NARS

I have a roundup of some new things I’ve been testing from NARS. It seems as though brands are doing more mini launches versus seasonal looks/collections and I’m not sure how I feel about it. I love the smaller edited launches but kinda miss having a more cohesive look for each season.

I have some of the new Afterglow Sensual Shine Hydrating Lipsticks, Laguna Collection and Afterglow Liquid Blushes reviewed today.

NARS Laguna Eyeshadow Quads

NARS launched a mini Laguna Collection with extended shades of their Laguna Bronzer in a talc-free formula and new eyeshadow quads. I picked up the two Eyeshadow Quad Palettes ($49 each) and think those are both worth checking out. It’s rare that I find new eyeshadow palettes where I truly love ALL the shades or that are unique enough to really like.

Laguna Eyeshadow Quad has the perfect mix of neutral tan bronzy tones. This quad has the colors I think of when I think of a good summer eye. It has a sparkling white champagne, a tan shimmer, soft warm tan matte and a soft deeper bronze. If you don’t wear a lot of eye makeup or want something super easy to apply for a soft polished look, GET THIS ONE. It’s neutral and slightly warm on my arm but on my eyes and skin tone it pulls more neutral.

Laguna Sunset has all sparkly shades I think are just beautiful. I was a little worried it would be too metallic or have tons of fall out. It pulls warm but it’s really very wearable and does look like a beautiful summer sunset. On my eyes there is minimal fallout with application but the shadows stick well to the eye lids.

Afterglow Sensual Shine Lipstick

The Afterglow Sensual Shine Lipsticks ($32 each) have quickly become a favorite in my makeup stash. Formula is smooth, hydrating, glossy in finish. They have the perfect amount of pigment in them. I love that they’re not too sheer but at the same time they don’t look or feel thick. I reviewed a couple shades from a Sephora haul earlier this year. I immediately bought more colors. I do think they’re very small (product wise) for the price. They only have 1.5 g of product for $32 while the Afterglow Lip Balms are 3 g for $28.

Colors I have include Breathless (beige nude), Orgasm (pink gold), Devotion (mauve brown), Dolce Vita (rosy brown) and On Edge (bright coral).

Afterglow Liquid Blush

Last we have a look at the Afterglow Liquid Blush ($32 each). There seems to be a blush explosion on the beauty market right now. This is the first new formula I’ve tried but I will be testing out the ones from Pat McGrath and Makeup By Mario soon.

I really like the Afterglow Liquid Blushes but they will be hit or miss for you depending on how much pigment you prefer. These have a similar vibe to the Tarte Maneater Blushes which I love. They have a sponge tip applicator, they’re super easy to apply, blend and layer. They do sheer out quite a bit when you blend but I actually like the pigment level. They aren’t quite as sheer as the Westman Atelier Baby Cheeks (swatched here). If you’re a blush wearer that needs more pigment or color payoff the Rare Beauty Soft Pinch Liquid Blushes (review here) are more pigmented and the original NARS Liquid Blush formula also has a lot more color payoff.

Lasting power has been pretty good on my skin. It doesn’t fade or slip off quickly. On me it stayed put and lasted all day.

Behave is a pretty soft pink (on me it doesn’t really show up once blended out), Brazen is a coral peach (my favorite), Orgasm is a pretty pink gold, Dolce Vita is a plum brown.

On the face below wearing:

• Foundation NARS Light Reflecting Foundation in Vanuatu
• Powder NARS Soft Matte Advanced Perfecting Powder in Creek
• Eyeshadow NARS Eyeshadow Quad in Laguna Sunset
• Brow Too Faced Superfine Brow Detailer Pencil in Medium Brown
• Mascara Tarte Tartelette Tubing Mascara
• Nails Chanel Insomniaque Nail Polish
• Top Citizens of Humanity Tank Top

NARS Afterglow Liquid Blush Behave and Lipgloss in Chelsea Girls

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NARS Afterglow Liquid Blush Brazen and Afterglow Sensual Shine Lipstick in On Edge

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NARS Afterglow Liquid Blush Orgasm and Afterglow Sensual Shine Lipstick in Orgasm

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NARS Afterglow Liquid Blush Dolce Vita and Afterglow Sensual Shine Lipstick in Dolce Vita

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I bought my items from Nordstrom and Sephora. Have you tried any of the new NARS launches? What did you think? Hit or miss?

