NYX Taupe HD Blush Review, Photos, Swatches
NYX Taupe HD Blush
NYX Taupe HD Blush ($6.50 for 0.16 oz.) is a medium-dark, taupe brown with subtle warm undertones and a semi-matte finish. Kat Von D Sombre (P) is very similar but slightly warmer. MAC Next to Skin (LE, $21.00) is lighter. Inglot #504 (P, $15.00) is cooler-toned. NYX Taupe (P, $5.00) is rosier. NARS Douceur (P, $29.00) is warmer, more shimmery, lighter. MAC Taupe Shape ($21.00) is more shimmery. Chanel Notorious (LE, $45.00) is darker, cooler-toned. See comparison swatches / view dupes.
NYX’s newest blush formula is supposed to be a “high definition, lightweight blush that blends evenly” that is “vibrant and silky.” The consistency of the powder is definitely very soft, but it is quite powdery and kicks up a lot of excess in the pan. Luckily, it doesn’t look powdery on the skin and blended out easily. The color payoff was more semi-sheer to semi-opaque with some buildability, but this particular shade wasn’t intensely pigmented. This seemed even cooler-toned compared to the regular Powder Blush version of Taupe, which may make it an even more suitable contouring shade for fair to medium-dark skin tones, but I wish it wasn’t quite so thin in texture. It also contains slightly more product (0.16 oz. vs. 0.14 oz. but costs $1.50 more) and doesn’t have talc as an ingredient. On me, it lasted for seven and a half hours before fading.
As a note, this product seems potentially extra fragile, as I received three of the blushes I ordered from ULTA completely shattered, and several readers had similar stories–but more worrying was that some readers experienced blushes breaking in their bags on the way home. That being said, I ordered a dozen or so from NYX directly and none of them arrived broken.
Taupe
PPermanent. $6.50.
See more photos & swatches!
NYX Taupe HD Blush
NYX Taupe HD Blush
NYX Taupe HD Blush
NYX Taupe HD Blush
NYX Taupe HD Blush
NYX Soft Spoken/Taupe HD Blush (your left) / NYX Taupe HD Blush (your right)
NYX Taupe HD Blush (your right, as a contour)
NYX Taupe HD Blush (your right, as a contour)
I love my Mac Taupe powder blush, I was expecting this one to be similar. But I guess it’s not. I don’t know if I would notice it on your cheeks either.
It’s a good match for my skin tone, because it gives definition but looks natural. I wore it as a contour, so it is below my cheek bones in the photos, FYI 🙂
I totally agree, it’s a perfect shade for your skin, just like real shadow. I love it <3
but the fact that it is fragile is a downside…
Definitely not good if they can’t survive the trip from the store to home!
you used this blush to contour your cheeks in the pics above??
Yes, as a contour 🙂
I can’t see it…
I used it as a contour 🙂
so pretty
It’s a nice balance of warm/cool, I think, for a contour.
I really love the ‘original’ Taupe blush for shaping my MAC NC15 skin! I really love this packaging, but I don’t like the fact that it tends to break so easily..
There have been too many incidents of them shattering so I am wary 🙁
how does it compare to the Kevyn Aucoin Sculpting powder. Could it be a possible dupe for it?
It’s definitely not a dupe!
It would be a nice contour color although I’m not sure if it will show up on my NC35 skintone..
I’m NC25/NC30 if that helps! 🙂
That does. Thanks 🙂
The new packaging is super cute, but it’s definitely not sturdy. I bought two of their new Prismatic shadows, and the clear lid portion popped right out of the top! I was able to snap it back in place, but I think I may have just found my first shadows to attempt moving into a palette…
I haven’t had any issues with the packaging itself coming apart at least!
That happened to me with one of the regular NYX blushes, but I had dropped it. Sad to hear this packaging is flimsier.
I ordered three Nyx HD blushes from Ulta and they arrived broken and crumbly. I sent an email informing them of my disappointment in their packing department. They were kind enough to send me them again. However, I received the new blushes in the same condition. Except this time, they were packed worse. Just loose in the box with a bubble wrap piece on top. I am really disappointed. I wouldn’t try ordering again from them anytime soon with this issue.
