Uh, how do I say this, but don’t judge a book by its cover. A phrase as true to anything in life as it is in makeup, for if I had judged the new (and unfortunately, limited edition) NARS Dolomites eyeshadow duo by how it looked, I’d be the first to pass it over. Mistake! Don’t.
If you pass this over, you might miss out on one of the most versatile neutral eyeshadow colours in a handy small compact, that I’ve come across in recent times. I know it sounds like so much hoopla, but I was pleasantly surprised by how Dolomites performed and it happily also, sports a better texture than regular NARS eyeshadows.
I don’t know if you feel the way I do about NARS eyeshadows, but I always feel them to be a bit of a hit or miss, if you’re buying them sight unseen. I was a little put off by them before (packaging aside) because I felt the texture was a little dry. Sure, they’re pigmented but they take a bit of work and I found it too much work. But I have also noticed that in recent times, NARS has stepped up their game for certain colours, a change I noticed with Kauai and now, Dolomites. The texture of the eyeshadow in Dolomites is more creamy, more pigmented, and adheres to skin better. Let me try and show you in the swatches below 🙂
Knowing NARS’ penchant for naming their eyeshadow duos after places, it probably comes as no surprise that the Dolomites is the name of a place – a mountain range to be precise, in Italy. I’m making the tenuous connection here and it’s not the official story, but hey, we can make up our own stories right? 😛 Dolomite (sans S) is a type of rock.
NARS Dolomites however, is an eyeshadow duo in an interesting colour combination.
NARS Dolomites Eyeshadow Duo
The right half, described as ‘Chocolate’ is a matte-satin cool brown with slight red undertones, and the left half, described as ‘Shiny Rose Quartz’ is a metallic rose pink shade with slightly warm undertones.
This, I’d freely admit, is a colour combination I usually shy away from. I’ve only in recent times made my peace with brown eyeshadows, being very careful to stay away from anything that had red undertones, because they have a tendency to make my eyes look tired and pink? I still haven’t made my peace with that yet.
Yet, for some reason, the combination works for me.
Both colours swatch effortlessly with fingers and the shiny side is metallic without fall out nor glitter. It is just smooth shine. The chocolate side which I thought to be matte isn’t. There is a slight sheen to it which prevents it from looking flat. Both colours are easy to pick up with a brush and to blend, and both are incredibly pigmented on skin.
The ease of blending and picking up with a brush means application is super easy. I apply the chocolate colour as a base, tap on some of the shiny side and then blend it out. On work days, you don’t want too much shine around the eyes, so blend and buff it out, and the metallic shine is reduced, leaving an iridescent shine on lid. If you want it to look more shiny, pat on more product and don’t blend so much.
The nice part is that you can even wear both colours separately if you like. Just dab on colour, blend it out, line and apply mascara (if you do) and go. I must admit being pleasantly surprised by the versatility, practicality and just general usefulness of this duo. I used to be all about colour, but am in recent times, more partial towards neutral eye shades and this duo works when you don’t want to carry a full palette with you.
Pull out a little to see how this works in a full face shot, and this is how it looks. It looks a little more smokey than in the closeup, and you can lighten it or deepen it as you like.
I thought this to be quite a Fall/Autumn appropriate look when paired with a berry-plum lip (Clinique Chubby Stick Intense in Grandest Grape). If I wanted it to look lighter, I’d use the shiny side as a base shade and the chocolate to shade and then pair it with a lighter pink lip. That’s pretty as well.
I’ll say this again – Dolomites is a very practical and compact neutral eyeshadow duo and never judge a book by its cover!
IN A NUTSHELL
The NARS Dolomites eyeshadow duo is a limited edition shade for Fall 2014 but it would have been great if it had been made permanent, because it should be. This is a lovely, practical and compact eyeshadow duo that you can quite easily tote about, takes up little space, and can be used for a variety of looks from the simple to the smokey. The shades do look a little warm in pan, but on skin, don’t bring out the red tones, which I appreciate because that can make you look tired. I like using it on its own, with a dark eyeliner and some quick blending, you’re ready to go.
Pros: Creamy texture, Pigmented, Not too metallic, No fall out, Adheres well to skin, Easy to blend, Easy colours to use for almost anyone
Cons: Limited Edition, Rubberized packaging is potentially a sticky problem
Who will like this: Anyone who likes neutral eyeshadow, Anyone who wants a very compact neutral eyeshadow combination that can be used for a variety of looks
As much as I’d like to tell you that it’s a must have, I won’t. It is potentially dupeable and if you have a large variety of neutral eyeshadows in your stash, I’m quite sure you’d find a way to dupe this, or at least a close enough match. But for those who can’t, or who just want to own one of the better quality NARS eyeshadow duos (yes, quality does differ so I’m not going to tell you that ALL Nars eyeshadows are wonderful – some suck! I’m looking at you Cleo and Lost Coast) then don’t miss out on Dolomites. Yes, it’s worth it. I’ve put it as a permanent rotation in my stash! 😀
Did you check out Dolomites or anything from the NARS Fall 2014 collection? Are you a NARS Eyeshadow fan?
