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NYX Slim Lip Pencil [SPL852 - Pumpkin] Review

By Maychiri's Thoughts - June 29, 2025

Time for the colourful half of today's reviews! This is the NYX Slim Lip Pencil, shade SPL852/Pumpkin!
 
 
Let’s go back, waaay back in time. Back to when there were still physical NYX stores in Croatia. This was back when I first started using makeup seriously, so when I saw a shop dedicated solely to makeup, and stocked with so many items, it was a dream come true. Back then, I didn’t really know that much about NYX, so I went in with a completely neutral mindset for everything I bought. But, thing is, the stores were closing :(( ... maaan, and just as I was about to start exploring the brand. Feels bad man. But I was still able to go to the shop a few times before it was gone for good (physically, that is), and boy did I find some goodies! One good thing about shops closing is that stuff is usually marked down significantly, which was also the case here. Everything was on sale – that is right, EVERYTHING! And it wasn’t some measly 20-25%, I am talking 70+% off! This was bought during one of the later visits, when the shelves began to feel a little bit bare, but, right as I went to the cash register with my awesome black lip set, I turned around and... gasp... what’s this?? A little lip pencil secluded away from the rest? And with such an awesome colour? Well, don’t mind if I do! It was at a silly discount anyways, so might as well! Pumpkin, eh? And it looks burnt orange? Oh this will be awesome for autumn – Halloween, especially! I can already tell! Now, let’s finally see what this Slim Lip Pencil is like!
 
 
 
Packaging: a classic wooden pencil that is glossy black on the outside. Text is white, so it is easy to read. Pretty standard stuff tbh. But the text is arranged in a pretty organised way, so it’s not all bunched up. The cap is black as well and closes tightly enough, I’d say. 
 
 
 
Though it can sometimes be slightly loose, so be careful how you store it in makeup bags. The only colourful part of this pencil (aside from the lead and the wood, of course) is the end, which is burnt orange coloured. 
 
 
 
This colour is close to the pencil’s, but it is darker and more intense, so it’s not really perfect if there are no testers and you want to see what this colour would look like on you. 
 
 
 
 
Ingredients: coconut (Cocos nucifera) oil for at least a little bit of nourishment. No parabens. The scent is like a wooden coloured pencil you’d use on paper. It just smells woody tbh; the lead itself has no particular scent to it. I like this scent! It feels rustic. The expiration date is 36 months after opening, giving you plenty of time to use it up.
 
 
 
This colour is so awesome! It is so extremely vibrant and intense! Although, the more I look at it, the more I realise that this kind of extremely intense red orange might be too much for my skintone. It brings out the yellowness and the greenish tones in my skin and teeth, which... yeah, that isn’t good. And it kind of washes me out I feel. But it is just so cool! And so perfect for both autumn but even more so: summer! This is the perfect colour for hot summer nights! So toasty and warm and kind of seductive. 
 
 
 
Right, but let’s define the colour. This is a very intense red-orange; that is, an orange with clearly visible red undertones which make it a bit softer. Well, that’s the base colour, without the shimmer. This is a very difficult colour to name properly. Like, it’s not really tangerine or pumpkin (sadly)... let’s consult Pantone. So, the Pantone colours closest to this one are: "red orange", "grenadine" and "orangeade". None of those match this colour perfectly; this one is a bit softer, with more softer red pigments in it. 
 
 
 
Were it not for the shimmer, this would be a very lovely soft reddish orange colour that leans a bit more towards red than pure orange. But the shimmer makes it that much more orange because it is golden. It is slightly orange as well, but it is clearly meant to be a golden shimmer. This meshes wonderfully with the vibrant red-orange of the base of the lipstick! It really elevates the lip pencil to a new level, making it look futuristic and so very cool! However, I do feel it is this shimmer that makes my skin look a bit sickly yellowish. Bummer. But I will still keep wearing this – YOLO! 
 
 
Oh, also, while NYX do describe this colour as being a "burnt metallic orange", it just seems too bright and intensely vibrant to be called that. Burnt orange is darker than this usually. I will never get over the fact that this colour doesn’t match Pantone’s harvest pumpkin, though... ah, well, it is still a very pumpkin-ish colour anyways. And still very fitting for autumn, though yeah, it is a much more summery colour. 
 
 
Oh man, this pencil is hella pigmented! Just one layer is enough to make it intensely orange, so you don’t need to layer on multiple layers for it to look good. And since it applies so phenomenally evenly, the entire lips are evenly pigmented without even trying too hard. And I don’t even have to press hard to get it to be this pigmented; even a light touch is enough to make it this incredibly vivid orange! That is all thanks to the buttery soft formula, but we will get to that in a second. See, like, this level of pigmentation is what I expect! Awesome!
 
 
This kind of soft formula means that the pencil is also super easy to apply. Absolutely no tugging or pulling at the lips at all, it just glides across them, depositing a perfectly even layer of colour. It never skips over parts of lips, either, even if they are not in best shape. So no need to meticulously exfoliate your lips prior to using this pencil, it doesn’t mind the lisp being a bit chapped. Though, of course, it will be better if they are soft! And it is just as easy to use when it is very sharp, again, because the formula is so wonderful!
 
