NARS Sheer Lipstick

NARS has been one of my top five favorite brands for several years now and I have been collecting their products quite steadily over the past two or three years.  One of the products that I buy the most of from them are lip products, I have been buying and trying each of their Lipstick finishes for the past few months and today I will be looking at the last formula of NARS Lipstick and giving my thoughts on how well it worked.  I have looked at the Semi Matte and Satin Lipsticks, as well as the Velvet Matte Lip Pencil and now we are going to the other end of the spectrum by looking at the Sheer formula from this company.  I have loved lipsticks from this company for their full pigmentation and this formula will not have the high pigment level that I look for from NARS.  I don't think that this will be my favorite formula from this company though I am sure that they are still among the best sheer lipstick line in the world.

"A beautifully sheer formula infused with ingredients to improve the condition of the lips. Sheer, long lasting color pigments have been suspended in this translucent formula to provide a sophisticated shine.  Lightweight formula glides on smoothly.  Lush shade range.  Patented blend of conditioners and antioxidants hydrate, nourish and protect lips." 

This is more of a day lipstick formula for me, it is much more sheer than any of the other formulas from NARS and I can wear these shades easily in a professional environment or for a casual lunch date with a friend.  The Semi Matte and Satin formulas have a very distinct range of colors and no two of them are similar, each one has its own personality.  Unlike these two formulas, the Sheer formula has several shades in each hue that look very similar and I found that I didn't need as many shades as I thought that I would.  The first shade that I bought is the best selling Dolce Vita and I was so happy with this this shade that I wanted to buy others in the line, however as I was swatching them at Sephora, I soon realized that most of the shades look so similar on the lips that I only needed Dolce Vita and nothing else.

The formula is very creamy and gives a little hint of color to my lips, this is a very nice sheer lipstick formula but it has the same positives and negatives of most other sheer lipstick formulas.  It is very hydrating and light on the lips however it wears off much faster than any other formula from NARS.  I lose most of this product off my lips after eating or drinking and I reapply this shade much more often than I do the shades in the other formulas.

Here are the shades in the NARS Sheer Lipstick line!

- Autumn Leaves - shimmering warm brandy
- Barbarella - sheer pretty peach
- Belle de Jour - sheer beige
- Cruising - nude pink
- Damage - sheer muted grape
- Dolce Vita - sheer dusty rose
- Falbala - shimmering rose
- Fast Ride - sheer mulberry
- Flair - burnished berry
- Gipsy - warm berry
- Love Devotion - sheer guava
- Manhunt - sheer poppy red
- Mayflower - sheer shimmering raspberry
- Mindgame - sheer brandy
- Mitzi - sheer muted strawberry pink with soft shimmer
- Napoli - cool natural beige with a hint of pink
- Outsider - shimmering burnished coral
- Pago Pago - shimmering pink
- Roman Holiday - pretty pastel with the most delicate hint of pink
- Senorita - sheer shimmering cherry blossom
- Sexual Healing - shimmering pink blossom
- Shrinagar - metallic raspberry
- Tanganyka - sheer neutral plum brown
- Tzigane - pink brandy
- Vendanges - sheer grape

Dolce Vita is the iconic shade in this formula, it has won many awards in the beauty industry and is a consistent best seller for this company.  This was the first lipstick that I bought from this formula and it turned out to be the only one that I really needed, I initially loved it so much that I wanted to buy several similar shades when I went to Sephora.  I was ready to try several more when I started trying them on my hand however I quickly found out that both Gipsy and Love Devotion looked almost completely identical when applied and then I realized that I didn't need either of them.  I am currently waiting for Belle de Jour to come back in stock, this iconic shade was named after the Bridgette Bardot movie and I really want to add this shade to my nude lipstick collection.  Manhunt will be added to my red lipstick collection unless it ends up being the exact same shade as Ladybug from MAC (which is exactly what it looks like).  Senorita and Sexual Healing are the only other shades that  I want to add to my collection however both of them look very similar and I know that I will only need to buy one of them when I go to Sephora.  

This is one of the best sheer lipstick formulas that I have used however it is my least favorite of the lipsticks from NARS.  Many of the shades are very pretty but there is very little unique with them and many of them look very similar when applied.  This is a good way to introduce someone to NARS lipstick and I would recommend Dolce Vita to anyone, this is one of my favorite lipsticks and I wear it day and night, paired with all kinds of eye makeup looks.  This one is a classic for a reason but I feel that it is the only must have shade from this formula.

photo courtesy of NARS