French Week 2012 Day 1 - NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencil

One of the first aspects that I think of when I imagine French women's style is a red lip with minimal face makeup, I have loved this look for years and have accumulated quite a collection of reds in order to wear this look.  Have I achieved exactly the look that many French woman can pull off?  No, I still do not feel comfortable with a totally bare face and bright red lips and I need to use minimal eye makeup to pull off red lips.  Perhaps one day, I will have that perfectly even complexion that it seems that so many French women have.

In pursuit of more shades to add to my red lipstick collection, I purchased the NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in the most perfect blue red hue.  I have been raving over NARS Semi-Matte Lipstick formula and now want to buy as many NARS lip products as possible.  Full pigmentation is one of the best aspects of the matte formulas and had me sold on the Velvet Matte Lip Pencil before I even played with it at the counter.  After deliberating over all the red shades, I bought the Dragon Girl hue (yes the name really attracted me to it too!).
"The application of a lipstick combined with the convenience of a pencil in a jumbo crayon design.  Lips are instantly saturated with rich pigments and a velvety matte finish.  The long lasting, non-drying formula is enriched with emollients for a creamy texture, while a combination of unique silicones ensures long-lasting seamless color for hours.  Use for lining, all-over lip color, or pairing with another lip product.  Rich, vivid shades.  Enriched with Vitamin E.  Convenient, easy application."

This lip pencil has a much creamier texture than I thought that it would, I haven't used lip pencils in years since I have always hated the texture during application.  This pencil was easier to use than I thought that it would be, the addition of the emollients in this product really help the application.  I applied this product like I was using a crayon to color with.  The texture of this lip pencil is very creamy with a matte finish.  Only one application of this lip color is needed for full pigmentation, this is another NARS product that is not for the faint of heart or for those who love sheer lip color.  This lip pencil lasts for six hours without fading and left very little trace on my coffee cup.  I am considering using this lip pencil under NARS Lipstick to see how long I could get from a combination of the two products, this might be the long lasting combination that I can find for red lips.

The shades are:

- Never Say Never - lilac rose cream
- Bahama - pink brown cream
- Belle de Jour - light nude beige
- Roman Holiday - vibrant pink sheen
- Dolce Vita - dusty rose
- Bolero - pink cantaloupe
- Train Bleu - deep aubergine
- Sex Machine - pink mauve
- Cruella - scarlet red
- Damned - magenta
- Dragon Girl - siren red
- Bettina - natural rose beige sheen
- Walkyrie - warm coral red cream

Dragon Girl is a blue red matte shade, it is closest to MAC Russian Red.  This shade is the best for cool toned skin, I can't see it being flattering on anyone with warm skin tone.  I debated between this shade and Cruella at the counter, Cruella is a deeper shade and is closer in shade to the Red Lizard Semi-Matte Lipstick shade that I already own.  I decided on Dragon Girl because it applied more vibrant when I swatched the two shades on my hands. 

I was initially interested in the Belle de Jour shade when I looked at the product on the website, this shade is also available in a Sheer Lipstick.  I skipped over this shade in the Velvet Matte product because the nude shade wasn't quite as easy to wear in this formula, I will be picking up the Sheer Lipstick instead as it will work better for me.  Bahama and Bolero were much too warm for me to pull off so I had to skip over these shades.  I didn't see Never Say Never, I would like to buy this shade because it is very pretty and quite unique.  Roman Holiday will be on my shopping list also, this bright pink hue is awesome.

French women always look flawless under any circumstance and condition, it is much easier to look effortlessly flawless when your lipstick stays in place and doesn't fade away.  This formula is one of the few that you can apply in the morning and then forget about for the next few hours.  After initial application, this is one of the lowest maintence formulas that I have used on my lips.

photo courtesy of NARS