the Blackthorn Orphans
  • B L O G
  • The Blackthorn Orphans: read it onsite
  • The Blackthorn Orphans TRANSLATIONS PAGE
  • Lovely R BLOG
  • PHOTOESSAYS
  • SELECTED RAVINGS: essays & opinion
  • RUBYHUE Lipstick Review
  • blackthorn ROSE REVIEW
  • KITCHEN BITCH: Recipes etc.
  • verse
  • Hostile Witness FILM REVIEW
  • ALOES & SUCCULENTS
  • Blackthorn Perfume Review
  • B I O
  • C O N T A C T

RubyHue Lipstick Review: Nars Yu Satin Pencil

7/9/2016

 
Picture
Picture
Whilst I can sort of get away with wearing bright blue-leaning pink, there is always something slightly nasty, bordering on vaguely horrific about the result.  And judging by the steady resale market I'm not the only one who loves and yet struggles with shades like Nars Yu. 

The colour is admittedly incredibly alluring- candied orchid is the phrase my brain spits out but impatiens pink or bluish rose are probably more relatable.  I don't consider it fuchsia.  Sadly it just not really suited to a rather wide swathe of eligible humanity. 
Yu isn't the bluest of the blue pinks I've encountered by any stretch, but that coolish quality is definitely there and cannot be wished away if you have trouble with it.  Perhaps the only people who can do genuine justice to this pink are those at the extreme ends of the complexion spectrum; if you are super dark or pale with cool to neutral undertones, this shade can be the jewel in your facial crown.  ​I've also seen it look the absolute shizniz against some Indian tonalities (there is a famous shade of sari silk that's an almost spot-on match*) but I'd think twice if I were very warm-to-golden.  The rest of us just end up looking like sadly misguided and/or slutty clowns.  Ha ha- too bad, world!  I'd never let that prospect prevent me from wearing a colour I enjoy, and neither should you.  Slap that shit on.  Life is too short to be regretting stuff you didn't do.
Picture
A recent prune of my collection really should have sent Yu on its way, but I just couldn't let it go.  The Nars Satin Pencil formula stomped that sensible impulse with its uncanny silkiness and persistence on the lip.  This is not the kind of colour you want punking out or clinging to the margins unbeknownst to the wearer and Yu delivers 3-4 hours of untouched up staunchness.  If you liked the idea but not so much the ratchet reality of MAC Heroine, Show Orchid or Full Fuchsia, Yu is a more tasteful alternative.

As you can see from the swatches, this sort of shade is widely iterated and if you already own the MAC Retro Matte versions, you don't really need to splash out on another.  The difference is largely textural.  Personally I would keep Yu before all the others because it is technically superior and just more pleasant to wear.   

The finish is less slippy than it appears on the hand, drying down to a lower sheen than my other Nars Satin Pencils.  This is the secret to Yu's longevity, so it's probably best not to overload with product unless you're specifically going for a wetter look + collateral maintenance.
Picture
Picture
Picture
​The colour is so of itself that lighting changes don't really have too much effect.  That deep Nars pigmentation really makes its neighbours seem dull and recessed; when MAC shades look cheap in comparison, you're doing something right.
Yu does the same on the average mouth, lifting less-than-perfect lippage.  It can interact a bit strangely with your tooth colour, though; blue-pinks should be kind and whitening but I find it weirdly amplifies some of the funkier tones afflicting my fangs.  Again- not enough to stop me wearing it.  It doesn't bleed or suffer any noticeable formula fails.

There are a few tricks you can use to shorten any eww factor in Yu.  I like to match my skin's sheen level to that of any difficult lipstick I'm attempting- in this case, low satin.  I then try to eliminate most of the competing pinks from my face i.e. rosacea blotches and the blueish-lavender in capillaries, eyebags etc., with a thorough concealer effort.  Keeping Yu slightly sheer helps its tones adapt to your own, and finally I've found it's important to blur out the edge rather than maintain a hard line, especially on a mature face, so leave the liner pencil in the bag.  Works for me.

