A few Saturday mornings ago over coffee, I stumbled down an internet rabbit hole, watching videos of women raving about NYX Cosmetics' Shine Loud High Shine Lip Color, a two-sided lip color and gloss that, if TikTokkers were to be believed, stays put through everything from sipping water to smooching without smudging or making lips dry.
Confession: I love the idea of lipstick, but I am a gloss girl through and through. Lining my lips, applying lipstick, blotting and keeping an eye out for color bleeds feels like a lot of work for a product that typically wears off super fast. That doesn't mean I don't feel a pang of envy when I see a woman on my social media feed wearing gorgeous, un-smeared red lipstick.
On the hunt for an easy way to get Insta-worthy red lips, I headed to Ulta in search of a tube of Shine Loud to try. To my dismay, there weren't many colors in stock, but I did leave the store with a bright red shade and a peachy pink. Afraid the red was too bold for my Saturday athleisure ensemble, I tried the pink shade (named Movin' Up) on immediately in my car.
When I went through the Starbucks drive-thru, the barista said, "Wow, I love your pink lipstick."
"Thanks," I said, a bit sheepishly. "It's the NYX Cosmetics stuff everyone's posting about on TikTok."
A few nights later, I had the opportunity to try out the boldly-named Rebel in Red. After painting the pigmented color on my lips and letting it dry for 90 seconds, I applied the clear gloss at the opposite end of the tube.
My. Lips. Were. RED.
And I loved it.
Throughout my date night with my husband, I asked if my red lips were still in place. They were, even through wine and a pasta dinner and after-dinner drinks. When I wiped my mouth on the white napkins at the restaurant, there was no red left behind. I was falling in love, and the fact that my lips stayed glossy and moisturized, not dried out, was another big win for me.
It also remained in place throughout mask-wearing, leaving zero red residue inside my face mask.
Later, I secured a few more nude and neutral shades of the product, so I tried a nude color called Magic Maker on for a day trip with my family. Just like its red counterpart, it stayed put.
Laura Richelle is a makeup artist and esthetician at Miyagi Wax Studio in Indialantic, Florida, and says for products like Shine Loud, the magic is in the high color pigment.
"This kind of lipstick or stain is a highly-pigmented, long-lasting lip color that's usually wearable up to 16 hours without a touch up, even with eating or drinking," she told Shop TODAY.
When it comes to getting the best application possible, Richelle recommends prepping the lips in advance with a coffee or sugar scrub so there's no dry, cracking skin on the lips.
Richelle also suggests lining the lips first.
"I line the cupid's bow, fill that in and then line the entire lip," she explained. "I use a liner to not have that bleeding look, and I also think it creates a bigger, fuller, softer lip.
When it's time to remove the color, Richelle suggests an oil-based makeup remover.
"The Makeup Eraser towelette is great for this," she said. "You can also use Vaseline and a lip scrub. Then, I'd put on a layer of lip balm for lip hydration before bed."
P.S. Shine Loud High Shine Lip Color is so popular that NYX Cosmetics recently launched a partnership with rapper Princess Nokia. The limited-edition line (also available at Ulta) includes four bestselling shades curated by Nokia herself, along with a shade of their award-winning Slim Lip Pencil.
For more stories like this, check out:
- This award-winning brand got me out of my work-from-home beauty slump
- Wonderskin’s peel-off lip tint remains smudge-free — even when I wear a mask
- This wildly popular $14 lip jelly looks like a gloss but hydrates like a balm
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