Thursday 26 November 2015

NARS GLOSSYBOX


I was one of the lucky people who managed to get hold of the limited edition Nars Glossybox when it was released here in the UK last week. I had been so excited for this to launch. I’ve never bought a beauty box before or subscribed to the services such as Glossybox or Birchbox, but I am a big Nars fan and love their make up. So, when I read about this very special box and the products it contained I knew I had to get one. The reason this was such a hotly anticipated release was due to the fact Nars has never been included in a beauty box before, and in addition one of the products was their brand new Audacious mascara. There had been a lot of buzz and hype surrounding it, doubtless you’ve seen it pictured on many beauty bloggers Instagram feeds. I already have quite a few things from Nars and a couple of products in particular that I really love. I also have a lot on my ‘to buy list’, but I never seem to get round to it. The problem for me is that there’s now a never ending stream of limited edition collections from every beauty brand you can think of, with the only real exceptions being some of the drug store brands. So I tend to spend any money I have for make up on those items I know I won’t have the chance to buy again. As a result, the permanent items I want end up being forgotten about. One item in particular from Nars is their powder blush in Orgasm, which has been very high on my list and I was considering asking somebody if they’d buy me it me for Christmas this year. When I found out this was one of the products in the Glossybox, it was game on!



There are 5 products included, and all are generous travel sizes. They are:
Nars Powder Blush in Orgasm, full sized price £23
Nars The Multiple in Orgasm, full sized price £29
Nars Satin Lip Pencil in Rikugien, full sized price £19
Nars Audacious Mascara, full sized price £21
Nars Larger Than Life Long-Wear Eyeliner in Via Veneto, full sized price £19

It arrived beautifully packaged. The box is a sleek, matte black soft feel material, very true to the iconic Nars packaging. It’s definitely a box I’m going to keep and use for something as it’s too nice not to. I couldn’t wait to open it and start using everything. I thought it was great that it came with a useful little card detailing each product and included tips on how best to use. Very handy for people who perhaps are not familiar with Nars make up, especially The Multiple which is a product I hadn’t ever used before. I’ve been trying them out over the last couple of days and overall I’m very pleased; I love 3 of the 5 products.

Outdoor Swatches
Indoor Swatches


Audacious Mascara

First up is the Audacious Mascara. I have to say I was excited to try this as I’ve read a lot of positive reviews online. Unfortunately though, this was a big disappointment for me. Nars describe this as a buildable mascara that simultaneously separates, lengthens and amplifies lashes. It has a plastic wand which is typical of mascaras designed to give maximum volume. The brush is made up of a mix of long and short moulded bristles, plus it has a tapered tip for hard to reach inner and outer corners and to enhance your lower lashes. I’m a one coater of mascara kinda girl, and I like an ‘all in one’ type which delivers the typical things such as length, volume and separation. This new Nars one sounded promising, but it was just not for me. My main problem was that it didn’t do any separating, and it was too clumpy. It was weird; it gave lots of horrible small bitty clumps all over my lashes. I applied exactly as directed, and in the same way I always apply my mascara, root to tip in a zig zag kind of motion. It coated the lashes well and gave ample volume but the formula was just a mess. I had to go in with my Mac 204 lash brush to try and separate my lashes afterwards and to try and disperse and get rid of all of the little clumpy bits. Still though I was not at all happy with it and was grateful I’d tried it on a day I was at home and didn’t need to go out anywhere. I didn’t even attempt to do a second coat to test its claim at being buildable, as I was sure it was going to make it even worse. Additionally, throughout the day I had a lot of fallout from it. I hate when my mascara gives me little black bits under my eyes that have flaked off. And this one did it a lot more than other mascaras I’ve tried. I was constantly checking in the mirror and having to wipe them away. I will say that it does do a decent job at lengthening. It was an intense black shade which was nice, and the formula itself was very fluid and almost glossy in its appearance. I found the fine spikes at the tip of the wand to be very helpful in reaching my outer lashes. The brush is quite big and I struggled to get it flat to do my lower lashes, so again the tapered tip is necessary to coat them. The few pros though are far outweighed by the cons I personally experienced. I actually much prefer a softer bristle brush as opposed to plastic ones like this. If you like a plastic wand though and are looking for a high volume mascara, I would recommend Benefits They’re Real Mascara over this one any day. I’ve tried it many times, and though it isn’t my usual mascara, it is so much better than this Nars one whilst doing a more successful job at delivering the intense volume and staying power that Nars Audacious promotes. 

Powder Blush in Orgasm

Now that the baddie of the bunch is out of the way, let’s get on with the good stuff. The Orgasm blush was what I was most looking forward to trying. As I suspected, I absolutely love it and am now kicking myself for waiting so long to buy it. I’ve swatched it countless times in store, but it’s so gorgeous on. This is one of Nars ‘cult products’ and I can certainly see why. It’s such a pretty pink shade with a beautiful soft golden shimmer to it. I’d describe it as being a warm toned medium pink, and its texture was very soft. It’ perfect for everyday for a natural, pretty flush of colour, but as with all Nars blushes it’s very buildable for a more intense look. The shimmer isn’t too noticeable and it’s appropriate still for day time, it just adds a nice soft glow. I already have a few Nars blushes and love them. Most of the ones I have or have tried are always a great formula with long staying power, and Orgasm was no exception. It’s going to be getting a lot of wear now that I have it and I will be buying a full sized one as soon as this deluxe travel size runs out.

