NARS

The New NARS Audacious Lipstick Collection: The Corals, Hot Pinks and Oranges

August 12th, 2014 by Karen 30 Comments

Kayaking and Dry Lips: A Haiku

Dear Self, Please take note
Next time you go kayaking
Don’t forget lip balm

Um, yeah. My lips are pretty tow up and wind burned right now as a result of last weekend’s epic four-hour Tahoe kayaking adventure/unanticipated gut check-testing marathon (seriously, what was I thinking!? My forearms still feel like jiggly orange Jell-O.).

But you probably can’t tell from these pics. 🙂 And credit for that goes to these brand new NARS Audacious Lipsticks ($32 each, available in 40 shades).

I don’t know what kind of makeup witchcraft is at work here, but whatever it is, it’s some powerful sh*t…like Fairuza Balk from The Craft caliber.

With completely opaque coverage from a single swipe (coverage, mind you, that does not catch on my little lip flakes and cracks) they apply ever-so-nicely on my wind burned, chapped lips, leaving them looking incredibly smooth, creamy and — dare I say it? — a little plumper and fuller.

Based on how they look and feel now, I can’t wait to try them on my non-chapped lips once they’ve healed. Heck, my lips might look good enough to fool Brad into thinking that I’m Angie!

OK, doubt it. But still…

The coral, hot pink and orange shades

There are 40 (!) shades in the collection, but of course I had to check out the corals and hot pinks first (don’t worry, the others will follow).

Among these, I really dig flamingo coral Natalie and bright pinkish coral Grace, and I love how all of the colors have such cute girly names (although, hello, where’s Karen?).

NARS Audacious Lipsticks orange and coral shades from the left: Catherine, Juliette, Geraldine, Natalie, Kelly, Greta and Grace — Orange and coral shades from the left: Catherine, Juliette, Geraldine, Natalie, Kelly (Barneys New York exclusive), Greta and Grace

MONUMENTAL color selection

The extensive 40-piece line lands in the NARS permanent collection September 1, both in stores and online.

And did I mention that it’s extensive?

Because it is.

Extensive.

40 shades! — in almost every wearable lip color imaginable.

Bright pink NARS Audacious Lipsticks from the left: Marisa (Barneys Exclusive), Claudia and Michiyo — Bright pink NARS Audacious Lipsticks from the left: Marisa (Barneys New York exclusive), Claudia and Michiyo

The subtle variations among the shades in the different color families are also super cool. Like, say you’re hunting for a particular shade of coral. OK, well, you could go with a pink coral, a bright pinkish coral or a flamingo coral.

And those are just corals!

Chances are, if you’re looking for a very specific shade of red, coral, orange, pink or nude, you’ll be able to find something close to it in this collection.

Comfy, like your favorite bra

My lips love the medium-weight formula, too. It just feels great, even though it isn’t the most moisturizing lipstick potion I’ve ever tried, but it certainly isn’t drying at all. Plus, there are no funky flavors or scents to deal with and, depending on the brightness of any particular shade, the wear time isn’t bad. It varies from 2-3 hours for the nudes, and 4-5 hours for the bolder colors.

NARS Audacious Lipstick in Catherine — Catherine

NARS Audacious Lipstick in Juliette — Juliette

NARS Audacious Lipstick in Geraldine — Geraldine

NARS Audacious Lipstick in Natalie — Natalie

NARS Audacious Lipstick in Kelly — Kelly (Barneys New York exclusive)

NARS Audacious Lipstick in Greta — Greta

NARS Audacious Lipstick in Grace — Grace

NARS Audacious Lipstick in Marisa — Marisa (Barneys New York exclusive)

NARS Audacious Lipstick in Claudia — Claudia

NARS Audacious Lipstick in Michiyo — Michiyo

NARS Audacious Lipstick swatches from the left: Catherine, Juliette, Geraldine and Natalie — Swatches from the left: Catherine, Juliette, Geraldine and Natalie

NARS Swatches from the left: Kelly, Greta and Grace — Kelly (Barneys New York exclusive), Greta and Grace

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The NARS And God Created the Woman Eye Kit Is Back…Even Though It Never Really Disappeared

July 15th, 2014 by Karen 14 Comments

NARS And God Created the Woman Eye Kit (1)

Hey, wait a minute.

