Regular Twitter followers of mine will know that actually, it’s not all about the talons. You might find this hard to believe (cough!), but I have a bit of an obsession with make-up as well. You’ve probably seen a bit more make-up creeping on to the blog, and whilst nails will always be my first love, there are other items vying for my affection.

I’m not entirely sure where my fascination with Nars products started. The odd lip gloss, perhaps. But it’s turned into a full blown love affair, where I firmly believe that these items love me back.

I’ve had a few requests to swatch my collection, so here it is. I’m no Temptalia by any means, but if it helps any of you out, or satisfies your curiosity about any of the shades (because let’s face it, the pictures on the Nars UK and Space NK sites are rubbish) then I’m pleased. Originally I was just going to do normal arm style swatches but then as I am apparently a glutton for punishment, I thought I’d go the whole hog and show you full on EOTDs with the products I own.

This post was nearly two months in the making, so I hope you like it!

***EDITED IN MAY 2011 TO ADD DOGON & EXOTIC DANCE***

Impossible to photograph in all its beauty, Dogon is a shimmery iridescent taupe shade on one side, and a perfect dark teal on the other. Application is perfect. You see it here over a neutral cream base and primer. Like Rajasthan on steroids, this looks simply amazing when layered together, and it is my official New Favourite Thing. Dogon is limited edition, and I am going to be purchasing my backup of it PDQ. Seriously, you will not regret buying this.

Exotic Dance has not yet received as much press as Dogon. Although it has a fabulous name, it isn’t all that exciting really. A white that is jam packed with glitter fleck, similar to that we saw in the Calanque duo for Spring. It works as a nice highlighter (although there is a fair amount of fallout) but people are going to be divided on this. It’s a very stark white. The other side is a lovely smooth buttery gold. Not as glitzy as Etrusque (Christmas 2010) and I think this would be wearable on most skintones. It builds beautifully and would look fabulous with a tan. It’s not a must-have but it is really pretty.

Let’s get the new ones out of the way first, shall we? Calanque is Nars’ second ever trio eyeshadow and has just been released as part of the Spring/Summer 2011 collection. At first, I was really uncertain as it seemed to be a pan of loose champagne coloured glitter, accompanied by a gorgeous matte cream shade and a sparkly khaki. And now, I’m still uncertain. Why the glitter section is so large is beyond me. It’s sparse, and doesn’t really build. I made it work over a creme base, but really, for £33, you’d be better off buying the whole Urban Decay Naked palette than this little trio.

Nouveau Monde is everything I have ever wanted in a Nars duo. The pairing of the velvety greyed lilac with a gorgeous dingy gold tinged olive is absolutely stunning. This is a turbocharged version of Earth Angel and is definitely in my top five. (PS – my hair is wet, not greasy!)

I was on the fence for ages when it came to Bateau Ivre but succumbed as I knew that it was LE and didnt want it to sell out before I decided to give it a go. Blues aren’t really my thing. So this has thrown me into a complete state of confusion. I love it. Love it. It looks amazing – I’d never think to try a blue smokey eye before but I really think it works. This matte duo can be used wet as well to add impact.

Paris is one of my absolute favourite duos, and one I turn to when I’m in a hurry as I can create the perfect classic smokey eye in a matter of moments. Its glorious. Shimmery silver paired with deepest grey. Perfectly pigmented and easy to blend. Love.

Demon Lover is a recent acquisition. Matt cornflower/violet, with shimmery purple. This is hard not to make it look like you have a black eye and took me a while to get the hang of it. It is probably the most difficult out of all of my Nars to apply. I love the matte shade but think it works better with a deep grey than with the purple here.

Eurydice was a birthday present from Sheenie. Not one for the faint-hearted, it takes some practiced application to get it to work. I always find that patting on the powder over a sticky primer works best as sweeping it on only serves to distort the impact of the colour. Dark violet shot with blue duochrome and another pigmented grey contrast colour.

Cleo was something I bought in a moment of weakness in Space NK. I’m still not 100% convinced that it is the most flattering on me. Icy cold mint green, paired with a dark spangly teal green. I have a hard time getting the teal to show up as well as it does in the pan – it murks out a bit on the eye.

Star Sailor is a bit of an odd one. On paper, it really shouldn’t work. Yellow with olivey mid-brown? Hmm. But somehow, it really does. These are good colours – both full of pigment and easy to blend. Very nice for brown-eyed people. Not one I reach for on a regular basis, but I’m always pleased with how it looks once I do use it.

Earth Angel is one of my absolute favourites. Perfect “me” colours and very work appropriate. It’s a dusky rose shade, coupled with a gorgeous khaki green. It applies like butter on hot toast and a little goes a long way. Backupworthy.

Jolie Poupee is one that I held off purchasing for absolutely ages and now that I have it, I wish that it had appeared in my life a lot sooner. Purples are wonderful with brown eyes, and there’s something about the matte lighter shade that is absolute perfection. I’d pick this over Demon Lover any day.

Taiga is one of my early duo purchases, from the counter in Selfridges. The websites don’t really do this justice. It is a very sparkly cream shade that may be a tad light for some people, paired with a unique deep green that is flecked with gold. Not for the glitter phobic.

