Soft Matte Lip Cream, Lightweight Liquid Lipstick - Budapest (Deep Mauve With Red Undertone)

I wanted lip cream that is not shiny, but that looks natural and has a natural nude-like color. This is the closest I've ever found to my natural lip color, that can hide discolorations and even out the color, with a very slightly but still very natural-looking pink tint. I am East Asian for reference, with closer to an average lighter-skinned South East Asian skintone (I am actually half southern Chinese and half southern Japanese/Okinawan), so I am not that pale, but not tanned either, and have bit of yellow undertone (Sephora's "best skin ever" concealer color is 12Y). The first pic (with the hat) is with just the Athena color lip cream and lightly-applied concealer. The second pic (without hat) is with the Athena color lip cream in gradient with a redder lipstick on the inner lips and full face of heavier-applied concealer. I like that it dries fast, so I don't have to wait long to apply another coat or other lip stuff on top. But it does smudge still, not as much as average lipstick, but it will such as if you drink with a straw, there will be a little smudging, but less than average. It does not last me a full day, but it is easy to apply and lasts at least for some hours, which is enough for most shorter outings. You should bring it with you if you go somewhere, if you want to reapply it to last longer. I also like that, despite that it dries fast after applying, it isn't drying to the lip skin. It balances my lip moisture level to whatever it was when I applied it. In the first pic with the hat, I did put a little bit of medicated lip balm under it before putting on the lip cream. I don't wear makeup much in general, so it's unlikely I will run out any time soon, but if I do, I will buy this again for sure. I hope it will still be for sale by then.

A beautiful, super creamy, long-lasting color. 100% recommended.

First, I am in my early 70's. I use my toothbrush to exfoliate around my lips and then put original Burt's Bees (the waxy peppermint one) on at night and during the day. I mention this because while I find these mattes non-drying, I wouldn't want to start with a DRY or CHAPPED lip. This will give you an idea about my reviews of the colors. I chose them after looking at them OVER and OVER with the hope they would go with my pale, blue tone skin tone and they DO! PROS: FIRST, all went on SMOOTHLY, feel creamy and take awhile to dry down. That gives you time to touch up if you have colored at all outside the lines, a quick swipe with Qtip fixes that. BUDAPEST - This and MADRID are MY FAVS for everyday. Love it on my fair skin. A nice moderately dark mauve, but with some red to it, shade that is flattering, gives me some color and one that will be an every day go to. Not nearly as DRAMATIC as Madrid or Copenhagen, but DEFINITELY noticeable for some POP! MADRID - A GREAT red for those of us with fair skin with more blue in our tone. It's a medium bright red, but not TOO bright. There's just enough brownish mauve to tamp it down and make it VERY flattering on my pale skin. Makes more of a statement than the Budapest, but still definitely wearable during the day running errands. Sets off my mostly white hair well :-) COPENHAGEN - OK, this was a bit of a surprise. I looked at SEVERAL youtube vids of women of different skin colors trying on all the shades. I was concerned the Copenhagen might be TOO dark (not really going for heavy vamp or Goth look, but I LOVE my dark reds!). INTERESTING COLOR. Not as dark on, and I'm looking at it on my lips in sunlight. Kind of deep red wine with slight brown overtone. NYX calls it a deep plum, but on my skin, more of a deep wine. Goes well with my blue undertone skin. It is DEFINITELY the darkest of the three, and I think likely the DARKEST red/wine shade before you start going into really dark purples like Transylvania or Vancouver.

Nice color. Doesn’t take much to see difference. Not long lasting though. I work at 8:30- by the time I’m off at 4, it’s completely gone

This stays on and love the color. It is matte, but stays on much better than many other brands I have tried.

I don’t like the soft matte nearly as much as I like the gloss of this brand (Nyx butter gloss). Of course it’s an entirely different look. The butter gloss with sparkles is super pretty, very moisturizing, has color payoff depending on the color (I love it in the brown color and keep it attached to my zipper in my bag for easy access). As far as these mattes though, I tried them in a couple of colors and feel like I’m better off buying a matte lipstick in the traditional bullet packaging for a matte look. (I like Revlon and Maybelline’s mattes. Milani has some nice mattes but they are a bit thicker feeling to me. And for higher end I like Urban Decay and Nars. The NARS matte lipstick pencils - the chunky ones are very good mattes and worth the price). Nyx soft matte just isn’t great for me. I do wholeheartedly recommend this brand. Several of their products are truly outstanding. I think you just have to try different ones, look up reviews (not from here but google them) with photos or video swatches to find out which ones work for your desired look, skin tone and type.

EDIT: For MOST days, LOVE LOVE LOVE ROME and BUDAPEST. Rome is a medium nude that I think is flattering on most people. I love a brown pinky red, that's neither too brown or too bright. THIS is perfect. For a STATEMENT look, GREAT reds. Madrid and Copenhagen and if you really want to go with a dark (but not as purple as it looks), TRANSYLVANIA! _____________________________________________ There's red and there's RED! When it comes to wearing red lipstick (and I prefer matte), it can be difficult to match with your skin tone, overall preference. I checked out the NYX mattes on YOUTUBE. TONS of them with women with different skin tones showing you what they look like on THEIR skin. I LOVE the MADRID and think it goes well with many skin tones. It's red, but not screaming, in-in-your-face red. It is a kind of vibrant, yet with a slight brown or mauve undertone that tones it down just enough to be flattering and noticeable, but noticeable in a good, not a clown, way. I DO use the NYX PRIMER, carefully apply the lipstick (LOVE THE WAND), blot once lightly and then wait for it to dry down before drinking or eating. It can take about 20 mins for it to completely dry down for me and then I'm good to go. I rarely have to reapply during the day unless I'm eating a meal with some oil in it. MADRID is one of my top TWO NYX GO TO'S! The other is COPENHAGEN! When you want a DARKER red, but not vampire red, COPENHAGEN can add a dark red sophistication. It's not BRIGHT red, it's a DARK mauvey red. I have light skin, with a bluish tone, your mileage may vary, but again, I really suggest you check out the tons of NYX MATTE LIPSTICK youtube vids to help you find your perfect shade.

Color is not as shown this one was lighter but it is still a good lipstick.