NARS Audacious Fragrance

Audacious is the first fragrance from NARS. The inspiration behind it is Francois Nar's stunningly beautiful Polynesian island Motu Tane. I read that the island is for sale. You know how people win triple digit millions in the lottery and then say they really don't know what they'll do with it? Maybe a new car ? Me, I'll have Mr. Nars on speed dial .

But what about the fragrance? The nose is Olivia Giacobetti which is a win right there. She's the perfumer behind Malle's En Passant and Diptyque's  Philosykos among others. 

Audacious opens with sweet smoke, then it's green ,then frangipani and tiare come in.  You can actually smell the transition from one note to the next in that early stage and that's neat and unusual.  As it dries down , cedar and a lot of white musk are there.

This is a very soft fragrance. Quietly sexy. As someone who isn't a big incense/oud fan it's just right to my nose but if you like your smoke bold this isn't that . It is , however , beautiful and well crafted. 

$ 180 for 1.7 oz at NARS Cosmetics

NARS Highlighting Powders

Leave it to NARS to make the perfect highlighter. After all that's where The Multiple and Orgasm blush came from.  I've had quite a fun time this weekend playing with them .

The new highlighting powders are very finely milled for a wash of color and shimmer. No large glitter pieces or metallic look. In other words, a highlighter for everyone including those of us who aren't 25 anymore. Or even 35.

These glide on skin adding just a sheen of  color, brightening and shimmer and can be built up some. My swatches  are three layers to get them to show up well in the pictures.  You'll still need well hydrated skin , these settle into lines slightly but far less than most I try. My skin also tends to absorb highlight products ( weird, I know) . I can apply a powder  or cream highlight and within an hour you can barely see it, even over foundation, so I appreciate the  lightness here. I can reapply at will without looking overdone or like a disco ball.

I use a  fluffy , dome shaped medium powder brush to dust all over as well as across cheekbones and brow. I've taken to putting some on under my foundation too, to look lit from within. Mornings really need that , right ? Who looks glowy at 7AM ?

The deeper shades could also be used as blush on fair skin. The darkest  I have is Maldives and it adds a nice bit of color but not quite enough on me for blush. There, I  use it and then layer a  satin/matte blush over it.

Shades shown are Ibiza, Maldives and Fort de France.

NARS Highlighting Powders are $ 38 and come in six shades at NARS , Ulta and department stores.

NARS Wanted Cheek Palettes

I sometimes think  I like blushes the best of all makeup products. Why, no idea since I love lipsticks too but I seem to really want to stockpile blushes. These new palettes from NARS are  calling to me.  Each one is packed with  six pretty LE shades.  What do you think ? Are they a must for you ?  

NARS Wanted Cheek Palette Vol. 1

• Unlimited (shimmering pale pink) (LE)
• Buzzed (matte coral) (LE)
• Notorious (matte lavender) (LE)
• Kingpin (matte rose) (LE)
• Bumpy Ride (shimmering candy pink)
• Crave (matte bright coral) (LE)

NARS Wanted Cheek Palette Vol 2

• PYT (metallic rose) (LE)
• Ambition (satin tangerine) (LE)
• Taos (soft red with golden sheen) (LE)
• Exposed (matte dusty rose) (LE)
• Penthouse (matte raspberry) (LE)
• Queen (matte ruby) (LE)

$ 59 each at Ulta on Mar. 8. 

NARS Black Friday/Cyber Monday

Just What I Needed Powermatte Online Excl. Shade

Starting tonight  all purchases on  NARS.com will be 20% off ( excluding Man Ray, palettes, books and candles) .

This is their only sale of the year site wide and there are many online exclusive products incl. shades of Powermatte and Audacious Lipstick and the 413 BLKR collection.   413 BLKR is one of my all time  favorite NARS lippies . It's a perfect Winter color.  

Sale runs 11/23  to 11/28 on  NARScosmetics.com

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NARS Man Ray Blushes - Holiday 2017

NARS blushes are among the best out there, we all know that.   So here's a look at the two new shades coming for holiday as part of the Man Ray collection.

Intensely is a bright tangerine and Fetishized is  described as Pink Grapefruit.   I love them both.

NARS Man Ray Blushes are $ 30 and are available Oct. 6th at narscosmetics.com , sephora and more.

NARS Blissful Blush - Fall 2017

I can't have enough blushes and new ones from NARS are often at the top of the list. We all know they make one of the best out there.

New in the Fall collection is this beauty,  described a shimmering raspberry . It leans a little plum to my eye and  I call it a must have .


