So here are the products I've accumulated thus far:
Two blushers, a single eyeshadow, a lipstick, and three Pure Matte lipsticks. And what shades did I plump for, I hear you cry?
Desire (L) and Sin (R) blushes; Lhasa single eyeshadow
Sin has already featured in my "everyday face" post, and it's still the resident blush in my daily makeup bag. It's a gorgeous shimmery plum colour, with a smooth buttery formula, which looks surprisingly natural on my pale pink skintone - especially lovely for cold weather.
Desire is a straight-up matte pink, leaning on the cool side. It has good colour pay-off, though it's not as smooth as Sin when swatched (probably due to the matte formula). I can't say I've used this anywhere near as much as Sin so far; I do love a good dolly-pink cheek, which this delivers when applied with a light hand, but I'm not in love yet. I shall persevere! I also managed to resist buying the new Gaiety blush from the Spring collection, after swatching it and finding it was just a cooler, less pigmented version of Desire. Sad face. Fingers crossed NARS isn't heading down the MAC "selling you the same colour three times over" road...
But that's not to say the Spring collection didn't have its redeeming features. Far from it, since it features my new favourite eyeshadow, Lhasa. I knew as soon as I saw the promo pictures online that I HAD to have this. Lavender grey? YES. (This is a situation for capitals, shouty and obnoxious though they are, trust me.) I haven't been seriously tempted by any eyeshadows from the brand before, as all the neutrals looked a bit warm for my taste/face. But this is a stunning heathery/misty grey (which clearly brings out the lame poet in me), just perfect for a subtle smoky daytime eye. It is also destined to be partnered with MAC Vex, which is possibly my all-time favourite MAC shadow. Success.
[Edit: Sabrina at The Beauty Look Book has a lovely post with swatches of Lhasa and other NARS shadows, including the new 413 BLKR eyeshadow which looks suspiciously similar. Why, NARS, why??]
And look, I did swatches! Crappy crappy swatches, but still. Taken in daylight, no flash.
Top to bottom: Lhasa, Sin, Desire
Sin isn't looking particularly inspiring here, particularly because the shimmer doesn't translate well onto my freakish giant hand (and it isn't this brown in person, more cool plum), but it's definitely worth a look next time you're at a NARS counter.
And now for the lipsticks:
L-R: Schiap, Carthage, Valparaiso, Vesuvio
And on my luminously white arm (these are literally one swipe each, that's how pigmented they are):
Top to bottom: Vesuvio, Valparaiso, Carthage, Schiap
Schiap was my first ever NARS purchase, which I bought in Selfridges after an assessment day last summer. Hot, sticky, and knackered, I made a beeline to Oxford Street as soon as the last hideous business analysis exercise was over, and bought the brightest damn lipstick I could find. Hot pink lip products are my weakness (okay, one of my weaknesses!). This is a fabulous example of my particular favourite, the matte blue-pink lipstick.
Carthage is a recent acquisition from Charlie's blogsale. I'd been eyeing it up for a while, but couldn't justify it full price given its similarity to Schiap - then when I came across it in a blogsale I couldn't resist! It's a slightly warmer, lighter pink than Schiap, perfect for summer. And of course it's in the truly excellent Pure Matte formula, which swipes on in seconds, is completely matte, and wears for an age - what more could you need?
Valparaiso also comes from the Spring collection, though why they thought this gorgeous, dramatic purple-berry shade was appropriate for spring I do not know. But I love it for the wintry weather we're having at the moment. The sales guy tried to entice me to buy a matching lipgloss, blasphemy! I would never sully its matte perfection with a tacky gloss.
And finally, Vesuvio - because much as I love pink lipsticks, you can't go wrong with a classic neutral bright red. You can see I'm not a big fan of subtle lip colours, let alone the dreaded nude lip - which looks great on some people, but makes me look absolutely terrible. (That's not to say I didn't purchase a few paler lipsticks, like the raved-about Hue and Creme Cup, during the first flush of my MAC addiction, but they now sit completely unloved in my makeup drawers, oops!)
So, if you enjoy bold matte lip colours, I highly recommend the Pure Matte line - and there are some pretty-looking more natural shades as well, if that's more your bag. However, I've got to say my recent lipstick acquisitions have somewhat cast these into the shade (shocking, I know!). Yes, I am the proud owner of three(!) Rockalily lipsticks, which I've been wearing nonstop since I got them. Definitely a blog post in the making!
Till next time,
Josephine x
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