THE SCENE: A crowded courtroom.
PARTIES PRESENT: The Honorable Judge Karen presiding, with Attorney-at-Law Tabs the Cat representing his client, the new NARS Guy Bourdin Crime of Passion palette.
Judge Karen pounds her gavel (which incidentally looks like a lint roller) repeatedly.
JUDGE KAREN: “Order! Order in the court!
“Counselor Tabs, your client, the limited edition NARS Guy Bourdin Crime of Passion Palette for eyes, lips and cheeks, stands before the High Court of Holiday Makeup today to be judged on its shopping worthiness this holiday season.
“On the count of eyeshadow fallout in the first degree, how does your client plead?”
COUNSELOR TABS: Mrrrow. (“Not guilty, Your Honor.”)
JUDGE KAREN: “And on the count of weird color combinations in the first degree, how does your client plead?”
COUNSELOR TABS: Mrrrow. (“Not guilty, Your Honor.”)
JUDGE KAREN: “And on the count of brief wear time in the first degree, how does your client plead?”
COUNSELOR TABS: Mrrrow. (“Not guilty, Your Honor.”)
JUDGE KAREN: “Lastly, on the count of difficulty blending eyeshadows, how does your client plead?”
COUNSELOR TABS: Meeee-ow. (“Guilty, Your Honor.”)
The crowd collectively gasps…
JUDGE KAREN: “Order! Order! I will have order in my courtroom!
“Thank you for your service to the court, Counselor. You may now approach the bench, so that I may feed you turkey-flavored Temptations.” 🙂
What’s the verdict?
I’m this close to saying that the only crime the new Crime of Passion palette commits is AWESOMENESS because it has so many great things going for it, like excellent wear time (all day for the eyeshadows, bronzer and blush, and 4-5 hours for the lipgloss), super wearable colors that should suit most skin tones, and eyeshadows that stick like electromagnets to my lids.
I’m talking zero fallout — zilch — even when I packed it on, and not one grain of powder appeared beneath my eyes, not even when I used the dark black shade.
The $59 palette, which arrives at NARS counters, boutiques and online next month, comes with useful basics you can easily dress up or down.
The palette includes…
- Larger Than Life Lipgloss in Deep Throat, a new shade in a shimmering sheer peach
- Eyeshadow in Jezebel, a new shimmery reddish brown
- Eyeshadow in Naiade, a new metallic light rose
- Eyeshadow in Pandora, a re-promoted matte black
- Blush in Deep Throat, a re-promoted sheer peach
- Bronzing Powder in Laguna, a re-promoted brown bronzer with golden shimmer
But there’s one big catch (at least for my right wrist), and that’s blending these eyeshadows together.
I guess that’s the tradeoff (sigh). These latch on to skin so well that, yes, there’s no fallout, and they stay put a solid 10-12 hour with very little creasing or fading, but they also take near Herculean effort to blend into smooth gradients.
I definitely feel like I have to swoosh with my blending brush back and forth more than I do with other NARS eyeshadows.
Advanced makeup lovers who like to wear highly defined eyeshadow looks with distinct areas of color in the outer V, the crease, etc. may not mind. Same goes for beginners and others who only plan to do super simple looks with very little blending, like by wearing the lightest shade on their lids and lining their lash lines with the brown or black shades.
Whatever your skill level, though, here’s a trick you might find useful…
I experimented with a few different eye primers and bases while working with this palette, and blending was a little easier for me when I started with a really creamy base, like a soft kohl pencil smudged all over my lids, and then dusted a light layer of face powder on top (helped to even the surface).
Then I’d apply the shadows.
Seemed to really help with the transitions from one color to the next.
PRICE: $59
AVAILABILITY: Coming November 1 to NARS counters, stores and narscosmetics.com
MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: B+
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
In related(?) news, today I found out I PASSED the bar exam!!!!! Next month I’ll be sworn in as a lawyer yay!!!
That is so cool, Jenna! CONGRATULATIONS! I hope you’re celebrating tonight (or plan to soon).
Thanks! I did celebrate a lot over the weekend. I’m worn out! I can’t believe I was posting about studying for the LSATs on your Monday Polls over four years ago, and now here I am. Time FLIES.
WOOHOO!!! Congratulations! 😀
Did you do something to celebrate that necessitated hiring a lawyer of your own? 😉
Oh no, nothing so crazy, but I would have just represented myself 🙂
This is exactly what I am looking for! Compact and light.
