Of all new collections i’ve seen so far, my top favourite has to be NARS. It’s just too hard to ignore the gorgeous novelty packaging and great quality products Mr François Nars creates each season.
As always, the colour story is nothing typically festive but just wearable, AUDACIOUS and far from anything we’d anticipate. In a good way ;-)
But before we get started here’s a little blurb on this new collaboration!
TWO ICONOCLASTS. ONE FANTASCENE.
Visually pleasing and great value for money, this collection has something for everyone. I’m also loving the provocative imagery seen throughout the collection and have noted down several pieces which would make great gifts for my girlfriends which I know they will love!
Starting off with my favourite item, the NARS Killer Heels Mini Lipstick Set.
(Left to right we have, Fire Down Below, Joyous Red, Mayflower, Little Darling and the best seller Jungle Red)
I don’t own many of the NARS regular lipsticks for a comparison on formula, however when swatched the pigmentation and texture noticeably varied between shades.
Little Darling was more on the sheerer side, while Joyous Red and Fire Down Below swatched with better payoff.
Another favourite was the Magnificent Obsession Red Lip Set packaged in a little black chest.
The Velvet matte lipstick and Velvet lip liner swatched so intense and creamy, it was a very happy moment! (this one’s going on my Christmas list!).
*If reds aren’t your thing, there’s also A Woman’s Face Nude Lip Set containing their best seller Dolce Vita in Velvet Matte Lip pencil & lipstick form. The liner included was Patong Beach.
Next up, the One Shocking Moment Cheek Studio Palette. Possibly the largest palette i’ve seen by NARS.
This comes with a contouring duo, bronzer and 4 blush options (2 new shades). It’s one mighty palette!
Everything swatched rather well and definitely something worth investing in if you are on the lookout for new cheek palettes.
P.S- the contour duo Paloma should work great for anyone with a light to medium skintone. Deeper skintones, not so much.
NARS Despair Cheek Palette
Comes with 3 brand new blush shades and a highlighter (existing shade) Nico.
My favourite of the lot was Esoteric. Swatching beautifully, this peachy orange flush was something special! Think, NARS Taj Mahal for fairer skintones.. (less scary too!)
Next up, something for the eyes! The Tearjerker Eye Kit,
This set contains two kohl liners and an Audacious mascara. Both pencils went on smooooth, like butter!
For all Dual-Intensity eyeshadow fans there’s the Dead of Summer Dual-Intensity Eyeshadow Palette. Truth be told, this was high on my must-haves list. I am a massive fan of the Dual-Intensity formula (blogged here) and this LE palette contains 3 new colours!
Left to right we have, Studly, Stag Film, Subra (existing shade) & Blackmail.
Of the new shades, Stag Film was my absolute favourite. One of those typical neutrals I gravitate to on a daily basis.
The Colour Collection
Killer Shine lipsticks
Besame Mucho – Deep rose-beige
No Shame – Red plum
Redemption – Metallic pink champagne
Killer Shine lip gloss
Provoke – Deep iris purple
Fast Life – Iridescent dusty rose
Special Force – Wild strawberry
Single eyeshadows
Never Too Late – Olive green with gold shimmer
Mortal – Iridescent pearl white
Stud – Soft pewter bronze
Nail Polish
Black Fire – Shimmering slate blue
Hard To Get – Metallic bronze gunmetal
Night Creature – Metallic Iris Purple
Dual-Intensity blush
Vengeful – White-gold highlight, Shimmering brick red
On to swatches!
The Killer Shine Lipsticks were a high gloss formula, swatching smooth with good colour payoff. I found an unlikely favourite, Redemption. Surprisingly silky for it’s shimmery finish.
Besame Mucho & No Shame (both cream finish) performed well too, highly recommend this LE formula for those of you with perpetually dry lips!
I found all three Killer Shine Glosses highly pigmented with vivid colour. If you own NARS Priscilla lipgloss, these were along the same lines.
The clear favourite in this batch was Stud. It swatches so smooth and vibrant, it almost looks metallic! Highly recommend you pick this one up if you are a sucker for neutrals like myself.
Vengeful fills the warm red void in the Dual-Intensity blush range and I love that it performs just as beautiful as it looks! The gold highlight shade is stunning while the warm brick red will help you transition smoothly into the colder season.
First impressions & top picks
The entire collection swatched pretty good and the quality was on par with what is expected of NARS products.
The lipsticks were well pigmented and creamy, the eyeshadows had good payoff (Stud was mind blowing pigmentation and texture wise) , the glosses were incredibly well pigmented and bold and the LE Dual-Intensity blush was incredible!
If I were to pick favourites, i’d recommend the blush Vengeful the star buy. A close second would be the Stud, which had an almost creamy consistency and swatched like a dream!
That concludes my preview of the upcoming gifting and colour collections. I hope you found my hurried swatches useful! I did my best to get as many as I could while I had the chance :-)
Collection info & Pricing
This collection is set to launch in Singapore Nov 1st. There’ll be some Sephora exclusives (noted below) while the majority of the collection available at Tangs Plaza.
Price list for Singapore
Limited Edition Killer Shine Lipsticks – $40
Limited Edition Killer Shine Gloss – $40
Single Eyeshadow – $40
Nail Polish – $35
Dual-Intensity Blush – $68
Despair Cheek Palette – $120
Dead of Summer Dual-Intensity Eyeshadow Palette – $85
Magnificent Obsession Red Lip Set – $85
A Woman’r Face Nude Lip Set – $85
Tearjerker Eye Set – $55
Humoresque Audacious Lipstick Coffret (5 full sized Audacious lipsticks Raquel, Juliette, Anna, Fanny & Charlotte in a box) – $220 (retailing exclusively at Tangs)
One Shocking Moment Cheek Studio Palette – $120 (retailing exclusively at Sephora)
Killer Heels Mini Lipstick Set – $85 (also a Sephora exclusive!)
