Category Archives: NARS

NARS Foreplay Blush Palette Review, Swatches, Photos

When I first saw images of the new NARS Foreplay Blush Palette, a Sephora exclusive, I wasn’t that interested – it contains Orgasm blush, which I’ve never been interested in since I generally prefer matte blushes, and I though the matte pink would be too cool-toned to work well on me. However, while in a Sephora store the other day, I swatched it, and was instantly smitten.

I’d never actually swatched Orgasm blush before, and I liked it more than I though I would – though I was still quite hesitant about the shimmer. However, I loved the other three shades; the matte pink seemed like it would work quite well, the matte coral peach/coral is exactly the type of shade I am drawn to, and the gold highlight shade is quite lovely. So, I bought it, thinking that I could always return if it didn’t work at all for me.

The Foreplay blush palette is packaged in a standard black rubberized NARS compact. Like just about everyone else, I love how sleek the NARS packaging is, but hate how dirty it gets. The Foreplay palette is substantially larger than a normal NARS blush compact, and contains a total of .36 oz of product, while a single NARS blush contains .16 oz; so it’s more than twice as much product for less than twice the cost (single, $28, Foreplay, $49). Of course, each color in the Foreplay palette is smaller than a single NARS blush – but I always prefer to get several smaller-sized colors than one larger color since I don’t finish color products.

Here are the Foreplay palette and a single NARS blush (Amour) side by side, for size comparison purposes:

Size comparison: NARS Foreplay blush palette, NARS single blush compact (Amour)

The textures of all four of the Foreplay blushes were excellent – soft and smooth. The two shimmers are lightly pigmented, and the two mattes are very pigmented. The mattes in particular had a really excellent, even texture that is very impressive. Despite the pigmentation level of the mattes, the texture makes them easy to blend out and get a very natural look. In the swatches below, the natural light photo is a touch overexposed and the flash photo is oversaturated; the actual colors are somewere in the middle.

NARS Foreplay swatches – natural light

NARS Foreplay swatches – flash

And finally, here I am wearing the peach / coral shade on my cheeks, and the gold shade on my cheekbones. I’ve applied the gold shade very heavily, as I find that highlighter usually doesn’t show up well in pictures. I would normally apply less to wear out of the house.

NARS Foreplay – applied

Overall, I’m really pleased with this purchase. I’m sure that the peach / coral shade will become a go-to; I’m actually wearing it right now – and I am pleased to have the variety in my stash from the other shades as well!

NARS Vesuvio Matte Lip Pure Matte Lipstick Review, Swatches, Photos

I’ve written many times about how the NARS Velvet Matte lip pencils are one of my favorite formulas, and I love matte lipsticks generally, so I decided to pick up one of NARS’s Pure Matte lipsticks in the lovely red shade Vesuvio.

I like NARS’s packaging, and this is no exception. It is packaged in a sleek black tube, and the lipstick twists all the way down so you don’t need to worry about nicking the lipstick. It’s a narrow lipstick; I personally have no preference between narrow and regular lipsticks.

The texture is definitely on the dry side – after hearing that this wasn’t a drying matte lipstick line, I was surprised when this dragged a little bit on my lips. I expected something a bit creamier. Next time, I will apply this with a lip brush – I expect that it will be more comfortable and easier to apply that way. However, it’s very comfortable to wear, and it doesn’t dry my lips out even after several hours.

It lasts well; although I haven’t had the opportunity to see how long it lasts, I’ve worn it for four hours, and it looks very good at the end of that – slightly faded, but still quite vibrant. I would guess that it will last six+ hours on me; I’ll update this post if something different happens when I get the chance to do a full wear test! I might wear it out tonight, and will be sure to take photos if I do.

The color is a lovely medium-bright red. I’m terrible at figuring out the undertones of reds, but it looks like it might be pink-based, perhaps – let me know if that seems wrong to you! Below, I’ve swatched it in between Wet n Wild Stoplight Red 911D MegaLast Lip Color, which is brighter, and NARS Cruella Velvet Matte Lip Pencil, which is deeper.

WnW Stoplight Red; NARS Vesuvio; NARS Cruella

FOTD: Illamasqua Neutral Palette and NARS Cruella

Lots of pictures for you today! Here’s a FOTD / EOTD from my vacation – the eye look was done with the Illamasqua Neutral Palette, which I am continuing to love, and my lips are NARS Velvet Matte lip pencil in Cruella, a long time favorite. Please forgive my eyebrows, which need grooming!

And, on a non-makeup note, here is the view from the balcony of our room on vacation (we were in Temecula, which is the Southern California wine country)

And one last photo – my engagement ring! I had it custom made, and we picked it up on Wednesday. I absolutely love it, it’s just perfect for me.

