Nars Narsissist Dual-Intensity Eyeshadow Palette review & swatches

Oh boy, how I hunted this palette. I really wanted to try the Nars dual intensity eyeshadows but they were far too expensive individually, while here, for the price of two I got a great-looking well-curated palette of 8 eyeshadows with a full-size mirror and a brush.

This palette is a rare example of a palette where I can and do make use of every single shade. There's no single eyeshadow that doesn't suit my taste, skin tone or eye colour. 

The dry/wet technology applied here really does work. This isn't the first palette of this kind in my possession, but this is the only one where the eyeshadows don't turn to a hard crust that no can no longer be used dry. 

The downside is that the quality of the eyeshadows is inconsistent and some of them don't seem to work, even given a push by applying them wet.

Top row:

EUROPA looks like a light peachy-toned eyeshadow in the pan, but it contains strong pink sheen which gives duochromatic effect. This is a shimmery eyeshadow, but it's closer to glow than shimmer.

HIMALIA is a metallic taupe with metallic sheen. Feels buttery, applies heavenly, blends well, lasts all day. 

URSA MAJOR is a dark, cool-toned brown with satin finish. Feels dry when swatched once, but the colour builds up well and the eyeshadow performs well on the lid. 

SUBRA looks very aubergine purple in the pan, but in fact it has some duochrome shift from the same brown base as Ursa Major to purplish-pinkish sheen. In certain lighting conditions it looks almost exactly the same as Ursa Major, but it's better quality, softer, less dry, smoother, more pigmented and more interesting. 

Bottom row:

ANDROMEDA is another eyeshadow with a shift. It looks like an ivory shade in the pan, but there's some peachy pink sheen to it. It's soft and smooth, makes a great highlighter.

LYSITHEA is a gorgeous silver colour which is  very shimmery, but not too metallic to intimidate me. 

GIOVE is the disappointing one in the palette. It's dry, crumbly, the colour doesn't transfer well, when applied wet it doesn't blend well and wen it does it turns muddy dark instead of blue. In the picture above the camera picked it much bluer than it really is. It looks pretty much like in the swatch below and it's a black-based navy blue with some sheen.

SYCORAX is a charcoal shade with satin finish. Bit dry, but overall it's a decent soft black eyeshadow to darken the outer corner.