NARS Chronicles : Radiant Creamy Concealer - Ginger & Biscuit - Swatches & Review

makeup
My love story with NARS is still going strong. As of today, this brand is the make up brand I talk about the most on Wished Chronicles. Believe me, this isn't sponsored or anything, It's really a love story going strong here. After trying, the Sheer Glow foundation which perfectly matched my skin and had finally the right amount of warmth and yellow for my tan/indian skintone, I just had to try their famous Radiant Creamy concealer.




I only got Ginger at first, and after casting away my MAC's Pro longwear concealer, I finished my first round up of the Radiant Creamy Concealer. Mind you, I was scrapping the sides away to get the last bit of product it left. I still have half a bottle of the MAC concealer but I still went ahead and picked up another radiant creamy concealer and this time, with an extra shade : Biscuit.




What the brand says


Coveted by artists for its luxurious texture and luminous finish, new Radiant Creamy Concealer evens skin with lightweight medium to high buildable coverage. Enriched with hydrating, multi-action skincare benefits and light diffusing technology, it creates a softer, smoother complexion while instantly obscuring imperfections and diminishing fine lines and signs of fatigue.

  • Long wearing and crease-proof
  • Paraben-free, Alcohol free, Synthetic fragrance free, Non comedogenic

The packaging

The concealer comes in a wand type packaging with the classic black rubbery Nars packaging at the handle.


It comes with 6 ml/0.22 oz for a price point of 27€/29$ (us).



The packaging is also see-through, which lets you see how much product is left inside (you do will have to scrape the sides like I did for that) and the doe-foot applicator has a perfect flat side which allows you to apply the product easily on your skin.



 Swatches 

The formula is very creamy, just like the name says it and is very pigmented. A little goes a long way, and the coverage ranges from medium to full depending on the amount of product you use. The finish isn't matte but it's not dewy either, it's definitely light reflective and thus, has a natural finish. Even though, I'm all for the natural finish and don't like to powder my whole face, I do powder my under eyes to first, set the concealer and second, to get a matte finish. 



Ginger is a shade lighter than my skin tone and is similar to MAC's NC35 shade, I use it to brighten my under eyes and it works well for my tan/indian skin tone. Biscuit is supposedly my skintone shade, I did find that it was a tad too dark but nothing too noticeable. I bought it to spot conceal and cancel out my dark under eyes on days when putting a lighter shade would just turn the finish gray. (Read the review on Mac's orange corrector here).

If you want to compare with MAC's shades, Ginger would be the equivalent of an NC35 and Biscuit of an NC42. 

Below, is the comparison swatches with Nars' Lightweight foundation in Stromboli, and Sheer Glow foundation in Barcelona.



My thoughts

The product lasted for around 7 months of daily use and is extremely easy to apply and blend. I used a dry/wet beauty blender to blend the concealer in on most days or would even use my fingers. It's not thick if you don't over apply the product and it is fairly unnoticeable if, again, you use a fair amount of product.

The concealer claims to be crease-proof, now, if you do have fine lines, don't expect them to disappear, that's not what the product says it will do. If you do use a reasonable amount of product, it won't crease and will look really natural while covering everything you need to cover up. In term of longevity, it's not overly long lasting but it does last for around 7 or 8 hours if you powder.

Let's talk about the cons now :
This concealer is expensive. Nearly 30 bucks for a concealer is crazy in my book, granted there's more expensive but when you can buy less expensive and just as good elsewhere, it's worth checking other product out. The other concealer I own is MAC's pro longwear which is 20 bucks for 9 ml of product whereas NARS' concealer is only 6 ml of product. 

Why did I buy it again then ?

This concealer isn't phenomenal but it is great. I do think it's over priced but the consistency, application and shades are good enough to get my crazy self to spend this much for the Radiant Creamy Concealer.

In comparison with MAC's pro longwear concealer, it's indeed more expensive and is packed up with less product but, the pro longwear creases not matter how little product you apply and the packaging is horrendous. Though, as the name suggests it, MAC's prolong wear concealer is truly long lasting compared to the Radiant Creamy Concealer.




“My rule of thumb: lightness, transparency, and less is more.
Do not cover the complexion, enhance it.”
– François Nars


The reason why I love Nars products even more, is that I love François Nars' view on make up. For myself,  I share the idea that make up should only enhance your own beauty which is why I always go for the more natural look.

Buy yours now

Amazon - Nars (US) - Nars (fr) - Sephora (US) - Sephora (fr)

Other NARS reviews :


Klairs - Gentle Black Deep Cleansing Oil - Review

klairs
I reviewed the scrub version of this product and now here comes its sibling :


 

What the brand says



Special cleansing oil for special skin, Gentle Black Deep Cleansing Oil

It is not just a cleansing oil, but the combination of natural black grains. Ingredients extracted from the nature will gently take care of your skin.
1. Black Bean Oil Black bean helps to control the sebum production, increases the skin elasticity and provides a soothing effect.
 2. Black Sesame Oil Black sesame prevents dehydration and skin aging while providing powerful antioxidant effects through various useful components such as Beta-carotene, Rinolenic acid, Sesamin, Sesaminol and Tocopherol.
 3. Black Currant Seed Oil Black Current Seed Oil strengthens the skins protective layer to prevent the evaporation of moisture from the skin. It promotes skin cell regeneration and provides antioxidant effects by containing various minerals.


This Gentle Black Deep Cleansing Oil is great if:
  • If you have rough skin by blackheads and dead skin cells
  • If you have dry or sensitive skin
  • If you want the skin care effect while cleansing
  • If you are looking for cleanser to clean out pores




The packaging

You get 150 ml of product coming in a simple but sleek plastic bottle.  I got picture of this, when I first got it but they were busted so, as you can see, in those pictures, I'm almost out of it. The wrapping paper around my bottle is slightly coming off but that's only because I tend to remove my makeup in the shower. 



