NARS . MATTE VELVET LIP PENCIL IN TRAIN BLEU

Last week I debuted a look that was entirely new to me – strong brows and lips with absolutely no mascara, seen here. While the look may have been completely out of my comfort zone the deep aubergine lip was not, and a lot of people seemed to gravitate towards the shade that I used, NARS Matte Velvet Lip Pencil in Train Bleu. But the truth is that while the shade looks stunning from far away, up close it can appear patchy, clinging to the dry bits on my lips.

Don't get me wrong, I still absolutely adore this product – it's long wearing, pigmented and delivers a beautiful matte finish. But there's just something slightly off about it, as you can see in the below swatch. I'm never one to give up on a product, especially when I've had such high hopes for it, so I figured that today I would share how I prep and perfect my lips before applying Train Bleu. The first and most important step is to get rid of any flakes, and my favourite products to accomplish this are Lush's Lip Scrubs – I have three different flavours to correspond with whatever mood I'm in that day; salty, sweet or minty. I typically do this right after I wash my face in the morning, followed by an intensely hydrating lip product, like my Josie Maran Argan Lip Treatment. Leaving this on while I style my hair and put on my makeup means I'm maximizing the nourishment I receive from the argan oil infused balm. Once the rest of my makeup is complete I use a tissue to wipe of any excess balm before I add my deep lip. I apply Train Bleu straight from the pencil, but let's be honest I'm not a makeup artist so my technique is not always perfect, which is why it's necessary for me to touch up the edges with concealer – my go-to, the Bobbi Brown Corrector in Light Bisque. Despite my lips looking their most perfect at this point the struggle is still not over. Being a matte pencil I do find my lips become dry after 3 hours of wear, which is why I always carry a lip balm with me to make things a little more comfortable. The Fresh Sugar Advanced Therapy Lip Treatment is great since it doesn't impart a high shine finish and I can easily tap it on with my fingertips without disrupting the colour. 

THE SWATCH
*I didn't complete these steps for the swatch as I wanted to show Train Bleu in it's natural form*

This is a true labour of love, and to be honest I'd rather a simpler product that delivers the same matte shade. So please suggest some of your favourites in the comment section below!

AM¥     XO