In celebration of its 20th Anniversary, NARS has designed an incredible collection of lipsticks that pay tribute to its beginnings with the launch of The Audacious
Lipstick Collection. This is a 40-shade collection of lipsticks all encased in a sleek modern matte-black magnetic case. Each lipstick is embossed with the NARS logo. There is a diverse range of color options from nudes, reds, pinks, orange, plums and vampy shades. 10 of the forty shades are exclusive to NARS Boutiques, narscosmetics.com and Barneys New York ($32 each). The shades launched early at Barneys and I went to the Barneys New York counter in Beverly Hills last weekend to have my makeup done at one of their events and meet their Lead Makeup Stylist Janice Daoud (Twitter @NARSJanice). The RaeViewer also stopped by for a quick hello (sneak peek of her picks on Instagram @raeview).
I have seven of the neutral shades to share with you. NARS kindly sent two peachy shades for review in Julie and Juliette. While at Barneys, I picked up an additional five in Barbara, Raquel, Vanessa, Anita and Brigette. Seeing all 40 shades at once was overwhelming. Each shade looked so incredibly gorgeous. The texture is really rich and smooth with full coverage. They all appear to be creams (no shimmer) although after wiping them off, I did notice some shimmer remnants on my hand. I wasn’t able to tell which one it came from, I suspect some have a tiny bit of iridescence but on the lips they act like a true cream.
There is no detectable added fragrance from what I can tell. The colors have intense pigment and you can get full coverage with one swipe although I prefer two. All the shades, including the nudes, cover the lip entirely. There’s really no need for liner although it does help to even out the edges and make your lipstick stay on longer.
What I liked most about the nudes and neutrals I picked was that there is no tweaking required. You don’t need to add liner, gloss, or any other lipstick to correct the color and make them work. The artists I worked with at the counter did like to layer the shades together, but I personally find they all work well by themselves.
Some of the neutrals are very similar to each other. There are slight differences in undertone which is great since some look better in warm neutrals while others look better with cooler tones.
The lipsticks have a slightly natural sheen to them which reflect in swatches:
Based on my testing, Vanessa and Anita are very close in color, Vanessa is slightly deeper in color. Julie and Brigette are also close with Brigette being deeper in color. I was really impressed with how naturally flattering the neutrals were. Normally there are at least one or two nudes that end up washing out my complexion. I’m very pleased to report that all of these worked really well for my pigmented lips and medium/olive skin tone (I use the Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturizer in Groenland and Radiant Cream Foundation in Punjab). I’ll have lip swatches uploaded shortly in a separate post.
I am surprised you didn't pick up the bolder colors! These look very very similar in the swatches 🙂 I love Juliette and Anita the most! Such pretty colors!
I love these tones of pink so much and they dominate my makeup collection. I'm excited to see so much variance in this tone, but it would have been cool to see perhaps a little more variance.
I feel compelled to tell you how much I enjoy your blog. You really do an amazing job reviewing all the products and your photography makes all the products look like candy. This NARS feature just inspired me to tell you and come out of my hiding. I have been reading the BLB daily for a very long time. Please know your hard work is admired and appreciated!
I am glad you are showing more of yourself in your blog photos. It make the blog more interesting and makes your subscribers feel more connected. You are very beautiful.
Hi Sabrina! These are lovely on you. Everytime you do a lippies post I think the same thing, today's no different. I wish I had your lips! Also, I noticed you included the NARS radiant creamy foundation and I just bought the concealer. I'd love to hear your thoughts on the foundation because I love the concealer and I trust your opinion.
Hi Amanda, I will try to do a review soon. I don't usually have much luck with cream compact foundations on my skin (except I do love the one by Edward Bess). The NARS was used during a makeover and it applied smoothly and covered well so I bought it. I'll have to test it more to see how it wears but my first impressions after a week are a thumbs up.
AnonymousAugust 25, 2014 at 12:57 am
These look amazing on you. I just wanted to echo that I love seeing your face in the photos – it gives a better idea how to coordinate the lip colors with eye makeup and blush/bronzer. Thanks for all your hard work!
I am surprised you didn't pick up the bolder colors! These look very very similar in the swatches 🙂 I love Juliette and Anita the most! Such pretty colors!
Divya | TheConscienceFund
Hi Sabrina,
What a gorgeous group of neutrals! They do look somewhat similar from the swatches, but I'm guessing I'll see more detail in your next post 🙂
These are beautiful and the texture looks impressive. Are they named after actresses?
Thanks,
Tanja
Love Raquel and Julie! Pretty, pretty colours!
Lots of love, xx
http://marysreturn.blogspot.com.ar/
http://marysreturn.blogspot.com.ar/
They all look quite similar to each other but I like the look of Julie the most. Looking forward to the lip swatches 🙂
I love these tones of pink so much and they dominate my makeup collection. I'm excited to see so much variance in this tone, but it would have been cool to see perhaps a little more variance.
nueyork.blogspot.com
I feel compelled to tell you how much I enjoy your blog. You really do an amazing job reviewing all the products and your photography makes all the products look like candy. This NARS feature just inspired me to tell you and come out of my hiding. I have been reading the BLB daily for a very long time. Please know your hard work is admired and appreciated!
Thanks Anne!
I am glad you are showing more of yourself in your blog photos. It make the blog more interesting and makes your subscribers feel more connected. You are very beautiful.
Hi Sabrina! These are lovely on you. Everytime you do a lippies post I think the same thing, today's no different. I wish I had your lips! Also, I noticed you included the NARS radiant creamy foundation and I just bought the concealer. I'd love to hear your thoughts on the foundation because I love the concealer and I trust your opinion.
Hi Amanda, I will try to do a review soon. I don't usually have much luck with cream compact foundations on my skin (except I do love the one by Edward Bess). The NARS was used during a makeover and it applied smoothly and covered well so I bought it. I'll have to test it more to see how it wears but my first impressions after a week are a thumbs up.
These look amazing on you. I just wanted to echo that I love seeing your face in the photos – it gives a better idea how to coordinate the lip colors with eye makeup and blush/bronzer. Thanks for all your hard work!
I got Raquel per your recommendation!
My favorites are Raquel, Vanessa, and Anita but I also like Brigette and Julie, who am I kidding they're all gorgeous!