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NARS Haul: Charlotte Gainsbourg, Sun Wash Diffusing Bronzer and Velvet Eye + Lip

June 13, 2017

I’ve hauled some pieces here and there from a few NARS collections. The haul has been pieces I’ve accumulated from the Charlotte Gainsbourg Collection, a couple Sun Wash Diffusing Bronzers, a Velvet Eye Shadow Stick in Siros and one of the new Velvet Matte Lip Pencils in Intriguing. I took this photo about a month ago and it’s been quite a while since I’ve been able to swatch and test everything.

NARS Charlotte Gainsbourg Collection features sheer tints for the face and lips with bold high pigment options for the eyes. I bought all of these from Nordstrom but some colors have since sold out so I’ll link where you can still find them. Everything is limited-edition. Shown below from left to right:

Multiple Tint in Jo (all shades available at Neiman Marcus) – the cheek tints come in three colors and they are super sheer with a dewy transparent sheen. I loved the color of Jo which is a light very light watermelon pink but ended being too dewy on my skin. It does give the face a fresh glow of natural color. To me this entire lineup seems more like something for fall – if you are living in a more mild cooler weather compared to South Florida I think this will still be ok to wear, for me it was too dewy.
Hydrating Glow Tint in Medium (all shades still available at Saks) is something I hated when I first tried it. The product oozed out all over the place as soon as I opened it and the colors looked so limited I thought for sure I would not find a match. I didn’t like the tip because it seemed like product would pool in the tip. I gave it a test run and love the formula. It’s a super sheer formula so colors are a bit forgiving. Still I do wish they made this in more colors. I prefer the Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturizer formula by far, but the hydrating glow tint gives sheer even coverage and makes the skin look fresh and glowing without being too dewy or shiny.
Lip Tint in Ephelide (all shades available at Neiman Marcus) is a sheer berry mauve. It has an almost jelly like finish. It’s sheer but still very pigmented to give the lips a soft tint. I bought the most neutral color option and love it for everyday or for something a bit more dressy than nude. Lasting power is so-so because it’s a gloss like formula but with no sticky or tacky feel, but it does staying power is decent.
Old Church Street Eyeshadow Duo is something I knew in my gut that I might not like 100% yet I broke my rule for eyeshadow purchasing and bought it anyways. I personally can’t wear teal without looking super tired. This one is no exception. I adore the left side which is a shimmering soft champagne, the other is a smooth matte teal. Both are excellent in pigment and apply smoothly so formula and color wise it’s an A+. I just don’t do teal well so I can really only wear half of it. I suspect I’m going to gift it away to a friend.

A closer look at the Hydrating Glow Tint:

I was able to get samples at my counter of all the shades:

My best match is Medium:

Swatch comparisons to the Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturizer in St. Moritz and Radiant Creamy Concealer in Custard, Macadamia and Ginger:

Swatched next to a few MAC Next to Nothing foundation shades (all of them reviewed here), I don’t have the lighter ones any more since I gifted them away to a friend as I’m more in the medium range:

Next I picked up a couple things from the regular line including the Velvet Lip Pencil in Intriguing and Velvet Eye Shadow Stick in Siros. Intriguing is a warm rose with a velvet finish. Pigment is medium to full and covers the lip entirely. There’s no detectable scent and it lasts a long time. I’m still a glossy girl at heart but these still wear nicely for me. Siros isn’t a new shade (I believe it was launched in the spring) but I picked it up. It’s a gorgeous light bronzey shimmer which I’m obsessed with. Swatch comparisons below.

Lips compared to the following. The NARS Intriguing pulls the warmest on me (lip swatch a bit lower). For a pencil kind of product I prefer the Hourglass out of the three I swatched for the formula/color. The last three are traditional lipstick formulas, all a lot more pink and cooler-toned than the NARS, but still in the same color family.

Chanel Le Rouge Crayon in Rose Violine (reviewed here)
Hourglass GIRL Lip Stylo in Activist (review here)
MAC Matte Lipstick in Mehr (swatched here)
Bite Amuse Bouche Lipsticks in Pepper (swatch here) and Fig (review here)

Shadow swatches below in other shimmery shades. Siros is the most coppery and the lightest.

