The Makeup Mole

Oooh, I’m having a NARS moment again! I have had times in the past when I have been OBSESSED with Monsieur Nars’ delightful range of cosmetics, and I do mean obsessed. In fact I like to think I have a commemorative palm tree in Bora Bora (where he has an island, don’t you know) that is mine, bought and paid for, as over the years I seem to have acquired my bodyweight in NARS products.

This year marks the 15^th anniversary of the NARS line, and you may have seen quite a lot of coverage in the glossies lately to commemorate it. Not just that, but as a makeup artist Francois Nars has had something of a return to the fashion spotlight since keying the Marc Jacobs show the last two seasons – yes, he was the maestro behind the full-on 80’s faces we saw last year, and love it or hate it, you can’t deny how influential it has been.

Francois Nars started doing makeup in the early 80’s, and his first big break came when he did Brooke Shields for American Vogue. He worked steadily over the next fifteen years, becoming one of the biggest makeup artists in the world (he was the man who Madonna entrusted with most of her videos and the Steven Meisel Sex book). In 1994 he decided to launch a range of 12 lipsticks which just grew and grew, until it was acquired by Shiseido in 2000. It continues to evolve each season with new colors arriving and only a few leaving – a nice change from so many lines that seem to have a revolving door of Limited Edition products that you can’t get your hands on.

Now, enough background and onto the wonders of the line itself! For me it’s all about the colors – colors you just can’t get anywhere else, and in combinations that you couldn’t even dream up. I love the eyeshadows, the blushes, the lipsticks, the glosses, and the brushes particularly.

I’m also liking the new eyeliner pens as the nib is nice and stiff and so far after some weeks they are still holding strong (some of those pens seem to evaporate like a rabid toddler has been doodling with them – CoverGirl and Shu Uemura, I am talking to YOU!) And after my abysmal review of their old mascara, one of the NARS angels must have been listening as they have two new formulas out and the Larger Than Life Volumizing one not only gives a full, soft fluffy lash, but that sucker is indelible. I mean, bring the waterproof eye makeup remover because it will last all week left to its own devices!

The brushes are so good all of mine have been stolen at the shows over the years, which makes me sad but is a true sign of quality. And with no further ado, and in no particular order, here are my Top 5 favourite NARS products in each category (I had to do five for each, otherwise we’d be here all day).

Eyeshadows

• All About Eve
• Cordura
• Misfit
• India Song
• Underworld

Blush

• Orgasm
• Sertao
• Penny Lane
• Lovejoy
• Desire

Lipstick

• Belle de Jour
• Jungle Red
• Heatwave
• Roman Holiday
• Dolce Vita

Plus! All the Velvet Matte Pencils, any and all of the glosses, and the Multiples in Copacabana and South Beach never leave my side (well, except when I’m in the shower). And now Christmas is nearly upon us, it is with glee and anticipation that I realize the new collection is just round the corner!

It’s that time of year again, when it’s time to start thinking about loved ones and what they would like for Christmas. And given that the holiday season can be stressful, and tiring, and there are lots of parties, isn’t it time to start thinking of a gift guide for yourself? After all, ‘tis the season of tiny little lip glosses, bundled together into one gorgeous package, of miniature elf sized nail polish in a whole rainbow of colors, fabulous brush sets in tiny clutches, in short, makeup that is good enough to eat. So follow my lead – one for you, and one for me, one for you…

Here are my picks for cute as a button present giving (and keeping!)

Illamasqua

The Gold Goddess box contains Liquid metal in ‘Solstice’, Pure Pigment in ‘Furore’, False Lashes 019 and the Medium Pencil in ‘Sophie’ – £3 of the sale of this box will go to the Sophie Lancaster Foundation. The Silver Seductress box contains Liquid metal in ‘Phenomena’ and is complemented with Pure Pigment in ‘Android’, False Lashes in 19 and the Medium Pencil in ‘Sophie’. Again, £3 of the sale of this box will go directly to the Sophie Lancaster Foundation.

NARS 15^th Anniversary Palette ‘Everlasting Love’

NARS is justly famed for his palettes and this little Christmas cracker to commemorate his 15^th year of makeup goodness is no exception. It has eyeshadows in Edie, Nightbreed and Underworld Duo, plus one of my all time favourite nude lipstick colors, Belle de Jour, and lip lacquer in Chelsea Girls. Nice!

Nude

Nude’s adorable little box set of travel sized potions is just what the doctor ordered for party-weary skin – a Cleansing Oil, Miracle Mask and Age Defense Moisturiser to come soothe your over-partied spirit. And your conscience can feel as good as your skin does since it’s not tested on animals and has no sulfates or parabens.

