Francois NARS Blows A Big 25th Birthday Kiss With The Iconic Collection

Every 26.7 seconds, someone in the world is getting an Orgasm—the iconic NARS blush, that is. Then there’s the Climax Mascara, Copacabana Multiple, and Radiant Creamy Concealer to name a few bestsellers, that fly off counters at equal speed. But no matter how many new products come our way, both the beauty world and Francois Nars will always remember his first: The lipsticks he created in 1994. Those 12 iconic shades that sparked a game-changing beauty revolution, and have since evolved into over 132 lipsticks in diverse colours, textures and finishes. True story: Nars as a makeup artist in the 1980s-90s felt limited by the makeup available to him and decided to break the rules and face up against beauty industry giants by formulating his very own. This catapulted him to global beauty entrepreneur stardom, and the demand for NARS Cosmetics led to a full line of makeup and skincare—over 600 products across 50 categories today, if you're counting. Many of which are touted as cult classics till this day.

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So to mark this quarter-century milestone of rule-breaking beauty, the brand is launching 72 lipsticks: The Original 12 Lipstick Collection, and the Iconic Lipstick Collection with 60 more. Both collections feature an innovative formula that's lightweight yet creamy in texture for smooth application, with intense colour impact and long-wearing comfort thanks to conditioning ingredients of Passion Fruit Seed Oil and Moringa Seed Oil. Think sensorial, statement-making colour in a single stroke.

THE ORIGINAL 12 LIPSTICK COLLECTION

The Original 12 Lipstick Collection doesn't just pay homage to the decadent dozen that started it all, it honours the time Nars challenged convention and changed how the beauty industry functioned as a whole. Born from the need of greater self-expression and created for endless artistry, the newly relaunched shades are Heat Wave, a bright orange-red; Red Lizard, a full blown red; Funny Face, a bright fuchsia; Morocco, a warm cinnamon; Trans Siberian, a rich ruby rose; Transeurope Express, a deep rose; Shanghai Express, a warm brick red; Scarlet Empress, a rich blue red; Blonde Venus, a cool beige; Casablanca, a bold coral; Honolulu Honey, a neutral beige; and finally, Jungle Red, a vivid blue red. Beckoning you to fall for these shades all over again are special packaging as well, housed in a special red matte soft touch casing embossed with the white NARS logo.

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THE ICONIC LIPSTICK COLLECTION

This is NARS' most extensive shade range in the lip category to date, boasting 60 hues in creamy Matte, sensual Satin and uplifting Sheer finishes. Making for a trendsetting lip lineup are our favourites Dolce Vita, a Sheer dusty rose; Orgasm, a Satin peachy pink with golden shimmer; and Erotic Adventure, a Matte warm plum. These are housed in an updated black matte soft touch casing.

NARS' Founder and Creative Director, Francois Nars muses: "To me, lipstick is timeless. Women always love a good red, a good nude, a good soft pink, a pale pink. When I started the brand I decided that instead of doing 12 red lipsticks, I wanted to have a diverse offering of beautiful colours. At the time, the NARS shades were really a reflection of my work with different publications and magazines. These, along with other shades we have launched, remain fan favourites to this day,"

These new additions bring up NARS' lipstick count to over 200... but when it comes to creating the perfect pout, the options are infinite.

NARS Original and Iconic lipsticks are $40 each, available exclusively at NARS 391 Orchard, Takashimaya S.C., Ngee Ann City. And to get an express lip makeover at the #NoRulesJustLips Pop-up at 313@Somerset from now till 22 September, register here

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