NARS Night Garden Eyeshadow Palette Review, Photos, Swatches
Night Garden
NARS Night Garden Erdem Strange Flowers Eyeshadow Palette ($49.00 for 0.42 oz.) is a new, limited edition six-pan eyeshadow palette with a smoky set of shades. It was decent, but it definitely need a good eyeshadow primer underneath to maximize pigmentation, blendability, and help extend wear. The color combination definitely gives me “night garden” vibes, though I wish the deep brown (Fauna) wasn’t quite as dark (it was too close to Matira from a functional perspective).
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Night Garden
LELimited Edition. $49.00.
Oleander
Oleander is a soft, light-medium golden pewter with warm undertones and a sparkling, metallic finish. It had semi-opaque pigmentation that was buildable to full coverage if applied over a primer or with a dampened brush. The texture was soft to the touch but more loosely pressed in the pan, which resulted in some sheerness and excess product kicked up in the pan. It stayed on well for seven and a half hours on me before it started to fade.
Top Dupes
- Smashbox Moon Me (PiP, ) is darker (95% similar).
- Melt Cosmetics No Regrets (LE, ) is more shimmery, darker, cooler (90% similar).
- ColourPop Famous (LE, $6.00) is lighter (90% similar).
- Smashbox Platinum (PiP, ) is darker, cooler (90% similar).
- Stila Starlight (P, $24.00) is darker (90% similar).
- Chanel Lumieres Naturelles #1 (LE, ) is less shimmery, darker (90% similar).
- Laura Mercier Sugar Frost (PiP, $29.00) is more shimmery, warmer (90% similar).
- NARS Dirty Talk (DC, $25.00) is darker (90% similar).
- Urban Decay Acoustic (LE, ) is darker (90% similar).
- Chanel Blurry Grey #4 (PiP, ) is less shimmery, lighter, cooler (90% similar).
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Oleander
DCDiscontinued. $25.00.
Indio
Indio is a deep forest green with subtle,w arm undertones and a satin sheen. The color payoff was nearly opaque, and it was buildable to full coverage with a second layer. The consistency was soft, slightly dusty in the pan, but it adhered well to bare skin and blended out nicely. It wore well for seven and a half hours on me.
Top Dupes
- Sydney Grace Midnight Green (P, $6.00) is more shimmery (95% similar).
- Urban Decay Hundred (LE, $19.00) is warmer (95% similar).
- Anastasia Peacock (DC, $12.00) is more shimmery (95% similar).
- Makeup Geek Epic (P, $9.99) is more shimmery (95% similar).
- Smashbox STFU (PiP, ) is brighter (95% similar).
- Make Up For Ever #310 (DC, $20.00) is warmer (90% similar).
- Morphe Diva (LE, ) is more shimmery, cooler (90% similar).
- Tom Ford Beauty Moss Agate #4 (LE, ) is more shimmery, darker (90% similar).
- Make Up For Ever ME310 Fir Tree Green (DC, $21.00) is warmer (90% similar).
- Melt Cosmetics Heart of Stone (LE, ) is less shimmery, cooler (90% similar).
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Indio
DCDiscontinued. $25.00.
Reborn
Reborn is a medium yellow with warm undertones and a soft sheen. It had excellent pigmentation that applied well to bare skin with smooth, even coverage. The eyeshadow was smooth to the touch without being dusty or too firmly pressed in the pan, so I had no trouble applying nor blending it out on my lid. It lasted for just over eight hours on me before it started to fade noticeably.
Top Dupes
- MAC Memories of Space (P, $17.00) is less shimmery (95% similar).
- Makeup Geek Yellow Brick Road (DC, $6.00) is darker (95% similar).
- NARS Goldfinger (P, $19.00) is lighter, cooler (90% similar).
- BH Cosmetics Foil Eyes #26 (PiP, ) is more shimmery, darker (90% similar).
- BH Cosmetics Club Tropicana #12 (LE, ) is more shimmery, darker (90% similar).
- MAC Waking Dawn (LE, $17.00) is more shimmery, brighter (90% similar).
- BH Cosmetics Foil Eyes #19 (PiP, ) is more shimmery, brighter, cooler (90% similar).
- Dior Expose #4 (PiP, ) is lighter, more muted (90% similar).
- Chanel Admiration (114) (P, $29.50) is darker (90% similar).
- ColourPop Tankini (LE, $6.00) is darker (90% similar).
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Reborn
DCDiscontinued. $25.00.
Fauna
Fauna is a blackened brown with neutral-to-warm undertones and a mostly matte finish. The texture was drier to the touch, and it wasn’t as easy to blend and diffuse the edges of this shade on bare lids as preferred. It had good pigmentation, which was buildable to full coverage with a touch more layered on top. The eyeshadow wore well for seven and a half hours on me.
Top Dupes
- Buxom LBD (P, $12.00) (100% similar).
- MAC Cool Companions #3 (LE, ) is warmer (95% similar).
- Laura Mercier Matte Black (PiP, $23.00) is darker (95% similar).