MAC

As always MAC comes into it’s own at Christmas and this year is no exception. The eyeshadow sets are gorgeous – particularly noteworthy is Smoke and Mirrors which has six beautiful smoky eye colors, for those times you need sultry eyes in seconds.

And their mini pigments and gloss sets are back! For budding makeup artists they are a great way to build your collection, and quite frankly for anyone who loves something small and squirrelly (and let’s face it, who doesn’t?) you really can’t go past them.

Bobbi Brown

Loving the Earth Metal Lip and Eye palette from the Chrome Collection, which features six yummy eye shadows and four natural but better lip colors.

Black Plum Mini Travel Brush set – I LOVE Bobbi’s brushes as they are exceptionally good quality, just the right size to do the jobs you want and they last forever. And what have we here… Look at this bad boy! Six travel size brushes in a little bag. Perfect for all of those of you out there (ahem!) who have grimy,

mismatched brushes lying in dust at the bottom of your makeup bag (not mentioning any names… That goes double if you’re blending things with cotton buds.) No more excuses!

Laura Mercier

Mini Lip Glace set contains five little glossy bonbons, all in a row.

Eyeko

Tiny vials of nail varnish in 8 different shades – and at £3 each, you could definitely bundle these into one sweet gift!

Becca

The Showgirl palette is what’s in their stocking this year, with a deep brown shadow, orchid and a stone color that work surprisingly well together, and a rosebud stain with a pink gloss. What you need to look gorgeous this party season.

Makeup by Kay Montano

Recently Kay did Cheryl Cole’s makeup for the cover of ELLE magazine, and the look was cool and fashion forward whilst bringing out Cheryl’s natural beauty. Watch the behind-the-scenes video as well to see what went on the day of the shoot, and see Kay talk about the makeup

Base – Chanel Vitalumiere in Shell 30

Powder – Chanel Natural Finish Loose Powder in Clair 20

Blush – Bobbi Brown Pot Rouge in Pink Truffle

Eyes – Chanel Bleu Celestes quad (the very dark navy in this quad) in a soft ‘halo’ shape around the eye

Chanel Exceptionnel mascara in Smoky Noir

Lips – NARS Belle de Jour lipstick

“Penny Lane, you’re in my heart and on my cheeks…”

Indeed you are, you cheeky perfect lilac nude-y creamy flush you! I have to confess I forgot about you for a while, but when I pulled you from the Vault and tapped you on my cheekbones I can’t believe you were ever out of my kit.

NARS is justifiably renowned for his blushes – the colors, the payoff, sweet baby Jesus the names! The names! Hungry Heart anyone? Exhibit A? Gold Member? How about the straight to the point Sin?

And let’s not forget how downright shocking Orgasm was back in the day, when it’s gorgeous peach-y tones was making everyone look post-coital. (This was before the road to fame and fortune was paved with intimate gynecological knowledge of a celebrity’s Baby Parts. ‘Orgasm’ now is about as racy as calling a blush ‘Elbow.’)

I have pretty much all of the blushes, both cream and powder (I went through a bit of a NARS craze a few years back), so I have to confess to being a fan. Penny Lane is currently back to it’s Number 1 spot on my blush parade, as it’s perfect on it’s own, layered under other blushes or with bronzer. It’s even gorgeous on the lips! (Apparently it’s Lindsay Lohan’s favourite, but you didn’t hear that from me).

“Penny Lane is in my ears and in my eyes…

There, beneath the blue, suburban skies…”

How many of my Makeup Molettes have bought a cream eyeshadow expecting it to be amazing and got it home, smeared it on, and it’s just well…not? I’m constantly mystified as to why magazines tell people to try a new color eyeshadow in a cream texture, as if buying a powder  eyeshadow to test something out would be too shocking. Ladies, I think we’re strong enough to handle it!

What the magazines don’t tell you is that cream eyeshadows are the diet version of powder eyeshadow – the anorexic younger cousin, the Lite to powder’s Maxi. Yes, they can be beautiful on their own, but you’re never going to get a full fledged rockin’ look if you don’t layer it with powder.  So expecting to get some amazing strong effect from a cream shadow, well it’s just not going to happen (sorry).

Because cream is more transparent than powder it’s always going to give you a sheerer wash of color – so for a neutral, natural everyday look they can be lovely. For this transparent, taupe-y effect I highly recommend NARS cream shadows in Corfu and Savage and Laura Mercier Metallic Crème Shadows in Gold and Rose Gold.