NARS launched some new additions for spring with their 2023 Orgasm Collection in some stunning pink packaging and I have a review + swatches for you today. The collection was launched early to Ulta Beauty and NARS Cosmetics. It’s now also available at Sephora. There are 5 new pieces including:

• The Multiple in Orgasm and Orgasm Rush ($39 each)
• Orgasm Four Play Blush Quad ($45)
• Orgasm Rising Eyeshadow Palette ($49)

Orgasm Rising Eyeshadow Palette

I’ll start with my favorite item in the collection which is the Orgasm Rising Eyeshadow Palette. This is a stunning palette with 9 shades. It has a good mix of textures and tones. To me this seems like an updated take on their Wanted Palette from several years ago (which I really loved). This palette has:

• Hotwired is a metallic champagne
• High Speed is a shimmery beige peach with sparkles
• Orgasm is a pink gold shimmer
• Seven Heaven is a matte soft light brown
• Seduced is a medium rosy sparkle loaded with gold and silver and pink flecks
• Reckless is a warm satin brown with tiny gold shimmer
• Push It is a medium matte warm brown
• Faster Pussycat is a deeper copper shimmer
• Galapagos is a matte dark chocolate with gold flecks

I love the tones, pigment, color payoff and wearability. It’s warm but not too warm/red for my skin tone. It’s one I can easily see myself wearing this year. It is similar to what we’ve seen from NARS in the past but I still really like this one.

The Multiples

NARS has two Multiple Cream Sticks in the new limited-edition packaging. Orgasm is their classic pink gold shimmer. This one seems to be more emollient in texture than I remember but not dewy. On my skin tone it’s almost invisible. The gold and pink tones almost match my skin (NARS Light Reflecting Foundation in Santa Fe + Sahel right now) so all you see is a slight gold pink sheen.

Since it has a very emollient finish this has minimal lasting power on me. I think it could be used as a nice highlight for special date nights or going out, but it’s not going to be an all-day wear kind of product, especially if you have combo/oily skin.

NARS Multiple in Orgasm

NARS Blush in Orgasm

I did another look with their regular Powder Blush in Orgasm which shows up a lot better on me. If you want this tone but no shimmer then I highly recommend checking out the Liquid Blush in Orgasm. This is one of the best liquid blush formulas and I wish they would launch more colors in this!

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NARS Multiple in Orgasm Rush

Orgasm Rush is a deeper almost russet color. It has a less emollient finish, almost thinner in texture and better dry down. I’m undecided on this. I’m at my palest right now (almost 2 foundation shades lighter than I normally am) so it pulls a bit orangey. If I had a tan I think I would like this more, however due to the sheerness I’m not sure how well it would show up.

Orgasm Four Play Blush Quad

Last we have a look at the Orgasm Four Play Blush Quad. This has that pressed metallic finish. It’s not as frosty as I had anticipated and on me it did not emphasize texture (huge plus!). It’s a nice intro to the line if you’re new to NARS and the colors blend out nicely on the skin. Love the compact size (easy to fit in my hand) and the pan size is pretty good. Convenient, pretty and glowy.

Colors include:

• Swinger pale metallic gold
• Orgasm metallic pink gold
• Orgasm X deeper pink with gold shimmer
• Orgasm Rush copper russet shimmer

On the face:

Swatches of the cheek items in this launch:

However I can’t help but feel this is a boring repeat of what NARS has launched in the past so many times. To me isn’t new or innovative so if you already own a lot of NARS you can safely pass.

That’s my take on the new NARS Orgasm Collection for spring! I think the new eyeshadow palette is a winner. In the Orgasm color lineup I still think the Afterglow Lip Shine, Original Powder Blush and Liquid Blush are the best shades they’ve launched to date.

You can find these out now at Sephora, Ulta Beauty and NARS.

 

 

Did you check these out? What did you think? Love or pass?

NARS launched a few new items recently including their Summer Unrated Collection with an eyeshadow palette, three cheek duos and a lip balm called the Orgasm Lip Mask. I have swatches for you today!

Summer Unrated Blush & Bronzer Duos

There are three Blush and Bronzer Cheek Duos, each with a blush and bronzer in a large mirrored compact. I have the Orgasm + Laguna and Orgasm X + Casino variations. Colors are repromotes and quality with these palettes is very good (just like the singles). They’re nice for a summer glow. Texture is smooth, pigment is medium but buildable, lasting power is great.

