I posted a photo on my Instagram recently of me wearing the Nars Matte Lip Pencil in the shade 'Cruella' and I was really in love! When I went to Sephora to pick up the Laura Mercier Silk Crème Foundation, I spent my birthday month gift on the sample sized pencils and I have to admit, I wasn't sure if I'd like them, but I was extremely surprised by how much I did.
In the little box, you get two lip pencils: The Velvet Matte Pencil in the shade 'Cruella', which is a vivid true-red shade in a matte finish, and the Satin Lip Pencil in the shade 'Rikugien', which is a very nudey mauve shade in a satin finish. I have been absolutely obsessed with Rikugien lately. I've been wearing it nonstop the last week and it's put me in a total mood to splurge on mauve shades lately. If anything, when I looked at these two pencils, I thought I would try them once or twice and never pick them up again. I'm a berry-lip-fiend and have never been much of a red-lip fan (on me, anyway) nor much of a glossy-finish fan (matte all day) so although I was excited to try these out, I figured I would enjoy them a time or two and then revert right back to my tried-and-trues.
I was actually very surprised with how much I enjoyed both of these products, and here are my thoughts!
This pencil has been on my lips nonstop for about a week and a half! (View/purchase it here). I've been pairing it with a red-toned berry lip liner pencil and it's giving me the best of both worlds. This pencil is a little sheer, which is great for anyone who'd like a long-lasting colour that's very understated. As I said, I've been rocking it with a bold lipliner and the way it blends overtop to create a reddish mauve shade is just making me so in love with the look. I was genuinely impressed with the longevity of the colour and the way it makes my lips look and feel. I work full-time and often just get lazy with re-touching my makeup throughout the day, so long-lasting lip colour that doesn't fade everywhere but the outer edges--that is my main goal when looking for a lip product.
I've not had to re-touch my lips at all when I've been wearing this lip pencil. I know I can attribute the product-longevity in part to my lip liners, but I still have that puckered-butthole effect with other lip products (thanks Jaclyn Hill for that term, haha). I haven't had that at all with this pencil, so colour me very impressed.
Now... the downside. I received these two pencils for free (as a birthday gift) and each of them are 0.05oz. That's a fair amount, especially since I'm under the impression they can be sharpened (I haven't tried it yet) but even at that, I've almost completely worn the pencil down to a nub after only using it for about 2 weeks. I need to sharpen it already, and it makes me wonder how long the actual product will last me. The full-sized pencil is $32.00 and it is only 0.07oz. That's 0.02oz more product than the free samples.
It's hard for me to imagine spending that much on a product that I've received for free, especially since the full size is nearly identical in oz amount to the sample, and especially given how quickly the pencil wears down, but I suppose I can see it being a fair price if you compare it to other high-end products of a similar type. It's received great reviews on the Sephora website, and I do agree with it being a fantastic product, so that's a plus. I'm not sure which way this leans. I'm not sure if I just received a ~$50.00 product sum for free, or if the full sized of my samples are overpriced. Either way, it's a great product and I might consider purchasing the full size depending on how long the rest of the pencil lasts for me.
I've only worn this pencil once or twice already, and I'm in looooove. (View/purchase here). I wish I was a bigger fan of red lips, because it would straight away be a must-wear product for me. I have similar things to say about this pencil, only in regards to the matte finish as opposed to the satin finish the other pencil has.
I was so excited to try this pencil out the first time I wore it that I didn't pair it with a lip liner. That's how you see it on the Instagram photo right after applying. I did notice that it came off around the insides of my mouth and only stayed vivid around the edges, but that's without a lip liner and even at that it was pretty good. It glided on extremely smoothly and it wasn't too drying throughout the night that I first wore it. I did notice it getting slightly crumbly on my lips after a few hours, but I think my lack of lip balm and lack of lip liner could be a huge culprit as to why it did that.
The downside to this pencil would be the same thing I discussed above, but honestly, I think I would purchase a full size of this pencil in a more berry-toned shade (maybe 'Damned') because I loved the way it sat and lasted on my lips. Being a huge matte-finish fan, and because this pencil lasts longer than the satin--since it's not sheer whatsoever and you only need one quick glide to get a vivid application--I would find my money better spent on this pencil.
Alright, friends, I know a lot of people had birthdays in September and picked up this little giftie, so tell me what you thought! I'm very interested to hear your thoughts and I'd like to know if you would purchase the full size.
Have a great week, sunshines!
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