Flush of Red: NARS Sheer Lipstick in Gipsy

by - Friday, January 12, 2018


Red and sheer.


My mom, sister, and I have one thing in common: we all love a good lip. Mom loves her reds/red-pinks; my sister and I love pinks and mauves and brows. We all stay away for nudes, though. It’s just an unspoken rule. Given our love for lippies, we tend to share. Share as in, pass the lippie to the person who’ll use it more. My sister and I tend to do that with mom. There’ll be certain lippies that don’t really suit us so we pass it to her. I gave Mom On the Catwalk! and Geranium Shimmer because I don’t really reach for them and they’re the shades my mom’s into. Now, same thing happened to this lippie I’ll be talking about in a moment. This one’s originally my sister’s. She passed it to Mom because she thinks it doesn’t suit her and that it suits mom better. It’s a red so of course Mom will be interested. Ha!


So before she notices one of her lippies is missing, lemme share my thoughts real quick.


The lipstick on hand is NARS Gipsy, a red sheer lipstick. Now you must be thinking: Shaunne, what the hell are you doing with a sheer lipstick!? Yes, yes, I know. I’ve said in almost all my lipstick features that I’m a big fan and user of opaque lipsticks. But you know, I’m a curious cat. Plus, it’s NARS. I haven’t really owned a lippie from the brand so I want to know how they fare.

Gipsy is a sheer red, and after reading some info on their website, it’s for those who are scared of wearing red but want to at least try. It’s supposed to give your lips a sexy look, like you’ve got a berry stain on your lips. It’s not supposed be a color block on your lips; it’s for giving you a subtle burst of color without looking too made up. With that berry stain also comes a faint strawberry scent. It's a nice scent, one that even my dog can't stop sniffing.


It definitely has a more slick texture than, say, a crème or satin lipstick. It’s like a tinted lip balm’s more pigmented cousin. Gipsy glides effortlessly; too effortless, in fact, that I can’t shake the feeling of it pooling on the sides of my lips. It does feel lightweight on the lips, though. It doesn’t feel sticky but does feel…watery? Yep, definitely watery but with a hint of tack. Unlike lip stains, this one’s way more hydrating and more easier to maneuver. Gipsy has a shiny finish. Not a glittery kind of finish, but more like a watery shine kind of finish. I’m personally not used to wearing something that has this kind of finish but if you’re into high shine but don’t really dig glosses and stuff like that, you’re gonna like this. 

I do have one gripe, though: It feels that it just sits on top of your lips. You know, like it’s just there? Like, there’s no grip on my lips? Am I even making sense? It feels like it’ll just move around, like feather or smear and all that. I honestly felt like putting on a lip liner just so I know it’s sticking onto something, you know?


The shade and finish aren’t my cup of tea, personally, but I’d recommend this to someone who’d love to wear a wearable, daytime red. Gipsy has a kind of Parisian vibe to it: effortless and chic. I kind of imagine someone dabbing it across the lips to achieve a bitten look and be done with it.  Pair it with a cat eye, put your hair in a side braid, and boom: chic AF. Since it’s a bit watery, you can also use it as a blush, easily blended with your fingers or with a brush. Not bad, Gipsy, not bad at all. I think I prefer you over Guerlain's Wonder Violette. But shh, don’t tell them that.

Now let me just return you quietly to my mom’s makeup stash. It’s been real, Gipsy, it’s been real. x 

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