It’s funny you know, calling this post a “Preview” when there are already loads and loads of blog posts online about that eye palette that has everyone pinching pennies till they squeak! You know that palette don’t you? The one that makes you feel that little bit more ….narcissistic? 😉
Eeee….!!! 😀
WAIT! WAIT! WAIT!
Hold your horses ladies, don’t go rushing off to the NARS store just yet. You can’t buy this one locally yet. The Nars store here will only get their stocks in, in late April-May but if you’d like to get on their list, be sure to give them a call or drop by the store.
I was given a chance to take a look at the palette, have a quick makeover with it, and buy if it I wanted at a special weekend preview last week. Naturally I did. For the good of the blog, I say! At least that’s what I told myself and my quietly weeping wallet. “There, there… it’s for the blog!” Repeat that enough and I’d even start believing it 😛
So I haven’t had the chance to play with it yet (It’s been an abominably long week! Can the weekend come already?) so I haven’t been able to get you swatches but I have some pictures of the palette and some very quick thoughts on this after some preliminary playing at the store. So, just to pacify you you know… hehe… I’ll have a proper review come up soon, before it’s available in store.
The NARSissist Eye Palette comes housed in a largish compact in the same material as the regular eyeshadow duos. The material remains a dust catcher which I know pisses people off but I’m not really bugged by that, more by the melting which I’m assured should not happen anymore but we’ll have to see I guess!
The palette houses 15 fairly neutral eyeshadow colours extracted from the various eyeshadow duos and singles. There is a fairly good mix of matte and satin shades which I was quite pleased with. I am starting to learn to like matte eyeshadow 🙂
Each shadow pan isn’t very large but I’d say it’s sufficient for most of our needs. Few of us will ever finish a whole large pan of shadow if we have a few to rotate with.
The eyeshadow colours aren’t labelled which is a bit of a pity. I’d have liked for the plastic insert to carry the names, even if they don’t print them, only because it makes it easier to identify. However, if you aren’t the sort who wants to talk about their eyeshadow colours, just use them, then it actually doesn’t matter at all LOL!
I can tell you however, that one colour that I absolutely adore is in this palette, and that’s the one in the bottom row, 2nd from right. It’s the right side of the limited edition Dogon duo which is absolute-freaking-ly gorgeous and a colour-shifting wonder! A blackened green that is just gorgeous on skin and shifts colours. Go see my earlier review! I don’t recognise the others but here’s a quick run down of what’s available in the palette.
Top Row L-R: All about Eve (Left side), Madrague (Right side), Fez, Bali, Coconut Grove
Middle Row L-R: Madrague (Left side), Nepal, Ashes to Ashes, Brousse (Right side), Mekong
Bottom Row L-R: Bellissima (Left side), Lhasa, Bad Behaviour, Dogon (Right side), Pandora (Right side)
The ones labelled right and left are from duos, others are single shades. Some were limited edition colours, some are permanent.
What does this tell you then?
Simply that if you already own a large number of NARS eyeshadow singles or eyeshadow duos, you probably don’t need this palette. You may already own most, if not all the colours. However, if you don’t own many NARS eyeshadows then this is a good way to get most of the popular shades in one handy compact. I don’t, so this was handy for me.
I quickly swatched the shadows at the store and like the few shadow duos I own, I find that they don’t fare as well when I use my fingers to swatch them. It feels dry to the touch and swatches a little sheer. It really needs brushes for these to work well IMO and when I use a brush with my shadows, they go on smoothly and well pigmented. I’d say to manage your expectations.
Reviews around the internet have been mixed. Some love it, some complain about it but I think it’s a lot to do with how you already feel about NARS shadows. If you already have one of the many neutral palettes out there, then this one’s just an expensive version. You will have 2 months to decide how you feel about it, and 2 months to save up for it 🙂
Here’s an approximate size of the palette held in the palm of my hand. It’s surprisingly quite large, but handy, with a handy large mirror. If you are the sort who wants to travel with palettes then you may like this. Or if you just like palettes then again you may like this.
But don’t just cave to the hype. Go in store when it’s out, and check it out for yourself. Or in the mean time, go to the store, play around with some of the colours available in the existing palettes and singles and decide if you like how it feels or how it wears.
Here’s an idea of how some of the colours look, applied by Janice, the makeup trainer in the NARS store at Pavilion KL 🙂
She used Fez all over, a bronzed brown, then applied Coconut Grove, a matte dark brown, on the outer corner and along the lash line, and Pandora, matte black, on the outermost corner to deepen. Lined with a black pencil. All colours were applied with a brush. I swatched these colours with fingers and I can tell you I wasn’t half as impressed. I took a brush to them and they looked a lot better. But then, it’s something I’ve come to expect from NARS eyeshadows. Their blushes are finger-swatch friendly but not their eyeshadows.
