NARS Audacious Lipstick in Dominique, Silvia, and Vivien

on
Wednesday, September 24, 2014

NARS released a new lipstick formula this month called Audacious, and once I saw the swatches and reviews roll out in the blogosphere late last month, I knew I had to get in on the action. There are a total of 40 new and permanent shades in this range, though some shades are exclusive to certain retailers. All shades, however, are available through the NARS website. I ordered six shades online to get shipped to my brother in NYC so he could bring them with him when we came to visit during Labour Day weekend (for a few reasons: four of the shades I wanted are exclusive to Barneys and thus not available in-store in Canada, the American retail price is $5 cheaper a pop, and there is free shipping within the US). Audacious is described as a "modern lipstick so shamelessly seductive in touch and texture, the sensation is audacious." It is touted to be "long-lasting," and have "one-stroke, full-coverage creamy wear" and "luxurious texture and enriched with ingredients to smooth and nourish lips." They are scent- and taste-free. Each lipstick comes in a square black metal tubes with magnetized closures, contains a total of 4.2 grams of product, and retails for $32 USD or $37 CAD.

Dominique, Silvia, and Vivien

Dominique, Silvia, and Vivien

Dominique is a medium-dark muted lilac-purple with subtle pink undertones in a satin finish. This is a new and permanent shade, and is exclusive to Barneys. It has a soft and creamy texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. I couldn't find any close dupes for this shade, but it is darker and more purple than MAC Up The Amp, darker and more muted than Lime Crime Airborne Unicorn, and more purple and less shimmery than NYX Castle.
Silvia is a medium-dark vibrant cool-toned orchid-magenta in a satin finish. This is a new and permanent shade, and is exclusive to Barneys. It has a soft and creamy texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It is darker than NARS Angela, more purple than NARS Michiyo, slightly darker and more muted than MAC Violetta, lighter and more pink than MAC Heroine, and darker than Dolce & Gabbana 100 Violet.
Vivien is a medium-dark neutral reddened plum in a satin finish. This is a new and permanent shade, and is exclusive to Barneys. It has a soft and creamy texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It is cooler and more plum than NARS Audrey, slightly warmer and more pinked than NARS Afghan Red, lighter and more plum than MAC Diva, more reddened and cooler than MAC Viva Glam III, and slightly warmer than Marc Jacobs 146 Cabaret.

I don't want to make any ridiculous claims, but Audacious has definitely entered my Top 5 favourite lipstick formulas list. It performs exactly the way NARS says it does: intense pigmentation and full colour pay-off in one stroke, smooth and even application, emollient texture that dries down to a satin finish. I like that these have a demi-matte finish because they stay smooth and lightly creamy but aren't shiny or slippery. They're not really hydrating nor are they touted to be, but they're never drying and lips stay comfortable during the entire duration of wear (which is about six hours). I would say Audacious is a slightly creamier version of MAC's Mattene, which was limited edition, or a more matte version of Urban Decay's Revolution. They're actually quite similar to YSL's Rouge Pur Couture lipsticks, but with a whole lot more colour selection. And to whoever decided to change the packaging of these to metallic cases instead of those dreaded "soft-touch" tubes: thank you!
9 comments on "NARS Audacious Lipstick in Dominique, Silvia, and Vivien"
  1. Oooh, I like Vivien! I have Vera on my wishlist, and a few others, but I don't know how serious I am about actually purchasing. $32 is like, Dior price, almost. But I guess if they're fabulous, it's worth it. Hmmm.

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    Replies
    1. I think I'd be more prone to buying more of these than Diors. I mean, I know Dior comes with the fancy packaging and the French designer name, but I just like the colours and formula of Audacious more. (Though, to be fair, I would also rather spend the money on YSL than Dior.) Plus, I don't love the scent of Dior's lipsticks... Like, I don't mind it, but it's not my favourite.

      But yes, these are FABULOUS. <3 Have a swatch party! Vera is on my to-buy list, along with Anna, Bette, Jeanne, Liv, and Charlotte. LOL.

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  2. Who knew NARS was going to give us an actual purple lipstick?! I wonder if these Barney's exclusives are in Canada at all... maybe Holts. Vivien is really pretty. And I love Rouge Pur Coutures. GAH.

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    1. RIGHT? When I saw the swatches of Dominique, I was like, "I NEED THIS IN MY LIFE." It's SO pretty, and actually surprisingly flattering. I was wearing it the other day and got tons of compliments on it because a) it's really unique, and b) it looks really good especially for such a straight-up purple shade. It really sucks that it's exclusive to Barneys. You can buy all of them online from NARS' website, but the shipping is quite expensive which is why I'm glad I ordered all the Barneys exclusive shades I wanted to get shipped to my brother. But it is possible that those shades will come to Holts.

      Yep, if you love Rouge Pur Coutures, these are worth looking at, my friend. I think I'm gonna grab another few shades when the VIB sale rolls around, lol.

      Delete
  3. hmmm the dry down to satin sounds pretty good. i haven't really considered them until you mentioned that.
    i like my ysl put couture but i find it slightly drying. so i don't know...if there's a shade i really like i might pick it up during the sephora sale.
    and i love that purple!

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    Replies
    1. I don't find these drying at all, but then I don't really find YSL's Rouge Pur Couture to be drying, either. I say try it on in-store first and wear it for the day.

      The purple is my favourite of the range. It really sucks that it's not available at Sephora (I'm not even sure if they'll bring it to Canada). :(

      Delete
  4. I really like the look of most of the swatches I've seen of these so far, but I have gone so far as to buy any yet. I DO like the packaging so much better than the regular NARS Lipsticks though, yes! I dunno about that purple on MY skin tone, but I love that it looks great on you, Denise. Purple and orange lips are really tough for me to pull off :(

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You need to get yourself to a Sephora and swatch these babies! The formula is AMAZE. And with 40 shade offerings, there's bound to be something that attracts you. ;)

      I think the purple shade might wash out your skintone; I think if you're gonna do purple, you should either do lighter, brighter, or darker. I think your skintone looks AMAZING with purple -- MAC's Heroine is one of the most beautiful colours I've ever seen on a darker skintone. Perhaps you're just not used to it -- I don't think it's hard for you to pull off at all! And same with orange; a darker red-based orange would look beautiful on you. :)

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