Yo, whose hoopty is this? Yes, the red ’95 Civic in the driveway. Will somebody please get this thing out of neutral and drive us to the Nordstrom NARS counter so we can play with the new “Ultimate NARS” lip pencil set ($49)?
Wait — what? What do you mean there’s nobody here who can drive a stick? ARE YOU KIDDING ME!? NOT ONE PERSON HERE CAN DRIVE A STICK!?
OK…well, I can’t drive one either. 🙂 So I guess we’ll all just have to sit here and admire it on the interwebz.
LOL! You don’t actually have to know how to shift a hoopty out of neutral to roll with the three full-size pencils in the Ultimate NARS lip pencil set, but a healthy appreciation for neutral lips colors would probably help. This trio of pale, pink lip pencils is all about ze neutrals.
It’s one of two limited edition summer 2015 NARS lip sets (the other one has brighter shades, and it’s called True NARS) available now online and at Nordstrom, and also coming to NARS boutiques and the NARS website August 1.
Ultimate NARS is the more reserved option, but that doesn’t mean the colors will slink into the shadows and sit shaking in the corner. They aren’t those kinds of neutrals. Pink guava Satin Lip Pencil in Biscayne Park, pale cool pink Satin Lip Pencil in Stourhead, and pink mauve Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Sex Machine are all fully saturated neutral shades that like to enter stage right with high kicks. They’re all opaque enough to blank out the natural color of my pigmented lips without needing any help from a concealer.
Wear them separately like I’m doing here, or cook up your own special shade by blending the pencils together, if you’re feeling artsy-fartsy.
Like the True NARS set, the pencils in Ultimate NARS are full size, and they come with a snazzy mirrored carrying case (it’s kind of hard to open) and a pencil sharpener.
In this set, I use Biscayne Park and Sex Machine the most. Both are smooth mid-toned pinkish neutrals that are really easy to wear if you have a tan (and probably also if you don’t).
I’m not too keen on cool pale pink Stourhead, though, partly because it makes my lips look a little corpsy (no, that’s not a real word), and partly because it clings to any flakes on my lips and settles into my vertical lip lines.
If I were to recommend one of these two summer NARS lip sets over the other one, I’d opt for True NARS, because each of its three pencils feels flawless, and because it also comes with NARS Yu, one of the standout lip shades in the entire NARS line (IMHO).
But both sets are a pretty good value.
PRICE: $49
AVAILABILITY: Limited edition, and available now online and at Nordstrom stores; coming August 1 to NARS boutiques and the NARS website
MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: B+
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
I can’t believe you said hoopty. 🙂 Girl that’s why I love you. I also love the packaging for this palette, but I like the colors in the other one better.
Love you, Sarah!
Yep, True NARS is the one I’d go with, too. Funny you mention a ’95 Civic. My mom had a ’92 Civic, which I put a huge dent in. At 16. Needless to say, it was YEARS before I got my license. And, incidentally, it was a stick shift. So was my first car. Let’s just say I learned how to drive a manual shift the hard way
How long did you drive that car? Believe it or not the ’95 Civic that I’m talking about in this post is STILL running. It lives with my parents and they still drive it! I swear Hondas just keep going and going and going…
Going and going and going- LOL. I just had to write that out bc it was my favorite part & it made me giggle. My mom drove it for years but traded it in when I was in college. I’m not surprised about the Civic your parents have. Hondas are like army tanks. They can seriously go for FOREVER.
I think I prefer the brighter set. These are too light and sheer for me. Sex Machine is quite pretty, though.
The case is so pretty! I want a set just to repurpose that baby lol. While these are a little too pale for me I have to admit I’m really digging Biscayne Park and Sex Machine on you. They fit you well!
Love Hondas. My first CA car was a 1988 Civic with a manual transmission. I honed my parallel parking skills in that car. I could back up a hill into a tight spot in SF in that car. Used to drive from SF to work in San Jose every day in that car. It just got to be too back breaking with a car seat in the back, so the DH upgraded me to an Accord in ’94.
Didn’t really love the colors in this set. Stourhead and Biscayne Park make me look like I’m at death’s door. I’m enjoying the True NARS set so much more. I think my case latch might be broken in, because I had no trouble opening this. Holding the case in my left hand, I just put my right hand over the top and squeezed between my thumb at the latch and my fingers on the spine and pulled the top right open. I only did it this way, because I have absolutely no nails this week to be fiddling with latches.
Karen,
It doesn’t matter what color you choose , it looks great on you !
I love the light pinks but as I age I need more color. In fact I wouldn’t leave the house without blush !
Michele
Hi Michele,
Totally get it! I always have to leave the house with at least a little bit of bronzer and blush. 🙂