NARS • Brousse Duo • Eye Shadow

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*TOP REVIEWER* Menolikepolos on 5/16/2013 2:33:00 AM more reviews by Menolikepolos

Age: 25-29   Skin: Combination, Fair, Neutral   Hair: Brunette, Medium   Eyes: Blue    

About me: NW13 (neutral-cool toned, very fair), blue eyes, Color season is True Summer, Baumann Skin Type is OSPW.

I really like my NARS duo Cordura, so I purchased Brousse as my next foray into the duos. However, I am disappointed. This shadow duo is powdery and I feel like the shadows change color on my lids and do not blend out true to pan. They turn reddish, which looks horrible on my lids : ( I have tried this duo so much, because the colors are so lovely in the pan, but even when paired individually with other shadows, these are blending out unevenly and to a reddish color.

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*TOP REVIEWER* amaizeingndn on 9/16/2012 7:56:00 PM more reviews by amaizeingndn

Age: 25-29   Skin: Very Oily, Olive   Hair: Black, Wavy, Fine   Eyes: Brown    

This is my fourth of these duos. For me, Nars shadows are just the best for blending and their neutrals are awesome. I love the brown shade in this duo. It's a satin finish slightly cool toned medium brown color and I use it mostly as a liner with a small pencil brush. It provides just enough definition without screaming "EYELINER!!" it's also great all over the lid. The purple is a little too red/plum for me, but I do wear it as a liner. But if you're looking for a good plum color, I would recommend it.

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*TOP REVIEWER* kerriki on 3/30/2012 2:16:00 AM more reviews by kerriki

Age: 56 & Over   Skin: Normal, Fair, Warm   Hair: Brunette, Wavy, Fine   Eyes: Brown    

This is a lovely, quite perfect smokey duo of dark plummy brown and deep coolish brown taupe, rich but not smeary/inky, softly blendable, more of a glowing sheen than shimmer. Flattering for dark girls in various applications at any time, and fair girls at night for a perfect smokey eye that is not harshly black and grey.
I've fooled around for too many years with cosmetics, and Nars is second to none in quality. It makes me feel luxuriously good, the packaging is gorgeous (I hate makeup with those crappy little brushes and things in the compact), and its a little left of centre and irreverent.
If I had to stick to one brand it would be Nars. It has its own tray on my dresser.

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Melis356 on 11/30/2011 11:32:00 PM more reviews by Melis356

Age: 25-29   Skin: Sensitive, Fair-Medium, Cool   Hair: Brown, Straight, Fine   Eyes: Brown    

Nice duo. Not as dramatic as I expected, but both are very pretty colors and it's kind of nice to buy a duo where I use both colors equally rather than like a white/black combo. The brown works during the day- sometimes I mix the two during the day since the brown is subtle- and the purple kicks it up a notch for night time.

I used to hate the eyeshadows with no spot for applicator, but now that I carry around a brush set I use this one all the time!

*If you're looking for a fierce smokey eye this isn't the shadow for you- not enough pigment. Try Too Faced.

*Definitely recommend eye base underneath as I hated it without- I use Lancome Aquatique Waterproof Eyecolour base in nude.

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Teddynick on 11/28/2011 8:09:00 PM more reviews by Teddynick

Age: 25-29   Skin: Combination, Dark   Hair: Black   Eyes: Brown    

As what the other reviewers said.. I am also NW45 and this makes an amazing smokey eye... so chic!!!

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buhsayd on 9/6/2011 4:06:00 AM more reviews by buhsayd

Age: 30-35   Skin: Combination, Fair-Medium, Warm   Hair: Black, Straight, Medium   Eyes: Brown    

The purple in this duo (along with the purple in Charade) is perfect for a smokey purple look on my brown eyes. Yes, it does have fallout (I find dark colors tend to), but tap your brush before applying and it's no big deal. It also has shimmers, which I almost completely ignored it because of this, but when I actually tried it on, the shimmers gave the color depth. You'll see if you try it on at Sephora.

