NARS Surabaya Eyeshadow Duo: Review, Swatches, EOTD

I have been looking for a quality deep rusty red-brown, as well as a dark yellow toned copper (without brassy undertones) for some time now, and I’ve never really been completely satisfied with anything that I had seen up until I swatched NARS Surabaya duo at my local Mecca Cosmetica. This duo is EXACTLY the two colours and finishes and quality that I’ve been searching for, in one handy little package.

The right side of NARS Surabaya is a rich dark terracotta with a subtle burgundy sheen. The left side is a deep mustard copper (sans red undertones). Beautiful shades for fall.

Both shades have astonishingly good pigmentation and buttery texture- so much so that you could easily pick up way too much product if you use any more force than a delicate dab onto the pan. I’ve complained about the dryness and challenging blendability of many NARS eyeshadows- but this duo is exceptional, and gives Rouge Bunny Rouge a run for it’s money.

My only qualm about this product is that the intensity tends to fade on my oily lids after a few hours, even with my usual TFSI eyeshadow primer. A coloured base helps, but I wish this was a product that stood up to a day’s wear on it’s own. Looking at other reviews, I don’t see anyone else really having this issue so, it’s probably just my unlucky lids.

Keep reading after the jump!

Swatched: left swatch corresponds to the left side of Surabaya, right swatch with the right side.

In the eye makeup images I’ve applied the rusty/burgundy shadow to the bottom part of the upper lid, and blended the left side of Surabaya into the crease.

Apologies for being MIA on the blog and social media lately. Life has been hectic here the past month- we’ve just moved into our new apartment, we’ve been shuttling back and forth between Sydney and Canberra to pick up furniture and things in boxes, I’ve started full time work at a new practice here after 4 months of locum work, and I’ve just finished semester 1 of my clinical masters. Looking forward to things settling down so that I have time for the fun things- like readings blogs.