Anyone who reads this blog with any kind of frequency knows that I LOVE NYX lip products. As far as I'm concerned, they're pretty much the best the drugstore has to offer. Of course, this means that (along with SO MANY other people), I get really excited when NYX releases new lip products. As a lot of you know, the High Voltage Lipsticks were released earlier this year and got a lot of attention online, but I hadn't seen them in my local drugstore until recently and I instantly knew that I  had to pick this one up and try it out. I had every hope that it would live up to my pretty much sky high expectations when it comes to NYX... but you'll have to keep reading to find out if it did!

I have to tell you guys... I hate this packaging. I tossed this in my purse and the lid just doesn't want to stay on, which means it ends up falling off and turning into a mess. Also, I feel like this just doesn't do justice to the product inside the tube. It's both looks and feels like it's inexpensive. And I mean... It is inexpensive, but a lot of other NYX packaging looks and feeling like it's a little more expensive. For me, this is definitely a packaging fail. Which kills me, because I LOVE what's inside the packaging.

The idea of the High Voltage lipstick is that they're meant to be very highly pigmented with vibrant colour and a super rich finish. I have to say that NYC delivers on both of those claims. First of all, this product has an incredibly creamy, easy application. I find that one quick swipe is enough to really deposit a lot of pigment onto my lips. And if it's not enough, it's easily built up in another swipe. The finish on the lips is definitely a créme finish that gives a little bit of healthy shine, but doesn't look at all glossy. This formula feels great on the lips, almost like a light balm with a whackload of pigment in it. It's really creamy and moisturizing, so it never feels uncomfortable on the lips, but I also feel like it has good staying power and doesn't slip or bleed really at all. Staying power is pretty good, I'd say. Even once the shine of the initial application fades, I feel like this does leave a good amount of color on this lips. 

Honestly, this is one of the best lipstick formulas I've found in the drugstore - and I've tried many. Also, because I know a lot of people find this important, this does have a very faint sort of cookie scent to it, but it's not at all offensive and isn't detectable on the lips.

Can we just talk about this shade for a minute? It's perfection on my skin tone, as far as I'm concerned. I would place this in the neutral Your Lips But Better shade range rather than calling it a nude, because it has a little bit more depth than a true nude. I would describe this shade as a medium toned rosy mauve. I think this would actually work on a lot of different skin tones as a very wearable daytime shade, from very fair all the way to medium-deep and possibly even very deep skin tones. I really do think NYX knocked it out of the park with this shade, because it's just universal.

I definitely have every intention of picking up at least a couple more of these High Voltage lipsticks and I would absolutely recommend this shade to pretty much everyone who likes neutral mauve lip shades. It's pretty much perfect - other than the packaging, of course.