
Oh, Beautiful, why do you tease? Yeah, I’m talking to you NYX Mega Shine Lip Gloss in Beautiful ($5.50).

It’s not just the newest of 61 colors in the Mega Shine line; it’s also the first NYX gloss I’ve ever tried.
The line gets raves for texture, color payoff, shade selection and price, and I’ve had great luck with NYX lately, so I had crazy high hopes for their glosses.
Maybe too high.
Don’t get me wrong. I like Beautiful’s color and texture — a subtle shimmery pink on the lips, medium weight texture, not too thick or sticky on the lips — but I just can’t hang with the scent. It’s like a preschool nurse’s office, part cherry cough syrup and plastic with a hint of Play Doh (for warmth and complexity), and it even has a little of the same flavor, too.

I tried to stick it out and leave it on my lips to test for wear time this afternoon, but I gave up after about 10 minutes. I just couldn’t take it anymore.
Still, it sure looks pretty, doesn’t it? I bet it would look killer with smokey eyes… Maybe if I pinch my nose. 🙂



Have you tried any of NYX’s glosses before? I’m curious, how do you feel about the scent? I admit I have a pretty sensitive nose.
PRICE: $5.50
AVAILABILITY: At drugstres, Ulta and other locations online.
MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: C
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen

I totally agree! I love the payoff, and everything you mentioned about this lip gloss except the scent! I absolutely dislike cherry, and I lol-ed when I saw you put cough drop syrup to describe the scent. It’s 100% accurate! Great review!!
Hi Steph,
Thank you! Have you tried many of the shades?
the megashine lipglosses are the best! i love smokey look and beige and natural. it’s not just you though, the smell really is like dishwasher, but it’s grown on me 🙂
Hi Vixen,
What colors are your go-to shades?
i HATE the scent as well but my bff smelled it and thought it was the most amazing scent ever. lol. anyway i find the smell to dissipate fast enough
Hi Lulee,
Guys are FUNNY that way, aren’t they? El Hub seems to always love scents I can’t stand!
Natural! You should really try it in Natural, it’s perfect on its own and over any shade of lipstick. It’s a magical glossy wand that makes every colour wearable. Don’t think I can live without it 😛
Thanks, girl! 🙂 It’s always good to have an arsenal of go-to budget shades!
Gotta agree with the above comments and tell you that Megashine Lipgloss in “Natural” is the bomb.com, Karen…you just are gonna have to suck it up re: the smell. “Natural” is a total dupe of MAC ‘Lust” at a fraction of the price; MLBB, massive pigmentation, no shimmer, just gorgeous color that lasts a long time. I actually like the smell now. Seriously, I have like, 10 tubes of it, because Ulta was out of stock for ages and I became panicked, lol.
Ahh! Maybe if I hold my nose…
Ugh…Play-Doh…. Yikes. I hate when beauty products smell weird like that. It really ruins it, huh?
Has this been a stunning hot pink, I would’ve been all over it but it makes me wonder do all of them smell the same? The one I have smells sort of like cherry licorice. It’s called Copper Penny and it’s gorgeous!
Hi LA,
Are there any other colors you can recommend for the line? I’m going to put together a list of shade recs here in the comments.
Karen, you look lovely in the photo!
And the shade is such a pretty sweet pink!
Thanks, Vonvon!
The color looks fab , too bad it has a smell to it:( cheaper lipglosses tend to have tat problem
Hi BlovetBeauty,
Not all budget glosses have a strong scent, but this one sure does!
Very cute and pretty shade…. and u looking fab darling.. 🙂
Thanks!
That’s such a pretty shade but it’s too bad about the scent. 🙁
I know, I wish it was unscented.
The weird thing about the scent is that each of the colors seems to have a different one. Like I have a deep purple NYX gloss that smells like grapes. Why waste energy putting a different gross, cheap scent in each color instead of spending the time making one decent smell for all of them?
Two of my favorite glosses to wear (because the colors are perfect on me) are NYX Megashine glosses but I so know what you mean about the scent! I don’t get why they’re not doing anything about it!
Hi Connie,
What are the names of the shades that you like? I’m going to put a list in the comments of shade recs from MBB readers. 🙂
I have this is smokey look… I LOVE it! I don’t love the scent/taste, but it’s grown on me.
The other lipgloss I have from NYX is the Sheer Gloss in Vintage… it reminds me of dimetapp… GRAPE. SO ICKY!
xo.
Hi Chelsea,
Oh, I totally know what scent you’re talking about. BLECH!
I haven’t tried it, but i’m quite curious about the scent now=)
You’ll be able to give it a sniff soon now that they’re coming to your country, woo hoo!