If you’re thinking that you’ve seen this $59 three-piece kit before, that’s because you may have.

Kind of.

It was released as a Sephora exclusive last year (it’s actually still available online at sephora.com), except that here it looks like the eyeshadows are playing musical chairs… They’ve been placed in slightly different positions in the palette.

The palette includes…

Alhambra Duo Eyeshadow (right side), a metallic rose mist
Bellissima Duo Eyeshadow (right side), a matte grayish brown
Kalahari Duo Eyeshadow (left side), a shimmering gold
Galapagos Single Eyeshadow, a bitter chocolate infused with gold
Coconut Grove Single Eyeshadow, a deep taupe brown infused with gold
Night Clubbing Single Eyeshadow, a black with golden pearl

NARS carried over the mini Smudgeproof Eyeshadow Base Primer (yay!) from the previous incarnation of the kit but swapped out the flat eyeshadow brush for a travel-sized Wide Contour Brush #43.

Lots of classic NARS eyeshadows in this one… If I were building my dream NARS palette, I’d include most of these shades.

The $59 NARS And God Created Woman Eye Kit arrives August 1 at NARS Boutiques, narscosmetics.com and at department store and specialty store NARS counters.

With the New NARSissist Smokey Eye Kit, You’ll Have All Eyes on You

July 14th, 2014 by Karen 13 Comments

Honestly, though, I don’t blame you for your NARSissicism. I understand, I really do. That would be like blaming Tabs for being beautiful or the sky for being blue.

No, I blame the NARSissist Smokey Eye Kit ($59), that gorgeous three-piece palette in front of you. 🙂

With a matte beige, a deep matte brown and a shimmery golden brown eyeshadow (as well as a miniature black liner and a travel-sized contouring brush) in it, really, how could you not get NARSissistic on that @ss?

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The Primary Colors Are of Primary Importance in My Look Today With NARS Torre del Oro Nail Polish

July 11th, 2014 by Karen 11 Comments

Wow, when did that happen…?

When did we teleport back to eighth-grade art class?

I’m wearing red, yellow and blue today and feeling like I’m sketching an apple and using those grids to get the proportions correct (you know the ones I mean).

My eighth-grade art teacher would always go off on tangents about the primary colors, and then, while he was rambling, he’d suddenly get this glassy, faraway look in his eyes, like he was dreaming about the seminal summer he spent on the coast of Italy painting and eating pasta.

Actually, now that I think about it, that glassy look could’ve been due to something else, as I’m pretty sure he was a total stoner, but I digress…

Anywho! Besides learning how hard it is to draw bowls and vases (those curves are seriously freaking difficult), I also learned that you really can’t go wrong with pairing red with yellow and blue. It’s a classic color combo.

This morning, I put on this bright highlighter yellow top, and then slipped on some layering necklaces with red, yellow, blue and white.

And a blue and gold bracelet.

Then, to play off the red accents in the necklaces, I chose a cherry red nail polish by NARS called Torre del Oro ($20), an opaque blue-based red with killer pigment (you could easily get away with a single layer, no problem).

NARS Torre del Oro swatch — Cherry red, she said…

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If You Aren’t Ready To Say So Long to Rose Gold, There’s New Pastorale Nail Polish by NARS

July 10th, 2014 by Karen 42 Comments

NARS Pastorale Nail Polish Swatch — Wearing the new NARS Nail Polish in Pastorale ($20) on my paws

Um…rose gold?

Yes, rose gold. Still. In all its rosy golden glory.

OK, now, I realize that rose gold is sooo 2013, and depending on where you stand on the subject, it may or may not have peaked, makeup-wise, with last year’s Naked3 palette from Urban Decay or the Rose Gold Shimmering Skin Perfector from BECCA.

You know what, though?

I kind of don’t care. 🙂

I’m going to continue clinging to rose gold with my polished claws and paws because, dagnabbit, I love it, particularly when paired with warmer skin tones.

Today, to keep the Carlos Santana Tone Wedge Sandals I’m wearing company, I painted my nails with Pastorale, a new rose gold nail polish from NARS.

