Nepo babies are forever turning our TikTok FYP into a flashy display of gilded glamor. Our most recent fascination: Sofia Richie Grainge, daughter of Lionel Richie.
Richie Grainge married her now husband (Elliot Grainge) and shared all the wedding details on TikTok, including the venue, guest list, flower toss, and — most importantly in this instance — her makeup. The behind-the-scenes videos of the bride have since gained millions of likes, with one beauty brand in particular featured more than any other. (No, it’s not Chanel.)
Enter: Nudestix.
Founded in Canada in 2014, Nudestix is a perfect example of no-makeup makeup. Available in mainly stick form (as the name suggests), the brand’s range of products are easy to apply and work for any occasion. “Out with the bag overflowing with compacts and brushes, and in with simple makeup crayons for the face, eyes, lips, and even cheeks,” shares Taylor Frankel, one of Nudestix’s founding trio (her sister Ally and mom Jenny make up the other two parts). You won’t find any bold pops of color in the brand — Nudies Blush Stick in Picante is about as loud as it gets — but you will find a number of multipurpose lip, cheek, and eye crayons in wearable neutral shades.
The Nudestix product placement on Richie Grainge’s TikTok, is not totally organic. She was recently made the Nude Beauty Director of the label — an incredibly clever (albeit not too well-known) piece of the marketing campaign that made me up the ante on scrutinizing these sticks. Here’s how I got on.
DashDividers_1_500x100Nudestix Nudies Matte All Over Bronze Color Stick, $35
As someone who has used the same Chanel Les Beiges Healthy Glow Sheer Colour Stick Blush ($47) for around six years (hygienic, no; cost-effective, yes), makeup in stick form is one of my favorite things. It’s easy to apply in mere seconds, goes exactly where you want it, and there’s no need for brushes or sponges. Nudestix was built around this approach and these face colors are now one of my favorite finds. Going one step further than most others I’ve used, they have their own mini brush hidden in the base for a more feathered-out application.
I opted for shade Sunkissed (the shade Richie Grainge wore down the aisle). But Sunkissed Pink and Sunkissed Cool both offer a similar effect. As this product is matte, there’s little shine but it won’t impact the finish of any products you apply underneath — dewy foundation in my case. Working equally well over the cheeks, eyes, and lips (although the brush isn’t designed to work in smaller areas), it gave a pulled-together makeup look that felt lightweight and not at all drying. It lasted all day on the cheeks and eyes, but just like a regular lip crayon, it required reapplication on the lips after eating or drinking.
Nudestix Intense Matte Lip & Cheek Pencil, $27
Essentially the same as the aforementioned all-over face color stick but in a longer, skinnier shape, the Lip & Cheek Pencil delivers more precise application than its chunkier counterpart. It’s a creamy crayon with a bold pigment and works better on the lips thanks to its pointed edge (which also comes with an attachable sharpener). On the cheeks, I didn’t love it as much, purely because it took quite a few applications to get the thinner nib to apply enough color. Likely thanks to the TikTok publicity, a lot of the shades are now sold out but Sunkissed Pink was my favorite. Whether you opt for this version or the All Over Face color comes down to personal preference in terms of application. Overall, it feels like the same product, just in a different shape.
Nudestix The Beachy Nudes Mini Kit, $29
The Beachy Nudes come as a set of three and the sticks are much smaller than the other options. They include a matte bronzer, a shimmery highlighter (which I loved for imparting a radiant sheen), and the All Over Face Stick in Picante. I used all three at once: Picante on the lips and cheeks, the bronzer to contour, and the highlighter to add a slight shimmer to the nose, cheekbones, and eyelids. Bringing a little more vibrancy into the nude shade range, Picante offers an orangey-red pop that perked up my face much more than any of the other Nudestix products I tried. While it doesn’t sit within the brand’s nude or neutral spectrum, it was nice to see something a little bit different. I liked the final look, but this kit seems to be a bit of a step away from the one-product-does-it-all approach that sets the brand apart. If I were to pick just one Nudestix product, it would have to be the All Over Face Color Stick, which truly does it all.
This story was originally published on Refinery29UK.
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