NYX Cosmetics Stay Matte But Not Flat Liquid Foundation {Shades Cocoa + Deep Dark}

The other day I was browsing Beauty 35 with my homies from ThisThatBeauty and stopped dead in my tracks when I saw two VERY chocolatey shades of NYX foundation. Of course I love NYX Cosmetics for having such great quality makeup at a great price that makes beauty accessible for so many, but they’re not exactly the first brand I think of when it comes to having deep foundation shades. Needless to say I quickly bought NYX Cosmetics Stay Matte But Not Flat Foundation in both Cocoa and Deep Dark.

Official description:

Stay Matte But Not Flat Liquid Foundation provides full coverage with a mineral enriched matte finish. The oil-free and water-based formula is perfect whether you are in the studio or out and about all day!

NYX Stay Matte But Not Flat Liquid Foundation comes in 20 shades which for a drugstore brand is VERY impressive. Cocoa came closest to my shade match (see what shades I wear in various foundations here) and I’d say the coverage was closer to medium to full as opposed to full as the brand describes it. I still needed to add concealer in areas where I had a few dark spots. But the finish is matte but not casket-sharp matte thankfully.

See more drugstore makeup reviews here

It held up VERY well in the heat and humidity. I wore it for a few days (not consecutively…lol) when it was pretty hot and humid here in NYC and it held up all day. I set it with Ben Nye Nutmeg powder and then because I like to highlight and contour as it brings more dimension to my face, I added the NYX Cosmetics 3C Conceal Correct Contour palette since I was in the process of reviewing it anyway. Normally I would just use the Cover FX Contour Palette.

See more NYX Cosmetics reviews here

Cocoa is described as being for dark skin tones with peach undertones. If I had to guess this would be closest to the equivalent of an NW45 to an NW47 (with so many brands making foundations for darker skin, I find it hard now to compare foundation shades to MAC foundations because I feel like so many people are matched to NW45 because it was the closest shade people who shop at MAC have to match and not necessarily that it was their TRUE match. It’s more important to pay attention to undertones in my opinion.)

Deep Dark is described as being for dark skin with dark beige undertones. If I had to guess this would be the closest to the equivalent of NW50 but again, see above for why I find it hard to compare shades to MAC.

Here’s some pics of it on me with comparisons (without makeup vs with NYX Stay Matte and NYX Stay Matte on its own vs with highlighting and contouring). The makeup didn’t change my skin color—the change in color is because the lighting is different in the pics…lol.

See more in my Summer Foundations for Dark Skin series here

Bottom line: NYX Stay Matte But Not Flat is a pretty good option for those with oily skin and/or who want a matte finish option. It performs well and the price point is pretty great. I haven’t seen the other shade options, but from just looking at the computerized swatches on NYX’s website, there could definitely be more room for shades on the darker end of the spectrum.

Price and where to buy: $7.50 at ULTA (NYX is currently BOGO 50% off) plus 3% cash back when you use eBates BUT the deeper shades don’t seem to be available there. You can also buy and see more in-store locations at NYXCosmetics.com. You might also find these including the deeper shades at beauty supply stores.