It was only a matter of time before François Nars, the creative mind behind his eponymous line, created the ‘Night Series Collection’ – a set of four lacquers inspired by his “night series” cult fave eyeshadows. Including shimmer, fine glitter and even some iridescent flakes, these shades perfectly encapsulate their namesake shadows, and with only one exception, all are intensely colour saturated hues, barely needing more than one coat for full opacity. The following swatches are with Deborah Lippmann’s Rehydrating Base Coat and Addicted To Speed Ultra Quick-Dry Top Coat (except where otherwise noted).
‘Night Rider’ – an almost iridescent dusty lavender colour, is not only the palest-hued of the four, but the one with the thickest formula, being rather jelly-ish and suspension-like, as well as bearing the sheerest finish. With definite red tones in its base, it has a unique warmth to it, despite the silver flakes and shimmer swirling throughout, and while it lays down thinly, it can easily be built up for a denser look, even though it never reaches full opacity. I also noticed that the finish was more on the semi-gloss side, definitely benefitting from a top coat to really bring out all its delicate variances.
The following four swatches are with base coat and two coats of lacquer, no top coat.
Sunlight seems to cast a slight pink glow about this shade.
A view in indirect lighting, serves to single out a more lavender side to ‘Night Rider’.
Seen in shaded lighting, there’s a slight burgundy feel to the undertone, overlaid by a silvery mantle.
A final view taken with flash gives imbues this shade with a lilac fairy-light glow.
The following for swatches are with based coat, three coats of lacquer, and top coat. While the tonal qualities all remain the same, note how much more intensified the colour has now become, enabling you to truly appreciate all its nuances.
In full sun.
With indirect lighting.
Seen in shaded light.
A final view taken with flash.
‘Night Porter’ is a highly pigmented emerald green shade, with some paler green and gold shimmer within, which adds such a wonderful depth of tone. The formula was certainly thinner than that of ‘Night Rider’, although still thick enough to be considered almost a one-coater, if applied thickly. I noticed that my photos make the surface appear somewhat bumpy, but I assure you the finish was ultra smooth, though semi-gloss as well. All swatches are with base coats, two coats of lacquer, and top coat.
Seen in full sun, the image that comes to mind, is of an evergreen-tree filled forest, with the golden glints of this shade peeking through like dappled light.
This closeup angle serves to showcase the complex and myriad shimmery particles of this hue.
Indirect light focuses on the more Hunter green side of ‘Night Porter’, with the ultra fine glitter simmering quietly in the background.
Looking like the forest at nightfall, shaded light brings out a blacker side to this shade, yet the glow from the shimmer is still in evidence.
This final view taken with flash needs to be enlarged to have its magnificence totally appreciated: it’s like looking into green fire! STUNNING!!
Looking through my collection, the closest match I found to ‘Night Porter’ was Inglot #966 (previously reviewed here). While the base colour seems to hold a similar jewel like green tone, #966 comes across as almost one-dimensional next to ‘Night Porter’s’ varied levels. The formula on #966 was significantly thinner and more sheer as well, requiring three coats to reach the same opacity, and due to its more metallic nature, there were definite brush strokes visible at the finish. The following swatches are index & ring fingers – ‘Night Porter’, middle & pinkie fingers – ‘Inglot #966’.
While the different finish of each is apparent, sunlight seems to bring the two shades to their closest tonally.
Indirect light really showcases their differences, adding a silvery sheen to #966 while ‘Night Porter’ remains true to its deep green shade.
When viewed in shaded light, note how much more 3-dimensional ‘Night Porter’s’ glowing forest green colour looks beside the #966.
A final view taken with flash, reveals how different they are from each other, with #966 appearing rather dusty beside the brilliance of the NARS.
‘Night Flight’ is swoon-inducing awesome! A deep royal blue, filled with ultra fine blue and some pink micro shimmer, along with small iridescent flakes throughout, this shade is absolutely riveting. So intensely pigmented, it can stand alone at one coat, I nevertheless applied two coats here for swatching purposes. While the formula was on the thicker side, it still applied effortlessly and basically levelled itself out, with the final bonus being absolutely NO staining upon removal, which was ridiculously easy for a shade such as this.
When viewed in full sun, you can definitely pick out the random pink glints in its rich blue base, which adds such a unique element to this shade.
Indirect lighting gives ‘Night Flight’ the semblance of an early evening country sky, overflowing with a multitude of stars.
I love how shaded light, while deepening this shade to more of a navy hue, still manages to spotlight the masses of shimmer glowing within.
