Nars Lip Pencil Review

Recently I was enabled to do another Sephora order. What enabled me this time was that it was my birthday month. Every year during your birthday month Sephora do a birthday gift for their members (they're called Beauty Insiders). Last year the gift was a Make Up Forever pack with a mascara and lippy. This year it was an amazing gift of two mini NARS Lip Pencils! They are in the shades Rikugien and Cruella which are both shades that I would purchase myself which is great. Rikugien is a satin finish muted rose pink shade which is great for everyday. Cruella is a matte finish fantastic dark blue based red, one of those shades that automatically makes your teeth look a wee bit whiter.

The packaging of these is simple but great. The end of the pencil is the shade of the pencil, I love this as you can tell at a glance which is great if you have a few. The length of the pencil is black which always looks classy. The lid itself is a great design, fits tightly so there is no worry of it falling off. But the real great part is that it is a wee bit textured to make it easier to take off. The outer packaging is plastic, but you are able to sharpen it with a jumbo pencil sharpener.

Both of these go on really smoothly and easily onto the lips. I really like the finish, they both go on opaque and impart a lot of colour. Rikugien is more of satin finish so looks a wee bit glossy on the lips. It doesn't last a particularly long time on the lips because of that, but does last a couple of hours. Cruella goes on so well. As it is matte it is a bit drying. But it does look awesome. Once again the lasting power isn't amazing. I feel like it wears off in the middle quickly from eating and drinking. It requires at least two top ups during a working day for me.

I do like these lip pencils but they aren't anything special. I would recommend the Revlon lip stains before these as at least they have a lot more lasting power (and are cheaper), unless of course you are getting them free with a Sephora order.

NAR's, you cant get much better than this brand - they have such amazing makeup and skincare.

Whenever I try a NAR's product they seem to become my holy grail product - NAR's bronzer (Laguna) and NAR's Blush (Orgasm). This is great, but not so great for the bank balance ;-)

I was so excited to give these Lip pencils a try. The colour Luxembourg is an amazing, vivid reddish colour. It is so unique and really stands out. Not for the faint-hearted though, you have to wear this with confidence. One of the loveliest colour lipsticks I have ever seen.

This lip pencil I would use for special occasions, out for dinner or out in the weekend. I love that this makes my teeth look white whilst wearing it too!

My lips tend to get dry, but this formula was so easy to apply and felt creamy on my lips, giving it a satin finish. I found this to be long wearing and really kept my lips hydrated.

I love the convenience of a lip pencil, and it was easy to apply. I see this lasting for a long time as well, which is definitely a plus.

I cant recommend this lip pencil enough, such a lovely product, another hg product to add to my list!

Nars lip pencils are one of the first things I bought from the Nars line and boy were they a great introduction to what Francois Nars is all about. They are easy to put on, stay on well and don't dry out your lips (even the matte ones). The colour range is amazing and you'll be hard pressed to pick just one shade. The colours themselves are very vivid and have so much colour, a lot more than most of my lipsticks.

The best advice I was given by the girls at my local beauty counter is that Nars is all about having fun and mixing your products. So I use my lip pencils a lot with other products layered on top to change the colours completely. The lip pencil Bolero is one of the best nude colours I have come across and looks amazing under a variety of pink lip glosses. I even mix my lip pencils, which have created some of my favourite colours to wear (Bolero + Red Square is amazing).

Anyone who loves lip products needs to own some of these. And trust me when I say, one won't be enough.

Rikugien and Cruella (deluxe samples from Sephora birthday gift to VIB members) also Hyde Park (satin full sized)

The first couple I owned were part of the Sephora VIB birthday gift for orders placed during your birthday month, like I needed another excuse to purchase more makeup. These are what they call "deluxe" samples as they are slightly smaller than the full sized pencils that you would normally purchase, but they last forever! They both prompted me to purchase another full sized version of the satin variety lip pencil called Hyde Park, probably won't be my last either.