- ColourPop Smoked Out (PiP, $4.50) is darker (95% similar).
- Too Faced Coal (LE, $16.00) is lighter (95% similar).
- ColourPop Spy Glass (PiP, $4.50) is more shimmery (95% similar).
- Ciate Beauty (LE, ) is lighter (95% similar).
- Stila Essence (PiP, ) is lighter (95% similar).
- Chanel Mystere et Intensite #3 (PiP, ) is lighter (95% similar).
- Charlotte Tilbury Diffused Black (P, $34.00) is darker (90% similar).
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Fauna
DCDiscontinued. $25.00.
Sprung
Sprung is a deep navy blue with cool undertones and a soft, frosted finish. It had excellent color coverage that went on evenly, but I noticed the edges were harder to diffuse as the texture itself was slightly dry. It stayed on well for eight hours before it started to fade on me.
Top Dupes
- MAC Lunar (P, $20.00) is more shimmery, lighter (95% similar).
- Smashbox Nocturnal (PiP, ) is less shimmery, darker (95% similar).
- ColourPop Lucid Dream (LE, $6.00) is more shimmery, cooler (95% similar).
- Make Up For Ever ME224 Navy Blue (DC, $21.00) is darker (95% similar).
- Sydney Grace Deep Water (P, $5.00) is less shimmery, lighter, cooler (90% similar).
- KVD Beauty Ministry (LE, ) is lighter (90% similar).
- Marc Jacobs Beauty The Parisienne #2 (LE, ) is lighter (90% similar).
- Tom Ford Beauty Crushed Indigo (Right) (LE, ) is darker (90% similar).
- Maybelline Electric Blue (P, $6.99) is brighter (90% similar).
- ColourPop Etiquette (LE, $6.00) is brighter (90% similar).
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Sprung
DCDiscontinued. $25.00.
Matira
Matira is a medium-dark black with subtle, neutral-to-cool undertones and a satin sheen. It had good color coverage that applied evenly to bare skin. The texture was soft to the touch, blendable without being too firmly nor too softly pressed in the pan, so it was easy to work with. It lasted for eight hours on me before I noticed any fading.
Top Dupes
- ColourPop Faraway (LE, $4.50) is warmer (95% similar).
- Natasha Denona Spot (227CP) (PiP, ) is warmer (95% similar).
- Make Up For Ever I102 Onyx (DC, $17.00) is darker (95% similar).
- ColourPop Nothing's Impossible (LE, $4.50) is lighter (95% similar).
- Dose of Colors Finders Keepers (LE, ) is darker (95% similar).
- Dior Smoky Canvas #3 (LE, ) is more shimmery, lighter, warmer (90% similar).
- Huda Beauty Black Truffle (Remastered) (PiP, ) is warmer (90% similar).
- ColourPop Lil Smokey (PiP, $4.50) is less shimmery (90% similar).
- MAC Dark Dare (P, $20.00) is darker (90% similar).
- Tarte Ink (LE, ) is darker, warmer (90% similar).
Thank you so much for the review. The colors remind me of the ABH subculture palette for some reason. I’m still debating on what I will purchase but your detailed reviews really help. Thanks again.
These look really interesting and that blue – Sprung – is so nice but I hardly ever wear blue eyeshadow (oddly enough, I wore Nars Giove yesterday; I love it and it’s a beautiful colour but I hardly ever reach for blues and I should try them more often)
So torn on this as I really want (and cannot dupe) the gold, yellow and blue. That’s $17 per shadow so I suppose a decent deal…
I picked up the other palette and am waiting patiently for it to be delivered. I didn’t pick this one up as the shades leaned heavily deep and I am not able to make really dark shades work for me. My eyes are so super hooded that it makes them look like dark pits. I am so in love with the eye look you did that if I could make it work I would pick it up in a heartbeat. I will play with the other palette and see how it goes and then make a decision. Likely won’t get this though.
Very dark. Usually, I would love that, but this is more of a companion palette full of mostly super deep crease shades. Since I just received my Sephora package with Viseart Absinthe in it, I’m set for a very dark green smokey eye, me think!
Funny how I used to gravitate to NARS eyeshadows because of their deep dark eyeshadow shimmers (the Night series, Mekong, etcc..), but now steer clear. I find they make me look older. I have mature hooded eyes and some texture.
Very brooding. Really like how atypical these palettes are for the season.
This is another really good offering from NARS. I love the addition of the blue and green shades, but like you Christine, I just wish Fauna was not quite so dark.
Sensational eye look.
Pretty but much too dark for me. As I’ve aged, my eyes have become rather sunken-looking, and dark eyeshadow makes me look like Skeletor. Not someone I want to emulate.
Christine, I have a request, and am not sure how to word it. You do a wonderful job with swatches and eye looks, but would it be possible to also do a look in which the eyeshadows are applied much more lightly? I appreciate how you really show us the colors and pigments, but most of the looks lately are so intense that there’s no way I could/would ever wear them, and I have a hard time imagining the products applied differently. I don’t work outside the home, I don’t go clubbing, etc., and would love to see more casual, everyday looks. I in no way mean that negatively and you look great, but I’m thinking of the kinds of looks you used to post a few years ago. Thanks!
