Best Things in Beauty : NARS Brousse

Brousse eyeshadow duo is one of those that i really wanted to get since i firstly got into NARS, but somehow i never managed to buy it until now. most times i forgot about it, then it was out of stock, then the "good" coupon codes ran out etc. etc.
but now it's here and it's mine as one of the many NARS products i ordered during the last hqhair.com 15%-off promotion ;)
the NARS eyeshadow duos contain 4g and normally cost 23.50£ on hqhair.com - i tend to order there because they offer free delivery and it's a lot cheaper than everywhere else with their recurring promotion codes although shipping time became quite long and unpleasant since they were taken over by the hut group.
Brousse contains two shades that totally fit into my buying scheme, one is a low shimmer deep cool brown and the other a rich black currant shade with multicolour shimmer, mostly being pink. it's a perfect duo for a modern smokey eye since they are not too shimmery but sustain their intense colour. and since i love smokey looks and cool shades so much, i can't understand why it took me so long to get this beauty.
both shadows have a very fine and silky texture while the black currant shade is higher pigmented and the brown a bit sheerer. both can be used lightly for a soft smokey look but build up very well to a intense colour. this is what i appreciate with NARS shadows - they're not buttery and soft but very fine and have a medium pigmentation that's very easy to control and to build up. they always blend out and together amazingly well. so no difference with Brousse, both shades blend out so beautifully, making a smokey eye really effortless. thanks to the silky light texture i haven't had any fall out issues and they last the whole day (or night) without creasing or fading.
i love to use them in combination with a strong gold eyeshadow. i imagine this duo would be amazing with Etrusque eyeshadow, which i'm about to hunt down by now ;)

i've done two different versions of a rather soft smokey eye with it:

the brown on the lid and halfway in on the lower lashline, the blackened plum on the outer corner and in the crease, a cream highlighting shade in the inner corner.

the black currant shade on the lid, the brown on the outer edge to blend out, a gold in the inner corners.

comparison

surprisingly, i couldn't think of a dupe with a similar texture for this duo in my whole stash. i can only come up with Chanel Taupe Grisé, which appears to be the mixed colour of both shades in the Brousse duo.