I was debating between the purple in this duo and Stila's Espresso for my outer-V color, and even though Espresso went on very evenly with almost no shimmer, I had to go with Brousse for two reasons. 1. Espresso is a grey-brown but still a brown and I wanted a true taupe-y purple smokey eye. The purple in Brousse is just the grey-purple for this. 2. The shimmers in Espresso were silver, maybe even clear?. Either way, when applied, it was almost matte, and one thing I've learned about dark mattes on dry skin is they just look very flat and like dirt. Not attractive at all. The shimmers in the Brousse purple are multi-colored (not abundant enough to be tacky though) and they warm up the coolness of the grey color without flat-out adding a orange-y tone, which a lot of browns have.

I highly recommend the purples in Charade and Brousse for smokey eyes. I also have the Tokyo duo and only use it for the purple too. (Gosh these shadows are pricey but worth it!)

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*TOP REVIEWER* fustyluggz on 8/30/2011 8:01:00 PM more reviews by fustyluggz

Age: 30-35   Skin: Oily, Fair, Cool   Hair: Brunette, Wavy, Fine   Eyes: Green    

The brown is absolutely gorgeous, the purple is pretty too but doesn't show up as well as I'd expected. These blend together to a point where I can't really distinguish them from one another, they just sort of look brown/gray. For the price, I really expected these to have lasting power. By the time I finish my commute to work these crease. My MAC shadows last at least until after lunch to start that. I've been disappointed by NARS eyeshadows in the past and this just continues the trend. For the price I expected a lot more. I will be returning this and I would not repurchase it.

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HotMommaOfTriplets on 8/5/2011 5:25:00 PM more reviews by HotMommaOfTriplets

Age: 30-35   Skin: Oily, Medium, Neutral   Hair: Blond, Straight, Fine   Eyes: Grey    

I love this shadow duo! I have gray eyes that can lean more blue, aqua, green and sometimes violet and with this duo they look an awesome gray-violet shade. As of late, this is my HG when it comes to doing the smoky eye look. Love the texture of Nars shadows, I'm completely hooked. This is a beautifully matched brown/purple combination.

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*TOP REVIEWER* gommiebears on 7/27/2011 3:28:00 PM more reviews by gommiebears

Age: 25-29   Skin: Sensitive, Dark, Cool   Hair: Black, Kinky, Fine   Eyes: Brown    

My shade in reference is a MAC NW45 - NW50, depending on the season. I purchased this over a year ago and at first glance was dumbfounded on the shade. In the pan, it didn't look impressive at all. Just a muted brown and purple-ish shade. Then yesterday I was preparing for an interview and I wanted a neutral eye but was searching for that perfect brown that wasn't too dark or ashy looking for my "v". The brown shade fit the bill. No fallout, smooth application, and you can gradually build the pigmentation. The brown turns out wasn't that bad shade at all. Since I have a bit of a cool pigmentation, it complemented my skin tone. I highly recommend this for anyone, especially cool undertone people.

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soclutch on 5/2/2011 9:22:00 PM more reviews by soclutch

Age: 19-24   Skin: Combination, Fair, Neutral   Hair: Blond, Wavy, Fine   Eyes: Hazel    

I bought two e/s duo's from NARS and I wasn't sure which one I was keeping for myself and which one was going to end up being a gift. I ended up keeping Brousse and I thought I made a mistake. So thinking I wasn't going to get much use out of it (because it looks a little intense for fair skin) I decided to spend an hour trying out different looks with it. It is definitely more of a night shade for me seeing as its really too intense for the day, but I really do like this shade a lot. It kind of does give that "bruised" eye look, but a pretty bruised eye? If that even makes sense. It's a color I really like for myself, but I can't see this being a color for people who have little experience with makeup...especially on fair skin. The color payoff is good, but its a little difficult to blend, but I enjoy the color a lot. I like intense smoky eyes, but I avoid black for the most park, so the purpley/black shade was a great alternative. It's also very versatile. I recommend trying this before purchasing it. I think it's a great shadow duo, but we all have different tastes.