I am sad that I couldn’t try out the new blushes. They looked very pretty and I adore the packaging. I like the idea of it being more sheer to help me not overdo it the first time.
Thanks for the review!!
ULTA has the worst packaging for their online orders. Nearly every order that has a powder product has at least one product arrive broken, though my recent NYX order had 7 of 24 powder products totally shattered :/ And yes, they just take the products, put them in a clear plastic bag (which has no protection), sometimes twist it but often don’t bother, and then it’s a medium-sized cardboard box for them to slosh around in. It is, by far, the absolute worst offender when it comes to online retailers.
That last order inspired me to write-up a massive online retailer packaging post, so right now, every time I get a package from a different retailer, I’m documenting and photographing the state. Few beauty retailers are GOOD at it, but ULTA is horrible at their packaging. 🙁
I ordered 12 of the HD Blushes from ULTA, 3 were shattered. I ordered another 12 or so (whatever was left, plus the 3 that were shattered from my ULTA order) directly from NYX, and none were broken.
That’s so discouraging. They were kind enough to refund my purchase in giftcard form. Since they obviously can’t package their products well enough, I won’t be ordering more anytime soon. Although I was lusting after Lorac Unzipped – I was finally ready to take that leap. I just don’t want it to arrive in pieces. 🙁 The nearest Ulta is over an hour away.
I think rating them (and posting for others to see) based on their packing/delivery services is a great idea. It’s a great way to alert consumers, as well as the corporation, that their packaging/shipping is sub-par. Perhaps they will actually listen if they see people reacting that way – plus you have a large audience.
Thanks again for your brilliant reviews!
Yeah, they said they could replace the broken items, which would take a minimum of 10 days to receive, to which I said I just wanted a refund, and they said that would take 30 days. I posted a pic of the broken items on Twitter, because I am REALLY fed up with the lack of care ULTA puts into packing their boxes, but I really don’t think they heard me, because what they focused on was getting a refund to me immediately. That’s nice, but the point was more, “Hey, could you maybe think about better packaging?”
The last ULTA order I bought a few nail polishes. They stuck all 3 of them in the same baggie, which was basically a punch made of very thin bubble wrap, and no other protection. I (stupidly) stuck my hand right in there and one of them had shattered! My fingers were covered in goopy teal polish and shards of glass. The other polishes were unbroken but will forever be teal. I was so mad.
*My last ULTA order…
*pouch, not punch
Should have proofread that closer 🙂
Oh no!! I hope you didn’t get cut, Alex! Broken nail polish is one of the worst :/ Smelly, extra hazardous because of the glass, and then it gets over EVERYTHING and ruins it.
Walgreens.com, CVS.com and Drugstore.com don’t have good packaging either. And I’m scared of using Amazon.com for cosmetics. Online retailers that don’t specialize in makeup generally use less packing materials. Even Ulta, which sells mainly beauty items, doesn’t use enough.. Sigh
If you haven’t thrown the broken blushes out yet, there is a way to fix them! (assuming the casing/packaging itself isn’t broken) Break up the chunks of powder into smaller pieces with the handle of a knife or something similar, keeping them in the blush pan. Then slowly mix in drops of isopropyl alcohol until the powder has become more like a paste in texture. Use a butter knife to spread the paste evenly in the blush pan. Set it some place to dry with the lid open. In about 24hrs all the alcohol will have evaporated and the blush will be as good as new, albeit without the nice evenly pressed finish it would have had if it hadn’t been broken!
I hope that made sense, if not there are video and photo tutorials about this available online. I’ve had to do this myself a few times, and as far as I can tell it doesn’t result in any change to color/quality of the product. The last time I had to fix a broken powder compact was after I ordered theBalm’s Cindy-Lou Manizer from HauteLook. They shipped it by itself in a huge box with just a loose sheet of bubble wrap thrown in for protection. I’m glad I was able to fix it, but I would have much preferred not receiving a broken product in the first place. 😐
It’s so funny because I just stumbled upon the original NYX Taupe a few weekends ago and bought it because it always seems so hard to find. But the HD version definitely looks different – more warm and brown. 🙂
Glad you were finally able to get the original Taupe!
