NARS Audacious Lipstick Review - Shade 'Charlotte'

 
Hey everyone!
So I popped into London the other day to grab a couple of bits and bobs for some upcoming events that I was going to, and when passing by Selfridge's I got myself entangled in one of the window displays and so thought it be best to pop in and have a look. I made a beeline for the make-up section, narrowly avoiding being sprayed in the eye with perfume.
I knew immediately that I wanted a red lipstick but I definitely did not want a bright red, I wanted more of a matte burgundy lipstick, although I am buying the lipstick for a vintage look, I don't want to be wearing a bright red as it will detract from my dress and will look too clown like with my skin tone. I didn't want any shimmer in it as I feel like with my baby face it makes me look like a 12 year old who has just discovered the joys of lip gloss, and after-all, it doesn't really go with my vintage look, I'm sure Marilyn Monroe didn't wear glittery lipstick. 
I was immediately drawn to the MAC counter, but I found the staff to be unhelpful and when I finally did find someone to help me, he pointed me to completely the wrong shade and exactly what I hadn't asked for.
Failing this I popped over to the NARS counter where the lovely ladies were super helpful in helping me find the shade that I wanted. I was stuck between the Audacious lipstick in 'Charlotte' and the Pure Matt lipstick in 'Vesuvio', I ended up leaving with the Audacious Lipstick because I found the Pure Matt lipstick to be a little too matte (yes I know I'm a huge mind-changer but I can't help it, I love a little shimmer). 
The packaging itself (as pictured above) is sleek, black and neat, truly illustrating that this is a high end product, the embossing on the outer packaging on the NARS name, really gives a lasting effect and shows how high quality the brand is. Once open the lipstick consists of a square-like lipstick which has a lid and base and (how brilliant is this) there are mini magnets in the lid and base that make it snap together once you've got them close to each-other! I cant help but loving that little snap it makes when it closes... snap snap snap. The bottom has a little sticker on it that shows all of the information, I suppose that the thing that I love the most about this lipstick is that it is square, this is just super convenient for me as if I buy tonnes and tonnes of them I can stack them together neatly. Although... looking at the £24 price tag, it is highly unlikely that I will buy an excess amount of these. 
Please excuse the grubbiness of the packaging in my pictures... it went into the make-up back for about 2 seconds and managed to pick up all kinds of dust in there.

 I was pretty amazed with the look of the lipstick as it has the NARS name stamped into it which I felt was just another cute little touch. 
The lipstick claims to be a "single swipe" lipstick, which basically means, it should be super pigmented and you should be able to get it all on in just a single wipe, although... if you're a messy pup like me this just never happens. Nevertheless I took a swatch of two swipes vs one swipe. Can you tell which one is which? Nope... neither can I.

The colour (although not shown here due to the flash) is super duper pigmented and comes out with masses of ease. It an absolutely classic burgundy colour which can not only be used to create a vintage look, but an edgy one too if paired with a sultry smoky eye. The lipstick is insanely smooth and (unlike the MAC lipsticks which can sometimes be kinda choppy and hard to apply) this lipstick glides on with ease. Without a primer or concealer base this lipstick gives a more rich and deep red feeling but without it can give a more day to day look. The slight shimmer makes the lipstick less intimidating and slightly more wearable than I think it would be if it was completely matte. All in all I completely love this lipstick and it is true to it's word about being a smooth and single swipe lipstick. But this lipstick is so creamy that if you don't use a good quality lip liner you'll end up look like Ronald McDonald.

Would I get it again?
Most definitely yes, it is my new make-up staple and I'm going to be gutted when it runs out!

Anyway,
I'll talk to you soon :)
- A