For Estelle: How does NARS Tzarine Eyeshadow Duo compare to MAC Smoke & Diamonds Starflash Eyeshadow?
My take: It’s very different and unique for a greyish eyeshadow. I don’t have any shade that compares to NARS Tzarine – it’s difficult to describe because it’s a very complex cool grey with steel blue tones and gold flecks which reflect a golden-ish sheen depending on how the light hits. For me there is no comparison – at least among all the greys I have. Most other greys are either very black, taupe or silvery. The only two in my collection that I find similar in undertone are Urban Decay Gunmetal which isn’t nearly as pretty, is more of your basic silvery grey frost with silver sparkles (see swatch here), also NARS Notorious is in the same family which is significantly lighter and a more powdery dove grey (see here for dove grey eyeshadow pics). Scroll down for more comparisons.
Therefore my answer is: It doesn’t really compare. I normally can’t do cool blueish greys but NARS Tzarine is just so gorgeous. Photos don’t do it justice. The gold flecks give it that extra special finish that can’t be duped (in my opinion). I hope this helps!
Close up where you can see the tiny gold flecks in the NARS duo (grey side):
Swatched on bare skin:
Swatched in natural light, no flash:
Swatched with high flash:
*Updated per request* Compared to Urban Decay Gunmetal & NARS Notorious (note that UD Gunmetal pulls really blueish on my skin as with most greys, it may not be as blue on you):
The original photos from my NARS Fall 2010 Picks (from here):
Karen at Makeup and Beauty Blog also has amazing swatches of NARS fall (her article is linked for your convenience). I highly recommend you check it out as well.