Love my Nyx Taupe original blush as my go to cool weather contour as it is quite buildable, but still very natural looking even on my medium olive C4.5 complexion. Have hit pan on it, so now I am trying to decide whether or not this HD Taupe is worth it? Kinda concerned about its fragility.
I’m really not certain just how fragile it is or isn’t. I’ve dropped a few and haven’t had any shatter, but SO many readers are reporting similar issues with theirs arriving shattered or even them knocking in a bag on the way home resulting in shattered blushes!
The earrings though???
What about my earrings?
Hello Christine,
Is this new NYX Taupe HD blush will replace the classic version of NYX Taupe blush? I really prefer the classic version and I can’t live without it!
Sorry, I don’t have official info or contact with NYX, so I don’t know if they’re discontinuing it or not.
I heard/read it was being DC’d a while back, and was never able to find it in-store over the last couple of years. You can try eBay; I found 2 for about $7 (for both) + a couple bucks shipping.
Just within the last three months, I purchased a classic NYX Taupe from Amazon. It was reasonably priced–less than $10 iirc, and for Prime, shipping was free. Such a relief because I hit pan on the one I already had, and I’ve been looking for it everywhere on Oahu for at least a year.
I ordered the new Taupe and another color HD blush from Ulta as well and they both arrived shattered as well 🙁 I didn’t bother ordering new ones after I returned them because it seemed like a faulty formula. Bummer!
🙁
Your eyes!!!!!!! Can’t wait for your review on the new Colourpop eyeshadows!
That contour looks so natural!
Thanks, Lucy!
Definitely looks like it blended out nicely.
Thankfully it had that going for it!
How does this comare to crave immagination by MAC?
http://www.temptalia.com/submit-dupe?sbs=1&pid=176663&dupe=190125
I very much like the undertones. Wish it came in a cream version. I use a super subtle contour, usually a cream blush in lieu of contouring powder or powder blush (NARS Altai, Chanel Cheeky are two I frequently use) and I do not seem to have a lot of choices. I would really like to find a cream product with more neutral to cooler undertones. I just find creams kinder and less obvious for my skin type and structure. This blends effortlessly on you. Nice! There’s that Bite Caramel lip colour on you. It’s sooo perfect.
I hope cream contours become a thing. I’d love to see less palettes, more appropriate contouring colors and more guidance on which should go what undertones.
Have you tried the Kevyn Aucoin Creamy Glow #4? If you can past the itty bitty pans, it’s an amazing product!
Would you happen to know the name for #4, Amy? Just looking it up on Nordies and Creamy glow is listed by name only. Thanks
Sculpting Medium/Candlelight! It’s the cream version of the Sculpt Medium & Celestial Candlelight powders.
When I looked them up a while back, they were listed under the numbers, LOL!
Gotcha.. thanks Amy! I was actually confused and thought you were referring to the single round pan glow cream blushes. There is a really pretty one I found on my goggle search that has been discontinued. Of course. But, yes, I did see the product you mentioned– highlight/contour combos on EvilBay. 🙂
I just picked it up at Nordstrom a few weeks ago. I love the color/effect, but I can’t fit my favorite brush in the contour pan… I was planning on returning it, but it really is worth the extra effort!
Oh no!!! I ordered this a couple of days ago and awaiting for its arrival. Now that I see swatches, aww man, think I wasted money but maybe not really. Can’t use this to contour alone so I’ll use to dumb down the redness or orange in my current contour products. Sigh. Was really looking forward to this.
I hope it works for you!
As a fair girl who is terrified of looking like an oompa loompa while contouring, this is awesome! I am totally find with it not being mega pigmented, that way I can ease into it. I wonder if this will be more available in stores than the original version. It seemed like you could only the taupe blush online before. Great review and GORGEOUS eye shadow! I love whatever it is you’re wearing on your lids! 🙂
Hopefully it’ll be more readily available!
This looks less “pink” than the previous incarnation, so it may work better for me. I’m happy to hear ULTA is actually carrying it, so hopefully I’ll be able to find it in-store (the possibility of a product breaking in transit is just yet another reason I hate having to order online, LOL!). Since it’s a new formula, perhaps CVS or Target will get it, too.