Are you already saving up for the NARSissist Eye Palette?
I’ll bring you swatches and more in depth thoughts once I’ve had a proper play with the palette. For now, these are my preliminary thoughts based on a preliminary view of the palette 🙂 Are you already making that call to be put on the notification list when it’s available? 😉
Paris B
NARS NARSissist Eye Palette Price: RM290 Availability: NARS store at Pavilion KL from end April-May 2014
Been craving this baby for a while now, but I’ve been procrastinating because I own a tonne of neutral palettes already. The swatches online look gorgeous, and the palette itself is a beauty, but at the price, not sure if I need this palette.. The limited edition bit is the devil in my head pushing me to buy this though 🙂
PS: Has comment luv went missing on the blog? 😉
Hey Shasha unfortunately I ran into some problems with the commentluv plugin so I’ve turned it off temporarily to test. It was generating errors for some people and I wanted to be sure it’s the source of the errors I’ve been getting. Will try to bring it back soon! As for the Narsissist palette, I think it’s a nice-to-have. Not necessarily a must have naturally, especially coz it’s quite pricey!
I have been wanting this palette!!the colours are gorgeous and the packaging is sleek..in my opinion look much more lush than Naked.. well So is the price..hahaha.. but after watching review from makeupgeek.. the swatches are a lil disappointing.. would love more pigmented colours tho.. now thinking of Tarte matte-nificent… did you check that out yet?
Yes if you’re comparing shades, the colours are definitely a better selection with wider variants than UD Naked. As for the swatches, if done with fingers, I’d say yes they’re disappointing. But applied with a brush, they’re lovely on skin and easy to blend. That said, the texture is quite typical of Nars eyeshadows so it’s going to be one of those things – if you like Nars shadows, you’ll like these but if you don’t, then you won’t 😀 I didn’t check out Tarte. But I do like Tarte shadows – just not happy with the local pricing.
I’ve a couple of NARS eye palettes – I’ve not been too impressed. I have a limited edition one they released many christmases ago and it is my least favourite palette in my stash. I’m going to proceed with a lot of caution with this one because if I don’t like it, I’m going to end up with A LOT of colours I dislike. I still think NARS has some hit-and-misses. They’ve got a cult following, I’m certain but I might pass on this without losing any sleep over it 😀
Oh yeah, this isn’t something to lose sleep over LOL! I don’t think you’d miss this in your stash to be honest. I don’t have their larger palettes only their duos but I picked this up simply because the odds of me buying anymore duos (some of them have really weird combinations!) are very slim so it’s a great way to get most of the wearable colours in one compact. But otherwise, not a must have, I’d agree.
I wrote the names with a marker on the plastic insert it came with, if that helps. 😀 I absolutely love this palette.
You clever clever girl, Carina! I’m going to so steal your idea! 😀
Hmm… Yeah I have seen like nearly every beauty blogger having this one. But at the same time, I’ve also seen Smash Box’s Full Exposure and the less known Clinique nude palette… Oh well… Not moved by any yet. Something is wrong with me??
Haha time to whip out that Sleek Acid palette! 😀 I was interested initially in the Smashbox Full Exposure palette but after reading some reviews on it, I chose to pass. The quality doesn’t seem up to par. On the other hand, Laura Mercier has another Artist palette coming out soon and that one looks promising too but more neutral tones.
I’m still skeptical about the packaging. LOL! I’ll wait for 18 months and ask you if it’s still good, then I’ll consider NARS again. Hahahaha!
I actually have some eyeshadow duos that are more than 2 years old and haven’t turned into a gooey mess so maybe there’s hope? 😀
Yes, I agree that this is another neutral palette, and the thing that makes it “special” may be due to the blues…. hhhmmmm unfortunately I am not feeling this palette at all… rm290 may not be too pricey for that pan but there are many out there with slightly cheaper price and has more interesting colours.
No real blues (lighting), but there’s some purples in there which adds a twist to the neutrals. Not a must have, that’s for sure 🙂
It look so nice on you!!! I still can’t decide if I need this!
Thanks Cynthia 🙂 I was really surprised by the choice of colours coz these weren’t colours I’d usually use but now I know I can wear it 😀 You have another month to think about it 😉
Really pretty eye look for sure! But see, I think you are right. It all depends on your take on NARS shadows, and for me-not a fan to be honest. I have a couple of singles and one or two duos, but no more.