Orgasm is a peachy pink with gold shimmer and Laguna is a medium tan. Below wearing:

• Foundation – NARS Light Reflecting Foundation in Sahel
• Powder – Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless in Medium
• Brows – Anastasia Brow Wiz in Soft Brown
• Eyeshadow – NARS Summer Unrated Palette with the pink, plum and copper tones
• Mascara – NARS Climax Extreme
• Blush + Bronzer – NARS DUO Orgasm + Laguna
• Lips – NARS Afterglow Lip Shine in Orgasm
• Top – Free People
• Nails – Hermes Rose Horizon

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Orgasm X is a deeper coral pink with gold shimmer and Casino is a deeper bronze. Wearing the same base as above but with different eyeshadows in the lighter/golden/bronze tones instead and with the Orgasm Lip Mask on lips (goes on clear).

Summer Unrated Eyeshadow Palette

The Summer Unrated Eyeshadow Palette is a stunning one! It has a beautiful mix of mattes and shimmers with a couple sparkle shades. Every single color performed well on me. They’re smooth, pigmented, apply beautifully and are buildable. I love that there are warm shades but they don’t look too warm or red on the skin. There are enough neutrals to balance it all out and with 16 shades the combinations are endless!

Orgasm Lip Mask

Last we have a look at the Orgasm Lip Mask. I hauled this from Sephora and like it, but don’t think it’s a must-have. It’s better than the Laneige Sleeping Lip Mask (which didn’t work for me) but you can find other balms that give you the same hydration. It’s thick but not too goopy. It does hydrate but I get better results from the Tatcha Kissu Lip Mask or Summer Fridays Lip Butter.

The NARS Orgasm Lip Mask has a pale pink tint to it, but it pretty much goes on clear.

Overall everything performed really well. The cheek duos are nice to have if you don’t own any of the colors already. I love the eyeshadow palette. The lip mask is ok for me, but didn’t wow me.

You can find the NARS Summer Unrated Collection out now. Available at NARS, Nordstrom, Sephora and all other NARS retailers.

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Did you check out anything from this launch yet?

Summer Unrated Cheek Duos + Palette provided for review. Lip Mask purchased by me.

I’m late to the game in reviewing these NARS launches but thought I’d review them in case you still haven’t tried these and wanted more thoughts! NARS released several new products this year in mini collection launches. Reviews I’ve read have been very mixed and based on what I’ve tried, I think there are some hits and misses.

Air Matte Blush

The Air Matte Collection features a mix of matte finish products for lips and cheeks. I had high hopes for the Air Matte Blush as many of the YouTubers and bloggers I follow loved this! The formula is a soft whipped matte with a bouncy texture. The concept is really interesting to me but I found they weren’t easy to work with. The size of the pot made it difficult to dip my finger in without getting my nails in the product and they’re a little to small in circumference for a cream style brush applicator. Once applied on the skin the product didn’t really show up well on my skin (with the exception of a couple colors). Any blending caused product to drag and then disappear as it tugged with my foundation + powder. I tried these with fingers and a brush.

A couple of the colors were hits for me including Gasp (tan brown) and Darling (pink). I had high hopes for Orgasm as I love the powder blush version but it barely showed up on me.

Color-wise I think NARS created beautiful naturally flattering colors and I really wish the formula was easier to work with! They swatched nicely on the arms – I wish they blended nicely on the face for me.

There are eight colors total in this formula. I have five that I tested and swatched:

• Hushed is a pale peach nude, it did not show up on my skin tone
• Orgasm is a pale peach with gold shimmer, also did not show up on me
• Darling is a soft cool matte pink
• Rush is a coral peach
• Gasp is a tan brown, looks dark in the pan, but shows up a tan nude on my skin

Air Matte Lip Color

For the lips NARS launched the Air Matte Lip Color, similar in concept to the blushes in a whipped matte finish. These have a weightless mousse-like texture with saturated pigment. The finish was smooth and blended nicely without drying out the lips. If you don’t mind reapplying every few hours these are nice. Color selection seemed limited to me with a lot of super bright bold colors and only a handful of neutrals. I like the look of All Yours (peach nude) and Shag (medium pink brown). The others weren’t really my cup of tea. If you’re looking for a long-wear matte finish lip, this isn’t the formula for you.

