NARSissist Dual-Intensity Eyeshadow Palette Review, Photos, Swatches
NARSissist Dual-Intensity Eyeshadow Palette
NARSissist Dual-Intensity Eyeshadow Palette ($79.00 for 0.24 oz.) includes eight shades, seven of which are part of the permanent range (Ursa Major is, at this time, exclusive to the palette). The Dual-Intensity formula is supposed to give eight-hour, can be used wet or dry (dry for “sheer soft touch of sensual color” and wet for “high-impact finish”). They are sheerer applied dry, but I find them surprisingly buildable dry as well, so it takes two to three layers, and it doesn’t take real packing on, just going back for a little more product. They will be more intense right off the bat if applied with a damp brush, though, which is as described. The formula has a soft, finely-milled feel to it, and they’re very smooth and easily blended on the skin. The only downside is the wear varies anywhere from six to nine hours, and dry application seems to consistently wear between six and seven hours before creasing, whereas damp application lasts slightly longer with seven to nine hours of wear. The eyeshadows felt and performed very much in line with their permanent counterparts, but some of the under-performers from the original launch seemed improved in this palette, which is very rare to see.
Each eyeshadow is 0.03 oz., and full-sized versions are 0.05 oz. for $29, which makes the palette a $139 value in terms of amount of product, and in a more big picture way, to get eight shades would run you $232 (though they would be full-sized, just to be clear). I think this palette is an excellent way to try out NARS’ newer eyeshadow formula without completing breaking the bank. All but Ursa Major are part of the permanent range. The palette launches at NARS on January 1st but will head to other retailers and stores that carry the brand on February 1st as well.
Europa is a pink-tinged peach with warm undertones and a soft frosted finish. It had semi-sheer pigmentation applied dry and full opacity applied damp. The version in the palette actually performed better than the single I have–it feels almost smoother and softer (my single felt a little dry). It wore well for six and a half hours dry, seven hours damp. See comparison swatches / view dupes.
Himalia is a medium-dark golden brown with a frosted, metallic sheen. It had semi-sheer coverage applied dry that made the color appear softer and lighter, compared to the damp application, where the color was fully opaque and richer-looking overall. This shade wore well for almost seven hours dry, eight hours when applied damp. See comparison swatches / view dupes.
Ursa Major is a dark brown with subtle, warm undertones and a slight gray tint. It had more of a pearly sheen, though it lookst more satin-like in the pan. It had sheer color payoff applied dry, which intensified to opaque payoff applied damp, though the color seems lighter applied than it appears in the pan. It wore well for six hours when I tried it dry, and it was slightly better applied damp with seven and a half hours of wear. See comparison swatches / view dupes.
Subra is a rich, burgundy purple with subtle, warm undertones and a pearl finish. It had semi-opaque pigmentation dry and was fully opaque applied damp. It wore well for just over seven hours when I wore it dry, but it lasted for almost nine hours when applied damp. See comparison swatches / view dupes.
Andromeda is a light beige with a golden shimmer-sheen finish. It had fairly opaque color both wet and dry, though it was brighter when applied with a dampened brush. It started to crease after six and a half hours applied dry, seven and a half hours applied amp. See comparison swatches / view dupes.
Lysithea is a gray-ish pewter with a hint of olive and gold in it and a metallic sheen. It was sheer applied dry and nearly opaque applied damp. I was able to wear this for six hours before it creased applied dry, and the wear extended to eight hours if I applied it with a dampened brush. This one was also better in the palette, as it actually had color when applied dry. See comparison swatches / view dupes.
Giove is a blackened navy blue with a soft, frosted finish. It had semi-sheer pigmentation applied dry and appeared darker, while applying it with a dampened brush yielded good color payoff and a stronger, brighter blue coloring. It wore well for six and a half hours when I applied it dry, but it lasted for eight hours applied with a damp brush. See comparison swatches / view dupes.
