Review by Joeybunny - NARS Kuala Lumpur eyeshadow duo

Today’s review shouldn’t shock any of this blog’s loyal readers. I’m reviewing NARS’ latest powder eyeshadow duo, Kuala Lumpur, and I love it. Of course I love it. This really shouldn’t surprise anyone. I have never hated a NARS powder eyeshadow.

Now, I am not entirely thrilled with the latest NARS collection for this Spring. Granted, Amber Valetta looks gorgeous and very Catherine Denevue-ish in the ad, but there’s something sort of off about the look.

Maybe it’s the eyeshadow. I don’t know. Also, the promotional pictures of the collection looked kind of boring...except for Kuala Lumpur. There is something about a burgundy-ish eyeshadow that gets my pulse racing and makes my wallet magically open all on its own (I swear!). So of course, being the sheep that I am, I went to my Saks lady - hi Litza! - and asked that I be called as soon as the Spring collection came in.

Litza called me this past weekend, and I hurried over to Saks to pick up my little prize, but before paying for the duo I also checked out the rest of the collection. It was meh. The nude lipstick, Cruising, is pretty but I have too many nudes to justify purchasing it. I was drawn to Ophelia and Easy Lover lipglosses (a soft strawberry and a sheer but bright hot pink, respectively) but again, these are colors I already have. Luckily, NARS items are rarely discontinued or limited edition so if I change my mind, I can always pick these up at a later time. But Kuala Lumpur? Oh, how you made me gasp when I opened you at my desk!

The left side of Kuala Lumpur is a delicious rose-gold color with gold shimmer. Applied dry it appears more gold, the shimmer softly glistening. Wet, it is gorgeously metallic and it shines. The right side of the duo, however, is magnificent. It is not a color for the weak of heart. Dry, it is a beautiful pink-red, not quite burgundy, but not quite merlot, with subtle gold glitter that surprisingly doesn’t produce much fallout. Wet, it is an inky, mysterious merlot and the gold glitter shines against it. It is scary, but approachable. Some may prefer it as an eyeliner, but I went all out with my EOTD and used it wet all over my lid. I know Lachesisss would absolutely die over this duo.

(FYI guys - this was near impossible to get a decent swatch picture of. My sincerest apologies!)

Now, there have been posts on MakeupAlley saying that Kuala Lumpur was too similar to the Cheyenne and Brazil duos. This is blatantly incorrect, and I did a comparison picture to prove this point. In my picture, the duos (starting clockwise at 12 o’clock) are as follows: Bohemian Gold (now discontinued), Brazil, Cheyenne, and Kuala Lumpur. Brazil and Cheyenne look similar but I guarantee you they swatch differently enough to own both.

So, do you need this? Yes if you love NARS as much as I do, or if you love burgundies on your eyes, or if you’re willing to experiment with such colors. Otherwise, maybe not. But who knows? Why not give it a shot?