NARS Self Portrait 3 Eyeshadow Palette Review, Photos, Swatches
NARS Self Portrait 3 Eyeshadow Palette
One Out of Three Isn’t So Bad, Right?
NARS Self Portrait 3 Eyeshadow Palette ($55.00 for 0.42 oz.) features a variation on Warhol’s Self Portrait (1967) painting. This palette is described as “dark brown with shimmer overspray, rose pink, and heather blue.” It is the second of three palettes, and it will be available at department and specialty stores, NARS’ boutiques, and narscosmetics.com on November 1st (so you have some time to think about it, to the say least!).
Each of the Self Portrait palettes has a black overspray, which will disappear quickly. I recommend taking a large powder brush (I used MAC’s 134) to brush back and forth, up and down, to get the majority off. Now, I say that with the expectation that you’d actually like to use the colors in the palette. Assuming you only intended to keep it as a collectible, then I’d recommend not using it much and would say to avoid the silver-white to maintain the facial structure/details.
The first shade is actually a matte medium-dark brown with warm undertones. It had a stiff, dry texture and, subsequently, poor color payoff. However, when applied to the lid, it was able to pack a bit more color, and at least, it was buildable to mostly true-to-pan color. It required some extra effort to blend. Dior Aurora is more shimmery. Bobbi Brown Cocoa Berry is darker. Benefit Dandy Brandy has more shimmer. Urban Decay YDK has a frosted finish. MAC Lie Low is similar but more pearly.
The second shade is a softened, burnt orange with a faint satin sheen. It’s a little terracotta-like. It was soft without being powdery, smooth, and had good pigmentation. MAC Hot Paprika is a bit brighter.
The third shade is a dusty gray-tinged purple with a hint of blue. It had a matte finish, and it was a bit powdery, but the color payoff was good–some sheerness. It was harder to use on the lid, though, as it was prone to fading and disappearing. Blendable, yes, but so blendable that trying to blend it resulted in most of it billowing off the lid in a little puff of powdery smoke. As a result, it tended to look faded from the get-go. theBalm Matt Horowitz is darker.
Of the three shades, the only one I experienced major issues while wearing them was the purple shade, which faded quickly. The brown shade takes some extra effort, but it’s do-able, and it wears well. This, of course, shouldn’t be necessary at this price point. It’s better than the other palettes, but I don’t think it’s a fantastic palette overall. The color combination can work, but it’s an unusual one, so some may not feel it’s versatile enough.
NARS Self Portrait 3 Eyeshadow Palette Review, Photos, Swatches
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NARS Self Portrait 3 Eyeshadow Palette
NARS Self Portrait 3 Eyeshadow Palette
NARS Self Portrait 3 Eyeshadow Palette
NARS Self Portrait 3 Eyeshadow Palette
NARS Self Portrait 3 Eyeshadow Palette
NARS Self Portrait 3 Eyeshadow Palette
NARS Self Portrait 3 Eyeshadow Palette
NARS Self Portrait 3 Eyeshadow Palette
NARS Self Portrait 3 Eyeshadow Palette
NARS Self Portrait 3 Eyeshadow Palette
NARS Self Portrait 3 Eyeshadow Palette (8 hours of wear, no primer)
These past few days have been epic for negative reviews. I can’t even think of a time where I’ve seen so many negative reviews in such a short period of time. Have you ever reviewed a collection with this many negative reviews before?
Hmm, MAC & Beth Ditto wasn’t very good if I’m remembering correctly!
I have to give NARS a compliment despite the poor performance results coming from this collection. They always manage to come up with interesting and unusual colours which they do combine very creatively. I really appreciate some of the colours I’m seeing in this collection. They manage to nail it subtly and differently. I think this is why it makes me that much sadder the collection is such a bomb.
Apart from the wear issues, the colors they chose are really lovely here.
Christine do you know when the Debbie Harry cheek and eye palette will be released or do you have that to swatch? That’s the one that interested me most. The quality is disappointing in these “niche” palettes. That’s what I’m thinking they are created for towards -a niche audience that will purchase them as a collectors item instead of use. Which if that is what they are then they should have been marketed as such. I love what the Andy Warhol Foundation does for artists and I hope they get a significant portion of the sales but—I’m not interested in the niche market for palettes. I do collect, but I’m a collector that wants to be able to use the palette as well. But to be brutally honest, I haven’t been impressed with a lot of Nars eyeshadows in the past. It’s been hit or miss for me with them in the eye shadow category.
Hi Katherine,
I do not have any of the gift sets to review, sorry! For information on the palette, you check out this post 🙂 http://www.temptalia.com/nars-andy-warhol-pop-collection-sephora-for-holiday-2012
I think it is… odd… to be a cosmetic brand and create something that’s not even good, for the sake of a collaboration. I’d rather then spend more time on creating compacts or more collectible packaging if they’re not going to deliver a quality product on the inside.
I’m not certain if I will purchase any of the upcoming gift sets when they become available for review – it will really depend on what else has come out/what else I have to review as well as how quickly the gift sets sell out (if they do). I’m hopeful those palettes will be better, since they’re individual wells, at least.
oy–yeah this is definitely NOT the palette for me. I really don’t like the color combo and the shades seem a bit flat to me.
If this weren’t so expensive I’d be all over it just for the burnt orange color.
It doesn’t look bad, I don’t understand all the negative reviews…will just have to check it out myself.
From the numbers, it looks like the wear and texture are really what brought it down across the board. The brown in particular is noticeably dry, even in the swatch. Granted, I have a few items that I love that didn’t rate well on Christine’s scale, so I don’t always discount the product just based on that. This being said, I appreciate her exacting standards given the cost of higher end makeup.
Your eyeliner is gorgeous! What is it?
NARS 47th Street!
These look amazing in the pan, so I was hoping they would’ve done better than the flower designs. It’s a real shame to see such a creative product wasted on such poor quality.
Try to use larger than life eyeliner Santa Monica blvd and rue Bonaparte as eyeshadow base before apply the eyeshadow color( pat it on with flat brush ). It works REALLY well! I have tried with many Nars colors such as outré ear, goldfinger, daphne and the new Warhol collection. Hope it will work for you too 😉