Sycorax is a dark black with a satin finish. It had semi-sheer color payoff when I tried using it dry, and it was very nearly opaque applied damp (and it appeared richer, too). I thought it was softer in the palette than the single. This shade started to crease after six hours of dry wear, and eight hours of wear when applied damp. See comparison swatches / view dupes.
NARSissist Dual-Intensity Eyeshadow Palette
LELimited Edition. $79.00.
Europa
PPermanent. $29.00.
Himalia
PPermanent. $29.00.
Ursa Major
LELimited Edition. $29.00.
Subra
PPermanent. $29.00.
Andromeda
PPermanent. $29.00.
Lysithea
PPermanent. $29.00.
Giove
PPermanent. $29.00.
Sycorax
PPermanent. $29.00.
See more photos & swatches!
NARSissist Dual-Intensity Eyeshadow Palette
NARSissist Dual-Intensity Eyeshadow Palette
NARSissist Dual-Intensity Eyeshadow Palette
NARSissist Dual-Intensity Eyeshadow Palette
NARSissist Dual-Intensity Eyeshadow Palette
NARSissist Dual-Intensity Eyeshadow Palette
NARSissist Dual-Intensity Eyeshadow Palette
NARSissist Dual-Intensity Eyeshadow Palette
NARS Europa Dual-Intensity Eyeshadow
NARS Europa Dual-Intensity Eyeshadow
NARS Himalia Dual-Intensity Eyeshadow
NARS Himalia Dual-Intensity Eyeshadow
NARS Ursa Major Dual-Intensity Eyeshadow
NARS Ursa Major Dual-Intensity Eyeshadow
NARS Subra Dual-Intensity Eyeshadow
NARS Subra Dual-Intensity Eyeshadow
NARS Andromeda Dual-Intensity Eyeshadow
NARS Andromeda Dual-Intensity Eyeshadow
NARS Lysithea Dual-Intensity Eyeshadow
NARS Lysithea Dual-Intensity Eyeshadow
NARS Giove Dual-Intensity Eyeshadow
NARS Giove Dual-Intensity Eyeshadow
NARS Sycorax Dual-Intensity Eyeshadow
NARS Sycorax Dual-Intensity Eyeshadow
Andromeda (inner lid), Himalia (middle of lid), Ursa Major (outer lid), Subra (crease),
Europa (brow bone), Sephora Flirting Game Eyeliner
Andromeda (inner lid), Himalia (middle of lid), Ursa Major (outer lid), Subra (crease),
Europa (brow bone), Sephora Flirting Game Eyeliner
Gorgeous and I’m amazed at the difference between dry/wet application. I haven’t purchased anything from Nars in a while .. hmm, …
Monica.
Yep! They do layer well, even dry, so you can get pretty close to opaque color without having to use them damp.
This is ultimately fantastic and I must have it now. 😛
Yay!!
Oh yeah!! I would really have it my way as extended to include Cassiopeia & Desdona in their with Callisto & Dione! 😀 But I shall love this. <3=)
I don’t own any NARS palettes, mainly because they tend to contain one shade of a duo, and I’d rather have both, but since this is all singles, I can justify buying it. Also, one shade is exclusive, and 2 others are shades I was lukewarm on, so at this pricepoint, I’ll be getting a great deal. Sycorax, Giove, Subra are also shades I’ll use less of since they’re so deep, but I can always replace them with singles.
I think releasing it so soon after the singles’ launch is smart, since people can try, fall in love, and always repurchase. But ultimately, I think it’s NARS’ way of getting you hooked so you’ll pay the single price tag on future shade releases, LOL!
So true!!!
I’m just glad I held out on buying the singles, LOL! For the time being, I can use the Underworld duo for Lysithea & Giove, Bad Behaviour for Sycorax, All About Eve for Andromeda, and Habanera for Subra. Europa & Himalaya are the “iffy” ones, and also dupeable, but Ursa Major seems the most unique-mainly due to the finish/texture. I love the warmth of Ursa Major, yet the subtle grey tone adds some complexity.
This looks much better than last year Narsissist. I bought last year palette and hardly use it (not enough pigment or too muddy). I might pick this up. I was hoping for better color scheme though. Thanks for review this. You are awesome as always.
