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NARS All Day Luminous Powder Foundation

September 29, 2014

The latest from NARS is the All Day Luminous Powder Foundation ($48 for 0.42 oz/12 g). It’s a super lightweight powder foundation that comes in 15 different shades. I was sent the shade Punjab (Medium 1) for review which is a good match for my medium with olive/golden tones. NARS also sent a press sample of the new Powder Foundation Sponge puff ($6.00) which can be used to roll or pat the product onto the face. For reference, I use the Radiant Cream Compact Foundation in Punjab (swatches here) and the Tinted Moisturizer in Groenland (swatched here). The Powder Foundation in Punjab seems to be slightly lighter than the Cream Compact version but it warms up on the skin to adjust nicely without oxidizing or darkening as the day goes on. The description from NARS:

NARS Cosmetics introduces All Day Luminous Powder Foundation. Silky and ultrafine to the touch, this medium buildable foundation offers versatile coverage and shine control with broad spectrum SPF 24 that lasts up to 12-hours. NARS exclusive Light Reflecting Complex™ optimizes light reflection to enhance skin’s translucency while Luminosity Enhancing Technology – a blend of 17 amino acids, Vitamin C derivative and Marine Fennel – promotes cell renewal and helps reduce the look of hyper-pigmentation and wrinkles.

The NARS powder foundation comes in a square mirrored compact. It has a compartment at the bottom for a square sponge. The sponge itself is interesting because it has two different textures, one is more fluffy and velvety like a puff, the other side is a spongey texture. I prefer the spongey side because it picks up more product and applies smoothly on the face. I tested the separate round puff as well and found it gave more coverage with a buffed-looking finish to the face.

I am extremely picky when it comes to powder foundation. Many end up looking heavy or cakey, emphasize pores or dry patches or even end up breaking me out. I have tested quite a few and my current top two picks include Dolce & Gabbana Powder Foundation in Warm 100 and Chanel Double Perfection Lumiere Powder Foundation in 20 or 30 Beige depending on how dark/tan I am. Although powder foundations are often designed to be worn alone instead of a liquid/cream foundation, I almost always use my powder foundations over liquids or tinted moisturizer as a setting powder. Both the Dolce & Gabbana and Chanel have this beautiful soft velvety finish that blends very nicely on the skin. They both cover imperfections, stay put, look natural and don’t darken. The NARS All Day Luminous Powder Foundation by comparison is quite a bit lighter in texture while still offering medium buildable coverage. I like that you can control the coverage easily.

A quick look at the packaging:

On the nails, Louboutin Miss Loubi

I tested the NARS several ways, alone and then also on top of different foundations. I also tested it with the sponge and also with a brush.

When used alone I found it performed really well with just moisturizer and primer. Right now, my current skin prep routine includes a layer of SK-II Cellumination Cream Illuminating Moisturizer or By Terry Cellularose Nutri Baume as moisturizer followed by a primer like the NARS Light Optimizing Primer. As a standalone foundation, I found it covered the skin nicely and evened out the complexion. There was no caking or seeping into pores. It is incredibly lightweight so you don’t feel like you have anything on your face. I found it amazing at how it gave my skin a luminous glow even though there is no hint of shimmer in the powder itself. I found it did last all day from around 7:30 am through 7:00 pm without any touchups required. I found it applied best with the square sponge that comes in the compact or with the round puff you can purchase separately.

Over foundation it looked equally nice. I tested it over the NARS Radiant Cream Compact, Tinted Moisturizer and also over Laura Mercier Smooth Finish Flawless Fluide. It applied smoothly with a fluffy brush over other foundations. With the sponge I found it was a bit too heavy-looking with the powder foundation + foundation combination. I do think your skin needs to be well-prepped and moisturized for smooth application, although I find this to be the case with any powder foundation in general.

Close up of the powder surface, it has a very soft silky texture:

Swatches:

Swatch comparisons:

After testing this for a few weeks I give this a huge thumbs up. There’s no detectable scent and it’s huge for me that I didn’t get any breakouts or irritation or clogged pores from using this (many powder foundations don’t work for my sensitive skin). Right now Punjab is the perfect match, it looks a bit peachy in the compact but it applies good on my olive skin. I like that it has enough yellow undertone so it doesn’t turn pinkish on me. If you have olive or golden skin tones you know the pain of finding awesome formulas that don’t match the skin color because they are too pink or warm. Bottom line it does last all day and it has a lovely soft luminous silky looking finish.

