It's been a week and a half since my NARSissist Eyeshadow palette dropped through my letterbox, and I can honestly say that my life has changed for good, in the superficial way that only fellow makeup addicts can understand, of course.
Gone are the days when I had to decide which eyeshadows to take home with me at weekends... Gone are the days of not having a palette that fit in my makeup bag... And I could not be happier about it.
The NARSissist palette is just easy. There. I said it! There's enough variety between light and dark shades that I don't feel the need to look anywhere else for both day and night time looks. There's enough variance in texture to keep me satisfied, something the Urban Decay Naked Palettes have always lacked for me. More importantly though, given the hefty price tag, the quality is bang on. There is little-to-no chalkiness or powdery-ness, the lasting time is fab and I don't find creasing to be an issue, despite my oily oily eyelids.
As far as I can see with the palette in front of me, it's split into three tonal families: warm, neutral, cool. Quelle surprise. The top row contains much warmer browns and bronzes, and contains some of the more pigmented shades of the palette. The middle row is a bit more neutral, with a mix of pinks and cool-toned purples, whilst the bottom row is your more traditional white-grey-black cool toned smokey shades. So I'd say that if you aren't interested in the Naked Palettes for whatever reason, this would be a brilliant option. It's considerably more portable than three palettes that are bulky in comparison, but you're not going to miss out on the wide range of shades. Although I wouldn't say that this makes UD's offerings redundant, I found a lot of very comparable shades (in terms of colour - not texture!) during a marathon swatching session last night.
Obviously, £55 is a lot of money. Heck, it's more than I spend on food in a week (but not even a third of my weekly rent *cries and gives thanks for student loans*). BUT, may I point out that a single eyeshadow from NARS costs £18, meaning that you'd only be able to buy three of these for the same price. Three eyeshadows, or fifteen... I'll let the girly maths do the talking here.
Below, I've written a more in-depth 'review' of each shade, with a few comparisons to shades from the Naked palettes thrown in, because it's Tuesday and I have nothing better to do! Just a reminder here that I'm not expert, just an enthusiast.
All About Eve #1 - A brightening, slightly peachy neutral shade. Makes a brilliant brightening base. I also have this is the At First Sight palette, although this version is less champagne-y and leans more pink. Available in a Duo.
Madrague #1 - A bone coloured matte. I find this to be quite light on pigment, actually, and can only get true-to-pan colour by pressing hard on the shadow. Works well as a base, though, and evens the eyelid out well. Available in a Duo.
Bellissima #1 - An off-white with pink-y, slightly iridescent sparkle. The photo does not do this shade justice! The sparkle makes for a stunning highlight shade, which I've taken to wearing on its own. The texture could be smoother, but it's a really nice and unique colour. Available in a Duo.
Madrague #2 - This has photographed way too warm and dark, so apologies for that. My room at uni is yellow so there's not much I can do about it I'm afraid! I digress. This is a matte caramel colour, with nice texture and pay-off. It's a good dupe for Urban Decay's Naked from the Naked 1 palette. Available in a duo.
Nepal - Again, this is too warm toned. Nepal is, in fact, a very pretty rose gold pink, comparable to Burnout from the Naked 3 palette. It's a lovely colour to use as a wash over the eyelid and is relatively complex. Pigmentation and texture are beautiful. Available as a single.
Lhasa - A lavender grey shade. This photo is actually an okay representation of the colour. I have this in a pan on its own, as it really is a lovely colour. Essentially, it's what I want MAC's infamous Satin Taupe to be, although I still don't find it to be all that flattering on my dark green eyes. This is sheerer than the single, but the quality is still good. Available as a single.
Fez - This is one of the more striking shades in the palette, and you can see why. The quality is just perfect. Perfect. It's a complex mid-toned bronze, and I have no 'dupe' for it in my stash. It's one of those rare shades that does the work for you. Available as a single.
Ashes to Ashes - Quite a difficult shade to describe, I'd say that this shadow is the colour of a sheen-y iced latte. It's actually my favourite colour of the palette due to the way it translates onto the lid. It blends wonderfully and takes on a golden nuance. It's love. Available as a single.
Bad Behaviour - A gunmetal silver/grey. This is the sort of shade that I normally avoid, as I don't tend to find them that forgiving, but this is actually pretty good. The texture here again is great, really nice and blendable. It's quite similar to Gunmetal from the Naked 1 palette. I've found this to works really nicely as a liner. This is a limited edition shade.
Bali - A cooler toned matte brown. For me, this is how a matte shade should be. It's creamy and makes a wonderful transition colour and liner. The colour is unusual, although it's sort of similar to Tease from the Naked 2 palette. This is proving to be something of a workhorse. Available as a single.
Brousse #2 - This is a very unusual and beautiful eyeshadow. It's a purple-y brown shade with shimmer. It's sort of similar to some of the darker colours in all of the Naked palettes, but this is more complex. A nice addition. This has been discontinued elsewhere.
Dogon #2 - Again, this isn't normally the sort of colour I use much of. It's a shimmer black/very very dark grey, depending on the light. The pigmentation and shimmer aren't too heavy, though, so I find it to be more wearable than Creep from the Naked 1 palette. This works well for taking a look from day to night (so cliché it hurts, I know). Available in a duo.
Coconut Grove - A chocolate matte brown. Again, the formula is excellent. This is great for using as a liner on 'no-makeup-makeup' days. It also looks really nice with a bold lip, as it adds definition without demanding too much attention. Blends and adds depth to the crease well. Available as a single.
Mekong - Just look at that shimmaaaah. Now that's out of my system, this is essentially Coconut Grove with golden, peachy, stunning shimmer added. This would be my second favourite shade of the palette. It's just amazing. Available as a single.
Pandora #2 - A matte black with decent, but not outstanding, pigmentation. I don't actually like my black eyeshadows too black (I know, I know...) so this is great for me. It's a nice definition shade and that never looks too dominating. The quality is really nice, as it should be. It's not as pigmented as Blackout from Naked 2. Available in a duo.
And that's all she wrote... Pfft, as if.
No comments:
Post a Comment