NARS Summer 2012

NARS’ summer collection is here, with options from ethereal to almost vampy. I’ve come to enjoy Mr. Nars’ exuberant “one of everything” approach to seasonal collections.

I think Ramatuelle is actually the only limited edition piece of this collection. The eyeshadow trio contains a delicate, shimmery, frosty, pale, cool grey-silver; a shimmery, pale, lingerie beige pink (I think this color is usually called “blush” when it turns up on the red carpet); and a satin apricot-orange. The trio is named after a village in southeastern France, and is $45.

The Marie-Galante eyeshadow duo might be one of those that performs best wet (I built up these dry swatches). The left side is a dark blue base with sapphire sparkle; the right side is lavender with blue sparkle. The duo is $34.

D. Gorgeous is a repromote from the permanent line, a pale, dusty, matte lilac (click here to see a previous swatch). NARS’ single eyeshadows are $24.

Calabria is a Soft Touch Shadow Pencil ($24), a red plum.

The collection also repromotes Larger than Life eyeliners in Via Veneto (matte black) and Bourbon Street (royal purple) — click here and here to see past swatches. I’m a fan of these long-wearing twist-up eyeliner pencils; they do a great job of withstanding Texas summer heat and humidity… I just wish they came in more colors. I didn’t reswatch Via Veneto because the tester was missing. These are $23 each.

The lips are also all about choices.

Vendanges sheer lipstick (named after the French word for “harvest” or “vintage”) is a dirty mauve, slightly browned red-purple. It’s $24.

Moscow Pure Matte lipstick is $25. NARS calls this color “strawberry red,” and I suppose that’s true, but it’s the dark red of a strawberry that’s gotten old. It’s warm, and fairly deep on my fair skin. (This is a fall color for me.)

Never Say Never Velvet Matte Lip Pencil is orchid-pink, a purpled pink that’s not bright enough to call fuchsia. It’s $24.

Buenos Aires Velvet Gloss Lip Pencil is warm nude beige pink, $24.

Gold Digger Larger than Life lipgloss is a repromote from the permanent line, a sheer peach with gold, silver, and pink sparkles — $26.

And then there’s Trouville nail polish, a semi-sheer light warm pink — just a little less saturated than Chanel Morning Rose. It’s $18.

The collection features one new blush: Liberte (not to be confused with Miss Liberty highlighting blush). Liberte is a matte ruddy orange-pink, $28.

Hungry Heart is a repromote from the permanent line, a duo of sparkling highlight powders. The two sides swatch pretty similarly: the left side is a pink beige and the right side is a yellow white, but they both contain a fine gold shimmer/sparkle. The duo is $41. Here are light and heavy swatches:


NARS’ summer collection is available everywhere, but you can get free shipping at any price at Neiman Marcus (code: JUNEFS) or Nordstrom.

If you’re spending $50 anyway, you might as well order from NARScosmetics.com — they’re offering a free mini Orgasm powder blush (so cute!) with $50 purchase, no code required. Plus they always do free shipping at $50. The offer expires June 26th.