I tend to play up my eyes more often than my lips, so tend to stick to relatively neutral or muted lipcolors (despite my love for Kat Von D – Adora and Stila Stay All Day – Beso). Most often, I wear an, “MLBB,” or My Lips But Better shade, but sometimes I want something a little more neutral than that. Problem is, I feel like a lot of, “nude,” lipcolors match the skin too much (or, in my case, are too light!) and therefore lend themselves to a corpse-y appearance when applied.

Noooope (I hope you read that as Lana Kane from Archer. If you didn’t go back and re-read it that way.)

Maybelline has been pretty awesome with their lipstick formulations recently (if not their color names), and added some nude shades to their Color Sensational line – this new family is called The Buffs. Living on the edge again, I picked a color (sale + coupon, ha!) simply by looking at the chart under the display (where it gives you an approximation of the shade).

I chose Maybelline Stormy Sahara

I twisted the bullet up and observed the tan hue and recall feeling skeptical. I slapped it on my face and was immediately pleased – it is nude! It is a tan-ish nude with just the faintest hint of pink – not light enough to make you look corpsey. Dark enough to make your lips still look like LIPS but not steal the show. The consistency feels creamy, and the lipstick glides on effortlessly (no stupid, annoying skips or tugging) and is a creamy-ish finish that is not super shiny – very natural. Maybelline Stormy Sahara does not have a strong smell or taste.

Lasting power is typical for this line, but I’m forgiving of lipsticks I have to reapply more often (2-4 hours) when they are neutral hues. This shade is universally appropriate – day, work (even in conservative professions/offices), night (just go crazy with the eyes!), etc. I cannot see myself going any paler with a so-called nude-lip, but I would go a bit more pink.

The Maybelline Color Sensational – The Buffs line can be found in drugstores, mass merchants, and online for $4-7ish, but frequently goes on sale and has coupons available. If you would like to see swatches of this shade, leave a comment!