NARS Douceurs de Paris Eyeshadow Palette Review

Paris, January 2012. Taken by myself

I learned first hand in January of the pleasures of Paris. Many people say Paris is their heart and soul. We all know dozens of Francophiles, and it's not really something you identify with until you actually go to a beautiful city.

I am a city girl. Born in Dublin and missing the city life quite a lot, Paris was a great fit for me. I definitely class myself as quite a European type (pretentious though it sounds) and I love any city really.

Paris, January 2012. Taken by a poor fellow who ran into the
crowd of camera whores. I'm the middle one. :)

Paris is on the cards for discussion today because I'm finally reviewing the NARS Douceurs de  Paris Eyeshadow Palette. The shades, as you will see after the jump, ooze sophistication. If I was to get all metaphorical about it, I definitely see a greige-y purple concrete, deep smutty street hues,a midnight, smog-purple night-sky and fresh, glowy shimmers all-round- as lively and bright as the city of lights itself!

Enough poetry, let's review a palette!

NARS Douceurs de Paris palette 

If you're looking for every-day colours that cross outside of the Naked palette realm, you may want to give NARS Douceurs de Paris palette (£37/8.4g) a look.

Francois Nars, my personal makeup artist inspiration ("Don't be serious, it's only makeup!") does an extraordinary palette, in my view. The composition of the colours is well-thought out and gives you maximum versatility. Included in this palette-

Nepal is a warm rose with a light pink/silver shimmer. Great as a lid colour and for accenting hazel or brown eyes. Nepal would make a wonderful, subtle one-step eye for the very fair in favour of shimmer.

Violetta is a murky, taupe-lavender with a matt finish. Works brilliantly as a transition colour or in the crease. I would definitely consider this shade in my top three crease colours, and it favours every day looks and purple smoky eyes.

Demon Lover is that rich, matt eggplant with cool undertones that is perfect to deepen up your crease and for evening looks. 

Fez is a bronze-brown that looks like the sworn-enemy of tired eyes and pale skin, but it is in fact the total opposite. I love using this on the outer half of my eyes with a highlight on the other half as 'wake-up' makeup.

Abyssina is a cream with soft beige pearl. I had to stash this palette away for a while just so I would stop using this every day as I am nearly close to hitting pan. I love this versatile shade for highlighting under the brows and even patting lightly over any lid colour to make it pop.

Cordura is an extremely soft, smutty, deep brown with golden-copper shimmer flecks which actually translate onto the eye. So, so dead-on for lovers of the deep-brown smoky eye.

Packaging-

I love NARS packaging. This palette in particular is very resilient. Cordura has actually chipped a bit in the corner but that was my stupid fault for leaving it open under a pile of eyeliners, brushes and other items likely to dig into buttery shadows. I have dropped this palette many times and no harm has come to the shadows.

Formula/quality 

NARS is my favourite brand for powder products in general. They make cracking good blushes and bronzers: eyeshadow is no exception for the brand. Buttery soft to the touch, the shimmers give intense, opaque pigment without giving lids a crepe-y or overdone appearance. The matts are soft without being crumbly and wasteful and do not feel dry on the eyes. I do think that Violetta will pose some pigmentation issues to darker skins, but this was not a problem on my NW10ish skin (my life would be so much easier if that colour existed, come on MAC!) and I love how soft the colour appears on my eyes. 

        Next to Urban Decay, NARS shadows last the longest of all that I have tried. I rarely skip primer, but when I do; I leave it to NARS to stay on through my shift at work without creasing or migrating. I do notice slight migration around the outer corners of my eyes only. 

L-R Nepal, Violetta, Demon Lover, Fez, Abyssinia and Cordura.

Value-

The NARS Douceurs de Paris palette contains 8.4g of product for £37. The pricing is steep compared to Urban Decay's Naked Palette (£36 for £15.6g and twelve shadows) but gram-for-gram costs approximately £4.40 per gram. This is considerably better value, without stating the obvious, than buying six individual shadows from NARS at £17.00 each (£7.72 per gram.) Not all palettes are worth the money but I truly think NARS' offering is, simply because it is so versatile and such high quality; as well as a gram-for-gram saving.

Overall, I whole-heartedly recommend the NARS Douceurs de Paris palette as a spirited yet wearable everyday alternative to a Naked palette by Urban Decay or Too Faced. It is so evident that the colour combinations are thought out and the formula is a fantastic representation of NARS as a brand.

Thank you for reading everyone, and a particular thank you to Kirsty, for allowing me this opportunity to guest blog; something I love to do already!