They are great as a base – MAC Paint Pots and Paints (which come in dinky little tubes) are often used as a base color to give the powder something to adhere to. Personally I don’t like using a ‘base’ color as I think it changes the color you put on top, but on any given Sunday Youtube is awash with people who disagree with me, so it’s really personal choice.

If you are looking for something with more oomph, Illamasqua cream eyeshadows come in amazing strong colors and strong pigments, (the strongest I have come across), so for creating really bright colored eyes I would definitely recommend these. MAC Paint sticks are also a winner although the color range is a bit limited.

I do love creating editorial looks with creams, and for this I generally turn to my trusty MAC Cream Color Bases (or CCB’s as they are fondly known around the traps). These are a staple, staple item in my kit in pretty much every color available. They are unbeatable for smudging and creating beautiful shadows and highlights – once you try them you will be hooked!

I have also recently tried and LOVED the Bobbi Brown cream eyeshadows which are the only ones that I have found that don’t crease. For this is the definite drawback with cream eyeshadows – most of them crease like crazy, which means they need to be repaired throughout the day (not usually something most people want to worry about!) They also crease more on those with oily eyelids or in summer. You can help prevent this by setting with a small brush and a translucent powder, or a powder eyeshadow in a similar color.

And if you are channeling your inner 80’s diva, nothing beats the combo of powder and cream eyeshadow to give you mega glam slam eyes. And just like painting, half the fun is in the mix. Get to work!

Oooh, baby, where do I start? Honestly these are the best thing to pass your lips since chocolate was invented, and if you’re a lippie spastic (come on, be honest, I think lots of people are), it’s pretty much foolproof.

The chubby Crayola-like stick takes me back to my stationery collecting days at school (yes, before I collected makeup I obsessively collected stationery – am I sensing a trend?) And it’s totally Collect ‘Em All!

Basically it’s a cross between a lipstick and a pencil, and like it says on the box, it’s truly MATTE. I’ve been into matte lips and over gloss for quite some time, so these are a timely edition to any makeup bag. However if a glossy lip is your thing, you can add your gloss of choice over the top and you have a perfect lacquered lip.

The deep reds are amazing and the orange-y one, Red Square, is this weird off color that is great for shooting editorial because it’s so strange, and the pencil glides over your lips to impart deep, rich matte color. I can’t think of a single color that I don’t like in this range, and I have about 8 (so far!) in my kit. The fleshy beige of Belle de Jour, the perfect mauve of Sex Machine, the warm browns of Bettina and Tortola which are so right for a natural lip, and the pink perfection of Roman Holiday are all staples in my kit. No more excuses for bodgy lip outlines and thin, anemic looking color coverage! Importantly, for our makeup artist friends out there they are light, portable and take up no space, which is relevant when your kit is making Bungalow 8 on a Saturday night look empty.

Its easy pencil application means that you don’t need to fiddle with a lipbrush and a multiple layers of lipstick to get the right depth of color and a perfect line. Get thee to a NARS counter immediately and

Bag It!

  

 

 

Nars Black Orchid Mascara

I flat out hate this mascara (and that’s not a word I use lightly). It has a brush that looks like it escaped from 1985, and it performs so poorly compared to the rest of the NARS brand, I was quite staggered. OK, I think mascara manufacturers have gone a little OTT with all their rotating brushes, and fancy little combs, and rubber spikes and ones that look quite frankly like torture devices (hello Givenchy, I’m talking to you), but in 2009 something that low-tech just doesn’t cut it. Even Maybelline Great Lash (or Not So Great Lash as I like to call it) is fancier than this mo-fo.

In the interests of fairness, I’m just going to go and try it again: Nope, still made my eyelashes look like 5 little sticks. Its formula is thin and has an unerring ability to get at the ends of the lash and sort of clump, and then the crappy retro brush pushes your lashes together into aforementioned sticks. There is just no way to separate the lashes then to fan ‘em out and get ‘em fluffy. And we all know how much we love a full and fluffy lash!

In all honesty I wanted to love this because the square rubber packaging is so chic, and I have to admit to being a sucker for NARS in general (despite it’s excessively high price point). There’s just something about the witty names, gorgeous colors and the rubberized packaging that never seems to date that means a couple of times a year I find myself purchasing more sparkly eyeshadows and blushes I rarely use, but when I do, they make me happy (maybe because I’m actually justifying that hefty price tag? Not sure).

But this sad little mascara is one for the bin. Send it back to sing with Huey Lewis and the News – you know it wants to!

Bin it!