NARS celebrates 25 years this year! To celebrate the team has revamped their entire iconic Lipstick line with 72 shades in three finishes: Matte, Satin and Sheer ($26 each for 3.5 g/0.12 oz). His original 12 are packaged in special red and white tubes that are currently exclusive to NARS Cosmetics online (and in boutiques). The remaining 60 are in his signature black and white tubes available at all NARS retailers and counters such as Nordstrom, Sephora, Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdale’s and more. I am so grateful to have received 30 shades in a press kit. I bought 4 more shades at the counter as I had to track down some of the classic iconic colors I loved in the past.
I have my post split into two parts since there are so many colors. Today’s post are close ups of all the colors plus arm swatches. I’ll have the lip swatches in a separate post.
The formulas do appear to be new and finishes/textures are different from the originals. This is not the first time NARS has revamped the lipstick formula and each variation has new and improved benefits. There’s no detectable strong fragrance in these although there is a very subtle earthy natural scent to them. They have Passion Fruit Seed Oil and Moringa Seed Oil which seems to make them non-drying on the lips. After testing for several days and even after 34 lip swatches straight in a row my lips have not dried out, peeled or become irritated.
The three formulas include:
- Sheer is sheer and glossy, pigment is buildable and varies across the color range, some of the brighter ones have more color payoff
- Satin is a classic lipstick finish with bold coverage, texture/feel is medium – not heavy but not quite weightless
- Matte is almost a lumious matte, most have full coverage that is easy to smooth and blend out, it is a weightless matte
I’ve split the swatches by color family, color descriptions below with each grouping. Colors I bought include Chelsea Girls, Barbarella, Dolce Vita and Raw Seduction. Other colors are press samples.
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Miramar, Orgasm, Niagara, Raw Seduction and Barbarella
Colors shown above, swatched below:
- Miramar (satin) is metallic gold shimmer (on me it looks like a matte gold)
- Orgasm (satin) is a sheer shimmery pink peach
- Niagara (satin) is a bold pink coral cream
- Raw Seduction (satin) is a perfect peach pink neutral
- Barbarella (sheer) is a sheer peach
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Boukhara, Chelsea Girls, Dolce Vita, Tolede and Tonka
Colors shown above, swatched below:
- Boukhara (matte) is a matte nude pink with mauve tones
- Chelsea Girls (sheer) is a sheer beige pink (on my lips it pulls more pink)
- Dolce Vita (sheer) is a classic soft rose (I haven’t found my original one but this new version seems a bit more on the neutral side/less warm)
- Tolede (satin) is a warmer pink rose
- Tonka (matte) is a matte soft brown rose
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Sex Shuffle, Cruising, Belle de Jour, Rosecliff and Pour Toujours
Colors shown above left to right, swatched below:
- Sex Shuffle (sheer) is a pale shimmery icy cool pink
- Cruising (sheer) is a sheer light nude pink
- Belle de Jour (sheer) is a perfect sheer beige
- Rosecliff (sheer) is a medium rose beige pink
- Pour Toujours (matte) is a dusty neutral pink
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Raw Love, Instant Crush, Cool It, Jolie Mome, Afghan Red
Colors shown above left to right, swatched below:
- Raw Love (matte) is a matte cool light mauve
- Instant Crush (sheer) is a sheer pink with a hint of shimmer
- Cool It (satin) is a semi-sheer shimmering light raspberry pink
- Jolie Mome (matte) is a bright blue based plum
- Afghan Red (satin) is a classic cool-red
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License to Love, Living Doll, Start Your Engines, Rouge Insolent, Bulgarian Rose
Colors shown above left to right, swatched below:
- License to Love (sheer) is a sheer semi-bright peach
- Living Doll (sheer) is a sheer bright coral with slight pink tones
- Start Your Engines (sheer) is a sheer orange
- Rouge Insolent (satin) is a bold orange red
- Bulgarian Rose (sheer) is a sheer bright pink
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Dominatrix, Fire Down Below, Impulse, Fast Ride
Colors shown above left to right, swatched below:
- Dominatrix (matte) is a matte brown
- Fire Down Below (matte) is a classic deep bold red
- Impulse (satin) is a semi-sheer wine
- Fast Ride (sheer) is a sheer brown plum
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Damage, Candy Stripper, Soul Train, Hot Channel, Full Time Females
Colors shown above left to right, swatched below:
- Damage (sheer) is a sheer purple
- Candy Stripper (matte) is a bold bright purple
- Soul Train (matte) is a dark purple
- Hot Channel (satin) is a deep plum brown
- Full Time Females (matte) is a bold fuschia
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I’ll have more thoughts on the formulas and colors in the lip swatch post coming very soon. I had a really good experience across all the formulas with the exception of 3 shades. There are times when a lipstick won’t swatch well on the hand/arm but blends out better on the lips, and then there are times when it fails no matter how you swatch it. Ones I had issues with include Sex Shuffle, Fast Ride and Hot Channel – the swatched streaky and uneven on the lips for me. There are some mattes that look a little streaky on the arm swatches but the rest of the ones I tested blended and layered nicely once on the lips. So far I’ve been impressed with lasting power and texture and even happier that they don’t make my lips peel.
Lip swatches to follow very soon! Let me know if you have any questions on the colors or formulas. I’m going to try to see if I still have any of the older Dolce Vita or Chelsea Girls colors to compare, but I’m not sure if I will find them in my stash still. First impressions are overall positive – if you’re looking for a no-fuss kind of lipstick the NARS ones have a wide range of colors and finishes to suit all skin tones. For quick skin tone reference I’m a NARS Radiant Foundation in Barcelona and Radiant Creamy Concealer in Ginger or Praline.
You can find the new NARS Lipsticks out now available at Nordstrom, Sephora, Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdale’s and NARS Cosmetics and all NARS retailers.
Have you checked out the new formula yet? What did you think?
