NARS Star Babe Multi-Use Gloss Review & Swatches

Star Babe

NARS Star Babe Multi-Use Gloss ($26.00 for 0.16 oz.) had a pink-tinted translucent base with flecks of pink and gold sparkle. I thought the base would come through a touch, but I couldn’t tell that it existed whether I applied it to my eyes, lips, or cheeks. The consistency was lightweight, smooth, almost creamy, and mostly non-sticky; there was a more velvety, slightly clingy feel to it when I applied it to my lips, though it wasn’t drying or uncomfortable to wear.

As a cheek and brow bone highlighter, it applied most easily over bare skin, as it was most foolproof to spread and blend out the gloss without worrying about disturbing other products underneath it. However, longevity on bare cheeks was around six hours before the gloss started to move around noticeably, whereas patted over a set base helped it last closer to eight hours before it started to make my base a bit patchy. It wore quite well as a brow bone highlight with minimal movement after eight hours, but it did have a tendency to darken any powder eyeshadow that met it (even if not under it directly).

As a gloss, it lasted three hours and was comfortable to wear, but the shimmer/sparkle didn’t come through as noticeably on my lips as one would expect based on the initial swatch or looking at it in the tube! It had moderate shine but was a little lackluster with respect to the sparkles.

Top Dupes
Formula Overview

Top Dupes

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Formula Overview

$26.00 -

The formula is supposed to work on "lips, eyes and cheeks" that can be "worn alone or layered" that is "luminous and layerable." For adding a glossy, wet-looking shine to skin, whether on the brow bone or cheeks, it works well and has fairly good longevity/doesn't kill everything under it immediately, but the formula has no dry down on skin, so it does feel wet and attracts wind-blown hair, dog fur and the like.

I actually think they're pretty ho-hum on lips; they actually lose quite a bit of shine and have more of a dulled, glittery-dirt kind of effect rather than sparkly, multi-dimensional effect on lips like you might get from a typical, shimmery lipgloss. I could feel some of the texture of the glitter/sparkle when I wore it on my lips as well. They had no scent or taste that I could discern.

The consistency was smooth, mostly gloss-like, but there was something that gave it a bit more substance and thicker feel overall; when it was on my lips, it felt more velvety, like it was a gloss-silicone primer hybrid. As a cheek product--mostly as a highlighter--it worked best over bare skin and lighter bases. Heavier, thicker, and higher-coverage foundations seemed to eat the sparkle more than anything else, so while there was noticeable shine and glossiness, the shimmer was totally lost. Even on bare skin, all five shades looked fairly similar once applied as there wasn't that much sparkle and little of it seemed to catch the light; it was mostly shine.

I found that the Multi-Use Glosses stayed more in place over a base than over bare skin, as it seemed more prone to sliding around more noticeably (within six hours) on just-moisturized skin. When I patted it over my base products, it didn't move around for closer to eight hours, and surprisingly, it didn't eat through my foundation and turn it into a patchy mess. It was difficult to find the right base, application, and figure out timing in order to avoid the Multi-Use Gloss turning my foundation into an emollient mess.

The first few times I tried it, the foundation turned patchy as I was applying the Multi-Use Gloss. It seemed to be easiest to use gently tapped onto my skin after giving my base products five minutes to dry down and set in place; I did prefer applying over set base products as well.

If you're looking for a glossy effect that doesn't totally break down your makeup for the face, it might be worth checking out, but if you're looking for a truly multi-tasking gloss, it's less impressive than a good, shimmery gloss and has to be carefully placed for reasonable usage on the eyes.

Pro-tip: unless you are after a glossy, creasing eye look, avoid putting this on the mobile lid/crease area; they do not survive whether alone or layered over other products--they crease within minutes and absolutely migrate into the lashes and lash lines. At most, get a small amount and dab on the center of the lid and leave a small gap between the mobile lid and lash line to give it room to migrate. I could feel even a very thin, barely-there layer on my lid every time I blinked, and unfortunately, for me, they stung my actual eye (not my lid) as the product seeped beyond my lid space and left me with a dull ache (even after just 15 minutes of wear).

Browse all of our NARS Multi-Use Gloss swatches.