NARS | Raquel Audacious Lipstick | ommorphia beauty bar

To celebrate their 20th anniversary, NARS has recently released the Audacious Lipstick Collection – 40 intensely colour-saturated shades in a wide variety of red, berry, pink, orange and nude tones, in a formula that is meant to provide deep and ultra-creamy coverage by the first stroke. The colour I was sent to review, Raquel, falls well within my comfort zone of neutral lip shades and even though I usually lean towards a sheerer formula, I appreciate that this particular nude gives my lips not only perfect opacity, but does so without washing out the rest of my makeup. Like a fully dressed nude lip … how’s that for an oxymoron?

Please note that in Canada, 10 of the 40 shades released are exclusive to Holt Renfrew, namely:

Vanessa – mauve nude
Julie – nude pink
Marissa – warm pink
Kelly – coral hibiscus
Carmen – geranium
Dominique – pink lilac
Silvia – radiant orchid
Vivien – red plum
Sandra – rosewood
Ingrid – merlot

NARS | Audacious Lipsticks

Raquel Audacious Lipstick (CAN $37.00) | The lightest hue of the entire collection, this is a pink nude shade that can lean both cool & warm, making it suitable for a wide variety of complexions (although it could appear too ashy on those with very dark skin). The exterior is a matte black casing with the NARS name in glossy lettering along the bottom half, along with a magnetic closure for ease of use (I’m obsessed with magnetic closures on lipsticks – like a child, they can keep me amused for hours). The lipstick bullet bears an etched NARS logo at the top and the chiselled & pointed tip is useful for precise application. Extremely pigmented, you can literally get full and opaque coverage on your lips with just one swipe of Raquel, but you may want to do a little prep work beforehand; a good lip exfoliation and/or hydration with a balm before application of this lipstick, will go a long way to giving you the best coverage and prevent the colour from sticking to or emphasizing any unwelcome bits. I get about 4 hours of solid wear time (a little less if food and drink are involved), with my lips feeling fairly well hydrated after the majority of colour has faded away.

I pulled out the recently reviewed YSL shade #210 Nude Acoustic for comparison (review), and while the two are obviously in the same colour family, the difference is mainly in the formula – with the YSL bearing a semi-matte finish compared to the creamier and slightly glossier look of Raquel.

NARS | Raquel Audacious Lipstick

NARS | Raquel Audacious Lipstick vs YSL #210 Nude Acoustic (review)

I honestly was unprepared for exactly how opaque as well as creamy Raquel turned out to be, and if I were to compare it to other full-coverage crème lipsticks, I would have to say that there’s something very unique going on here. If this is any indicator, then the newly revamped NARS lipstick formula is quite formidable in many respects and while this particular shade does need some lip TLC before applying, it’s a universally flattering neutral just the same and perfectly on-trend for the mod revival look seen sweeping the runways.