NARS‘ spring 2017 collection has hit stores and I’m getting a very “cool waters, bronzey tones and coral flare” to the whole collection. It’s a nice change from the “flowers for spring” theme that people just will NOT LET DIE – so I’m really happy to see NARS try something a little bit different. This collection feels like a pre-cursor to summer!

I don’t have the full collection (you can see that whole roundup on NARS‘ site here), but I’ve got a couple of their Velvet Shadow Sticks and a gorgous new blush.

The two Velvet Shadow Sticks are in the shades Siros (bronzey-amber) and Grand-Large (shimmery sky blue). The Bumpy Ride blush is a *stunning* pink-coral with a faint hint of shimmer. It doesn’t look like glitter on the cheeks, but there is some definite added luminosity coming from the blush.

In terms of colour, the Velvet Shadow Sticks are beautiful. The bronzey-amber Siros shade is absolutely stunning on the lid and blends out very nicely with a fluffy brush. Great for quick and easy application!

However… it doesn’t last. The Velvet Shadow Sticks are an absolute disaster on my eyelids. When I initially wore this out to a movie one evening I couldn’t believe how badly my eyes looked afterwards – they were creased and tacky-feeling. Just all around gross. I reapplied the shadow sticks over the weekend so you could see what happens to them within a scant few minutes of application. My left eye (your right side in the picture) has eyeshadow primer on it… and as you can see, it didn’t make any damn difference. I don’t even know how anyone could successfully wear these without causing creasing. Ugh.

Moving on to something I did love: the blush. Bumpy Ride is absolutely stunning. It’s pigmented and easy to apply. This shade is everything I *love* in a blush – it’s a coral-pink which is pretty much perfection in my book! As with all NARS blushes I’ve tried, the powder is absolutely flawless.

Final Thoughts

The Velvet Touch Shadow Sticks are… (sorry NARS) garbage. Do not buy them. (And if you’re someone who loves these shadow sticks, please, PLEASE tell me how you wear them!)

That Bumpy Ride blush though? Holy smokes man… that is absolutely 100% worth your money. It’s a gorgeous shade, packs plenty of pigment punch and is easy to apply and blend out. As it turns out, Bumpy Ride is being introduced with this collection but it’s also now a permanent shade! Huzzah!

The products in this post were sent to me for consideration. Post may contain affiliate links.