I’m not sure if it’s just me being a little jaded, or if cosmetics brands are starting to spread themselves a little thin on quality when they release limited edition or seasonal collections. More so when the colours on offer don’t interest nor excite me very much. I skipped most of the Summer collections this time around because Summer isn’t my thing, and because I found a lot of them boring *gasp* I said the B-word!
With a summer collection created in collaboration with fashion designer Christopher Kane, Nars Cosmetics has released a limited edition range of makeup with what they call “Neoneutral” – Neon colours that are oxymoronically neutral to wear. In some ways, it made sense.
I’d have passed on this collection, if I’m to be honest. There was nothing in there that grabbed my attention. However, I was gifted with a couple of pieces from the collection and much to my surprise, my goodie bag contained Silent Nude blush instead of Starscape (hot pink!) which most other people received. I don’t deny I was a little taken aback but I felt I should therefore share my thoughts on it. If it had been Starscape, then it’d be just more of the same-old-same-old for you right? 😀
Silent Nude, as you can see in the picture above, is a straight neutral blush. So neutral and so beige, I wasn’t sure what I should do with it LOL! Now pink, that’s easy, right? We could all do with a pink blush; but beige? Erm…. Incidentally also, the blushes in the Neoneutral collection represent a new formula. Thinner, sheerer and matte. Well, if you’re wondering how I did with Silent Nude, check out what I think, and if you have an idea on how to wear beige blushes – SHARE! 😀
Well, let’s just say that I struggled a little with what to do with Silent Nude. I’m not into shading and contouring and I felt that what Silent Nude would work best as, would be as a very light contour shade for the fair-skinned.
Silent Nude Blush (RM128)
In pan, the powder is a rather bland peachy-beige. On skin, when you build it up somewhat, it takes on a slightly warm peachy tone. If you wanted to wear a blush without looking like you were flushed, then this might be one you would want to look at to try. It adds a touch of barely perceptible warmth to the skin.
The problem however, is that I am fair-skinned (I wear Mont Blanc – Light 2 in Nars foundations) and even I had to layer this blush on to get it to show up on my skin. I used the Nars Bronzer Brush (I really like this brush!) to shade the sides of my face, and it added a bit of depth and warmth.
Just to give you an idea of how Silent Nude looks when I wear it, here’s a picture. I am aware that I should and could have piled on more colour to get it to show up better, but I tried, and I had to walk out of the house after this, so I couldn’t risk putting on too much makeup. In person, it’s a bit more noticeable.
On left, I only have Silent Nude on, which I applied along the sides of my face and cheeks. You MAY (I highlight the word ‘may’) notice the slight, warm shadow. On right, I’ve topped up with a pink blush on the tops of my cheekbones. I feel the pink makes me look more alive, but the beige operates as a bit of a contour/warm base.
If you are fair-skinned and have always wanted to play with bronzers and contour powders, but don’t want to deal with the brown and orange powders in the market, then Silent Nude might be what you’re looking for. Personally, I’m not into that so this isn’t a colour I’d use often. However, I also tried using it on my eyelids and I think I prefer that better. It makes a very good “nude” eyeshadow base and blending colour and because it’s huge, it’ll last forever – yay! 😛
As for the texture, I found it a little dry and sheer. Sheer is good, if you were eyeing Starscape, the hot pink number. That one gives your cheeks a lovely, fresh, youthful pop of colour. If you wanted one item from the Christopher Kane collection, I’d suggest Starscape blush.
The other item I’m wearing in my FOTD is Mezmer lipgloss (RM95). Bright pink in the tube, but it goes on fairly sheer but pigmented. I don’t know if that statement even makes sense LOL! What I mean is that you get colour on your lips, but it’s not the neon pink you see in the tube. It’s a very lovely, bright but very wearable pink on lips. This one’s worth considering too, if lipgloss is your thing. It’s not sticky and very flattering.
One more item from the collection is the Violet Atom Illuminating Multiple (RM154).
An iridescent pale violet in the tube, this swatches a transparent duo-chrome shimmer, rather like the rainbow at the top of an oil slick. This therefore functions best as a highlighter. I was shown at the new NARS boutique at MidValley Megamall, that one of the best ways to wear Violet Atom is to use your finger to dab at it, before applying to the top of your cheekbones, or under your brow. Anywhere you’d want to highlight.
