The NYX Liquid Suede lipsticks didn’t spark my interest when they first came out last year. So many NYX products have disappointed me that I tend to approach the brand with skepticism, and the Liquid Suede line seemed like a hasty attempt to capitalize on the liquid-matte trend of 2015. And since NYX had been making matte liquid lipsticks for years (the Soft Matte Lip Creams, which I’d never bothered trying), it was unclear what niche NYX wanted the Liquid Suedes to fill. The NYX website touted their “soft matte finish,” but blog reviews described them as not quite matte, and indeed their full name was “Liquid Suede Cream Lipstick.” The shade range was small and divided awkwardly between brownish neutrals and weird NSFW shades like greenish gray and fluorescent lavender. And shortly after the Liquid Suedes were released, NYX followed up with a zillion new shades of matte lipsticks and Soft Matte Lip Creams, plus a “Lip Lingerie” line composed entirely of liquid mattes in trendy gray-brown shades, and a “Full Throttle” line of matte bullet lipsticks that were somehow different from NYX’s original matte bullet lipsticks (??). The poor Liquid Suedes got lost in the shuffle, and the reviews I did happen to read didn’t rate them very highly. So I felt confident that I could ignore them for the foreseeable future, and then—
And then what, exactly? I don’t even know. I wrote that paragraph as if it were leading to a turning point (a volta, in sonnet speak), but the fact is that I can’t remember how I first developed my lust for NYX Liquid Suede in Amethyst. A chance hashtag search on Instagram, probably. The “turbid ebb and flow” (apologies to Matthew Arnold) of online consumerism. I just know that at some point during the academic conference I attended last week, my curiosity about the intense blue-purple of Amethyst sharpened into desire. (Not every conference paper can hold the attention of every listener, I’m afraid.) What most attracted me, I think, was the challenge: could I work it into a wearable look? Could I muster the confidence to wear it outside the house? Armed with a $2 CVS coupon, I bought Amethyst last week and dared it to do its worst. CVS was having a buy one, get one 50% off sale on NYX, but I valiantly resisted leaving the store with more than one item.
I was gratified to find that Amethyst came sealed with a plastic sleeve, which was, alas, as difficult for me to remove as every other lipstick sleeve:
And, you guys? I LOVE IT.
Damn it, this is why I can’t quit NYX. Every time I tell myself that I’ve developed real adult standards and will no longer settle for trendy mediocrity, they lure me back in with something like Amethyst. LOOK AT IT.
The black cap has a cute beveled top and, inside, a longish squared-off doefoot applicator:
The Liquid Suede formula is unscented (save for a very slight chemical smell that vanishes quickly). In terms of application, Amethyst’s formula isn’t perfect, but it’s a lot better than I was expecting; it just takes a bit of work. For whatever reason, it’s almost impossible to find a dark purple lipstick in an opaque formula. One coat of Amethyst looks very streaky, and even two will give you this if you’re not careful (in Amethyst’s defense, this was an unusually hasty application):
The method I’ve figured out after a few uses is finicky and not for the impatient, but it does work. First I use my finger to stain both lips with a thin coat of Amethyst. After that, I apply a thicker coat with the doefoot, wait about a minute for it to dry, then fill in any lighter patches if I need to (which I often don’t). This process gives me a much better result:
As for the finish, my sense is that some Liquid Suedes are more matte than others. Someone I follow on Instagram has Sway, the aforementioned bright lavender, and reports that it transfers all over the place and never seems to dry down. With Amethyst, I get an all-but-matte finish and no transfer whatsoever. It feels a bit tacky if I press my lips together, but it’s on until I eat a full meal (and I like to remove my lipstick before meals anyway). It doesn’t come off on my coffee cup, or on my partner if I kiss him on the cheek. And it’s not drying! It feels comfortable and moves naturally with the lips, instead of sitting on top like a coat of tempera paint, as matte liquid lipsticks often do. Well done, NYX—now I’m regretting not taking advantage of that BOGO deal.
Amethyst is a very blue-toned purple that looks straight-up cobalt in particularly cool light. (It makes my teeth look so white!) I don’t have anything like it, and the closest color dupe I’ve seen (is it a “dupe” if it’s significantly more expensive?) is MAC Matte Royal. Here’s Amethyst with some of my other purples, L-R: Bite custom lipstick (close to MAC Heroine), Amethyst, & Other Stories Droguet Purple, Maybelline Brazen Berry.
Full disclosure: I still haven’t worn Amethyst out and about (except to do the laundry in the building next door, which hardly counts). But I think it suits my coloring quite well:
I mean, yeah, it’s a Look, but it’s a Look that I think I can pull off. I’m having a hard time coming up with a cultural reference point for this lipstick, which is bothering me more than it should. The color certainly looks very sci-fi or Effie-Trinket-esque; let’s live with that for now until we find something better. My other color makeup here is NYX Jumbo Pencil in Iced Mocha and theBalm Sleek on my eyes, and Illamasqua Zygomatic blush and ColourPop Lunch Money highlighter on my cheeks.
I decided to keep the rest of my makeup simple and neutral for this look (as if I ever do anything else…), but Amethyst would also look great with different tones of purple all over. I think I’ll try that tomorrow and update this post then.
Update, 4/10: Purple face: theBalm lavender-taupe eyeshadow with ColourPop Eye Candy in the inner corners, and a few layers of ColourPop Rain blush. Not as adventurous as it could be, but I can’t bring myself to do a bold eye with this lipstick. I just can’t.
