NudeStix Lip & Cheek Pencil Review

Nude Stix Lip & Cheek Pencil - Love - £24.00

I received this as a gift with purchase from Space NK (as a regular customer gift with purchase, not a blogger gift, which is why there's no * next to it, you'll always be given full disclaimer for anything featured that was sent to me via a PR for the purposes of blogging, this one was just a regular free gift) and wasn't that interested at first. I had noticed the brand when it first popped up but wasn't all too fussed, I'm not the type of girl whom the whole concept of 'nude' appeals to - I'll always reach for full coverage foundations over light tinted moisturisers and I will always own double the amount of red lipsticks than I do of all other colours combined, #sorrynotsorry - but I gave it a go a few weeks ago and have been forced to admit that first impressions might not make the whole story.

The colour, although it looks quite baby pink in the pencil itself (the shade is called Love btw, which I really like as a name) actually comes out as a nice pinky/peach hybrid - definitely more pink than peach but not insipid and it actually works nicely on my pale skin as opposed to draining me altogether, which is what I thought would happen from the look of it in the pencil. The colour is actually turning out to be my number one factor in why I love this - since it isn't the type of colour I'm usually drawn to it it fills a gap on my collection quite nicely as as a cheek colour it's the perfect compliment to every day make up or playing the background runner to a stronger look that doesn't need a strong cheek to be added into the mix.

Anyway, enough about the colour  - let's talk formula. It actually blends beautifully into the cheeks, it goes on and feels almost wet at first while you blend it in (I used my fingers) but it does dry down and settle - but with plenty of time for you to work the colour to where you want it. The longevity is surprisingly good, it's not on par with something like Tarte but for a such a liquid-y formula it lasts a good 6 hours before it might be time to reapply, and for all the room the pencil takes up in your bag it's hardly a chore to take it with you, especially when you don't need a brush and can use it as your lip product for the day too. 

On the lips it also lasts a reasonably amount of time, it lasted through two glasses of diet coke for a start and was still on the lips when i came back from a 2 hour shopping trip. Again, it's not a matte formula so it isn't a case of apply it in the morning and it'll still be there in 12 hours time, but it's comfortable on the lips and as it fades it does so really evenly, meaning you're not left with a strange half on/half off look. It feels similar to Nuxe Rev de Miel lip balm when applied, is faff free and doesn't need a liner.

I pulled this one out of my bag in my What's In My Handbag video, so you'll possibly know the last thing I want to talk about already if you've watched that but, in case you didn't, I just have to mention the packaging. The little tin with the massive mirror taking up the whole lid is ideal for throwing in your handbag (and there's room for a concealer in there too, meaning for me that I can skip the make up bag entirely) and it also comes with a sharpener, which you can actually use as a lid - it's the lid on one end and the sharpener on the other, meaning you're less likely to lose it. I am a massive fan of this as I hate products that you then need to go purchase something else to use, especially since I constantly lose make up sharpeners and always get side tracked by more sparkly products (like red lipsticks) when I go into a shop with the intent of buying one. 

Lastly, let's talk price. It's £24 which I think may be slightly more than I'd want to pay for it - I thought it would have come in to the £18-£22 category as I hadn't actually looked up the price of it before beginning to type up this review, but I do love it. I think it'll last for ages as I've been using it a fair old amount lately and haven't have to sharpen it yet and it does come with such nice packaging too. For me it's a beautiful, blend able product and the colour has really filled a gap in my collection so I can honestly say I will repurchase it when it's done, but unless you're after one of the individual shades I don't know if it's an exciting product I would rush out to buy. But then, I've got so many exciting products that I rush out and buy that a peachy/pink pencil filled a basic gap in my collection, so if you're in my boat then maybe it is something to rush out for!