A lipstick-averse fashion editor trials Nars’ new stay-all-day lip colour
IMAGE VIA @caitemmaburke/instagram
WORDS BY CAIT EMMA BURKE
Can this formulation conquer my longstanding fear of lipsticks?
I am famously lipstick averse (at least among my workmates and friends). I long to be a person who can swipe on a bold smear of colour in a nonchalant manner, but every time I do, it ends in disaster. I’ve gone to the bathroom at industry functions – after animatedly talking to someone – only to find that flecks of my lip colour have found their way to my chin, gathered in the corners of my mouth but rubbed off in the middle part of my lips, and adhered themselves to my teeth.
So, as much as I like the idea of being a lipstick wearer, I hate the reality of it. I’ve tried lining with lip liner, using lip primers and opting for the most matte, smear-proof offerings I can find, but have historically had little to no success. Instead of lipstick, I generally pat a little Milk Makeup Mini Lip and Cheek tint in the shade Quirk on my lips and then for a work event or night out I’ll add a gloss of some sort over top (Mecca’s Gloss Boss and Morphe’s Glassified Lip Oil are current favourites).
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But working in fashion editorial, I’m exposed to a lot of lipstick – people wearing it at events, fashion weeks and on shoots and the PR samples that regularly land on our desks – so I’ve never entirely given up hope that I’ll one day find my match. The latest lipstick to materialise in our office was Nars’ new Powermatte Lipstick, courtesy of Mecca.
Boasting a particularly impressive 10-hour wear time, the Powermatte Lipstick has a “high-intensity matte formula that glides on”. These claims combined with the sleek, angular packaging (and a long-held belief that Nars is one of the best makeup brands around) had my interest piqued. It just so happened that we were in the midst of Melbourne Fashion Week when we received the new range of lipsticks, so I threw caution to the wind and wore it to a black tie event that night.
As I was wearing an entirely black outfit (perhaps taking the dress code a little too literally) I needed to inject a much-needed touch of colour with my makeup, so I opted for Highway to Hell, a rich, opulent berry shade. Fashion Journal‘s Editorial Assistant, Izzy, was joining me at the event and over the course of the night, we tracked how it was wearing. Izzy, a regular lipstick wearer, didn’t experience the same lipstick anxiety that I did. I peppered her with annoying questions throughout the night (“Is it gathering on the inner corners of my lips? What about my teeth??”) because my lipstick phobia runs deep.
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I was genuinely shocked at how well it lasted – it never transferred to my teeth or chin, and while it did gather ever so slightly in the corners of my mouth, on my actual lips it didn’t budge (inarguably the most crucial zone for lipstick to stay put). When I arrived home, I was certain that after a night of bottomless champagne, countless canapes and endless networking it would have dissipated somewhat.
But wonders never cease – Nars made good on its long-wearing claims, and my lips looked almost as fresh as when I first applied it. Another added bonus is that the matte formulation didn’t make my lips feel crusty and chapped like many matte lipsticks do. Izzy also had high praise for the Powermatte formulation.
“As someone with chronically dry lips, I normally avoid matte formulations in favour of something more hydrating. After wearing the Powermatte in the shade Night Moves (a deep plum shade), I was pleasantly surprised to find it didn’t make my lips feel like the Sahara desert. It also stayed in place for hours, which is a huge relief for those terrified of lipstick teeth (me),” she told me of her experience.
So there were glowing reviews all around. Perhaps Nars should rebrand the Powermatte lipstick as lipstick for lipstick-averse people? If it can get someone like me wearing colour on their lips for the first time in years, then what can’t it do?
You can find out more about Nars’ Powermatte Lipstick here.
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