Nars and once more I am late to the party. Having no counter in Germany doesn't help it but doesn't prevent me getting hold of the Nars pretties either. Nars states "Double or Nothing" and I say, yes please. So I decided to get to know them first, ordered two shades from Nars.eu, sight unseen.
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| Nars Dual Intensity Eye Shadows in Callisto and Desdemona |
My first choice was Phoebe but that one was busy crossing some oceans (thanks to Linda) so I selected two more shades, which looked intriguing from the swatches online, Desdemona and Callisto.
Callisto is a light pink with metallic/frosty finish. Nars defines it as "Icy Pink Silver", which I find to be spot on. I failed to remember icy is pretty much the same thing as frosty though so ended up getting a bit shocked by how shimmery it is. Callisto is by far the most metallic eye shadow I own and I didn't even try it wet yet. Would it work on its own? I will come to this issue soon...
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| Nars Dual Intensity Eye Shadows in Callisto |
My second choice was Desdemona, why, I don't know. I guess I must have thought that this would be a great addition to my now growing "Fall Rabbit Eye Shadow Section" of my stash. Oh and I thought this would have a great duo chrome quality. Desdemona is really a unique color, which I didn't own. At the same time I found it to be a little too red based and less plum based and therefore more difficult for me to pull off.
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| Nars Dual Intensity Eye Shadows in Desdemona |
Here are my dry swatches, I wished I had seen similar swatches online before ordering Callisto because you see the frost? *nods* This particular shade is impossible to wear alone for me. I tried today and ended up removing it because I simply couldn't go to work like that. Callisto is very clashy (no I didn't mean classy!) and very frosty. I am sure though it will receive some love from others and as far as I read it does, just not me...
Desdemona is fuchsia shimmer, which is fine but then that red base... I was a little nervous but it turns out that it works nicely on me. I love the more subdued shimmer of that one (Callisto hear that?) I just wished it would be a touch more brown and wearable but instead it is interesting and edgy. Not your everyday neutral though...
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| Nars Dual Intensity Eye Shadows in Callisto (left) and Desdemona (right) |
Here is me wearing Desdemona (inner and outer lid) and Callisto (midlid, blended over Desdemona).
Although one by one these colors wouldn't be my first choice, together they work much better for me, Callisto's shimmer is nice to layer over other eye shadows and Desdemona gets more purple once combined with Callisto.
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| In-action: Nars Dual Intensity Eye Shadows in Callisto and Desdemona |
Here is the whole look. I was on a bold make-up mode so I combined the eye makeup with MAC's Pure Heroine, I wanted Pure Heroine very much but it was sold out in less than an hour in Germany, so thanks to Dawn for getting it for me from US. Red shirt clashes a little with almost monochromatic face make-up and I like the variation there.
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| FOTD with Nars Dual Intensity Eye Shadows in Callisto and Desdemona and MAC Pure Heroine |
Final thoughts: Quality of those are phenomenal and I really liked how pigmented and smooth they are. The shade selection, being sight-unseen, was not optimal for me though. If you are no fan of frosts, Callisto might not be for you. There are other interesting shades in the line though, I hope these are available in France soon so I can check out in person.
How do you feel about frosts? Could you wear Callisto on its own? Any tips to make it work?
Hellooo Sara! Thank you so much for the info!! :D *Happy Belated Birthday!!* hope it was well spent and you were showered with love!
ReplyDeleteYou always look so good in every colour/finish.. is there any shade which doesnt work for you?? hehe. I could never pick up any makeup sight-unseen :/ and I dont wear frosty shades as it just looks... tacky on my single eyelids. LOL or maybe I just dont know how to work it.
Hope you've been well!! xoxoxx
Hi Xen, great to see you, read you and thanks so much for your lovely wishes and your swatches of the three new upcoming Chanel nail polishes.
DeleteAnd believe me there are many shades which don't work for me. Some type of greens make my eyes look punched and silvers read too cool. Some warm browns look super muddy... The list goes on. Frosts are not easy to wear for most of us, I think light hand is the key, which is what I don't have LOL.
Oh how you tempt me, Sara! Both of these look amazing on you! Even though I do think the colour and quality of these are great, in Taiwan they are only a little cheaper than the Armani Solos, so I've skipped the Nars ones for now, but you're my temptress!
