distinctly artificial) vanilla scent.   It's a milder vanilla scent than other NYX products though and it smells quite acceptable.  But again, scentless would have been ideal.

Texture: So rich & creamy!  Smooth as silk and not sticky at all.   By far one of the nicest textured lipsticks ever.  It just glides on your lips.  It's pretty moisturizing even though it has a matte finish - it goes on like a cream and dries matte.


Swatches turned out looking really...similar.  Antwerp has a much more peachy hue and is lighter than San Paulo.
Pigmentation: Amazingggggggg~  As you can see ;) The tube color is pretty much what you get on your lips.  One coat of is quite sufficient.

Lasting Power: This is a matte lipstick despite it's creaminess and it's lasting power is right between a traditional lipgloss and traditional lipstick.  I would say roughly 4-5 hours if you don't eat or lick your lips a lot.


Without flash.
Antwerp: This is a lovely pink with strong peach undertones.  Interestingly enough when I apply this it tends to turn a lot more pink than peach.  The last pic (3rd from the left) turned out really blurry :\ but the color is actually quite close to the how it looks on my lips as a final result.  Much more pink than it looks when you initially apply it.  I'm not sure why it turns out so pink (I like a bit of peach/orange in my lipsticks) but it's a pretty color all the same.


A little chapped O_o
San Paulo: ahhh super big macro lip shots!  Not sure why these turned out so well ^^;;  This series of pics shows clearly how this lipstick goes on creamy then dries matte.  It does rather sink into fine lines now that I look at it - but I haven't tried a matte lipstick that doesn't sink into fine lines yet either.  This "dries" into a dark pink with a light purple undertone.  It's a decent color but I wish the color stayed the rosy pink that it is when you first put it on.  I prefer Antwerp because the faint purple tint of San Paulo gives me makes me look a little old imho...   Nonetheless, I can totally see other people rocking this color.

Overall
Antwerp is the only lipstick color I wear regularly but both of these are really nice in terms of quality.  Very creamy, pigmented, affordable, and decently scented.  As a matte lipstick it does tend to sink into fine lines but it's more moisturizing and shows fine lines less compared to other matte lipsticks I've tried (Lioele, MAC).  I think matte lipsticks tend to age a face so I don't wear them too often, but I don't regret buying these at all.

I would recommend these to people who want to try a matte lipstick.  It's just as good quality (perhaps bette) as more expensive brands and overall delivers on what a matte lipstick is supposed to do.  However, what really sets these apart compared to other matte lipsticks is the texture!  It's so creamy and rich without being sticky or cloying.  People who like subtle colors and glossy finishes, however, may want to skip these.