Hello friends!
I’ll be honest, as much as I enjoyed reviewing the past few products, I’m so happy to be back to liquid lipsticks! Even though they’ve lost popularity in the mainstream, I still have a ton of love for them. I’ve never had issues with most of them feeling too dry, and they’re so easy for me to wear and forget about!
Color: American Woman is described on the Sephora website as a chestnut rose, which is very accurate! It has a lot of pink in it, but I still get a distinct peach to it as well, which I think comes from the chestnut part. It’s another color in the same family as MAC’s Velvet Teddy & Pat McGrath’s Omi.
Finish: Unsurprisingly with a name like “power matte”, this lipstick goes on thin and shiny but dries down to a completely flat matte.
Packaging: Even though this is a mini, the packaging is the exact same between mini and full size. It’s a rectangular acrylic tube with a small clear window on each side. Everything else is a matte black, but not their usual soft touch packaging. The lid has NARS listed across the top, with one letter on each side.
Applicator: The applicator is so unique! I don’t believe I’ve seen anything like it. Instead of a usual fluffy doefoot or paddle, it’s a small soft applicator that is thin and pointed.
Application: Application of this product felt so easy, it was amazing! The formula is very thin and so works well with the small applicator. I found it incredibly easy to get an even and clean application without going outside of my lip lines.
Transfer: After many different lip products, I have finally learned that to reduce transfer, you should blot your lips after applying. Revolutionary! In all seriousness, I did make it a point to dab my lips with some toilet paper before going about my day, and that reduced the first little bit of transfer I’d get with most matte lip products, so it’ll obviously be something I do moving forward. I’ve worn this a few times and I swear this stuff doesn’t transfer at all. I’ve never seen it on anything except when I blotted it.
Fading: Despite the lack of transfer, it does still end up fading, however not in a bad or noticeable way. I was completely confident wearing this lipstick all day without doing any sort of touchups, and it still looked great. By the end of the day there was certainly wear on the inner part of my lips, but nothing that would require fixing.
Comfort: I think that the formula being as thin as it is really lends itself to this product. I more often than not forgot I was wearing it, it felt so weightless and comfortable. I didn’t feel like my lips got dried out, which can tend to happen with liquid and matte lipsticks.
Overall: I anticipated that this would be a pretty average to above average product, but I actually really loved the way this looked and wore! It went on easily, was a great color on me, and lasted all day while remaining so comfortable I often forgot I had it on. I believe I have a few other colors of this hiding somewhere, and I will gladly try those out too!
Price Point: For a whopping $30 you can get this lipstick from Sephora, Ulta, and the NARS website. I will say that I absolutely adore this formula, so if spending that amount of money on a makeup item fits into your budget, I’d say you probably won’t be disappointed! Most of the time you can find minis available for purchase, so if you want to try the formula out first you’ll probably be able to find one of these sets.
Karissa Talks Beauty 