NARS Douce France Eyeshadow Trio Review, Photos, Swatches

Christine — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 21:54:41 +0000

NARS Douce France Eyeshadow Trio

NARS Spring 2012: Douce France Eyeshadow Trio

NARS Douce France Eyeshadow Trio ($45.00 for 0.16 oz.) is described as a “shimmery icy pink, shimmery rose petal pink, and matte deep rose.” The trio is a limited edition shade from this spring’s collection.

The first shade is a very light ivory with a hint of pink and a touch of white sparkle. It’s almost a bit on the chalky side, which is partially because of how light the color is, and how the texture has more of a matte finish underneath the sparkle. I had a tough time getting this shade to adhere well to the lid, and I noticed it seemed to fade away, even over a primer, after eight hours. It’s similar to a shade in Guerlain Boulevard du Montparnasse. MAC Golden Flurry is pinker and more iridescent. Bare Escentuals Muse is frostier and brighter.

The center shade is a rosy pink with subtle yellow undertones. The finish is satiny; not too matte, but not shimmery or frosted. It has a very, very soft feel, but it will blend out easily if you are not careful. The color payoff is good but could use a little more (or else bind together a bit better). Inglot #359 and MAC Rose are slightly pinker.

The right-most shade is a matte, muted dark red. It’s not red red, but it’s not really berry or burgundy. There’s a muted quality to it that really makes it ring true to its description–it looks like the dark hues of a real rose. The texture of this shade is so soft and finely-milled without being powdery, and the color payoff is very good (the best out of the palette). It blends out well, too, because of the soft texture. Inglot #450 has more of a berry hue, plus it has a shimmery finish. I couldn’t think of any other potential dupes.

I love that NARS created their trios with individual pans, but it’s a bit of a let down that the price/quantity ratio makes the trios more expensive (by the ounce) than duos (but less than individual eyeshadows). Typically, there’s a bit of a “discount” when you buy duos, trios, quads, etc. Each eyeshadow is still a healthy amount (just over 0.05 oz. each), so you won’t run out of any shade easily.

NARS designed their powder eyeshadow formula to be crease-resistant, long-wearing, and highly pigmented, but I do experience some light fading and noticeable creasing afiter seven to eight hours of wear. The lightest shade in this palette was really faded after eight hours, but the other two shades were more intact. I still experienced a fair amount of fading with the lightest shade over a primer as well, which was disappointing. Thankfully, because it’s so light, the average onlooker wouldn’t have noticed it.