The NARS ’24 Karat Collection for Holiday 2024 has been released on their website, and while it is a beautiful collection, I won’t be buying anything. Since I’ve already tried the Afterglow Sensual Shine Lipstcks, I figured I could share some swatches and quick thoughts. I also stopped into my local Sephora @ Kohl’s and swatched more lipsticks featured in Holiday 2024 sets.

NARS Sensual Shine Lipstick Dolce Vita, $32

The Sensual Shine Lipstick is featured in the Afterglow Lipstick and Mini Liquid Blush Duo ($35, SOLD OUT) this holiday season. The full-size lipstick in the shade Aragon is included in the set, so you’d only pay another $3 for the mini blush. It is a great price if you are interested in these products. Dolce Vita is the shade I have to show you in the full size, and I have 4 more shades that I could swatch from a sample card. However, I have a swatch of Aragon at the end of this post with the lip products that I swatched while at Sephora.

The Afterglow Sensual Shine Lipstick is basically a high-shine tinted lip balm. I specifically said this set is a good price rather than value because of the size of this lipstick. Many lipsticks, even shiny lip balm styles, have 2.4 – 3.5g of product. However, this NARS lipstick only has 1.5g. Considering it is light coverage and doesn’t last long, it will likely run out quickly. Just something to keep in mind.

Unfortunately, the Dolce Vita shade isn’t a favorite, and the formula is too thin and slippery for my preference. The shade has a little too much purple in it. My natural lip color makes colors appear cooler-toned, so I’d need something warmer. I like a thicker texture for balms and lipsticks, and this wasn’t even in the ballpark of what I usually like. The formula contains mango and shea butter (among other things) for moisture, is hydrating, and is comfortable to wear. It doesn’t dry out my lips or cause any irritation over time. If I liked thinner textures, I might get a different shade, but this is just a fail since I like other formulas better.

Swatches – NARS Powermatte High-Intensity Pencil in American Woman, Sensual Shine in Aragon, Explicit in Rendez-vous, and Explicit in Unauthorized

The Powermatte High-Intensity Pencil is featured in the Mini Powermatte Lip Duo ($30). Unfortunately, I remembered wrong and swatched the pencil in the shade American Woman, but the one in the set is Dolce Vita. The lipstick shade in the set is American Woman, but I have no idea if the shades match up.

Again, the Afterglow Sensual Shine Lipstick in Aragon is in the Afterglow Lipstick and Mini Liquid Blush Duo ($35).

The Explicit Lipsticks ($40, not affiliated) are a new formula recently released by NARS. The two shades featured in the Holiday collection are Rendez-vous and Unauthorized. They are dressed up in a gold tube instead of the traditional black for the holidays. The new Explicit Lipstick formula doesn’t seem as pigmented as the old Audacious formula, but it does have good pigmentation. They seemed a little dry to me, but I didn’t try them on my lips, so I can’t say for sure. The refillable packaging is nice and sturdy and should be for $40.  Although I think it was done well, I’m not really into the packaging.  It feels a little chunky in my hand, and the letters of the NARS logo are raised. It is very on-brand for NARS, and I like it in that respect, but I just wasn’t crazy about the shape for some reason. Just my two cents from swatching them in-store, though.

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If you’ve been around for a while, you can probably tell I enjoy NARS products. I’m always tempted whenever they have new products, but I’m trying to remember that I don’t have to buy something just because it’s been released. I hope this was helpful. 🙂

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If you’d like to see more of my content, you can check out my other index-style pages: Blush Index, Brands A-Z, Concealer Ranking, Foundation Round-Up, and Lipstick Index.

Disclaimer:  I purchased all products featured with my own money.  This site receives a minimal commission from participating in the WordAds program.  For my full disclosure policy, click here.