I decided on NARS for my brand, as I love how
varied and versatile it is. No matter what age you are or what type of look you
want to carry, NARS has it all.
Francois said of his brand 'I would think the
audience of NARS would be more like 18 to 45. I don’t put an age limit on
beauty. The NARS woman is strong, determined and sophisticated. She has no age
— I don’t believe in "age labels." But she’s very modern; definitely
not a boring woman.'Though the brand appeals to such a wide age range it is still at the high-end spectrum of makeup brands and maybe not as affordable for the younger audience. The products range from £15-£60 that includes a selection of makeup, nail varnish and skincare, which is the most expensive of all the products.
The black packaging with white logo is simple and sleek yet professional. Francois choice of provocative names for the products such as popular blusher Orgasm contrast perfectly to give the brand the edginess that makes NARS so different to other makeup brands. Francois states that he didn’t want to give his products boring names, he wanted his products to have personality that women could connect with.
Some of his other products are named after famous icons such as Schiap, which is one of Nars' best selling lipsticks and nail polish. It was named after designer Elsa Schiaparelli who created the shocking pink in the 1930’s that first brought her to the limelight.
Other NARS Cult Classics include Dolce Vita lipstick, Laguna bronzer and Turkish Delight lip-gloss.
In terms of advertising NARS is well known for using older women such as actresses such as Charlotte Rampling as Francois said she is a natural beauty that feels strong yet relatable.
Tilda Swinton is currently the face of NARS new campaigns, he states that does this because he doesn’t like boring pretty models, he prefers more of an edgy look with interesting features. He uses a lot of different types of women for his campaigns, it definitely makes the brand more relatable to a variety of people and keeps it interesting.
Nars campaigns are all very individual and different from one another. I love this about the brand, as sometimes makeup ads can seem very samey. His collections are always a really interesting colour palette and the campaigns are very eye catching.
As a photographer as well as a makeup artist, Francois often shoots his own campaigns himself. He says photography has always been an interest but he only started when he first created NARS. They were poor and couldn’t afford to hire someone to photograph for them so he decided to do it on his own and it progressed from there.
NARS is a brand used not only by lovers of makeup but also by makeup professionals all over the world and it’s clear to see why. They have some of the best products on the market with an entire range of different colours, finishes and textures that keep growing.
