Sunday 20 June 2010

NARS Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base

While making a purchase recently at Sephora in New York, I received a tiny 1.5g sample tube of the new NARS Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base. I was curious to see how well this performs, after reading positive reviews on both Temptalia and Musings of a Muse.

My eyeshadow primer for the past five years has been T'estimo Eye Bright Up Base but T'estimo has been gradually phased out and replaced by Coffret D'Or so my current tube is my final one. (The T'estimo website still has a few products listed but not the Eye Bright Up Base which means it probably has been discontinued.) The T'estimo Bright Up Eye Base (yellow gold) has a shimmery finish that dries down quickly and helps to make even the least pigmented of eyeshadows show up and last for hours. With the T'estimo base, I do get some creasing at the inner corners after about 8-10 hours of wear but the rest of the eyelid is usually fine.

The NARS Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base is a white liquid that applies without any shimmer or shine. Instead, it transforms the eyelid into a velvety matte and does not add any colour to the lid, so it won't affect the colours of your eyeshadows. When I used it with Lunasol's Nature Colorful palette, I was impressed that after more than 12 hours of wear, my eyeshadows still look largely freshly applied with just a miniscule amount of creasing at the inner corners that was not visible unless I looked up close in the mirror. I'm impressed that this actually outperforms the T'estimo Base!

Having said that, the NARS Base is not without its flaws. It applies less smoothly than the T'estimo as the texture is less emollient but I guess the matte texture is probably what helps it to be budgeproof. The biggest flaw is the tube packaging with the doefoot applicator. Like Urban Decay Primer Potion, getting the product out of the tube is a bit of a pain as it takes a few pumps in and out of the tube to get enough product for one application.

Also, you never know how much product is actually left inside the opaque tube. It would be much easier and more hygienic if the base came in a squeeze tube packaging instead. Urban Decay Primer Potion users have actually taken to slicing open their tubes only to find a ton of product still left inside that is not reachable with the doefoot applicator.

At US$24 for 0.26oz, the NARS Base is on the pricey side but you are getting a quality product that lives up to its name. If you don't mind the packaging, it's well worth shelling out for.

6 comments:

sophia said...

I am using this and I love it! :)

yy said...

Have you tried Lunasol eyelid base before? I find it performs reasonably well.

Haru said...

hi,
Nope, I'm not attracted by the Lunasol version because it comes in a compact and you have to dip your finger into the eye base, which is really not hygienic and can get messy very easily.

BeautyOnTheWay said...

Wow, seems I have to try this one, looks promising.

uncomplicatez said...

Hi! do u noe where can we buy NARS in Singapore?

Haru said...

Nars is not sold in Singapore but you can purchase from Nordstrom.com and ship through VPost/Borderlinx/Comgateway. Nordstrom also ships internationally but I don't know how their shipping fees compare. Or you can ask friends travelling to Hong Kong, USA, Bangkok or Taiwan to help you purchase.