Again, this isn’t something I’d personally use a lot of, and is, I feel more suited to someone who is already into highlighters or who are already comfortable using makeup, or even makeup artists. Regular folk may find it a bit too finicky.
Here are the swatches of the 3 products I have. Violet Atom, as you can see, is pure shine (no glitter, just shine) while Silent Nude I had to build up with a few layers to show you the colour. It’s a very natural, neutral sort of blush which I don’t use a lot of, but might appeal to someone who doesn’t like to wear pink or peach or coral or to look like they’re wearing blush but want to have some definition on cheeks.
Mezmer, swatched directly from the tube, is pigmented, but sheer as you can tell. It’s glossy without being shimmery and isn’t sticky which is always a good thing!
I wish I could be more excited about this collection, but the truth is that I was underwhelmed. I felt the eyeshadows (Parallel Universe RM128 and Outer Limits RM98) were just too shimmery for daily wear. I am now of that age where I feel that too much shimmer around the eyes just age you further. If you are a sweet young thing, I’d say GO FOR IT! Wear all the shimmer you want and can, my young friend, because there will come a day when you feel that shimmer isn’t your friend anymore. I’ve reached that day 🙁 That said, I was told that the shadows were sold out quite quickly so I’m clearly in the minority! 😀
Starscape blush, while giving a pretty pop of colour, feels a bit too dry for my liking. What this means is that the colour is a bit sheerer than usual so it’s not so easy to overdo. The lipglosses are however, worth taking a look at because they are pretty and bright yet very wearable.
Oh and if pink packaging is your crack, then the limited edition metallic pink NARS x Christopher Kane print might just tip you over the edge. But otherwise, you might just hold off till the next one and hope it’s more universally appealing.
Did you pick up anything from the Nars x Christopher Kane Neoneutral collection? Do you wear beige blush?
I welcome all ideas on how I can wear the beige Silent Nude blush. I’ve tried piling it on, but it just didn’t really show up, and when it did, wasn’t very flattering on me, maybe because I don’t wear warm colours well. I still needed to top up with a touch of pink, to look better. I do wear it quite a lot as eyeshadow instead. So, if you have ideas, help! 😀
Paris B
NARS x Christopher Kane NeoNeutral Collection Price: As per post above Availability: NARS boutiques – Pavilion KL, MidValley Megamall, Gurney Plaza Penang Limited Edition: Yes, Summer 2015
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I went to swatch Outer Limits but I found that the rose gold color did not stick onto my skin, but the shimmer did! I was bummed about it for about three seconds.
As for the pigmented but sheer thing, I think that textures are becoming more and more translucent, while the color is still present. It’s like a throwback to the early 2000s but not quite. HMMM~
Yep, Outer Limits was really full on glitter. I wasn’t really that impressed although I can understand why it sold out so quickly. It looked pretty! LOL I like the idea of sheer but pigmented. There’s less room for error that way 😉
I quite like the blush to be honest. It reminds me of Sex Appeal (which I’ve completely forgotten I have, thanks for the reminder!) and it gives me a nice healthy peachy flush. I might have to pick this one up. I mean, since you’ve put a gun to my head and all 😛
It did strike me that it was similar to Sex Appeal but I believe Sex Appeal is a little lighter 😉 Anyway, no rush! 😉
I like Silent Nude 🙂 . In fact I was excited with that shade more than Starscape. I used it to do a light contour then blend it upward as a blush. It turns out like a contour + bronzer. It works for me because I have a rounder cheeks. It is very neutral so you have to really pile on the colour 🙂
I saw that you liked it Fiona 🙂 Good to know that you got it to work! I agree about having to pile on the colour. I thought I’d do a light contour but ended up having to really layer on the colour to get it to show. Way to go for using up a product eh? 😀
The Mezmer lipgloss looks gorgeous on you! It’s such a sweet color, I’m really tempted! Hehe
That one is pretty! If you check one lipgloss out, that’s the colour to check out 🙂
I guess that kind of blush would be good for me, since I have permanently flushed cheeks (rosacea). I think Laneige did a very similar colour of blush awhile ago.
I bought Earthy from Burberry which looks similar, but has a brown undertone which is less flattering. I might check these out!
Hiya Firn 🙂 You know what? You’re right about that blush. It would do well to tone down those who have a lot of redness in their cheeks. Goodness knows, you don’t need to put more colour on right? 🙂 If Nars is sold out of Silent Nude, look also at Sex Appeal blush which is permanent I believe. It has a similar shade and tone