When it comes to a lip pencil you want something pigmented, long-wearing and smooth but not drying on the lips.
The Nars Velvet Matte Lip Pencils ($38 each) give you the perfect lipstick-pencil hybrid, with a pencil that’s creamy, wide and pigmented enough to fill in your lips, and a tapered edge precise enough to line and define your lips.
While the Nars Velvet Matte Lip Pencil isn’t new by any means, the brand has just released 10 brand new colours in the line. With delightfully suggestive names, some of these new shades are quite poignantly named after Prince songs. There are a few more wearable neutrals, but also more unique fun shades like a dark blue, two purples (with Prince? Of course), and a deep brown.
If you’re unfamiliar with these lip pencils, they are downright amazing. Comfortable and incredibly lightweight on the lips (you’ll forget you’re wearing lipstick), they also stay matte and are almost completely kiss-proof. Plus, the handy pencil and creamy glide-on texture makes it easy to apply.
Swatches (left to right): Intriguing, Get Off, Famous Red, Let’s Go Crazy, Endangered Red, Do Me Baby, Lonely Heart, Dirty Mind, Pussy Control, Unspoken
Happily, the lightest shade Get Off works well even with medium skin tones, looking like a pinky nude on my lips. Most of these shades are really wearable and office-friendly, and the three neutrals make for great my-lips-but-better shades depending on your skin tone.
If bright reds are your thing, Famous Red is a gorgeous pinky red that has the uncanny ability to make you look younger. If you’re wary of lipsticks making your teeth look yellow, then you might want to avoid the lighter purple shade and opt for the darker one, Dirty Mind, instead.
On my skin tone in particular (a light-medium with yellow/olive undertones), my favourite shades are Famous Red, Do Me Baby, Dirty Mind, Endangered Red, and Lonely Heart.
I will say that the darker shades will look a little patchy if you’ve got dry or chapped lips, so you’ll want to make sure to exfoliate and moisturise your lips beforehand. If you haven’t already, check out our swatch video above for a better idea of the colours, formula and pigmentation.
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