NARS Dual Intensity Eye Shadows in Himalia and Telesto
By Terry Ombre Blackstar in Bronze Moon
Burberry Eye Colour Contour in Pale Nude and Pale Copper

Lip swatches:

Last but not least are two of the Sun Wash Diffusing Bronzers in Seaside and Laguna. I tested these immediately as soon as I bought them and fell in love with the soft matte finish they both had. It’s since gotten more humid and wet for weather and suddenly these now look a bit muddy on my skin unless I apply with a super light hand. I suspect I’m just too light for these even though I have a pretty good tan right now. Seaside is the lightest option and also the warmest. Laguna is not the same as the original. If you don’t have the original and are deciding between the Sun Wash version and the other, I’d go with the original. It has a prettiest glow to it without looking overdone.

That wraps up my NARS hauling. Overall thoughts on the Charlotte Gainsbourg collection are that it’s a very pretty collection of products and formulas but seems better suited for fall. If this were THE summer collection for NARS I’d be pretty disappointed as I usually love the fresh warm bronze and peaches they launch. That being said I’ve been plenty busy with the Banc de Sable Palette (now available on NARS) and the Liquid Blush (review here) for my summer beauty fix. I saw a preview of some summer newness on Instagram from @bubblymichelle and hope we get this in the US!

For the two permanent items, I think the NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencils are great for a matte product. They’re not heavy or cakey like traditional mattes. They glide on the lips nicely and stay put longer than a sheer glossy lip or balm. Siros is pure love for me. I love those kinds of shades and finding a nice copper/gold/bronze that isn’t too warm can be a challenge for me.

For the bronzers at this point I’d say they’re a pass. I’ll be gifting these to a friend as well. I really loved them when the weather wasn’t so humid but it’s just the start here in Florida and it will be months before it cools down. I’m more smitten with the Becca Sunlit Bronzers because they have a nice soft glow to them which don’t oxidize or look muddy on my skin.

You can find NARS online at NARS, Nordstrom, Sephora, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Neiman Marcus.

Have you tried any of these things yet? What did you think?

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Bronzer + Blush NARS

NARS Liquid Blush and Orgasm Collection Review

June 1, 2017

NARS has some new launches for the summer including a new cheek product called Liquid Blush ($30 for 0.5 fl 0z/15 ml) and a three-piece Orgasm Collection which features the new liquid blush formula, a special edition packaging Orgasm Powder Blush ($30 for 0.16 oz/4.8 g) and an Orgasm Lipstick ($28 for 0.12 oz/3.4 g). The Orgasm powder blush was one of my first high-end purchases many years ago and I used that blush with the Laguna Bronzer religiously (before my blogging days). Any extension of either colors always gets me excited. Something about a peachy pink gold shimmer just gets me. Up first is the NARS Orgasm Collection features three items: two cheek items and one lipstick.

For some reason I thought the Orgasm Lipstick already existed but perhaps I got this confused with the lip gloss version. The lipstick is a pretty peachy pink gold shimmer with a sheer finish. It gives the lips a pink peach gold tinge for a gorgeous summery look. It’s shimmery but not overly frosted and I like the look of it. It has a moisturizing feel without having too much slip. The Powder Blush has a special-edition packaging on the exterior with pink lettering and on the mirror there’s a little hashtag phrase embossed onto the surface adding a fun touch. The Orgasm Liquid Blush is a new formula of super pigmented but blendable liquid. It has a thin texture and this one appears more pink than the powder version. There is shimmer in the product but on my face I don’t see any – it just gives the skin a very soft pink glow in the most natural way I’ve ever seen.

I don’t have the lip gloss version of Orgasm, but I do have the Illuminator. Here they are swatched side by side. For the most part the Orgasm Powder blush has looked like a blush on me. Now that I’m a few shades darker it feels more like a highlighter on my medium tan skin. For more of a blush version right now I prefer Luster or Torrid for that peachy look.

