NARS Larger Than Life Eyeliner Review, Photos, Swatches
Monday, July 25th, 2011
NARS Larger Than Life Eyeliner
NARS Larger Than Life Eyeliner
NARS Larger Than Life Eyeliner ($23.00 for 0.02 oz.) is a new (and permanent) long-wearing pencil eyeliner that is available in nine shades (though two have not yet been made available online). They’re touted to have 12-hour wear with no smearing or caking. Each eyeliner twists up and also has a built-in sharpener.
I posted sneak peek swatches a couple of days ago, and I’ve spent the time since then testing different shades out to see how they wear. I had high hopes for this product, especially because the initial wear test (which had only been four hours or so) made it seem promising. First, these are infinitely better than NARS Eyeliner Pencils. When I had these on the back of my hand, I can’t smudge them after they set–really vigorous rubbing will cause them to flake a bit, though.
- Santa Monica Blvd. is a pure white a matte finish. This one applied a bit unevenly, and it seemed less opaque than the other shades. It seems similar to MAC Pure White.
- Rue Bonaparte is a soft beige with a matte finish. This works well to give eyes a more awake appearance when used on the waterline–the problem is getting it to stay there, though. It seems a touch lighter than MAC NC15/NW20.
- Abbey Road is a blue-teal with soft blue shimmer. It seems similar to Urban Decay’s Covet.
- Rue Saint-Honore is a royal purple with strong blue pull–it’s described as a deep royal blue but looks more purple than blue on me.
- Via Appia is a dark, copper-shimmered brown. It’s not as dark (or as warm) as Urban Decay Corrupt.
- Madison Ave. is a medium-dark gray with a matte finish.
- Via Veneto is a deep, dark black with a matte finish. It reminded me of Urban Decay’s Perversion and MAC Black Black.
I’m not sure if these are waterline-safe or not–the press release nor the website indicate that they are–but typically, matte shades are usually suitable for the waterline while shimmery/glittery shades may not be. I wore Via Veneto (which is a deep, dark black) on my lower waterline and lash line, and I get about an hour of wear on the waterline before the majority has faded away.
The eyeliner on the lash line lasts much longer, and what I noticed is when I wore foundation, the eyeliner wore better and had no smudging eight hours later. By 12-hours (the claimed wear time), there was very, very faint smudging underneath the lash line, and the eyeliner wasn’t as intense or as thick as it was originally. When I wore no foundation, by the sixth hour, there seemed to be a faint, but noticeable, darkness beneath the line–a subtle smudging. I don’t have oily eyelids, and when it’s not allergy season (and it is not), I don’t have very watery eyes.
The built-in sharpener is best used when you twist-up the pencil a good amount, because you really need to get a good portion of it into the sharpener to get it to work. You do lose some pencil in the process in order to achieve the slanted, pointed tip. It seems a bit less than a traditional pencil eyeliner per sharpening, but I’m not sure it’s significant enough that one would be persuaded solely by that–after all, most pencil eyeliners are 0.04 oz. and this is half the size at 0.02 oz. and you do still waste some when sharpening. It is more than most mechanical eyeliners (which are around 0.01 on average), though.
They’re creamy and deposit mostly even color when applied (except Santa Monica Blvd., which is sheerer overall). They glide across the skin and lash lines with ease, so there is no tugging or pulling. The texture of these–overall–is really nice and easy enough to apply. The wear is good, and of course, when it comes to eyeliner, wear is the defining factor.
Where to Buy: NARS, $23
The Glossover
They're shy of the 12-hour mark that NARS' claims, but they do wear fairly well for eight hours. The pencils glide on easily and deposit a good amount of color in one stroke.
See photos & swatches!
