NARS Silk Road Duo Eyeshadow Review & Swatches
Silk Road
NARS Silk Road Duo Eyeshadow (2018) ($35.00 for 0.08 oz.) consists of two shimmery shades: a warm, golden peach and a soft copper. The left side of the duo performed well, while the right side had a dustier texture and sheerer coverage, so it had room for improvement.
Look Using this Product
Silk Road
PPermanent. $35.00.
Silk Road I
Silk Road I is a soft peach with warm, golden undertones and a metallic sheen. It was nicely pigmented with opaque color coverage in a single layer, but the soft, blendable texture made it easy to apply less or to diffuse and blend it out for sheerer coverage as well. The finish was shiny and looked “melted” on my skin after a few minutes. It wore well for eight hours on me before fading noticeably.
FURTHER READING: Formula Overview for details on general performance and characteristics (like scent).
Top Dupes
- Sephora Sand (LE, ) is less shimmery, lighter (95% similar).
- MAC Exquisite Ego #1 (LE, $21.00) is cooler (95% similar).
- Stila Sandstone (LE, $18.00) is darker (95% similar).
- Charlotte Tilbury The Uptown Girl #1 (PiP, ) is darker (95% similar).
- ColourPop Pep Talk (DC, $4.50) is less shimmery, darker, cooler (95% similar).
- bareMinerals Ball Gown (V2) (PiP, ) is less shimmery, cooler (95% similar).
- KVD Beauty Lovestruck (LE, ) is less shimmery, lighter (95% similar).
- Natasha Denona Queen (262M) (LE, $29.00) is less shimmery, cooler (90% similar).
- LORAC Peony (LE, $19.00) is less shimmery, darker, cooler (90% similar).
- NABLA Cosmetics I Promise (PiP, $8.00) is less shimmery (90% similar).
Formula Overview
$19.00/0.04 oz. - $475.00 Per Ounce
The formula is supposed to have "rich, high-impact color" that is "lightweight" and has "increased blendability." Like most larger ranges, there are winners and losers, and some of how they perform can be related to the type of finish. The mattes are soft, slightly dusty in the pans (or not at all) with medium to opaque, often buildable, color coverage. The satin and metallics tend to be smoother, more blendable, and more pigmented with less effort; NARS does the these lower shimmer finishes particularly well, which just looks "melted" on the skin as they lay down so smoothly and have a great shine.
Most shades applied better on my lid than swatched on my arm, which has been something seen across NARS' eyeshadows for years and didn't change with the recent update to their powder eyeshadow formula. On average, they lasted between seven and nine hours on me without primer. They did apply well over primer and stayed on well for 14 hours with minimal fading.
Worth noting: the updated formula and packaging resulted in a product decrease from 0.07 oz. per pan to 0.04 oz. The single eyeshadows received a more noticeable price drop (from $24 to $19) but the duo eyeshadows could be priced better (from $36 to $35).
Browse all of our NARS Eyeshadow (2018) swatches.
Look Using this Product
Silk Road I
PiPPermanent in Palette. $19.00.
Silk Road II
Silk Road II is a soft, light-medium copper with warm, brown undertones and a pearl sheen. It had semi-opaque pigmentation that applied best with a dampened brush if one wanted to get opaque coverage, as the moderately dusty consistency resulted in some fallout when I tried to build up the color with a dry brush. The eyeshadow did blend out easily and while there was fallout, it didn’t seem to sheer out too readily. This shade stayed on well for seven and a half hours on me.
FURTHER READING: Formula Overview for details on general performance and characteristics (like scent).
Top Dupes
- Givenchy Palette Ors Audacieux #3 (LE, ) is more shimmery, warmer (95% similar).
- Make Up For Ever D712 Crème Brûlée (P, $17.00) is more shimmery (95% similar).
- ColourPop Designer Duds (PiP, $4.50) is more shimmery, lighter, cooler (95% similar).
- LORAC Unbelievable (PiP, $19.00) is more shimmery, darker, cooler (95% similar).
- UOMA Beauty Kush (LE, ) is more shimmery, darker, warmer (95% similar).
- NARS Tantric (LE, $19.00) is more shimmery, lighter, cooler (90% similar).
- Lancome Midnight Haze (LE, $19.00) is more shimmery (90% similar).
- BH Cosmetics Club Tropicana #16 (LE, ) is more shimmery, cooler (90% similar).
- Make Up For Ever D712 Creme Brulee (DC, $21.00) is more shimmery (90% similar).
- ColourPop La-La (P, $6.00) is more shimmery, warmer (90% similar).
Formula Overview
$19.00/0.04 oz. - $475.00 Per Ounce
The formula is supposed to have "rich, high-impact color" that is "lightweight" and has "increased blendability." Like most larger ranges, there are winners and losers, and some of how they perform can be related to the type of finish. The mattes are soft, slightly dusty in the pans (or not at all) with medium to opaque, often buildable, color coverage. The satin and metallics tend to be smoother, more blendable, and more pigmented with less effort; NARS does the these lower shimmer finishes particularly well, which just looks "melted" on the skin as they lay down so smoothly and have a great shine.
Most shades applied better on my lid than swatched on my arm, which has been something seen across NARS' eyeshadows for years and didn't change with the recent update to their powder eyeshadow formula. On average, they lasted between seven and nine hours on me without primer. They did apply well over primer and stayed on well for 14 hours with minimal fading.
Worth noting: the updated formula and packaging resulted in a product decrease from 0.07 oz. per pan to 0.04 oz. The single eyeshadows received a more noticeable price drop (from $24 to $19) but the duo eyeshadows could be priced better (from $36 to $35).
Browse all of our NARS Eyeshadow (2018) swatches.
Beautiful eye look, Christine!
Thank you, Rachel!
A lovely duo, but the main shade is a disappointment.
Agreed, Genevieve!
It’s a shame that this is yet another duo that is somewhat inconsistent in performance. Not an awful difference, but one would hope for better!
I’m bummed, too!!