little white truths

NYX claims/product details:

• Buttery soft and silky smooth 
• This scrumptious gloss tastes as sweet as a sugar cookie - and makes your lips look downright luscious
• Swipe it on alone or over your favourite lipstick for a creamy, sheer-to-medium coverage that melts onto your lips and is never sticky 
• Leaves your lips soft, supple and kissable
• RRP $9.95 AUD for 8ml, but do shop around

Verdict

I love this gloss and I've given the formula an HG tag. While this isn't the highest-performing shade in the range, I still love it and I'm happy to use it.

It's a standard gloss that comes in a plastic tube with a doe-foot applicator. It has a sweet, sugary scent that's not overpowering so it's a good, balanced kind of scent for a product like this.

The gloss feels very comfortable to wear and it's hydrating enough for my dry lips that I can rely on it for hydration throughout the day. For this reason it's been a good product to pair with other, less hydrating products because I can layer this underneath or over the top to keep my lips feeling comfortable.

The formula isn't sticky but it does have a tackiness to it that helps it stay on your lips. Sure, it's not a super long-lasting product (I wouldn't expect it to be), but it does stay put longer than other glosses so that's a plus.

What I like about this formula is that you can apply a very fine layer (eg, over a lipstick or liner) and just add a bit of shine, or you can add more and get a medium coverage and just wear the gloss by itself. Not all glosses are opaque enough to give good colour, but all the shades I've tried so far of these ones are. Tick.

Sugar Plum is a cool-toned lavender that makes my lips look dead. It's just not flattering on me. For this reason I have to pair it with eg a pink lipstick to warm it up, so I'll lay that down first and then throw this over the top so my lips look smoother and larger.

My only issue with this particular shade is that it has a tendency to settle into lip lines. While it does have a plumping effect so it smooths out my lines, it pools into texture at the same time. Sure it's not awful and probably nobody but me would notice, but that's something to be aware of.

Not only this, but I haven't been able to get an even coating from this shade and it tends to look patchy soon after application. Again, it's not awful and I can use my fingers to redistribute the product (you could of course also use a brush), but that's something to be aware of too.

Overall, however, I love this formula and I recommend it: it's the nicest gloss formula I've found so far - whether budget or high-end. Indeed, there's a reason why I always buy a few of these whenever Priceline has a sale. You can't beat a great gloss that you can grab for a fiver on special, that's for sure.

Love.