NARS Long Hot Summer Palette

Oh Nars, you've done it again. Yet another absolutely beautiful little palette.

New In // Mixed Haul

I'm well aware that this is a bit of a weird haul but I picked up some pretty bits and pieces over the past week that I feel all deserve a little bit of the limelight. 

Nars Velvet Matte Skin Tint

Nars are well known for their foundations and I'm sure most of us have at least one favourite from the brand but this is just something else. It has not only risen well above the love I had for all of Nars' other foundations, which were once upon a time my holy grail, but it's become my absolute favourite foundation of all time. It's so unbelievably wonderful.

Beauty Haul #1

I'm going on a little trip to Berlin in a couple of weeks and I used it as an excuse to replenish some of my old favourite beauty products and whilst doing so, I accidentally (totally on purpose) added a few other bits to my make up mountain too.

Nars x Steven Klein One Shocking Moment Cheek Palette

swatches from L-R; 1. paloma highlight, 2. paloma contour, 3. laguna, 4. robotic, 5. blasphemy,
6. luster & 7 dolce vita.

This post was a long time in the making, apologies, but this palette is still available so it isn't a complete fail.
I actually bought this as soon as it was released in November(?) last year and totally forgot it existed until I was rummaging through my blush drawer. It's definitely a problem when you start forgetting what you own especially when it's something as beautiful as this. Of all the Steven Klein collection this is what stood out to me the most. Of course all of the collection was to die for as it is with every Nars collaboration but for the price, range of products and amount of product you get this ticked every box for me and went straight into my basket and to my front door.


Paloma (Highlight)
A peachy beige with warm undertones and a matte finish. It feels super silky in the pan and swatches powdery but is a lot easier to blend on the face. It highlights the skin beautifully and has rich pigmentation but isn't overpowering. It's just the right balance to brighten the skin without being too intense. It's also somewhat refreshing to have a matte highlight in my collection to illuminate the skin without the shimmer. It wore well at around 7 hours.

Paloma (Contour)
A muted, medium brown with warm undertones. It, again, has rich pigmentation and I'd recommend using a very light hand when applying it. The red tones within this make it difficult to use with my skin tone but applied very faintly I can kind of get away with it, though it won't be replacing my ABH palette any time soon. It's extremely soft in texture but stubborn to blend. It lasted 8 hours on me.

Laguna (Bronzer)
An old favourite and one that you'll find in almost every Nars face palette. A medium brown with a light golden shimmer. It's easy to blend, nicely pigmented and a great addition to anyone's make up collection, we just don't need 50 of them Nars so please stop putting it in all your palettes! It wears fantastically for as long as you want it to, I have never had an issue with this fading throughout any amount of time I've worn it for although the intensity of the shimmer does lessen.

Robotic (Blush)
A light baby pink with cool undertones, a subtle silver shimmer and a mostly satin finish. It blends well but had a tendency to sheer out extremely easily so be wary about over blending. It is buildable though and you can easily add layers without it becoming patchy. It lasted about 6 hours before I noticed it fading.

Blasphemy (Blush)
A medium to dark rosy pink with a sheeny satin finish. The texture of this is noticeably drier and more powdery than the other blush shades. The pigmentation is somewhat lacking in comparison too and takes a bit of work to get the same amount of colour pay off. The finish is beautiful on the skin although somewhat patchy so bare in mind that you'll need to blend this well. It wore for pretty much the same amount of time as the other blush shades at 6 hours.

Luster (Blush)
A medium golden peach shade with strong warm undertones. It's lightly powdery, blends easily and has good pigmentation but isn't as opaque as the other shades. I prefer to use this as a highlight as the gold shimmer within is way too overpowering for me to use as a blush. Again, it lasted 6 hours before fading but the I did notice the peachy toned base colour faded long before the golden shimmer.

Dolce Vita (Blush)
One of my all time favourite Nars products. It's a deep muted plum colour with warm undertones and a satin finish. Just as with the single of this blush this has a smooth, silky texture and is so easy to blend. It has wonderful pigmentation that sticks around for 6-7 hours.



Did you end up getting anything up from this collection? What's your favourite Nars product of all time?