Hi Angel,
It’s very travel friendly. Are you going on a trip soon?
Even though this is hard to blend, I’m pretty sure in gonna get it. The colors are just so pretty.
Hi Natalie,
It’s definitely a great set; you’ll always be able to use it (I’m into the practical stuff!).
Do you have an eyeshadow base that you love? I tried this with my trusty NARS Pro-Prime and had a hard time blending, boo.
I love the NARS one a lot too, but I would probably try putting some face powder on my lids first to try and help with blending.
I REALLY love this makeup on you, especially the eyes! x
Thanks, Marina. I hope you’re having a nice weekend so far.
This one I am not planning to get.Cant say the same about rest of the nars sets from the collection though!! 🙂
Ha! There’s lots of pretties to choose from. What do you have your eye on?
I love this look on you! The set is a dead ringer for the Laura Mercier Colour to go set in Natural Nudes, down to the design. I got that one (and am underwhelmed by it), will skip this.
Hi Bella,
I saw that one online. Did you pick up any other Laura holiday kits/palettes? I gotta say, her brush kits are always great.
I have that Laura Mercier palette, too (wearing it tonight, actually) and I’ve been pretty happy with it. I can use everything in it except maybe the lip gloss. I’ve been eyeing her mini lip gloss holiday collection because they look to be the same size as the one in the palette, and I can just drop one of those in as a replacement.
The color is just so pretty 🙂
Super pretty!
I like that the lippie is actually in the tube. Can’t stand palette with lippies of any sort just sitting next to powders getting all grimy with every se *yuck* So this is a nice alternative.
Hi Wilcoa,
Yes! And it’s also nice that the products are on two different tiers, don’t you think?
Karen, how do you invariably look adorable in every color available? If I tried that… well, I look like I just stumbled out of the crypt. Achieving skin tone is a pretty big deal on the average day.
Aww, you’re so sweet, Susan. Honestly, I think the trick is to find wearable ways to work different colors. Although, I have tried quite a few that I feel a hot mess in, not gonna lie.
I know what you mean about getting skin tone — it can be a challenge. What products are you currently using and loving? I’ve been really into MAC Face & Body for the last few months (doesn’t feel heavy and more importantly, it doesn’t move once its on). For the parts that I feel need extra coverage (cheeks, around the nose and chin), I use NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer. Then I set it usually with MAC Careblends Pressed or Chanel Loose Powder.
I have trouble finding a balance between sunblock (chemical sunblock and I don’t mix well), sensitive skin, and pale skin. However, I’ve found a decent balance in some homemade sunblock I whipped up, and Bobbi Brown’s Foundation Stick in Alabaster, though I’ve thought about giving the MAC counter a look for highlighter samples. Recently, I found an Aromaleigh finishing powder, Illuminata Luxe, that gives me a healthy-looking tone without turning orange or looking like I’ve used a fake tanner. It’s just tinted enough that I can use it between sunblock and foundation, then over foundation again and look like a human rather than a zombie.
OTOH, if I actually want to look dramatic and over the top, I can use greenish powder, pale lips and cheeks, and a dark red smoky eye with black liner, and NOBODY will miss me. 😀
I want this! It’s too expensive though 🙁
Hi Natalye,
It’s pricey, I know, but the positive thing is you can wear these colors with almost everything!
This palette would have been so pretty without Laguna and Deep Throat stinking up the place lol. I’m so over seeing them in palettes! I do love the eye look you created though. It’s beautiful!
This looks really useful for traveling!
All of these colors are so pretty.
I love this! I can see it joining my other travel-friendly palettes. 😀 if I can find Nars anywhere in Germany and it’s not uber expensive, that is!
How neat to have a lipgloss housed INSIDE the palette. It’s also kind of killing me that the NARS stuff will be available on Sephora after the F&F discount expires!!
So natural, i love it for a diary makeup,
I’m torn about Nars palettes.
I love the brand but I find that the palettes are boring – great for people who are just being introduced to the brand, but rarely are they exciting with their color. I love color, and Francois loves color – but you wouldn’t know it by these palettes, which are loaded with neutrals. At least he has a lot of color in the rest of the seasonal offerings.
The most intriguing palette set was the Night Series set because those colors really rocked.
Karen, there colours are fantastic on you. Also, your eyebrows are fantastic .