* Gulabi is the Hindi word for pink but I'm not sure if it's the specific term I was looking for.  Incidentally- respect for the Gulabi Gang, a group of Indian activists who publicly shame and punish perpetrators of violence against women.
Picture
Picture
L2R MAC Russian Red, Bite Corvina, MAC Quick Sizzle, Nars Yu, MAC Flat Out Fabulous, MAC All Fired Up, MAC Rebel.  indoor & outdoor natural light, no flash
Picture
Picture

*   More Rubyhue Lipstick Review   *   Perfume Review   *   Film Review   *



Comments are closed.

    RSS Feed

    Picture

    Independent Creativity
    Hi-Fi Introversion

    ORIGINAL CONTENT
    HONEST REVIEWS
    VELVETEEN VERBIAGE
    VISUAL LUXURY
    MORBID IDLING
    THE NATURAL WORLD
     
    ​photography  
    film
    flora  fauna  culinary
    ethnography  objet
    ​

    modest living
    ​vintage shit

    A U T H O R
    Picture
    K ✂︎ l l y
    congenital delinquent
    Human Durian
    celebrating
    glorious deviation in the land of
     the long white cloud

    -  New Zealand  -


    - T h e   B o o k -

    Picture
    T H E  
    B L A C K T H O R N
    O R P H A N S


    What is freedom, when it is
    all that remains to you?
    In exile two brothers pursue an anarchist's trajectory,  from an old world into the new, from East to West, subject always to the pleasures & horrors of an enduring flesh, to the ironies of karma & impunity. Love bears thorns, the lost return & the dead are haunted by the living. 
    ​

    E P I C   D A R K   F I C T I O N
    *   R E A D   *
    T H E
    B L A C K T H O R N 
    O R P H A N S
     O N S I T E  

    H e r e



    Picture

    Selected
    ​Ravings

    opinion essays observation private regret public 
    exaltation semicoherent speculation 

    Picture

    Photoessay​

    epic undertakings
    documented

    ​
    Picture

    Hostile Witness FilmReview

    Cruel but fair

    Picture

    RubyHue 
    ​
    Lipstick Review

    Lipstick: love it
    ​

    Picture

    Our Photography​

    we've seen worse
    ​

    Picture

    Port Chalmers​

    Dunedin, New Zealand
    ​

    Picture

    Blackthorn ​
    ​Rose Review

    Garden Hoe Wisdom
    Picture

    Verse​

    Loss, love, truth, beauty everything, everything
    ​
    Picture

    The  Lovely R's Blog​

    Likes photography  Knows a bit about it

    Picture

    We Liked This​

    Amazing things from other people
    ​

    Picture

    Cacti, Aloes
    ​&
     
    Flora​

    Our garden & general vegetal splendours
    ​

    Picture

    KitchenBitch

    Home cooking
    & raw ingredients
    ​
    Picture

    Ethnographic​

    Strange wonderful things from elsewhere
    ​

    Picture

    Jewellery
    ​

    Picture

    Tiny Little 
    Dinosaurs
    - a book for children -


    All images & text property of the authors 
    ​
    unless stated

    © us
    & original sources
    All Rights Reserved



    Picture

    Privacy Policy
    ​This is a noncommercial site.
    No ads. No shady data jacks. 
    No interest in your bizniz.

    ​We don't personally view, utilise or sell your data, apart from occasionally checking totally anonymous + super basic site view stats. We don't even know how to monetise that stuff, so don't worry.  Everyone's privacy is important to us.

    Our platform is probably harvesting your data, though, via their cookies. Look at their privacy page so you can see what they're up to.

    Please use Adblock or something similar.
    ​
    Google et al superimpose ads that we never see a penny from so fuck them.

    Picture

    Archives

    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    September 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013


    Picture

    Categories

    All
    A Thing Of Beauty
    Blackthorn Orphans
    Blackthorn Rose Review
    Cacti & Aloes
    Ethnographica
    Flora
    Hostile Witness Film Reviews
    Jewellery
    Kitchen Bitch
    Make Up Review
    Maximum Respect
    Perfume Reviews
    Photo Du Jour
    Photo Essay
    Places & Things: A Blackthorn Review
    Port Chalmers
    Remembering Dreams
    Roses
    Selected Ravings
    Softcore Rendition
    Sweetmeat
    Textiles
    The Lovely R
    Verse
    We Liked This

    Picture
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.