NARS Blissful Blush is $ 30

NARS Powermatte Lip Pigment

NARS brings the biggest color payoff  with their new Powermatte Lip Pigments.

These are fully matte but feel comfortable on as they have flex on lips and don't feel super dry or tight due to the formula's Fluid Pigment Complex along with light hydration.  It's a nice formula especially if you're like me and not too into most mattes mainly because of the dryness.  These eliminate most of that but can  still accentuate lines a little .

Save The Queen, Just What I Needed, Get It On, Walk This Way,Wild Night, Starwoman,Rock With You, Light My Fire, London Calling, Just Push Play, 

The coverage is full and as I said the pigment very deep. The are blendable to a point, but it pays to work fairly fast. They go on easily with the doe foot applicator which is pretty precise for blending and filling in color.

NARS swatches

Wear time here is awesome.  I had full color for 5 hours until I ate lunch when it wore off. Once it sets , it stays . It's ink like.

The shade range is wide , 20 in total .  I am a neutral to medium tone  fan so I gravitated to the nudes and browns . There are beautiful rich reds, pinks and  eggplant purple or black for those who want a deeper lip.


Oh and each is coolly named for a famous rock song. So when someone asks what color you're wearing you can say Paint It Black or Low Rider.

NARS Powermatte Lip Pigment are $ 26  and are available July 5  exclusively on the Sephora Mobile App, July 6 at NARS boutiques and narscosmetics.com, and July 13 at Sephora and Sephora.com

NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencils- New Shades

NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencils  now come in nine new shades.  These are super popular and for good reason, they have rich pigment , are easy to use, last long and feel good on the lips. This is a matte that isn't drying or heavy but creamy with a little moisture built in. 

There are some great new colors here with Do Me Baby coming in as my favorite . 

The new shades ( not in this order on the swatch) are:

• Get Off – pink beige
• Intriguing – rose pink
• Do Me Baby – chestnut rose
• Famous Red – bright pink coral
• Let’s Go Crazy – vivid pink
• Pussy Control – lilac
• Dirty Mind – deep lilac
• Endangered Red – oxblood burgundy
• Unspoken – midnight blue
• Lonely Heart – chocolate brown

Available now for $ 27 at NARS.com , Sephora and more. 

NARS Asphalt Jungle & Aragon Lipgloss

NARS Spring line, Wildfire, is heavy with  rich browns, burnt reds and bronzes . These are my colors so this whole collection has my name on it.

The two new lipglosses feel like they were made for me so if you also lean towards these shades , you'll love them . Both have medium pigment and are a comfortable not overly tacky gloss.

Asphalt Jungle could not be more perfect. It reminds of  a favorite lipshade I had years ( and years ago aka a teenager)  that I wore  all the time .  A medium bronzy brown shot through with shimmer , or Shimmering Sangria per NARS ( spot on description)  it gleams on lips.  This works now in the cold temps and come warm weather will look so good against a tan or bronzer.

Aragon is a creme  reddish chestnut brown . A '90s throwback but with more dimension. It's very wearable and will pop against our camel wool coats or black puffers. There are two eyeshadow duos in this collection  and one, the turquoise/copper Chaing Mai , is the perfect complement to this shade.

NARS Asphalt Jungle and Aragon Lipglosses are $ 26 and available now at NARS.com, January 15 at Sephora and February 1 at department stores.

NARS Bumpy Ride Blush-Spring 2017

NARS is at again , bringing it with a hot new blush color for Spring.

Bumpy Ride is anything but , it's a smooth beauty of  orange/ coral bound to brighten  us up.  NARS calls this color "shimmering candy pink", but to my eye it's far more of a peachy orange .  It reminds a little of Torrid but is lighter and not as deep coral .

There is light shimmer, nothing overdone but enough to give you  a little bit of glow. The color payoff, as usual with most NARS blushes, is good with medium to full pigment and it is buildable and blends out well. My swatch is three  quick light layers. I'm going to be honest here , my top picture does not do the color justice, the swatch is more on point.

This is one of those colors that instantly gives your face "pop" but at the same time it's not really bold making it easily worn . It's going right into the rotation over here. Winter pallor begone.

NARS Bumpy Ride Blush is $ 30 and available now at NARS.com, January 15 at Sephora and February 1 at department stores.

NARS Soft Matte Concealer

Available the first of this month , in time to cover  all the fun from the holiday weekend is NARS newest concealer- Soft Matte Complete.

Their Radiant Creamy Concealer is a staple here , it's a good one and I am loving this new matte one which NARS claims is their highest coverage yet.

