nyx soft matte lip cream in istanbul, zurich and cannes

i don't know what's wrong with me, but somehow, around my giving birth time (either before or after) i suddenly feel the urge to buy lipsticks. i know it sounds crazy, but i don't know why.. anyway, i was looking for a liquid matte lipstick actually, but i'm afraid that it might mess with my prone-to-dry lips, so i decided to stick with nyx soft matte lip cream. i've bought them before and i liked them, unfortunately the shades that i bought previously, although being best-sellers shades, are not suitable for daily use. so this time i sticked to nudes or MLBB. why liquid matte? because i think it's the trend lately, and some of them are transfer-proof, which is a good thing for a mom-to-be again. actually i wanted to try some local brands. i read lots of reviews but none impressed me. but that doesn't mean that none of the local brand is good, but it's just preference. BLP, for instance, it satisfied a lot of people and quite impressive considering it's always sold out once they're back in stock, but it's not transferproof. in fact, it's quite worse in transferring department, so i don't think it's suitable for me who's about to have baby to smooch. and then there's rollover reaction, LT pro, esqa, my beauty story and so on, but sometimes i don't like the shades, or everyone said it's too drying. or the price is not right, so that's why i stick to nyx. although i'm quite tempted to try nyx lingerie or liquid suede, but shades and price-wise make me stick to the soft matte lip cream. and after watching a lots of swatches and video review, i decided to buy istanbul, zurich and cannes. although i wanted to buy athens too, but i decided three are enough, and athens might be too pale so three for now.

this is the description from their website: our velvety smooth soft matte lip cream delivers a burst of creamy color and sets to a stunning matte finish. surprisingly durable, lightweight and delightfully creamy, it's no wonder this sweetly scented formula is a nyx fan favorite.
zurich - matte muted rose
istanbul - clean pink
cannes - matte muted mauve

the packaging: it's in plastic tube. the cap is a screw cap, matte black with the wand attached to it. the wand itself is a doe foot applicator, although i don't have many doe-foot applicators in my vanity to compare to, i don't have any problem with this wand. i can apply the lip cream smoothly and evenly on my lips. and it picks just enough amount of lip cream. the tube itself is also plastic, but colored according to the shades. there's a sticker for the shade's name and code at the bottom of the tube since the color on the tube is quite similar to each other, for the nudes and MLBBs. be careful about fakes though.. you need to check the code number and compare it to the official website since some fakes doesn't have correct code number of the shade.

the scent: i think it has bubblegum scent. something sweet. but not too overpowering. once you applied it, you can barely sniff it.

the formula: it's creamy and it's easy to apply smoothly and evenly on my lips. it will turn to matte completely, but not too quick. you can still put another layer without cracking it. and it feels comfortable, not drying at all for me. once it sets to matte, it doesn't transfer. yey!

the color payoff: one swipe might be enough for bolder color, but for zurich or istanbul, i need one swipe for bottom lips and another one for upper lip. and probably another layer for it to be shown more clearly.
zurich is like MLBB for me, but slightly peachy on me rather than a muted rose. istanbul is a baby pink, i think the blue tones shown on me more than on other people. while cannes surprisingly a wearable mauve for me. more wearable than lumiere which is too dark for me.

the staying power: hmm.. i think it's pretty standard, even with eating and drinking, it still holds pretty okay, around 4-5 hours.

overall, i'm happier with my picks this time. it's more wearable for everyday use compared to my previous picks. and although i'm quite tempted to try another liquid lipstick while it's still on trend, i don't mind buying this again if i can find another right shade for everyday use. if you like nyx, especially the SMLC, i believe they released special vault edition for holiday season. so you can get minis SMLC in all colors plus two more special edition. for me? i will skip it since i won't use the bold colors. and the blues and the purples. but i think SMLC is perfect since it has lot of difference shades, from nudes to bolds. from neutrals to dark shades. a great variation. with that price, i bet you want to buy every colors if you love lipstick.