Best Drugstore Makeup Brand Nyx Cosmetics

ByCordelia

Best Cruelty Free Drugstore Makeup Brand Nyx Cosmetics

Happy Makeup Wars Monday! Today we’re sharing our picks for the best drugstore makeup brand. I picked the cruelty free brand Nyx Cosmetics! All products purchased by me except the Wicked lippies, which are press samples.

Best Drugstore Makeup Brand Nyx Cosmetics

Nyx Cosmetics is cruelty free, though their parent company L’Oreal is not.

All the eyeshadows I’m showing you are swatched on primer. Some are more pigmented than others. However if you’re looking to experiment with a color you’ve never tried before, it’s easy to head to Ulta Beauty and pick up that color in Nyx’s Hot Singles line.

Nyx Hot Singles Eyeshadow Swatches Nyx Hot Singles Eyeshadow Swatches

Hot Single Eyeshadows
Psychedelic – matte yellow green
Money Maker – shimmery lime
Dare – shimmery turquoise (leans green)
Turnt Up – bright turquoise bue
Electroshock – matte indigo
Gold Lust – metallic bronzey gold
Addiction – deep brown with red tones
Sex Kitten – peachy pink shimmer
Sin – beige with multi-glitter
Vixen – matte peachy-nude
Bad Seed – red
Pink Lady – dark pink
Harlequin – radiant orchid purple
Epic – violet
Ultraviolet – matte violet
Raven – matte black
Sun Glow – metallic yellow
Spontaneous – smoky gold pearl
Dayclub – peachy gold
Hypnotized – metallic copper gold

Nyx Blushes and Lip Products

Baked Blushes – Solstice, Ignite, Sugar Mama, Wanderlust
Blush Stick – Pink Lotus
Liquid Illuminators – Sunbeam, Gleam
Illuminator – Magnetic Nyx Blushes and Lip Products

Blushes – Peach, Flamingo, Summer Peach, Taupe
Butter Lipsticks – Sugar Wafer, Bit o’ Honey
Soft Matte Lip Creams – Transylvania, Copenhagen
Nyx Lipsticks

Butter Lipsticks – Hot Tamale, Sweet Tart, Little Suzie, Razzle, Hunk
Macarons – Key Lime
Wickeds– Power

Nyx Lipsticks

Wickeds – Trickery, Mischevious, Stone Cold
Macarons – Black Sesame, Orange Blossom, Blue Velvet

Nyx Lipsticks

Wickeds – Power, Scandalous, Immortal
Macarons – Key Lime, Pistachio, Violet

I picked Nyx Cosmetics because they have such a wide variety of good products. They’ve been killin’ it lately with the fun lipsticks from the High Voltage (which I ordered Twisted, Privileged, Dahlia and Beam from Ulta, but they didn’t arrive in time for this post, boo) to the Wicked to the Soft Matte Lip Creams, Simply Lip Creams, Macarons, Mattes and Butter lipsticks. While the opacity can be hit or miss, I like that these are easily found online or in stores at Ulta Beauty so that if someone wants to try an unusual lipstick shade, they can do that with Nyx.

I have a ton of their Hot Singles eyeshadows, as I bought a bunch in 2014. I’m a fan of their powder blushes as well as their liquid and powder highlighters. Their retractable eyeliners are great and they stay on the waterline nicely. The slide on pencils are awesome, come in a ton of colors, and they’re very similar to the UD 24/7s in performance.

They make some fantastic primers and their Angel Veil primer was a favorite of mine last year. They make a lot of mascaras but I think their Doll Eye Mascara is the best. And I swear by their Green Tea Blotting papers. Also, if you love the strong brow look, you MUST try their eyebrow gel. Many of my friends swear by the HD eyeshadow primer, too.

Because of the wide variety of their blushes (both creams and powders), as well as the large shade range, I think there are blushes for every skintone.  I feel the same way about the highlighters, especially the liquid illuminators.

They have several different foundation formulas that have anywhere from 6 to 20 foundation shades in them. However, they lack shades for deeper, richer skintones (and they don’t have a pale enough shade for me, but that’s a different issue). (In case you missed it, I recently interviewed makeup artist James Vincent and he talks about the White Beauty Myth, foundations, models and more).

Their makeup remover is nice, too, and it was a staple for me for a long time.

Nyx recently released a slew of new products at Ulta Beauty including

  • Prismatic eyeshadows (I ordered a few to review)
  • Tame & Frame Tinted brow pomade
  • High Voltage lipsticks
  • HD blush
  • Lavender, Peach and Green CC Creams
  • Color Correcting Concealer
  • Contour Palette (looks really warm toned)
  • Tres Jolie Gel Eyeliner pencil (I also ordered this to try)
  • Micro brow pencil
  • Black Eyeshadow base

Looking for more? Check out

What cruelty free drugstore brand would you pick as the best? Let me know!

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Cordelia Frost is the creative force behind Phyrra, a treasure trove for cruelty-free indie and goth makeup enthusiasts. She's the author of the game-changing 'Hooded Eyes Makeup Manual' a must-read for hooded eyes makeup.

Cordelia's world is a kaleidoscope of alternative beauty, gothic fashion, and life-enhancing tips, making every visit to Phyrra a journey into a more colorful and inspired self.

47 Comments

  3. I have just purchased their harlequin blush/bronzer in a peachy tone. It was 25% off at Target Australia. I really love it. By the way Phyrra – what is that compact you have in the main picture on the right hand side – is it a blush or a powder? It looks lovely.

  4. I have some NYX products but I’ve been getting more now that the CVS near me is carrying them as well. I don’t always have the time to drive to ULTA. The Matte Bronzer is one of my must-haves

  5. I haven’t tried a lot from NYX but I think I need to go get every single one of those blushers! So freaking pretty!

  7. What a great resource of swatches! NYX really does have an impressive shade selection for a drugstore brand! I use the Milk eye pencil almost every day!

  8. Oh! I am totally going to go out and buy a couple of those eye shadows. I love the gold and white shimmery colors the best.

    1. I love that they have a wide variety of color, though you DEFINITELY need primer with them. Some are less pigmented than others.

  18. Are there any matte lip products you would recommend from Nyx (besides the Soft Matte lip creams which I love)? Also, how do you feel about the Butter Lipsticks?

    1. I’m completely in love with the Fyrinnae Liquid Matte Lipsticks, Colour Pop lipsticks (they have some mattes), and Silk Naturals just came out with some. I like the Butter lipsticks ok. Oh! I also love the OCC Colour Pencils and I wear those as lipsticks frequently.

  19. NYX is EASILY my all time favorite inexpensive brand. I own a ton of their shadows, blushes and lipsticks. I can never get over how good quality and how pigmented they are for their price!

  22. I was looking at the eyeshadow singles at Ulta the other day. I see some shades now that I’ll get the next time I’m there. They look beautifully pigmented.

    1. Some are good, some are ok. Depends on the shade. What I think is the strong point of Nyx is that they have almost every color of the rainbow and they’re at an inexpensive price point, especially when Ulta Beauty has BOGO, so people can try new colors without being afraid of wasting money if they don’t like them.

  25. I would have picked NYX, too! Funny, I actually first heard of NYX when they were a sponsor for Ru Paul’s Drag Race several years ago. 🙂

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