NARS Holiday 2018 Collection Review + Swatches

Holiday beauty launches are in full swing and today I have a look at the NARS Holiday 2018 Collection. This is quite the massive launch with lots of palettes and sets. There are individual pieces as well and some of the products are exclusive to specific retailers. In addition a few items are online only so if you’re shopping places like Sephora or Ulta, I’d recommend checking online first and make your list to save a trip to the store! I received a large press package and dove right in to play! Due to the large number of items it has taken me a long time to swatch and test every single piece. There are some products I did not receive so check online for different variations and palettes.

What I have to review today:

• Hot Tryst Cheek Palette ($59) with Kings Road, Swindle, Untamed, Friction, Bowery and Adrenaline
• High Voltage Highlighting Palette ($42) with 1977, Fort de France and Queen
• Orgasm Infatuation Cheek Palette ($42) with Laguna, Orgasm and Orgasm Highlighting Blush (Sephora exclusive)
• Provocateur Eyeshadow Palette ($49) with Vinyl, Endless Party, Exploit, Screech, Smash it Up, Not for Sale
• Chaos Velvet Matte Pencil Duo with Decibel and Zipped (NARS and Ulta Exclusive)
• Manic Velvet Matte Lip Pencil Set with Spike, Chaos, Bondage, Vicious (Sephora exclusive)
• Riot Velvet Matte Lip Pencil Set with Clash, Wasted, Riot and Rebel
• Spiked Audacious Lipstick in Sheena ($34 each, Nordstrom exclusive)
• Spiked Audacious Lipstick in Nancy ($34 each, NARS and Barneys exclusive)
• Spiked Audacious Lipstick in Siouxsie ($34 each, Sephora exclusive)
• Powermatte Lip Luster ($26 each) in Hardcore, Shredded, Shatter, Pierce, Combat and Blackheart
• Little Fetishes Laguna/Fort de France ($24 each)
• Little Fetishes Rita/Mona ($24 each)

For the cheeks there are three palettes. Hot Tryst, High Voltage and Orgasm Infatuation. I think there are two hits and one semi-miss. Thoughts and swatches below.

Hot Tryst has six colors with a texture/finish that reminds me of the dual-intensity blushes. They’re cream to power and all shimmery. Texture and finish is smooth with sheer-medium color. You can build more intensity with layering or a dense brush. Colors include a pale shimmery pink, soft muted pink, magenta shimmer, champagne gold shimmer, soft peach shimmer and a pink-red shimmer. This is my favorite of the three. Lasting power is excellent. I think every single color is perfect! Swatched with a heavy hand below:

The next two are trios one is a highlighting palette called High Voltage with three pale highlighters in 1977 a pale champagne, Fort de France available individually, and queen a soft light peachy gold shimmer. I did not have time to swatch or pull side by sides but this has an exisiting shade and as a very similar vibe to two previous trios Banc de Sable and Reve Sale. If you have either of those or Fort de France, I think you can safely skip this one. That being said the colors perform well with soft sheer shimmer. If you’re one who doesn’t want frost and needs a subtle glow this is a nice option.

Then there is the Orgasm Infatuation Palette which is sheer on my medium tan skin. I can make it work better by layering or putting it on top of a cream blush. Based on the vast number of positive reviews on this I think I might have a dud or just be too tan. This has the classic Laguna Bronzer and Orgasm Blush, both of which swatch ok on the arm, but on the face apply sheer. There’s also an Orgasm Highlighting Blush which I find very beautiful and pigmented. It’s the perfect soft peachy highlighter which I hope they will consider making individually full size.

For the eyes the Provocateur Eyeshadow Palette was a surprising hit for me! I say surprise because at first glance the colors looked like they would be too cool. I was really impressed with the pigment and the mix of colors and the brick red layered make for an incredibly unique smokey eye. Colors include Vinyl a duochrome vanilla with pink shimmer, Endless Party matte deep red, Exploit a shimmering brown with blue-violet flashes, Screech sparkling silver, Smash it Up deep shimmery navy, Not for Sale deep plum. Pigment is smooth and some of the shades are sparkly but I don’t think it’s quite to the level I can call glitter. I don’t think I have anything like it! Scroll to the bottom for a look with this palette.

I was completely overwhelmed by all the lip options. There is a lot to process with the sets! Many of these lip colors are retailer exclusive and I have a few missing so definitely do some research before deciding on which one to buy if you’re interested.

