I have only walked into stores and taken a couple of swatches of blush, tried on some lipgloss and tested their foundation at the back of my hand at Nars. But honestly, I have never purchased from Nars because of their dear prices. So luckily I got a front cover and editorial spread in FAB Magazine and credited NARS, they were kind enough to send me 5 products of my choice.
I picked out Sheer Glow Foundation, Taj Mahal Blush, Exhibit A Blush, Cartharage Matte Lipstick and Red Lizard Satin Finish Lipstick
Sheer Glow Foundation- 'Tortuga':
On my skin shade seems a little off, i have to do a lot of blending and mixing for it to work with my skin shade which is typically a MAC Studio Fix NW50 or Match Master in shade 9.0. Its not entirely bad but I am used to having rich chocolate skin I wish Nars added a bit more orange into the mixture to get my perfect tone.
Nars Tortuga Sheer Glow Foundation in Natural Light |
Taj Mahal Blush
I have been eyeing this blush for several years and am glad to finally have it in my possession. It has a strong orange pigment and as my undertone is blue- orange works perfect on my skin. It has flexes of gold shimmer which makes a fantastic highlight also. What I like to do is first apply MAC Raizin or Sleeks Sahara and apply Taj Mahal on top... it looks amazing!
Exhibit A Blush
Ensure you have a light hand with this stuff as it is super pigment. This matte red blush is a perfect blush for making a statement and being bold, it is also a simple blush once applied light handedly and in my opinion works well with neutral looks also.
Carthrage Matte wear lipstick
Such a gorgeous shade, not sure if all NAR's matte lipsticks are like this but I felt I had to scrub to get the colour to appear on my skin.. not pigmented enough for me. Mind you, i did not use it with a liner so perhaps that may be the reason?
Red Lizard Satin Finish
Such amazing pigment, long lasting and a perfect everyday lipstick for every skin shade and looks so flattering on women of colour. The lipstick is great paired up with MACS brick lip liner.