Definitely better!
Skip for me. I already got the 2 colors I wanted (Dione and Lysithea) and while they are very pretty, I’m still cringing at the price, even with 20% off during Sephora sale. I can’t believe Lysithea applies better in the kit than individually 🙁 When I apply Lysithea wet, I get more of a foiled effect, but maybe it’s reacting to my primer underneath.
I’m probably in the minority, but the swatches from the kit look like a mixed bag to me. Some are really pretty, but others look sheer and patchy when applied dry, and others look just like regular shadows. At this price point, the kit has to wow me.
I didn’t have any patchiness applying them dry, but they are sheer (this is what NARS said they were supposed to be, though, when used dry so it is consistent with the marketing).
I’m so excited for this! My Naked2 has seen better days and I’ve wanted to “replace” it but get something new. (I can’t believe my naked pallet is three years old! )
Woohoo!
Have been wanting to try out the dual-intensity eyeshadows ever since they came out but haven’t brought myself to spend $29 on a single shadow. So excited for this palette – might need to purchase!!
It’s cool they came out with a Dual Intensity palette!
I was just waiting for this palette! Thank youu!
No prob!
This is the first thing I’ll ever buy from NARS by getting in line of our Sephora’s here. I’ll surely want a sales representative to inform me when it comes. I LOVE these eyeshadows, wanted to own them all but they are pretty pricy for mono eyeshadows. My first and only was Himalia, which sucks to see here cause if I’d known I’d definitely wait for this lol But still, I think mono versions are beyond easy to carry in your bag when compared to palettes.
Anyway, I wanted Phoebe or Desdemona most nowadays, and even though I can’t find a burgundy-ish color in this pallette, I think I’ll still be pretty excited to have it 🙂
Thank you for the review Christine!
Singles can be soooo pricey, though lighter in weight for travel 😉
No problem, Bengisu!
i’m totally lusting after this palette! i’ve been wanting some of the singles for months and it looks like my restraint is going to pay off! although it’s too bad they couldn’t have given us a green shade instead of an extra brown.
quick question, how does blending work with damp shadows? or do you tend to blend out the edges with a little bit of the dry?
They blend like they do when they’re dry, really, because you’re not soaking your brush in water, so it is just a little water content that pretty much dries within thirty seconds 🙂
Speaking just for myself, I wish they’d included Dione or Callisto instead of Sycorax or even one of the more pink shades (Andromeda or Europa) but still, I am really delighted about this palette. Is it going to be available at Sephora, do you know? Sounds like it will but then again, I’m still waiting for Jardin Perdu to hit Sephora in Canada.
It is supposed to be at all NARS retailers February 1st!
I’d look at Amazon or eBay, or NARS official site for Jardin Perdu; it hasn’t even hit Sephora innthe US, online or in-store… I grabbed mine at Nordstrom.
Oh…and just to make things confusing (because UD made a pretty major mistake that has resulted in a lot of confusion), the comparison in the Dupe list between Sycorax and Anger is a mistake. Many of the first run of UD’s Pulp Fiction palette had the double pan of Anger/Furious put in incorrectly. Either that or they made the mistake on their outer package and their instruction card, both of which make it clear that Anger is actually the WHITE shade which is why the instruction card says to apply it under the brow and to the inner corner as as the last step in the look. That’s not something you’d do with a black shadow. The images on the outer box also show Anger as being the white shadow (if you check the review here, you can see what I mean:
http://www.temptalia.com/urban-decay-pulp-fiction-palette-review-photos-swatches
UD never mentioned anything about this mix up on their site (it would have been nice if they had) and it’s something that really bugs me because a lot of the photos online have the “wrong” orientation and it makes UD’s own instructions confusing to someone who might be new to makeup (or it piques my very mild OCD-ness when it comes to makeup)
I will have to look into switching this to see if there’s a way to do so without having to delete and reconfigure a bunch of back-end database stuff, because there is a lot of connected data (it’s not just switching names). Although, on UD’s website, this is how they describe the two shades:
Furious (white satin) and Anger (black satin w/slight tonal sparkle) (http://www.urbandecay.com/pulp-fiction-palette-by-urban-decay/456.html)
so I’m not really sure which part is wrong and which is right – other than somebody made a big mistake somewhere 🙁
I’m not sure either though I know that they seemed to have caught their mistake in a later run of the palette because the one I got (just as it was being discontinued) has the pan placed correctly so that it matches the back of the outer box and, more importantly, their own instructions for creating the Mrs. Mia Wallace “look” – “Using an angled brush line the upper lash line with furious, winging it out…” and “Use Anger to highlight the inner corner and the brow bone”. So, yes, they did mess up and whatever the original intention was with regard to the names, I guess they found it cheaper to change how the pan was placed during production rather than have to reprint all those boxes and instruction cards….just flip the orientation of the pan…
It would be funny if they actually went back and had them pull out and turn the pan around, LOL. It is always amazing when errors like that go through.
