Oui, Je Suis Une NARS-issist!

It’s been a while since I last wrote about NARS and my passion for this make-up brand. Now that the Christmas festivities are coming, here are some details about the Holiday 2011 collection.

The colour selection is very interesting: it includes bold and dark shades for the eyes, paired to rosy cheeks and to semi-matte lips.  The resulting looks are luxurious and refined, with a nice contrast between the rich eye shades and muted lips.

The collection includes a trio eyeshadow (Arabian Nights, black with red pearls, black with purple pearls and black with gunmetal shimmer), a duo eyeshadow (Mandchourie, gold-infused denim and rich navy) and a single cream eyeshadow (Ponderosa, a gorgeous mink shade). In addition, two Larger Than Life long-wear eyeliner pencils (Campo de’ Fiori, antique brass, and St. Marks Place, bright violet), a Multiple (G-Spot, rich gold-infused rose; such a naughty name for a make-up item, isn’t it?), a lipgloss (Albatross, luminous glow), a lipstick (Joyous Red, an amber red shade) and a highlighting blush (Miss Liberty, soft shimmering peach). Nail polishes are not missing: the new shades are Space Odyssey (aluminum) and Endless Night (black grape). When I first saw the collection, I was immediately drawn to the trio eyeshadow and to the silver nail polish; I wanted both of them so badly, but then I changed my mind. I’ve read many negative reviews about the eyeshadows, and I decided to skip on Space Odyssey because I already have a silver foil nail polish. I still want Ponderosa (I’ve read positive reviews about it), but I haven’t bought it yet.

In this promotional picture, Mariacarla Boscono, the face of the brand, wore Arabian Nights (plus Zardoz and the silver shimmer of Paris duo eyeshadow) on her eyes, Joyous Red on her lips and G-Spot Multiple and Miss Liberty highlighter on her cheeks.

I haven’t bought any item from this collection yet, but there are two new additions to my NARS collection – a matte blush and a pure matte lipstick.

After discovering NARS shimmering blushes, I’ve put the idea of matte blushes aside. Some years ago, I tried Dolce Vita but it didn’t convince me much. I’ve recently had the chance to get Gilda blush in a swap and I’m glad I did, because it’s lovely, with a very natural and glowy effect.

According to the brand’s website, Gilda is a coral blush, but I don’t agree, because it’s more peachy pink. The powder is very fine and it perfectly blends with the skin. I’ve got a light olive skin tone and this shade is very flattering on me.

I recently placed an order on HQHair and I decided to buy yet another red lipstick (if you watch my Friday Guessing Game video solutions, you know my passion for red lipsticks).

I chose Mascate, a bold red pure matte lipstick from the fall 2011 collection.

The tube is different from that of the regular lipsticks – it’s taller and slimmer. It reminds me of the tube of a beautiful plum matte lipstick by L’Oreal I used in the 90s. It’s not a particularly original shade of red, but it’s definitely a classic shade, dramatic but perfect for an everyday use.

Here are some swatches of the blush and of the lipstick. The picture above has been taken with flash. You can see that Gilda is definitely peachy pink, while Mascate is a rich blue-based red.

Under artificial light, the peach tone in Gilda is clearly visible, while the red shade of Mascate comes out with all its boldness.

What do you think of this collection? Have you bought anything from it? Ponderosa is still in my wish list and I wouldn’t mind trying G-Spot either.

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