nars brigitte audacious lipstick

The Review | NARS Audacious Lipstick in Brigitte

If you’ve been a regular reader in the last month or so, it’s likely that you’ve heard me declare my love for the NARS Audacious Lipstick in Brigitte ($37 CDN) and therefore my musings and general verdict should be anything but surprising. However, I’m going to provide my (relatively) unabridged thoughts regardless and let you know whether the lipstick appears to be worth the price tag.

DSC_0552

DSC_0555

The Audacious Lipsticks are definitely a luxury product – even compared to NARS’ other offerings – and fortunately, the looks, packaging and performance of the lipstick fits its luxury branding. The glossy black packaging thankfully repels dust and is sleek and luxe with its square shape, subtly monogrammed sides and full-on extravagant monogram into the bullet itself, along with the addictive magnetic packaging. The formula delivers on all of its promises; while its a more traditional style of lipstick than many on the market today with full-on pigmentation and a cream finish, it’s the best performing product that I’ve tried of its kind. It offers insane pigmentation in a single stroke, lasts for ages on the lips – without fading weirdly, I might add – and has that luxurious nourishing texture that makes your lips feel nicer with use rather than the opposite. I find the formula wears for a good 4-5 hours with moderate eating and drinking and stains nicely after that time period. The only thing that I have to watch when I’m  wearing this lipstick and doing some heavy eating and/or drinking is that the formula can slip and slide a little bit because of its creamy texture. I love that the lipsticks are unscented for both cosmetic reasons and for the sake of my sensitive lips. Because they are unscented, they do not have irritating ingredients that many do, nor do they have a weird scent.

The shade range is huge, consisting of 40 shades – 10 of which can only be purchased online or in NARS boutiques, however – and does come with loads of interesting shades, but I went for Brigitte, one of the most neutral shade offerings. NARS describes the shade as a “nude rose”, which is sort of misleading because it’s notably darker and rosier than one would expect a nude offering to be, especially one presumably named after Brigitte Bardot’s signature pout; nevertheless, it is a gorgeous subtly-warm-leaning neutral rose with a hint of peachy-coral to it. It definitely fits into the my-lips-but-rosier category for me and is one of those staple neutral shades that doesn’t compete with other makeup but instantly adds life to the face. Brigitte also is easy to wear, even though I have tremendous difficulty wearing pink lipsticks.

While Brigitte is a relatively unique and non-generic shade offering, I’ve come to the conclusion that I have two lip products in my collection that are very similar in colour – but the formulas are different. As the name would suggest NARS Dolce Vita Velvet Matte Lip Pencil has more of a matte finish and texture, along with stronger brick undertones – but is extremely similar. The Bourjois Nude-Ist Rouge Edition Velvet also has a more matte finish along with the different liquid stain texture that dries down completely but has a little more brightness and true rusty rose lean to it, but really it gives a similar effect.

 

From top: NARS Brigitte | NARS Dolce Vita Velvet Matte Lip Pencil ($31) | Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet in Nude-Ist ($23)
From top: NARS Brigitte | NARS Dolce Vita Velvet Matte Lip Pencil ($31) | Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet in Nude-Ist ($23)

I’ve gotten out of the practice of grading products as I review them, but I have to mention that this lipstick would be a solid ‘A’ rating, which is something that one does not come across to often. I adore both the shade and the formula, but given that the product is so expensive, I won’t be investing in shades all too often.

DSC_0546Have you tried any of the NARS Audacious Lipsticks?
Maggie, x.

Some Recent Acquisitions

I don’t know about you but I’m always picking up a thing or two even when I wouldn’t consider myself really shopping for anything beauty, even though I’m you’re average broke university student. A few days ago, I was reading the lovely fellow Canadian, Sandra’s blog, and came across her “New In” post and after enjoying it immensely, I was struck with inspiration to do something similar on my blog that would allow me to jot down some brief thoughts on recently acquired products without going overboard and generally insane about it.

DSC_0504

DSC_0507

Pureology Strength Cure Sulfate-Free Shampoo & Condition ($30/each): I’m a massive fan of Pureology in general and I may have had an inkling that I would receive this set in my Easter basket courtesy of my mother, but alas, I went for this repairing formula although I don’t have particularly damaged hair because I find my hair responds well to protein and theoreticaly a more protein heavy formula would be less heavy but equally as nourishing on my relatively fine but very dry and tangly hair. The shampoo is concentrated, producing an appealing lather without stripping the hair or irritating my sensitive scalp but unlike some of Pureology’s other formulas, it does contain some silicone – amodimethicone, so at least it does not build up on the hair – and doesn’t smell like the most amazing thing ever. Both the shampoo and conditioner have this slightly medicinal, slightly floral scent that doesn’t quite compete with some of their greater scents. The conditioner impressed me hugely, being extremely concentrated with a nice thick texture that didn’t feel heavy on the hair but had the best slip for detangling. It too contains amodimethicone but I’m not one to complain because I like the slip – another concern is that it contains some isopropyl alcohol to make the the behentronium chloride easier to integrate into the formula as a conditioner but as its a solution of sorts, the concentration is fairly low and there is that fact that the hair is dead.

Bumble & Bumble Repair Blow Dry ($17/37): Bumble & Bumble is one of those brands that I consistently want to try products from despite the fact that they are very expensive, their products don’t exactly have the most unique ingredients and I tend to have a hit and miss relationship with – but I’m pleased to report that although I’ve only used this product a few times, it has definitely wowed me. It’s a dimethicone based serum-cream hybrid that has all of the benefits of the silicone – heat protection and that delightful slip – without the usual disadvantages – adding unpleasant weight to the hair and tending to just dilute the rest of the formula. I don’t have damaged hair but its curly so I tend to enjoy products that are, so my love for it isn’t necessarily related to its purpose here; I adore how its concentrated and has an amazing amount of control for a minimal amount of product whilst maintaining volume in the hair. For instance, I used this to blow dry my hair straight and it had some volume and stayed straight-ish for an impressive length of time and felt silky in the best way possible.

NARS Audacious Lipstick in Brigitte ($37): So when I strolled into Sephora and actually found this peach-tinged rose lipstick in stock, I finally went for it and gave in to the hype of the expensive lipstick. The formula is amazing, hydrating majorly long wearing, especially for something that fades so evenly and has a nourishing texture. I appear to have a number of similar shades but it is a gorgeous everyday my-lips-but-rosier shade.

Bath & Body Works 3-Wick Candle in Renew & Refresh ($22.50): I needed another scented candle like I need another whole in my head but when my friend offered to split the buy-one-get-one offer with me, I couldn’t resist picking up this relaxed scent. It’s one of those scents that fills up the room but doesn’t read as bothersome or overwhelming – so if you’re into that heavy headache-inducing kind of strong throw this isn’t for you. It smells exactly as it’s intended to, like warm jasmine with a hint of that airy mint. I’m quite enjoying burning it at this extremely stressful time of the year.

What have you picked up lately?
Maggie, x.