I’ve had some NARS bits that I’ve accumulated that I had not yet swatched or reviewed for you. By now their Sarah Moon Holiday collection has already launched so much of this post contains items that are old news. Today I’m reviewing:
- Velvet Lip Glides ($26 each), my picks in Stripped, Unlaced, Playpen and Bound
- 413 BLKR Cheek and Lip Palette ($59), exclusive to NARS online and NARS Boutiques
- NARSissist Dual-Intensity Cheek Palette ($59), limited-edition
Up first are the Velvet Lip Glides. These are described as comfortable high-pigment products that glide on as a gloss but have the lipstick finish. They have a slight semi-matte finish but on my lips the colors I picked out still have a slight sheen. There’s an almost weightless airy feel but they will cover the lips all the way with a few strokes. When I bought mine I ordered them sight unseen and went with the safe colors.
The colors I bought:
- Stripped is a beige nude which I found to be a very good neutral nude that doesn’t wash me out or look streaky on the lips, huge thumbs up for this one!
- Unlaced is a light pink beige which unfortunately doesn’t work well with my lip or skintone by itself, it’s too light and pale, finish is a bit streaky because of the contrast it has with my natural lip color but you can smooth it out with some blending
- Playpen is a warm peachy coral which should work for me because I love these colors, but there’s something about the undertone that makes it pull orangey and makes my skin look a bit yellow when I wear this one, I found this odd because it’s almost identical to a few from Chanel and Tarte (swatched below) but there must be something about the drydown that turns the NARS a bit orangey on me
- Bound is a perfect mauve neutral, I feel like I’ve been looking for a color like this for a long time and I’ve finally found the one
Swatch comparisons:
Swatched above:
- Le Metier de Beaute Lip Creme in Riche
- Chanel Glossimer in Beige Star 206 (review here)
- Anastasia Beverly Hills Liquid Lipstick in Stripped
- NARS Lip Gloss in Instant Crash (limited-edition, review)
- NARS Lip Gloss in Chelsea Girls (review here)
- Cle de Peau Radiant Rouge #11 (review here)
- NARS Lip Gloss in Vida Loca (limited-edition, review)
- Tarte Tarteist Glossy Lip Paint in Goals
- Chanel Rouge Allure Lip Ink in Amoureux (on lips here)
- Anastasia Beverly Hills Liquid Lipstick in Crush
- MAC Lipglass Viva Glam Ariana Grande II (swatched here)
- MAC Lipglass in Lovechild (on lips here)
Next is the 413 BLKR Cheek and Lip Palette which is exclusive to NARS boutiques and NARS online. I also bought this sight unseen in part because NARS palettes excite me and also because the pink shades looked just perfect.
It contains, 3 blushes in a satin pale pink, a neutral rose blush, a deeper raspberry blush, Laguna Bronzer and a bright electric fuchsia lip pencil. This palette did not work for me. The colors for the cheeks ended up looking muddy on my complexion and darkened quite a bit giving me a burnt look. The lip color pulls too bright and too cool-toned on my lips. This is one I should have gone by my palette rule of not buying because I knew there might be a chance I would not like at least one of the colors. Quality-wise the powders are soft and easy to blend. The lip pencil went on the lips smooth but I couldn’t get over how garish the color was against my olive skintone, I literally wiped it off immediately. They just don’t work with my skintone.
Last but not least is the NARSissist Dual-Intensity Cheek Palette which I’ve featured a few times before but never posted swatches. I liked this one so much I bought a backup although given the holiday palette launches I probably should have skipped the backup. I’m a huge fan of the Dual-Intensity Blush formula (also for the eyeshadows) because they’re the perfect hybrid of powder and cream. They meld beautifully with the skin and last all day on me. The shimmer is just perfect in each color as well. After swatching the palette next to individual colors I did find a lot of almost-dupes. If you haven’t bought it yet and were still debating whether or not to get it, I think it’s a great option, especially for travel. However if you already own a lot of the others (I own all of them and yes they were all splurge-worthy) you may want to skip and opt for the holiday palettes instead.
Colors include a soft opal with a pink sheen, shimmering peach, shimmering pink and warm bronzey tan shimmer. They all have some degree of shimmer but aren’t frosty.
Swatch comparisons below to four of the other Dual-Intensity Blushes:
A quick side by side rundown of the palettes in this review lined up by the Holiday 2016 offerings. I just ordered the Sephora exclusive which just popped up online over the weekend and have high hopes for it. Most of the rest are available at NARS stores and narscosmetics.com right now and will launch at other stores/counters on November 1st. I’m trying to wait and see in person before splurging.
Bottom line, love the Velvet Lip Glides in Stripped and Bound along with the NARSissist Dual-Intensity Blush Palette. The rest aren’t bad – the colors just didn’t work out for me but it’s bound to happen from time to time when ordering items sight unseen.
NARS Velvet Lip Glides and NARSissist Dual-Intensity Blush Palette are available at all NARS stores and counters. Note the blush palette is limited-edition. The 413 BLKR Cheek and Lip Palette is exclusive to NARS stores and their website.
Have you picked up or tried any of the NARS items I reviewed today? Or have you checked out the holiday collection? Let me know your thoughts!