The NARS All Day Luminous Powder Foundation is currently available at NARS Boutiques, narscosmetics.com, Nordstrom and Sephora. The Powder Foundation retails for $48 and the round Powder Foundation Sponge retails separately for $6.

The powder foundation and puff was provided courtesy of NARS for review consideration. 
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Base Makeup

Foundation Testing with Clé de Peau Beauté, NARS and YSL

September 16, 2014

I’ve been testing out a few foundations over the past few months. I normally look for foundations with medium natural coverage (like Chanel Perfection Lumiere Velvet or Tom Ford Traceless Perfecting Foundation), but lately I’ve been reaching for ones with more coverage to cover imperfections and even out the skin. Four foundations I’ve been putting to the test include:
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Clé de Peau Beauté Cream and Silky Cream Foundations
I’ve heard so many good things about Clé de Peau Beauté foundations but have avoided them for years because I did not want to fall in love with a $100+ foundation. Several friends along with a couple bloggers I’ve met use foundations from the line and their skin always looks phenomenal. I decided to give both the Cream and Silky Cream versions a try. I was matched to O30 which is a neutral medium shade. Both are really good, but I have a slight preference for the Cream. For reference, Joey’space has a good comparison chart to show the difference. Both foundations have a medium cream texture that is very concentrated so you only need a little to cover the entire face. They are packaged in a convenient squeeze tube which is very easy to use. I like that there is no detectable fragrance once you apply it on the face.

The Clé de Peau Beauté Cream Foundation comes with a higher SPF of 29 and has a medium to full coverage for me. It has a semi-matte and velvety finish but looks very natural on the skin. I found it blends perfectly when used with a damp Beauty Blender sponge or Chanel Foundation Brush and both make the skin look flawless. It covers quite well without looking heavy or cakey. I prefer the Cream because it has a bit more yellow in it which matches my skin better and also has a more matte finish. Lasting power is very good for my normal skin, but with the hot humid weather we’ve been having in Southern California, I’ve found nothing really holds up the entire day without touch ups. This one does get a bit shiny on the nose area with the humid weather, but on the days I’ve tested it where it was cooler, I found it held up very well without any touch ups required. Beauty Professor has all the shades in the Cream formula swatched for reference.

The Silky Cream Foundation comes with SPF 23 and also has medium coverage but has a slightly dewy finish. This one is better suited for dry skin, but I’ve found it is still suitable for my normal skin. The finish is really lovely on this but it has a slight hint of pink in it but I still find it to be a decent match for my skin tone. The Clé de Peau Beauté rep who helped me at Neiman Marcus said most people prefer this formula because it looks more natural on the skin and those with normal to dry skin find it blends easier, but her personal preference was for the Cream. The coverage on this one is also phenomenal with a natural dewy look. It’s a bit too rich for my skin right now with the super warm weather but I suspect this will be really good for fall/winter. I could have skipped this one entirely since I prefer the Cream version.

Ingredients (Silky Cream on top, Cream at bottom):

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NARS Radiant Cream Compact Foundation

I’ve also been testing the NARS Radiant Cream Compact foundation. This one has been out for quite some time but I never tested it. A makeup artist applied this on me at a recent makeover event I attended. I told her I was looking for something with more coverage than the Tinted Moisturizer but not as heavy as their Sheer Glow Foundation. She suggested I use the Radiant Cream Compact and was matched to Punjab. I am typically not a fan of compact foundations because they are usually extremely heavy on my skin, but the NARS is surprisingly lightweight with a finish that has a natural glow. It’s not overly dewy and I don’t know that I would call it radiant, but it does have a soft luminous finish without looking shiny or greasy. I really like the way this applies with a damp Beauty Blender or fingers for smooth even coverage. The entire set is refillable and the mirrored compact with sponge is sold separately for $10. After testing this for almost a month now, I think I could have definitely skipped buying the compact. The sponge that comes with the foundation is a good one, but not the best for this cream foundation. I found it applied too much product and also found it to look a bit streaky. I loved how this covered smoothly and didn’t settle into fine lines or pores for me.

I’ve found lasting power to be quite good, but those with oily skin will probably need to touch up mid-day. It didn’t leave me an oil slick (like Armani Luminous Silk does) but it did look a bit too dewy by 1:30 pm in the afternoon after applying it in the morning. I really really love this one. For reference, Café Makeup has all the shades swatched.

