Eyes

About the Author
The following guest post was written by Jessica Revitte of gettingcheeky.com. You can also find Jessica on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram.

I often find myself approaching my makeup collection like a game of Scrabble. I know I have a major point scoring word right in front of me, but somehow I just can’t quite visualize what it is — only to realize later that I passed over a big hit time and time again. The same unfortunate haze sets in when I regard my shadow drawer. I know what’s there and I know the potential that all of the incredible and carefully selected products have; yet I struggle to grasp their individual or collective potential.

Karen and Tabs gave me a straightforward prompt: write about an unsung product that I couldn’t be without chez-Getting Cheeky. I tend to over-think things though (see the Scrabble analogy above), and this prompt ended up becoming an exercise in why I should be more attentive to the capabilities of all the products in my collection rather than a select few. One such much-loved, long term favorite that I shattered and subsequently repurchased is NARS Galapagos eyeshadow ($24). For some incomprehensible reason I allowed this brand new shadow to sit unloved in my drawer until now. I’m left wondering why? It’s a one-shade wonder!

In my book, the mark of a perfect product is something that can be used in many different ways. Galapagos checks all my boxes in that respect. At first swatch it seems quite light on the pigmentation: one might even go so far as to say that it’s a disappointment in comparison to the rich appearance of the shadow in the pan. Like many powder shadows NARS offers Galapagos is a sleeper hit. Don’t write this shade off before you watch it transform before your eyes. Build the color for a complex but diffused soft brown, or apply wet for a rich shimmering fudge. What NARS simply describes as a “coconut bronze with gold flecks” is so much more. In my time with Galapagos I’ve found ways to use this shadow dry, wet, blended, smudged and as a straight line. This shadow shines in every application.

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About the Author
The following guest post was written by Radhika Mohan of weekendramblings.com. You can also find Radhika on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram and Google+.

For a good part of my makeup life, I had only read about NARS on makeup blogs, but we didn’t (still don’t) have NARS back home in India, and all I could do was stare at photos of “the best blushes ever.” It was only when I came to the US that I could finally try out products from this brand, and the blushes weren’t what really caught my eye. My favorite products from NARS are the eyeshadows, and considering how much I love a dark smokey eye, my pick for an unsung makeup hero would be NARS Matte Eyeshadow in Thunderball.

Thunderball is described as a midnight gray, but to me, this is a deep greenish gray that can look almost black under certain lights. Like most NARS powder products, Thunderball too comes packaged in a small black compact with a mirror on one side and a transparent plastic cover protecting the eyeshadow on the other.

Thunderball is a matte eyeshadow with a velvety smooth texture — no chalkiness to this one! It is amazingly pigmented and pretty much true to the color in the pan. On lighter skin tones, the greenish undertone would show up better, but on my darker skin, this can be mistaken for a grey or even black. In the swatch below, I have added a black eyeshadow just for comparison (it’s the black from L’Oreal Hip Duo in Dashing, for anyone who’s curious).

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