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NARS Bavaria, Kamchatka, Namibia, Yamal Eyeshadows Reviews, Photos, Swatches

NARS Bavaria Eyeshadow
NARS Bavaria Eyeshadow

NARS Bavaria Eyeshadow ($24.00 for 0.07 oz.) is described as a “deep sea blue.” It’s a muted, bluish-teal with a pale gold shimmer-sheen. It had decent color payoff, but it definitely needs to be patted on and built up on the lid. The texture was slightly stiff to work and didn’t blend easily with the other matte shades in this launch. theBalm Open to Offers Olwen is more intense, brighter. MAC Sky is similar. MAC Rain Drop is darker, greener. L’Oreal Endless Sea is very comparable. Guerlain Les Aquas #2 is lighter. Dior Blue Lagoon #4 is similar. Inglot #413 is more metallic, brighter. See comparison swatches.

Kamchatka Eyeshadow ($24.00 for 0.07 oz.) is described as a “navy smoke.” It’s a muted, purplish navy blue with a matte finish. The texture was soft, blendable, but a little powdery so it had a tendency to sheer out quickly. I found the best payoff occurred by placing the color with pats and very, very lightly blending only the edges. I tried it over NARS’ Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Primer, and it still didn’t want to take well. theBalm The Stroke is darker, more shimmery. Le Metier de Beaute Sapphire is bluer, more shimmery. Urban Decay Half Truth is purpler. NARS Demon Lover #1 is lighter, more shimmery. MAC Naval is similar. OCC Technoir is bluer and shimmery. Inglot #332 is bluer, bolder. Inglot #321 is bluer, much darker. See comparison swatches.

Namibia Eyeshadow ($24.00 for 0.07 oz.) is described as a “grey moon.” It’s a light-medium, neutral gray with a matte finish. It had decent color payoff, and the texture was soft and blendable though very slightly powdery. MAC Fabulous Fit is darker. MAC Silver Gull has slight sparkle. MAC Courtly Grey is a touch darker. Giorgio Armani Moonlight White #2 is more shimmery. See comparison swatches.

Yamal Eyeshadow ($24.00 for 0.07 oz.) is described as a “maple sugar.” It’s a medium brown with very subtle warm undertones–a little caramel-like but it’s not overly warm–and a matte finish. The color payoff was decent, and it was the easiest of the four to apply and use. I applied this in the crease and above the crease, and it didn’t sheer out like Kamchatka did. theBalm Allegro is warmer. MAC Caramel Sundae is warmer, shimmery. MAC Moleskin is warmer. bareMinerals Namaste is darker. Inglot #342 is much darker. Bobbi Brown Stone is darker. Urban Decay Naked is very similar. See comparison swatches.

If you tend to like your colors semi-sheer and matte, you may enjoy the shades in this launch, as they all lend themselves to a softer application overall.  If you’re really determined to get really rich, dense pigmentation, you might be disappointed.  When I wore them yesterday, I had noticeable fading–even over NARS’ primer (!)–after seven hours.  I actually thought it looked better applied over bare skin, because the natural oils (though I have normal-to-dry lids) took down the powderiness of Kamchatka.  Originally, I tried layering Kamchatka over Yamal (I used this shade all over the crease and blended almost halfway to the brow bone as a fading color, as I intended to use Kamchatka to darken the inner portion of the crease), and it really didn’t want to blend with Yamal.  They can be blended with each other side-by-side, but they didn’t do well with more overlap as Kamchatka really needs every bit of help to stick to the lid, so when another powder eyeshadow is already underneath, it doesn’t adhere well.

