NARS Cosmetics has introduced its new collection for the festive season, the Man Ray for NARS Holiday 2017 Collection.
Featuring limited-edition shades inspired by the surrealist modern art of Man Ray, the new collection is now available in travel retail.
Two ranges make up the collection featuring a palette of bold and bright colours which aim to evoke the artist’s legendary wit.
The Colour Collection
The Colour Collection introduces a new range of Photogloss Lip Lacquer in Zambeze, Muse, Off Limits and Kiki. Blush comprises Intensely (bright tangerine) and Fetishized (pink grapefruit) shades. Duo Eyeshadow products come in Montparnasse with shimmering gold and iridescent orchid and Debauched with black violet and a smokey charcoal with red shimmer. Velvet Eyeliner in Nagoya (violet) and Santiago (chocolate brown), the Double Take Overexposed Glow Highlighter and Gold Anita Audacious Lipstick round off the collection.
The Gifting Collection
NARS invites travellers to think outside of the box with a covetable collection of artful sets inspired by the bold minimalism and iconic muses of Man Ray’s fashion photography.
The NARS Love Triangle – Orgasm includes shades of Orgasm Blush (peachy pink with golden shimmer) and Orgasm Lipstick (peachy pink with golden shimmer, satin finish)
The NARS Love Triangle – Hot Sand And Rita features Hot Sand Blush in peach champagne and Rita Audacious Lipstick in scarlet.
Love Game Eyeshadow Palette features limited-edition shades in: Ladykiller, matte cream; Rendezvous, luminous golden pearl; Dominant, matte sandstorm; Submissive, matte deep army; Your Move, matte camel; Hard to Get, shimmering terracotta; Tryst, shimmering true gold; Dirty Talk, shimmering light silver; Long Game, satin sapphire; Blind Date, shimmering burgundy; Play Me, shimmering golden brown; and Momentum, shimmering emerald.
The Kiss Velvet Matte Lip Pencil Set features four shades: two new, limited edition and two existing, within a golden kiss cosmetic case. Shades Include: Endangered Red, bordeaux Toundra, rust (Limited Edition) Wild Ways, mahogany (Limited Edition) Spell Bound, shimmering pink beige.
The Moodie Davitt Report was at the exclusive launch of the Man Ray for NARS Holiday 2017 Collection earlier this year in Paris.
Past NARS Cosmetics collections have looked to Andy Warhol, Guy Bourdin and Sarah Moon for inspiration. Now, with the latest collection focusing on avant-garde artist Man Ray, we delved deeper into the link between Man Ray, an artist famed for his black and white images, and François Nars, a make-up artist known for his exuberant use of colour in cosmetics.
The (Make-Up) Artist’s Muse: François Nars on Man Ray
Why did you decide to dedicate an entire collection to Man Ray?
François Nars: For the past five years, we have done collaborations with different artists from Andy Warhol and Guy Bourdin, to Steven Klein and Sarah Moon. These are artists whom I love, admire, and whose work influenced me as both a make-up artist and as a photographer. I also have great respect for Man Ray; he inspired all the former artists we collaborated with at one time or another. So, it was an obvious choice to do this collection with the Man Ray trust. We are paying homage to the original artist whose work influenced us all.
When you think about Man Ray, black and white imagery comes to mind. How do you connect this with make-up?
FN: To me, something brilliantly coloured can look great represented in black and white. The lack of colour forces you to see something deeper in the object, but often just as beautiful. Make-up is similar. It’s not always about colour on the face. A very graphic, lined eye or defined lip creates a look that isn’t about colour at all. And, of course, some make-up – black eyeliner or a very dark red lip against pale skin – can appear almost black and white.
Why was it important to you to bring this type of art to the notice of your fans?
FN: With the collaborations, we highlight artists to our fans who have something unique to say about women and beauty. It goes beyond make-up. Man Ray was very much into beauty, but not in a conventional, boring way. It is that aesthetic and unique approach to beauty that we love to introduce to a wider public.
How did you create a colour collection based on Man Ray’s black and white photographs?
FN: For me, part of the fun of looking at old black and white photographs is imagining what make-up colours and textures were used. Of course the models are wearing colour, probably black eyeliner, powder, dark lip colour, only we can’t see it. I also enjoyed imagining what colours Man Ray might have been drawn to if he was working today. And, almost as important, is the aesthetic and vision of beauty that Man Ray represented – it is bold and moody, and a little irreverent and edgy. That’s what we have tried to capture in the shades of this collection.
How has Man Ray influenced or inspired you as an artist?
FN: I fell in love with Man Ray’s photography when I was about 19. There is a modernity to his images that seemed so contemporary to me. As a make-up artist, I studied Man Ray’s models very carefully: the shape of a lip, the graphic eyeliner, the placement of the rouge on the cheek. The incredible thing about Man Ray is how his style still seems new, fresh, sharp, even today.
What was the inspiration behind using the gold lips throughout the collection?
FN: I asked (art director) Fabien Baron if he could incorporate a particular image into the collection and he came back with the golden lips and the Man Ray logo. I am lucky to work with him, as he is an incredible art director whom I trust completely.
Working on the collection, François Nars enlisted the expert help of art historian and Man Ray expert Wendy A. Grossman Ph.D:
What do you think are the main parallels that stand out to you between Man Ray and François Nars?
Wendy A. Grossman:The fact that both artists picked up a camera as a tool to enhance their main creative endeavours is noteworthy. It reflects an approach to the medium that is less invested in conventional attitudes and more attuned to its experimental possibilities. And, both men seem to share an equally unconventional vision of beauty, tied less to classical standards than to the unique qualities of the individual model.
How do you think Man Ray would feel about this collaboration?
WG: I think he (Man Ray) would appreciate seeing his photographs embraced in this fashion. It would probably not surprise him that the invitation came from a Frenchman; he always felt that the French had a much greater appreciation of his vision and creative practice than did people in his native United States.
After seeing the collection, was there a specific piece from Man Ray that you felt heavily influenced it?
WG: Ironically, the one work I feel casts its shadow over the collection – Violon d’Ingres – doesn’t actually appear in any of the packaging. But the elements that make that image so compelling – its sensuality, wit, formal qualities, innovation, and surreal sexual appeal – are reflected across the packaging and presentation modes for the entire collection.
