Thursday 4 December 2014

Brand Loving: NARS

Way back in March I made a post all about my favourite Too Faced products, which you can read here. It turned out to be a very well received post so today I thought I would make a similar post but focus on a different brand instead- this time being NARS. Whilst I haven't tried a tonne from the brand, I wanted to share what I have tried and loved with my fellow make-up junkies.


Like my Too Faced post, I wanted to start by mentioning the packaging of NARS products. I love the matte black and white design that is used religiously throughout all their products- It looks expensive, feels expensive and doesn't break or get damaged easily. The only problem I have with the packaging is how easily it gets dirty. It's a constant battle to keep any NARS product clean, I'm sure many of you will agree with me on this!

Base Products:

The NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer has been repurchased by me many times. For me, this concealer does the whole job- it covers spots, blemishes, under-eye circles and redness. The formula is very light, blend-able and doesn't crease throughout the day. Like most NARS base products, the colour range is fantastic with shades for those of us with pale skin and for those of you on the other end of the spectrum with darker skin! Now at $35 (thank you Sephora for finally coming to Australia and forcing makeup stores such as Mecca Maxima to match the American pricing) it's a concealer I really think you should try at least once, I promise you won't be disappointed! 

Face Products:

Possibly one of the most highly coveted and highly recommended bronzers of all time, NARS Laguna (AUD $49) is a staple in many makeup junkies daily routines. The bronzer itself really is as good as everyone says it is. The colour pay-off is amazing, it's blend-able, build-able and has fantastic lasting power. Personally, I think Laguna is slightly too dark for my skin tone, but on Tayla (who is only very slightly tanner than I am) it looks amazing! I think it's simply a matter of getting the shade to work for you, I haven't experimented with it nearly enough (I very rarely wear bronzer) but I'm sure I can make it work one day.

I think it's pretty clear by now that I love blush. Along with lipstick, it's my favourite product to buy and try and I think it's because it's a pretty 'safe' product. Unlike foundation, concealer and primer, I know my skin won't react weirdly to trying out a new blush (99% of the time anyway) and it's always fun experimenting with different colours and finishes. One of my all time favourite blushers is the NARS Sex Fantasy blush (AUD $39) which was a part of the limited edition Final Cut collection (so it's no longer available, sorry!). Sex Fantasy is a beautiful dusty, matte pink that suits most make-up looks and would definitely suit most skin tones. 

Recently, NARS released the Virtual Domination palette as part of their Christmas collection. As soon as I noticed that Sex Fantasy was one of the blush shades included, I knew I would have to have the palette in my greedy hands. The palette includes one highlighter (Miss Liberty), three different blush shades (Deep Throat, Sex Fantasy, Final Cut) and a full sized Laguna bronzer. As most limited edition NARS products seem to, this palette sold out very, very quickly and I can't find it available online anywhere. Luckily, both Miss Liberty (the highlighter) and Deep Throat (top right blush) are part of the permanent collection (along with Laguna of course) so if you missed out on the palette, you can still pick up a few of the shades! 

Lip Products:

As I mentioned earlier, I love collecting lipsticks and NARS lipsticks are definitely some of my favourites. I've mentioned all three of my NARS 'regular' lipsticks (AUD $35) on the blog before so I'll link you to those posts so you have a little more 'in depth' information. The first I purchased was Scarlet Empress (you can read my post featuring it here) which is a lovely deep berry shade. The next was Red Lizard (you can read my post featuring it here)  which is a classic matte red shade, perfect for any occasion. Finally, I purchased Niagra (you can read my post featuring it here) which is a gorgeous pink toned coral, perfect for every day wear. All in all, NARS lipsticks are all very high quality with great lasting power- I would definitely pick one up to try if you're in the market for a new lipstick or two.

If you like matte lipsticks, you should really check out the NARS Pure Matte Lipstick in the shade Volga, a deep aubergine shade (now AUD $35).  Like the previous lipsticks mentioned, this has also been featured in a blog post before, which you can read here. As the name suggests, this lipstick is seriously matte, with incredible lasting power and colour pay-off.

Last but certainly not least is the NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencil (AUD $34) in the shade Red Square. These have been popping up everywhere online for about a year now and they seem to only continue to grow in popularity. My sister recently picked up Red Square which is a beautiful, bright orange toned red and I've been really, really impressed. The colour pay-off is ridiculous for a pencil (I find pencils usually aren't as pigmented), the formula isn't too drying despite being matte and they last for ages. I can't wait to pick up a few more shades in the near future!

What's your favourite NARS product? I hope this post was at least a little interesting/helpful for my fellow makeup addicts or for those of you wanting to try something from the brand!
Thank you for reading, love from Maddie xo

2 comments: