Archived Post

NARS Celebrate Soft Touch Shadow Pencil Review, Photos, Swatches

NARS Celebrate Soft Touch Shadow Pencil
NARS Celebrate Soft Touch Shadow Pencil

NARS Spring 2011: Celebrate

NARS Celebrate Soft Touch Shadow Pencil ($24.00 for 0.14 oz.) is described as a “parrot green” by NARS. The Soft Touch Shadow Pencils are supposed to be “smooth, creamy, and long-wearing.” They are touted as the “ideal base for layering with powder eyeshadow to increase color intensity.” It’s a multi-tasking pencil that can be used to “Shade the lid, line, or highlight the eye.”

Celebrate is a bright, chartreuse green with a strong yellow base. It applied semi-opaque but glided on easily. The problem with this shade was its complete inability to not crease. I tried it alone, and it creased within minutes. I layered eyeshadow on top (Giorgio Armani Transluminence palette–the teal–I just used whatever I had nearest to me), and it still creased in less than an hour. It’s not even a little creasing–it’s painful to see. Not to be daunted, I also tried it over NARS’ Smudgeproof Eyeshadow Base with the same eyeshadow layered on top, and I still had the same results (a veritable creasing bonanza).

my thoughts on the formula: More often than not, the Soft Touch Shadow Pencils are a bust for me–they crease alone but also when layered with powder–and Celebrate continues to show that NARS’ Soft Touch Shadow Pencils really can be hit or miss.

NARS Celebrate Soft Touch Shadow Pencil
NARS Celebrate Soft Touch Shadow Pencil

NARS CelebrateSoft Touch Shadow Pencil
NARS Celebrate Soft Touch Shadow Pencil

NARS Celebrate Soft Touch Shadow Pencil
NARS Celebrate Soft Touch Shadow Pencil

NARS Celebrate Soft Touch Shadow Pencil
NARS Celebrate Soft Touch Shadow Pencil, after 15 minutes

NARS Celebrate Soft Touch Shadow Pencil
NARS Celebrate layered over NARS’ Smudgeproof Eyeshadow Base + teal eyeshadow on top, after 1 hour

148 Comments

Comments that do not adhere to our comment policy may be removed. Discussion and debate are highly encouraged but we expect community members to participate respectfully. Please keep discussion on-topic, and if you have general feedback, a product review request, an off-topic question, or need technical support, please contact us!

Please help us streamline the comments' section and be more efficient: double-check the post above for more basic information like pricing, availability, and so on to make sure your question wasn't answered already. Comments alerting us to typos or small errors in the post are appreciated (!) but will typically be removed after errors are fixed (unless a response is needed).

We appreciate enthusiasm for new releases but ask readers to please hold questions regarding if/when a review will be posted as we can't commit to or guarantee product reviews. We don't want to set expectations and then disappoint readers as even products that are swatched don't always end up being reviewed due to time constraints and changes in priorities! Thank you for understanding!

Comments on this post are closed.
Jessi Avatar

Wow… what a disappointment. I don’t understand how a brand known for such high quality products could put something like this out. Seriously… why would they do it?

Naz Avatar

Yikes.
I’m feeling like these soft touch pencils are not worth the $. I won the Palladium pencil from the fall collection and felt the same way; it’s just not pro-long wearing and/or really wearable. You could put this is in your Halloween reserve…it would make for a lovely sugar skull look.

Lauren Avatar

It kind of makes you wonder if he even bothers testing his products before they ship out? If I were Nars, I’d be embarassed, to say the least.

Alyssa Avatar

When I saw the 5/30… I thought, “I know it sounds bad, but it can’t be that bad.” But, seeing the pics… it is even worse! Now, I know you were actually being kind.

Sad, since it’s such an awesome color.

Cynthia Avatar

Ditto! It’s a shame that so many beauty bloggers and vloggers think they are being “mean” when they do a negative review so they don’t do negative reviews at all. I love that Christine keeps it real! I much more appreciate blogs that SAVE me money rather than ones that make me want to go out and buy everything!

divinem (Melissa) Avatar

That is a hot mess! I’d be embarrassed to release such an ineffective product with the NARS name attached. What were they thinking?!

kfm Avatar

EW!! Thanks for the warning!! I’m sad, because I thought this would be a great, vibrant summer colour, but product tends to crease on my lids as a rule, so I can’t imagine what this would look like after a few hours’ wear, let alone an entire hot day’s!

Alexandra Avatar

such a shame! cant believe Nars is producing this stuff for the make up world with that kind of quality..was looking forward to this bright green color for spring but sadly and gladly wont be buying this!

AS Avatar

I know how it can be used. Fake mucus/slime/snot drips under the nose for Halloween or Zombie walk. Or it could be melted into paraffin to create a chartreuse candle. Waste not want not…

Marsha Avatar

Wow, that is really bad. Makes be think of how awful the Covergirl Smoky Shadow Blast was on me. Of course the Covergirl is only like $5, I’d expect a lot more for $24, especially from Nars

Kesha Avatar

I don’t know if you could possibly answer this but, what do you thin it is about the formula that makes this pencil so bad in application? It’s weird how the swatch looks so good but the actual application didn’t go well. And I’m also wondering if one of MAC’s Paints (from cream to powder) would do better as a base…

Lauren Avatar

I can not believe that a company like NARS would put out a product like this. NARS products are not cheap and when you buy NARS you expect a level of quality, and this is just unacceptable. Don’t they test their products before they put them out?

Thank you temptalia for reviewing products and showing us all how some products aren’t winners, no matter what company it is. I don’t buy a makeup product without reading your review first. You’re honest, and I thank you for that.

Mamavalveeta03 Avatar

Sad to say, but this is just plain ugly. Francois Nars needs to realize that not EVERY color is meant to be a makeup color. What ever happened to using color to FLATTER and ENHANCE one’s features???

Vijaya Avatar

That little bit of shadow pencil under your lower lid: Did that migrate from your lower lashline? I ask because if it did, that’s impressively bad. Your lower lashline is totally clean.

K7P* Avatar

Awww what a disappointment this product wasn’t good! I saw the product and thought for sure it was something i must try, ughhh not anymore! LOL Thanks for saving me $24 Christine!! =)

Katie Avatar

I think a lot of nars products are crappy. Love their complexion products but i’ve had some major issues with some of their eyeshadows and lipsticks. it used to be my favorite brand =(

Ria Avatar

I completely agree. Their cream shadows are appalling (beautiful colours, but awful formulae). I get similar creasing with them as Christine did with this pencil.

Gisele Avatar

These NARS shadow pencils are just awful. I don’t understand how any brand, but especially NARS, can be so great with some products and so bad (F) with others. But this is why we count on you, Christine, to warn us. Thanks.

ThesPNation Avatar

WOW LOL This DOES indeed look terrible. As everyone knows, I am obsessed with NARS and have yet to try this product out. I will definitely have to check this out for myself, speak to some people and see what’s the deal with this one because I know sometimes NARS makes products that have to be used a certain but this one? I’m not so sure:( ~sP

Lucie Avatar

Haha Brian I knew you’d piss yourself seeing an F rating for a NARS product…believe me I did too! But there seems to be a consensus among beauty bloggers that the soft pencils are crap. Sad because the colours are so purdy. :'(

Jess A Avatar

Christine that’s horrible!

I hate to say it but that last picture made me think of the Creature From the Black Lagoon (and not by any fault of your own).

What a disappointment!

Alexis Avatar

Utter disappointment – I wonder how it would look on someone that has oily eyelids. Thanks Christine, once again you saved me some money that can now go to the D&G Spring line.

Hannelore Avatar

Thank you for posting those ‘fail’ pictures so we can see what the products does (or doesn’t lol) 🙂 I would’ve thought Nars test their products extensively.. or they should include a manual 😉

Michilicious ~ Avatar

Ugh, that is some severe creasing!!
What a disappoinment considering it’s a cool colour, and 24 dollars is quiet pricey!
I feel bad for the ones who are gonna spend money on this and discover that it creases so badly >.<

Dawn Avatar

Eek, that’s horrid!

