NARS Soft Touch Shadow Pencil- Palladium

One of the unexpected bonuses of having to ditch contacts for glasses earlier this year other than having another fabulous accessory for my face was my rapid introduction into eyeshadow pencils.  I'll confess- I'm completely blind without contacts/glasses. It took about 4 months to re-learn how to use powder shadows, and even then my favored colors have changed dramatically (it's less noticeable if you mess up with a neutral rather than a bold shadow!).  In the meantime, I discovered the wonder of eyeshadow pencils, which are completely goof-proof.

I then set out to try most of the formulas on the market. I'll be bringing you at least one review of each over the next few weeks.

NARS Soft Touch Shadow Pencils are rich, pigmented eyeshadow pencils.  They are not self-sharpening; they fit in the larger side of the NARS pencil sharpener.  They weigh in at 0.14oz, and retail for $24.  Like most NARS products, there are different exclusives for each retailer; this happens to be a NARS.com exclusive.

Palladium is a vivid, glittering turquoise with silver sparkle.  It's much bolder than I'm used to wearing, and was able to work with this as an accent.  I get 8+ hour wear time with a primer.  These are extremely soft- so be careful about your pressure.  Overall, I find these to be a good base for other eyeshadows in terms of the formula- and priced comparably to similar brands.

Here are a few swatches:

Outside, in indirect light

Inside, no flash

Inside, with flash

Palladium might be too bold for any number of people, but I find it fun to experiment with.  I think it's beautiful and richly pigmented. It was my first introduction to NARS pencils, so I'll always have a soft spot for it.

Pricing/Availability: $24, Palladium is a NARS.com exclusive shade