2018

NARS Fall 2018 features two new eyeshadow quads, a gorgeous lip palette and new brow pencils. The collection launched last month and I’m a little late to review them, but I’ve been working my way through testing the pieces. The products do not disappoint and I think every piece is stunning. The palettes for eyes and lips are limited-edition, in this launch we have:

• Quad Eyeshadow Palette in Mojave ($52, made in Canada)
• Quad Eyeshadow Palette in Singapore ($52, made in Canada)
• 7 Deadly Sins Audacious Lipstick Palette ($52, made in USA)
• Brow Perfector ($25, eight shades available, made in Korea)

The Quad Eyeshadows in Mojave and Singapore seem to have a new formula in them. Each quad has a mix of textures from matte, satin and a new pressed sparkle shimmer. The shimmer is this pressed formula that reminds me of the ones you find in Asian brands like Lunasol or even some of the sparkles you find from Surratt Beauty. Both quads this launch are just so pretty.

Mojave has perfect neutrals that aren’t too warm or too cool. With most palettes like this I find some of the browns run a little too cool-toned, but this has the perfect mix of warm and cool. If you found the Chanel Clair-Obscur Matte Quad too matte and wanted a little shimmer, NARS Mojave is the way to go. It has a shimmering silvery taupe sparkle, matte brown, soft tan shimmer and a semi-sheer pale champagne.

Singapore is one of the best warm palettes I’ve tried. It has a similar vibe to that of the NARSisisst Wanted Eyeshadow Palette because of the texture and the red, but Singapore has some warmer options I think are so pretty. It’s very rare that I can wear all the shades in a warm-ish palette like this but the shades layered together are perfect!

The 7 Deadly Sins Audacious Lipstick Palette has a mix of classic nudes, pinks, reds and a deep plum. All the colors are creams and are supposed to be the Audacious Lipstick formula. I find them to be a little more glossy and sheer compared to the individual Audacious Lipsticks you find in the full-size tubes, but the palette colors are really good. With all the different finishes, textures and new things we have in the beauty market these days, sometimes it’s nice to find a classic lipstick. This palette has all classics with smooth even medium coverage.

All but one color worked flawlessly on my lips. There is no scent and they have a smooth creamy finish. It does come with a lip brush which is nice. Colors include:

• Pride – beige nude cream
• Disobedience – pink neutral
• Idolatry – medium pink
• Foolishness – bright warm red
• Greed – muted brick red
• Wrath – deep cool red with blue tones
• Sloth – plum, this went on patchy for me, but if I apply a liner first and then top it with this it works just fine

Last but not least are the Brow Perfectors. I’ve been a long-time die hard loyal user of the Diorshow Brow Styler in Universal Brown. I feel like I have odd-shaped brows and for me a stiff and semi-sheer pencil I can use to feather in small strokes works best so I don’t overdo it. The NARS Brow Perfector has more pigment and is a little softer so you can create a bolder brow easily. It still has a really fine tip so you can feather in color and build it. Also even though I have nearly black hair, I naturally have a lot of red hair which you can only see in sunlight. Finding a color that isn’t too deep, red or grey is hard for me although I do think brands are doing a better job at launching more options these days. I tried a few of these and felt I could wear either any of the Auburn and Medium Brown colors.

Shown below:

• NARS Goma – Blonde Cool
• Calimyrna – Blonde Warm
• Makassar – Auburn Cool
• Moanda – Auburn Warm
• Naia – Medium Brown Cool
• Komo – Medium Brown Warm
• Atacma – Dark Brown Cool
• Lava – Dark Brown Warm
• Diorshow Brow Styler – Universal Brown
• Anastasia Brow Wiz – Medium Brown
• By Terry Brow Mascara – #4 Dark Brown

Beauty look below wearing:

• Foundation: NARS Natural Radiant Longwear Foundation in Vanuatu (review + swatches here)
• Concealer: NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer in Ginger
• Powder: Laura Mercier Translucent Loose
• Blush: By Terry Compact-Expert in Sun Desire (swatches here)
• Eyeshadow: NARS Eyeshadow Quad in Singapore
• Eyeliner: MAC Technakohl Liner in Graphblack
• Brow: NARS Brow Perfector in Komo
• Mascara: Tom Ford Waterproof Extreme Mascara
• Lipstick: NARS 7 Deadly Sins Palette in Disobedience

Bottom line perfect. I didn’t expect to love the eyeshadow quads as much as I do. Sparkle can be hit or miss for me and even though some of the colors are ultra sparkly they work beautifully on the lids. I feel like both are must-haves. The Lip Palette is nearly perfect (one patchy color). I think every single color is wearable and they pretty much give you all the colors you’d need in a single palette for a classic day to night lip look. I’m hoping that Disobedience is a close dupe for an existing shade. I’m going to try and find a similar one because it’s the perfect pink. I’ve been a long-time fan of the Dior brow pencils, but this new NARS Brow Perfector is really easy to use and gives me more color to play with because it’s creamier. I think they are winners.