The Liquid Blush comes in four shades: Orgasm is the lightest, a soft pink with gold shimmer, Luster is a soft peach apricot with gold shimmer, Torrid is a warmer/deeper coral peach, Dolce Vita is a matte rose. The finish of these is somewhere in between glowy and satiny. They have a very fluid pigmented texture and look almost scary pigmented straight out of the pump but they blend out easily. The bottles are on the small/tiny side but a little goes a long way so I really only need 1 pump for the face. Application-wise I used my fingers to dab and blend. You can use a brush or a sponge. I like that they blend but don’t disappear on the skin once you swipe to blend. The pigment is truly easy to control depending on how much color you want. There’s no detectable scent. Lasting power is very good for a non-powder formula – they don’t slide off and color-wise they don’t darken or oxidize (yay!). My favorite is Torrid.

It has moisturizing ingredients to give the skin a healthy looking natural glow without being too dewy. At the same time these have a satiny finish. The swatches look scary but I promise they can be blended out to a natural finish. Left to right below is Orgasm, Luster, Torrid and Dolce Vita. These come in a frosted small glass bottle with a pump.

Below I swatched them with a heavy hand but they will blend out for a sheerer finish. You can also layer powder blush on top for more intensity without the color looking too heavy. Definitely check out Karen’s post on Makeup and Beauty Blog to see how these compare to their powder versions (her post is super helpful!).

Swatches below, top left is Orgasm, top right is Luster (Orgasm Lipstick on both sides)

Bottom left is Torrid (Orgasm Lipstick), bottom right is Dolce Vita (with Dolce Vita Lip Gloss)

Foundation worn is Tom Ford Waterproof Foundation in Sable

One last look:

Bottom line the liquid blush is a win. I find that both Luster and Torrid are great colors for me right now. Blended out they look similar on my skintone, but one is clearly lighter than the other. Dolce Vita has always been a tricky one for me as dusty rose colors tend to look dark against my olive skintone. The liquid version looks more rosy than brown which is workable, I just prefer peachy shades or bronzey colors. Orgasm Liquid blush is more pink than a peachy-pink-gold but I actually like it better than the powder blush version.

For the Orgasm Collection I was pleasantly surprised by the lipstick. It’s a nice peachy-pink-gold shimmer that I want to wear all summer long. It is on the sheer side though so if you want more color than shine you may have to add a liner underneath and blend it out. The blush is a nice addition with the added details on the packaging but if you already own it, no need to get another one. A number of you have asked if I’ll be reviewing the NARSissist Loaded Eyeshadow Palette and I’m still undecided. I don’t need another eyeshadow palette and have this one from Kat Von D Beauty and this one from Tom Ford on my radar so I’m trying to hold out. The reviews on the NARS one are overwhelmingly positive though so perhaps I need to take a trip to Sephora this weekend to look at it again. If you have any thoughts on it let me know.

You can find the Liquid Blush and Orgasm Collection online and in stores at Sephora and NARS Cosmetics. The Liquid Blush launches today! Have you tried these yet? What did you think?

Items in this post provided courtesy of NARS for review consideration.

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Bronzer + Blush NARS

NARS Pop Goes the Easel – Nordstrom Exclusive

March 9, 2017

Happy Thursday everyone! I’m back and have a review of the NARS Pop Goes the Easel collection today. This is currently a Nordstrom Exclusive collection with new shades for lips and cheeks consisting of:

Three new Powder Blushes ($30 each) in Misconduct, Peep Show and Threesome
Four new Velvet Lip Glides ($26 to $28 each) in Bait, Suck, Impossible Red and Disruptor (not sure why one shade is listed at a higher price online)
Three Sheer Pop Multiples ($39 each) in Motu Tane, Cote Basque and Navagio Beach

I ordered two of the lip products and all three multiples to test out. I’ll say up front I love the Sheer Pop Multiples, the Velvet Lip Glide colors are nice but not must-haves in my opinion.

