NARS Cosmetics Rockin’ Winter makeup tutorial

While I was in search of the perfect milky Barbie pink lip product, I remember stumbling across NARS Cosmetics Turkish Delight gloss and reveled in its perfection. This purchase sparked my interest in the brand, where I ended up becoming a fan of the iconic Orgasm blush, Laguna bronzer, and the untouchable Velvet Matte Lip Pencils.

For over a decade, I’ve been intrigued by NARS Cosmetics, waiting for each limited edition collection with big eyes. The pigmentation payoff is never disappointing and having experience selling NARS in Nordstrom, I’ve seen the customers’ delightful reactions when trying on their lavish lipsticks. As a makeup collector and artist, I appreciate the care and details that the brand puts into each product.

This week, I performed a full face NARS Cosmetics tutorial on Facebook Live. Some of the products I was familiar with and some were brand new items that I’ve never tried. Needless to say, I was impressed with every single product that touched my face. Every lip product formula, every eyeshadow performed at a top-notch level, no matter what brush I used. My look’s name, NARS Rockin’ Winter, was inspired by the Powermatte Lip Pigment that I wore in the name “Rock With You“, dedicated to the classic Michael Jackson song. I had a lot of fun with this tutorial, and I hope you enjoy it! Feel free to watch the video below for the full tutorial, or just skip ahead to read my steps.

Bronzer, Blush, Highlighter to start

I started off by applying the Laguna Bronzer from the Bord De Plage palette to the hollows of my cheeks with the Michael Todd Sonicblend Brush. I did a little contouring around the nose and under the chin.

The blush that I used was a powder blush called Deep Throat. This blush is such a beautiful pink shade that is soft and complements most skin tones. There is a slight shimmer texture to the blush, but it is subtle.

To highlight, I applied from the palette the light golden shimmer color on the top left down the bridge of my nose, across the cupid’s bow, and my favorite place to apply highlighter, on the tops of my cheekbones. I overlapped on the blush just a little.

 

The Eyes – Eyeshadow & Liner

To set my blue eyes on icy fire, I chose this lovely Kuala Lumpur eyeshadow duo–aren’t those gilded tan and plum shades amazing? I applied the plum shade first to the crease using a tapered blending brush. Then, I applied the lighter shade to only the lid area using a flat eyeshadow brush.

Coming back with that plum color again, I applied it to the lower lash line area with a round blending brush, concentrating the most color to the outer corners.

Since I didn’t have a NARS eyeliner available at the time, I used my personal black liner on the lower waterline above the lash line. For a top eyeliner, I went in with the NARS #48 Defining Brow Brush and dipped it into the plum color. Using short strokes, I applied the plum shadow to the top lid right above the upper lashes. Using this shadow as a liner gives a soft and sultry look.

The Eyes – Lashes

Am I the only one that didn’t know that NARS had faux lashes? They are exclusively available on the NARS website and in the boutique locations, and if you haven’t tried these, you are missing out!

These gorgeous lashes were easy to apply and didn’t look crazy on me. They were just right! I love to be able to see my eyeshadow work through my lashes, and these were the perfect addition to my winter look.

I used my Tarte Cosmetics lash applicator (a must for any faux lash fan) to apply the lashes, starting from the center and working my way out to the edges to adjust and secure the lash to the skin. Clamping down the lash applicator to merge your real lashes to the faux ones is a key move to help the lashes look natural and stay put.

The Eyes – Make Them Pop

You can take this eyeshadow look to the next level by adding a foil shadow to the center of your upper eyelid. To rev up this look, I added the NARS Dual-Intensity Eyeshadow in shade Dione, which is an antiqued silver tone, to the center of the lid using a small round brush. I also added this shadow to the inner corners of my eyes to create shimmering light in those areas.

The Lips – Liquid Vamp

The star of the show is the vampy NARS Powermatte Lip Pigment in Rock With You. Very velvety, matte and smooth as silk, these lip pigments are beyond any liquid lipstick that you’ve ever tried. The applicator has a sharp skinny tip for precision painting, and alternatively, I used a synthetic flat round lip brush to do the job. Using the lip brush toned down the deep shade so that you could see more of the burgundy tones in the lip pigment.

I love the way these lip pigments feel–not dry, and definitely not uncomfortable to wear. The luxurious feel of these liquid lippies makes me feel like a million bucks–and there are 20 shades of gorgeousness to choose from.

I decided to top my lips off with a golden gloss to add some holiday pizazz, and my choice was the glitzy Greek Holiday gloss. I added a little gloss to the center of my lips to create the illusion of a fuller pout than the one I was born with.

I absolutely enjoyed every moment of using these products! I didn’t have to work too hard to blend or add layers to get the color payoff that I desired– a major plus. I suggest dropping by a NARS Boutique store near you to get the full experience and to shop exclusive products that you won’t find in department stores or Sephora. If you do not have a boutique location near you, you can shop the line at Sephora and Nordstrom.