Santa Monica Blvd., Rue Bonaparte, Abbey Road, Rue Saint-Honore, Via Appia, Madison Ave., Via Veneto
Santa Monica Blvd., Rue Bonaparte, Abbey Road, Rue Saint-Honore, Via Appia, Madison Ave., Via Veneto
NARS Larger Than Life Eyeliner
Santa Monica Blvd., Rue Bonaparte, Abbey Road, Rue Saint-Honore, Via Appia, Madison Ave., Via Veneto
NARS Larger Than Life Eyeliner
NARS Larger Than Life Eyeliner
Santa Monica Blvd., Rue Bonaparte, Abbey Road, Rue Saint-Honore, Via Appia, Madison Ave., Via Veneto
Santa Monica Blvd., Rue Bonaparte, Abbey Road, Rue Saint-Honore, Via Appia, Madison Ave., Via Veneto
Santa Monica Blvd., Rue Bonaparte, Abbey Road, Rue Saint-Honore
Rue Saint-Honore, Via Appia, Madison Ave., Via Veneto
NARS Larger Than Life Eyeliner
NARS Larger Than Life Eyeliner
NARS Santa Monica Blvd. Larger Than Life Eyeliner
NARS Rue Bonaparte Larger Than Life Eyeliner
NARS Abbey Road Larger Than Life Eyeliner
NARS Rue Saint-Honore Larger Than Life Eyeliner
NARS Via Appia Larger Than Life Eyeliner
NARS Madison Ave.Larger Than Life Eyeliner
NARS Via Veneto Larger Than Life Eyeliner
NARS Via Veneto Larger Than Life Eyeliner (Initially vs. 12-hours Later)
Disclosure
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Product & Review FAQ
Where can I purchase it? How much is it?
NARS, $23
Is it limited edition?
No.
Do you think via veneto will be a good eyeliner for the upper lash line, as a replacement for liquid eyeliner?
It could work!
I wonder how Via Appia compares to MAC Teddy Kohl, or Urban Decay Bourbon. It seems like such an easy colour to dupe, but I can't think of any! Maybe I should just splurge on Via Appia, it's very pretty!
WOOOOW on Abbey Road! So incredibly nice! I have to get it!
Would you say that it lasts more than 6 hours in the waterline at least the same as when you first applied it? And if I can't get the MAC Chromagraphic pencils... That Rue Bonaparte is a dupe? And is it more yellow or pink based beige? Thank you!!!
It only lasted an hour on my waterline as mentioned above :) It is more of a yellow-based color.
me gusta mucho
Abbey road is GORGEOUS! Wish I had the money to buy iiiit! Shipping costs to Sweden is 22 euros, craZy!
i HAVE to get rue Bonaparte and madison ave! they are so gorgeous and I need colors like these! I can't find these kind of colors anywhere else!
Looks cool!!
Gosh, Abbey Road is gorgeous! I'm a huge Beatles fan, so I might have to buy it just for the name.
I tried to buy these on Sephora's website, but they weren't listed. Do you know if they will be coming to Sephora soon?
They're exclusive to narscosmetics.com right now - I do not have any info about whether they'll be available elsewhere.
Wow, your makeup looks seriously incredible after twelve whole hours-- just beautiful!
Slightly off topic, but you have SUCH BEAUTIFUL EYES, the color and the shape. This eye look makes them look crazybeautiful :D. Slightly more on topic, I like the flesh toned liner!
Names of the eyeliners are more attractive than the eyeliner itself. Love those names.
I'm so in love with Rue Saint-Honore.. and I'm REALLY bummed no more tutorials from you. I absolutely LOVE your tutorials -especially the really colorful ones.
The fact that one of your pupils is bigger in one pic really threw me off, LOL. Thank you for the swatches!
Thats what UD zero looks like on me after that long
this has nothing to do with the post, because.... GOOD LUCK ON THE BAR!!
Thanks, Alison!
Goodness that's a fantastic look! We have a very similar eye shape, so usually what looks fantastic on you, looks pretty awesome on me as well ;) I really like that grey liner! Never thought a grey liner could look so awesome, I'll definitely look into purchasing one.
didn't know there are fleshy liners available - always assumed there are only white, brightly- or dark-colored liners. might pick Bonaparte. love the hue of Saint-Honore. love your gorgeous eye makeup! :)
Wow, these look great! My favourites are Rue Saint-Honore & Via Appia, so pretty.
Abbey Road is gorgeous!
