Thursday, March 13, 2014

When Is It Okay to Be a Narcissist?

When it's spelled NARSISSIST! And it's in the form of an awesome eye shadow palette.



Feast your eyes on 15 pans of shadow goodness:



This little lovely was sent to me for consideration from the generous PR crew at NARS. I am a full fledged NARSISSIST and couldn't be more proud! In fact, this is the only palette I have been using exclusively for the past three weeks. I even went away on a family trip and instead of stuffing my over sized makeup bags with solo pans and shadow palettes. I took this one palette. I had more room for those extra tubes of nude pink glosses I can never have enough of at all times. It really hasn't disappointed me yet! There may be a few repeating shades I already own, it doesn't bother me. I'm so pleased that I have a backup and it's housed with a smartly edited set!

I will admit that I received this early February and I'm now just getting around to writing this review. 

BAD BLOGGER!

This is what happens when you have a new demanding job, a long work commute, and still trying to maintain the title of "Awesome Mom and Wife"! However, this allowed me to really test this palette out and give a fair assessment. So how do I feel about this palette?

I feel that each row is arranged by theme: top row - neutral, middle row - smoky nudes, third row - taupe, charcoal smoky eyes. But I do like to mix up colors and also layer. If I want a softly lined eye, I use Pandora (black) along the top and bottom lash lines. 

To swatch shades fairly - I broke it down by row.

Row 1:

shades left to right:
All about Eve/Madrague/Fez/Bali/Coconut Grove

Row 2:


Madrague II/Nepal/Ashes to Ashes/Brousse/Mekong

Row 3:

Bellissima/Lhasa/Bad Behavior/Dogon/Pandora

I still can't get over just how easy these shades are to pair or wear solo for days that you just don't want to wear blend more than two shadows together.

Here's just a small sample how I've been wearing these shades:


The shades I wear almost daily: Ashes to Ashes, Nepal and Madrague/Madrague II. Neutrals are my fall back but when I'm feeling extra saucy and/or I'm going out I'll dip my shadow brushes into Lhasa, Bad Behavior and Pandora as my outer-v accent and lower lash smoker. I use Bali (neutral brown) to fill in my brows - one of the best shades I have discovered. It keeps my brows looking full and natural and it's also a great shade to use as a contour. I love using Madrague (matte caramel) as my eye socket contour. This shade lends a bit of deeper contrast when using the lighter shades on my lid, like soft rose Nepal or matte cream, Madrague II. But when using with a slightly deeper mocha taupe, Ashes to Ashes or taupe grey, Lhasa - Madrague softens and lightly diffuses the color and lending a hand to seemlessly blend with a darker, outer-v shade. I have been loving Coconut Grove, Brousse, and Bad Behavior (when using a heavier hand in application). As usual, when paired with a great eye primer or even concealer on the lid, these shades will stay on your lids the entire day until you are ready to swipe it off with your best eye makeup remover.

The first time I received this, I was really hesitant to even swatch each pan. And then the biggest decision - which shade do I try first? I am so glad I have this beautifully edited palette in my collection - it's going to solve a lot groggy morning problems like, "shit, I overslept and I need to leave the house in thirty minutes!"

Side note - in the photo of me in top right corner I'm sporting Love blush and Adelaide Illuminator from the Final Cut collection (NARS). This was also sent to me for consideration. This tea rose blush is very subtle on my tan skin but it's just as beautiful if it were worn by someone with a fairer complexion. I'll post a swatch photo soon. And by soon, I mean before the month is over. Love is a gorgeous shade for a soft pop of pink on my cheeks when I'm wearing both smoky or subtle neutral shaded lids. The blush and illuminator retails for $30/USD.

I cannot praise this palette enough. You can find this at department and specialty stores that feature the NARS brand and of course online at www.narscosmetics.com.

Narsisist palette - $79/USD