Before there was Orgasm Blush, or Laguna Bronzer [1], or The Multiple, there were 12 lipsticks in matte-black tubes that quietly appeared at the Barneys makeup counter in New York City.
The year was 1994, and François Nars was not the household name that he is today. He was a makeup artist working behind the scenes for fashion's biggest photographers, designers, and magazines, and who was bored with not only the heavy makeup aesthetic at the time, but also the limited makeup formulas and colour choices available to him. So the French-born makeup artist decided to shake things up and spontaneously launch his own line of lipsticks at Barneys. These were followed by The Multiple, a multi-use cream pigment stick that could be applied to eyes, cheeks, and lips that Nars whipped up on a photoshoot in 1996, and then the famous Orgasm Blush, which he developed three years later in 1999. After that, the rest is makeup history — literally, as it's a history that Nars had an integral role in shaping with his innovative formulas and exciting colour ranges (not to mention his boundary-pushing shade names) that appealed — and very much continue to appeal — to beauty professionals and consumers alike.
If you're good at math, then you've already realised that Nars Cosmetics is celebrating a big anniversary in 2019. For the rest of us who haven't opened a math book since university and still have nightmares about failing statistics (me): the brand is 25 years old this year and it's celebrating in a pretty epic way. This month, Nars relaunches those 12 original lipstick shades from 1994, as well as 60 additional hues — both of which feature an exciting new formula that's lighter, creamier, more moisturising, and longer lasting than before. You can currently buy the lipsticks on Nars' website, while the entire collection will be available in boutiques and Nars' other retailers starting September 1st.
The Original 12 Lipstick Collection — which include iconic red hues [2] like Heat Wave and Jungle Red — are eye-catching, packaged in soft-touch, matte-red tubes embossed with "NARS" in white lettering, while The Iconic Lipstick Collection features an updated version of the brand's matte-black tubes that once housed their old Satin, Sheer, and Semi-Matte Lipstick ranges. And while the packaging and formula is new, as well as a bunch of the colours, you'll still be able to find some of the classic Nars hues amongst the 72-piece range — iconic shades like Schiap (a personal favourite), Dolce Vita, Fire Down Below, Pigalle, and Roman Holiday, to name a few.
As part of the celebrations, François Nars sat down to reflect over both his career as a makeup artist and beauty brand owner in a master Q&A that the brand shared exclusively with POPSUGAR. So sit back, keep reading, and when you're finished, you can click to shop the new anniversary collection — and look forward to another 25 years of cheeky shade names and makeup rule breaking.
A Q&A With François Nars
You were born in the south of France, how did that shape your understanding of beauty and the world you saw around you? Was there a specific beauty identity you saw around you there?
François Nars: My mother was and still is a major influence on my approach to beauty. She was a natural beauty and I drew my complexion philosophy from her effortless makeup routine. My grandmothers were more of the artists and into makeup. My father's mother loved to paint her face and she did an incredibly beautiful job. I remember she would create perfectly drawn lips – almost as if she was retouched. She loved eyeliner too and would line her eyes and draw in her eyebrows flawlessly. Her precision came from her being an amazing painter (I hope I get my artistry from her). She was beyond artistic! I am lucky to have learned a little bit of everything from these muses and remember all the things they taught me throughout my childhood. Every memory, or little treasure, sticks with you for the rest of your life. Growing up and watching these women, they made a big impression on my life, they added to my strong aesthetic and vision of beauty that has stayed the same since I was young.
Growing up what were the films, celebrities, music, and magazines that informed your sense of beauty? Did you have a beauty icon?
FN: Greta Garbo — I loved her in the movies Ninotchka, Flesh and the Devil, and Queen Christina. She was perfection back then . . . the most beautiful woman in the world!
Can you tell us a bit about the first time you painted someone's face? How did it make you feel? What effect were you trying to achieve?
FN: It was actually my mother. She let me practice makeup on her – she really has helped shape my vision and the artist I am today.
How did moving to Paris to study shape your perception of beauty? Can you tell us a bit about your big break and your collaborations with Yves Saint Laurent and Paolo Roversi around this time?
FN:I had no connections, and the fashion world was a closed elite. So my mother made appointments for herself with three top Parisian makeup artists and spoke highly about me . . . she was my first publicist! She was so beautiful and elegant that they must have figured that her son had taste, and one offered me a job as an assistant.
You moved to NYC, and began working alongside legendary photographers such as Richard Avedon, Steven Meisel, Helmut Newton, Irving Penn — what was that like for you? Did you feel you were really part of something?