Up first are the Velvet Lip Glides. I picked the lightest color options in Bait and Suck since I don’t really wear a lot of orange or reds unless they’re sheer. (By the way I’m obsessed with the new Tom Ford Lip Balms, the colors are perfect for spring to summer and I love the formula.) Bait is a bright cool-toned pink that has a bit of a streaky finish with one swipe but it can be smoothed out with a finger or brush. Suck is a medium peachy nude, it’s like if you mixed Playpen and Unlaced (both of which were reviewed here and I didn’t really like color-wise). I do like this color, but I can’t help but feel like it’s a bit on the boring side. If you want a good neutral nude, the Tom Ford Revolve Around Me, Lips and Boys Bradley or Edward Bess Pure Impulse are much better although they are lipsticks versus the velvet lip formula.

Next are the Sheer Pop Multiples which appear to be a new formula. These have a more weightless formula that isn’t quite as dewy as the regular version. These have a soft shimmer finish and considering how sheer they swatched on the hand and arms I was surprised that the color payoff on the face is really good. Navagio Beach is a sheer champagne gold, Motu Tane is a light pink with impressive pigment, Cote Basque is a coral with tiny gold flecks of shimmer. They dry to a powdery finish although they stay creamy long enough that you can easily blend on the cheeks and layer depending on how much color you want. I would say the finish can definitely be sheered out for a sheer wash of color, but you can still build to medium coverage. I like these better than the regular multiples. They layer well over foundation and powder without looking cakey or dragging your base off the face.

A quick comparison of the Navagio Beach Multiple to the Banc de Sable Highlighter Palette. The palette is to die for gorgeous and I’ll review it soon. If you’re one who want a sheerer glow of shimmer go with the multiple. If you want more pigment go with the palette. Are they different enough to justify both? I think the formulas are different enough to justify both but I’ll have to do a bit more testing with both on the face at the same time to tell you. I’ll be sure to address this when I review the palette. At the moment I’m more inclined to say I like the palette more – but that’s mainly because I like the darkest shade A LOT.

I’m trying something a bit different with face looks of the products. If you prefer the up close lip swatches let me know and I’ll resume that style in future posts. In both posts I’m wearing the Tom Ford Waterproof Foundation in Bisque with Charlotte Tilbury Flawless Finish Powder #2.

Look 1 has Sheer Pop Multiple in Motu Tane and Velvet Lip Glide in Bait.

Look 2 has Sheer Pop Multiple in Cote Basque and Navagio Beach mixed with Velvet Lip Glide in Suck.

Overall love the Multiples. I like the Velvet Lip Glide colors but don’t think they are must-haves. Bound is still my favorite out of the bunch, but if you found the nudes in the original launch off, I think many will find the color Suck more wearable.

You can find the NARS Pop Goes the Easel collection exclusively at Nordstrom. Have you checked out the colors yet? If you saw the powder blushes in person let me know what you thought!

P.S. My site has been migrated to a new host! If you have any issues with viewing the posts on your desktop or mobile device please shoot me an e-mail and let me know what device you use and also what browser you use (Chrome, Safari, Firefox etc.) – thanks!

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Base Makeup NARS

NARS Soft Matte Complete Concealer vs Radiant Creamy Concealer

February 17, 2017

NARS launched a new concealer called the Soft Matte Complete Concealer ($30 for 0.21 oz) and being the fan that I am of their bases I knew I had to try it. To date the Radiant Creamy Concealer ($30 for 0.22 oz) has been one of my favorites for under the eye and around the nose to help with redness and create a more brighter more awake look. Since I tan easily and also because I use a different shade under the eyes versus spot concealing, I rotate between three shades. I used to mix Custard and Ginger together for my best match. Then NARS added another color in between which is Macadamia with slight peachy tones. This one is perfect for me as I actually prefer something with the tiniest bit of peach for under eyes. The warmth helps brighten the eye are for me. For the Soft Matte Complete Concealer, I ordered the same three shades. The colors are pretty close between formulas for the ones I bought, not identical but pretty close.

The Soft Matte Complete Concealer offers full-coverage finish with a soft matte look. It’s oil free, light weight yet ultra pigmented so a little goes a long way. It feels creamy and soft to the touch, almost like it has just the slightest bit of bounce. I tried it under the eyes and on a few spots using the finger to dab and blend. Under the eyes it was like an instant eye lift with a blurring effect. It didn’t cake or darken and lasted all day (I did set with powder). For spots it didn’t cover them 100%, but I would say that it still did a really good job at covering them to about 85% of the way. For the corners around the nose it works well to reduce redness.