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Nars Audacious Lipstick - Rita

Say hello to my new favourite red lipstick. If you haven't been here long, firstly hi and secondly, I am a complete and hopeless devotee to a red lip - I own a lot of red lipsticks - so for this to shoot straight up to my number one spot is saying something.

First of all, I just love the packaging. I think it's simple and beautiful and the magnetic closure is beyond satisfying. Because I'm part magpie it was actually the packaging that initially drew me in but it was the lipstick kept me in for the long haul! It's described as a scarlet red which I think encapsulates it perfectly. It's a medium to deep neutral red with some warmer undertones and it is gorrrrgeous. Out of all of the red shades in the Audacious family, according to reviews, this seems to be the most matte shade which I could not be happier about. When applying it feels creamy and doesn't tug at all but becomes significantly drier throughout wear. It was around the 5 hour mark when I noticed it becoming slightly uncomfortable but I was happy to find that it didn't flake or come off patchy but surprisingly faded pretty evenly. The pigmentation is incredible, after one sweep on each lip it was completely opaque.

I really don't have a bad thing to say about this lipstick. It's everything that I could dream of a lipstick being and I totally and wholeheartedly adore it.

What's your favourite lipstick? Have you tried any of Nars' Audacious lipsticks?

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Nars Brow Perfector

Nars Brow Perfector in Caucase £16.50 - link

Finding a good brow product is like finding treasure, excluding anything from Anastasia Beverly Hills because that's all gold, but unfortunately I don't think this anything worth writing home about.

In texture this is both dry and slightly waxy and super stiff. It does warm up as you use it and become a little easier to navigate but I'm not convinced the inconvenience is worth £16. Because of the texture the pigment is severely lacking which could be a good or bad thing depending on how you look at it. It's good that you will never over do it and end up with power brows (unless that's what you want in which case this is most definitely not for you) but also the whole process takes ages made worse by how you absolutely have to use small strokes with this product. I really wouldn't recommend anyone with sparse brows use this, it would be pretty much useless to you.

The shade is very ashy which I actually love about this pencil. Loads and loads of brow products are very warm in tone so I really appreciate the shade of this although I do wish I would of chose the black shade (which isn't actually black - it's dark brown) as I think that maybe would of suited my hair colour better and perhaps made me like this a little more.

This isn't a bad product, it just isn't what I want from a brow pencil at all. I think the texture is odd and the lack of pigment makes doing my eyebrows more of a chore than it already is. Sorry Nars!


Have you tried this? What do you normally use for your brows?

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Nars Velvet Matte Lip Pencil - Mysterious Red

Nars Limited Edition Velvet Matte Lip Pencil In Mysterious Red £18 - link

This is the first lip product I've tried from Nars and I love it. So much.
I haven't actually tried any lipstick/lip pencil hybrids but I'm so glad this was my first. I do have my eye on the Revlon matte ones though so if you've tried them I'd love to know your opinion or what colour from the range is your favourite!

Usually with all lipsticks no matter if they're in a bullet or pencil form I always always choose matte formulas. I can't think of anything worse than having sticky lips so to stay on the safe side, if the word matte is in the title it's a winner for me. This is a velvet matte finish which is where I draw the line. What I do like about velvet/semi-matte finishes though, and this lipstick in particular, is that they are usually completely opaque and not shiny like a matte finish, but have the creamy texture and nourishing qualities of a cremesheen for example. Basically, it's the best of both worlds.

The colour of this is described as a crimson red which I think is exactly right. It's a bright, bold deep red with slight warm undertones and it's beautiful. It applies like a dream and doesn't drag on the lips at all and like I said before has a creamy texture that dries to a semi-matte (or velvet) finish - it definitely isn't a true matte finish although the title does give that away. It's completely opaque and stays that way for at least 4 hours. After that it does start to fade and becomes a little drying, no where near as bad as some matte formulas, but drying none the less.
Like most red lipsticks, this doesn't agree much with eating or drinking of any kind and will fade pretty quickly during a meal. I always do this when testing a red lipstick just for the hopes that one day after I've eaten something, I'll look in the mirror to see that my lipstick looks the same as when I applied it and hasn't faded into nothingness. What a wonderful thing that would be.

Overall I am over the moon with this lipstick. The colour is beautiful and I think it would look great on anyone, the texture and finish are lovely as is everything else about it.