FN: I was lucky from almost day one. I started working very quickly because of the industry people I met in Paris — they took me under their wing and really loved me.
You launched your first makeup collection in 1994, what prompted this? What was the industry lacking that caused you to disrupt it with your own offering?
FN: As an artist, I was frustrated with not being able to find the best products or the best colours and I thought it would be fun to create my own makeup line. It wasn't planned, it was very spontaneous, which is what I think makes the brand so fresh.
What was the beauty and fashion world like before you started your brand? Was it a very different place?
FN: When I began my career, the faces in fashion and beauty were very plastic looking – perfect faces with blonde hair and blue eyes. Also, I felt women were following trends blindly because somebody told them to do so.
The brand started with a collection of lipsticks, but soon grew to include a full range of cosmetics with colours that were inclusive to all. Was this a conscious decision due to the lack of colour ranges provided by other brands at that time?
FN: Yes, I wasn't happy with the limited options for makeup artistry. Having my own line allowed me to create colours in makeup that did not exist. From there, it grew little by little and I stood behind it the whole way.
![Was there a particular woman you had in mind when creating the brand?
FN: There wasn't just one woman in my mind when I started the brand. The idea driving us was always about offering a line of makeup that was modern, audacious, and iconic to women everywhere.
How would you describe your overall aesthetic as a makeup artist? How has it evolved over the years?
FN: My philosophy is the same as when I began my career. It was influenced by mother who wore little-to-no complexion [products], and as I started creating beauty looks, I carried this vision of her with me. It was this approach of allowing the skin to show through, as my mother always did, that really set me apart from other makeup artists at that time. I always used foundations with the smoothest texture and applied them with a light touch — photographers appreciated that I brought this transparency to complexion.](https://media1.popsugar-assets.com/files/thumbor/Fjz9e7cYdy2KY6bw8VtBg1FiLpA/fit-in/1024x1024/filters:format_auto-!!-:strip_icc-!!-/2019/08/13/582/n/29590734/d0f617d42c675de3_NARS_Iconic_Lipstick_Rouge_Insolent_Stylized_Image/i/particular-woman-you-had-mind-when-creating-brand.jpg "Was there a particular woman you had in mind when creating the brand?
FN: There wasn't just one woman in my mind when I started the brand. The idea driving us was always about offering a line of makeup that was modern, audacious, and iconic to women everywhere.
How would you describe your overall aesthetic as a makeup artist? How has it evolved over the years?
FN: My philosophy is the same as when I began my career. It was influenced by mother who wore little-to-no complexion [products], and as I started creating beauty looks, I carried this vision of her with me. It was this approach of allowing the skin to show through, as my mother always did, that really set me apart from other makeup artists at that time. I always used foundations with the smoothest texture and applied them with a light touch — photographers appreciated that I brought this transparency to complexion.")
Was there a particular woman you had in mind when creating the brand?
FN: There wasn't just one woman in my mind when I started the brand. The idea driving us was always about offering a line of makeup that was modern, audacious, and iconic to women everywhere.
How would you describe your overall aesthetic as a makeup artist? How has it evolved over the years?
FN: My philosophy is the same as when I began my career. It was influenced by mother who wore little-to-no complexion [products], and as I started creating beauty looks, I carried this vision of her with me. It was this approach of allowing the skin to show through, as my mother always did, that really set me apart from other makeup artists at that time. I always used foundations with the smoothest texture and applied them with a light touch — photographers appreciated that I brought this transparency to complexion.
How has the industry changed since you first started out? How has the role of a makeup artist changed over the years?
FN: There has been an incredible evolution of makeup. Women are learning and experimenting more. Social media, professional artists, and of course the freedom of expression are helping women learn to play more with their makeup and not follow rules. I think Nars especially has pushed women to have fun while keeping their look sophisticated.
What is the future of beauty? What do you think we will look like in 30 years from now?
FN: I never think too much about the future. I work a few months in advance because I have to, but for the most part I take it day by day. I celebrate the past but live in the moment. For the future of beauty, I'm not sure. But for the future of the brand, I hope the image of the brand remains; I hope we continue to grow while staying true to our roots of offering modern, audacious, and iconic makeup for everyone, to as many people as possible.
Nars "The Original 12" Lipstick
Nars "The Original 12" Lipstick [3] (£22) — shown here in Heat Wave.
Nars "The Iconic Lipstick Collection"
Nars "The Iconic Lipstick Collection" [4] (£22) — shown here in Schiap