The pencil comes in a black format with black plastic wrapped around its black core, inside the casing the thick length of coloured pigmented "lead" comes out by being sharpened by hand, this isn't an automatic twist up and down pencil. The colour of the pencil is marked on the bottom end of the pencil for easy identification. They also have a lid that pops on snuggly, be sure to check it is fully on though, air can get trapped in the lid and cause the lid to pop off, this has happened a few times with Rikugien. With it being quite chunky I find that it works wonderfully as an all over colour as well as a lip liner so you get the best of both worlds. The colour "lead" part itself is just smooth enough to see application a breeze but not too soft that it melts or breaks as you use or sharpen it. That being said I do find that the velvet based is a little more softer than the satin versions but it really isn't a big deal. Both varieties have a high pigmentation that only needs one swipe to get true colour coverage, it doesn't bleed into your lips or surrounding skin area, doesn't flake and feel dry on the lips. These work great as a lip base too for other products like a gloss topper.

Rikugien (Satin) soft rose pink colour that for my fair skin makes a great nude shade

Cruella (Vevet) a true blue red, scarlet shade that looks amazing on any skin tone

Hyde Park (Satin) Deep red with a softness that the satin finish really gives your pout some sex appeal

I really love my NARS products and the lip pencils are amazing, I will be purchasing more as my collection grows

OMG this is the creamiest lip pencil you will ever apply, I kid you not. I literally kiss this against the edge of my lips (see what I did there?) and let the weight of the pencil glide around the perimeter and fill in the centre of my lips. The satin formula has (as the name would suggest) a bit of shine without being glossy.

The colour Lodhi is an intense coral orange, and is so unlike anything I have in my collection. When applied thickly this is way too intense for me, and I am always paranoid I will smear it round my face because of its creaminess! Therefore my favourite way to wear this is as more of a stain, patted down onto my lips and with a bit of balm overtop for extra moisture- this makes this shade so wearable for everyday. I don't find that this bleeds into fine lines, and wears evenly without leaving an ugly ring around my lips. I also love to wear this "Korean" style, applied to the centre of the lips and blended to create a reverse ombre look- very fresh, natural and perfect for spring.

If price were no barrier, I would definitely repurchase!

I have a few of these pencils, in the shades Rikugien, Yu, Luxembourg and Dragon Girl - essentially a mix of mattes and satins. I did have Cruella, but ditched that for the brighter Dragon Girl.

These lipsticks never, ever, ever disappoint on pigment and the matte pencils have an amazing staying power. The compliments I get whenever I bust out Dragon Girl make these pencils worth every penny. The matte is a tad drying, but nothing that isn't fixed with a balm at night.

The satin pencils don't last as long as the matte ones, but the formula really is like wearing satin on the lips. Again, they don't disappoint on pigments and on me, the Rikugien is a lips but better shade and ends up being used more like a gloss than a lipstick because it just does wear off easily, where as Yu, a hot blue-pink, is very pigmented and lasts a bit longer.

Unfortunately you have the downside of sharpening the pencils, but small price to pay for statement lips!

I wasn't sure about trying a matte lip product on dry lips, but the testers in Mecca Maxima gave me the encouragement I needed to take the plunge. I adore bright lip colours so I chose the matte Dragon Girl pencil, which is a lovely blue based red.

It was easy to apply and the head of the pencil was fat enough to cover my lip area quickly without making mistakes. Despite being a matte pencil, the texture was lovely and soft and didn't dry out my lips at all, which I was surprised with. The colour lasted well, even more so with a lip primer underneath.

I did have to buy a fatter pencil sharpener as I only had a slim one, but now I can use it for other similar products.

For an extra pop of colour and shine, I sometimes add the Dragon Girl lip tint over the top. When I do this, I always get complimented on my lovely coloured lips.

I would absolutely recommend these pencils, mainly for the colour range, texture and ease of use. I will definitely be going back for more colours!

I have this in the shade Dragon Girl which I am not 100% sold on as it's pulls more pinky red than true red which I prefer. However I love the formula. I tend to avoid mattes as I find them drying but these are smooth, velvety and not drying at all. I would love to test some other colours.