NARS Pleasures of Paris (Doucers de Paris)

by Kimberly (aka Storybookheroine)

Generally,I am skeptical of any purple eye shadow. I'm not sure why but the tendency to make me look like I got socked in the eye is quite high and most of the time they clash with my natural coloring. But the raves I saw online and the photographs made me think I could pull it off most of the palette with the exception of the darker purple shade. Also this contains 4 shades I was familiar with and I think are some of NARS best singles/newer releases. So I went for it and I have to say I am extremely surprised and pleased. It's beautiful, hands down it's a fabulous palette and in truth I even find the purple shades rather neutral and complimentary to my coloring and they make a great day time eye.

Pleasures of Paris is perfect for a light day look but can go to a super smokey eye with little effort. The top row has Nepal, Violetta and Demon Lover. Violetta is a matte smokey lavender that blends nicely into all colors. I found it to be more pale than I expected from the NARS swatches but still pigmented and well covering of any imperfections. Demon Lover is a deep indigo. Now this one I really thought I would have an issue with but I don't. I think the indigo really helps make it more wearable and it's a matte shade as well. Demon Lover blends very well into the other shades and looks somehow neutral. Nepal is a pretty shimmering rose pink that I though would be sheer and lighter in color on but instead it's well covering again and a great wash or highlight shade. The bottom row has some of my personal favorites: Fez, Abyssinia and Cordura. Cordura (shimmery sooty dark brown), a gorgeous deep brown packed with shimmer makes the perfect dark, smokey eye and is great as used wet as a liner (all NARS shadows are also cake liners and can be used wet). Abyssinia, a delicate pearl sheen, is one of the best singles NARS has put out in years. It's the perfect wash, a beautiful highlight, really a multi-tasker and so fresh and pretty on and brightens tired looking eyes. Somedays I just do a wash of this and go, it's that good. Fez (velvety cocoa), another recent single, is the ultimate shimmering neutral lid shade. It's shimmer is just perfect and not overdone and the neutral shade plays well with others. Fez and Cordura and highly pigmented, Abyssinia is a sheen but will cover imperfections and is not sheer or see through.

Really this palette is a gem and one that I think would please almost anyone looking for one basic palette to take them from day to night with a unique take on neutral shades. It is a Saks exclusive but I've seen it on the NARS website (where I purchased it) and I'm sure it will turn up at other local department stores. I highly recommend this palette.

For reference I'm my eyes are a green/gray/blue mixture, I'm NARS Mont Blanc/Siberia or BECCA Sand in foundation and my hair is a warm light brown with a lot of auburn mixed in.

http://www.narscosmetics.com/Artist-Palette-C19_category_4.aspx

Photo Credit: Storybookheroine
Disclosure: This product was purchased by the reviewer, Storybookheroine.