Color-wise these look a bit dark in the pot. Also side by side I thought they all looked the same in the container. Even when swatched on the back of my hand and arm I thought they were all going to be too dark but they actually work better than I expected on the face. I love that it blends effortlessly on the skin and even though the coverage is near full it still manages to look natural on the skin. I will say that I have normal combo skin – since it’s matte and opaque I do think if you have dry under eyes it could emphasize dry patches. In this case I would just make sure you have a good primer to hydrate the eye area (I like the Marc Jacobs Coconut Primer for dry skin days).

NARS Soft Matte Complete Concealer

3 shades of the matte formula swatched on the face, under eye area and along jawline, on the lips is Kat Von D Beauty Everlasting Liquid Lipstick in Ludwig:

Custard was too light for me, but I put Macadamia on one side and Ginger on the other, both look like they’re a good match, right now I have a slight preference for Macdamia:

The Radiant Creamy Concealer has been a long-time go-to for me. I tend to prefer something with a tiny bit of radiance because I find it blends better on my skin type and also looks more natural. Matte often looks too opaque, too matte and therefore a bit fake on the skin. For years the Radiant Creamy Concealer was one of the few I could use under the eyes no matter what condition my skin was in regardless of season and weather. I still love it.

If I had to pick one, I would say Radiant Creamy wins because of the packaging and also because I like something a bit more creamy. I’m not the biggest fan of pots because they tend to get messy. I also really don’t like matte finishes because I find they don’t work the best with my skin – they tend to emphasize pores, imperfections and look cakey. However for a matte formula the new Soft Matte Complete Concealer is seriously impressive and I do think it’s worth owning even if you have the other formulas. I found it easy to blend, but that being said if you need something with a bit more slip to blend easier, go with (or stick with) the Radiant Creamy Concealer formula.

I didn’t swatch the Radiant Creamy one on the face as it blends out slightly sheerer so it’s a bit more forgiving color-wise. When I use any of the shades, Custard, Macadamia or Ginger, it blends to match the skin really well – it looks so natural you can barely tell there’s anything on the face. I do have side by sides of the corresponding shades in both formulas. You can see the difference in finish. Colors are pretty close but I feel the Radiant Creamy formula has slightly more yellow undertones.

Bottom line a solid win. Macadamia is the best match for me, but if I need a bit of brightening I can mix in some of the Custard to lighten or brighten certain areas. Since I tan easily I suspect Ginger will be a match within the next few months and as I’m often in between shades I don’t mind owning multiple colors so I can mix them as I transition between colors. I don’t know how I feel about the pot style. I’ve avoided this type of packaging for years and a quick look at my concealer stash shows that they are literally all either wands or twist/click up pens. I also don’t like that NARS does that matte almost velvety finish packaging on their face products because it gets dirty so easily. If you get any bit of concealer or cream product on it, it’s pretty much stuck there forever (I’ve tried getting it off, but it’s near impossible). It’s not a deal breaker though and that’s just me being picky.

You can find both the Soft Matte Complete Concealer and Radiant Creamy Concealer at all counters now. I bought the new Soft Matte Complete Concealer from Sephora. It’s also available at Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, Barneys New York and all other NARS counters.

Have you tried this one yet? What did you think? If not, what are your current go-to concealers?

P.S. I’m also testing out concealer formulas from Too Faced, Tarte and will compare them to Kat Von D in the next couple of weeks.

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Bronzer + Blush NARS Sephora

NARSissist Unfiltered Cheek Palettes I and II

December 21, 2016

NARS has two new cheek palettes called the NARSissist Unfiltered Cheek Palettes I and II ($59 each for 0.12 oz / 3.5g x6). These launched early at Sephora for as a Cyber Monday sneak preview for spring launches and I ordered them sight unseen. Update: back in stock now at Sephora but you can enter your email for notification for when they are back in stock. Right now you can find both online at NARS Cosmetics. They launch officially at other counters starting February 1st.

