NARS Baalbek Eye Paint Review, Photos, Swatches

Reviews
Contains: Affiliate Links, Sample Provided
Christine |

NARS Baalbek Eye Paint
NARS Baalbek Eye Paint

NARS Baalbek Eye Paint ($25.00 for 0.08 oz.) is described as “bronze.” It’s a blackened-brown with warm, olive undertones and dirty gold and bronze shimmer. MAC Past Twilight (LE, $16.00) is cooler-toned, less shimmery. Sephora Collection Diving in Malaysia (18) (P, $9.00) is less shimmery. Urban Decay Crave (P, $19.00) has no shimmer. Urban Decay Corrupt (P, $19.00) is lighter. MAC Orpheus (LE, $16.00) is lighter. See comparison swatches / view dupes.

NARS’ Eye Paint formula is supposed to be richly pigmented, smooth, quick-drying, long-lasting gel eyeliner. I was really impressed with the formula when it first released, because they can also be used as cream eyeshadows and have a consistency that works exceptionally well as an eyeliner and as a cream eyeshadow–and they wear long and hard. Baalbek is intensely pigmented, so a little goes a very long way, and it applies smoothly and evenly. It wore well for over twelve hours and didn’t budge or fade (it could have kept going!) as an eyeliner, and as an eyeshadow, it held up without creasing or fading for nine hours (then it slightly creased). It’s a new (and permanent) shade from NARS’ Adult Swim collection, which launches April 15th.

See more photos & swatches!

NARS Baalbek Eye Paint
NARS Baalbek Eye Paint

NARS Baalbek Eye Paint
NARS Baalbek Eye Paint

NARS Baalbek Eye Paint
NARS Baalbek Eye Paint

NARS Baalbek Eye Paint
NARS Baalbek Eye Paint

NARS Baalbek Eye Paint
NARS Baalbek Eye Paint on lower lash line (NARS Tropical Princess on eyelid)

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76 Comments

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Comments on this post are closed.
fabiola Avatar
fabiola

I love these Nars eye products, I have snake eyes and ubangi, and I use them as eyeliner, and they last longer than mac fluidline, and they don’t dry on the pot as mac’s. They are my everyday cat liner, since they are so dark, they look like black with a hint of color, snake eyes looks almost black. I will use my 15% off from sephora to buy this. Thanks Christine.

Brenda Avatar
Brenda
Light, Olive, neutral undertones. Normal-to-Dry skin. View Brenda Full Profile

ooohhhh, I want this LOL. I am so drawn to these dark sparkly bronzy colours. I have so many eye products in a similar shade but none are pots of cream colour….!! Sorry no-buy budget – you lose this one!

Mariella Avatar
Mariella
Very Light, Pink undertones. Normal-to-Dry skin. View Mariella Full Profile

I was so hoping this would be cr*p, so I wouldn’t want it. Well…guess what? And since I absolutely love Diving in Malaysia (which I always thought was “Driving in Malaysia”, so small is the print on the pencil and I like the nonsensical nature of the name), I am bound to want this, especially to use as a cream shadow.

xamyx Avatar
xamyx

I actually keep a small magnifying glass on hand, or hold products up to a magnifying mirror… I also have 20/13 vision, so I can only imagine what someone with even “average” sight must go through.

xamyx Avatar
xamyx

I haven’t tried any of these yet, but since I was planning to splurge on quite a few of these in June (I plan to be done with my list by then, and nothing else I want is being released before July!), this must be added to June’s list…

Jan Avatar
Jan

Hi! I’m new and loving the daily emails, swatches and dupe info.

Can you tell me what the two swatches in one pic mean? i.e., there seems to be a solid swatch on the left and a more diffused swatch on the right side of some products (not all – but, it is used today for the Nars Illuminator). At first I thought it was the reviewed product on the left with the comparison on the right. Now I don’t think that is how it works.

Christine Avatar
Christine
Light Medium, Neutral, slight yellow undertones. Normal-to-Dry skin. View Christine Full Profile

Hi Jan!

It’ll depend on the product, but here’s a general rule of thumb:

For an eyeliner, there is usually a “single pass” swatch which is the thinnest one – so in Baalbek, it’s applied with an angled eyeliner brush with a single stroke to show opacity in one go. The larger swatch is applied to give you a better idea of the color and texture (because a thin line can be hard to see!). For a pencil eyeliner, the same thing happens, but I don’t use a brush to apply the thin line, just take the eyeliner and do a single stroke.

For blush, highlighter, bronzer, etc. (cheek/face products), because we don’t typically wear a really thick, heavy, opaque layer, I show it both ways – a “heavy swatch” so you can see the color, undertone, finish, and then a blended swatch, which is more like how one might apply it to the cheek or face. It can also show you if a blush is patchy or difficult to blend!

For eyeshadows, it’s typically a dry and damp application. I only do two if the formula dictates it (if it’s a regular powder eyeshadow, it’s unlikely that I will).

Hope that helps! 🙂

Luiza Avatar
Luiza

Oh wow! That is such a gorgeous shade! And it looks very pigmented from the swatches. I love my black gel liner, but it’s fun to change it up sometimes. I’ll have to check it out.

Hilary Avatar
Hilary

Hi all! I bought this shade based on this review and it is gorgeous. My only problem is that, by the end of the day, I’ve got little bits of glitter under my eyes/on my cheeks. Any thoughts on preventing fallout?

We try to approve comments within 24 hours (and reply to them within 72 hours) but can sometimes get behind and appreciate your patience! 🙂 If you have general feedback, product review requests, off-topic questions, or need technical support, please contact us directly. Thank you for your patience!