Following the theme of exotic locales in the Nars Spring 2012 collection comes the NARS Valparaiso Pure Matte Lipstick. Named after the growing Chilean cultural capital, the Valparaiso Pure Matte Lipstick is a rich long-wearing raspberry with what NARS calls a ‘comfortable’ finish. Like the Paramaribo Eyeshadow Duo, Valparaiso’s shade of raspberry isn’t quite your typical Spring lipstick shade but hey…who wants to be typical? (Not me!)

Packaging (pictured above)

Unlike the rest of the standard lipstick tubes in the NARS lip product family, NARS Valparaiso is classified as a Pure Matte Lipstick. Pure Matte Lipsticks come in a skinnier lipstick tube that kind of looks like a marker from far away. The tip of the lipstick is angled and flatter compared to other NARS lipsticks. I actually prefer lipstick tips to be shaped this way as it makes for a more even application.

Swatches

Here’s what Valparaiso looks like swatched on my arm:

If the word ‘raspberry’ doesn’t come to mind when looking at the swatch, I don’t know what to tell you. Here’s what it looks like on:

Half

Full

And if you were paying attention, yes, I was wearing Valparaiso with the Paramaribo Eyeshadow duo:

Overall Performance

The biggest concern that most people have of matte lipsticks is that they tend to dry out easily compared to glossier lipsticks. Not the case with NARS Valparaiso Pure Matte Lipstick. Not once did my lips feel dry while wearing it. On top of that, it’s definitely long-wearing. It took me about 4 hours before I decided I wanted to retouch my lips while wearing Valparaiso! It almost has the stubborn-ness of a lipstain when trying to remove it, but I found that a little olive oil to the lips helped remove it.

Although Valparaiso is part of the Spring 2012 collection, I wouldn’t hold off on this color until the Spring. As a raspberry, it’s perfect for transitioning Winter to Spring. It’s not too dark and not too light, thus a great option for any skin tone! Two thumbs up from me!

NARS Valparaiso Pure Matte Lipstick is available Jan. 15 at www.narscosmetics.com

Score: 5/5

Disclaimer: NARS Valparaiso Pure Matte Lipstick was provided to me by NARS for review purposes only. The opinions in this review are 100% my own.