Ingredients: Dimethicone, Water, Hydrogenated Polyisobutene, Dipropylene Glycol,
Glycerin, Dimethicone/Vinyl Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Paraffin,
Nylon-12, Peg-400, Peg-10 Dimethicone, Cera Microcristallina
(Microcrystalline Wax), Sorbitan Sesquiisostearate, Sodium Hyaluronate,
Sodium Hyaluronate Crosspolymer, Phenoxyethanol, Aluminum Hydroxide,
Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Polysilicone-2, Distearyldimonium
Chloride, Ceramide 3, Palmitic Acid, Pentylene Glycol, Tin Oxide,
Tocopherol, Tocopheryl Acetate, Ascorbic Acid, Retinyl Palmitate, Maris
Aqua (Sea Water), Spilanthes Acmella (Spilanthes Acmella Flower
Extract), Ethylhexylglycerin, Barium Sulfate, Dehydroacetic Acid, Algae
(Algae Extract), Alumina, Potassium Sorbate, Citric Acid, Benzyl
Alcohol, [+/- (May Contain): Mica, Ci 77891 (Titanium Dioxide), Ci 77491
(Iron Oxides), Ci 77492 (Iron Oxides), Ci 77499 (Iron Oxides)].

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YSL Fusion Ink Foundation

The last foundation I’ve tested that I wanted to share is the YSL Fusion Ink Foundation. There has been a lot of hype and excitement over this new release from YSL. I bought this at Nordstrom and my experience was slightly frustrating since the rep didn’t know how to properly match me (she wanted to give me ones with pink tones) so I ended up matching myself to B40 which turned out to be a really good match. I really wanted to love this but it did not work for my skin.

Reports and reviews have been mixed on this. Some adore it while others do not. I tested this on several occasions and fell head over heels in love with the color, texture and blendability. What I did not like was the thin runny liquid texture which made it drip all over the place when moving the tip from the bottle to the back of my hand, face or sponge. Even though it had a thin texture, I loved the way it covered my skin. It looked velvety with flawless coverage and lasted all day even in hot humid weather. The Fusion Ink foundation blended quite well and I found it easy to layer for more coverage while still looking natural like skin, but just slightly matte.
After a few weeks of testing I found it did not work well with my sensitive skin. When I applied it, the foundation stung my skin upon first application but the stinging sensation went away after it was blended. Even though it seemed to last well all day, by the time I took it off in the evening, I found my face covered with red spots and bumps. I tried this on six different occasions just to make sure it wasn’t anything else that caused the reaction. Each time I had the same redness by the end of the day. It also clogged pores and caused breakouts in my chin area which took a couple weeks to clear up. Your mileage may vary on this one. If you can get a sample to try first, I recommend it.

Ingregients: Dimethicone, Cyclohexasiloxane, Isododecane, Alcohol Denat, Vinyl
Dimenthicone/Methicone, Silsequioxane, Crosspolymer, Phenyl,
Trimethicone, Disteardimonium Hectorite, PEG-10 Dimethicone, Synthetic
Fluorphlogopite, Water, Propylene Carbonate, Disodium Stearoyl
Glutamate, Silica Silyate, Fragrance, Calophyllum Inophyllum Seed Oil,
Aluminum Hydroxide, Benzyl Alcohol. 

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Swatches comparisons to a few others that I’ve had in rotation:

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Overall thoughts:

I’m still a huge fan of Chanel foundations as my go-to for the best color match and formula options for my skin tone and skin type. I give the NARS Radiant Cream Compact foundation and Clé de Peau Beauté Cream Foundation a huge thumbs up. I was particularly impressed with the lightweight feel of the NARS and also really pleased with the natural dewy coverage it provided. It gives the face a natural but slightly glowy look while evening out the skin. The color Punjab is a perfect match for me.

The Clé de Peau Beauté Cream Foundation is really the best foundation I have ever tried. I really wish it wasn’t so expensive but the coverage, look and feel is truly phenomenal and there is nothing that comes close from my testing experience. I have a lot of foundation loves, but this one beats them all.

I do like the look and feel of the Clé de Peau Beauté Silky Cream but it is better suited for normal-dry skin and cooler weather. I could have skipped the Silky Cream and gone just with the Cream formula but I really didn’t know what to expect before I tested them extensively. Given the high price of the Clé de Peau foundation, I do think it’s a try before you buy kind of thing. The shade selection is on the lighter end so if you’re medium to dark you might have a hard time finding a match in the cream formulas.

The YSL Fusion Ink unfortunately was a complete fail for me. I don’t know if I’m going to return it or not, I bought mine at Nordstrom and the associate assured me I could return it without any issues if it didn’t work, but I still hate returning things. The coverage, color match, overall look and lasting power were all so good, but the formula didn’t work well with my skin type (which is super sensitive) and caused red bumps to surface everywhere.

