This $12 Lip Gloss Is So Good It Lasted Through a Shower

Aside from it being a place that makes me feel ancient, TikTok has quickly become one of my favorite places to keep tabs on what’s happening in beauty. My latest discovery from the app is NYX’s Shine Loud Pro Pigment, a long-wearing, intensely shiny lip color.

Recently, it’s become nearly impossible to scroll through my feed without seeing users showing off the gloss’ insane staying power. The videos of users tapping their lips without the gloss budging are almost hypnotizing. While long-wear lipsticks have been on the market for years, it’s rare to see this level of wear from something with a glossy finish.

The Shine Loud Pro Pigment Lip Shine is a two-step product that the brand says you can “kiss, drink, hair flip, and wear under a mask with no worries.” One side houses a long-wear liquid lipstick, while the other has a clear shiny gloss. It comes in a really broad range of fun shades including a green and a blue and costs less than $12.

The color applies like a standard liquid lipstick. It glides right on and dries to a matte finish with tons of pigment. I really liked the applicator—the teardrop shape made it easy to precisely line my lips. I personally wouldn’t call it comfortable, since I tend to like my lipsticks on the creamier side, but it wasn’t drying or heavy either. Depending on the shade I used I found some of them a tiny bit streaky, but that was easily remedied with another coat.

After the base color dried, I went in with the gloss, which totally transforms this product in my opinion. It’s insanely shiny but isn’t sticky or thick at all. It also feels hydrating and made the color much more comfortable to wear. I went with the nude shade Goal Crusher, but I think this effect would be even stronger on one of the brighter shades.

As far as wear goes, it’s pretty freaking good. While I didn’t test its full 16-hour wear claim (that’s a lot to ask for in pandemic when all I’m doing is sitting on the couch), it stayed put through a shower and several rounds of oil-based makeup remover. When I put it to the TikTok-style tap test, nothing moved at all, however over a few hours and/or wearing a mask, the top coat does wear off. I didn’t find that to be too much of a deterrent, as I actually liked touching up with the gloss to add in some of that moisture.

Sure, you could just use any liquid lip and gloss you have, but these are clearly meant to work together. I also really do think the top coat is quite unique, it’s really hard to get that level of shine without any sticky or glossiness. Plus it just looks so cool. I may go back to my comfy sheer lipsticks one day, but as long as we’re masked up, I know NYX is up for the job.