A couple of things stood out for me when I was looking at the initial images of NARS Christopher Kane Neoneutral Collection for summer 2015. Firstly, I liked the neon pink NARS logo with Christopher Kane’s name across it. Secondly, the bold color of Blush in 4056 Starscape looked appealing to me. I stopped by NARS a while ago and thought I would probably only get Starscape, but I gave in and picked up Duo Eyeshadow in 3903 Parallel Universe and Shimmer Eyeshadow in 2095 Outer Limits as well.
First up, Duo Eyeshadow (デュオアイシャドー/ 雙色眼影) in 3903 Parallel Universe (£25). It includes a moderately-pigmented light-to-medium lilac with a shimmery finish and a moderately-pigmented warm rose-gold beige with a pearlescent and shimmery finish. The shimmer in the lilac is mostly pink-toned with hints of green and blue, and the pearlescence and shimmer in the beige are predominantly green-toned. The colors and the finishes last well, and there is almost no shimmer fallout during or after the application.
Both shades are fairly light and only create subtle depths. (The warm beige goes on a little deeper than it looks in the pan.) I find the contrast between the warm beige and the strong green pearlescence and shimmer quite interesting. Also, both the warm beige and the green create contrasts to the lilac.
The lilac shade was my main reason for buying this item. I love the tone of the color as well as the shimmery finish.
I don’t feel that the two shades harmonize well together, but maybe they are not designed to. Perhaps this color pairing is more about contrast than about harmony (even though it may not appear that way at first), and perhaps that is what the name of the item is suggesting.
Shimmer Eyeshadow (シングルアイシャドー/ 單色眼影) in 2095 Outer Limits (£18) is a lightly-to-moderately-pigmented peach-toned rose gold with a sparkly finish. The sparkles are mainly peach-toned and pink-toned. It is a light-reflective color with little depth. As with Parallel Universe, there is almost no shimmer fallout during or after the application, and the color and the finish last well.
For me, this is not a shade for daily use. However, I like the warm gold tone and the dazzling sparkles. I have to admit that this is a bit of an impulse purchase, but I haven’t regretted getting it at all.
Blush (ブラッシュ/ 炫色腮紅) in 4056 Starscape (£23) is what drew me to this collection, and it is still my favorite item of the collection. It is a well-pigmented neon fuchsia pink with a matte finish. In contrast to all the shimmery and sparkly eyeshadows in this collection, both blushers in this collection (4056 Starscape and 4057 Silent Nude) are shimmer-less. (All the four shades of Lip Gloss in this collection are also shimmer-less.)
It goes on a little warmer than it looks in the pan. Applied light-handedly, it creates a subtle ruddiness on the cheeks and it looks surprisingly natural. (The powder is quite silky and blendable, and it is not too difficult to create a subtle look with it.) The color lasts decently well.
I have bought quite a few blushers with a glowy or shimmery finish in the last few years even though I generally tend to prefer matte blushers. This blusher reminds me of how much I do love shimmer-less blushers.
Overall, this is a very striking, colorful and memorable collection. There are some deliciously intriguing contrasts (some obvious and some less so) in terms of color and finish both across and within the items, and there are surprises here and there regarding how bold-looking an item may appear to be and how wearable it can actually be (which I suppose is another kind of contrast). Undoubtedly, this is my favorite makeup collection for summer 2015, and I will certainly go back to the Starscape Blush quite often.
Related posts:
NARS Dual-Intensity Blush for Summer 2015
Review: NARS Duo Eyeshadow in 3057 Kalahari & Lip Gloss in 1678 Supervixen
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