NARS Coconut Grove Eyeshadow
Get Down & Dirty with Coconut Grove
NARS Coconut Grove Eyeshadow ($23.00 for 0.07 oz.) is a rich, decadent dark chocolate. This is an intense brown–there is no subtly here. It’s one of the darkest browns I’ve seen without veering into black. I love the pigmentation of it, too. It doesn’t quiver in its boots! It charges straight ahead and goes on as dark as it looks in the pan. You gotta love when an eyeshadow looks exactly the same in the pan as it does in practice.
Unlike Daphne, Coconut Grove has no problem showing up to the party, no matter where it’s at! It swatches intensely, but more importantly, it applies the same way when used on the eye. I wore it in this smoky eye, and I had to do some furious blending to keep it from being too dark and sultry (just because I was pairing it with red lips, but it could have easily been left in its stronger form and paired with a nude lip). If pressed, I’d say this is a cooler brown, but I don’t think it leans very cool, and I liked it against my warmer skin tone as well.
According to NARS, this can be used wet as eyeliner, and since it’s incredibly deep in color and excellent in pigmentation, it could easily emphasize the eyes as eyeliner. I don’t think you’d have any trouble getting this to look smooth and pigmented in a tight line at all. From my experience, Coconut Grove is one of the best single eyeshadows by NARS to date.
Don’t forget — use code TEMPTALIA for a free mini lipgloss trio featuring Turkish Delight, Gothika, and Greek Holiday at NARS — expires 8/15.
If you want to know more about how products are evaluated, read out Rating System FAQ! 
- Product: 29/30
- Value: 8/10
- Ease of Use: 4/5
- Packaging: 4/5
RECOMMENDATION: For an alternative to black, Coconut Grove would make an excellent multi-tasking “darkening” agent. It’s also lovely on its own!
AVAILABILITY: NARS
Illamasqua Volt Illumine Oil
Less Bronze, More Galactic
Illamasqua Volt Illumine Oil (£32.00 for 100ml) is the same lovely formula as Pulse, but it gives off a very different look. This look is less sun goddess and more moon goddess–it’s a mix of iridescent blue and violet and white shimmer. I think this would be especially beautiful on those with cooler skin tones, because it will really set them off. Less coconutty scent, more general tropics feel–again, doesn’t seem to linger on me.
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- Product: 28/30
- Value: 8/10
- Ease of Use: 4/5
- Packaging: 4/5
RECOMMENDATION: If you find golden body oils to be too unnatural on you, Volt may be a nice way to give you the same shimmer-sheen look with a more natural look.
AVAILABILITY: Illamasqua
Illamasqua Pulse Illumine Oil
Go Golden Bronze!
Illamasqua Pulse Illumine Oil (£32.00 for 100ml) is a quick-drying, fast-absorbing golden bronze shimmer-sheen oil. This is an excellent product to use on legs and shoulders for an extra glow on a night out on the town. A little goes a long way, and I love that it dries down and still gives off that soft sheen but doesn’t feel oily or slick. The shimmer is subtle that it doesn’t look like you’ve bathed in body glitter, and it’s as natural as shimmer is ever going to look. There seems to be a very subtle coconutty scent, but it’s barely there and doesn’t linger for more than a few minutes on me.
If you want to know more about how products are evaluated, read out Rating System FAQ!
- Product: 28/30
- Value: 8/10
- Ease of Use: 4/5
- Packaging: 4/5
RECOMMENDATION: If you love glowy, slightly sunkissed legs, I think you’d love Pulse. It’s not going to be a self-tanner or bronzer, but it is going to accentuate your natural tan and skin tone.
AVAILABILITY: Illamasqua
Burberry Taupe Brown (07) Eyeshadow
Could You Taupe Me Off?
Burberry Taupe Brown (07) Eyeshadow ($29.00 for 0.088 oz.) is a rich grayed brown with a softened, cool-toned edge. I love the pay off of it, and the texture is soft and smooth as silk. It has a semi-matte, semi-satin kind of finish, so while it’s not without a smidgen of sheen, it’s not frosty in the least bit. By its nature, it is a rather neutral shade, but it will pair well with so many colors from neutral to blues to greens to pinks. This kind of shade–particularly with its semi-matte finish–makes an excellent contouring shade, too, to really carve out the crease and emphasize eyes.
