BEAUTY REVIEWS: All My New New from NARS.

Over the weekend I had a maj epiphany and decided to deem this typically dreadful day “Queen Me Monday” so I don’t hate the fact it’s Monday as much. You know? To celebrate the start of a beautiful new week, let’s talk about this sexy new lipstick I’m a big fan of… presenting the Audacious Collection.

The innovative, pigment-rich formula delivers an intense, full-coverage finish in a single stroke, while nutrient rich ingredients are known to smooth, moisturize and volumize. The 40-shade collection features a full range of provocative hues from neutral nudes to striking reds and bold pinks.

Charlotte Rampling was picked to be the face of this collection.

For François, Charlotte’s individuality, daring style and natural elegance—on and off camera—captured the very essence of the Audacious Lipstick Collection.

All the colors – 40!!!! in total – appear v luscious and vibrant. This is a new formula designed in celebration of the 20th anniversary. They’re encased in an upgraded, slick matte black bullet tube with magnetic closure, which is a critical detail if you’re anything like me and always carrying lipstick around… Can’t count how many nice bags I’ve ruined inside because the top has come off on one and I didn’t notice.

So far I have Ingrid and Charlotte.

Ingrid is a deep merlot and already sold out online, which doesn’t surprise me at all. I’m canting with it. I know I obsess over NARS a lot but that’s usually because they are just the best. The staying power is really quite decent, which is saying something if you know how much I talk in a day. They’re slightly creamier and feel richer/more hydrating than some of the other types in their line, but still stay put.

Wearing Charlotte (the burgundy oxblood on the right) for the first time in Vegas, I was worried the color might slide around and all over my face because of the heat and richer feel (I’ve found YSL lipstick does this without primer or liner) but it wears well in a “9-5” setting – and my lips didn’t dry out by the end of the day. You can get it here.

There’s a little sheen which makes you feel as fierce as you look – it’s your inner #NARSissist coming out to play. I’m definitely going to picking up a few more shades to try out as we head into fall, they’re pretty great. I also bought Sex Machine which is one of their velvet matte pencils, because I have a legitimate addiction to those and is there someone I can talk to about this? 1-800-NAR-SIST?

The reason I love the velvet matte pencils so much is because the consistency is like a super rich gel, they wear through the day extremely well and are a cinch to apply. This particular color seems to be really suited to be a velvet matte pencil, I’ve been wearing this one on the daily. It’s like waterproof mascara but for your lips, I don’t know. Glides right on where you want no problem – magic. You could be driving in your car and casually swipe on through your rearview while turning on your blinker, fixing your hair and simultaneously applying mascara. What, like it’s hard?

Oh. And I’d feel guilty if I didn’t tell you about this because it’s super relevant to the Audacious collection – the new velvet lip liners. Drool.

Sex on a stick. I found the Audacious collection to be a bit softer to work with so I’d definitely suggest wearing a liner to set your color. These are still only available through narscosmetics.com… or if you’re lucky enough to be near a retail store of theirs. Starting September 1st, you will be able to pick these up from Sephora and other specialty stores.

Also, I nee-e-e-eded another dual intensity shadow (review here) per an idea I had as to how I’d like to wear it wet. You’ll see just how on Wednesday in the feature we shot… I’m also wearing some of the above lip colors and so much more – I had too much fun imagining and planning my concept and and styling for this shoot. It’s fine. My first of this shadow was Giove, a deep navy with subtle shimmer, and this new one is called Dione… she’s a metallic champagne beige.

I love. This is sooo worth the hype in the wet/dry sense for me because the amped intensity you get with wearing it wet is great with this metallic shade. I think it’s much easier to work with than a dry shadow (pro tip: invest in quality brushes, they make a HUGE difference) and it glides right on with precision.

One step I cannot stress enough that I think people still neglect out of sheer laziness ~ tsk tsk ~ is using a primer on your lids. I’ve tried a few and (surprise) prefer the smudgeproof base from NARS. I feel like I have oily lids or something because I have to use that on the daily if I am using any kind of product on my lids – invest in an eye primer and make use of it. Rant over. Use eye primer or keep ruining your makeup, it’s your life.

K, I’m really done now. Kind of. Before I actually unplug for the night, let’s talk about the Emmys for five seconds. Julianne Hough wore a face full of NARS – her bitchstick of choice was Julie, a pinky nude from *duh* the Audacious collection. She’s wearing a DSQuared dress, Casedei heels, carrying a Swarovski clutch and blinged out in Chopard… Beaut.