Review: NYC Up To 8HR City Proof Extended Wear Lipglosses

I love NYC lip colors (the Lipstains and Duets are two of my most recent favorites). I really like NYC Liquid Lipshines, so when I received five of the ten shades from the new NYC Up To 8HR City Proof Extended Wear Lipgloss Collection for review, I was excited to try them out.

Read on for my thoughts on these new glosses:

 NYC Up To 8HR City Proof Extended Wear Lipglosses

(retail: $3.49 each, 0.22 oz)

(Apologies for not getting a good shot of the ingredients list of these glosses--it was impossible to clearly photograph the safety seals. But in case you're wondering, these glosses do not contain parabens, and they are made in Taiwan.)

I'm always a bit skeptical when I think of long-wear lipglosses. Lipgloss, by its very nature, isn't built to stay on the lips for an extended period of time. But, pushing aside my preconceived notions, I went in with an open mind about these glosses. So allow me to summarize my experience for you in a few simple sentences:

Do they last eight hours on my lips? 

No. 

Do they last longer than a "standard" lipgloss? 

Yes. I can get a solid four hours of wear from these, provided I don't have a meal within that time.

Are they sticky?

Yes. 

As sticky as a MAC Lipglass?

Yes.

So here's what I love:

• First of all, the applicator is perfection. It fits the size of my particular lips perfectly, allowing for one-swipe application. And I love how it's slightly bent (see pic above) as well.

• Three of the colors in particular stood out for me. 24/7 Lilac isn't normally a shade I would gravitate toward but, on my lips, it's a pretty nude that leans a bit taupish-lavender. I also love Perpetually Hot Pink and Cherry Ever After, which are clearly the more opaque shades in the bunch that I received for this review. If you're a fan of sheer reds (I personally own a zillion of them), Cherry Ever After is a beautiful one and it's the shade I've been gravitating toward the most.

• I also love the fragrance of these glosses. To me, they smell like peach bubblegum and they taste like peach bubblegum too. Those who don't find the idea of peach bubblegum appealing will be happy to know that both the flavor and fragrance fade very quickly.

• Most importantly: not only does the color last a long time on my lips, but the SHINE does as well (although not quite as long as the color). As many of you know, the shine of a lipgloss can be toast in under an hour, so this was a small miracle for me.

In person, Perpetually Hot Pink and Cherry Ever After are a touch more blue than what you see in my pics.

So here's what I don't love:

• The texture is reminiscent of MAC Lipglasses, which I find a little too sticky for me personally. I know that many of you adore Lipglasses, so this probably won't be a deterrent for you, but I just wanted to put that out there. Obviously, to be a longer-wearing lipgloss, you need to have some "stick", so I wasn't surprised that these were sticky.

• None of the shades in this range (please note that I only received five out of the ten shades available) were earth-shattering for me. Yes, I love 24/7 Lilac, Perpetually Hot Pink and Cherry Ever After, but there are similar shades at the drugstore. I was hoping that there would be something in this range that was a tiny bit more unexpected.

• I'm a little sad that all of the shades I received contain at least some shimmer and/or sparkle. I love my cremes, so I was hoping that the two more opaque shades would be cremes but, alas, they both contain some fine gold shimmer.

FINAL VERDICT: If you're not turned off by sticky, tacky glosses, and you're looking for something a bit less fleeting than your average drugstore lipgloss, I think you might want to check out these new glosses from NYC. For $3.49 (or less if you catch them on sale), I think they're a bargain. Heck, the applicator alone is worth $3.50 to me (seriously, I looove that applicator). Again, you have to like or at least be able to tolerate a sticky gloss to wear these, but it's worth it if you're in the market for a gloss that has some extra staying power. I can get a good four hours from these glosses, and I'm a chronic gloss-eater (in other words, glosses don't usually last beyond two hours on my lips). Granted, my lips don't look exactly as they did upon initial application, but after a solid four hours I can still see the color and some of the shine is there as well (NOTE: unless I've eaten. These don't survive that long if you have a meal while wearing them). PS: In case you'd like to know how these compare to the Liquid Lipshines, you can read my review of those here (Lipshines are not sticky and they last 2-3 hours for me, so those are the two things that set them apart from these new glosses).

Have you tried any NYC Up To 8HR City Proof Lipglosses yet? Thoughts?

A sample of this product was given to Nouveau Cheap for editorial purposes, either directly from the manufacturer or from the agency that works on behalf of the manufacturer. All reviews on NouveauCheap.blogspot.com are the honest opinion of its author and editorial samples do not, in any way, affect the outcome of product reviews.