Introduction
NARS Narsissist Loaded Eyeshadow Palette ($59.00 for 0.48 oz) is a new limited edition palette containing twelve eyeshadows in various warmer neutral tones. The palette will launch at NARS on March 22 and other retailers on March 28. Some shades were beautiful, others were less expressive, but most would benefit significantly from an eyeshadow primer for more extended wear and color payoff.
My initial thoughts were that the colors would be too warm and dark for my liking – but every time I went to Sephora (which was pretty often), I couldn’t help but take another look. It went on for months, and finally, I decided to buy the cave. Overall one of the darkest and warmest palettes I own but the pigment and texture are by far the best I’ve tried in a long time, certainly one of the best from NARS.
Packaging: Nars Narsissist Loaded Eyeshadow Palette
Housed in a simple matte black compact with reflective copper and gold plating, Nars Narsissist Loaded Eyeshadow Palette comes with a large mirror and 12 shades, each weighing 1.2g. Unfortunately, the packaging is a fingerprint magnet, but it feels and looks very luxurious.
What are matter and Shimmer? Nars Narsissist Loaded Eyeshadow Palette
The palette has a combination of mattes and Shimmer. The mattes are incredibly soft and smooth. The best matte palettes I own to date are Urban Decay Naked Basics and Naked2 Basics (both exemplified here). The mattes in this palette are just as good but with warmer colors. The colors have a perfect mix of light, medium and dark colors. The entire second row has colors that I thought would be too hot for me, but I find they work flawlessly since I am bronze right now, especially when layered with other shades in the palette.
The pigment is perfect for all colors except one. Monttaillou (sub-brown matte) is the only one that goes chalky with a regular eyeshadow brush. It might best apply with a detail brush as a smoky line.
It comes in a sturdy, mirrored compact with a golden mirror cap on top (it looks just like the packaging). My only complaint is that these covers show all fingerprints, but it’s not a deal breaker, and the packaging is pretty.
Colors and Swatches: Nars Narsissist Loaded Eyeshadow Palette
- Newbury Street glitters in pale white gold
- Windsor is a matte cream, perfect for an evening out with my eyelids.
- Privilege is a shining gold
- Dover is a matte taupe
- Foix is a matte, warm beige
- Castille is a matte, warm brown.
- Alnwick is a shimmering auburn
- Beaumaris is a shimmering cool brown
- Splendor is a metallic silvery taupe
- Versailles is a shimmering bronze and also
- Monttaillou is a matte crust brown and also
- Reale is a deep shimmering black
Formulation: Nars Narsissist Loaded Eyeshadow Palette
Nars Narsissist Loaded Eyeshadow Palette is known for its quality eyeshadows, so this palette was pretty awesome from start to finish. You get 12 rich neutrals: one satin, two Shimmer, four metallics, and five mattes. Overall, the shadows are silky, creamy, and nicely pigmented. See below for a breakdown of each shade.
Newbury Street: This is a very shimmery off-white shimmer. The shade has some fallout, but the formulation is still pretty good.
Windsor: This is a very soft creamy nude matte. The texture is silky, and the pigmentation is excellent.
Privilege: With a cool golden shimmer, Privilege is translucent, creamy, and smooth.
Dover: This is a taupe-gray matte with an even and smooth formulation.
Foix: This is a unique orange, beige matte. The pigmentation is excellent, and the texture is silky and creamy.
Castille: With slightly patchy coverage, Castille is sheerer, but the texture is still soft and silky.
Alnwick: It’s a rich burnt orange metallic. The pigmentation is not as intense as I expected, but the formulation is buttery and creamy.
Beaumaris: This is super rich and pigmented medium brown metallic.
Splendor: Splendor, an oyster taupe metallic, is another pigmented and buttery shade.
Versailles: This is a rusty gold metallic. Pigmentation is great!
Montayllou: This is a matte dark brown. The texture is dry and chalky, but the pigmentation is buildable. And also
Reale: A stunning satin carbon gray, Reale is very, very, very pigmented and rich.
Conclusion
You can now find the Nars Narsissist Loaded Eyeshadow Palette on most counters. I got mine from Sephora because NARS is available at Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, and Saks Fifth Avenue.