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Comments
· May 12, 2008 4:22 PM by
Colleen Shirazi
· May 12, 2008 5:40 PM by
Dain
· May 12, 2008 7:57 PM by
Joy Rothke
· May 12, 2008 9:17 PM by
Dain
· May 12, 2008 10:08 PM by
Colleen Shirazi
· May 12, 2008 10:18 PM by
Dain
· May 12, 2008 10:32 PM by
Dain
· May 12, 2008 11:53 PM by
Colleen Shirazi
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Posted by Dain, Monday, May 12, 2008 3:22 PM (Eastern)
I've got a real thing for NARS. It's the closest you can come to an artist's pigments in the cosmetic world. Nothing is more satisfying than to array your duos before your feasting eyes. I have never been particularly enthusiastic about the palettes, however. It is difficult to select five shade for a quint, much less ten. There's always a color that's entirely useless or redundant. It was a stroke of genius on Trish McEvoy's part to offer customizable palettes, and Bobbi Brown has followed suit. Though these are both excellent lines, they don't equal the colorwise brilliance of François Nars—you may not realize how precisely each shade has been calibrated, but there's a reason why there are no fans quite like NARS fans. If NARS offered a customizable palette, which shades would you choose? Four shadows, two blushes, and four lipcolors.Oddly enough, I didn't favor my favorites; I'd rather try something new, something I've always meant to try.
It was difficult to choose eyeshadows—there are so many I love!—but I think these four could service me quite handsomely. One needed to be a light wash to open up the eye, and one had to be a dark, rich color that would function as a liner: I chose Tokyo (II), a silvery lilac nacre, and Underworld (II), a steely teal blue. They're tied together by a grey undertone, but they'd be versatile because they've got some complexity. Tokyo has a pleasing opalescence that's half grey and half purple (so you could use it as either, as it suits you), while Underworld has a tinge of green that won't alienate it from warmer shades (and I reason it is easier to use than either Cleo or Night Flight). The other two provide contrast: Cyprus' earthy subdued champagne gold and Rated R (II), a pink-flecked, gold-flecked hazy chartreuse. Gold is a subtle countpoint to the cool tones of either Tokyo or Underworld, and Cyprus is such a soft. And Rated R is indeed a favorite: people don't realize how wearable lime is, I think. One light, one dark, one soft contrast, one bright: you'll notice each shade works with the others in every imaginable combination. I did consider a lilac, but I still like my Chanel Lavande best.
The blushes were easy. In spite of the very great furor that surrounds the sparkly NARS blushes, notably Orgasm and Sin, my very favorite is Desire, a bright pink just a hair cool. It pretty much goes with everything else I use. But since I had to choose a second, the Malibu Multiple would do very well: a dusty mauve that appears as a healthy, sunkissed glow rather than blushy blush. Since I do have a couple of bright-ass lipsticks, it wouldn't hurt to have a subtle blush, and I'd probably never buy it on its own.
The lips were also difficult, but not because I had too many choices, but rather too few. I live on NARS Gothika, which, as a lip gloss, wouldn't be a choice for the palette, and alternate with Shu Uemura 270 for drama. I am also not as familiar with the lipsticks. So my choices are somewhat conservative: Eros is a sunny peach-rose-bronze that makes a great easy, glossy lip and Flair is a supremely wearable redcurrant shimmer, two shades I do own. Scarlet Empress and Schiap, on the other hand, are colors I've always wanted but never bought, a deep blue red and a heart-stopping fuschia. The lipcolors, I might add, work excellently with the shadows.
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May 12, 2008 4:22 PM,
That is a cool concept.
But I would rather have six or seven shadows, one blush and two lipsticks. I'm with you on the two-lippy dichotomy...I have not cared to have more than one YLBB shade, and one "more" shade. For me, the "more" shade hardly gets worn (though it remains to be seen whether I'll switch to the "more" shade when the YLBB one runs out, which it will soon).
Malibu does have an amount of brown in it. It might work best if you have a bit of tan. Well, I'm terrible. If I want a "more" shade here, I just put more Malibu on.
The shadows, weirdly, I can't strip down to four. It should be six or seven.
May 12, 2008 5:40 PM,
Mmm, yes, I would rather do it that way myself, but for the moment, that is how NARS does their palettes, so it would make more sense to stick to their plan. Of course, if they were really doing customizable palettes, they'd probably only offer powders, which is easier for them. Or the Fame palette--that might do nicely. : D
May 12, 2008 7:57 PM,
I convinced myself, after reading scads of reviews, that I had to have All About Eve, even though I rarely use eye shadow. Now, I rarely use All About Eve.
Also own Amour and Mata Hari blushes. Both are so intensely pigmented that I use a tiny bit. They'll last forever.
May 12, 2008 9:17 PM,
AAE is tricky. It only works on the relatively pale, because it sort of mimicks the effect of light on the skin, but that depends a great deal on what your skin tone is in the first place. You might have better luck with Cairo, Cyprus, or Nepal.
May 12, 2008 10:08 PM,
Ah...then I probably can't do AAE either.
I use Island Fever or Ireland almost every day, and sometimes Jezebel. Babylon, not as much. It's still nice-looking, but it's a tiny bit too much, where I'd thought AAE would fill the bill.
I can admit I love the idea of getting a single instead of a duo. :D But I do end up using both shades in my duos.
May 12, 2008 10:18 PM,
Maybe Cairo and Ondine? I see those working on green eyes very well indeed.
I've had similar experiences with Rebecca. Very pretty, but it won't show up on me! It works fine on warm, medium-toned people, so I think it matters a lot what your coloring is like in the first place.
May 12, 2008 10:32 PM,
Now that I think on it... It may be also because I can't really wear warm shades that AEE works for me. It's pretty silvery. And in any case, if you don't wear eyeshadow, you're not gonna wear it regardless.
May 12, 2008 11:53 PM,
Sometimes you need to meet the right shadows. :) I didn't wear eyeshadow every day until fairly recently...until I got the Nars duos, and until I figured they were the best shadows for me.
The orange in Babylon is still quite pretty on me...I dunno, I just have it in mind to get something subtler, some time. Something like a "your eyes but better" shade. It's a matter of going to Sephora and doing some swatching.
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