 
This is a classic wooden lip pencil, so it is quite precise. Maybe not as precise as automatic lip liners, but it is very close. Of course, to make it as precise as possible, you need to sharpen it, but since that goes so easily, I don’t mind the fact that it becomes blunt rather quickly. When it is sharpened, it draws such sharp lines that outlining your lips is child’s play! It is so incredibly easy to properly line the cupid’s bow with this pencil! When it is dull, it struggles to draw quite as sharp lines, but it is still quite precise. 
 
 
I don’t have issues lining the cupid's bow even when the pencil is dull. And since it is so extremely pigmented, you can easily fix any tiny mistakes or fill in the smallest little bits without smudging everything up. This is most important in the cupid’s bow area, because it allows you to really get the shape right, bit by bit. Just be careful because even the softest touch will be very orange!
 
 
Oh man, what a soft, buttery formula! It literally melts into the lips, fusing with them, which helps it look more natural – despite the bright, vibrant colour. But, while it may be buttery soft, it does not feather one bit while applying it. In fact, the edges are super sharp! It just glides over lips, depositing an even layer of this flaming bright orange across the entire lips. No patchiness whatsoever! And since it is so pigmented, you don’t need to spend a long time perfecting it. 
 
 
Just a single layer is enough to get way more than enough vibrancy, but I still like to apply more layers just to ensure it truly is as intense as possible. And I love how the formula dries down; after a short while, it stops being quite as buttery, instead turning into a powdery kind of formula. I don’t mind this as it is not at all tacky and it makes the formula more lightweight. Not that it was very thick and/or heavy in the first place, but this still helps. It never feels dry, though, which is a miracle. No, it just feels soft and super lightweight. I literally forget I am even wearing it! It also doesn’t create that awful crust on the lower lip, at least, not at the start; we’ll see if that changes with time. I just love how smooth and soft it looks on the lips as well! It doesn’t exaggerate the fine lines of the lips, which is awesome, because this kind of texture was likely to emphasise any imperfections. But instead, they are actually concealed! So you really don’t have to have lips that are perfectly 100% smooth to use this pencil properly and make it slay. It applies evenly even if your lips are slightly damaged or dry. Such a wonderful formula! It’s a dream!
 
 
And the texture? In contrast to most other Slim Lip Pencils, which are mostly a supple matte texture, this one is at the completely opposite end of the spectrum: it is metallic. And quite metallic, at that! Some might say that this texture is dated but I don’t care, I love it! I love it because the golden shimmer is the perfect complement to the vibrant burnt orange base colour. It doesn’t give 80’s, it gives futuristic vibes! The shimmer is so extremely finely milled that you can’t even see it, yet it still gives off this extreme golden shine. 
 
 
This is how you do metallic without it looking weird! This kind of texture can be risky because it can quickly start to make the lips look too textured once the shimmer settles into all the nooks and crannies of the lips, but here, it actually visually softens the lips. And it makes them look three-dimensional and luscious, ahh! It’s just too good! I also love how it doesn’t look like cheap mica or too dry, it is just right – like Goldilocks’ porridge! Oh yeah, this is so high fashion – it just looks so stunning! Shame that it doesn't show as much in photos - it looks STUNNING in person!
 
 
I mentioned that this lip pencil dries down into a powdery kind of formula. Well, that doesn’t mean it's uncomfortable to wear; quite the opposite – it is very comfy! I am not surprised, most Slim Lip Pencils are comfortable to wear, but, then again, most aren’t metallic. This kind of texture can sometimes feel dry, so I am glad that this one doesn’t feel uncomfortably dry. It may be a teensy bit dry on the lips, but mostly, it’s at an okay level of dryness. Certainly low enough to still feel distinctly comfy and lightweight. 
 
 
 
And since it melts into the lips so well, it becomes practically invisible for at least a couple of hours. A few hours in, it may start to feel a bit waxy and tacky on the lower lip, and create a bit of a crust, but it is much less severe than what many other lip liners create. So it deals well with stuff like sweat and saliva. In fact, I’ve worn this lip pencil out when it was scorching hot and, even though the rest of my face was wet and sweaty, this lip pencil still felt very comfortable. Guess that talc was working overtime! I have to admit, though, that this isn’t quite the most comfortable lip pencil I have ever tried, but it is in the top echelon for sure. I don’t even feel like this pencil dries out lips! After a day of wearing it, my lips were just as soft as before so, obviously, they haven’t suffered any sort of damage. Awesome!
 
 
Longevity is a forte of this lip pencil, I am happy to report! It’s not perfect (what is?), but it survives so much that you can throw at it. Sweat? This lip pencil doesn’t break a sweat trying to deal with that! Sweat just goes over the lips and causes barely a tiny bit of feathering – if that. Usually, it is in perfect condition after a work out or, you know, walking about during Mediterranean summers. It also has no problems dealing with sebum, so don’t worry if you’ve got oily skin like I do. The edges will stay nice and sharp. It is not at all transfer-proof, though, so if you touch anything with your lips, it will transfer. That’s even if you blot it. And that means that it is not immune to food damage, but it does put up quite a fight. 
 