 It also comes with a classic pump which delivers enough product in one pump, when you first get it, it also comes with a stopper (check out the unboxing article to see what I'm talking about).


The product


Here's a few pumps of the product on my hand to show you how it actually looks. It's a clear lightweight oil. The formula glides over your skin without tugging at it and as the name of it describe it, it's actually very gentle on your skin. You're supposed to get a few pumps into your palms, put it on your dry face and massage the product to remove all your makeup and skin impurities. Then, rinse it off with a lukewarm water (the brand and I recommend as well not to wipe it off with a cloth or wipe, all of the product won't come off !).
When you rinse with water, the product turns a milky white consistency until it goes off.

Where to get it

This product is exclusively sold at Wishtrend, and I believe it's actually one of their own brands.
You can get it here for 22,90$. 
  • With orders of 55$+ :  WISHAPR2015 - Get 10% off of your order
  • Coupon Code : 033450111 - Get instantly 5$ off of your first order with ANY amount by registering to Wishtrend and writing this code in  the "friends invitation program" box in the registration form ! 
  • With ANY orders, receive a free Elishacoy Vitamin Collagen Sheet Mask with code : WISHGIFTAPR2015
 
(If you're reading this after the month of April, alway check the sidebar for the updated promo codes)

My thoughts

I got this product in my wishbox purchased here and I was glad to get a new makeup remover. I used to use Shu Uemura's expensive one back in the days and I never got myself to get another one of those after I ran out of it. Klair's Gentle balck deep cleansing oil does a good job of removing my makeup. I wear extremely waterproof eyeliner (demo here with Klairs in action) and it removed that eyeliner and my mascara (Benefit's They're Real) perfectly. I usually took 2 to 3 pumps without thinking about it, and I realized that when I got too much product it's a bit harder to get it off. I do recommend only getting 2 pumps and really rinsing it off with water. 
As I mentioned earlier, the formula is really lightweight, gliding and gentle on the skin. After using it, my skin didn't feel tight meaning that I didn't rip my skin from its moisture but it didn't oil me up either, so don't be scared of using oils. As I said in this article, oils are great to use even for oily skin. If you have combination skin like I do, this product is perfect because it doesn't excessively moisture your skin but it doesn't dry it up either.
I mentioned the fact it took a bit of work to get it off and it might be why I still have a bit of makeup left on my skin afterwards. I did the white towel trick : Wiping (I know it's bad but it was an experiment) my face with a white towel to see if there's any makeup left. And there was, it's maybe because I use too much product but I feel like although I can't see it, there is makeup mixed with the oil on the surface of my skin. It wasn't that much of a problem because I always double cleanse (using a foam cleanser after the makeup remover) anyways to get all of my makeup off.

TL:DR


Pros 

  • Lightweight
  • Gentle
  • Isn't greasy
  • Doesn't strip the face
  • Moisturizing

Cons 

  • Can take a bit of time to remove the product
  • Residue of makeup found the skin, double cleansing is necessary 

 Effects on combination/acne-prone skin

I used it during winter time here in Paris, my combination skin turned to dehydrated cheeks and normal t-zone. As I said, this didn't dry me up nor did it oil me up. I would say that it's an ideal product if you have combination skin. As for the acne-prone part, this product didn't break me out, and if anything, my skin hasn't been this good for a good while. (Of course, I'm not saying that this cleared up my skin because the other products I used did that but it didn't make it bad that's for sure).

Conclusion for combination/acne-prone skin : Go for it !

    If you read what the brand said about the product and then my thoughts about it, you'll notice that the product does everything it says it does.


    You can also use it in combination with its sister the Gentle Black Deep Cleansing scrub that I reviewed here. They work really well together and provide mild deep cleansing if you mix the oil with the scrub and massage it into your skin.




    Tiny Haul : Lush and their bath bombs

    haul

    I went into Lush many times, but I never purchased anything. I love the concept, the products seem pretty promising but the prices and the short-term life of the products never really spoke to me. This little bag, is actually a little birthday gift from my sister, it's not a haul per say but it's close enough.





     Now, I'm never been a bath person either. It's just not my thing but my bathroom got revamped right before my birthday and a new bath tub called in for a little bath with some Lush magic.


    My sister apparently went into the store and said something like : "She's in the middle of finals. She needs to chill" (Which I really needed !). Basically, all of these bath bombs have the particularity to soothe and get you into that chill and stress free atmosphere.




     On the picture below, the little green bar is a sample of some jelly like soap bar called "Miranda". I didn't like the smell nor did I like the soap finish of it.




    This one right here is called "Twilight" and has the particularity to be pretty big compared to other regular bombs. The effervescent trick of it was pretty cool and it left the water purple. Those little white/creamy dots on it are actually shimmers and you're left with soft and barely-there shimmers on your body afterwards.




     This yellow bath bomb is called "Cinders" and although I don't remember the smell, I do remember that those red parts didn't really do much (supposedly It would pop, but I didn't see any of that) and do keep in mind that you have to wash your tub afterwards, as it leaves a yellow cast making it seem like your tub is dirty as hell.




    The last one is called "Floating Island" and isn't a sphere like the two others and doesn't have any uniqueness to it. I haven't tried it yet so no effect whatsoever to tell, but the lack of color would probably result in me, not being that excited to watch the effervescence of it in the water.




    Fairly quick article. The price of the bath bombs vary depending on the weight and the particularity of it, but they usually retails between 2€ to 6€ and are great gifts ideas.

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