Review: NARS NARSissist L'amour Toujours Palette
The NARS NARSissist L'amour Toujours Palette ($59.00 USD for x4 .11oz/ x8 .05oz) is a limited edition palette with a variety of matte and shimmer shadows, with four shadows in large pans and eight in small pans. All of which are brand new shades!
The palette is packaged in a large mirrored compact, similar to previous palette releases. The palette is very sturdy and I adore the large mirror in the palette, as well as, the front mirror. My vanity tends to be messy, and sometimes you need a hand mirror but you can't open up a palette (like when you are trying to apply false lashes), you can pick this palette up and just the big mirror in the front! Of course the packaging is fingerprint prone, which is typical of all NARS packaging...(i.e. the black rubber packaging)
The shadows vary in quality and formula but as typical of NARS, all the shadows have fallout during application. This is something I expected, this is just how NARS shadows tend to be, regardless of the base you use. They are only named with Roman numerals on the back of the palette, however, on the Sephora website, I was able to find shade names.
The first row are the largest shadows and the most neutral eyeshadows (Names left to right: Cream Bisque, Shimmering Pink Sand, Amethyst Ash, Black Truffle) These shadows are supposed to be the staple shades and the most used shades. I would agree with this except for the brown satin shade (fourth shade from the left), I would prefer the matte neutral mauve brown shade, just below it, to be larger. This is the only "crease" shade in the palette and is much more universal than the brown.
The second row contains three shimmers and one matte shade (Golden Starlight, Sunburst Copper, Café Au Lait, Pistol Grey). The pans are smaller than the row above it.
The last row, again, contains three shimmers and one matte shade (Industrial Street, Regal Blue, Shimmering Taupe Cashmere, Shimmering Liquorice).
The palette is packaged in a large mirrored compact, similar to previous palette releases. The palette is very sturdy and I adore the large mirror in the palette, as well as, the front mirror. My vanity tends to be messy, and sometimes you need a hand mirror but you can't open up a palette (like when you are trying to apply false lashes), you can pick this palette up and just the big mirror in the front! Of course the packaging is fingerprint prone, which is typical of all NARS packaging...(i.e. the black rubber packaging)
The shadows vary in quality and formula but as typical of NARS, all the shadows have fallout during application. This is something I expected, this is just how NARS shadows tend to be, regardless of the base you use. They are only named with Roman numerals on the back of the palette, however, on the Sephora website, I was able to find shade names.
The first row are the largest shadows and the most neutral eyeshadows (Names left to right: Cream Bisque, Shimmering Pink Sand, Amethyst Ash, Black Truffle) These shadows are supposed to be the staple shades and the most used shades. I would agree with this except for the brown satin shade (fourth shade from the left), I would prefer the matte neutral mauve brown shade, just below it, to be larger. This is the only "crease" shade in the palette and is much more universal than the brown.
- Cream Bisque (I) is a matte cream shade. The texture is very creamy and pigmented,
- Shimmering Pink Sand (II) is poorly named because it is a pale shimmering white-gold shade. The texture is very nice but I would have preferred a more neutral shade here or even a cooler toned shade because I fins this palette to lean more cool than warm.
- Amethyst Ash (III), again poorly named, this shade does not have a hint of purple in it. It is a cool brown satin shadow. It appear to have more shimmer in it than when applied to the eyes. It has a lovely creamy texture and when blended
- Black Truffle (IV) is exactly how it sounds, its a matte black shade. The texture of this shade is not phenomenal...which is disappointing because it is a staple shade and you get more of this shade than the other shadows.The texture is powdery and not very pigmented. It swatches patch and when applied it needs to be built up. Due to the powdery texture, blending can cause it to blend away.
- Golden Starlight (V) is a light gold shimmer eyeshadow. It looks very similar to Shimmering Pink Sand (II) but it is more golden. The texture is very nice and smooth. This is one of the warmer shades in the palette which makes it a bit out of place, because of the coolness of this palette. I wish I had more warm shades to pair with this shade.
- Sunburst Copper (VI) is a warm shimmering metallic copper.The texture is very creamy and smooth. This shade is one of the most pigmented and adheres well to the eye. This is the warmest shade in the palette and its the most out of place because of the coolness of the palette.
- Cafe au lait (VII) is a matte neutral cool toned brown shade. It appears to have mauve tones however, when applied it appears like just a light brown. This is the shade I would like to be in the bigger pan because it is the only shade that works well in the crease. The pigment in this shade is weak and needs to be built up. The texture is dry and similar to Black Truffle (IV).
- Pistol Grey (VIII) is a BEAUTIFUL shimmering deep hunter green shade with a hint of grey! I wasn't expecting to love this shade the most but the pigmentation is intense and the texture is so smooth. The shade applies incredibly well with minimal fallout. It is a stunning and unique shade, I hope they will make this a permanent single shade in their line.
- Industrial Street (IX) is silvery metallic denim shade, very unique from any shade I have seen. The texture is very nice, similar to the other shimmer shades in the palette. It pairs beautifully with the vibrant blue next to it. I enjoy this shade because it is a very wearable blue shade.
- Regal Blue (X) is a beautiful vibrant cobalt blue shade. The pigmentation is intense, however, the texture is a bit patchy and dry. This is a shade that can built up very easily but it does not adhere well to the eyes. I experienced a lot of fallout with this shade.
- Shimmering Taupe Cashmere (XI) is a shimmering silvery taupe shade. This shade is very pigmented and the texture is lovely and smooth. It is a unique taupe and a great addition to this palette.
- Shimmering Liquorice (XII) is a shimmering black with silver shimmers. This black has good pigmentation and a smooth texture. It applies much nicer than the matte black eyeshadow. This is a good staple shade for this palette.
Overall, this is a nice palette, but its not a must-have. The shimmer shades are much better than the matte shades, luckily there are more shimmers than mattes. The mattes are decent, they just require more work to create a look. If you love the shades it worth a buy. If you've been wanting to try NARS eyeshadows, its a decent palette but I would recommend trying some of their singles or duos instead. As a big NARS fan, I had to have it but this palette doesn't blow me away.
Are you a fan of NARS? Did you get this palette? Tell me your thoughts below (*Posting a comment: if you do not have a blog or google account, please use OpenID and type your name in the box.*)
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