First Look| NARS Dual Intensity Eyeshadow in Cassiopeia

There comes a point in every woman's life where she has to question her sanity for buying a SINGLE eye shadow for $29 bucks.


I have not reached that point.

Well, when NARS released twelve new singles called Dual Intensity Eyeshadows boasting its ability to be worn wet or dry. I mean, you can do the same with any shadow and it usually works out well, but I won't ruin NARS' marketing scheme here.


It's not that I was particularly interested in the sharp division of muted lights (think beige, taupe, cream) and intense darks (bruised plums, purples, and reds.) NARS was playing it too safe or too fast in my eyes and I have plenty of dupes and similar shades in my collection, even if they don't look as stunning wet. Until I saw....Cassiopeia.


An unassuming white with tiny flecks of purple in pan this beauty becomes a unique purple sheen that reminds me of unicorns and rainbows and all things magical in this world.




When you swatch in stores oblivious to the fact that the pigmentation skyrockets when worn wet you'll be sorely disappointed. The majority of the colors swatched dry are...well...dry. They weren't ultra smooth, buttery, pigmented and were definitely unworthy of the price.

As you can see, it's rather meh and dare I say patchy on the right side when dry. These were both swatched with one swipe and under natural lighting.



When you take it home and use a wet brush or finger ( with Fix+, water, whatever bodily fluid suits your fancy...) the shadow transforms itself from a peasant to prince. The pigmentation is fantastic, the dual-chrome nature of the color comes out, the texture becomes buttery smooth, and you're left wondering why you didn't pick up a few more when you were at Sephora.

Here you can really see the change in texture and even color.



























The reason I chose Cassiopeia is its absolute uniqueness, in both my collection and in the general sense of the eyeshadow world we consume daily. I can say that Urban Decay's Vice 2 palette has a somewhat similar shade but this one is much more wearable for every day, perhaps as an inner corner highlight or an accent on the mobile lid.

You can't find it on my lids? That's because it's been used wet and has transformed into a glimmering purple, at least in this lighting. I love the ethereal quality of the Shiseido Eye Bar palette and thought it would pair beautifully with this shadow. 

Psst, you like those spider legs on my eyes? Miss Manga. I find that the moment the tube has time to dry down... the clump is inevitable. I rather like it in real life and you can judge away.



This particular shade wore for a solid 10-12 hours. I didn't see any creasing but very slight fading by the end of the night.

Himalia looks to be a great every day wash of color for the lids (brown, not boring) and Dione is the first gold that I've seen that is so cool (I meant cool toned, but cool is also appropriate) that it leans silvery taupe. Very interesting.

I also had my eyes on Subra, an insanely pigmented when wet shade that leans reddish purple and would complete any super smokey eye look for warm toned gals.

I may or may not come back to repurchase a few more....Call me crazy, but eyeshadows haven't excited me this much in a long time.

xo Be

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