NARS began in 1994 as 12 lipsticks, which is worth remembering before you look at any of its blush or foundation. François Nars was a French makeup artist and photographer, and he started shooting the brand's campaigns himself in 1996. He sold the company to Shiseido in 2000 and has stayed on as creative director, photographing campaigns and naming products, and the names are part of the charm: Orgasm, Climax, Afterglow. The lip group goes back to the beginning. The Satin lipstick and the Powermatte lipstick are the two lipstick finishes, and the Powermatte high-intensity long-lasting lip pencil and the lip liner pair with them, so you can define the edge before you fill in the color. The Afterglow lip balm and Afterglow lip shine gloss are the softer side, with the Arctic pH-adjusting lip sheen for sheer color. The Iris Van Herpen x NARS Explicit lipstick is the collaboration piece. If you are matching a lip to a cheek, lip, blush and eye makeup is a good guide to building a look from the same family of tones.

Orgasm launched in 1999, a peachy-pink with golden shimmer, and it became the best-selling prestige blush in the US. The funny part is that the name came before the color: the shade was formulated afterward to earn a name that had already been chosen. That says a lot about the way the brand thinks. This is the biggest group here: the Powder Blush in Orgasm and its mini, the Insatiable and Afterglow liquid blushes, two Light Reflecting blushes, the Multiple, a mini Insatiable liquid blush duo, and the base products. The Radiant Creamy Concealer comes in full and mini sizes next to the Soft Matte Complete Concealer, and Light Reflecting foundation, launched in 2022, is here on its own and in a set with the pressed setting powder. The Sheer Glow and Natural Matte Longwear foundations offer a choice of finish, with the Soft Matte primer underneath. What I would skip is the Natural Matte Longwear foundation under a very glowy blush, since the two finishes pull in different directions; the Sheer Glow foundation keeps skin and cheek in the same softer register. For a daily routine, an everyday makeup look shows the order, and foundation by finish compares the choices.

The eyes are shown here as sticks, palettes and quads. The Total Seduction eyeshadow stick, on its own and as a duo, is the quick one, Sparkling Seduction liquid eyeshadow adds shimmer, and the smudge proof eyeshadow base sits underneath. The Mojave and Singapore quad eyeshadows are the quads, and the Afterglow tempting eyeshadow palette, the Ultimate blush palette and the Apres Ski cheek and eye palette give more options. Notorious mascara comes in two sizes, and the number 28 brow spoolie is the small tool for brows. I would pick one stick and the mascara for the easiest look, and keep the palette for evenings. The Ultimate blush palette and the Apres Ski cheek and eye palette are also the ones to reach for when you want a single pan of color to do both jobs.

The last group moves from color to skin. The Light Reflecting range appears again in a toning treatment lotion, a moisturizer, an eye brightener and a makeup setting mist, and the Pure Radiant tinted moisturizer with SPF 30 is the lighter choice for the day. The Laguna bronzing cream, the mini Laguna bronzing powder and the Multiple sculpting stick are the warm-weather pieces, with the Monoi Body Glow from the Tahiti Bronze collection for the body. For cooler months, a cream bronzer for cold-weather skin is a handy comparison to the Laguna cream. The Afterglow lip oil, the Line and Shine lip duo and the Laguna quad eyeshadow are the small extras.

If I were choosing a short NARS list, it would be a Powermatte lip, a blush, the Radiant Creamy Concealer and Notorious mascara. That is the kind of artist-led makeup François Nars has been making since 1994, and the 2023 documentary Unknown Beauty: François Nars tells the longer story. For one more concealer to compare, I would read a Dior concealer and the makeup around it.

To round out the look, see Westman Atelier Makeup and Lancôme Makeup and Skincare.