NARS Charlotte Gainsbourg Collection for summer 2017: Swatches and first Impressions
The NARS Charlotte Gainsbourg Collection for summer 2017, coming to NARS counters April 15th
Oh, my gosh!!! I’ve been painstakingly growing out my bangs for the last… how long’s it been? A month and a half? but now I’m this close to throwing in the proverbial hair towel and chopping them off because of Charlotte Gainsbourg.
I’ve been looking at pictures of her and listening to her music all day long because, hello — gotta set the mood for the new NARS Charlotte Gainsbourg Collection, and this woman works some fierce bangs action. Charlotte, girl, you’re giving me so much hair inspo right meow.
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And makeup inspiration, too! Charlotte’s new collab with NARS is kind of incredible. It completely contravenes the whole more-is-more thing happening in makeup, like an anti-Instagram/heavy contouring/blinding highlight kryptonite, with sheer coverage, sheer skin, sheer cheeks, sheer lips and barely-there color on the eyes.
It’s fresh, easy, approachable, and very evocative of Charlotte’s makeup style (and mine right now).
In most of the pictures I’ve seen of her, Charlotte’s skin looks real! She’s wearing very minimal coverage (most of the time, it doesn’t look like she’s wearing any foundation or concealer at all, but I think she probably is), maybe with a pink or dark lip, barely-there color on her cheeks, and lashes and liner. Or she’ll do a subtle smoky eye with neutral lips, which seems like a very French aesthetic to me.
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Charlotte is half French, half English and the daughter of two famous people, English singer Jane Birkin and French actor/songwriter Serge Gainsbourg, and she’s starred in more than three dozen movies, many of them in the UK and France. Her experience with movie and stage makeup inspired this launch.
The collection encompasses 18 LE pieces and arrives on April 15th with lots of exciting new formulas, including things we’ve never seen from NARS before, like the Hydrating glow Tints, Lip Tints and velvet Duo Eyeshadows.
There are also three new shades of the multiple Tints (which are still relatively new) and the snazzy Au Poil brush Roll, which is — wait for it — $175 (!).
SAY WHAT?! Yeah.
Swatches from the top: multiple Tints in Alice, Jo and Jeanette; velvet Matte Lip Pencils in London clinic and Blindfold; Lip Tints in double Decker, Ephelide and Promise
From the top: velvet Duo Eyeshadow in Old Church Street, Rue Allent; Kohliners in Cours Du Soir, Nuit D’Encre and Zinc
Hydrating glow Tints from the top: Fair, Light and medium (not pictured, Medium-Dark)
There are also some shade extensions of products from the existing line, three new limited edition Kohliners and two LE velvet Matte Lip Crayons.
My first impressions so far…
NARS Hydrating glow Tint ($36 each, available in Fair, Light, medium and medium Dark)
These have a super sheer, fluffy, cream-like formula that feels lighter than a butterfly kiss. They even out your skin tone with the faintest hint of a tint and a subtle sheen.
They don’t really cover anything up, to be honest. You can still see my freckles in these pics, and my cheeks aren’t completely even toned, so it’s a very natural look.
I wear the shade called Medium, and after applying and blending it with my fingers, my skin looks…freshly washed. That’s the best way I can describe it. It’s the look of freshly washed skin.
I like it. It’s makeup-caliber interesting.
NARS Charlotte Gainsbourg Collection Hydrating glow Tint (three of four shades, $36 each)
NARS Lip Tints ($26 each, available in ruby red double Decker, antique rose Ephelide and reddish plum Promise)
These moderately pigmented pretties feel thin on my pout and barely there. They aren’t sticky at all, and they’re also unflavored and unscented.
Am I wearing gloss at all?
With these, based on how light they feel, it’s hard to tell.
NARS Charlotte Gainsbourg Collection Lip Tints (three of three shades, $26 each)
NARS Charlotte Gainsbourg Lip Tint in Promise
NARS Charlotte Gainsbourg Lip Tint in double Decker
NARS Charlotte Gainsbourg Lip Tint in Ephelide
NARS velvet Duo Eyeshadow ($36 each, available in a golden champagne with a deep slate teal called Old Church Street, and a shimmering frost with a deep forest green called Rue Allent)
A completely new formula! When I run my finger across the pans, oh, my jelly beans… SO soft. SO schmexy.
The shadows sheer out quickly, which I think is very in tune with the whole sheer vibe.
NARS Charlotte Gainsbourg velvet Duo Eyeshadows (two of two, $36 each)
NARS Charlotte Gainsbourg Collection velvet Duo Eyeshadow in Rue Allent
NARS Charlotte Gainsbourg Collection velvet Duo Eyeshadow in Old Church Street
NARS multiple Tint ($39 each, available in poppy red Alice, light pink Jo and sheer berry Jeanette)
The multiple Tints first launched with the NARS Pop Goes the Easel collection, so they’re still pretty new. These add a little bit of sheer color to my cheeks and have a dewy finish. When I’m wearing them, it doesn’t look like I’m wearing a lot, so again, the whole effortless makeup thing. Diggin’ it.
NARS Charlotte Gainsbourg Collection multiple Tints (three of three, $39 each)
Wearing the multiple Tint in Jo on my cheeks, velvet Duo Eyeshadow in Old Church street and Kohliner in Nuit D’Encre on my eyes, Hydrating glow Tint in medium on my face and velvet Matte Lip Pencil in London clinic on my lips.
And here I’ve got the multiple Tint in Jeanette on my cheeks, the velvet Duo Eyeshadow in Rue Allent and Kohliner in Cours Du Soir on my eyes, Hydrating glow Tint in medium again on my face and velvet Matte Lip Pencil in London clinic again on my lips.
That’s the multiple Tint in Alice (a poppy red) on my cheeks
NARS Au Poil brush Roll ($175)
The Au Poil brush Roll comes with an Eye Blending Brush, Concealer Brush, Eyeshadow Brush, face Highlighting brush and a face brush for a staggering $175.
I know.
Notice the different brush handles? I gotta say, I really like the small brush heads, especially for the eye brushes, because my eyes are slightly hooded, and these fit my crease perfectly.
NARS Charlotte Gainsbourg collection Au Poil brush Roll ($175)
NARS Charlotte Gainsbourg collection Au Poil brush Roll (yes, it’s $175!)
NARS velvet Matte Lip Pencil ($27 each, available in soft rose London clinic and burgundy Blindfold)
Same-o, same-o potent pigments, and a nice counterpoint to all the sheerness.
NARS Charlotte Gainsbourg Collection velvet Matte Lip Pencils (two of two, $27 each) and Kohliners (three of three, $26 each)
NARS Charlotte Gainsbourg velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Blindfold
NARS Charlotte Gainsbourg velvet Matte Lip Pencil in London Clinic
NARS Kohliner ($26 each and available in deep mossy green Cours Du Soir, deep navy Nuit D’Encre and slate gray Zinc)
These stick well to my upper water and lash lines, but for the life of me I can’t get them to stick to my lower water lines. Plus, when I smudge them along my lower lash lines, they end up looking choppy. So there’s that.
My least favorite things in this launch…
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And those are my first impressions! I have grand plans to play with these products a ton over the next couple weeks, but so far, so good. I’m loving the whole sheer thing.
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen