If I had a dollar for every time I discovered a new product on TikTok [1], I'd have enough money to actually afford all the amazing products that appear on the platform [2]. The most recent thing that sparked my interest on my For You feed was the NYX Professional Makeup Shine Loud High Pigment Lip Shine [3]. The video posted by Stephanie Valentine of @glamzillaxo [4] showed her applying the new, two-sided lip product and then immediately doing a colour transfer test [5] to show its smudge-proof abilities [6]. I was amazed and couldn't wait to try it.
I only recently became a lip gloss gal — like, maybe the year before the pandemic started. (Before that, I exclusively wore lipstick or lip balm.) Ironically, I would become a fan of the high-shine finish right as face masks were introduced, and unfortunately wearing a face covering pretty much rendered wearing lip gloss impossible, unless you're OK with a gooey mess on the inside of your mask. Because of this, I've been relying on long-wear lipsticks and stains [7] for the last year, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss my glosses. The NYX lip shine gave me some hope.
I opted for the shade Cash Flow. The product description boasts 16 hours of no-transfer wear with an ultra-glossy, glass-like finish. First, you apply the lipstick pigment side, let that dry for 90 seconds, and then top it off with the gloss side. Because I'm a rule follower, that's exactly what I did. The doe-foot applicator of the lip colour side has a nice point to it which allows you to get a precise application and the formula itself is so intensely pigmented that you only need one swipe. The clear gloss side has a brush applicator and is incredibly smooth but not sticky.
After layering the gloss, I let it sit for another minute before I dared to touch it. Even after that time passed the gloss still felt wet — it doesn't really "dry" down like many other long-wear lipsticks. At this point, I was feeling a little nervous about how the transfer test would go but I grabbed a napkin and just went for it.
Shocked doesn't even begin to cover it. A tiny bit of the gloss came off on the napkin but not much at all; my lips still had a shiny finish to them and absolutely zero lipstick pigment came off. I kept blotting and blotting to check again, but the proof was in the white-as-snow napkin. To really put the abilities of the lip shine to the test — and because it was lunchtime — I even ate a burrito with the lip product on and it looked exactly the same when I finished.
I shouldn't have been surprised that the NYX Shine Loud High Pigment Lip Shine [8] ($12) worked as well as it did — the brand makes amazing lip products that I've been using since high school — but I was, and still am, impressed.