It’s a pricey pick, of course, as it is a designer brand. The packaging is as luxe as one would expect from Burberry with a hefty, gunmetal-metallic case with the check pattern and a matching velvet pouch. Each shadow comes with a decent amount of product, though, which should last you quite awhile. As with any higher-end/luxury brand, worth is very much determined by the purchaser and the products they like or what they’re looking for.
If you want to know more about how products are evaluated, read out Rating System FAQ!
- Product: 29/30
- Value: 8/10
- Ease of Use: 4/5
- Packaging: 5/5
RECOMMENDATION: If you like taupes and have a hankering for one with a semi-matte finish, Burberry’s Taupe Brown may be one to consider.
AVAILABILITY: Nordstrom
Tom Ford Oud Wood
Tom Ford Oud Wood ($180.00 for 1.7 oz.) is described as, “[a]n exotic rosewood and cardamom, blended with exuberant Chinese pepper, envelop the wearer in warmth … the center … a smokey blend of rare oud wood, sandalwood and vetiver … scents of tonka bean, vanilla and amber are revealed.”
When Oud Wood first explodes, it’s a spicy, smoky aroma with a heady mix of rosewood and cardamom. It’s a deep and dark with a certain sharpness. It’s a bit like incense burning in the background with the strength of the rosewood coming through with a certain peppered woodiness.
Oud Wood does not remain spicy, though, as it is enveloped by the scent of an ambered sandalwood peeking through with an underlying touch of vetiver. There’s still a lingering of smoke, but it’s musky, sultry, and delectably woody. It smells luxe–rich and earthy–and reminds me a little of what sexiness might embody if it were a scent (to me).
Finally, Oud Wood dries down and becomes a seductive mix of amber and vanilla with a lingering hint woodiness. The vanilla doesn’t bring in any sweetness–it is just a bit of warmth cloaking the amber and sandalwood.
I like scents that are musky and woody and maybe a little on the masculine side. Oud Wood is exactly a scent that I would gravitate towards. I’m particularly pleased that when I dab it on my wrists, I can smell it twelve hours later. It’s certainly subtler by hour twelve than it was at hour six, but it’s noticeably there. Even when I wake up, there’s a faint bit of Oud Wood still kissing my wrists (that makes it twenty-fours!). Again, it gradually fades, but I’d say it gave me great wear for ten hours or so. However, wear time may be affected by body chemistry. The only thing I can warn you about is the price tag, which is steep.
If Oud Wood was a man, he would be dressed in a power suit with a devilish gleam in his eye–and looking right at you. And you would love it!
P.S. — Is it wrong that I want to put this on before I go to sleep? Hm.
NARS Exhibit A Blush
Baby, I Think My Cheeks are on Fire!
NARS Exhibit A Blush ($26.00 for 0.16 oz.) is a fiery orange that’s as pigmented as it looks in the pan. It is an intimidating shade to be sure, because it does go on something FIERCE! even when you are careful. Exhibit A has a matte finish, so it won’t accentuate fine lines or pores, and it can easily be buffed and blended onto skin so it looks natural and not quite so obviously orange.
When I wore this the other day, I used MAC’s 184 Brush, because it gave me the ability to really apply it subtly and softly against the angle of my cheek. The width of the brush allowed me to deposit the initial burst of color onto the majority of my cheek, and then I could feather it out with soft strokes.
It doesn’t pull too red, and it certainly doesn’t pull yellow, which makes it wearable regardless of your undertones. I particularly love this blush on our darker skinned beauties (plus, it shows intensely even on darker skin tones). Don’t let this blush scare you — it can be worn and worn without fear. Just be sure to have your buffing brush and some loose setting powder on hand to blend and diffuse it!
P.S. — U.S. NARS customers can get a trio of miniature-sized lipglosses in Stolen Kisses, Risky Business, and Moonfleet with code TEMPTALIA on orders of $25 or more, expires 8/15.
If you want to know more about how products are evaluated, read out Rating System FAQ!
- Product: 29/30
- Value: 8/10
- Ease of Use: 4/5
- Packaging: 4/5
RECOMMENDATION: Whether you want a subtle touch of orange or a heart stopping shade of fiery orange on your cheeks, Exhibit A is capable of both.
AVAILABILITY: NARS, Nordstrom, Sephora