I have 5-6 NYX lipglosses. I got all of them as part of a sale! I don’t like the cheap cherry smell but, they kinda fade after a good 10 minutes. But yeah, they would be amazing glosses if NYX did something about the cough syrup smell 🙂
Hi Appu,
What colors are your faves?
My favs are Spongecake, Natural and Tanned 🙂
I’m not even very sensitive to smells but these puppies are just too strongly scented… like cough syrup. That being said I do suck it up and wear them sometimes as the colour payoff is quite excellent. ‘Africa’ despite looking insane in the tube is a pretty awesome bold shade for those who like a purple tinted lip!
Hi Shiny,
Oh, I’m intrigued! That shade sounds beautiful.
I have four of the glosses — Smoky Look, Natural, Beige, and Perfect — and I totally agree with you. I’m not a fan of cherry scents (they always seem artificial to me), but these make me feel nauseous. Normally, scented lip products do not bother me, but these are wicked.
They’re pretty though, so I totally still rock ’em.
Hi Kerry,
Thanks for sharing your shade recs! I’m going to add them into a round-up comment below. 🙂
I think they’re glosses smell and taste like cough medicine.
Totally!
I have one lipgloss from NYX – Candy Shop. It’s pink with a slight golden shimmer. LOVE it. I never thought of cough syrup from the scent, but I just whipped it out and noticed the initial “whiff” of the stuff does have a cough syrup feel. After that split second though, all I smell are red starburst 🙂
Hi Lora,
Hmm… it kinda smells like red Starburst if I really, really think hard. 🙂
Thanks for sharing the name of your shade! I think it’ll be handy for the girls here who want to try the gloss.
Oh, I’m so laughing. First of all, it’s too bad about the scent because the gloss looks so pretty. However, I’m happy about the scent because it inspired your description and excellent visual. What a fun thing to read for my first post of the day! 🙂
PS I’m wearing blue liner today and very seriously thought about pink shadow. In the end, I chose a light gold, but it was very close! 🙂
Hi Kim,
OOOH! You’re so close. Gold/blue is like the gateway combo to pink/blue!
I thought you’d approve. It’d rock the pink/blue tomorrow night, but I’m going for the glitter and the fallout (and the deep stares). 🙂
That was the best description of a lipgloss ever. The part that got me was the Play Doh “for warmth and complexity”. *giggle* I think Tabs would scratch NYX for creating a substandard smelling product.
Hi Tekoa,
I think he batted at the tube a few times. 🙂
I know you’re a cat person… here’s something I think you might love:
Kitten Concert
I totally agree with you, a scent can make or break a cosmetic for me. Cherry plastic playdough lipglosses are not for me.
Hi Lindsay,
I’m all about the scent! My big issue is if it smells plastic/synthetic. If any of that comes through then I peace out, LOL!
Oooh, how unfortunate! Cherry cough syrup makes me want to vomit, so I think this is a pass for me haha. You would think they’d put more thought into what lip gloss smells like, since it literally sits under your nose all day!
Hi Lo,
I guess some women don’t mind it… it makes my stomach churn!
Ha ha ha. After reading, I immediately went to my purse and pulled out my “backup” lip gloss, NYX’s beige, and gave it a whiff. I didn’t get Cherry cough syrup and playdough, but I definately got something. I must not have a sensitive nose, because I’ve never REALLY noticed the smell. I have about 14 of these glosses, and I L.O.V.E. them. I have noticed that some have a “scent” and others, not so much, but it has never bothered me. For the money ($4 at cherryculture.com), they are a great product. My only complaint is that they are a little drying. I’ve been skipping them for my MAC lipglasses now that its getting colder b/c my lips are a little parched.
Hi Morgan,
You’re so funny… I keep backup lipglosses around too. They chill in my purse, coat pockets and desk drawers. 🙂
What are your favorite NYX gloss colors? It might be nice for the gals here to know which ones stand out since there are so many to choose from.
pass if its got a strong smell! not for superallergic me!
It’s REALLY strong. Your tummy will go nuts. 🙁
I love NYX’s glosses! Funny, the smell doesn’t bother me, but we’re all different. That’s why we all have our preferences when it comes to fragrance, too!
Hi Ladies,
Turns out a LOT of you love these glosses! Here’s a round up of stand out colors from the line that are mentioned above. If you have any color recs please feel free to chime in!
NYX Mega Shine Lipgloss Color Recommendations from MBB readers
Natural (a dupe for MAC Lust)
Copper Penny
Africa
Smokey Look
Beige
Perfect
Candy Shop
This is my #1 reson for not buying NYX lip gloss. I hate the smell!
I want them to do an unscented line!