I'm looking forward to comparing it to the Revlon Matte Balms as £18 is not something that I want to part with for a lipstick very regularly (I've only just come to terms with MAC bumping up their prices to £15.50). I haven't seen anyone compare the two or say they are dupes for each other but I'm still hoping they are similar none the less.


Have you tried any lip products from Nars? Do you have a favourite?

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Nars Luminous Weightless Foundation

Nars All Day Luminous Weightless Foundation £32 - link

Not one of the catchiest titles Nars, but I'll let you off because I am seriously impressed with this foundation.

Nars Sheer Glow is one of my all time favourites and even against my oily skin sits well and lasts quite a long time with the aid of a little bit of powder. This foundation to me, is like a lighter, weightless if you will, version of the Sheer Glow foundation. It also has the same shades as the Sheer Glow range which is nice too.

I've worn this a couple of times since I bought it last week and so far I'm loving it. It has a really watery consistency but advises to shake well before use which is definitely necessary and IT HAS A PUMP! That was honestly the first thing I said (or shouted) when I opened it. It's so annoying that hardly any foundations come with a pump these days #firstworldproblems - and if you have my luck and they're out of stock everytime you go to buy one, Space NK have them in stock online at last! You can get one here for £3.

Anyway, back to the foundation. It applies beautifully (I used a brush) and it blends really well and evenly. It didn't cling to any dry patches/healing blemishes I had on my skin although it did slightly settle in the creases around my eyes. It actually does feel completely weightless on the skin is super comfortable to have on all day. The first time I wore this I had a big day of shopping and not only did it feel great it still looked great by the time I'd got home 6 hours later. It had started fading a little bit on my chin, nose and forehead especially, which is where I get most oily, but compared to other foundations I've used I'm really happy with the longevity and staying power of it, even if it didn't last the 16 hours it claims to be able to.  It says it is a full yet natural coverage but it's much more of a medium coverage I'd say, but the natural part holds true. Blemishes I had were still visible when I used this on it's own but any redness or discolouration I have in my skin were completely covered. It would be a wonderful foundation for good skin days where there isn't much to conceal but you still want a flawless look to your skin.

I really like this foundation. I'm a lover of the natural looking foundations that aren't too heavy or matte, which is difficult to avoid if you have oily skin, but I think this one is a winner. It doesn't have a dewy enough finish for it to be completely unwearable for those with oily skin but is natural enough for everyone of all skin types to enjoy I think. Another great foundation from Nars.


Have you tried this foundation yet? If not, are you going to?

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Review: Nars Sheer Glow Foundation

- Nars Sheer Glow Foundation £30.50 -

I can't believe I haven't reviewed this foundation yet!

This is most definitely my most favourite foundation of all time. I love the kind of make up where it doesn't feel like you actually have make up on, especially in the summer when it's most likely going to melt off anyway, and this lightweight foundation completely ticks that box for me. It is a light to medium coverage although I'd say it's more on the medium side of things. It evens out the skin tone diminishing all my redness and disguises most of the imperfections I have. I can't say that it completely covers everything because it doesn't. My dark circles look a little less terrifying when I've applied a coat of this but I still need to go in with a concealer to completely hide them and the same goes for blemishes, but with sheer in it's name you can't really expect more than that.

It has a satin finish that leaves the face looking dewy which I can't get enough of at the moment and it also makes your skin look much brighter and just gives it an all round glow. It blends in well with a bit of help from my Real Techniques Buffing Brush which you can get in a set here and the colour range is great, so I'm sure you'll be able to find a shade that matches your skin. The colour I have is Deauville (Light 4 I think) if you were interested!

It surprisingly fairs well against my oily skin which satin finishes rarely seem to do. It doesn't do a whole lot in preventing or stopping the shine I get throughout the day, but in comparison to other foundations of the same finish it makes much more of a difference. Because this foundation is quite moisturising, I've heard that it works well for people that have dryer skin too.

The only fault I can find with this product is that it doesn't come with a pump which can cause some particularly messy make up routines (there have been spillages) and really just wastes a lot of the product. There is a pump available to buy separately but I have no idea where to get it from, so if you could enlighten me I would appreciate it! 

This is pretty expensive at £30.50 but I think that it's absolutely worth it. It's a great foundation for summer and all year round. I love it!

Have you tried this foundation? What do you think of it?

Lots of love.