For the Velvet Matte Lip Pencil there are a few sets I have swatched. Update- lip swatches added! I found all of these performed well on the lips. They can look a little dry depending on what your natural lips look like. Pigment is even and smooth though and I find they apply smoothly.

• Manic Velvet Matte Lip Pencil Set (Sephora exclusive):
  • Bondage is a matte brown nude neutral
  • Vicious is a cool mauve pink
  • Spike is a deep wine plum
  • Chaos is a deep matte brown
• Riot Velvet Matte Lip Pencil Set (Nordstrom exclusive):
  • Clash is a matte muted red
  • Rebel is a blue based red
  • Riot is a brighter bold red
  • Wasted is a fuchsia plum
• Chaos Velvet Matte Pencil Duo (NARS and Ulta Exclusive):
  • Decibel a cool mauve pink
  • Zipped a matte orchid purple

Swatches below:

Individually there are new Powermatte Lip Lusters which are shimmery versions of the Powermatte Lip Pigments. I think these are solid winners. The formula is shimmery and metallic but very wearable and lasting power is excellent. Anytime anyone asks for a recommendation on a good budge-proof lipstick I always say most lipstick is going to transfer, but the NARS Powermattes are good.

I’m in love with all but one of the colors which include:

• Hardcore is a metallic pink gold copper
• Shredded is a muted brown shimmer
• Shatter is a shimmering mauve
• Pierce is a metallic brick red on my lips
• Combat is the perfect deep shimmery plum
• Blackheart this is the only color I do not like, it applies and performs well, color is just very scary looking on my complexion

Swatches:

Then there are the Spiked Audacious Lipsticks in three shade options. Each color also exclusive to specific retailers. I do think this makes it a little confusing with all these exclusives. Sometimes it can be fun to hunt them down but for me during the holidays I don’t really want to be hopping from store to store! Online shopping does make it all a million times easier but only if you know what you want. Formula is true to the Audacious formula – super creamy, smooth, not heavy and has a slight sheen for a finish. Every time I wear one of these it makes me wonder why I don’t wear these all the time.

• Spiked Audacious Lipstick in Sheena is a nude pink (Nordstrom exclusive)
• Spiked Audacious Lipstick in Nancy is a deep blackend plum (NARS and Barneys exclusive)
• Spiked Audacious Lipstick in Siouxsie is the perfect berry red (Sephora exclusive)

Then there are the Little Fetishes sets which have minis of cheeks and lips. These make for really cute stocking stuffers! A quick peek at the Laguna/Fort de France Duo and Mona/Rita Lipstick Duo. I didn’t swatch because I’m keeping these as gifts!

Beauty look wearing the following items along with another closer look at my new highlights! Also I know in one of the photos it looks like I’m applying something on the cheeks with an eyeshadow brush – I assure you I’m not! It’s just one of the eyeshadow pictures I took but I was lowering the brush.

Worn on the face, press samples have a *:

• Laura Mercier Flawless Fusion Foundation in Buff *
• Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Powder *
• NARS Hot Tryst Cheek Palette in Swindle + Bowery mixed together *
• NARS Provocateur Eyeshadow Palette on the eyes *
• Hourglass Arch Brow Pencil in Soft Brunette * (I did one brow and forgot to do the other!)
• Tom Ford Waterproof Extreme Mascara
• NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Vicious from the Manic Set *

That wraps up my NARS holiday 2018 collection review! There’s a lot to look at and as usual I would say my recommendations for palettes should be based on the colors you think you’re drawn to or think you will wear. Quality-wise most everything performed well for me. I would say the misses are the Orgasm Infatuation Palette, Blackheart Powermatte Lip Luster and if you have very dry lips you will need to use a primer under the Matte Lip Pencils but I think some of the colors and really good. My top picks: Hot Tryst Cheek Palette, Provocateur Eyeshadow Palette, Audacious Lipsticks in Sheen and Siouxsie and the Powermatte Lip Luster in Combat.

You can find the NARS Holiday collection out now. Everything is limited-edition. There’s a good portion of the collection you can find at NARS retailers but the exclusives are listed above. Available at NARS Cosmetics, Nordstrom, Sephora, Ulta Beauty, Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue and Barneys New York.

Have you checked out the NARS Holiday 2018 collection yet? What did you think? Was it a hit or miss?

NARS Holiday 2018 collection provided for review.