I started out on the wrong footing. One of my first eyeshadow duos was Cleo which really sucked. Hated the texture and colour. Then, I got Mediteranee (don’t ask me why – look up the colour online and then tell me I was nuts) and then I gave up. Kauai and Dolomites have slowly dragged me back to the fold so I’m more willing to experiment now. How about you? 🙂
Paris B
NARS Dolomites Eyeshadow Duo Price: RM120 Availability: NARS store at Pavilion Kuala Lumpur Limited Edition: Yes, Fall 2014 Night Crawler collection
have you tried any of the dual intensities? it’s the first product nars has put out that’s really piqued my interest since their happy ending blush 😛
Afraid not, Joy. To be perfectly honest, I wasn’t quite taken by them so I didn’t bother getting any. I know they’ve gotten a lot of raves though – did you try any? I tend to be more of a palette gal so single shadows end up not getting a lot of use 🙁
The only NARS eyeshadow duo I have is Surabaya and it’s quite good. This looks great on you, Paris. Love how you pair it with berry lips 🙂
Thanks Lily 🙂 Surabaya looks like a nice and pigmented duo but I didn’t take to the colour combination. It’s good to know you can get it to work! 😀
As much as I like neutrals (and taupes, in particular), I would not have picked a muddy reddish brown too. But this does look quite nice and I think the pinky shade helps tone down the brown.
Absolutely, Lyn. It’s one of those unexpected colour combinations that work which gives me an idea of how to make similar shades work for me in future too! 😉
I don’t buy lots of eyeshadows compared to other categories of beauty products. I think I will stick to the Chanel quad 🙂 She is waiting for me in duty free x
Mmmmm Did you eventually decide on which to get? 😀
I keep on changing my mind. I think the best way is to go to the counter and decide there and then 🙂 x
Looks lovely on you, Miss P. You’re right, it’s very autumnal and you’ve reminded me that I should try and update myself for the seasons sometimes. It’s so easy to forget that there is such a thing as seasons when we’re stuck at the Equator.
Thank you, lovely! And I get a kick out of people calling me Ms. P for some reason haha! 😀 To be honest, I’m as clueless as you are about the seasonal changes, since little of how the weather changes will affect the makeup we wear (we do get SOME sun at least 364 days of the year eh?) so I only remember when the rest of the world goes “Ooh! Fall! Berry lips!” or something of that nature. Irrelevant to us, if I’m to be honest 😉
I only own one NARS duo, Paramaribo. I do really like it, but everything else I have swatched ever since falls short. I like the artistic shade pairings, or at least the idea behind it, but that also means sometimes the two shades don’t work so easily together. I do like how Dolomites looks on you though! 🙂
Oho! You got Paramaribo! That was a very interesting duo 😀 You’re right, a lot of what’s available in the duos are quite hit or miss. Some of the more recent textures have improved a lot but it’s always a bit of a guessing game and that does make me irritated because at the asking prices, they better jolly well be consistently good in quality! 😛 Oh you know I actually owned Rated R once a long long time ago before I swapped it away. Don’t ask LOL 😛
These shades are perfect for fall. And they look great on you!
They absolutely are, Gio and thank you! 😀
I don’t own anything from Nars (yet). I’ve never even stepped foot into their store! I’m too afraid because there’re so many things that I want to try from them and I’m already broke enough as it is lol.
I googled Nars Mediteranee, and the colours are gorgeous! I love red/orange tones and shy away from cool tones cos they make me look…wrong (don’t even like taupe shades on me). The colours in Dolomites look pretty, but I think I have similar shades already. But you look fantastic wearing them!
Ah Mediteranee is truly gorgeous… just not on me LOL! 😀 It sounds like we’re opposites in skintones Anis which is a good thing because then we get to bounce ideas off each other since makeup can look so different on different people 😀 Dolomites is gorgeous but imminently dupeable I agree. Don’t be afraid of the NARS store – we’re one of the lucky ones who actually have a standalone store, not just a counter! 😉
We know we are in good hands when Paris uses the word “incredibly” in her review, especially when paired with pigmented 🙂 Love how great it looked on you with berry-plum lip. I admire your tightline with such dainty precision!
I’m that picky eh? 😉 but yes, superlatives are a sure sign of me achieving babbling level 😀 It was surprisingly easy to wear so thank you and I’ll have to tell you about the eyeliner soon! Anyone can achieve this, I promise! 😉
It looks really nice on you! I prefer warmer colors and my favorite duo from NARS is Surabaya.
Thank you Ankita! 🙂 Warmer colours would look amazing against your skintone, I’d agree! On me they tend to look muddy so I could never wear Surabaya but I’m guessing it looks stunning when you do! 😀