NYX Professional Makeup Buttermelt Blush is a pressed powder blush infused with mango butter, shea butter, and almond butter, built to blend like a powder but glide on like a balm. It’s sold in 12 pigmented shades, comes in soft matte, satin, and glowy finishes, and is rated for up to 12 hours of fade- and transfer-resistant wear. The formula is vegan, cruelty-free, and priced at drugstore level, usually under $10 a compact.
I picked up my first pan of this blush on a whim at Ulta, mostly because the name made me laugh. “Butta Boom.” Really? But six months and four shades later, it’s become the blush I reach for on days I don’t want to think too hard about my makeup routine. That’s really the whole appeal of NYX Professional Makeup Buttermelt Blush: it removes the guesswork.
I want to walk you through what it actually feels like on skin, how it holds up through a long day, where it falls short, and how it stacks up against a couple of blushes people usually compare it to.
What Makes Buttermelt Blush Different From a Regular Powder Blush
Most pressed powder blushes are talc-heavy and can grab onto dry patches or emphasize texture around the cheeks. NYX took a different route with this one.
The formula blends three butters, mango, shea, and almond, directly into the pressed powder. That’s not a marketing gimmick. You can feel it the second you swirl a brush into the pan. The texture is softer and slightly more yielding than a typical powder blush, almost like the pigment has been pre-warmed.
That’s where the “buttermelt” name actually makes sense. It’s not liquid or cream. It’s a powder that behaves like it’s been left in a warm room for a minute, so it presses into skin instead of sitting on top of it.
Why the Buttery Texture Matters for Application
A drier powder blush tends to look patchy on textured or mature skin because it clings to fine lines and dry spots. The buttery base in this formula helps the pigment diffuse instead of clumping, which is especially noticeable if your skin leans dry or you’re applying blush over a matte setting powder.
I have combination skin, oily in the T-zone and dry on the cheeks, and this is one of the few powder blushes that hasn’t looked chalky on me by midday.
Shade Range and Finish Options
NYX currently offers Buttermelt Blush in 12 shades, spanning cool pinks, warm corals, deep berries, and a couple of true reds. Recent additions include a deep coral called Butta Than Coral, a glowy peach shade called Butta Sunset Sorbet, and a bright cherry red called Butta Cherry Pop.
The shade names are a little ridiculous (“U Know Butta,” “Back and Butta,” “For The Butta”), but the color payoff is where NYX actually delivers. Every shade I’ve swatched has strong, immediate pigment, so a light tap of the brush is genuinely enough for daytime wear.
Finishes fall into three general categories:
- Soft matte, for a natural, blurred flush with zero shimmer
- Satin, which has the faintest sheen without looking glittery
- Glowy, which leans dewy and works well layered over cream products
How to Pick a Shade for Your Undertone
If you’re not sure where to start, think about the undertone in your skin rather than how deep or fair you are. Cool undertones usually do better with the pink and berry shades. Warm undertones tend to look more natural in the coral and peach range. Deeper skin tones can wear the cherry red and deep coral shades as an everyday flush, not just a bold look, since the pigment is buildable from sheer to saturated.
How Long Does NYX Buttermelt Blush Actually Last
NYX advertises up to 12 hours of fade- and transfer-resistant wear. In my experience, that number holds up reasonably well on normal days, though “transfer-resistant” is doing more work than “waterproof.”
On a standard 8 to 10 hour day, including a gym session in the middle, the color faded slightly by hour six but didn’t disappear. It also didn’t rub off onto my mask or a scarf the way some cream blushes do. On hot, humid days, I noticed more fading around the four to five hour mark, especially in the glowy finishes, which seem to break down slightly faster than the matte ones.
One thing nobody talks about enough: the wear time depends heavily on what’s underneath it. Applied directly over bare, moisturized skin, it faded faster. Applied over a setting powder, it held its place noticeably longer.
NYX Buttermelt Blush vs Other Popular Drugstore Blushes
Here’s how it compares to two blushes people frequently ask about in the same breath, one liquid, one powder.
