NARS Summer Duos in Dogon and Exotic Dance ($33 each) have been featured in so many awesome blogs I didn’t even need to test them in person to know that they would be must-haves for me. Many thanks to Makeup Magpie, Joeybunny, Karlasugar, British Beauty Blogger and Get Lippie to name a few for sneak peeks! (Links to their features have been included.)
Dogon has been an enigma to me since it looks different on each and every skintone. I believe it is universally flattering though and the beauty of this palette is that I find it unique in it’s complex shimmer undertone. In the compact you see a silvery greige that flashes a slight hint of green plus a dark smokey navy-teal-blue. On the hands and eyes, the silvery side is a complex greyish silver that flashes a hint of multicolors like green, gold, silver. It’s hard to describe. The darker shade applies true to what you see in the pan. They layer beautifully together for a smokey eye. Not really what I envision for something “summery” but stunning nevertheless. Two views with different angles so you can see what I mean with the complexity of these colors. The shimmer and pigment is rich and applies very smooth.
Exotic Dance is just as stunning with the contrasting sharp white frost (slightly chunky in texture) and the warm gold tan shimmer. It seems very basic and classic to me yet I could not find another gold neutral or white similar in my stash. I believe they are unique because of the mixture of colors. I haven’t played with this one much on the eyes but what you see in the pan is pretty much true to what you get on the back of your hand. It’s also a stunner.
Swatched in brighter light:
Just a few comparisons to help you put these new summer duos on the map for color spectrum. First, NARS Rajasthan and NARS Dogon.
I couldn’t find any bright whites with shimmer, so here is Exotic Dance next to NARS Étrusque and Chantecaille Pyrite:
Comparisons swatched:
One last view of NARS Dogon & NARS Exotic Dance:
Overall love. Definitely winners in my opinion. I know many will ask if I had to pick one, would it be Dior or NARS or Armani for summer. Please don’t ask me to choose. Both Dior and NARS are equally beautiful for me and it would be impossible for me to pick my favorite. They are all very different, designed to create different looks. If you like neutrals go with the Dior, they are more expensive but you’ll get more colors. If you like duos and something simpler and easier to use go with the NARS. But I will say the colors are not as neutral.
I found these at Nordstrom but they did not have the GWP as advertised online instore.