So beautiful! Ahhh I’ve been waiting since the Dual-Intensity launch for this. Thanks for the beautiful, detailed review as always.
No problem, Celia!
I haven’t tried this formula yet, but this is tempting, especially since Subra and Himalia were two of the ones that appealed to me most from the original launch. Wish they’d found space to include DIone, but I guess you can’t have everything you want!
Maybe next palette!
Um yeah so I just finished my Christmas shopping, and now I want to buy this for myself. Like as a Christmas present. Your informative posts and awesome photos never cease to convince me to buy things! Thanks! =)
Well, it debuts January 1st! Maybe with some Christmas gift cards? 🙂
This is a fabulous palette which I am going to purchase. Yay – a worthwhile Christmas palette at last. Yippee!
These are really beautiful and probably the best thing to come out in a long time as far as quality and value, in my opinion. But I have too much eyeshadow as it is, so I’ll pass 🙂
I am so excited about this palette! I have 3 of the shades already, but I dislike having the singles. I tried to depot them – big mistake. It will be great and convenient to have them in one case. I think this is one of Nars’ great new products, and is a reason I have now got my eye on the brand again after a long departure. Thank you for the great post. can’t wait till it’s released!
FINALLY, a NARS palette that I am truly excited about. I keep swatching giove in sephora and it’s beautiful. I almost ordered several of the singles during the NARS Black Friday sale, but opted a few audacious lip sticks instead. I’m so glad I held out- great surprise!
Super excited for this! Thank you for the review! I am so glad they put these in a palette. I do not do well with singles as I have mentioned before. I have never even tried these because of the singledness and price for one full-size is ridiculous to me because it would take me ages to use up an entire one. Did they change the release date? I hace Dec. 26 marked on my calendar for online?
NARS only gave me January 1st for their site, February 1st everywhere else!
I’m so pleased this got a good grade, especially considering the price. I haven’t tried the singles, though I’ve been tempted. Glad I waited; this looks like a great deal.
THANK YOU so much for the review Christine!! I’m so stoked for this palette, I’m so happy it performed well! While waiting till Feb will be tough at least it gives me something to look forward to over the dreary winter months.
Wow!! Finally something from NARS that’s just so desirable in the eyeshadow catagory! I have to resist but it would be so hard! Love the glossy packaging as well!
Himalia, Subra and Sycocrax were on my wish list, I definitely want this palette! Can’t wait to try this formula out, since I haven’t indulged yet! 😀
Yesssss!!! So happy that this lives up to and out-performs the singles!
I’m on the fence… I already have 6 shades of this formula, 3 of them included in this palette. I wanted to get Sycorax and Giove, which would total, if I purchased the singles, $58.00. For $21.00 more I get 6 other shades, 3 of which I already have, and 3 which I’m not super excited about. I don’t know, maybe I should just go to Sephora and swatch those once more before making any harsh moves. 🙂
What do you think, Christine?
I’d probably check it out in-store. If you love the three you have already, then maybe it’s still worth having them all in one palette – but would you travel with this at all?
this is one of the outstanding palette I have seen in a while and Im getting for sure don’t know how 🙂
I’m on the fence about it.
