NARS Velvet Lip Glide Swatches, Review + Application Tips

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When the NARS Velvet Lip Glide ($26.00 // Sephora) colors released I purchased two shades in Stripped and Bound. I talked a bit about it on Instagram because pairing Stripped with Apoline Audacious Lipstick is my new favorite thing. To my surprise a package randomly showed up from NARS about a week later with four Velvet Lip Glide shades inside in Bound, Danceteria, No. 54 and Toy.

The NARS Velvet Lip Glides are said to be “an innovative, long-lasting lip color with a smooth, semi-matte finish that provides ultimate hydration”. They come packaged in a clear, square tube and are topped with a black cap with NARS written on it in white. The applicator is sponge-tipped (YAY!) and flat on both sides. I found it easy to apply the product and maneuver it around to completely coat my lips in color.

The four shades that were sent are Bound (rose pink), Danceteria (fuchsia), No. 54 (raspberry red) and Toy (deep aubergine). I found the formula of the Velvet Lip Glides to be extremely easy to apply (tips on that below) with a lot of slip with a mousse-like texture. These four are quite opaque, glossy and really comfortable to wear (slight exception with Toy, see below). As far as wear time goes they lasted around 4 hours on me without a lot of eating and drinking. They’re not touted as being “stay all day” (though it does say they’re long-wearing) but if you do want to get your color to last a little bit longer definitely pair the shade up with a coordinating lip liner. If it’s not a super dark shade you’re wearing (such as Bound or Stripped) reapplication will be quick since it’s such a smooth formula.

Application Tips: Your first instinct is going to be to apply these much like you would a gloss, but I’ve found (particularly with the darker shades) that you need to apply them like you would a liquid lipstick. Go in one direction with one swipe. It won’t dry down matte like a liquid lipstick will, but give it a few minutes, dip your wand back in the tube and give it another swipe. From there use the wand to even up the lines a bit. For a shade such as Toy you must apply it this way or it’s going to look very uneven and you’ll hate it. Apply it the right way and you’ll love it.

NARS Velvet Lip Glide lip colors retail for $26.00 each and are currently available at Sephora, Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus and narscosmetics.com.

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