Amethyst certainly isn’t a lipstick I’m going to wear every week, but I don’t think there’s anything wrong with having a few just-for-fun lipsticks in weird colors for those days when I’m feeling especially futuristic. $5.50 well spent, I think. Life is short; paint your mouth indigo. That said, I’ve decided to go on a lip-color no-buy for at least a month. Oh, and did you notice that I didn’t use the word “blurple” in this post until just now? That was on purpose.
Auxiliary Beauty 
I enjoy your writing so much, and this looks great on you. But I have often wondered why we need the word blurple when we already have indigo–and then a week or two ago I went down an \”indigo\” web search rabbit hole and not I'm no longer sure I know what indigo is at all.
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I bought Sway awhile back when NYX first arrived at Shoppers, thinking it would be lilac rather than lavender. I don't really like it on me – it makes me look dead. I should have gone for Amethyst instead, for sure! (I probably will end up buying it when I have more than $1.06 in my bank account…)Amethyst definitely suits you! And you're right, it would look gorgeous paired with other purple makeup.
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I think TECHNICALLY indigo is purplish blue while blurple is bluish purple, but there has to be a better word than \”blurple.\” There just has to be.
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God, some conference papers. You know what's the worst? When somebody doesn't even come up with a presentation for their work. They just hand out photocopies of their essay and read it word for word. Kills me.I find that, in most ranges, the pastel shades don't perform the way other colors do, which might explain why Sway transfers so much and Amethyst doesn't. It might be something with all of the white they put in the base…? PSEUDO-SCIENCE.
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I think that blurple is cute, like a baby/kitten/puppy gurgling D: Or maybe the point just before they are about to regurgitate all over your carpet.
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And I thought I love bold lip colors, hahaha, but this is definitely not me. You are rocking this look, however! I happen to love the styling you have on now, with the moto jacket and darker, muted makeup.. Rock star with indigo interest. I'm curious to see how a mostly purple makeup palette will look with this lipstick. Will definitely check this post for updates!
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That lip color looks great on you! i got this product in the shade Kitten Heels, a red, and I'm really happy with it as well. I use mine over a liner and I find that the opacity and wear are even better (though even without liner, this is NYX's best liquid lipstick formula in my opinion)
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I don't think NYX is that bad! I really like the blushes (even hit major pan on a cream blush) and Milk for a base. But I would never buy their eyeshadow, just seems dodgy to me. Dont give up hope on them!! In other news, the purple does require quite a bit of courage. Can you try doing a full purple thing? 😀
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I know you want to offset this most excellent blurple with a heap and a half of blurple eyeshadow.. riiiiight? ;)But really, I don't think I've ever seen anyone pull off such an ultraviolet blueberry shade so well. Blurple is your color, I give you full rights to rename it as you please.
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It really does suit you, not that it matters when it comes to a colour like this, right? I don't think I could ever bring myself to wear something like this out of the house, but it's very much a shade I can see myself wearing other eyes. What's with that?
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That's precisely the image that comes to mind for me too, but I think blue-purple is a gorgeous regal color that deserves a regal name!
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Sway is a lovely color on its own, but I'm not sure whom it would flatter. Certainly not me–I find that the saturated version of a color almost always looks better on me than the pastel or muted version.
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Luckily nothing I heard at this conference was quite that bad! But when a paper is supposed to be 15 minutes long, I feel justified in glancing at my phone at minute 25.That pseudo-science sounds perfectly valid to me! It really is hard to find an opaque pastel lipstick. All of the white-based pastels I own (and I don't own many) have problems with streakiness.
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Haha, thanks! I'm not sure anyone would describe my personality as rockstar-esque (nor can I sing or play an instrument…), but I do love my moto jackets and dark lip colors. Amethyst is definitely the boldest lip color I own, and probably the boldest I'll own for a while–I still can't imagine wearing green or gray or blue on my lips.
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A liner would definitely help, but I'm weirdly averse to using liners. And honestly, the fact that Amethyst lasts for several hours with minimal transferring is mindblowing enough for me. I hope NYX brings out more Liquid Suede colors eventually! I'd like to try another, but there's nothing else in the current range that strikes my fancy (except Vintage and Soft-Spoken, for which I think I have dupes).
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Maybe I've been unfair to NYX! It definitely has some gems, and it's still a great brand for anyone who wants to try weird colors at a low price point. I also think it's cool that they started out with a Greco-Roman mythological theme, though they've abandoned that in the last few years.
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\”Ultraviolet blueberry\” is as good a name as any! I thought about rechristening the color \”Tyrian purple,\” but a Google search revealed that true Tyrian purple is more red than blue. The quest for a better name continues…
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Yeah, the idea of a color being \”flattering\” is kind of irrelevant when said color is a neon indigo. I'm proud to say that I wore Amethyst out of the house today! I got one or two odd looks (which I may have imagined, honestly), but no comments at all. I don't know why it's easier for me to wear bold colors on my lips than on my eyes! It doesn't make any sense. I'd definitely wear an eyeshadow or liner in this shade of purple, though.
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That makes sense to me too, since pastel nail polishes tend to be the streakiest as well. It must be something about white pigment!
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I think the colour really complements your eyes! Plus what is makeup but a bit of fun and experimentation and a celebration of COLOUR. I reckon if you love it, wear it, own it and enjoy it 🙂
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Exactly! I've been following makeup long enough that I can remember when it was impossible to find a true purple lipstick at a drugstore price point, and now I'm spoiled for choice. It's a great time to be a makeup addict.
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