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*TOP REVIEWER* Gailkey2 on 2/15/2011 1:29:00 PM more reviews by Gailkey2

Age: 19-24   Skin: Combination, Dark   Hair: Brunette, Relaxed, Fine   Eyes: Blue    

I love this duo..i wore it by putting the teddy bear brown color all over my lid. It has a slight shimmer so it is great applying this way to not be ott. I am MAC nc45 and it looks stunning and sophisticated on me. i then put the dark smokey color in the outer crease and added Mac Naked to highlight and I was good to go. Love it. The texture is amazing and stunning throughout-it is buildable.

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evalovescake on 1/13/2011 3:12:00 PM more reviews by evalovescake

Age: 19-24   Skin: Combination, Medium   Hair: Brown   Eyes: Brown    

Probably one of the best duos for brown eyes. The problem with brown eyes is, you put on a brown that has some red hue and you instantly look like you're too tired or you just cried. But neither shades in this duo have red in them and both are very flattering with brown eyes. The shades do not give the color you see in the pan right away, which gives you a chance to use them sheer or layered as to achieve the original color. It also has a nice texture that doesn't crumble. Kudos for NARS.

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AQuestionofLust on 12/17/2010 4:44:00 PM more reviews by AQuestionofLust

Age: 25-29   Skin: Sensitive, Fair-Medium, Warm   Hair: Brunette, Fine   Eyes: Brown    

Brousse has become one of my very few staple cosmetic items. I don't own many NARS duos(now that I think about it, only two, to be exact!) due to their price, $32USD a pop. But if you think about it this way, it's much easier to suck up:

-1 NARS duo is 0.14 oz for two shades.
-1 MAC or Urban Decay eye shadow single is .05 oz and costs $14.50/$17 respectively.

So in that sense, for a high end shadow, this duo is a great deal. Moving along...

The colors are a shadow minimalist's dream. I find NARS' website description of the shades to be quite accurate: sable and black violet. The texture is silky and a swipe and short shimmy in the pan load my brush with an amazing amount of pigment. I actually have to be careful with how I swipe my shadow, and I'm a conservative user.

Both shades work well sheer or dense for a single color smokey eye. I think this is one of few NARS duos that isn't meant to be worn as a look. The "sable" shade is a perfect taupe applied sheerly, or a perfect single-color daytime smolder applied more densely. If you apply it as a wash, you can use the "black violet" shade as an eyeliner, otherwise, these colors aren't too much of use together. The "black violet" shade is my current favorite single-shade smokey eye. It's dark but not black and adds great depth to brown eyes.

This is perfect for the person who doesn't like brights or colors all the time but likes to look like they're wearing eye shadow when they're wearing eye shadow. Keep this in your bag and you'll always have just the right thing for spontaneous nights out... and mornings after ;)

Both shades are super pigmented and blendable and last forever with only my typical thin layer of Too Faced's Eye Shadow Insurance and nothing else. I will continue to buy this as long as NARS keeps making it!

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*TOP REVIEWER* katushka37 on 11/28/2010 6:21:00 AM more reviews by katushka37

Age: 25-29   Skin: Normal, Fair-Medium   Hair: Blond, Straight, Fine   Eyes: Hazel    

This duo should be renamed "Bruise" because that the effect I got with it. By themselves these eye shadows are beautiful - ashy shimmery taupe brown and muted dark purple (I would give 5 lippies to brown and 4 to purple) but as a duo they unlike my other Nars duos don't work with each other well.

