Color family
Licorice sits outside the nude and brown Butter Gloss family. It is a black gloss, so the useful question is less “is it warm or cool?” and more “do you want a clearly black glossy lip?”
NYX
Licorice
Shade reference
Licorice
Licorice is a black Butter Gloss shade that can add smoky depth, darken another lip color, or create a more dramatic glossy lip effect.
Shade profile
- Product
- NYX Butter Gloss
- Shade
- Licorice
- Finish
- Glossy
- Coverage
- Full coverage / highly pigmented gloss
- Color family
- Black gloss
Color analysis
Where Licorice sits in color space
Warm or cool?
Black gloss can visually neutralize or mute whatever is underneath it. Over bare lips, natural lip pigmentation will decide whether it reads more gray-black, plum-black, brown-black, or smoky neutral.
How it wears
Licorice has more visible payoff than the softer nude Butter Gloss shades.
Nearby Butter Gloss shades
How Licorice compares
Licorice is the dramatic end of this Butter Gloss map. Compare it with the deeper brown glosses if you want depth, but not a clearly blackened gloss effect.
Rocky Road
Deep brown rather than black, with a softer brown-gloss effect.
Ginger Snap
Much browner and softer, with less dramatic depth than Licorice.
Brownie Drip
Rosier and more pink-brown, without the smoky black effect.
Praline
A muted brown nude direction rather than a deep or smoky gloss.
Fudge Me
Softer beige-brown and much lower contrast than Licorice.
Caramelt
Warmer and caramel-brown, not a smoky or blackened gloss.
Who might like Licorice?
- People who want a black gloss rather than a brown nude gloss.
- People who want to deepen or mute another lip color.
- People who like smoky, vampy, or editorial lip effects.
- People who find deep brown glosses too soft for the look they want.
If you want an everyday brown gloss, Licorice may be more dramatic than you need. If you want the darkest Butter Gloss direction or a layering shade that changes other lip colors, it makes more sense.
Lip liner pairings
Use black liner to define the edge
Because Licorice is dark and glossy, a black liner is the most direct pairing. It gives the gloss a cleaner edge and keeps the look in the same black color family.
Black liner
Keeps the edge intentional and supports the full black gloss effect instead of softening it into brown, berry, or plum.
For deeper non-black liner context, see Dark Brown Lip Liners.
Dupes and similar shades
Licorice should be compared with other black or blackened glosses rather than brown lip liners or opaque black lipsticks. Finish matters here: a glossy black will behave differently from a matte black lip color or a deep espresso liner.
If you only want a deeper brown effect, compare it with dark brown liners or deeper brown glosses first. If you want a smoky overlay, Licorice is closer to the right category.
FAQ
What color is NYX Butter Gloss Licorice?
NYX Butter Gloss Licorice is a black gloss with stronger payoff than the softer Butter Gloss nude shades. It still catches light like a gloss, but the color itself reads visibly black.
Is NYX Butter Gloss Licorice wearable on its own?
It can be, but it is a dramatic shade. Because the black pigment is visible, it reads more like a high-impact glossy lip than a sheer smoky wash.
Is Licorice darker than Rocky Road?
Yes. Rocky Road sits in a deep brown direction, while Licorice is the black gloss reference point in the Butter Gloss range.
What lip liner goes with NYX Licorice?
Black liner is the clearest pairing for NYX Licorice. It keeps the lip edge intentional and supports the black gloss effect.