Nars Dual Intensity Eye Shadows in Callisto and Desdemona, Review, Swatch & FOTD

Nars and once more I am late to the party. Having no counter in Germany doesn't help it but doesn't prevent me getting hold of the Nars pretties either. Nars states "Double or Nothing" and I say, yes please. So I decided to get to know them first, ordered two shades from Nars.eu, sight unseen.

My first choice was Phoebe but that one was busy crossing some oceans (thanks to Linda) so I selected two more shades, which looked intriguing from the swatches online, Desdemona and Callisto.

Callisto is a light pink with metallic/frosty finish. Nars defines it as "Icy Pink Silver", which I find to be spot on. I failed to remember icy is pretty much the same thing as frosty though so ended up getting a bit shocked by how shimmery it is. Callisto is by far the most metallic eye shadow I own and I didn't even try it wet yet. Would it work on its own? I will come to this issue soon...

My second choice was Desdemona, why, I don't know. I guess I must have thought that this would be a great addition to my now growing "Fall Rabbit Eye Shadow Section" of my stash. Oh and I thought this would have a great duo chrome quality. Desdemona is really a unique color, which I didn't own. At the same time I found it to be a little too red based and less plum based and therefore more difficult for me to pull off. 

Here are my dry swatches, I wished I had seen similar swatches online before ordering Callisto because you see the frost? *nods* This particular shade is impossible to wear alone for me. I tried today and ended up removing it because I simply couldn't go to work like that. Callisto is very clashy (no I didn't mean classy!) and very frosty. I am sure though it will receive some love from others and as far as I read it does, just not me...

Desdemona is fuchsia shimmer, which is fine but then that red base... I was a little nervous but it turns out that it works nicely on me. I love the more subdued shimmer of that one (Callisto hear that?) I just wished it would be a touch more brown and wearable but instead it is interesting and edgy. Not your everyday neutral though...

Here is me wearing Desdemona (inner and outer lid) and Callisto (midlid, blended over Desdemona). 

Although one by one these colors wouldn't be my first choice, together they work much better for me, Callisto's shimmer is nice to layer over other eye shadows and Desdemona gets more purple once combined with Callisto.

Here is the whole look. I was on a bold make-up mode so I combined the eye makeup with MAC's Pure Heroine, I wanted Pure Heroine very much but it was sold out in less than an hour in Germany, so thanks to Dawn for getting it for me from US. Red shirt clashes a little with almost monochromatic face make-up and I like the variation there.

Final thoughts: Quality of those are phenomenal and I really liked how pigmented and smooth they are. The shade selection, being sight-unseen, was not optimal for me though. If you are no fan of frosts, Callisto might not be for you. There are other interesting shades in the line though, I hope these are available in France soon so I can check out in person. 

How do you feel about frosts? Could you wear Callisto on its own? Any tips to make it work?