The New NARS Audacious Lipstick Collection: The Corals, Hot Pinks and Oranges (Makeup and Beauty Blog)

The new 40-piece NARS Audacious Lipstick Collection ($32 each)

Kayaking and Dry Lips: A Haiku

Dear Self, Please take note
Next time you go kayaking
Don’t forget lip balm

Um, yeah. My lips are pretty tow up and wind burned right now as a result of last weekend’s epic four-hour Tahoe kayaking adventure/unanticipated gut check-testing marathon (seriously, what was I thinking!? My forearms still feel like jiggly orange Jell-O.).

But you probably can’t tell from these pics. And credit for that goes to these brand new NARS Audacious Lipsticks ($32 each, available in 40 shades).

I don’t know what kind of makeup witchcraft is at work here, but whatever it is, it’s some powerful sh*t…like Fairuza Balk from The Craft caliber.

With completely opaque coverage from a single swipe (coverage, mind you, that does not catch on my little lip flakes and cracks) they apply ever-so-nicely on my wind burned, chapped lips, leaving them looking incredibly smooth, creamy and — dare I say it? — a little plumper and fuller.

Based on how they look and feel now, I can’t wait to try them on my non-chapped lips once they’ve healed. Heck, my lips might look good enough to fool Brad into thinking that I’m Angie!

OK, doubt it. But still…

The coral, hot pink and orange shades

There are 40 (!) shades in the collection, but of course I had to check out the corals and hot pinks first (don’t worry, the others will follow).

Among these, I really dig flamingo coral Natalie and bright pinkish coral Grace, and I love how all of the colors have such cute girly names (although, hello, where’s Karen?).

Orange and coral shades from the left: Catherine, Juliette, Geraldine, Natalie, Kelly (Barneys New York exclusive), Greta and Grace

MONUMENTAL color selection

The extensive 40-piece line lands in the NARS permanent collection September 1, both in stores and online.

And did I mention that it’s extensive?

Because it is.

Extensive.

40 shades! — in almost every wearable lip color imaginable.

Bright pink NARS Audacious Lipsticks from the left: Marisa (Barneys New York exclusive), Claudia and Michiyo

The subtle variations among the shades in the different color families are also super cool. Like, say you’re hunting for a particular shade of coral. OK, well, you could go with a pink coral, a bright pinkish coral or a flamingo coral.

And those are just corals!

Chances are, if you’re looking for a very specific shade of red, coral, orange, pink or nude, you’ll be able to find something close to it in this collection.

Comfy, like your favorite bra

My lips love the medium-weight formula, too. It just feels great, even though it isn’t the most moisturizing lipstick potion I’ve ever tried, but it certainly isn’t drying at all. Plus, there are no funky flavors or scents to deal with and, depending on the brightness of any particular shade, the wear time isn’t bad. It varies from 2-3 hours for the nudes, and 4-5 hours for the bolder colors.