Hopefully it’ll be there soon!
I have one of these in a pink shade. It hasn’t broke. I’ve been really enjoying it as a subtle blush. It’s not vibrant at all lIke the description. Can’t remember the name though.
Happy to hear yours hasn’t had any issues 🙂
It looks like a great contour shade, but considering the shattering issue, I’d probably go with their regular powder blush in Taupe.
It’s just startling to hear so many complaints about them shattering 🙁
Is it maybe a thinner layer in the pan? I don’t have either the old or the new for comparison, so it could be a trick of the photo, but if the layer of product is wider/flatter/thinner over a larger area, then that might be why they’re having trouble with more shattering?
(Or potentially the truly execrable packing techniques that some retailers use! Probably isn’t helping…)
That’s possible – I do think the pan is a bit larger here, so it may be the same height but spread over a larger area.
This looks kind of dark for a blush, better as contour or crease shade for shadow. Wow, what are you going to do with a dozen of these?
I didn’t buy a dozen of the same shade!
Will these HD blushes be sold in stores too?
I think some stores have them already, but they might not carry all the SKUs.
I saw it at my Ulta yesterday!
I like the fact that it looks cooler than the original NYX Tuape. One of these days I’ll find a reseller that will ship to Canada for this one. 😉
I hope you can find one!
eBay or Amazon?
Whoa look at the powder in the swatch! I’ll wait until these get to Ulta, thanks for the warning us about the damage during shipment.
Surprisingly powdery!!
This looks perfect, I need it! The original Taupe always looked super reddish and weird on my skin.
Yay!
i love this, would be great for contouring! it looks good on you
Thanks, Barbie!
It’s too chalky but the color is nice and neutral to warm shade!
It’s definitely powdery!
This looks really pretty on you. I started using NYX after seeing other products that you reviewed. I have 3 Ultas within a 1/2hr drive, but they are always sold out of everything. I will try to find this, but I will be surprised if they have it. 🙂
NYX can be hard to find in-store from what I have heard! (I normally buy it online… easier that way!)
Okay, not the only one who found this ran just a little warm. Was the top layer crusty, in the compact? I swatched it in Ulta, with the little tester pan and it seems seriously hard but I figured because it was because it’s new (like, just put a few days ago and pretty untouched!) with a crusty top layer. I kept working at it, it seemed to soften up and loosen. The compacts are insanely fragile, one of the two Taupe compacts available had completely shattered inside so they might arrive at Ulta shattered 🙁
Nope, I didn’t have any issues with it being firm at all!
I keep hearing so much about this color, i want to try i but i have so many other contouring colors right now 🙁
A little off topic but what eyeshadow are you wearing? its so pretty!
ColourPop Rebound Set, Sephora Suntan Eyeliner! 🙂
Love your blog but lately the floating ads have made it difficult to enjoy :(. It resizes the window and makes it jump, closing them is virtually impossible.
Could you send me a screen shot? We don’t allow those types of ads, which means that an ad network is violating our agreement and we would like to notify them immediately.
I feel like this is another case of brands using buzz-words to sell products, in this case ‘HD’. Like the new Revlon HD lip series; so far the lipsticks and lacquer I’ve tried have been FAR from HD. Cargo’s HD CC Cream, while wonderful, still doesn’t seem much different than any other CC cream.
Brands need to stop it with these buzz-words! Use something truthfully descriptive instead of leading on your customers to the point that they want to track down the CEO and throw rocks at him/her.
I guess they just wanted to be more creative than they were originally with “Powder Blush,” LOL! Nowhere near as bad as Bite’s flat-topped gimmick or mascara names, at least.
The funny thing is, it’s taken this long! Max Factor actually did a foumdation in the late-80s (it was the best foundation I’ve ever tried…), but everyone seems to associate “HD” with MUFE, which came out years later.
BREATHTAKING look, for this post! Just divine!
Thank you, Italia!
I love anything that is easily blendable so Ill definitely be giving this a go
xx
Enjoy 🙂
I still would like to try this as NYX Taupe had positive feedbacks although I wasn’t able to try that one because it’s always OOS here!