ReplyDeleteI'm personally fine with wearing a single frosted light shade, but if it's extremely frosty, then I may tone with down with a matte of a similar or nude shade.
It is a though call between these and Armani's Solos. Here the prices are also almost the same since we get a little bit of discount for Armani and none for Nars. If I were to get just one of them, I would also go for Armani. I mean not all the shades but all in all I find them to be more wearable and more complex. For example #21 clearly wins against Phoebe in my book. Which Armani shades did you get?
DeleteCallisto is very frosty indeed! I don't think I could pull off either of these colors -- and even though you say they are not your favorites alone, you're able to pull them off well together! I purchased Andromeda over the weekend, and haven't had the chance to try it yet. Fingers crossed that it'll work well! :)
ReplyDeleteHi Carolyn, now I am excited to find out how you like Andromeda. Since I can't swatch them in person, I a grateful for each and every review. I got pinky, plummy shades which usually work good on me but these two were the worst in terms of working, at least I thought they were.
DeleteI loooove these. I got Cassiopeia and Subra, but I had my eye on Desdemona, too!
ReplyDeleteI might go weak for Subra at any point. Trying to hold strong at the moment, since I have Chanel Magic Night and that one is very close.
DeleteThese are both just absolutely gorgeous! Like, to die for gorgeous. To kill for gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteLOL, I know what you mean but let's not kill for an eye shadow shall we? :-P
DeleteI swatched several of them last week and passed, way too shiny for my eyes. I don't know why the ad I got through email said these were matte when dry and shiny when wet since there's not a matte shade in the bunch but they are stunningly gorgeous and you're right, the textures are amazing! :)
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean Helene, I don't see anything matte about these, none, nada, lol.
DeleteAnd I find them quiet close wet or dry. Especially once applied with a dense brush, they are also insanely pigmented once dry, no need for a wet application IMO.
These look beautiful! I actually have too many matte eyeshadows so it would be great to throw in a little frost, shimmer, and shine into the mix :) xo Kelly http://msdioraddict.blogspot.com/
ReplyDeleteOh Callisto or any of these frosts would work great exactly for this purpose, throw a bit of shimmer in there!
DeleteI'm not a great fan of Nars (apart from the Multiples). I hate how the packaging gets scuzzy so quickly for a high end product and I find the eye shadows sometimes are a big chalky. I must be the only woman in the world who thinks Laguna is a very average bronzer that makes me look unwashed not tanned! But I do think this is a very pretty look for you. Red/ pink really is rocking the eye colours this coming season. Susan, London
ReplyDeleteHi Susan.
DeleteI hear you about the packaging. I am also not a fan of this dust collecting plastic case. However Nars reformulated their eye shadows and these dual intensities are not chalky at all. They might be frosty from time to time though ;-) I haven't tried Laguna, nor do I have Orgasm blush. Yes red/pink, loving it atm. As you already pointed out Chanel's matte rabbit pink, I got it too, I will post about it soon.
Xox
Is it weird that I kinda like Callisto? I don't know though, it might be a bit too frosty for my taste... I think I need to do some proper swatching before I pick some of these up!
ReplyDeletewww.lilting-grace.blogspot.com
I know what you mean. I was also like pondering, loving the shade and wanting to get it. I wished we had a Nars counter here though because blind buy is hard. I believe if you apply Callisto with a fluffier softer brush, it might have give a nice effect. I am just used to apply full on and this one is not made for it lol.
DeleteSara I think they look amazing on you-I did swatch most if these I loved them all-I bought desdemona and two others who's names I cannot remember at the moment-phoebe us on my list-the prettiest purple!
ReplyDeleteHi Jo,
DeleteI have Phoebe but I think if you have Desdemona, you might be good since there is not a big big difference between the two. Let me tell you this way, I had some other FOTD with Phoebe and looked at these both and found out they were too similar to justify publishing them both, lol. Those two you got, are they more natural shades?
Hi Sara
ReplyDeletethese are so pretty colors and u r looking bful
BTW I want to mention ,I love your hair :)
http://itskrisworld.blogspot.in/
I swatched these in-store and they really are quite fabulous. I balked a bit at the price, though! My favourite shade was Subra, a plummy shade :)
ReplyDelete-Jen
www.vibrantbeautyblog.com