The Multiple in Orgasm

The Multiple is the same lovely shade as the blush, as you would expect sharing the same name, but in a different yet complimentary product. The Multiple is described as being a multi-use product, something I usually shy away from. I guess it’s the old expression ‘Jack of all trades, master of none’ type thing that puts me off. It’s a cream stick which you can apply either directly or use your fingers and dab it on, which is what I did when using it. I was actually very pleasantly surprised with this and how much I love it. I used it on my cheekbones for a glowy highlight. Again, you can build up its intensity, and it can be used in conjunction with Orgasm blush to create a more intense look. As well as being a highlighter, it can also be used as a blush for a soft colour, or on the eyes, lips and even on the body for a nice shimmer. It didn’t last as long as the blush did, but I didn’t expect it to with it being a creamy product. It lasted well though and I got a good few hours of wear.

Satin Lip Pencil in Rikugien

The Satin Lip Pencil is something that I have been meaning to try for a while now. I really like Nars Matte Lip Pencils, so the satin ones were very appealing to me. The pencil included in this box is Rikugien, which is aptly described as a dusty rose. It’s a muted rose pink with warmer undertones. I can imagine it being a good ‘my lips but better’ colour for a lot of people. It seems like quite a universally flattering rose shade, and that definitely seems to be the overriding theme with this box. Nars have clearly been very selective in curating which products to be included. They’ve purposely chosen wearable colours which are likely to suit most people’s colouring as well as varying make up styles. These are all pleasing shades of rosy pink which can be used to give a natural make up look or intensified by building up and pairing with the eye products for a bolder option. I found the formula of the satin lip pencil to be really nice, and this shade was very buildable. It applied easily, and had enough control for me to get a more defined lip line, which is what I prefer and often my problem with pencils such as this. It gave a good amount of colour and was semi opaque with a nice sheen to it. I’d say satin is the perfect word to describe this product. And I was also impressed by its wear time. I didn’t expect this to last that long, but it lasted well and there was still product left on my lips after eating. I regret not trying these pencils sooner and I’m looking forward to trying some of the bolder shades.

Larger Than Life Eyeliner in Via Veneto

Finally, we have the Larger Than Life Eyeliner. Now, I personally don’t wear pencil eyeliner that often, and when I do it’s just a pale, nude shade on my lower water line to open up and brighten my eyes. I never wear pencil liner on my lids, I use liquid liner instead. I now and then will use a black pencil on my water line if I’m going for a darker eye, but that’s it. So I knew that this eyeliner wouldn’t be of any use to me. But I suppose it’s still handy to have. When swatching, I found it to be a good, creamy consistency. It’s a jet black shade, and I was able to draw a solid line easily. And it lasts! I kept the swatch of eyeliner on my arm for hours, and it didn’t budge. When it came to removing it, I had a hard time getting it off. I had a cotton pad soaked in my make up remover and I had to work to try and remove it, and even after that there was still a faint line left. I also tried it on my water line and it lasted a long time, and it didn’t cause any irritation to my eyes.

I’ve included photos of my make up using everything but the eyeliner. I apologise for the crappy lighting. The weather here has been awful the last few days. I went outside to try and take photos but it was too dark and gloomy and messed up the colouring of the make up in photos. I went round the whole house trying to find a decent spot to take a photo that showed their true colour, and this was the best I could manage. I’m wearing The Multiple on the highs of my cheekbones and the powder blush on the apples of my cheeks. I’m wearing the Audacious mascara, and the lip pencil. I’ve also used my regular contour which is NYX blush in Taupe which you might be able to see underneath the blusher. The lip pencil and cheek products all complement each other extremely well and are from the same rose colour family. These 3 products I know I’m going to get a lot of use out of, whether worn together or mixed in with other make up.

I think Nars and Glossybox have done an excellent job with their selections for this box. For major Nars fans it was seen as a must have collectible item with the smaller sizes of popular products. For those who perhaps haven’t tried anything from Nars yet, Glossybox have given people a nice little taster with 5 products that can be used to give a complete make up look on top of your usual base. They’ve purposely included products to cover all aspects: lips, eyes and cheeks. It’s a very well rounded collection. And they’ve carefully chosen universal and versatile shades to work well for the majority of people and equally can work for day and night. Although there are 2 products I’m not going to use, I’m still very happy with it. I love the other 3 and it’s allowed me to try different products from them without having to shell out the full retail price on products that I might not have liked. I’m very grateful I got to try the mascara before buying a full sized as I would have been mad to buy it and not be able to use it. That was the only let down for me and the only product I wouldn’t recommend. The rest are all amazing products which if you’ve been thinking of buying I would recommend doing so based on my personal experience with them. My favourite is definitely Orgasm blush, as I expected after having wanted it for such a long time. It also pairs beautifully with Nars Albatross highlighter, which is one of my favourites.

I’m sorry for anyone who missed out on this, but the products are all available within the permanent line, so I hope this review and my swatches may have been somewhat helpful to you.

Katie xx


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