I’ve been a long time NARS fan and I love blush and highlighters. Both of these palettes have good-sized pans, pigment and texture is very good across all colors, and the color options in each are excellent. That being said NARS has released quite a few cheek palettes this year so if you already own other palettes or individual shades I suspect you will have a lot of similar colors or dupes and may want to shop your stash. Each palette has a mix of matte and shimmers shades for blush along with a few lighter colors that can be used as highlighters. These have a colorful tinted cover and come in a very sturdy mirrored compact.

Unfiltered I has deeper and darker tones with a bold vibe. The top three shades in the palette are easy for me to wear for my medium-toned olive skin (for reference I mix NARS Velvet Matte Skin Tints in Groenland and St. Moritz). The bottom three colors are really dark and bold on my skin and I have to use with a super light hand or blend like crazy otherwise they are too dark for my complexion. Colors include:

Watch Me a shimmering light gold
Me First a shimmering soft peach
Takeover a gorgeous bronze nude shimmer (can they please make this in a single?!)
Out There is a matte deep reddish brown
Chic is a matte plum
Exhibit A is a bright vibrant red

Unfiltered II has lighter cooler tones. Pigment is good but if you are tan to deep these may not show up on you as the colors pull on the lighter side. For me this palette is easier to wear for everyday. Colors are:

Conquest a matte baby pink that darkens after it sets
Undefeated looks like a medium babydoll pink in the pan, on my skin it applies more like a highlighter
Power Play is a medium matte cool pink
Hot Sand is a champagne shimmer highlighter (also reviewed here)
Fame is a satiny peach
Candid is a raspberry shimmer

For size comparison, here is a full size blush pan shown below from the Pro Palette Format, the NARSissist Cheek Studio Palette from Spring 2016, a Chanel Blush Brush and Charlotte Tilbury Powder Sculpt Brush.

Two quick looks:

Foundation is NARS Velvet Matte Skin Tint in Groenland and St. Moritz mixed
Powder is Laura Mercier Candleglow #2
Concealer is Laura Mercier Candleglow #1 and #2 mixed
Brows are the Diorshow Browstyler
Right Look = Unfiltered I Palette with the top three shades mixed in Watch Me, Me First and Takeover with Exhibit A on top, lips are Tom Ford Moisturecore Lip Color in Pipa (reviewed here and here)
Left look is Unfiltered II with Conquest + Power Play on the cheeks, Chanel Rouge Allure Gloss in Sensible on the Lips

One last look:

Bottom line both are solid performers. In previously released NARS palettes the texture can be hit or miss with some shades, but with both of the Unfiltered Cheek Palettes colors and highlighters have consistent quality, pigment and are easy to layer/blend. If you already splurged on other NARS palettes this year you may want to shop your stash. My personal favorite this year is still the NARSissist Dual Intensity Cheek Palette (you can still find it at Nordstrom reviewed and swatched in this post here). Still both of these new launches from NARS have a good mix of colors and finishes in a palette which make them convenient for travel.

Both are limited-edition. I ordered mine from Sephora but you can find them now at NARS Cosmetics. Launching everywhere else later this spring starting February.

Did you try these yet? What did you think?

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Eye Makeup NARS

NARS Sarah Moon Holiday 2016 Picks: Give In Take, Indes Galantes, Impudique and Isadora

November 7, 2016

NARS partnered with French fashion photographer Sarah Moon to create his holiday 2016 collection. There are a lot of beautiful limited-edition palettes and sets. I bought four of the items:

Give In Take Dual-Intensity Eye and Cheek Palette ($69, Sephora exclusive)
Sarah Moon Duo Eyeshadow ($35) in Indes Galantes
Sarah Moon Blush ($30) in Impudique and Isadora

Up first are the Sarah Moon Collection items. There are individual colors for eyes, lips and cheeks. The lips are all in the Matte Lipstick Formula so I passed. Indes Galantes Eyeshadow Duo is a shimmering gunmetal and matte cranberry plum shade. Together they make for an interesting smoky eye but I can’t wear them alone. I need an additional color like a light neutral such as NARS Himalia or any of the lighter neutral duos to help blend and create a full eye look. Pigment and texture wise both shades are excellent.