Have you tested any of these? What were your thoughts? If you haven’t, what are your favorite foundations in rotation right now?

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Deep Smoky Teal Nail Lacquers | Louboutin, JINsoon, NARS, Marc Jacobs Beauty and Rescue Beauty Lounge

September 9, 2014

I’m currently obsessed with these dark smokey teal shades of nail polish. There are so many different kinds of teal. Some are straight blue-green creams while others have this pretty mix of green, blue, black and silver. Ones I’m obsessed with right now:

  • Louboutin Lady Twist ($50) is the ultimate luxurious deep teal version of a vamp shade. It has a full coverage with rich pigment. It applied very smoothly but due to the longish brush, I found it took a tiny bit of extra time to get a precise application near the cuticles. I will have a more detailed review on other Louboutin shades coming up, but to sum up, I’ve been very pleased with the formula, coverage and wear time.
  • JINsoon Heirloom ($18) is a darker deeper version of Chanel Azure, Heirloom is an intense metallic green teal loaded with tons of complex shimmer particles, it applies very smoothly for a metallic. The way this flashes different colors makes it resemble a peacock.
  • Rescue Beauty Lounge Small Dim Summer Stars ($20) is one of the prettiest complex shades I have ever seen. It’s silver, green, teal, black all mixed into one polish. It has the prettiest micro sparkles mixed throughout so when you look at it on the nails sometimes it looks silvery, other times more green and in other lighting more teal. I loved this one so much I bought a back up.
  • Marc Jacobs Beauty Sally ($18) is an iridescent blackened green. Don’t let the first coat disappoint you, it will be very very sheer with the first coat, but it transforms into this full coverage beautiful green with the second coat. It’s almost black on the nails but there is still enough color so it does look green with a slight hint of teal
  • NARS Wrong Turn ($20) is part of the 3.1 Phillip Lim + NARS Collection. This is such a unique color because it changes with a top coat. In the bottle and on the nails it’s a metallic gunmetal grey. Once you add a top coat it transform into this deep teal shade. (See both swatches on Beauty Geeks). It applies like one of those rich metallic shades that adheres really well to the nail and applies flawlessly. It’s a definite must have.
  • Rescue Beauty Lounge Monologue ($20) is part of the Anatomy of #Kdrama collection (featured here). It’s a deep rich navy blue with a unique metallic sheen. It’s not quite in the teal family, but I had to feature it again for those who prefer something with more blue/navy.

More photos and swatches, Louboutin Lady Twist

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For reference, here are the shades swatched side by side along with a few other additions:
Rescue Beauty Lounge Small Dim Summer Stars
Rescue Beauty Lounge Teal (d/c)
Rescue Beauty Lounge Monologue
Marc Jacobs Sally
Louboutin Lady Twist
JINsoon Heirloom
Chanel Azure (d/c)
Chanel Nuit de Russie (d/c)

Larger view:

Do you have a favorite teal?

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NARS Audacious Lipsticks | Lip Swatches for Barbara, Raquel, Vanessa, Anita, Julie, Brigette and Juliette

August 23, 2014
All the lipsticks lined up at the NARS Melrose Boutique (previous feature here)
Here is Part 2 of my NARS Audacious Lipsticks review with lip swatches of my picks. They retail for $32 each. Some of the colors are exclusive to Barneys New York and NARS Boutiques. I will make a note for the retailer exclusive shades.  I picked out all the neutral shades in Barbara, Raquel, Vanessa, Anita, Julie, Brigette and Juliette.

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Barbara is a tan rose nude pink on me. It’s a great peachy beige.

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Raquel is the lightest color in the lineup. It’s a pale pink beige cream.

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Vanessa is a cool mauve nude. This one is a Barneys/NARS Boutique Exclusive. On me it pulls more blue in some light, but in others more neutral. The photo below shows it to be a bit more cool toned.

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Anita is described as an antique rose. I find it almost identical to Vanessa. The difference is slight but Anita is a bit lighter and warmer in color.

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Julie is another Barneys/NARS exclusive. This one is described as a nude pink. On me it has a hint of peachy tone to it. It’s really quite lovely.

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Brigette is described as a nude rose, but on me it’s a brighter peach with a hint of pink.

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Juliette is a bright coral. It looks neutral-ish in the tube but on the lips it’s really bright. For me this is a super bold lip.

