NARS Spring 2017 Wildfire Collection Velvet Shadow Sticks

OK, well, my blending skills have gone to absolute crap over the past two weeks, because I did not take major advantage of the holidays to go buck wild with my makeup.

This is the time of year when it’s totally OK to roll into the office (or the library or the Pier One) with double-stacked lashes on a Tuesday afternoon because the accounting department is hosting their annual cookie party, but I kinda took the past two weeks off from hardcore makeup testing and wearing…

(I am, however, testing a great skin care product that I’m excited to tell you about, but that post isn’t quite ready yet. Soon…)

Consequently, since I feel a little rusty with my blending skills, I eased my way back into eye makeup today with these new $28 NARS Wildfire Collection Spring 2017 Velvet Shadow Sticks.

The line already exists, but these are four new shades for spring. There’s a frosty sky blue, a shimmering bronze, a bronzed orange and a satiny rich purple, which, OMG! — will make you drop to your knees and thank the universe for giving us the glory and the greatness that is NARS (don’t miss out on it!).

Babe. BABE! Why do I keep needing to be reminded over and over again that the NARS Velvet Shadow Sticks are basically the sh*t?

There are so many great shadow sticks out there from so many brands, but these are some of my favorites of them all — easily top five — because they last all day long and glide across my lids like fabulous figure skaters.

They’re spectacularly slippery — almost like a super creamy gel. Applying them is like slipping under satin sheets, and they lay down rich, even, smooth color without any patchiness or tugging.

Oh! — and they stay creamy for a few minutes, giving you enough time to mellow out any hard edges, which has always been one of my issues with Bobbi’s cream shadows. They just dry too fast for me to always properly blend them.

The NARS Velvet Shadow Sticks also don’t look or feel heavy. Like, you know how some shadow sticks start to look dry, thick and heavy when they get a little long in the tooth? And then when you add fine lines into the mix, it’s even more of a mess? Well, the Velvet Shadow Sticks always look light and effortless on the skin, even the ones I’ve had for a couple years.

Mind you, it is possible to also get these to look more intense, if that’s what you’re going for, because they also layer well, so if you want intense color, by all means, go forth and pile that sh*t on. The Velvet Shadow Sticks can totally get you there, too, and they’ll still look good.

I should mention that a couple of these are limited edition — blue Grand-Large and the amazing purple Usbek — but bronze Siros and bronzed orange Belle-Ile are perm.

They’re $28 each and available now, along with the rest of the spring collection, which I’ll be testing and reviewing more extensively this week.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen