NARS Hell-Bent, Other Side, Crossroads Nail Polish Reviews, Photos, Swatches
NARS Hell-Bent, Other Side, Crossroads Nail Polishes
This July, NARS is releasing a collection of nail polishes in collaboration with 3.1 Phillip Lim (official info here). With these, NARS has introduced a wider brush (compared to the last polish I tried from NARS, which was in April), though the bottle size and shape have stayed the same. The bottles for this collection have the designer’s logo printed on the front as well. In general, I find NARS’ lacquer formula to be underrated–it’s really quite good, both in terms of color payoff, consistency, as well as with respect to wear. I usually get seven to ten days of wear with very minor tip wear out of this formula.
NARS Hell-Bent Nail Polish ($20.00 for 0.50 fl. oz.) is described as a “lacquer red.” It’s a brightened, medium red with warm, orange undertones and a glossy, creamy finish. It had full color coverage after nearly one coat, but I did apply two just to be sure. The consistency wasn’t too thick or too thin, so it flowed well across the nail without pooling along the edges. It dried down a bit faster than the average polish. Tom Ford Beauty Shameless (LE, $32.00) is similar. Zoya Tamsen (P, $9.00) is darker. See comparison swatches / view dupes.
NARS Other Side Nail Polish ($20.00 for 0.50 fl. oz.) is described as a “bitter chocolate.” It’s a blackened brown with subtle maroon undertones and a cream finish. It was fully opaque in almost one coat, though two were needed for complete opacity. The polish wasn’t too thick or too thin, and it was easy to apply–no streakiness or bubbling. Essie Shearling Darling (P, $8.00) is lighter. Cult Nails Lamestain (P, $12.00) is darker. MAC Blueblood (LE, $16.00) is similar. Chanel Accessoire (P, $27.00) is lighter. Rescue Beauty Lounge Drifter (LE, $20.00) is cooler-toned. Color Club Fashion Moment (P) is cooler-toned. China Glaze Velvet Bow (LE, $7.50) is lighter. Zoya Anja (P, $9.00) is cooler-toned. See comparison swatches / view dupes.
NARS Crossroads Nail Polish ($20.00 for 0.50 fl. oz.) is described as an “African violet.” It’s a deepened, muted purple with a smokiness to it. It had a cream finish. The consistency was slightly thin, though it had full coverage after two coats, but it showed the texture of my natural nails just slightly (I have slightly ridged nails), so you’ll want to use a base coat or ridge-filling base coat if you have similar natural nails. It applied without streaking, and it dried down to a naturally shiny finish. MAC Festive Finery (LE, $16.00) is lighter. Essie Smokin’ Hot (LE, $8.00) is warmer. See comparison swatches / view dupes.
Hell-Bent
LELimited Edition. $20.00.
Other Side
LELimited Edition. $20.00.
Crossroads
LELimited Edition. $20.00.
See more photos & swatches!
NARS Hell-Bent Nail Polish
NARS Hell-Bent Nail Polish
NARS Hell-Bent Nail Polish
NARS Hell-Bent Nail Polish
NARS Hell-Bent Nail Polish
NARS Hell-Bent Nail Polish
NARS Hell-Bent Nail Polish
NARS Other Side Nail Polish
NARS Other Side Nail Polish
NARS Other Side Nail Polish
NARS Other Side Nail Polish
NARS Other Side Nail Polish
NARS Other Side Nail Polish
NARS Other Side Nail Polish
NARS Crossroads Nail Polish
NARS Crossroads Nail Polish
NARS Crossroads Nail Polish
NARS Crossroads Nail Polish
NARS Crossroads Nail Polish
NARS Crossroads Nail Polish
NARS Crossroads Nail Polish
I really hope you have a well ventilated office, Christine!! With all the polish fumes…
LOL! 😉
Hell-Bent looks awesome! Such a fiery orange.
It is!
Other Side – GASP. I must have this. I’ve never tried a NARS polish before but there is so much I love from Nars that I’m anticipating joy at using this.
I really love NARS’ formula – there are a couple of misses here and there over the years, but those are primarily those really light, milky colors and then sometimes they have shades that are sheerer (but not described as such).
I’m so excited to see your A+ rating! I have quite the nail polish collection but interestingly enough, have never owned a NARS polish. I will be looking into purchasing Hell-Bent :). Thanks for the review as always, Christine!
My pleasure, Carolyn! Keep me posted on how you like NARS’ formula.
Oooo, Other Side is my kind of shade. Not sure how I feel about the wide brushes though.
They didn’t seem TOO wide to me, but they might be for some – like my pinky nail, I do have to be careful not to splay it.
Hell Bent is gorge!
Agreed!
Hells bells..I love hell bent. It’s so vivid. Lots of nail porn going on at Temptalia these days :D.. zero complaints from me
Haha! More nails to come…
OOH, love Crossroads! It’s a total rogue shade, LOL 😀
Love it!
Love the vampyness of other side and crossroads.
Me too! They’re very fitting for fall.
These are gorgeous! so happy they are good! hell bent is beautiful .. how many red nail polishes can a girl have? 😛
However many she dares to wear 😉
Really nice!
Will you be indulging in any of the new NARS’ polishes, Malia?
This is somewhat off-topic, as it might be better placed with your chanel fall roundup. But the chanel dupe Accessoire to ME is what chanel stands for: balance and REFINEMENT, with good quality. It really shows in these comparison swatches. Not only has the quality been lacking of late in their product, but they’ve definitely dropped a few notches in refinement. They don’t seems to do ‘inventive’ as well as they do ‘classic.’
The NARS are lovely, btw, to be ON topic.
NARS’ formula is always nicer than I remember it being – I think it’s because it’s a pricier polish so people tend to grab Dior/Chanel at this price and that’s what we hear about more often.
I somehow find it hard to justify spending that much on a polish because I feel like I never use it enough. I have a drawer full of polishes sitting around all of them mostly full lol. They do look very pretty on you tho and I might try one just to see how amazing the formula is!!How does the formula on these compare to the Sephora Fomula X colours Christine?Ty !
Totally understand! 🙂 I usually prefer to spend a little extra $ if it’s unique!
Formula X seems a bit thinner in general, but both are fantastic formulas and wear well for me.
Love Other Side brown, and the smoky moodiness of Crossroads.
Me too! Both are really fun shades. Perfect for fall!
STRIKING! <3 (me loves tiny things!) 🙂
Which was the nicest to you?
Hell bent is gorgeous shade.. <3
Agreed!
Hell-Bent looks to be a wonderful autumn-y polish. I think it’s a must have for me. I don’t think I have anything even remotely like it.
I too have never owned a NARS nail polish. But we didn’t have NARS here at all for many years, it made an appereance at one or two department stores aeons ago, just to disappear again after, maybe a couple of years, now we can buy NARS again thanks to Sephora.
I will be curious to see if you end up getting tempted by one enough to purchase 😉
Ehmmm…. is Philip Lim a fan of Supernatural? 😀 Because I see what he did there! I really like Hell-Bent and Crossroads. Looks like it’s nail polish season…
It is! Or at least, it certainly feels like it, lol!
Otherside is really awesome!
It’s very dramatic!