 
 
If you eat greasy food, it will fade to varying degrees, but it never looks quite destroyed unless you eat really, really greasy food. But then again, few lip products would be able to withstand that. For most food, it survives in pretty good condition, though it may need a top-up occasionally. Just to bring back that vibrancy. It is also super durable in terms of other signs of wear like fading, feathering and smudging. Unless you touch your lips or eat really greasy food, it will stay sharp and vibrant. And the metallic shine stays no matter what. So yeah, pretty awesome longevity, I’d say! Yay!
 
 
The fun continues! This pencil is extremely easy to remove! Just a single swipe with micellar water and it’s completely gone, so, imagine then, how easy it is with a specialised remover. There are no orange stains on the lips after removing the pencil, despite being so incredibly pigmented. Oh, and no waxy residue as well. I want to note just how much shimmer is left on the cotton pad after removing this lip pencil with micellar water; there is literally a million shimmer particles there, showing just how much of this extra fine shimmer is needed to get this wonderful metallic look. I can barely see this shimmer on my lips, so it surprised me when I saw this much of it on a cotton pad. 
 
 
 
 
Lastly, the sharpening, because, at some point, the pencil will become blunt. Well, good news! It is super easy to sharpen! I’ve tried sharpening it with multiple sharpeners and every one sharpened it with ease. It breaks (or crumbles) extremely rarely so there is very few product waste in that regard. Tbh, I am not surprised; these wooden pencils are often easy to sharpen, after all. But I am still glad we are ending on a high note :) .
 
 
 
 
 
 
Oh, I do love this little vibrant lip pencil! I adore it, in fact! I am so happy that I decided to spend a minute more checking out NYX’s store, because if I had done what I originally set out to do (just buy the black lip set), I would have missed out on this incredible vibrant lip pencil. I love autumn and everything that represents it: red and orange fallen leaves, warm clothes, hot drinks and, yes, pumpkins! So, seeing a shade named Pumpkin (Citrouille in French, which is so darn fun to say), I knew I had to have it. Indeed, it is stupefying just how good this lip pencil is! Not my first Slim Lip Pencil, so I already knew what to expect broadly, which is: greatness. The formula is buttery soft and simply glides across lips without tugging at them even if they are chapped or dry. No matter what, this lip pencil will apply an even, rich layer of pigment. And this is crucial for a colour as vibrant as this one! The formula does dry down into a more powdery one, but it is still plenty comfortable. And it stays comfortable the entire day, even after it becomes a bit tacky and crusty on the lower lip. The texture is not like most other Slim Lip Pencils: this one is metallic! metallic and orange might sound like it is going to be garish, but trust me, it works so well together! This is because the extremely finely milled shimmer complements the colour of the lip pencil, which is a blazing intense red-orange. But it is not just pure orange, as it has a noticeable amount of soft red pigments in it to soften it up; after all, bright orange colours can be quite harsh on their own. But this one is finely balanced in its blue and yellow undertones, so it looks fancy, not garish. Okay, it may be a touch too intense (or a lot too intense let’s be for real) for my skintone as it does make my skin look slightly yellower than usual. I guess bright vibrant oranges just aren’t colours that suit me; that’s okay, I have had a hunch this may be the case for a long time. The shimmer is golden, so, you can see why that would complement the bright blood/tangerine orange so nicely. It adds a touch of elegance and sophistication to a quite wild colour. The end result is a very futuristic, awesome colour that looks good on pale skin, though it would look better on skin darker than mine I think. Despite being so shimmery (to achieve the metallic effect), it doesn’t emphasise the fine lines of the lips; instead, it visually smooths them. So no, it doesn’t look dated or frumpy! It also has fantastic longevity! While it isn’t quite food-proof, it tolerates meals without becoming too faded. Though, of course, the greasier the meal, the more damage there will be. But I never had it completely fade from the centre, which is what usually happens. So it is a real trooper! I also love how easy it is to apply; seriously, properly (over)lining your lips is a piece of cake with this pencil and the edges always turn out so sharp! Now, my one gripe is that this isn’t really a perfect representation of a pumpkin colour; this is a more tangerine/blood orange kind of colour. I guess there are pumpkins that are this kind of red-orange? So while it might not be exactly what I thought, it is still such a wicked cool colour! And still perfect for autumn. Ahh, feels good to keep not being disappointed with the Slim Lip Pencils from NYX! They are simply trustworthy! And for that, I will give this lip pencil my recommendation, it’s definitely earned it! Now, I will go back to daydreaming about autumn because I am sick of this summer! 
 
One final note, this seems to be one of the shades NYX discontinued at some point; what a shame, they should have kept it, it is way too awesome to retire. 
 
 
 
Rating: 8.5/10
 
 
Would buy again? YES (shame they discontinued it) 
 


 

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