Having an oil free matte concealer is great for those with oily skin but also when just want something natural looking without heaviness that simply covers. This adds medium to full coverage , is creamy and blends easily with no drag but  it's not overly emollient.  It's matte but not dry or masky  and works great under eye as well as other areas. I don't find this settles into any lines under eye , it smoothes and conceals well but without a heavy concealed look. It sets well once on and blurs out spots and imperfections nicely.

 So far in my  testing it has lasted well and it said to be long wear.   As usual with NARS there is a wide shade range so most skintones should find a match .

Shown are Honey -Light 3 and Cannelle- Light 2.75. These fall in the mid range of lighter shades.

Ingredients include peptides, hyaluronic acid, antioxidants along with Optimal Diffusion Powder for the blur effect.

NARS Soft Matte Concealer is $ 30

NARS Rita Audacious Lipstick Holiday Edition

Everything comes up red for holiday including new special edition NARS packaging.

Rita , one of their fabulous formula Audacious Lipsticks now comes in a matching red case. Same magnetic closure, same square shape but in a festive new color . Yes it's perfect for stocking stuffing , gift card accompanying or adding to your own basket.

NARS Special Edition Rita Audacious Lipstick is LE and exclusive to Sephora for $ 32.

NARS Velvet Lip Glide

With NARS new Velvet Lip Glide liquid lipstick I may have finally found the matte for me. Matte formulas and I have an uneasy relationship.  I like a little more of a satin finish, I like a little slip. I feel they can  try settle in your lines so I usually wear them with a balm or gloss on top .

NARS Velvet Lip Glide on the other hand feels soft and creamy on lips ( the formula includes oils) and once dry it has an almost matte finish that doesn't feel dry on lips . It retains some of that moisture and stays a little creamy at least for the first hour or so then settles into a more matte finish but still never tight or dry. I don't feel the need for any balm over this.

The wear time is very long. The other day after I applied it at noon after lunch when I came home in the evening there were still traces of it left. Usually for  the remainder of the afternoon I will reapply color but this stayed put every time I checked.

The pigment as with all things NARS  is extremely rich .  There are several  nude Shades and the shade that I have here , Bound,  is a little nude and a little more pink and perfect for Fall. If you want bold there are plenty of reds and the bold burgundy,  Toy shown above.

NARS Velvet Lip Glide  is $ 26

Nars X Sarah Moon- Holiday 2016

The images are out for the upcoming NARS X Sarah Moon holiday collection  and they look good. Get , or maybe gird your wallet.

My top picks-


Isadora Blush - NARS makes a fabulous blush, we know this. So grab this new shimmery rose  to keep your winter pallor in check.  $ 30

Give In Take Dual Intensity Eye and Cheek Palette - So many beauties in one. Three blushes and  six shadows in the richly pigmented Dual Intensity formula.  $ 69

NARS Pygar & Stud - Hardwired Eyeshadow Collection

Super metallic shadows from NARS make up the LE Hardwired Shadow Collection.

All the shades are pretty fab but I picked Stud and Pygar. Both have very full pigment, go on smoothly and blend like a dream.

Stud is a medium pewter with a touch of bronze and Pygar is a rich gold. Both give a lot of look . These do have a lot of sparkle with larger particles in them, although Stud has slightly less Pygar.   I could say they are a great evening look ( and they are) but I wore Pygar to the office Friday morning and you might too.

NARS Hardwired Eyeshadow Collection has six shades and are $28 each , exclusive to Sephora.

NARS Consuming Red Velvet Matte Lip Pencil- Fall 2016

Fall is coming soon... at least in the retail world .   I may not be ready yet, nor you, but it provides lots of makeup eye candy as new collections roll out . 

NARS  has two new Velvet Matte  Lip Pencils as part of it's Powerfall line. Both are rich reds that lean more burgundy or wine.  Consuming Red  is called bordeaux by the brand and that fits . This is a type of red  I can actually wear ( bright reds really don't do much for me) and I love this color. It makes for a bold lip at full pigment  but with a little  blending  and a slick of clear lip balm becomes a pretty flushed, muted burgundy on lips and wears down to a stain.

Come Autumn I'll be wearing the heck out of this .  Alongside camel , grey or the new denim military style jacket I just picked up. 

NAR Consuming Red Velvet Matte Lip Pencil is $ 26. 

The other shade is Infatuated Red, described as garnet and that one is LE. 

NARS Powerfall will be on sale July 15th on NARS.com and boutiques, August 1 everywhere else.