If your skin runs oily and you want a dewy, second-skin flush, the liquid formula from e.l.f. will likely outperform Buttermelt Blush in terms of longevity on oilier zones. But if you want a product that’s easy to control, buildable without going patchy, and works across multiple finishes in one line, NYX has the edge.
Application Tips Nobody Puts on the Packaging
NYX’s own instructions say to tap the brush into the pan and swirl it across the high points of your cheeks. That’s accurate but incomplete. A few things I’ve learned through trial and error that actually change how this blush performs.
Tap off excess before your first swipe. Because the formula is pigment-dense, a fully loaded brush will lay down more color than you expect, especially in the darker shades like Butta Cherry Pop.
Blend outward toward the hairline, not just across the cheek. Since the pigment is so buildable, harsh edges show up more with this formula than with sheerer powder blushes.
Warm the product slightly before picking it up. Running your brush bristles against the back of your hand for a second or two softens the powder further and helps it grip the skin, similar to how people prep cream products.
Layering It With Buttermelt Bronzer or Highlighter
NYX markets this blush as part of a coordinated “butter” line that includes a bronzer and a highlighter with the same buttery base. Layering the blush over the bronzer, rather than applying them separately, gives a more sun-warmed, cohesive look instead of two isolated patches of color. I’ve found applying bronzer first, letting it set for a few seconds, then sweeping blush directly over the top produces the most natural transition between the two.
Who Should Skip This Blush
This isn’t a universal recommendation, and I don’t think any single blush deserves to be. If you have very oily skin and need a full 10+ hours of zero touch-up wear in hot weather, this formula alone may not get you there without a setting spray on top. If you strongly dislike any scent in your makeup, note that the formula does have a light sweet, fruity scent from the butters, which some reviewers find pleasant and others prefer to avoid entirely.
If you’re someone who prefers cream or liquid blush because you like a dewy finish blended with your fingers, the matte and satin shades in this line might feel drier by comparison, even with the butter content, simply because it’s still a pressed powder at its core.
Price and Where to Buy It
NYX Buttermelt Blush typically retails for under $10 per 0.17 oz compact, which puts it solidly in drugstore territory. It’s widely available at Ulta, Target, Walmart, CVS, Walgreens, and directly through NYX’s own site, with occasional stock at JCPenney and Macy’s as well. Given the pigment payoff and multiple finish options in one line, it holds up well against pricier prestige blushes that offer similar buttery textures at two or three times the cost.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is NYX Buttermelt Blush good for oily skin?
It works reasonably well, but oilier skin types may see faster fading around the five to six hour mark. Setting it with a light powder helps extend wear.
Does NYX Buttermelt Blush have a scent?
Yes, it carries a light, sweet, tropical scent from the mango, shea, and almond butters blended into the formula.
How many shades does NYX Buttermelt Blush come in?
It’s currently available in 12 shades, ranging from soft pinks and corals to deeper berries and a bright cherry red.
Can you use NYX Buttermelt Blush with a damp sponge?
You can, and it intensifies the pigment and glowy finish, similar to how a damp sponge affects most pressed powder formulas.
Is NYX Buttermelt Blush vegan and cruelty-free?
Yes, the entire Buttermelt Blush line is formulated without animal-derived ingredients and is certified cruelty-free by PETA.
Final Thoughts
NYX Professional Makeup Buttermelt Blush earns its spot in my everyday routine because it does something a lot of budget blushes fail to do: it feels considered. The butter-based formula genuinely changes how the pigment sits on skin, the shade range covers most undertones without forcing you to guess, and the price makes it easy to try more than one finish without a second thought.
If you haven’t tried it yet, start with one shade close to your natural flush and build from there before jumping into the bolder reds and corals. Your cheeks, and your patience with your makeup routine, will thank you.
Olivia Parker is a home improvement research writer with 8+ years of experience covering home design, renovation ideas, maintenance tips, and practical living solutions. She creates easy-to-follow content to help readers make informed decisions about improving their homes.
