NARS Velvet Gloss Lip Pencils

Hi Dolls!

I'm super-psyched to bring you NARS Velvet Gloss Lip Pencils! I've been stalking my local Sephora(s) and Nordstrom for about a month now waiting for the new NARS Spring collection to come out so I could touch it and play with it, because all of the photos look awesome. I couldn't make up my mind if I wanted one or both or none of the eyeshadow duos, but as soon as I saw the Velvet Gloss Lip Pencils- which I believe are now part of the permanent collection- I knew I'd end up with at least a couple of these.

I took home three.

The ones I nabbed were Baroque, New Lover, and Club Mix. Baroque is an orangey red with similarly colored shimmer, New Lover is a coral red-pink with gold shimmer, and Club Mix is a purple wine with similarly colored shimmer. There are three other shades I did not purchase, and they are $24 for .09 ounces. According to NARS, these have vitamin E and "hyaluronic spheres" (whatever the heck those are!), which are also supposed to moisturize lips. According to the Sephora website, these are also free of pthalates, sulfates, synthetic chemicals, and parabens, for those of you avoiding any or all of these ingredients.

If you have experience with the Velvet Matte Lip Pencils, these are very similar in packaging; it is a black matte pencil, except these have a glossy end with a band of the color inside dividing the glossy black from the matte black. The pencil itself is fairly soft and chubby, but small enough that you can still line your lips with them, and the product is encased in a plasticy sort of material that will sharpen down like wood with a standard makeup sharpener that has a chubby hole. They feel surprisingly similar on the lip to the Velvet Matte pencils, but are a little tackier, which is to be expected from the glossy finish. They don't look as glossy as a true lip gloss, and apply sheer, so if you like gloss but don't like the tube application or stickiness/ goopiness, these might be a great alternative; you get some shine without the weight, and although these feel a tad tacky, they're not sticky or thick enough for you to worry about constantly getting your hair stuck in them. They're very comfortable on the lip. They don't seem to have added scent or flavor, but they do have a metallic scent and aftertaste while I apply them. After five minutes, this had completely faded; I don't think I just got used to it, either, because I didn't notice it the first time I put it on, and when I thought to see if I could smell or taste my lips (yes, I licked them!), I couldn't. However, the second time I put one on, I actually wondered if I'd bit my lip and was bleeding... It smelled just like blood and had that faint aftertaste, as if I'd just flossed a little too hard. I know this sounds disgusting, but it was gone in ten seconds, so it's not a big deal to me, especially since these are so beautiful, apply like a dream, and impart a nice, sheer, flattering color. Douse the tester in alcohol and try it on in the store and see if it bothers you, if you know you're sensitive to the smell or taste of products. I have to say, as usual, I am impressed by NARS' ability to create exceptionally flattering shades in easy to use formulas. Maybe it just works really well with my coloring, but if you haven't given them a chance, I urge you to.

A note about the photos: since I'm still in the process of getting settled into my new place, I took these at my boyfriend's since I wanted to get these up for you ASAP, since I was so excited about them! Because of this, my backgrounds and lighting aren't ideal, so, apologies! Also, because I have so many photos this time, I will label categories instead of each individual photo, adding explanation where necessary.

Packing!

NARS Velvet Gloss Lip Pencil boxes

The top where it says the color of the Velvet Gloss Lip Pencil

New Lover:

New Lover, Swatched

New Lover, no flash

New Lover, no flash

New Lover, flash

New Lover, flash

Club Mix!

Club Mix, swatched. 

Club Mix, no flash

Club Mix, no flash

Club Mix, flash

Club Mix, flash

Baroque:

Baroque, swatched

Baroque, no flash

Baroque, no flash

Baroque, flash

Baroque, flash

Rating: 8 out of 10

I'm really  happy with the NARS Velvet Gloss Lip Pencils! The formula is consistent across the three colors I tried, the colors are pretty and flattering, just the right balance of opacity and sheerness that you'd expect from something like this. I like this formula much more than Tarte's gloss stick lip product, which is bigger and harder to maneuver, and has a cloyingly sweet mint scent and flavor. These have a faint metallic scent, but that fades very quickly. Once on the mouth, they are scent and taste free! The packaging is sleek and chic, but the band of color at the bottom makes these easily identifiable. I also like the addition of non-grimy, smooth feeling shimmer to the glossy stick formula; it's really flattering and summery. If these are something you're even halfway interested in, I'd definitely check them out! The colors run the gamut from barely-there shimmery sheer to bold but sheer enough to be flattering and wearable on a wide variety of skin tones. I feel like enough of my natural lip color showed through that although these changed my lip color noticeably, it wasn't shocking enough to preclude this from daytime wear, even in a fairly conservative environment. Hooray for the Velvet Gloss Lip Pencils- they were worth the wait!

Thanks, beauties!