NARS

What is NARS?

NARS is a top-quality make-up brand. It is sold in all high street department stores, and they also have many retail outlets across the world. If you are ever in London's Covent Garden, then pay them a visit at 9 King St, WC2. You can try out the products and book yourself in for a make-up tutorial with professional make-up artists, teaching you how to re-create looks that are hot off the runway!

Who is NARS?

The main man behind NARS is Francois Nars, a French fashion photographer, and Make-up artist. After establishing himself in New York as a fashion photographer and professional Make-up artist he took the leap into cosmetics, and in 1994 he created a range of just 12 lipsticks that were sold in the world-famous New York department store, Barney's New York on 7th Avenue.

The History behind NARS

Francois was born in the very fashionable South of France and has said that watching his stylish chic mother dress in exquisite designer clothing was his inspiration to become involved in fashion and photography. With the help of his mother, he established himself as a photographer/make-up and re-located to New York where he worked with the likes of legendary fashion photographer Steven Meisel. Other A-listers he has worked with include Madonna, Naomi Campbell, and Linda Evangelista.

Francois is still very influenced by his glitzy mother; Claudette and he has recently launched The Claudette Collection of which his mother is the face. With her age undisclosed, she is insanely attractive, and you can see how a young Francois with his mother as his muse, has been given such a rooted foundation in fashion and beauty. Delivering to women make-up that makes them feel confident, sexy, and beautiful! He describes his style as 'no-rules beauty'. Using artistry and self-expression to create bold, unexpected looks and styles.

NARS Bestsellers

The mainstay for NARS is the lipsticks and if you want bold colours, look no further. The range of colour choices is immense, you will find it hard to select a favourite. If it is quintessential red, you are after then go for NARS Claudette Audacious Lipstick, priced at £26.00. There is also a huge variety of lip colour applicators, such the classic lipstick, lip pigment, lip balm, lip pencil and gloss.

NARS products can be slightly pricey but there are deals to be found. There is a last chance section on the website where you can find some good discounts. They also have some products in a mini version. A good option to go for is The Multiple , a multi-use stick that can be applied to eyes, cheeks lips and body. It is used for highlighting, sculpting, and is described as mistake-proof. This is a must-have for your handbag or travel kit, this product sells for £30, not too bad considering all the uses!

Can you buy make-up online?

Buying make-up online may feel unnatural and difficult, you may not sure of the colour when applied to your skin tone, or which tone of concealer to choose? Of course, visiting the make-up counter is hard to beat but the cosmetic companies are working hard to remedy this. On the NARS website, there are lots of beauty tutorials you can watch to assist you in your purchases. As well as colour matching tool for foundations and concealers.

There is a complexion finder that helps you find out what is best for your personal colouring and if you want to get really tech-savvy, you can take a selfie on your mobile and it will make a composite of half your face natural and the other half with the make-up on! They also display different skin tones displaying the colours for comparison.

Buying make-up online is definitely getting easier due to the interactivity of apps and websites. Another benefit is once you have an account, previous purchases are logged so there is no worry of buying the wrong shade. Personally, I think a mixture of online and store-bought works well, especially if you are trying out a brand-new product.

An Imagining of young Francois and Claudette

Watch the video linked below, to have a peek into the special relationship between Claudette and Nars, as a young child who is would watch in awe as his inimitable beautiful mother would do her make-up. This exposure as a young boy made an everlasting impression on Francois. Which is how we can now all share in the beauty, elegance, and strength his mother conveyed.