NARS Spring 2012: Mexican Rose Velvet Gloss Lip Pencil

NARS Mexican Rose Velvet Gloss Lip Pencil ($24.00 for 0.09 oz.) is described as a “hot pink.” It’s new and permanent, just in time for spring. It’s a glossy raspberry pink with a touch of sheerness but is still very pigmented for a gloss and, overall, nearly opaque. There’s a shiny finish that makes the lips look almost wet. MAC Scandelicious is brighter, pinker. MAC Radiant Jewels is similar but less opaque and even. NARS Hot Wired is redder and has a shimmery iridescence. Lancome Electric Pink is a bit lighter and has shimmer.

I reviewed the formula in-depth here. I wore Mexican Rose to test out the wear, though, and it wore for three and a half hours. It’s comfortable to wear, because it has the texture of lip balm–thin, lightweight–but the high-gloss shine of your favorite lipgloss. You won’t get quite the lush lip look without some of the cushion-like texture of a true gloss, but you do get a good amount of added luminosity and fullness from the shine. I also really loved how evenly this applied.

The major downside is that these are not twist-up pencils, so they require sharpening. With the softness of the pencil (which actually broke on me while I was applying it for swatching), you’ll waste a lot if you don’t freeze them (many readers have said they had good luck freezing pencils like this!).

NARS Mexican Rose Velvet Gloss Lip Pencil

NARS Mexican Rose Velvet Gloss Lip Pencil

NARS Mexican Rose Velvet Gloss Lip Pencil

NARS Mexican Rose Velvet Gloss Lip Pencil

NARS Mexican Rose Velvet Gloss Lip Pencil

NARS Mexican Rose Velvet Gloss Lip Pencil