Initially I was very excited to land my hands on these because I don’t own any Nars eyeshadows and thought this would be a great first. However, the more I look at the shade selection, the more I realise how dupable it is. :/
I found these eye shadows worked better when applied damp. Especially the lighter colours, the palette looks gorgeous but I won’t buy as I already have a few of the colours anyway.
I am really excited about this palette. I have only one shade of the Dual Intensity shadows- Phoebie and I love it so I will be happy to expand my collection.
colours are gorgeous but there aren’t matte colours and for me it’s no a complete pallet..
Yep, definitely wish list material. I wonder if we’ll get it at our NARS counter here… We tend to only get a limited selection of the whole NARS range…
Subra and Lysithea are very nice (Lysithea is especially intriguing), but I … just … can’t … spend $29 on an eyeshadow. It don’t care if other people do, but I keep thinking to myself “it’s just makeup.” Still, it’s nice to look at the pretties. 🙂
I’m liking it but not loving it as much as I thought I would. Possibly due to the price and two shadows I might not use. If it was $20 cheaper, I’d be reserving one already.
Heaven knows I do not want to spend $80 on this palette but I need it! The colors are so pretty and I’ve been dying to try these eyeshadows for a while. I can’t wait to get my hands on it!
I am SOOO excited you gave this an A-!!! I own three shades already, but NONE of them are in this palette. When is the last time that happened for me? Like never. 🙂 I am snapping this up Jan. 1!
Glad I held out on buying singles as this fits my life better.
Gorgeous and so tempting! I will try to pass, though, because I tend to stay away from really dark colors (I’m super-fair and not that skilled at application), so a good portion of the palette would be wasted on me, unfortunately.
I’ve been waiting for a dual intensity palette to try these out! Though I wish they’d put a different color other than Giove. Either way, it’s on my wishlist.
I see the new Nars eyeshadow formula is rice and yes, ‘intense’. When they were released, I got himalia and euphoria. I like the textures, dry or wet. But I’m personally not an intense kinda guy. I like my simple hues and neutral bases. That’s why I love a lot of the original Nars shadows like Lhasa and Galapagos. I finally got more accustomed to last years Narisicist eyeshadow palette, which was most disappointing because of the texture and pigment quality versus the original singlets.
I hope Nars is getting their marketing analyst correct and stops releasing bad quality textures that contradict their once great originals.
That said, I’m gonna pass on this palette and get something more minimalist. I may get the new blush palette with the two new blushes.
I don’t have anything like these shades in my collection, and the swatches look amazing!!! Would definitely buy this for sure. Thank you for the great review as always, Temptalia! 🙂
Hi Christine! Happy New Year. Hope you enjoyed NYE! 🙂
I have a question, I have a pro discount with Nars, so this palette would be about $45. The problem i that I already own 4 of the 8 shades. Since there’s 3 perm and one LE (which didn’t get a fabulous rating) that I don’t have, would you just buy the available 3 or would you buy the whole palette? I’d basically get 3 for the retail price of 2…but I’d still be missing the one LE shade. 1⃣
(Ugh…Nars has really been at the top of their game lately. Why would they make a palette with only 1 LE anyway? There’s so many other things that they could have done.)
I’d probably just get the palette!
To apply the shadows wet, do you dampen the brush first and dip it in the shadow? Or do you dip the brisk in the shadow then wet the brush?
I dampen the brush first 🙂
This is available on Sephora now! I’m in Canada & this is good news for me – our dollar has dropped next to US$ & ordering on Nars.com was way too expensive 😀
Saw this palette last night…..for a whopping $90. Hell no. I bought a few singles & know I don’t like them near enough to be shelling out $100 after taxes. Got myself a limited edition Chanel blush & eyeshadow palette instead, which are far nicer.
do you think this palette is worth enough? Because the price is little bit high 🙁
Any palette recommendation other than this?
If you like this type of formula, it is a good value for NARS.