Monday, February 21, 2011

NARS Velvet Gloss Lip Pencils - Part 2

NARS Velvet Gloss Lip Pencils ($24) have been the talk of Twitter, and they have been featured on many blogs, including mine and The Beauty Look Book (Sabrina wrote a three-part series; click here for Part 1). The buzz over these glorious lip "sticks" has been intense, with beauty mavens lusting for them or sharing the shades they purchased. In my original order, I bought two. Then when my Neiman Marcus got them in stock, I bought two more. Today, I will update my original feature by showing you my newest shades.

First, a recap. These are glossy lip pencils with a smooth, buttery texture. They coat the lips with stunning, glossy, nicely pigmented color and moisturizing ingredients, including vitamin E, hyaluronic acid spheres, and phytosterol esthers. They don't contain the bad actors we all like to avoid, like phthalates, sulfates, parabens, petrochemicals, and synthetic fragrances. They are so much nicer - in my opinion - than the matte pencils that NARS introduced previously. I like a little shine, so I'm definitely biased toward the Velvet Gloss Pencils.

My first two were Baroque and New Lover. You can see swatches here. My second two are Frivolous and Club Mix. I'm thrilled with them; they are very different shades from my earlier selections.

Frivolous is shown at the top of my arm, with Club Mix below. My photo was taken indoors in sunlight. Frivolous is a very natural peachy-pink-nude shade. It may be the lightest of all of them. It's perfect for a casual look. Club Mix is a plum-grape-rose mix. On the lips, which have a little color, it's slightly darker.

I think all four of the shades I purchased are fabulous. I would recommend these lip pencils to everyone. They are gorgeous colors, have a perfect amount of shine, and feel great on my lips. Their color is long-lasting too.

You can purchase them at the NARS Web site, Sephora, and at your NARS counter now. I bought my first two at Sephora and my second two at Neiman Marcus.

Photo at top courtesy of NARS

8 comments:

Soni said...

Yay! I have New Lover and Baroque also and love them!!! These are definitely my new favorite lip products. (they are holding me over until the new Chanel rouge coco shines come out)
The only thing I don't like about these is the terrible chemical smell. It goes away quickly but every once in a while I get a whiff as I'm applying. =( Yuck!
But love that shine and moisture!

Charlestongirl said...

I agree, Soni. The scent goes away so quickly, I don't really notice it.

I think I have to say - at this point - that I like these better than my Rouge Coco Shine in Boy. I am not ready to ink that. :)

Sabrina said...

Thank you for the shoutout my dear :) Love your review, these NARS Velvet Gloss Pencils are indeed amazing.

Eileen said...

Every time I read about new formulations, new textures, new finishes, new colors, it makes me want to toss out my collection and begin all over again! And, this year has seen a proliferation of gorgeousness unlike anything we've seen in long time. Remember how one demensional and drying lipsticks used to be? That's actually why I originally switched to glosses and even those could be drying at times. Now, at every price point, there are products to be found that drench our lips in moisture while making us look gorgeous :-) I've never understood why some women want to cling to a particular old favorite when there are so many new favorites waiting to be discovered.

Charlestongirl said...

Hi Sabrina!

You wrote the definitive reviews. I'm just sharing. :)

I hope NARS keeps these around. More colors would be great too.

Charlestongirl said...

Eileen, that's a brilliant observation. Recently I pulled out some makeup I had lived in years ago. I had stashed it in Charlie's bathroom. I was amazed at how ordinary it had become. My former treasures went right in the trash!

Mamavalveeta03 said...

I agree, they are wonderful, but more colors would be fab!!

Charlestongirl said...

Hey there, Mama Val! We need to start a more shades campaign. I'll tweet later. :)