50 Shades of nudes

There is such thing as a lipstick addiction - mine is specifically nudes and mauves. If you're a nudist like me, you want it in every shade, from every brand, from drugstore to high-end.

I have here a few dupes, a few drugstores, a few high-ends…but they're all favourites.

Left to right: Maybelline Colour Drama Intense velvet lip pencil 'nude perfection', MAC Amplified lipstick in 'Half n Half', Hourglass Femme Nude Lip Stylo 'no.6'

These three lipsticks are almost identical to each other, so if you're looking for a warm-tone muted brown/beige lipstick. The colour drama has a velvet, demi-matte finish which has a sweet scent. Mac 'Half n Half' is creamy and pigmented brown-taupe shade  with that distinct vanilla scent. Hourglass Femme nude is a gorgeous, creamy medium beige nude and glides on smooth with great pigmentation, my favourite shade and tone out of the three, however the scent of it is distracting…and it's not the best kind of distraction either. It smells like old-school granny lipstick so if you're particular about scent this one is a miss despite the colour and texture looking being an A+.

Left: Chi Chi Cosmetics Creamy Matte Lipstick 'Flirt', Right: Laura Mercier Paintwash Liquid Lip Colour 'Nude Rose'

These are both dusty rose-beige liquid lipsticks. Flirt leans slightly more pink but they're almost identical on the lips. The only difference between these lipsticks is Chi Chi Cosmetic's creamy matte lipsticks feels a lot thicker and creamier (blotting will be necessary) where as Laura Mercier's Paintwash liquid lip colour is thinner, smoother and very lightweight. Flirt is definitely not matte - the formula is just way too creamy and doesn't set where as LM nude rose sets to a soft matte finish and in terms of comfortability LM feels a lot more comfortable and is slightly longer lasting.

left: Too Faced Melted Liquified Long wearing Lipstick 'Chihuahua', Right: YSL no.3 Ultimate Beige

These look unbelievably identical when I swatched them both but I kid you not these are both different in terms of shade, texture and consistency. Too Faced Melted lipstick is lightweight and thinner in consistency, and unlike the Chi Chi Creamy matte lipstick, this formula truly is creamy-matte. This translate as a slightly dusty-mauve with warm brown undertones where as the YSL Ultimate beige is a slightly deeper medium-beige that's in between mauve and taupe. The Formula is creamier but not heavy and it applies smoothly and melts onto the lips like butter!