• All Yours is a peale peach nude
• Shag is a pink brown with mauve tones
• Knockout is an electric coral
• Total Domination is a neon red
• Power Trip is a bold red

Three of them on the lips below: All Yours, Shag and Power Trip

Soft Matte Tinted Lip Balms

Last we have a look at the Soft Matte Tinted Lip Balms. I ordered these from Sephora sight unseen. I bought nearly all the colors and they are a huge hit for me! They are a smooth matte lip balm with a diffused wash of color. Although lasting power isn’t long since it’s a balm, I love the way these feel and the pigment level is perfect. Neutrals and nudes can be tricky because the undertones don’t always work on me but I love every single one.

• Intimate is the lightest shade, a your lips but better beige nude
• Brief Encounter is a medium nude
• Unrestricted is a cool light pink
• Whip Lash is a medium brown nude
• Touch Me is a cinnamon plum

Four of the lip balms colors on the lips with some of blushes applied as well:

Overall for me I found the Air Matte Collection a miss for the blushes. I think the Air Matte Lip formula is a nice one, but there are better colors with other brands. The Soft Matte Lip Balms are a hit for me. I really like the formula and colors!

You can find the Air Matte Collection available at most NARS counters now (many of the colors are limited-edition). Available online at NARS, Ulta, Nordstrom and Sephora.

The Soft Matte Tinted Lip Balms are available online at NARS and Sephora.

 

 

Have you tried these yet? What did you think?

Select items provided for review. All Yours, Shag, Gasp, Hushed, and all the lip balms purchased by me.

I have a NARS Summer 2020 Collection haul review and swatches for you today! NARS launched a mini summer collection with bronzers, eye pigments and lip balms. I ordered a few things that caught my eye including:

• Bronzing Powder in San Juan ($38)
• Oil Infused Lip Tints in Reef and Laguna ($26 each)
• Afterglow Lip Balm in Laguna ($28)

San Juan Bronzing Powder

I’ve loved the original NARS bronzers for years! The newer launches can be hit or miss on the formulas so I limited myself to 1 shade to try in San Juan. It’s a light warm golden brown-peach with a slight hint of shimmer. On my medium olive skin it’s sheer but buildable and warms up the skin. If you are lighter in skin tone than I am this will most likely look like a peachy blush on your skin rather than bronzer. Even on me it’s borderline blush material rather than bronzer, but still nice.

I swatched it next to a few other lighter tone bronzers I have including Tom Ford Soleil Glow in Terra (reviewed here), Fenty Beauty Inda Sun (one of the lightest/coolest toned bronzers I have) and Kosas Sun Show Bronzer in Light (review soon).

Wearing NARS San Juan Bronzing Powder and Afterglow Lip Tint in Laguna, Eyeshadow is Tom Ford Honeymoon Eyeshadow Quad

I think the San Juan Bronzer is a nice one. It applied smoothly and stayed put all day without budging. The color just didn’t really hit the mark for me in terms of what I was looking for in a bronzer. I do think the Kosas one in Light is similar but a lot more pigmented and shimmery on the skin.

Laguna Afterglow Lip Balm

The Afterglow Lip Balms are also favorites of mine so I was excited to see a new color (other shades swatched here and here). Laguna is a sheer brown with a hint of shimmer. Your mileage will vary on how this transforms/looks on your lips depending on lip pigment. On me it turned my lips into a rosy brown color after a few minutes. I really love the way it looks – like a flushed color but bronzey! (See above photo with the bronzer look for how the Laguna Lip Balm looks on me). These are easy swipe and go kind of balms to add moisture and slight hint of color.

New Oil Infused Lip Tints in Laguna and Reef

I’m a huge fan of the Oil Infused Lip Tints (reviewed here and here) so I knew I had to try both of the new ones in Laguna and Reef. Formula is ultra smooth and cushiony. These have average lasting power for an oil and add moisture as long as they’re on the lips. Once they are off, there’s really not any remaining moisture left. Laguna is a sheer smooth sheer bronze, it has shimmer, but on my lips it pretty much looks clear. Reef is a sheer pink which I thought would also be transparent/sheer, but I actually see a soft pink wash on my lips!

Below wearing NARS Oil Infused Lip Tint in Reef and San Juan Bronzing Powder

Overall some nice additions to the NARS lineup. Everything performed well and I am happy with everything although I don’t think the colors are must-haves based on the other items I own from NARS. I still think the Lip Oil in the Orgasm color is the best one and for the Afterglow Lip Balms I think Dolce Vita, Torrid and Orgasm are my favorite colors.

I bought my picks from Nordstrom and Sephora.

 

Have you tried the collection yet? What is your current go-to bronzer or tinted lip balm?