Sunday 15 February 2015

Debu(t)ary: NARS Dual Intensity Palette


I've been wanting to try Nars' Dual Intensity eye shadows ever since they first released but was holding out at as £21 a shadow is quite a lot of money!  I was super excited to see they were bring out a palette of these shadows as it included a few I'd had my eye on.  At £45 it is still quite an expensive palette but I was lucky enough to have a gift card and so took the plunge.

The draw of these shadows is that they work really well wet or dry (the clue is in the name).  Unlike most shadows, their quality is not impaired when you use them wet, it doesn't form a cakey top layer.  They are shimmery when dry and highly metallic when wet, so if you are only a matte fan then this is probably not the palette for you.

The packaging is very pretty but, like Nars' more traditional black packaging, is prone to fingerprint smudges.  I'm not particularly bothered by that; I quite enjoy my products to look used (same with my books, I love a good dog-eared book).

Each shadow has a really pretty patterned overlay though this quickly disappears, especially when you use them wet.  They have okay pigmentation when used dry but are super opaque and shiny when used wet.

L-R Top: Europa, Himalia, Ursa Major, Subra
Bottom: Andromeda, Lysithea, Giove, Sycorax

Clockwise from top left: Europa, Himalia, Lysithea, Andromeda
 Europa is a really pretty peach base colour with a pink shift.
Himalia is a golden neutral that sometime looks more brown.
Andromeda is an icy cream with a bit of a pink shift to it.
Lysithea is a mid-toned silvery grey.  It looks quite standard in the pan but on my lids is much more pretty.

Clockwise from top left: Ursa Major, Subra, Sycorax, Giove
 Ursa Major is the only limited edition colour in the palette.  It is a mid-tone cool brown.
Subra is looks red in the pan but comes off more of a purple brown when swatched,
Giove is a deep blue.  Doesn't blend particularly well when dry but beautiful wet.
Sycorax is a very dark grey, which is a bit easier to work with than solid black.

Dry then wet: Europa, Himalia, Ursa Major, Subra
 Each colour is swatched first dry and then wet.  As you can see they greatly improve when wet.
Sorry about the chunky Himalia swatch, my bad, is applies as well as the others but I just used too much.

Dry then wet: Andromeda, Lysithea, Giove, Sycorax
If you want to see this palette in action then look out for my post late this month which will be 5 Looks with the Dual Intensity Palette.  I'll also talk about how I find these shadows apply, whether they accompanying brush is any good and whether I recommend it.

I know the palette is proving to be tricky to buy online as it keeps selling out, however I had no trouble buying it in-store and could see they had plenty in stock.

Have you bought this palette?  What do you think of it?

Rachel

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