You can find the NARS Fall 2018 Color Collection out now. Available at NARS Cosmetics, Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, Sephora, Saks Fifth Avenue and Barneys New York. The eyeshadows and lip palette are limited-edition.

Have you checked out the launches yet? What did you think?

NARS Fall provided courtesy of NARS for review.

NARS launched a new limited-edition palette called the Atomic Blonde Eye and Cheek Palette ($59, Sephora exclusive). It has a perfect sunkissed summer vibe with warm bronzey colors for eyes and face. It comes in a mirrored compact with six colors, two of which are repromotes:

• Icon Eyeshadow – shimmering soft warm tan gold
• Isolde II Eyeshadow – shimmery warm copper
• Kink Eyeshadow – warm sparkle copper
• Galapagos Eyeshadow – matte deep brown with gold flecks
• Last Call Highlighting Blush Powder – soft golden sandy beige shimmer
• Unleashed Bronzing Powder – matte sheer warm brown

The eyeshadows are for the most part shimmery. Icon and Isolde II have perfectly soft textures that are easy to blend powders. Kink is a very sparkly eyeshadow which I found best applied with a super dense brush or fingers in a patting motion. Galapagos is a formula that has a matte base but enough gold flecks to make it sparkly. It’s best applied with a dense brush along the lash line or on top of a creamy liner smudged/blended. For me all the eyeshadows performed well without any issue. Kink does have some fallout if you apply with a loose fluffy brush – it may take some experimenting application-wise.

The cheek colors are both soft. Last Call has a semi-sheer finish which is great if you want a soft glow vs sharp frost but it’s not really the most unique shade. It does have a soft warm golden sheen that is more flesh-like than most champagne shimmers but the effect is going to be similar to a lot of other highlighters. Unleashed Bronzing Powder is one I have mixed feelings about. It’s sheer and stiff in texture making it more of a very soft contouring powder on me. As a bronzing powder if it had more pigment or a softer texture I feel it would be too dark for my complexion. Since it is harder and sheerer it gives my skin a very soft contoured look. I don’t typically use contouring powders – I usually just use any regular bronzer to add a tiny bit of dimension.

The palette itself is really pretty and easy to wear for me. Each time I tested it I was happy with the performance and look. It’s a super easy to wear palette that I don’t have to think about when applying. It has all the colors I need, minus a cream shadow base and a little bit of color for blush, but there are a lot of days I don’t wear blush – just bronzer. I do think it would be better if the bronzer had a different texture/finish. But since it’s stiff and semi-sheer it does work well on me as a crease blending color to add depth on the eyes (even though it’s meant for the face). I’m not the biggest glitter shadow fan I would have preferred if Kink weren’t a glitter but I can make it work and I think it’s really nice for summer. Since summer won’t end here in Florida until maybe November I will get a lot of wear out of the colors.

Quick and easy look wearing Laura Mercier Flawless Fusion Foundation in Buff, Laura Mercier Flawless Fusion Concealer in 3W (swatches of all shades here), La Mer Pressed Powder in Medium, Diorshow Brow Styler Universal Brown, Eyes + Cheeks are NARS Atomic Blonde Eye and Cheek Palette, Lips are NARS Full Vinyl Lip Lacquer in Santo Domingo (review here).

Since the cheek colors are ones I feel are easy to dupe, here are a few swatch comparisons below: Natasha Denona Glow 01 Light is more pink and has more shimmer (reviewed here), Charlotte Tilbury Filmstar Bronze and Glow Light-Medium is more neutral/cool, NARS Highlighting Powders in Fort de France and Ibiza have more shimmer, Becca Sunlit Bronzers in Ipanema Sun and Maui Nights have deeper color and are easier to build pigment-wise:

One last look:

Overall easy to use, nice wearable colors. Two shades I’d love to change a little color or formula-wise but I can make the palette work as it is. It’s pretty much an effortless one that I can apply any day for any occasion. In a sense I’m glad the bronzer is stiff/sheer because the color works for my complexion, otherwise I feel like it would be too dark for me to wear.

The NARS Atomic Blonde Eye and Cheek Palette is available at Sephora. It’s listed as a Sephora exclusive, but right now you can also find it online at NARS Cosmetics. It’s limited-edition. Have you checked this one out yet? What did you think?

NARS Atomic Blonde provided courtesy of NARS for review.