I Tried Nudestix & Now I See Why Sofia Richie Is Raving About It

Nepo babies are forever turning our TikTok FYP into a flashy display of gilded glamour. And just before Monday's Met Gala inundated us with jewel-encrusted cats and ludicrously long loops of pearls, one famous face made her TikTok debut: Sofia Richie Grainge, daughter of Lionel Richie. 

Sofia shared details of her wedding day including the venue, the guest list, the flower toss and — most importantly in this instance — the makeup. The behind-the-scenes videos of the bride have since gained millions of likes, with one beauty brand in particular featuring in the clips more than any other.

Enter: Nudestix.

Founded in 2014, Nudestix is a perfect example of no-makeup makeup. Available in mainly stick form (as the name suggests), the brand's range of products are easy to apply and work for any occasion. "Out with the bag overflowing with compacts and brushes, and in with simple makeup crayons for the face, eyes, lips and even cheeks," shares Taylor Frankel, one of Nudestix's founding trio. You won’t find any bold pops of colour here — All Over Face Colour in Picante, £26, is about as loud as it gets — but you will find a number of multipurpose lip, cheek and eye crayons in wearable nude shades.

After numerous #GRWM tutorials on Sofia’s TikTok, it was announced that she is now Nude Beauty Director of the brand — an incredibly clever (albeit slightly sneaky) marketing campaign that made me up the ante on scrutinising these sticks. Here's how I got on.

As someone who has used the same Chanel Les Beiges Healthy Glow Sheer Colour Stick Blush, £38, for around six years (hygienic, no; cost-effective, yes), makeup in stick form is one of my favourite things. It's easy to apply in mere seconds, goes exactly where you want it, and there's no need for brushes or sponges. Nudestix was built around this approach and these face colours are now one of my favourite finds. Going one step further than most others I've used, they have their own mini brush hidden in the base for a more feathered-out application.

I opted for shade Sunkissed (the shade Sofia wore for her wedding), which has now sold out. But Sunkissed Pink and Sunkissed Cool both offer a similar effect. As this product is matte, there's little shine but it won't impact the finish of any products you apply underneath, such as a dewy foundation in my case. Working equally well over the cheeks, eyes and lips (although the brush isn't designed to work in smaller areas), it gave a pulled-together makeup look that felt lightweight and not at all drying. It lasted all day on the cheeks and eyes but just like a regular lip crayon, it needed reapplying on the lips after eating or drinking.

Essentially the same as the Nudes All Over Face Colour Matte but in a longer, skinnier shape, the Lip & Cheek Pencil delivers more precise application than its chunkier counterpart. It's a creamy crayon with a bold pigment and works better on the lips thanks to its pointed edge (which also comes with an attachable sharpener). On the cheeks, I didn't love it as much, purely because it took quite a few applications to get the thinner nib to apply enough colour. Again, thanks to Sofia, a lot of the shades are now sold out but Sunkissed Pink was my favourite. Whether you opt for this version or the chunkier All Over Face Colour comes down to personal preference in terms of application. Overall, it's the same product, just in a different shape.

The Beachy Nudes come as a set of three and the sticks are much smaller than the other options. They include a matte bronzer, a shimmery highlighter (which I loved for imparting a radiant sheen) and the All Over Face Stick in Picante. I used all three at once: Picante on the lips and cheeks, the bronzer to contour and the highlighter to add a slight shimmer to the nose, cheekbones and eyelids. Bringing a little more vibrancy into the nude shade range, Picante offers an orangey-red pop that perked up my face much more than any of the other Nudestix products I tried. While it doesn't sit within the brand's nude or neutral spectrum, it was nice to see something a little bit different. I liked the final look but this kit seems to be a bit of a step away from the one-product-does-it-all approach that sets the brand apart. If I were to pick just one Nudestix product, it would have to be the All Over Face Colour, which truly does it all.