Le Bateau Ivre (The Drunken Boat) is the name of a 1871 poem by Rimbaud describing a boat lost at sea. It has enough colorful imagery to inspire a dozen color stories and makeup looks, though truth be told, some of those symbolic visions are on the wrong side of terrifying and unappealing. Still, it was the inspiration for Francois Nars Bateau Ivre eye shadow duo, the matte blue pair.
The other eye shadow duo from this collection, Nuveau Monde, is just as pretty but I passed because the metallic silver lilac is really not my thing and I already have enough olive green eye shadows. Bateau Ivre won my heart because the colors are quite special, a little retro and have a rich and full texture. NARS describes the right side as a deep denim blue, but I think it has a little more purple in it to be a true indigo. The left side is as sky blue as they come, a shade I haven't seen in this texture since Chanel Blue Jeans quad from 2002. Both are beautiful and nicely pigmented, very inviting to play and create various looks. They work just as well on a snowy January day as I imagine they would if spring ever returns.
As is the case with many NARS eye shadow duos, my personal preference is not to wear both colors together (unless layered one on top of the other). This amount of bold striking color rarely looks good in everyday life. These are eye shadows I'd use as a pop of color right on the top lash line, well-blended with neutral muted shades. Both make excellent liners as this duo can be applied with a damp brush.
Bottom Line: Pretty!
NARS Bateau Ivre Eye Shadow Duo Spring 2011 ($32) is now at the counters and on narscosmetics.com.
All photos are mine.
Hello, "Bateau Ivre" isn't a lost boat, it's a poem about revolt, specially teenage revolt. At 17, Rimbaud never saw the sea except in paintings, he wrote all poetry at a very young age (15 to 20) and never after.
ReplyDelete"Ivre" here can translate by "very much movements", it's a boat in a unleashed sea, a stromy sea.
But now, it's poetry, so everyone can see everything ;)