Thanks Tracy, pity I don’t have the mad skills of the makeup artist! Haha… This is definitely one for the fans, as with everything. Gotta like their eyeshadow textures to like this palette! But I guess the same is true for every brand out there eh? 😉
300 buckaroos??????? They’ve gotta be kidding!!! After my one and only eyeshadow disaster with nars..im not sure if im willing to part with 300 bucks for their palate. .gah…
Haha 😀 On a breakdown, it’s about RM20 a shadow which isn’t too bad all things considered but it’s definitely one for the fans 😀 What happened with your nars shadow Kel?
Somehow, the pallette casing put me off. Especially those fonts design, not sure why, but the moment I look at the casing, my mind just scream “china imitation”. The darker tones looks useful and promising but then so many lighter colors that I can’t think of any use of all for my Asian skin tone.
Interesting observations Sylvia 🙂 I like the Nars font generally but maybe the addition of “issist” in a different font weight changes the effect. The lighter shades are actually fairly pigmented and make very good blending and base colours. I actually like them better than the deep ones but it’s one of those things where preferences and mileage will vary 🙂
I’m kinda torn. I want it just because it’s limited edition and it has a good mix of neutrals. But I still don’t like the packaging and think some of their eyeshadows are just not that great. I like my eyeshadows buttery and I find most of NARS tend to be on the dry and powdery side.
Oh well, I still have a couple of months to decide 🙂
Yep, Nars shadows aren’t buttery that’s for sure but I find quality varies. Incidentally, next time you’re at Nars, swatch Kauai the new purple/gold duo. The texture is so buttery and soft and pigmented and so un-Nars it blew me away! I’m told it’s permanent so I’m waiting to get it some day 😛
I’m currently trying this palette out. I don’t own the singles so this definitely helps with creating a variety of smokey looks. I’m loving it! 🙂
Yay good to know it’s working for you Nikki 🙂 I don’t own many singles either so I’m quite glad to have most of the wearable shades in one palette. Some of Nars duos are quite misses 😛
I ordered mine a few weeks ago so hope to get it in the mail in the next 2 weeks. While i do have a LE neutral palette from them as well I just couldn’t let this pass. I was obsessed with their palettes and have just rediscovered my love for them. The quality is great and you are getting 15 colours for rm290. Dior charges almost rm200 for just 5!
I did the same math you did EL and felt a bit better hehe! I’m quite happy with the palette to be honest, but I don’t have other Nars palettes so I can’t compare, but this is definitely promising! I hope you like it 😀
Still cant decide if I want this. It looks practical, easy to do everyday-colours and travel friendly. But… the colours just dont excite me much. In saying that I’m seeing amazing combinations done with this, so I’ll still be in store to play with it when it comes to my country.
Haha neutral palettes are usually like that – neutral 😀 So it will depend a lot on whether you go for these sort of colours or prefer something a little more exciting with more variety. Personally, I think it’s a nice versatile palette but I definitely suggest that you go and have a play with it. It’s too expensive to buy just on a whim or because everyone else loves it! 😀
Agree..the darker tones do look more appealing, but the lighter ones..seem a lil understated.
Will check it out anyway and see if its a good addition, or just stick to my Naked palletes 🙂
For the most part, I think you could quite easily stick to the Naked palettes without missing this one 🙂 I do like the light shades more than the darker ones but it definitely pays to check it out in person before buying, as with anything! 😀
This is absolutely gorgeous!!
I thought so too hence my weeping wallet 😛
The look you did is just so perfect! I love it when asian ladies do smokey looks! that palette does look like a beautiful palette of browns but I think there are too many light shades!
Haha thanks, but it was done by a lovely and talented makeup artist – would that I were as good at it!
Oh dear – the temptation! I have all three UD Naked palettes plus just a handle of NARS duos which don’t actually appear in this Narcissist palette… But I should reign in my bad habit of splurging on makeup haha… There’s always going to be a fantastic neutral eye shadow palette coming out every season, e.g. Lorac (pro palette), Stila (In the light), Too Faced (Chocolate Bar), Marc Jacobs (Lolita)…..Arrggghhhhhhh…..!
You know, I’m really keen on the Too Faced Chocolate Bar palette but the thought of it smelling like chocolate puts me off 😛 I just don’t like chocolate very much but I’ve read so many good reviews on it! This Nars palette is nice, and personally I feel it to be quite different from the UD Naked palettes but you know, neutral palettes are neutral palettes. In the end, you only need one… or maybe two hehe…