It’s from the recent relaunch of the brand’s nail polish line and arrives with the other shades July 15 at NARS boutiques and narscosmetics.com, and August 1 at Sephora stores and department store NARS counters.

NARS Pastorale Swatch — Rose gold radness

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Hawaii, By Way of NARS Shameless Red

July 9th, 2014 by Karen 18 Comments

NARS Shameless Red Swatch — Aloha, NARS Shameless Red!

Please give a warm aloha to NARS Shameless Red Nail Polish! — aka, the latest shade to join the ranks of hula dancing beauty products that masquerade as a tropical vacation in a bottle.

Whenever I wear this reddish pink, I feel like I have hibiscus petals affixed to my nails.

Part of the recently revamped 43-piece NARS Nail Polish line, Shameless Red ($20) arrives by catamaran (OK, not really) July 15 at NARS boutiques and narscosmetics.com (and August 1 at Sephora stores and department store NARS counters).

NARS Shameless Red — I’m unashamed about my love for this color… One could say I’m shamelessly in love with it, haha.

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Mythical Mint Green Manicures With New NARS Nail Polish in Thasos

July 7th, 2014 by Karen 13 Comments

Have you ever basked in the sun on Thasos?

Thasos, Greece — Thasos, a Greek island in the Northern Aegean Sea

Wouldn’t you like to?

I sure would…

Before today, I didn’t even know this beautiful Greek island existed (there’s also a town on the island of the same name).

Thank you, NARS, for the geography lesson. 🙂

I painted my paws with this new creamy mint NARS Nail Polish today.

NARS Thasos Nail Polish Swatch — Two coats of NARS Thasos

Yup, NARS recently reformulated their nail polish line, and when they did so, they added a bunch of colors, kept some old ones, changed the brush (it’s now flat and wide and covers the entire nail in one swipe), and the cap, which is more like Chanel’s caps now, with a removable square cap on top of a cylindrical one.

The new line of 43 polishes ($20 each) arrives July 15 at NARS boutiques and narscosmetics.com, and August 1 at Sephora stores and NARS counters inside department stores.

I can’t gauge the wear time of Thasos yet, but I definitely dig the application. The brush was really easy to use, and the creamy formula wasn’t streaky at all. I only needed two layers.

As for the Island of Thasos, uh, when are we leaving?

That water looks incredible…

Postcard says what now?

To quote Liz Lemon, “I want to go to there.” 😀

Just a Friendly Call From You-Know-Who About the New NARS Mondore Satin Lip Pencil

July 7th, 2014 by Karen 15 Comments

**RING! RING!**

KAREN: Tabs the Cat Industries, LLC, Office of the President, Karen speaking. How may I help you?

RYGOS: Ryan Gosling Incorporated, Office of My Living Room, Ryan speaking.

KAREN: Ryan, you’re hella dumb!

RYGOS: Excuse me, what was that? Who says “hella”?

KAREN: Only the cool kids say hella… So you’re excluded, haha!

RYGOS: Oh, she has jokes.

KAREN: Yeah, yeah…

Dude, I’m kind of busy, so I can’t really chat right now. What’s up?

RYGOS: Oh, I’m sorry. You’re busy. Because you’re so important that you can’t make time for your old friend Ryan anymore.

KAREN: Ah, poor Ryan… It’s so hard to find somebody to talk to when you’re a famous actor.

RYGOS: Hey, now.

KAREN: Don’t worry. You’re still my number one favorite shirtless actor. I’m actually just trying to get out of here because I have dinner plans with El Hub tonight. It’s our eighth wedding anniversary.

RYGOS: Wow, eight already? Are you finally gonna give El Hub that medal?

KAREN: What medal?

RYGOS: You know, that medal for putting up with you. 🙂

KAREN: (…) What do you want, Ryan?

RYGOS: I need to get my sister a present.

KAREN: Go on. I like where this is headed.

RYGOS: She said she wanted a red lipstick from NARS, but of course I have no idea which one to get, so I thought I’d call my favorite crazy cat lady/friendly neighborhood beauty addict.

KAREN: Aw, flattery will get you everywhere.

RYGOS: Really? I’ve never heard that.

KAREN: OK, here’s what you do. Wait until July 15th, because that’s when the new NARS Night Caller fall collection comes out.

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