Nars has been releasing a line of palettes they dub Narsissist palettes that consists of their most popular line of products arranged in a palette form, but none caught my attention more than the Narsissist eyeshadow palette. The palette consists of 15 of their eyeshadows arranged in a neat, sleek palette that Nars is known for. These palettes were put together for their more devoted fans but I think the ones that will be tranformed to narsissists are new consumers who never owned any of their products who can purchase their most known products in a palette for a more economical price. As for Nars eyeshadows, they usually come in singles for about $28 for 0.07 oz but comes in this palette at $79 for 0.03 oz X 15 so a very big steal. Plus, if you prefer your eyeshadows in a palette as oppose to singles, this palette is sure to win you over. The colours are mostly neutrals with a combination of both matte and shimmer shades that can go from day to night. The palette is not sold out online at narscosmetics.com but will be available in stores on Feb. 1.
With Flash
Without Flash
The colours were swatched at two swipes over Nars Pro Prime Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base
With Flash
All About Eve, Madrague, Fez, Bali, Coconut Grove
Madrague #1, Nepal, Ashes to Ashes, Brousse #2, Mekong
Belissima #1, lhasa, Bad Behaviour, Dogon #2, Pandora
Kevyn Aucoin was a makeup genius whose work in the eighties still speak to us today in this generation. In his work with Revlon in the early eighties, Kevyn Aucoin would change foundation colours from the usual pink/beige bases to the yellow undertones that would suit women with different skin tones. Through this collaboration, at just the age of 21, we would see a revolution in the brands lack luster sales and a change in how the makeup industry view skin tones from the fairs to the deep dark. We owe so much about the state of the makeup industry today to this man who passed away in 2002. His work lives on through his products and books he has written which is still being used to teach fundamentals in makeup classes today. This is a first impressions look at some of his core products purchased at Nordstrom.
The Iconic Eye Set, The Sensual Skin Enhancer, The Precision Brow Pencil
The actual packaging of the products was OK, just the average box with not much standout features except for small tabs that makes it easy to open. The lettering is gold but would be so much more luxurious if at least the name was perforated or raised. Once out of the box, i.e. the eyeshadow set, the packaging felt a bit more luxurious with a press and open feature however once the outer box is removed the little bag didn't have a name on it (huh?!). Everything felt sturdy but nothing to be wow about. It works
The Iconic Eye Set is exclusive to Nordstrom Comes with 3 shadows, Candlelight Highlighter, Medium Bronzer, full sized eye pencil and a small angled brush Price: $60USD or $68CDN
Close Up of The Iconic Eye Set
This palette comes with a small block of their popular highlighter called The Candlelight Highlighter. It was not available in store at the time but if you would like to test a few of their products before committing to getting the full size and paying the full size price, this palette is perfect. It also comes with a small block of the medium Bronzer which is another industry fav.
Swatches From Top: Candlelight Highlighter, Medium Bronzer, 3 Eye Shadows in order of how they are in palette
The eye pencil is one of my fav products in the eye set. It is soft but not waxy and extremely smooth. It gives off a really matte deep dark black which is perfect for smudging on the lid or in the water line. Only flaw is that it is not as long lasting as a gel pencil would be. I still haven't tested the longevity but after I swatched it and rubbed over it a while later, it did smudge.
I was really disappointed with the packaging of the brow pencil. Once out of the box, it does not have a cover to cover the product end of the pencil which is unhygienic even though it can be wound down. The texture is hard which is perfect for the brows because you can build the colour from light to really dark if desired.
The Sensual Skin Enhancer is the star of the whole line. It is widely used to brighten and highlight and is known for its concentrated, super pigmented quality. It comes in a very small container 0.63oz but because you need so little, will last a very long time.
Stay tuned for a full product demonstration coming soon.
Here is a video in which I did foundation, contour and highlighting. I don't do this everyday but I would like to. If I am in a rush I would do this same routine but maybe avoiding the precision contour. I also show my trick to cover pigmentation to look absolutely flawless. Doesn't take much sometimes, just some tricks that I will show you here. Hope you guys enjoy.
Foundation
MAC Pro Longwear Foundation NW43 & NC45
Brush: Real Techniques Stipple Brush & Bdellium Tools Brush #957
Concealer
MAC Pro Longwear Concealer NW35 to highlight
MAC Pro Conceal Palette in Medium Deep
Brush: Real Techniques domed shadow brush
Contour
Random mineral powder palette in dark
Brush: BH Cosmetics All Over Brush& Random contour brush
Highlight
Makeup Forever Sculpting Kit #3 (dark and darker shade)
Random Mineral powder palette light (yellow shade)
L'Oreal Infallible Eyeshadow in Hourglass Beige
MAC Fairly Precious Extra Dimension Skinfinish
Brush: ELF Blush Brush
MAC Pencil Brush to highlight inner corners of the eyes and upper lip
I recorded this video about 2 weeks ago but have been having the hardest time uploading to Youtube. I have reedited the video about three times including the voiceover and I was this close to giving up but I had invested so much time already recording and editing that I just could not give up. Well, persistence paid off and here it is.
When I said I like this palette I was not kidding! Honestly, I wish I could have done more looks but I have other palette that are competing for my attention so until I give those some love, these three in addition to my other look already posted will have to do.
LOOK #1
Lips: Rimmel Kate Moss Lipstick in 101 with no name dark purple lip liner
LOOK #2
Lips: MAC Honeylove lipstick and Hover Lipliner
LOOK #3
Lips: MAC Honeylove lipstick, Hover lipliner & Myth lipglass
I am so excited about this palette that I don't where to begin. First, Nars released a similar palette called the Danmari 2 years ago that I kicked myself for not getting. Why? Just like this palette, it contained 4 blushes, one highlighter and a bronzer. The shades included in that palette however were all from their permanent line so if you were already a fan of Nars blushes, chances are you would have already had one or even all 6 of these shades. Now comes the One Night Stand palette. It also comes with 4 blushes, an highlighter and a bronzer. Unlike the Danmari palette, this set comes with 3 new shades, Goulue, Devotee and Mistinguette as well as 3 original shades which are Laguna bronzer, Orgasm blush and Deep Throat Blush. Each Nars blush is 0.16 oz and cost about $32 each. The size of each shade in the One Night Stand is 0.14 oz each and at $68 would mean that for the cost of about 2 full size Nars blushes you are getting 6 shades that are only 12% smaller than their full size blushes. Steal! The palette is now sold out at Sephora and Sephora.com but can be purchased on Ebay from a number of suppliers for slightly higher than it was in store.
Devotee, Laguna, Mistinguette, Deep Throat, Orgasm, Goulue
So I'm a little late in posting this but with the holidays in full swing and being the host of Christmas dinner for our family this year, it has been hectic to say the least. Anyhow, the holidays is a time of togetherness and sharing so I think this is one of two palettes that I am the most excited about from the holiday palettes. The first is the Smashbox Full Exposure palette that boasts 7 shimmer shades and 7 matte shades all arranged in a neat, no guess work needed way. This palette is very user friendly as the video below demonstrates and I think it would be a great addition or a stand alone palette. The shadows are extremely versatile, making going from daytime to nighttime very easy. It retails for $58 at Sephora which makes each shadow cost about $4.14 which is more reasonable than even drugstore brands. The palette also comes with a pro size dual ended eyeshadow brush and a deluxe sample of Full Exposure Mascara.
Colors are swatched over Lorac Behind the Scenes Eye Primer dry. I had absolutely no fallout from the glitter so I would recommend using a eye primer before applying the shadows. To intensify the shimmery/glitter colours, mist brush with water or makeup setting spray
