There are four lip products in the NARS Fall 2013 Color collection. All are versions of a matte lipstick. There are two Pure Matte Lipsticks and two Velvet Matte Lip Pencils.
The Pure Matte Lipsticks come in a sleek black tube in the standard NARS rubberized finish. I love the look of these lipsticks. I find them very aesthetically pleasing. A refreshing change from the standard lipstick bullet.
The shades are Peloponnese which is a coppery peach with multi coloured shimmer (I think I’m detecting pink, peach, and almost a greeny gold.) La Paz is a deep vampy purple with pink and sort of greeny blue shimmer. While these lipsticks are about as matte as you can get the fact they have glitter in a matte base makes them very unique. They are a very dry formula and are a bit drying on the lips. I find if my lips are healthy and moisturized when I apply them that I don’t find them that uncomfortable. If you have dry or tight lips be sure to exfoliate and moisturize your lips to prep them for application. These have excellent wear time. I got many hours of wear even through drinking and some light eating. I actually found that Peloponnese, while lighter, actually wore a bit better on me. It also seemed to meld with my lips and take on an overall metallic sheen rather than looking like just glitter in a matte base after a bit of time. I was a little worried I’d end up with stray glitter around my mouth as these wore off but surprisingly I didn’t. These look really great under a light touch of gloss as well. I found even with this method I still benefited from an extended wear time where as normally lip gloss over a lip stick would mean frequent reapplication.
The two Velvet Matte Lip Pencils are Paimpol and Mysterious Red. They are very different beasts. Paimpol is extremely creamy, so much so I broke it off when I swatched it, and it has a very sheer finish with subtle shimmer. It doesn’t offer quite the wear time I would expect from a Velvet Matte Lip Pencil. It maintains its creamy feel. It actually feels really nice and light. You can apply a light, sheer layer for a subtle effect or build it up for a more bold pale lip. Yes, I do think there is such thing as a bold pale lip! I find if you apply too much though it does begin to settle in lines. I quite like the effect Paimpol gives. The oddly sheer matte base combined with the subtle iridescence of the shimmer makes lips look luminous as opposed to flat.
Mysterious Red has a dryer yet silky feel and is incredibly pigmented and vibrantly intense. This is a real wow red. It has a nice blue lean to it that keeps teeth looking white and it wears for an extremely long time. It is such a great formula for a red because the pencil applicator makes precise application easy and the matte formula gives it incredible wear and it doesn’t move around. If you love red lips then you will love this shade. I am smitten enough with it I may have to attempt leaving the house with red lips!
Also, for some strange reason, my lip pencils are two different lengths. That’s not just a trick of the camera. They really were different.
Swatches are all taken in natural light.
The NARS Fall 2013 Color Collection is available at NARS counters now as well as narscosmetics.ca.
Products provided for my consideration. All reviews are always my own honest and unbiased opinions.
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