NARS Bavaria Eyeshadow
NARS Bavaria Eyeshadow

NARS Bavaria Eyeshadow
NARS Bavaria Eyeshadow

NARS Bavaria Eyeshadow
NARS Bavaria Eyeshadow

NARS Bavaria Eyeshadow
NARS Bavaria Eyeshadow

NARS Bavaria Eyeshadow
NARS Bavaria Eyeshadow

NARS Bavaria Eyeshadow
NARS Bavaria Eyeshadow

NARS Kamchatka Eyeshadow
NARS Kamchatka Eyeshadow

NARS Kamchatka Eyeshadow
NARS Kamchatka Eyeshadow

NARS Kamchatka Eyeshadow
NARS Kamchatka Eyeshadow

NARS Kamchatka Eyeshadow
NARS Kamchatka Eyeshadow

NARS Kamchatka Eyeshadow
NARS Kamchatka Eyeshadow

NARS Kamchatka Eyeshadow
NARS Kamchatka Eyeshadow

NARS Namibia Eyeshadow
NARS Namibia Eyeshadow

NARS Namibia Eyeshadow
NARS Namibia Eyeshadow

NARS Namibia Eyeshadow
NARS Namibia Eyeshadow

NARS Namibia Eyeshadow
NARS Namibia Eyeshadow

NARS Namibia Eyeshadow
NARS Namibia Eyeshadow

NARS Namibia Eyeshadow
NARS Namibia Eyeshadow

NARS Yamal Eyeshadow
NARS Yamal Eyeshadow

NARS Yamal Eyeshadow
NARS Yamal Eyeshadow

NARS Yamal Eyeshadow
NARS Yamal Eyeshadow

NARS Yamal Eyeshadow
NARS Yamal Eyeshadow

NARS Yamal Eyeshadow
NARS Yamal Eyeshadow

NARS Yamal Eyeshadow
NARS Yamal Eyeshadow

21 Comments

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xamyx Avatar

I wonder how close Kamchatka is to China Blue, which doesn’t have such texture issues. I was planning a sizeable NARS order, but I may skip Kamchatka until I can compare the 2 in person.

Wwendalynne Avatar

Disappointed somewhat in the performance of Kamchatka, but I always wear NARS over a wet base as the shadows just work better for me that way. I still want Kamchatka for the colour..yes! and think I have to pick up Namibia and Yamal too.

Christine Avatar

Yeah, if you do it over a wet base or a cream shadow, you should get better payoff. I was surprised to find they weren’t better over NARS’ primer, which usually works for me, but I think that it being such a dry base, it didn’t give these all the help they really needed. What base do you think you’ll use for Kamchatka?

Wwendalynne Avatar

I have the exact same problem with Daphne and Outremer..two really great and amazing colours, but both of my singles have stiffer texture with sheerer payoff. A wet base really helps to tame that chalkiness and allow you to pack more on without that vanishing effect it has on bare skin. I’m thinking a thin black base–MAC Blackground paint pot in particular pulls with a slight navy background on me–with Kamchatka to really pull the smokiness of the blue.

Banafshe Sharifian Avatar

Christine are these out yet? I saw them on Sephora online a week ago and now they are not available anymore. 🙁

Mariella Avatar

Just back-tracking through some of your reviews/comparisons, I’m guessing that Bavaria is close enough to UD Deep End or Tarina Tarantino Ozma that I can easily pass on it (since I wear neutrals 99.5% of the time, shades like these, beautiful as they are, rarely get used except in summer and for the occasional night out). It looks a beautiful shade though!

Mariella Avatar

Oh dear….I love “muted”. Now this back on my “want” list, though I will probably take along the Tarte Aqualillies palette to compare the blue/teal shadow in that (also pretty muted) to see how they compare!

Julia Avatar

Besides the finish, would you say that Kamchatka is similar to MAC Parisian Skies? I was hoping it would be more navy. Bobbi Brown has a Navy and Nudes Palette out and I just want the navy shadow in it to use as a liner!

Manuela Avatar

I really wish NARS would stop putting out sheer, patchy shadows. Sadly, NARS is such a hit or miss quality-wise. They do good blushes, why not apply that same quality to the shadows?!

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