Aysha's Beauty Blog: NARS Velvet Gloss Lip Pencil in Baroque Review

Hi everyone,

I'm back! I know it's been a very long time since my last post, but I've just been caught up with school, work etc. Since I completed my program 3 weeks ago, I'm planning to resume my blogging adventures. Do keep an eye out for a number of reviews coming up in the next few weeks!

We've had quite a dip in temperature here in Toronto, so I thought I would get back into the swing of things by reviewing a very fall-appropriate lip color by a brand, that I haven't discussed previously on the blog.

I purchased the NARS Velvet Gloss Lip Pencil in Baroque (CAD $32.00) last December from Sephora, as a treat for myself before starting my co-op placement in the new year and decided to go for one of the deeper shades.

NARS Velvet Gloss Lip Pencil in Baroque

NARS claims that these pencils provide "gorgeously glossy color...[with]...spectacular shine in an innovative, lightweight formula and enriched with Vitamin E plus a blend of moisture-rich hyaluronic spheres that make lips appear fuller." The company also claims that the product has an "ultra smooth, buttery feel on the lips."

I do agree that these provide a glossy finish, particularly as you build up the color by layering the product. As shown in the pictures below, when swatched on the hand outdoors it has more of a reflective shine. Even though I don't have a lip swatch, the product has a more subtle shine when applied onto the lips.

Upon initial application, it appears as if you applied a pigmented lipstick, especially when using the Baroque shade, and then applied a semi-glossy lip gloss. I believe the best way to describe the Velvet Gloss pencil would be, as a hybrid between a lipstick and a gloss with more features of the former than latter.

Baroque is described as a "raspberry sorbet" and I couldn't agree more. It's a stunning berry-pink shade that has a tinge of plum and is neither too cool nor warm toned. On my naturally pigmented lips, it shows up as quite a deep raspberry pink. An important note is that unlike for the other shades, NARS does not explicitly state Baroque as containing any shimmer or glitter, but it definitely does contain very finely-milled silver and pink shimmer. If you layer the product heavily on the lips, the shimmer becomes more apparent, and it depends whether you like more of a cream or frosty finish to your lip products. I do want to point out that the shimmer does not make the color appear overly frosty, similar to when people apply a frosty eyeshadow to the center of their pout in order to make their lips look fuller. Being that as it may, I personally wouldn't mind if NARS reformulated this product without the shimmer, as the Velvet Gloss range does not have as many cream finishes.

In terms of texture, the pencil is very soft in that slight to moderate pressure can cause the very tip of the pencil to melt away while the product is being applied. During application, the pencil does not tug or pull at my lips unless they are very dry and/or dehydrated. A quick note, when I swatched Baroque on the sheet of paper, I may have pressed too hard thereby causing that clumping of product, but as long as you don't see any clumps on the pencil's tip itself, this should not occur during lip application. The shimmer doesn't feel gritty on the lips during or after application, but if you had applied multiple layers and the pigment has worn off, then you may possibly feel the lingering shimmer when you press your lips together.

I know this may be important to a number of readers, so I did want to briefly touch on the tackiness of the product. During and immediately after application, there is a slight tack on my lips but in absolutely NO way is this similar to the stickiness typically associated with lip glosses. I refuse to purchase or return a lip product that has any sort of stickiness or tackiness, and after 8 months of usage, I'm happy to continue using my beloved Baroque pencil, so that's saying a lot!

The product wore well for about 3 hours, but after eating and drinking, the shine had worn off and a pretty stain remained (approximately 75% of the initial pigment). After about 6 hours, the product had completely disappeared and reapplication was necessary.

I definitely do agree with NARS' claim that the formula is lightweight, and after the initial glossiness wears off, and the product has stained, I hardly felt that there was anything on my lips, which felt comfortable and slightly hydrated (please note that I have very dry and dehydrated lips).

In terms of packaging, I do appreciate that the cap fits on quite snugly, but the only downside is that these pencils lack a twist-up mechanism and instead require sharpening, which leads to product wastage. I have heard from other bloggers that storing the product in the freezer for a few minutes does help minimize the amount wasted during sharpening, but I haven't tried that tip as yet.

Overall, the Baroque Velvet Gloss lip pencil is one that I use when I want a slightly more dramatic lip and when paired with my MAC Pinch Me blush, it lends beautifully to a feminine and sophisticated look. I would recommend this product to anyone who's looking for a higher-end product that's easy to apply, convenient to travel with, delivers on pigmentation and which requires sharpening.