Worth it? NYX Green CC Cream

Overall, I enjoy a mostly-even complexion with few skin complaints. One thing I sometimes experience, almost inexplicably, is redness on my cheeks. I don’t have rosacea, and I’m not on any medications that have flushing as a side effect – I just experience occasional blotchy redness on my cheeks. It makes wearing blush a bit of a pain unless I’ve adequately covered the problem areas with a base to cancel them out.

While shopping for my UD Revolution Giveaway on Ulta.com recently, I spotted the new NYX Green CC Cream. I was curious – I’ve seen (but not tried!) green-based primers and concealers. The area on my cheeks where I experience redness are large enough that I don’t think using green concealer to negate them is the answer, and I just haven’t gotten my hands on a green primer yet. I figured it would be nice to try for science (and the blog), so I ordered a tube of the Light/Medium formulation.

NYX Green CC Cream - Box Front

The NYX Green CC Cream indicates that it is indeed a color corrector that contains all sorts of things that your skin should like. Skin-friendly ingredients are always good in facial products, after all. Let’s look:
NYX Green CC Cream - Box Rear

Without Googling every single ingredient, this product doesn’t seem particularly villainous. No parabens or other questionable content with perhaps the exception of the fragrance (I am not a fan of smelly foundation/moisturizer/BB/CC/whatevers). The NYX Green CC Cream does not appear to be vegan (contains beeswax) but is still cruelty free, as are the rest of NYX products.

NYX Green CC Cream - UnboxedThe tube of NYX Green CC Cream itself says the same things as the box, so there’s nothing else exciting there. The product’s cap screws off revealing a narrow, precise tip from which you can dispense the product for application. I find it curious that they didn’t say, “For best results, apply with fingers/sponge/marshmallows, etc,” but no matter – I winged it.

NYX Green CC Cream - Dispensed

I popped a tiny pearl of product onto the back of my hand – unfortunately, my camera washed it out a bit, but it is definitely green, albeit pastel. If you look very very closely, you can see little specs in the product; I can only assume those are the green pigment beads mentioned on the side of the box:

Green pigment beads transform into a naturally nude, lightweight foundation upon contact with skin, neutralizing redness and resulting in a fresh, revived complexion.

Application

Dotting the NYX Green CC Cream onto one of my cheeks, I found that it had a relatively thin, light consistency. It spread around well, but I was going to need a lot more than that for my face – I squeezed out more product onto my fingertips, emulsified it, and slapped it onto my face. Never having used a color-changing face product like this, it was kind of neat to see the green fade and blend into my skin. It can be a little difficult to tell, at first, where you have placed the product but I imagine this is an issue with all products of this nature, so I won’t slam this one for it.

Fingers are probably the best way to apply this product, followed by a sponge like the beautyblender; I wouldn’t bust out a brush for this.

Although this product does have fragrance, I did not find it irritating in the slightest – it is light and fresh, and smells of neither foundation nor sunscreen (this product does have titanium dioxide, but does not report any SPF properties). The scent would actually make for a pleasant hand or body lotion, but I won’t be slapping NYX Green CC Cream all over.

Wear

Once applied, I could tell it was a very light coverage – like a tinted moisturizer – and although it diminished the redness a little, it was still visible. I resolved to wait a few minutes before looking back into the mirror in case it needed to oxidize or change further. I did note, however, that it felt barely-there on my skin.

When I did look back, well… it had definitely oxidized! My skin tone is already neutral-to-warm but I felt as though I belonged on the Simpsons when I looked. My workday had already begun, so I suffered through it, and was fortunately equipped to distract from the difference (scarves, you know? they’re awesome). Unfortunately, the NYX CC Cream pulled exceptionally yellow; if I hoped to wear this, I’d need to bring and blend it it all the way down my neck  – and honestly, that’s too much work for something that is essentially a tinted moisturizer.

On top of all that, the redness on my cheeks showed through. Damn!

Verdict

Unfortunately, because I do not relish resembling a Simpsons character, the NYX Green CC Cream ($13.99) will be going back to Ulta – and it is damn rare that I return a product. If it hadn’t been so yellow on me, I’d have kept it for days where I wanted to look a little more evened out but wasn’t terribly concerned about coverage, but this just isn’t working out for me. Surprising, too, because I usually love NYX. I still love NYX, and I’ll probably be buying something else in its stead.

Bear in mind that it may oxidize differently on you – so I won’t say, “this is not a good product, don’t buy it.” It feels nice, it just wasn’t the right color for me. I will say, however, not to buy if you cannot for some reason readily return (or give to a friend) in case it isn’t flattering on you, either.