NYX Taupe Blush old vs. new HD formula

I have owned the NYX powder blush in Taupe (# PB11) for a long time and have experienced lots of issues with it, so I was so excited to try the reformulated HD (# HDB22) version. NYX HD blushes are $6.49 at my Ulta (don't forget to check for coupons/sales) and contain 4.5g of product. I am excited to see Taupe in a display in store now because the old version was not included in store displays in my area.

Unfortunately, I think NYX did a disservice here - the color and texture of the new version is quite a bit different than the much loved traditional one.

NYX Taupe blush comparison: New HD formula on the left, old formula on the right

I have had quite a few issues with the old NYX Taupe formula - flimsy packaging (my hinge and lid broke), a persistent film over the top of the powder, and a less than luxurious texture. These issues, except for the packaging, seemed exclusive to the Taupe color and I never was able to duplicate them with other shades. I can see why NYX wanted to reformulate and repackage their blush formula, but I'm not convinced it was successful.

Old Vs. New

• New packaging is much more sleek and cute
• New formula is more dry, brittle, and powdery
• Old formula builds up a film (even with clean brushes), new formula does not
• New HD Taupe is included in store displays at Ulta
• Old formula is more dense, buttery, and easier to blend

NYX Taupe blush comparison: New HD pan on the left, old pan on the right

Swatches 

Let's take a look a comparison swatch - the new NYX Taupe HD is a different shade than the old NYX Taupe. Both swatches are on bare, unprimed skin and were built up to show color differences. The swatches also show the difference in formula - the thinner, more powdery HD formula seems to emphasize small lines in my skin.

The new HD formula is slightly more brown and more yellow compared to the rosier old formula. Both have similar depth of color, but the more brown tones in the new formula can look muddy on my fair, cool toned skin. Warmer skintones may prefer the new shade.

The swatch picture I posted on Instagram shows my issues with this product in one picture - the HD taupe is powdery, tricky to blend, and unforgiving of lines and skin texture.

A photo posted by Avery Mae (@averymaebeauty) on Nov 2, 2015 at 10:23am PST

Unfortunately, after using the new NYX HD taupe blush for a little while, I returned it. I had issues with the new HD formula being hard to blend on the skin and the color didn't work as well for my skintone as the original shade. Curiously, NYX upgraded the packaging and downgraded the formula on their blushes at the same time.

Their old NYX taupe blush was far from perfect, but the new texture is more powdery, trickier to blend, and is a different shade than the original. I am not planning to purchase any more NYX HD blushes.