Hello, serious! 🙂
It’s funny to me that NARS chose to call their new Soft Touch Shadow Pencil from the spring 2012 collection a name like Dark Rite ($24), unless they meant it as a question.
Dark, right? Even though it’s not. But at least that would leave the door open for a different answer, LOL! — one more fitting of such a shimmery, enchanting blue.
First time I saw the name, I thought, rainy Sundays and elevator muzak, and pictured a slow, sad ride down an elevator at 2 a.m. on my way home from working as a pawn for the man.
Yup, been there, done that.
But then I saw the color, and this Dark Rite is not at all like that. It’s more like high school graduation — when everyone throws their blue caps way up into the air, or like those desktop wallpapers of scenic sapphire oceans that come with a new computer.
‘Course, as much as I like the color, I think the pencil is a tad high maintenance for me. I’m lazy, after all, and it starts to crease very soon after application, even when I apply it atop the mother of all eyeshadow primers, NARS Pro-Prime.
The effect’s kinda cool, I guess, if you’re striving for that glossy, messy rock-n-roll look like Kesha, but I can’t pull it off. On me, I think it just looks weird and wrong.
I also tried wearing it as a base, and when I did it fared pretty well when I applied powder shadows on top. I cross-pollinated brands and gave it a whirl with MAC Freshwater, a vivid, shimmery blue, and really liked the result.
When it comes to Dark Rite all by itself, though, I do love the color, but for $24, I want something that I’m sure I’ll be able to wear on its own.
PRICE: $24
AVAILABILITY: Available now at NARS counters and also online
MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: B-
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
Haha, Karen you are so funny! When I saw the name it made me think of something sinister or free masons gone bad {ha} because of the spelling of rite. The color is beautiful…too bad it’s so high maintenance.
Haha! The free masons. 🙂 THAT’s what the name was reminding me of. I couldn’t place it at first, but that makes perfect sense. Like something from a Dan Brown book. “The woman was wearing Dark Rite as she performed the… Wait.”
Haha, exactly. Totally Dan Brown-ish.
I’ve never read the term “cross-pollinated” used with makeup brands before XD
so disappointing that this color creases! I love blues and this hue looks gorgeous.
Sorry but I am so disappointed with this product. They could have done a better formula……If this product is made for creasing and travelling all around the place then it scores 100/100 otherwise its not even 0/100..
A big mistake by brand like Nars.
Have you tried layering it over MAC Paint pot especially on Delft or Blackground… I loved the intensity of the color though!
Hi Neeraj,
Agreed. The creasing is a problem, but my problem is that I really love the color, and I also think it performs adequately as a base for powder shadows. That’s why I can’t call it a complete flop.
Haven’t tried it over a MAC Paint pot yet, but that’s a good idea.
please try it out! i hope u wud give it some more marks with paint pot under it! the color is fabulous…..
awww it sucks that it creases! the color is so lovely, but i dont want to deal w/ creasing! 🙂
Hi, Nina. That’s probably a safe bet. Unless you’re willing to work with it and go through a period of trial and error to find ways to work around the creasing, there are easier fish to fry out there, if you know what I mean.
Did you do anything fun last night? We watched a ton of TV last night. I’m still loving that Survivors show with El Hub’s twin in it, haha! We watched four episodes last night. I don’t know what I’m gonna do when we watch the last one (we’re on the 8th of 12 episodes before it got cancelled).
i stayed in while the hubs went out w/ his friend. i watched SNL (harry potter!) … and found a movie on IFC called Blindness. i had read the book and was so into the movie!
zomg @ el hubs’ twin … thats awesomeee! 🙂
I read that book! It was very scary. How’s the movie?
Happy Sunday!
the movie was both scary and sad … i found the book to be a bit melancholic as well. 🙂
might be why im in a bit of a funk atm. :-/
*phew* that’s one NARS product I don’t have to add to my wish list!! Lol! My lids crease even the most crease-resistant of shadows, and can defy even the best primers out there, so I’m betting they’d eat right through this bad boy!
B- is quite generous for this liner!
agree…it’s so bad 🙁 too bad for the color
Hi, artemis. It is a very pretty color, and there just might be a way to make it work. Now, if it had been an icky shade of baby poo brown with cool blue tones in it, instead of a pretty sapphire blue, it would be a different story.
What’s up in your neck of the woods? Have you been having a good weekend so far?
They remind me of these Lakme eye pencils that were launched last year in India, I have these in a very similar blue & they had a similar issue with creasing 🙁
Gorgeous color indeed (and I’m not even that much into blue shades). Too bad it doesn’t remotely have the quality that should go with a $28 price tag in my not always so humble opinion. I really like how it looks on you, but really, a simple straight forward look like that should not have to require any maintenance at all. Thumbs down NARS!
I always find most Nars eye products crease like crazy. It is like you said- if smudgy is the goal, they’re great, but otherwise, meh.
Karen, you should be a tougher grader!
Oh, but Marie, I can’t help myself! love the color. 🙁 It would be easier to be more strict with it if it wasn’t so pretty. I’m tempted to keep looking for ways to make it work, so I can’t call it a complete loss.
We’ll see… I’m hoping that there’s a primer out there somewhere in the world that’s Dark Rite’s soul mate, LOL!
It’s horrible how NARS put such a failure of a product on the market and expect people to pay 24 bucks for it! I’ll stick with Urban Decay pencils thank you very much.
Maybe Quality Control was on vaca the week they released this??
Hey Karen, are all the NARS soft touch eyeshadow pencils like this because there are a couple of other pretty colours that I was looking at the other day but obviously if they all crease really bad, then I don’t to touch them with a bargepole.
Great review though, at least I know to stear clear of this one 🙂
*steer
Totally agree, pro-prime is the best primer ever. 🙂
I just purchased this pencil! Too bad I hadn’t read your review first! ):
The color is gorgeous, gorgeous, though.
Perhaps though for $16 instead of $24, the Hello Kitty Charmmy Eyeshadow Stick in Kimono would be a good dupe?