Being the color-wench that I am, my friends were shocked that I had reserved the Narsissist palette prior to the launch. After all, isn’t it a neutral palette? Worse, after declaring vehemently that Linda.Doesn’t.Do.Palettes, I had to swallow my own foot when Narsissist came home with me. I simply couldn’t resist.
NARS has masterfully arranged the shades in a cascading manner, from pale shimmery champagne on the top left down to a bold matte black black. Pure artistry.
And contrary to what everybody and her mama are saying,
Narsissist. ISN’T. Neutral.
Sure, everything has a decidedly smoky flavor to it, but there is certainly color in the mix – pinks, blues, purples!
I understand how the swatches are deceivingly neutral… because of the smokiness. But there’s a difference between “bluish grey” and “smoky blue”. I broke up the shades and swatched them by color family to give you a better idea:
Here are the standard beige-brown neutrals:
Madrague #1 is a matte pale beige that is exactly my skin color and does not show up at all. This I will probably use for cleaning up the eye area and setting of cream primers & concealors.
Madrague #2 is a matte light-medium caramel brown
Fez is a medium warm coppery brown with a frosted finish. As the light hits it, tinges of gold shines through. One of my favorite browns if ever there was one!
Bali is a cool-toned light-medium ashy brown
Coconut Grove is a deep satin brown that sheers out at the edges to reveal gold underneath
Mekong is a deep dark espresso brown with golden shimmers. It is a really beautiful color that can be used wet as liner, or sheered out to allow more of the gold shimmers to shine through.
And as promised, here are the pinks and purples:
Personally, I think this part of the Narsissist palette can give Naked 3 a run for its money!
All About Eve #1 is a shimmery pale champagne with a slight pink tinge. It has really nice color pay-off, and is the sort of shade that works well as a highlighter for any color combination or skin tone.
Nepal is a soft peachy rose color with a frosted sheen. Very pretty!
Ashes to Ashes is a shimmery medium brown shot through with lavender. It swatches much more brown on me despite looking more purple-y in the pan.
Lhasa is one of my favorites, it is a medium lavender grey with a frosted finish
Brousse #2 is a medium-dark smoky purple with a satin finish, another personal fave (purple!!)
Finally, the cool guys – blue and blacks, I threw in a cool ivory in there too
Bellisima #1 is a cool shimmery ivory. It is quite light and sheers out when applied so it doesn’t show up well when swatched. Regardless, it makes for a nice highlighter shade.
Bad Behaviour is a dark steel blue with a frosted finish. I really love this color!
Dogon #2 is a blackened navy that swatches out more grey / black on my arm than it looks in the pan
Pandora #2 is a deep matte black. I had the most noticeable problem with this shade as it doesn’t seem to apply well, going on patchy.
Fyi, the numbers #1/2 refer to the left/right shade in regular NARS duos.
And here are a couple of EOTDs featuring those colors:
I don’t own very many NARS eyeshadow prior to this, which makes it easy for me to justify purchasing the Narsissist palette. At SGD115 for 15gm of product, it’s really not a bad deal at all. Plus, it’s eye candy! The way the palette is designed, there is a good balanced mix of light and dark shades, and a nice sprinkling of some medium-intensity color so it is really very wearable. Obviously, this is nothing quite as bold as China Seas (reviewed here), but the Narsissist is a true classy lady indeed!
Ahhh I love the way you did the swatches for this! So easy it digest!
And seriously, like you said, it’s not yet another neutral palette 🙂 Which I love!
I was thinking long and hard about whether I actually need this palette but I decided not to get it. I have way too many stuff in the first place and I can’t get past the rubber packaging. I bought a palette from Nars last year and as much as I love the blush and eye shadows I hate that I can’t clean the casing.
Jacqueline, i was seriously conflicted too! I agree NARS casings aren’t the best… And their palettes tend to have inferior quality compared to their singles/duos. Which is why I hardly ever buy them. But all my reservations just flee out the window the moment I saw it…
There’re some serious debates going on about NARS eyeshadow texture, but I must say I’m quite fond of them.
I get excited whenever they bring out the palettes with tiny pans but with many colors like this.
A nice purchase for you! 🙂
Hi Lena, i can’t say i’m a big NARS fan… they don’t have the best textures out there, and their prices have gone up considerably over the years, so it’s no longer quite value-for-money. However, this palette just spoke to me… and i’m only just beginning to uncover the many looks that I can create with the Narsissist!
Lovely swatches and eye looks. I was tempted by that one, then I managed to hold myself because I didn’t like the quality if one of the older palettes I have, a bit too dry for my already dry lids but on your eyes, they look so nice.
Thanks Sara! I did notice my eyes looking particularly crepe-y in these picts… But it could just be the lack of sleep or whatever eye cream I was experimenting with.
Seriously drooling over this palette! The colours are so gorgeous 🙂 xx
it is a beautiful palette!
Ahhh I love the way you did the swatches for this! So easy it digest!
And seriously, like you said, it’s not yet another neutral palette 🙂 Which I love!
Why don’t you like doing palettes? I love purchasing palettes because they’re the best deal!
well, most of the time they don’t excite me much. And i get overwhelmed by too many choices! LOL!
I was thinking long and hard about whether I actually need this palette but I decided not to get it. I have way too many stuff in the first place and I can’t get past the rubber packaging. I bought a palette from Nars last year and as much as I love the blush and eye shadows I hate that I can’t clean the casing.
Jacqueline, i was seriously conflicted too! I agree NARS casings aren’t the best… And their palettes tend to have inferior quality compared to their singles/duos. Which is why I hardly ever buy them. But all my reservations just flee out the window the moment I saw it…
There’re some serious debates going on about NARS eyeshadow texture, but I must say I’m quite fond of them.
I get excited whenever they bring out the palettes with tiny pans but with many colors like this.
A nice purchase for you! 🙂
Hi Lena, i can’t say i’m a big NARS fan… they don’t have the best textures out there, and their prices have gone up considerably over the years, so it’s no longer quite value-for-money. However, this palette just spoke to me… and i’m only just beginning to uncover the many looks that I can create with the Narsissist!
Lovely swatches and eye looks. I was tempted by that one, then I managed to hold myself because I didn’t like the quality if one of the older palettes I have, a bit too dry for my already dry lids but on your eyes, they look so nice.
Thanks Sara! I did notice my eyes looking particularly crepe-y in these picts… But it could just be the lack of sleep or whatever eye cream I was experimenting with.