Hopefully you can try soon! I don’t know why it’s so hard to get!
ooooh pretty please post a sneak peek of swatches. I’ve been trying to put together an order, but can’t find swatches anywhere.
I was excited when I heard that NYX was coming out with a new formula for Taupe, because while I love the shade of the original I’ve always wished it had better pigmentation. Also, my Taupe is very stiff, and for some reason always gets a film on the top that I have to scrub off with a paper towel–I’ve heard others mention this too.
But it sounds like the new version isn’t going to be any more pigmented than the old–maybe softer, though.
Sorry, I haven’t had a chance to photograph all of them!
It’s probably due to the fact the original contains talc. These new ones don’t, so hopefully no film; I had that problem, as well…
I hope they aren’t discontinuing the original! Glad I have it as it’s lovely and so hard to come by, I snagged mine in Germany, never seen it anywhere else and always sold out online.
Let’s hope they aren’t!
Very cute with the bow, but I don’t think this shade would suit me.
Aw, bummer!
I think this could be a good product for very fair girls like myself (NW15) who can easily go overboard with very pigmented products. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good pigmented blush and I can work with it on my skin. However, it takes a bit more time. A less pigmented product like this prevents mistakes and is a bit user friendly for girls like me 🙂
I bet it would be great on NW15!
I’m medium in color, but I don’t like SUPER pigmented cheek products, because it’s still more work than a semi-opaque one would be for me!
This looks like a great contour powder for lighter complexions
Agreed!
Thanks for the heads up about the breakage issue. This is on my wishlist so I’ll be sure to order it directly from NYX. I did make a big NYX order from Ulta a few months back but it was mostly lippies, no pans of powder items to worry about breaking. Now that I know that’s a problem I’ll be more careful in how I order my makeup.
I can’t wait to get this and use it for contouring, I’m super pale and cool toned, it should work very nicely for me.
No problem! 🙂 ULTA has been really bad with shipping products, period, and these seem like they might be more fragile. NYX packaged better for sure.
As much as I love Ulta for its variety of products and its rewards, whoever packs up the stuff for shipping (or, more likely, whoever decided HOW they all should be packed and instructed everyone else) is incompetant.
Yes, “throw products into box” doesn’t seem to have been thought out well!
I really hope nyx is not discontinuing their original powder blushes. I’m relatively new to contouring, and I went to ulta the other day in search of the original taupe blush to practice with something affordable. I could only find this line of blushes, and there was not an original powder blush in any shade in sight. I went ahead and got this, but I agree that it’s a very thin texture. I love the original formula of the nyx blushes, and I personally find they are one of the best blushes on the market, especially for the price. I hope this isn’t a sign of things to come since nyx was purchased by L’oreal.
Hopefully they don’t!
Such a lovely look you have on in this post!
Thank you!
Hi! I was excited to try this blush, and came to the website since your skin tone is similar to mine, but I can’t see it in your beautiful skin, so it won’t show up in mine. I’m thinking more maybe Mac taupe or sculpt. Anyway, thanks always for the great reviews!
I am wearing it lightly – not at full intensity 🙂
Do you know if they are planning to replace the regular blushes with these ones? I wasnt sure at first because i thought this would be specifically HD, but now that i see theres one called taupe it would make sense if they are phasing them out
Sorry, NYX doesn’t send me press releases, so I don’t know. All the info I have is what is available on sites like ULTA unfortunately!
Which lipstick are you wearing here? I’ obsessed!
On face: Cover Girl Ready, Set, Gorgeous Foundation. On eyes: ColourPop Rebound Set, Sephora Suntan Eyeliner. On lips: Bite Beauty Caramel.
Thought about buying this as a contour powder since I’m almost out of my similar color in my IT Cosmetics contour palette, but when I swatched it in the store, it was very patchy and seemed like it would be nearly impossible to apply in the way I want my contour to look. It was a perfect color so it made me really upset. Since you say it actually blended pretty well on the face, perhaps for the price I will give it a try. Also, glad to hear I’m not the only one who has problems ordering from Ulta online. I’ve done so once and it took two weeks to get a package that was so dented and damaged with barely any protection inside I was extremely worried about damaged products. I will never order from them online again, unfortunately.
Ordering from ULTA is like playing the lottery :/