MAC Fly-By-Blu is a lightened blue over a blackened navy base. (LE)
MAC Petrol Blue is a dark navy blue with sparkle over a blackened blue base. This shade is similar to MUFE #8K and D&G #8.
MAC Blue Stripe is a blackened navy blue with a subtle sheen. It is darker and less sparkly compared to MAC Petrol Blue, and a touch darker than MUFE #3L.
Urban Decay Binge is a lightened navy blue with a hint of purple; it is a bit lighter than the other navy blues here.
Tarina Tarantino Cute Robot is a rich navy blue over a blackened navy base. It is comparable to NARS Rue Saint-Honore and MAC Petrol Blue.
Behind-the-Series: It was my intention to provide heavy, opaque swatches to provide an accurate color comparison. Some eyeliners required one pass, some required five, and a few even more. When possible, the shade name (above) is linked to the original review so you can read more about the quality, wear, etc. of a particular eyeliner. If we’ve never done a review, there will be no link. Shades that were limited edition will be marked with “(LE)” and shades that were discontinued will be marked with “(DC)” after the color description. You can also find all comparisons on The Dupe List.
What’s your favorite navy blue Eyeliner? How do you like to use it?
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.
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.
Product
8.5/10
Pigmentation
9/10
Texture
9/10
Longevity
8.5/10
Application
4/5
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Where to Buy
This product can be purchased at the following retailers:
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NARS Larger Than Life Eyeliner Swatches Sneak Peek
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’m not ready to write-up a full review quite yet (one trial does not a review make!), but so far, my experience has been positive–and I was worried, because I had a terrible experience with NARS Eyeliner Pencils previously.