I love your description of the scent. =P I know this is a beauty blog focused on beauty but I just think you’re such an amazing writer overall! And as always, you look gorgeous!! Keep up the excellent work. =)
Thank you, Kali. 🙂
Karen! Don’t do it! I went on a NYX spree a few years back and I have about 30 of the glosses…they are all lovely, but to this day I have not been able to get over the smell and I hate wearing them because of that. I’ve since turned into a natural kinda gal (couldn’t help it, I was a pre-med) and you know something is bad for you when it smells like that.
All the best,
Georgia
I agree. I can’t hang with stuff that smells off. You can just tell that it is not good for you!
Hi Georgia,
Have you found any natural glosses that you like? I’d love to hear about ’em!
Just leave it open like two days and the smell goes away.
But sometimes no smell means plastic smell and I would rather smell cough syrup on my lips than chemicals yuck.
That’s why I love Smashbox and MUFE no smell and I mean NO smell.
Hi Wendy,
The Smashbox glosses are GREAT. Have you tried the Limitless Long Wear ones?
https://www.makeupandbeautyblog.com/cosmetics/smashbox-limitless-long-wear-lip-gloss-make-way-for-sheer-shine/
Theyre on my christmas list, can’t wait for new haul.
Ha! I totally peeped these at Ulta yesterday and thought the same. They look great, but seriously smell gross 🙁 I ended up going over to Sephora and grabbing a Smashbox lip gloss instead. Way more expensive, $18 I think? But worth it! I think Baby Pout is my new signature gloss 🙂 BTW, LOVE YOUR BLOG 🙂
Hi Melissa,
Baby Pout is gorgeous! I know several girls who swear by it. 🙂
Thanks for the blog love! <3
I own one NYX gloss. I remember also loathing the scent at first, though I don’t mind it now. I don’t wear the gloss often, so I think the scent may dissipate after time?
Hi Faith,
Hmm, maybe. I might try it again, just for kicks.
So glad someone brought this up. I tried NYX glosses because of the hype, but I couldn’t stand the smell either. I threw it away:/
Hi Megan,
Which color did you try?
I am SO with you! They smell and taste completely horrendous. I love your description – perfect! I’m not even that sensitive to taste/smell in my lip products, but these made me want to throw up 😛 Glad I’m not the only one!
Hi Maggie,
I really do hope they do some non-scented glosses soon!
Hi Karen, sorry you don’t like the smell 🙁 I don’t mind it. At the very least, it’s unique lol. My fave (and only at the moment) shade in NYX’s Mega Shine glosses is African Queen, a really pretty fuschia with blue microshimmer. A fabulous color!
Hi Lisa,
I’ve heard GREAT things about that shade. Do you wear it on its own? Or do you layer it beneath something else?
I only have one, African Queen (which someone else called Africa earlier up), but I seriously love it. To me, it’s a very strong green apple scent, which I don’t really like but I’ll put up with it. It’s really too bright for me to wear regularly, so I like to just put on some chapstick and do a dot of the gloss on my lower lip and on my upper lip, and blend out. It turns into a seriously gorgeous bright pink.
I’m still trying to figure out how to wear it like it’s intended. I tried a thicker layer once at work and my boss commented on the color, haha. I’m definitely planning on buying several more shades.
Hi Alice,
I thought that maybe Africa and African Queen were the same colors too, but they’re different shades (Africa’s a shimmery bronze). African Queen looks really cool though! You could always try toning it down by layering a lighter lipstick shade underneath. That’s what I like to do with really bright lipglosses!
Oh lol, I just went and looked up the website and it turns out there IS a shade called Africa. Silly me.
Hey Alice,
I totally thought the same thing too (see above comment). No worries! You’re not the only one. 🙂
i dont like the smell of nyx glosses either. im glad someone finally said it.
Hi AshBash,
Yeah… I would love if they could whip up a non-scented version!
I love love love these lipglosses, and the smell doesn’t bother me at all. They stay for HOURS and the pigmentation is awesome. I have them in four different colors and I love all of them.
Hi Deb,
Lucky! I wish I could get over the scent. I just can’t hang.
I love their scents!!!!! I have a lot of them, maybe too much 😉 I think that probably one day i will have them all!!!
Beside, i don´t like the scent of Round Lipstick, also by NYX
Wow! I love the scent and taste. I think mine smells like bubble gum. Sorta like the dubble bubble bubblegum
I know exactly what you mean about the scent! I wish they would change, it but the lipgloss formula is great!
I just picked up Burgundy from this range and it does smell unpleasant! I love the shade range NYX has, I wish they changed the scent.
I just picked up Sugar Pie. Ugh! I HATE the smell of cherries so this lipgloss was a huge disspointment.