NARS L’Amour, Toujours L’Amour Eyeshadow Palette Review & Swatches
NARS L�Amour, Toujours L�Amour Eyeshadow Palette ($59) might just be the best money you spend on a limited edition eyeshadow palette for Spring 2016. Before we get into a review and swatches of the NARS L�Amour, Toujours L�Amour Eyeshadow Palette I should give you some background info on things I’ve come to look for in an eyeshadow palette lately.
I fear my days of bold, vibrant aqua eyeshadow looks are over. Lately, I prefer washes of color that make my bigger eyes look even bigger. I also like shades that won’t emphasize my finer lined, drier eyes. This is where the NARS L�Amour, Toujours L�Amour Eyeshadow Palette and I become best friends.
If you’re looking for soft yet elegant shades of shadow to create easy, everyday looks with a good selection of basic shades that add washes of color to emphasize, brighten, and widen eyes up this is exactly the eyeshadow palette you should be running to the store to purchase.
It’s a palette that will span seasons without every going out of style. It’s a palette that will travel with you to create great perfect night looks, beautiful work friendly day looks, and easy to do looks in a flash. It’s a palette that contains timeless shades you’ll likely reach for day after day after day.
The NARS L�Amour, Toujours L�Amour Eyeshadow Palette is an assortment of 12 NARS Eyeshadows in shimmer and matte formulas. This palette is a classy mirrored compact with a solid black matte base and a generously sized mirror. Sadly, the packaging makes it an easy mark and magnet for fingerprints and grime but it wipes easily away, unlike NARS standard rubberized compacts, so I’m happy about that.
Shades include:
- I (Cream Bisque)
- II (Shimmering Pink Sand)
- III (Amethyst Ash)
- IV (Black Truffle)
- V (Golden Starlight)
- VI (Sunburst Copper)
- VII (Café Au Lait)
- VIII (Pistol Grey)
- IX (Industrial Steel)
- X (Regal Blue)
- XI (Shimmering Taupe Cashmere)
- XII (Shimmering Liquorice)
The upper portion of the palette has four .11 oz eyeshadows in Cream Bisque, Shimmering Pink Sand, Amethyst Ash, and Black Truffle. The remaining eight shades 0.05 oz each. I’m not really sure why some of the shades are larger than the others but I’m just thankful they gave me more Amethyst Ash as I’m loving this gorgeous purple-y taupe as it makes for a great smoky look that compliments my brown eyes beautifully.
There’s a total of four matte shades here and the rest are shimmers. All the formulas, across the board, are dense. Not dry mind you but these are densely textured and I find it difficult picking them up with a regular brush so sponge applicators were best to build color. I call them color wash eyeshadows due to the texture as they are great for a wash of color across lids but to build the shades you really need to pile on color with a eyeshadow sponge applicator. This isn’t to say they don’t look incredible when they are on my eyes. It’s just that the texture might not be as soft and as easy to use as a some eyeshadow formulas. This density means there is absolutely no fall out which is always a plus. I personally had no issues with creasing either on my drier eyes and color wore beautifully until I removed them at the end of the night. The mattes are likely the most dense in the palette. I prefer my mattes more silky and easier to apply as the density leads to potential patchiness but since these are shades I used for accenting I didn’t have too much trouble with them. But all over the lid with some of the darker mattes can be a bit patchy so building is required for the smoothest finish.
NARS L�Amour, Toujours L�Amour Eyeshadow Palette Swatches (Black Truffle, Cream Bisque, Shimmering Pink Sand, Amethyst Ash)
NARS L�Amour, Toujours L�Amour Eyeshadow Palette Swatches (Golden Starlight, Sunburst Copper, Cafe Au Lait, Pistol Grey)
NARS L�Amour, Toujours L�Amour Eyeshadow Palette Swatches (Shimmering Licorice, Industrial Steel, Regal Blue, Shimmering Taupe Cashmere)
I find the shimmer shades remind me of the new Make Up For Ever Artist Eyeshadow which has a gel powder technology. I must admit this gel powder formula wasn’t to my liking when I tried Make Up For Ever’s formula but it is growing on me because it’s actually very easy to use and hugs eyes in smooth color that looks airbrushed on. It’s not as intense as say Urban Decay or Too Faced’s formula but it is sophisticated and very, very wearable especially on my drier, finely lined eyes. For example, X or Regal Blue is a shade I’d typically avoid because blue puts a spotlight on my finer lines and dark circles. But combined with IX or Industrial Steel, I find I”m able to wear a perfect smoky blue eye without a problem. The colors just aren’t intense enough to put my under eye imperfections under a spotlight.
On top of the fact I find this palette easy to use and easy to create a variety of looks from I also fell in love with so many of the shades. It’s a selection of shades that just work very well together even though it appears slightly mismatched at a glance. The colors just jive together nicely. Plus you can go from day to night so easily here by adding a little depth with a darker shade at the outer v of your eye.
As I mentioned above it’s rather easy to go from AM to PM looks with this palette without messing up your eye look. My first look was my day look so I went with a nude lip and I applied Shimmering Taupe Cashmere all over my lid with Amethyst Ash softly blended into the crease and accented my high brow with Cream Bisque. For my evening look I did a quickie blend job with Black Truffle at the outer v and pulled it up and over my lid just to give my look a little depth and richness, it’s not a major change but apply a little red lipstick and BOOM! Ready for the evening!
There’s so many things to love about the NARS L�Amour, Toujours L�Amour Eyeshadow Palette especially if you’re looking for easy to use yet elegant shades of shadow for work friendly looks. As I get older I appreciate shades like this more and more. Don’t tell anyone but I loved this so much I purchased a back up. I just don’t want to be without some of these gorgeous taupes!
The NARS L�Amour, Toujours L�Amour Eyeshadow Palette is available now at www.narscosmetics.com and launches at the start of February on counters and at Sephora.com and Nordstrom.com.