NARS Mad Mad World Eyeshadow Duo Review, Photos, Swatches

Christine — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 14:00:50 +0000

NARS Mad Mad World Eyeshadow Duo

NARS Spring 2013: Mad Mad World

NARS Mad Mad World Eyeshadow Duo ($34.00 for 0.11 oz.) is described as “cyan” and “parakeet green.” It’s new for spring but will be added to the permanent shade range. Worth noting, most NARS eyeshadow duos are 0.14 oz., but this one was labeled as 0.11 oz.

The cyan shade is a brightened, light-medium blue with a matte finish. It is incredibly pigmented and a little stretches quite a ways. The texture was soft, smooth, and finely-milled–not at all powdery. Wet ‘n’ Wild Drinking a Glass of Shine #3 is softer, less bright, bluer. Milani Olympian Blue is a bit darker. MAC Blue Candy is slightly bluer. MAC Electric Eel is a touch darker. Inglot #371 is very similar.

The green shade is a cool-toned, medium green–there’s something about it that says, “jade green!” to me. This shade has the pigmentation, but the texture is on the powdery side, so it easily blends (and, as a consequence, sheers out) when swatched. When I applied it to the lid, I patted it on and only lightly blended it to maintain more opaque color. It had a tendency to look a little faded no matter whether I patted and/or applied over primer, though. The brightness seen in the pan didn’t seem to translate on the skin. Wet ‘n’ Wild Drinking a Glass of Shine #2 is lighter, more aqua. Milani Green Safari is warmer. Wet ‘n’ Wild Earth Looks Small From Down Here #3 is shimmery. Inglot #385 is slightly greener.

When I tested out this duo, the blue shade lasted a full eight hours without fading or creasing, while the green shade showed some noticeable fading by that eighth hour. Both shades were easy to blend, which is absolutely necessary given their intensities, but the blue shade was definitely the better performer overall. I will say that blending orange into green and blue was an interesting experiment. With the pop of gold from Corcovado in this collection, I think this duo could work well with a shimmery gold between the two.