Bottom line is I need more lip space. I wish I could wear them all at once. If you’re like me and love neutrals, I hope this helps show the difference between the neutral nudes and pinks. There are a couple more neutrals (such as Jane) I saw at the store but they pulled more orange/brown on me versus a true neutral. It would be hard for me to pick out my favorite shade because they all work so well on the lips. They are creamy, hydrating, full coverage and long lasting. They apply smoothly as well. Some of the lip swatches show more texture than others since I did a lot of wiping and reapplying it dried out my lips a bit. However on a regular non-swatching day these apply flawlessly.

My top three picks would be Barbara, Anita and Julie.

Have you checked out any of the NARS Audacious Lipsticks yet? Which ones do you have your eye on? These are currently available now at Nordstrom, Sephora, Barneys New York, NARS Boutiques and online at narscosmetics.com.

Julie and Juliette were provided courtesy of NARS for review consideration. All other shades purchased by me.
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NARS Audacious Lipstick | Beauty Look Book Picks

August 23, 2014

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).

on the nails, NARS Paros
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.

Shades as described by NARS:

Barbara is a tan rose
Raquel is a pink beige
Vanessa (Barneys / NARS Exclusive) is a mauve nude
Anita is an antique rose
Julie (Barneys / NARS Exclusive) is a nude pink
Brigette is a nude rose
Juliette is a pink coral

 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.

The NARS Audacious Lipstick collection is currently available now at Nordstrom, Sephora, Barneys New York, NARS Boutiques and online at narscosmetics.com.

Two shades were provided for review consideration. Remaining shades purchased by me. More information in my Disclosures.

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Sneak Peek, Reviews Soon: NARS, Clé de Peau Beauté, Elizabeth and James, One Truffle, YSL, Chanel and more …

August 12, 2014

A quick sneak peek at reviews to be posted soon, some things I’ve been testing now for a couple weeks, others I’m working my way through swatches as fast as I can:

Stay tuned!
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NARS Dolce Vita Lip & Nail Set | Nordstrom Anniversary Beauty Exclusive

July 31, 2014

I picked up the NARS Dolce Vita Lip and Nail Set from the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale a couple weeks ago. It retails for $52 for a Dolce Vita Lipstick, Lipgloss and Nail Lacquer (all full sized) cased in a chic black lacquered box. Online it says the set is a $66 value, but if I add up the individual items ($26 for the lipstick, $26 for the gloss and $20 for the nail polish) it totals $72. It’s basically like buying the lip items and getting the box and nail lacquer thrown in.

I’ve owned several tubes of Dolce Vita Lipstick and also owned the older version of the Dolce Vita Lipgloss – but this was many years ago. Dolce Vita is probably one of NARS’s most famous classic colors for lips. It’s a universally flattering rosy pink shade with a slight hint of brown. On my lips and complexion it’s always pulled quite a bit more rosy than it does on others.

I don’t have the original tube of lipstick to compare, but I do believe NARS has reformulated their lipsticks at least once since the 2000’s (which I first got into the line back in my early college days). Each time I’ve checked it out at the counters, the Dolce Vita seems to be a bit lighter and less brown than the original but since I don’t have old tubes, I can’t compare.

I’ve been testing this for several days and am pleased with my purchase. I was worried I would have meh feelings about it since the colors are repeats, but they are good classics that are both office-appropriate but not boring. On me the colors are neutral rosy shades that feel quite grown up. If you’re new to NARS this is a good entry set to the brand.

The lipstick is on the sheer side with a glossy sheen but still gives enough color to show up on the lips. The lipgloss is very pigmented and smooth without any detectable scent. The nail polish is in the older packaging (the cap doesn’t remove) and has a shorter brush which I find makes it super easy to apply smoothly without any issues. Two coats gives full coverage.

Do note that these swatch rosy on me, on you these will probably look more neutral. My lips tend to pick up a lot of pink and red tones. More photos and swatches:

Out of the three, my favorite item is the Dolce Vita Lip Gloss (which you can purchase individually), but I’m also smitten with the black lacquered box. I wish I could find larger ones for my desk to put stationary and photos in. Bottom line the set has timeless classics – you really can’t go wrong with them.

The NARS Dolce Vita Lip & Nail Set is exclusive to the Nordstrom for the Anniversary Sale in the US (ends August 3rd). You can also find it at in the UK at Selfridges.

Did you pick up any of the NARS items from the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale this year? I was hoping for another 6 pan palette like they’ve had in past years but perhaps they will release some in the winter.

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