little white truths

As you may know, I'm currently working to reduce the amount of draft posts I have in my collection because I've been living with at least seventy draft posts for over a year now and it's just too many. I feel overwhelmed every time I open up Blogger and see that lenghty list, plus things tend to get lost when you have so many to trawl through each day.

So I've made it my business to reduce things as much as possible, and I was aiming to have any number in the thirties. I've done that now (I'm at thirty-five), and I'm going to keep going until I'm in the twenties - which will give me some breathing room if I ever do a huge photo edit and find myself in the thirties again. Thirty-something I can live with.

Anyhoo! I'm rambling. This gloss. I bloody love these NYX Butter Glosses, and I'm yet to find one I don't like.

Indeed, it's my favourite formula for glosses - whether budget or high-end - and I can't ever imagine being without a few in my collection. I use them all the time.

Indeed, as soon as they arrived in Priceline in Australia, I've been picking up a few whenever they're on sale and working my way through the range in order to find my favourites. Maple Blondie is the latest one I've tried, and while I still love the formula, this particular shade doesn't suit me so I wouldn't buy it again. 

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

Light and heavy swatches, direct sunlight:

My bare lips for reference:

Wearing the product, indirect sunlight:

 Natural light:

Verdict

I absolutely love this formula and I've given it an HG tag, as I have all the other shades I've tried so far.

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 during the day. For this reason I always carry one in my handbag, because I can layer it underneath or over the top of less hydrating products to keep my lips feeling comfortable.

The formula isn't sticky but it does have a tackiness to it that helps it stay put. Sure, it's not a super long-lasting product (I wouldn't expect it to be), but it does stay 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.

Maple Blondie is a candy pink shade that almost looks a bit fluro on me (more so in real life than in the above swatches), so it doesn't suit me as well as I'd hoped - especially because the tube looks more coral (and you expect the tube to match the gloss with these), and it's also described as 'deep peach', which it most definitely isn't. It's pink. And pink generally doesn't suit me, so I wouldn't buy this particular shade again.

Note also that while this shade doesn't settle into lip lines too badly, it does so a little bit - just not enough to be noticeable to anyone but myself. Nevertheless, it's still flattering and it also plumps the lips up a little and reduces the look of lines. This makes it perfect for those of us who are over 30 and need something with a smoothing effect.

Overall I love this formula and I recommend it: as mentioned above, it's the nicest gloss formula I've found so far - whether budget or high-end. You can't beat a great gloss that you can grab for a fiver on special, that's for sure.

Love.