Hi Susan,
Since most eyeshadows are listed as pigmented, when I test, I am testing opacity as well and would never wear something sheer to test (would invalidate the testing) if it was supposed to be pigmented (unless it was poorly pigmented!). I also try to showcase any colors that may be troublesome or make sure to include a look using the colors in a neutral palette vs. just neutrals since that’s a big complaint I see (that influencers do the same neutral look and avoid color).
I don’t really find that the looks I did a few years ago are any different, but the photo quality was poorer, so perhaps that gives the illusion of softness since they are not properly lit (they are washed out / the shadows are washed out). I am restrained to pretty much test once (unless it was so bad that I needed to check with primer, etc.) and move on since there are too many products to test and don’t even have enough time to test what readers would like me to!
If you find my looks from before more useful, then maybe just look at those for inspiration? It’s pretty rare that any color released is actually unique!
OK, thanks for the feedback! I do get a great idea of pigmentation and opacity from your swatches. Wish I was more imaginative when it comes to creating my own eyeshadow looks. I try to check out some vloggers but they mostly show such extreme, heavy makeup lately. Sigh… I’m a tough age — too old for the younger looks, too young for the nursing home! 😉
p.s. This is the kind of thing I meant: https://www.temptalia.com/lorac-mega-pro-palette-review-photos-swatches/ If it’s only different lighting then the difference is amazing. Lovely looks, subtle. But I get that it was 4 years ago and styles are different now. Thanks.
Yes, the lighting has changed significantly, and the lighting there is harsher and washing out the shadows… not to mention the nature of the colors in the palette are lighter and mid-tone – they are not super dark or saturated so they are, by the brand’s design, washed out to begin with.
For example, here are several looks done that were shot with better lighting that are recent that also used palette schemes that are more comparable to the LORAC palette you linked (the NARS palette, Night Garden, is infinitely more saturated, period, and more pigmented with better adhesion without primer compared to LORAC-anything).
https://www.temptalia.com/look/a-soft-peach-pink-look-for-valentines-day-2018/
https://www.temptalia.com/look/a-soft-gold-plum-eye-with-colourpop-pretty-fly/
https://www.temptalia.com/look/a-copper-plum-eye-with-smashbox/
https://www.temptalia.com/look/a-copper-olive-eye-with-smashbox/
https://www.temptalia.com/look/a-warm-neutral-eye-with-smashbox/
https://www.temptalia.com/look/a-green-brown-eye-with-chanel-affresco/
https://www.temptalia.com/look/a-muted-olive-brown-eye-with-make-up-for-ever-artist-color-shadows/
https://www.temptalia.com/look/a-warm-neutral-eye-with-make-up-for-ever-artist-color-shadows/
https://www.temptalia.com/look/a-soft-pink-mauve-eye-with-wet-n-wild-petalette-silent-treatment/
https://www.temptalia.com/look/a-warm-neutral-look-with-mac-x-patrickstarrr/
Even later LORAC palettes all have the same softer, more muted outcome due to the colors they have their formula:
https://www.temptalia.com/lorac-mega-pro-3-palette-review-photos-swatches/
https://www.temptalia.com/lorac-mega-pro-4-palette-review-photos-swatches/
Looks built from palettes I’m reviewing are typically done with whatever is in the palette itself – I try to stay within that palette as much as possible, but I have had to go outside that for say, all glitter palettes, to show how they might perform with a complementing product, and I will often use a separate brow bone highlighter.
Well, pigmentation in a swatch is not really much – I rate pigmentation based on how it actually applies to the lid, since that’s where it counts (and I have found that it can vary – sometimes an eyeshadow that swatches badly does better on the lid and sometimes something that swatches better on my arm doesn’t perform that well on the lid), so that’s why it’s important to me to ensure that whatever it’s supposed to do actually does it on my eye 🙂
Perhaps cast a wider net? I’ve seen a plethora of looks from avant garde to barely-there. Maybe even trying something like “eye makeup for [your age]” or “soft eye makeup” or “sheer eye makeup” might get you to the people you’d prefer. Emily Noel has some variety in looks and everything is usually quite wearable, though my idea of wearable is also what I wear generally (I actually consider what I do “approachable color” more than extreme or heavy!). Karima McKimmie does a lot of softer and luminous looks with emphasis on technique. Hot and Flashy does a lot of content geared toward an older demo (I’d say 40+), and her style seems to be generally a bit softer. Jamie Paige has a greater variety from soft to bolder, but I find them very approachable. Allana Davison also seems to have more soft/natural looks than extreme ones.
Wow, thank you for all the info! Very much appreciated. 😀
I think this would look fabulous on medium to deep skinned people.
God, I wish Nars was still cruelty free so i could buy this 🙁
Prob the one brand I miss buying from.