A final view taken with flash needs to be seen to be believed (Click! Enlarge!) THIS is what every shimmery blue aspires to be; I just love its intensity!
Looking through my stash, I found three possible contenders for ‘Night Flight’: Illamasqua’s ‘Phallic’ (previously reviewed here), Dior’s ‘Tuxedo’ (previously reviewed here), and MAC’s ‘Biker Blue’ (previously reviewed here), and while the above photo shows that three of them appear quite similar, it was finally just one that made the cut.
Bearing an almost identical blue base and both chock-filled with fine shimmer, the closest to ‘Night Flight’ turned out to be MAC’s ‘Biker Blue’. The first difference I noticed between the two, was that the formula on the MAC was substantially thinner and more sheer, requiring three coats to reach the same level of opacity, also bearing much more densely packed shimmer but without ‘Night Flight’s’ duality of hues, and with a final much glossier finish than the NARS. If you look closely enough, you will also notice an almost imperceptibly brighter tone to ‘Biker Blue’ when placed beside ‘Night Flight’. The following swatches are index & ring fingers – ‘Night Flight’, middle & pinkie fingers – ‘Biker Blue’.
It’s only when seen in full sun, that you notice how much more shimmer the MAC owns, yet also how it lacks the unique pink flecks of the NARS.
Indirect light serves to bring the two shades quite close together tonally, with very negligible variances between them.
Shaded light not only further ties the two together, but also drapes them with a similar midnight-hued mantle.
A final view taken with flash serves to emphasize the supreme sophistication of ‘Night Flight’ with its subtle nuances, next to the more blingy ‘Biker Blue’.
‘Night Breed’ is yet another super pigmented shade, bearing various levels of silver glitz, from ultra fine shimmer, slightly larger glitter pieces, to delicate foil-like flakes. One thick coat would be more than enough for perfect coverage, but once more, I opted to apply two coats for swatching. Bearing the same semi-gloss finish as the rest of this collection, I noticed that this one was the quickest drying of them all, and for such a dark lacquer, removal was effortless and stain-free. Please note that the surface may appear bumpy in some photos, but I once more assure you that the polish itself was exceptionally smooth.
Sunlight, and all the silvery bits of this shade come to full attention, lending such visual interest to the ebony base.
Interestingly enough, a view in indirect lighting serves to offer up a paler, more silvery glow to ‘Night Breed’.
I like how shaded light manages to simultaneously emphasize this shade’s intense black depths, yet never diminishes its glimmering core.
A final view taken with flash, and witness the universe come alive across your nails….totally amazing, people!
The closest I found to ‘Night Breed’, was none other than Dior’s much coveted ‘Black Sequins’ and yet while the two share obvious traits, the differences became very apparent once applied. For starters, while quite colour-saturated as well, the Dior’s formula was slightly thinner, although two coats were sufficient for full opacity just the same. Secondly, the shimmer in ‘Black Sequins’ is not only much finer and more delicate, but sparser as well, lending that shade more of a “lit-from-within” look, needing either full sun or flash to bring it forth, with its finale being very mirror-like, compared to ‘Night Breed’s’ semi-gloss look. The following swatches are index & ring fingers – ‘Night Breed’, middle & pinkie fingers – ‘Black Sequins’.
Looking very much like ‘Night Breed’s’ shadow (!), it takes full sun to call out the more hidden shimmer of ‘Black Sequins’.
When the two shades are viewed in indirect light, note the more subtle glow of the Dior beside the obvious glimmery finish of the NARS.
Shaded light all but swallows up the fine shimmer of ‘Black Sequins’, yet the richness of ‘Night Breed’s’ fine glitter remains quite prominent.
A final view taken with flash not only reflects brilliantly off the silvery pieces, but serves to truly emphasize the more glowing ember look of the Dior.
Final thoughts: With the exception of ‘Night Rider’, the formula on the rest of these lacquers was incredibly pigmented and so very easy to apply. Being on the thicker side not only means you can possibly get away with just one coat, but that placement control is effortless as well, with NARS’ mid-sized and wonderfully flexible brush helping the process along. Even though ‘Night Rider’ does not hold the same density of colour, I love its ethereal nature just the same, and the only issue I had with this collection, was that I had hoped for the same glossy finish that NARS’ crème and jelly-finish lacquers have become known for – in this case, easily remedied by the addition of a top coat. Available now through the company’s website and at select NARS counters, please note that these shades are all limited edition, so if this collection calls to you, don’t delay!
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