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NARS Dolce Vita Velvet Matte Lip Pencil Review, Swatches, Photos

I think my favorite lip product formula is the NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencil formula. They are super long lasting (he darker shades easily last 6+ hours on me), they don’t dry out my lips, and they doesn’t transfer or smudge if blotted.

I recently added the shade Dolce Vita, a my-lips-but-better (mlbb) shade to my growing collection of NARS Velvet Matte Pencils. This pencil has the same velvety texture as the other shades I own (Cruella – my favorite red of all time – and Damned), though it seems a touch more moist. Because it’s a much lighter shade, it definitely doesn’t last as long. I’ve tried to do a wear test a couple times, but it’s close enough to my natural lip shade that it’s just too hard for me to accurately tell when it wears off. My best guess is that it lasts around three hours, which is decent (though not great), for a lighter shade like this.

The color of this is very pretty, though not especially unique. As noted above, it’s a my lips but better type shade on me – though on someone with less pigmented lips, it might be more of a deep pink/ rose color. NARS also makes a Dolce Vita lipstick, which I do not own; however, the Dolce Vita pencil is similar to a different NARS lipstick that I do own, Gipsy. Gipsy is one of my favorite lipsticks, so it’s not suprising that I love the color of Dolce Vita!

NARS Dolce Vita Velvet Matte Lip Pencil; NARS Gipsy swatches comparison

NARS Dolce Vita; NARS Gipsy

Because this is fairly close to my natural lip color, I’ve included a photo of both my bare lips and a lip swatch of Dolce Vita, so you can see that it does actually add some color!

Bare lips

Dolce Vita

I would love to hear your thoughts on the Velvet Matte pencils – do you love them like I do, hate them, or are you just “meh” on them?

This post contains an affiliate link. For more information please see my disclosure policy.

NARS Damned Velvet Matte Lip Pencil Review, Swatches, Photos

As regular readers know, NARS Cruella Velvet Matte Lip Pencil (review) is one of my very favorite makeup items. And now, NARS Damned – another Velvet Matte Lip Pencil – is about to join the ranks of my favorite lip products!

The Velvet Matte Lip Pencils are chubby lip pencils. I like NARS’s packaging because is sleek and minimal, which is exactly my style. Note that this is a pencil you sharpen, not a twist – up. However, I’ve used Cruella approximately ten times without needing to sharpen it; so, you don’t need to sharpen them frequently.

I love the texture of the Velvet Matte lip pencils. They are creamy, velvety, and feel weightless on the lips. They are very pigmented and have a completely matte finish. I haven’t tested out Damned for wear time yet, but Cruella lasts until removal for me, unless I eat something greasy – I accidentally slept in it once, and it was still perfectly intact in the morning. I find them very comfortable and non-drying.

Damned is described by NARS as a “rich magenta.” I have trouble describing this color, but it’s a bold, beautiful statement lip. I’ve also swatched it next to NARS Cruella so you can see it compared to a red; I think that helps show the true color of Damned.

And finally, a lip swatch! My lips are not in great shape right now, and the Velvet Matte Lip Pencils actually work quite well with that – they don’t emphasize dryness or flakiness, and actually hide it a little bit.

Sephora.com carries NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencils in twelve shades, including both Damned and Cruella. I highly recommend this product!

This post contains an affiliate link. For more information please see my disclosure policy.

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Nars Lhasa – Review, Swatches, Photos

I recently bought my very first NARS eyeshadow – Lhasa. Despite reading several rave reviews, it looked too similar to other eyeshadows I own, and I had decided to skip it. Then, I went to Sephora to pick up -->Illamasqua Rude -->, swached Lhasa, and fell in love. In person, Lhasa had more purple than I had expected from swatches – and more purple than I was able to pick up from my camera – yet it still looks like a neutral to me.

NARS Lhasa, swatched heavily

It’s silky smooth, lasts well, but what really makes this special for me is the color. I can apply it lightly and have a very neutral eye – but a neutral eye that’s just a little bit special. Or, I can apply it more densely and have a more dramatic, yet still subdued beautiful purple-grey eye.

It turns out that I have nothing even close to it in my stash, and I’m so glad I bought it! Here are two very different looks I’ve created starring Lhasa. Obvious differences in lighting aside, (sorry about that!) I hope you can see how Lhasa can be applied at different levels of intensity for different looks.

To emphasize the different possiblities, here I’ve swatched it over primer on the left, and over a pale yellow shadow (which is over primer) on the right; two very different effects!

with flash

Does Lhasa seem unique to you, or do you have something that seems similar?

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