I thought cosmetic companies had people who tested stuff for ages before even considering putting it on sale? Obviously they missed this one!

Ms. Jimmi Avatar

I have been so disappointed by Nars in the past couple of years. Powdery shadow with weak pigment, Migrating eye pencils nad the Orgasm Blush seems to rub off after a while. Very disappointing.

lo Avatar

Oh my gosh. The color is pretty (although it would look gross on me), but I literally gasped when I saw the photos on your lid. That much creasing is disgusting.

Claudia Avatar

Lol omg don’t mean to laugh but the first picture just had me laughing. Man that really sucks that such great company like NARS has products like this. Thanks Christine for warning us 😉

anonymous Avatar

OMG YES. Poor Christine our sacrificial lamb who posts pics others dare not lol. I have to say I wouldn’t wear this if they paid ME the 24 bucks! (and I could use the money!!)

anonymous Avatar

Shame shame shame we NARS your name! OMG that is soo beyond bad. what exactly were they thinking?

(umm 8/10 for VALUE??? Christine!) <:-O

meghan Avatar

Nars makes some amazing colors but when they have formula mishaps they are HUGE, like their glitter shadows/blushes being a hot mess, and the shadow pencils. I’ve tested this with stay don’t stray and nars eye primer with the same results. 🙁

Jen Avatar

Oh am I HAPPY to see this! I allllmost bought this and I couldn’t stop thinking about it and trying to decide whether or not to get it and I’m thrilled to just put it behind me now.

Selenite Avatar

Such bright, vivid color. Such a horrible, crease-prone and fadetastic formula. I have one of these in another color and am very dissapoint.

Diane Avatar

Yiiiikes. That’s too bad! The swatch was pretty, in any case! This exact thing happened to me with the Covergirl Shadow Blast! I still can’t figure that thing out!!

Jessica Avatar

Wow. That looks really bad. I can’t understand that NARS is even selling such a bad quality product. It will only destroy there reputation.

This is the first F rating you ever gave, isn’t it?

Sheena F Avatar

They should seriously do something about the formula. Right now, NYX is kicking their ass in terms of product value. I would really like to “love” these shadow pencils out. And based on your last review, for a brand that makes such an awesome shadow base (yes, I am a NARS Smudgeproof Shadow Base convert!), why the underwhelming quality?

Not hating…just hoping NARS would take notice and make some improvements to the formula.

Luiza Avatar

That’s very disappointing. Lemme say something, I have two CoverGirl Smoky ShadowBlast and they do the exact same thing!! I just looked here to see your review on CG Smoky ShadowBlast but you don’t apply it on the eye. But the real problem is not right after applying it, like this NARS shadow pencil, but after some time. The first time it happened, it occurred me that I should have spread the eyeshadow, because I applied too much trying to get a nice look to my new year party. But last monday I used it again, spread with my finger but the same thing happen. It’s very disappointing to look in the mirror and see that the make up you did is a total fail, and you had no idea before you look in the mirror… lol

Luiza Avatar

Oh, BTW, just to add something to my previous comment about CG Smoky ShadowBlast: I used primer potion from Urban Decay both times, and the in 1st time I used a eyeshadow from a Brazilian Brand before the CG shadow.

Mariella Avatar

Holy smokes – what a MESS!!! I just got my first 2 UD shadow pencils and I’m loving them and plan to get more. Heck, you can get better results (they still crease on me but at least they’re cheap) with NYX pencils. Shame on you, NARS!

Brenda Avatar

Oh wow. I just bought it when I saw the color (absolute green lover here) before I got the chance to read any reviews. This is really saddening….

Karuda Avatar

I did use this as a upper lid liner and it worked quite well! (ie no creasing or smudging…) I wouldn’t have bought the product if I’ve read this beforehand… but oh well.

rachel Avatar

so i looked this up after i bought it.. worst product ever! i was jabbing my eye trying to get it to go on.. i can’t even get it to go on my lid at all. so angry. swatches beautifully on the hand- i’d have to hold my eyelid taught and jab my eye like crazy to even get this to work. so angry….!!!

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!