For the Sarah Moon Blushes I bought them as an impulse buy at the counter. I have an extensive blush stash and probably did not need either of these but I was really impressed with the lovely soft rose almost mauve tone of Isadora. It’s rare for me to find pink mauve blushes with that kind of sheen/shimmer. It has some warmth in the shimmers so it doesn’t pull muddy on my complexion. Impudique is a brighter warm raspberry shimmer which I tried at the counter and fell in love with as well. Both are smooth and have a natural sheen and are not overly shimmery. Pigment is rich but easy to blend and apply on the skin.

The Beauty Look Book NARS Sarah Moon Holiday 2016 Picks

The Give In Take Dual-Intensity Eye and Cheek Palette is a Sephora exclusive. It has six Dual-Intensity Shadows and three Dual-Intensity Cheek products. All the colors are exclusive to the palette and are different from the existing full size color options. This is a beautiful soft and smoky kind of palette but it turned out to be completely different from what I expected. I ordered this sight unseen online (as of last week I still haven’t seen it at my Sephora stores). I expected full pigment rich colors and shimmers as I experience with most of the dual-intensity products. The colors in this palette are a lot softer with a more muted finish that isn’t really intense as the product name implies. The blushes are extremely sheer – I can build them for a soft natural glow but on my medium olive skin it’s very very soft.

The Beauty Look Book NARS Sarah Moon Holiday 2016 Give In Take

I had to swatch with a very heavy hand to get the colors to show up on my arm. I hope this shows how you can build and layer the colors. These were applied with a dry brush, to get more intense color apply with a dense damp brush.

The Beauty Look Book NARS Sarah Moon Holiday 2016 Give In Take swatches

For the eyes you have a soft grey ivory shimmer, a dove grey satin, a gunmetal shimmer, white opal, soft grey taupe satin, warm black satin.

For the cheeks you have a shimmery ivory, a super soft peach and a soft baby pink shimmer.

Here’s a look with the Dual Intensity Eyeshadows used from the top row, Indes Galantes Duo, all three Dual-Intensity palette blushes swirled and applied on cheeks. Lips are Louboutin Altareva (reviewed here). Foundation is NARS Velvet Matte Skin Tint in Groenland and concealer is NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer in Macadamia.

Shop the look below:

One last look:

The Beauty Look Book NARS Sarah Moon Holiday 2016

Overall some lovely items for holiday that are nice but not must-haves. If I were to narrow down my pick to 1 item it would most likely be just the Isadora Blush. All the colors are made extremely well with high quality and with good color payoff. The palette is a very good one – it was just different from what I expected. If you like soft looking glowy makeup and find most shimmers too shimmery you will absolutely love this one. I like the looks it can create – I just expected something more intense and dramatic for holiday.

You can find the Sarah Moon collection items now at all NARS counters. The items are limited-editino. Online at NARS Cosmetics, Nordstrom, Sephora, Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue. Don’t forget today 11/7 is the last day for Sephora VIB Rouge Members to receive 20% off purchases with code 20ROUGE at checkout.

If you hauled anything let me know in the comments!

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NARS

NARS Velvet Lip Glide, 413 BLKR Cheek and Lip Palette and NARSissist Dual-Intensity Cheek Palette

October 17, 2016

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 Beauty Look Book NARS Velvet Lip Glide Stripped, Unlaced, Playpen, Bound

The Beauty Look Book NARS Velvet Lip Glide swatch Stripped, Unlaced, Playpen, Bound

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.

The Beauty Look Book NARS 413 BLKR Cheek and Lip Palette

The Beauty Look Book - NARS 413 BLKR Velvet Matte Lip Pencil

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.

The Beauty Look Book - NARSissist Dual-Intensity Blush Palette

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.

The Beauty Look Book - NARSissist Dual-Intensity Blush Palette Swatches

Swatch comparisons below to four of the other Dual-Intensity Blushes:

The Beauty Look Book - NARSissist Dual-Intensity Blush Palette vs Individual Swatches

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!

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