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simplyxjosey on 10/7/2010 11:38:00 AM more reviews by simplyxjosey

Age: 19-24   Skin: Combination, Medium, Warm   Hair: Brown   Eyes: Brown    

Smokey heaven! HG for my brown eyes. Like a previous reviewer said, it can be sheered out for daytime but has serious pigmentation/capability for drama! The left side is a teddy bear brown. The right side is a dark purple, greyish, taupe with red shimmers. The colors are SO unique and really bring out my brown eyes. The texture is amazing! Buttery smooth, no fall out but still super soft. I'd say they're both satin finishes. Very sophisticated. I find this duo last longer than my mac eye shadows in combination with the nars primer. Definitely two of my favorite eyeshadows.

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theseagrows on 8/5/2010 3:18:00 PM more reviews by theseagrows

Age: 30-35   Skin: Combination, Fair, Cool   Hair: Black, Wavy, Fine   Eyes: Green    

this was my first foray into NARS eyeshadows, and i was pleasantly surprised! these went on more sheer than i expected them to, but they blend beautifully and the colors look great on me. i ended up liking this more than i thought i would, actually. i like a smoky eye look, so this is kind of an everyday smoky look for me. i've gotten lots of compliments too!

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snarkiest on 6/26/2010 6:01:00 AM more reviews by snarkiest

Age: 44-55   Skin: Normal, Fair-Medium, Neutral   Hair: Brunette, Straight, Medium   Eyes: Brown    

I do believe Francois Nars was going for (and achieved) an unexpected trait with this duo. It's the sheerness which sets Brousse apart from other shadows which some might consider to be "dupes". After having read some of the negative reviews, I believe these reviewers may have been anticipating opaque coverage. While these hues are dark, they retain just the right amount of translucency to kick things up a notch. It's a great twist paired with rich, dark hues and I am feeling the love for Brousse! Silky, shimmery and nothing at all like other purples and browns in my stash. This duo is sexy like a smokin' hot little nightie!

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*TOP REVIEWER* jessmarie09 on 4/20/2010 10:34:00 PM more reviews by jessmarie09

Age: 30-35   Skin: Acne-prone, Tan, Warm   Hair: Black, Curly, Medium   Eyes: Brown    

Absolute crap. I returned it to Nars.com. Fall out and poor color payout. One of those colors that when you swipe your fingers across you think "wow awesome color payout", then you actually put it on your lids and it's almost impossible to work with. It does not blend well, you have fall out everywhere and the color payout is awful, absolutely awful. I love nars...but I hate hate this eyeshadow. I highly suggest you do not order, but instead go to a counter and have them put it on your lids to try it out. Horrible!

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allsouldoubt on 4/17/2010 1:32:00 PM more reviews by allsouldoubt

Age: 19-24   Skin: Oily, Tan, Warm   Hair: Brown   Eyes: Brown    

This product has received great reviews, but I believe this product is an ok product. Mind you, yes...the colors are gorgeous. I was immediately drawn to this particular duo in glancing at the NARS counter. The brown sable color is fantastic, I love it. It goes on like a dream (when wet), but I am not as pleased with the purple shade. It's pigmented, but even with meticulous application & blending, it seems to disappear rather quickly. Also, when this e/s is used dry it's quite sheer. I expect a NARS e/s to be fully pigmented & great color pay off w/o needing to wet the product which I don't believe is the case for Brousse. I really wanted to love it. The colors are so beautiful, but it's not an easy product to work with. So sad to say, but I will not repurchase.

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*TOP REVIEWER* Jenlovesmac03 on 3/25/2010 3:13:00 PM more reviews by Jenlovesmac03

Age: 25-29   Skin: Combination, Tan, Warm   Hair: Black, Straight, Fine   Eyes: Brown    

Brousse=LOVE for me! I have quite a few of these Nars duos and this is def one of my favorites! I apply my UDPP and use the dark purple color all over my lid and the lighter color in my crease, add a little bit of Mac Sketch or Carbon in the outer corners and it's perfect! This duo is very well pigmented and they blend like a dream! Kudos to Nars!

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