NARS Euphrate Single Eye Shadow & Barrow Street Eyeliner- Summer 2013

Euphrate single eye shadow and the Larger Than Life eyeliner pencil in Barrow Street are part from NARS upcoming Summer 2013 collection (available on narscosmetics.com from April 15th, sent to me in advance). Euphrate is a silvery sea foam green with a shimmer finish, and  Barrow Street is a creamy mint. Both join the permanent line and are obviously meant to work together.

I love the texture and performance of NARS Larger Than Life pencils. Barrow Street stays put and is not just smudge-free but also rubbing resistant. It makes an excellent base for the eye shadow and looks beautiful on the lower waterline. Yesterday was very summer-like with bright blue skies and strong sunlight (before the semi-apocalyptic thunderstorm, that is), and that brought out the best in these colors. This kind of pale green is less impressive on a cloudy day but it does pick up the gray light.

I had to compare Euphrate to Habanera duo from NARS Spring 2007 collection. The green side of Habanera is also a minty frost, but darker and more dense. It was interesting to see the textural difference. Habanera is soft and almost buttery while Euphrate is much more dry and gives a lower color payoff. I'd say that if you already have Habanera you can skip Euphrate and just get Barrow Street pencil to create a bright similar look. Otherwise, it's up to you which variation (and texture) of this shade you prefer (Habanera is now in NARS permanent line).

Bottom Line: what's not to like?

NARS Euphrate Single Eye Shadow ($24) & Barrow Street Eyeliner ($24) will be available on narscosmetics.com starting April 15th and at the counters in the following weeks. The products for this review were sent by PR.