I'm really sorry you aren't doing tutorials any longer - I know I really enjoyed them. Anymore look books in your future? I bought (and loved AND recommended) your first. Thanks in advance for your response. Thank you again for all you do.
Thanks for letting me know, Marilyn! :) Not sure at the moment - so many things on the to-do list. I think it would ultimately depend on the level of interest - right now our biggest priority is building up the Swatch Gallery, which is proving quite arduous, lol!
Are MAC Chromographic Pencils only available if you have a PRO card?
They're at PRO stores, but anyone can buy them!
3 nice shades I would wear - but with less than 12 hr wear, I need more wear time from mine without having to wipe up under the eye, re-do that area totally an add in the cat eye line to the top. I might play with these next time I am at a Sephora if I remember. I am so happy with BB gel liner and UD 24/7 hard to get me to change.
Gorgeous eye makeup in the pictures Christine!
I understand that the readers' opinions must be a very high priority for you, but at the end of the day, this is your blog, and you should be able to do whatever you want on it, Christine! There are many of us who really love your tutorials. If it's a lot of work, then I totally understand if you personally would like to stop doing them, but if it's only the voting results keeping you from posting them, it would be a great shame. We love you, and would support you whatever you choose.
I would rather spend time doing what readers want than wasting time on things that readers do not want :) I prefer to blog about what readers want to see and what is useful for them. So if readers don't like them, there's no need to spend time doing that when I could swatch and provide reviews, which is what majority of readers wanted to see. I do my best to please as many readers as possible, but I know I cannot please every single one! Thank you for sharing your opinion! If the majority of readers want tutorials, I'm happy to do them again. :)
I have so many UD 24/7 liners that I don't really see myself purchasing anymore eyeliner pencils anytime soon but Abbey Road & Rue Saint-Honore are gorgeous!
Christine, what shadows are you wearing in that pic? I love that look. Sorry, if you posted it somewhere in your review. I just glossed over it. I ordered 3 of the pencils last night and the new matte red lipstick. I'm relieved to see that these pencils are pretty good.
NARS Delphes (green and gray), NARS Outremer!
Thank you! :)
These are pretty, but I'm not blown away by them. Rue Saint-Honore is my favorite, but I'll have to check to see if I have anything similar first. They eye look at the bottom is gorgeous! I wish you still did tutorials, also. :)
Since I had seen the swatches already, I scrolled down after reading your review to comment, and I did not expect to see such a stunning eye look! It caught me by surprise, and it's simply gorgeous! I don't plan on getting any of these eyeliners though. I wish I was around when readers voted on you doing tutorials, I would have noted for them. :)
Hi Christine! Which is better for you, the Rue Bonaparte pencil or MAC's flesh toned Chromagraphic pencils?
Chromagraphic Pencils, since those stay on my lash line and water line much longer :)
Love abbey road! Christine, what are some other matte medium-grey eye pencils? I feel like it's harder to find a matte grey, whereas shimmery charcoals are much more common.
Christine,how do these compare to the Milani ones?
The pencils are just okay looking to me, but I really like your eye look :)
What pretty collors Love your looks
Oh my gosh, Christine! That eye look at the bottom of the post -- flawless. <3 I was hoping for Rue Bonaparte to be the answer for tired, red eyes, so it's too bad to hear that these don't last on the waterline! But, well, at least these sound better than NARS' other pencils :P (And the colours *are* still gorgeous, Rue Saint-Honore in particular! What a lovely blue-violet.)
Christine, have you found any liner to last one your waterline longer than an hour or two? I haven't yet. Only thing that comes close is Stila Smudgepots and even that's just like, less faded away by the six-hour mark. That look is amazing and I do hope you post it! Are you going to post a glossover for this product?
MAC Chromagraphic Pencils last pretty much all day on my water line. There is a Glossover for this product!
Aww - I didn't have as much luck! Love my Rich Purple, but it faded away just as quickly. I am always sad at how much these things vary from person to person. Funny, I swear it wasn't there the first two times I checked over the post! Oh well. Thanks! :)
Weird! Black Black and NC15/NW20 stay SO well! I wasn't expecting that at all but was so impressed by them.
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