NARS Audacious Lipstick in Charlotte, Bette, and Liv

on
Thursday, January 15, 2015

Since launching last September, NARS' Audacious lipsticks have gotten so much hype that you'd have to be living under a beauty-banned rock to not have heard of them by now. There are a total of 40 permanent shades in this range, though some shades are exclusive to certain retailers. I believe Sephora carries about 20 - 24 shades in all stores, but 30 shades are available on their website. There are 10 shades that are exclusive to Barneys in the US, and Holt Renfrew carries these exclusives in Canada. All shades, however, are available through the NARS website. 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.

Charlotte, Bette, and Liv

Charlotte, Bette, and Liv

Charlotte is a medium-dark brightened cool-toned red in a satin finish. This is a permanent shade, and is available at all NARS retailers. It has a soft and creamy texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It is lighter and redder than NARS Bette, darker and redder than NARS Audrey, darker and less matte than NARS Mascate, darker and less brown than MAC Viva Glam I, lighter than MAC Diva, darker than Bite Beauty Tannin, and lighter and more red than Urban Decay Shame.
Bette is a dark cool-toned burgundy wine red in a satin finish. This is a permanent shade, and is available at all NARS retailers. It has a soft and creamy texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It is lighter than NARS Ingrid, lighter and less purple than NARS Liv, lighter and warmer than NARS Volga, slightly redder than MAC Media, cooler than MAC Sin, darker than Bite Beauty Scarlet, and cooler than Urban Decay Shame.
Liv is a deep-dark cool-toned berry-purple in a satin finish. This is a permanent shade, and is available at all NARS retailers. It has a soft and creamy texture, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It has high pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. It is more purple than NARS Ingrid, darker and more purple than NARS Bette, darker and more purple than NARS Volga, more berry than MAC Cyber, similar to MAC Smoked Purple, more purple than Bite Beauty Truffle, and darker and more purple than Urban Decay Shame.

As someone who now owns 12 shades of this formula, I can safely say that Audacious is definitely one of my Top 3 favourite lipstick formulas of all time. 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!
8 comments on "NARS Audacious Lipstick in Charlotte, Bette, and Liv"
  1. Bette is my fave from the three here! So hard to pick from any of these though.

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    Replies
    1. I agree! If I had to pick, though, I think Bette is my favourite from here, too. :)

      I'm wearing darks as much as possible right now because I know I will be over them by next month, LOL.

      Delete
  2. I always am drawn to shades like Liv, but they don't seem to work well for me, sadly - or at least I have no idea how to make it work ;P I was initially really keen on buying one of these, but then my interest kind of waned...however, the fact that you've described these as a more matte version of UD's Revolution makes me want to RUN to Sephora - I recently got a deluxe sample of one of the UD lipsticks, and I can't even handle how perfect they are - long-lasting and insanely comfortable to wear, mores than I think any other lipstick I own. So NOW I'm in trouble...especially because the only thing I've wished with the UD sample is that it was a bit more matte. OH dear.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dark vampy shades work really well on your skintone, but maybe you're just not used to wearing them (or they're outside your comfort zone) so you don't think they suit you... I wear Liv with a dark lip liner in a similar shade (like MAC's Nightmoth), and keep the rest of my face clean. A soft glowy blush, shimmery, neutral flesh-toned eyeshadow across the eyelid, black winged liner, and lots of mascara. You can even skip the eyeliner. There's something incredibly chic about just wide, mascaraed eyes and a deep vampy lip. ;)

      Audacious is worth checking out for ANY of the shades!!! :D

      Delete
  3. I'm a huge fan of these lipsticks but right now, in the midst of winter, my lips are dying. They're just so dry. So I haven't been wearing lipsticks. Can't wait for Spring :)

    Currently I have Audrey and Fanny, both of which I love. I really, really want Vera, but none of the stores had them in stock when I was in the US last year. [NARS is available in Oslo in 1 store, but it's highly marked up. So I kind of avoid going there.] Hoping to get one when I'm in Malaysia next month.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's fair, winter is a cruel, cruel month for skin. Have you tried Jack Black's Intense Therapy Lip Balm? You can get it at Sephora. I apply a thick layer of it before I go to sleep, and it does the trick. :)

      Vera did have a lot of hype over the holidays -- it was sold out everywhere here, too. How are the prices in Malaysia? If you have really dry lips but wanna still wear lipstick, I think you'd like the Urban Decay Revolution and Too Faced La Creme formulas!

      Delete
  4. Oooh, gorgeous! Bette is prolly the one that's most unique to what I've already got, but I haven't been feeling dark shades lately! I want some wearable MLBB type shades, lol.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. LOL, weirdly enough, I'm also in a nude/MLBB mood these days. When I bought these, I was still very much in a dark lip phase, but I think I'm vamped out for now. :P

      Delete

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