Caravaggio was a Christmas gift from my sister-in-law. A bit of a shock to the system as it is a hot, hot pink, it’s an absolute stunner. I do find that I need to add some additional dark grey to the socket for definition though as the purple isn’t quite enough of a contrast. The pink also doubles as an amazing blusher.

Melusine is the item of make-up that changed my mind about whether I could wear grey and silvery shades. For ages I’d avoided them as I thought they made me look old, but this is one is great. Similar to the silver in Paris but with more of a violet hue, Melusine also has this great vibrant purple. Kind of hard to pick up from the pan as its solidly packed, but well worth it. I wear this a lot.

Tokyo is what I always recommend to people when they want something work appropriate. It’s a really lovely soft cream and rose toned duo that applies perfectly and would suit absolutely anyone.  Personally, I prefer things a little smokier, and always add in some dark grey in the crease to vamp it up a little, but you’re seeing it au naturel here.

Habanera is something that on paper, really shouldn’t work. But it does. Perfectly. I wore this to IMATS and received many compliments on it. Cool icy mint blue/green mixes with a brick toned shimmery brown. Why it works, I don’t know, but it is testament to the genius of Nars that it does.

Bysance is THE first duo that I ever bought. Not sure why it was this one – maybe because I adore gold and I adore purple and so this pairing was just too much for me to ignore. Beautifully pigmented, the colours don’t exactly blend into each other all that well, and I do think it gives me a touch of the Boy George circa 1983, but hey – it’s pretty.

Tzarine is a weird one. Every time I look at it, I think it’s boring. A champagne coloured shimmer, paired with a gunmetal grey that contains some gold glitter. It does nothing to excite or inspire me in the pan, but it applies easily I found myself looking back over these photos and constantly returning to the ones of Tzarine, thinking how nice it looked. Go figure.

Sugarland is probably one of my mistakes. Maybe. I just don’t know, and would value a second opinion here. It’s tricky to apply – there is a lot of fallout as it’s somewhat loose and breaks up easily. I like the pink more than the gold but they’re just too sheer to wear well together. I prefer a cooler, more dramatic look.

Brumes is one that I bought as part of a Space NK sale. I wasn’t sure how useful it was going to be as it is dark, dark, dark. I do mainly use it as a contrast to lighter shades that need a bit of vamping up. It is very, very pigmented, and does work on its own, but needs a light hand.

Okinawa was Nars’ first eyeshadow trio, and one that I find perplexing. The silver and the blue work beautifully together but I just cant suss out where the brown fits into the equation. Maybe I’m too heavy handed with the blue, but I can’t get the brown to show up, no matter how I try. Maybe I need to use it wet?

Pandora was a bit of a revelation. Recommended to me by the lovely assistant in Liberty, I wasn’t really sure what this would do for me. But, the black is reputedly better than MACs Carbon and the white is perfectly smooth and pigmented. It looks a little cream here thanks to the primer I was wearing, but really it is a perfect penguin. Ideal for just highlighting or lining the eye, or easily able to build into a more smokey evening look.

Cordura is one of these shades that I wear when I don’t know what else to wear. It’s a lovely mix of a golden brown and a deep brown. It doesn’t make me jump up and down with excitement but I do like it. It always looks good and is soooo easy to apply.

I find it really hard to conjur up words to describe Rajasthan. It is my favourite eye make-up of all time and I am kicking myself (hard) for not buying a backup when it was still available. I urge you not to fall in love with this – it is limited edition and sadly retired now. Nars, if you’re reading this, please bring it back and make it permanent! Gorgeous dark taupe with a near-black teal blue. So interesting and unique and I never fail to garner a few compliments whenever I wear this. Which isn’t that often these days – I don’t want it to run out!

Violetta is my other favourite work appropriate shade after Tokyo. I’m always surprised at how pigmented it actually is, and at the fact that the two shadows work well together. A fawn matte shade that is super thick and covers like a dream, plus an iridescent lilac that flashes blue and pink depending on the light. It’s absolutely lovely and I should wear it more.

Brousse is a lovely combination but it is not for the faint of heart. One side is dark purple, teamed with a brown shade. They are both very dark and pigmented and the only way I have got this to really work for me is to use a very light hand. This isn’t an easy everyday look, as every mistake or bit of fall-out shows.

Egea is one that I have subsequently sold. I felt it made my eyelids look greasy, maybe due to how frosted it was. Funnily enough, one of my colleagues complimented me on this look, saying it was nice to see me with something less dramatic but this wasn’t enough to keep it in my collection. A very frosty and washed out duo and probably my only real mistake.

Sea, Sex & Sun is one that I expected to hate. And indeed, even in the pan I wasn’t keen. But yet, once on, it transforms into something really rather special. It takes a certain type of person to rock these parrot shades and whilst I’m not sure I’m that person, I bet this would look amazing on darker skin. On me, it made me want to grab a sarong and head for the next flight to the Caribbean.

And finally, “the one that should be a Duo”. Etrusque and Mekong. These are single eyeshadows, but probably one of my favourite combinations of all time. I love these shades, and couldn’t do a Nars post without showing them to you.

In terms of where to buy, ASOS have a limited selection. Most of my items have come from the Nars website, where if you spend over £50 they offer free delivery, and the occasional free gift. If I am buying in person, I will always, always go to Liberty. I’ve had questionable service in both Selfridges and Space NK so now I refuse to buy Nars anywhere but in Liberty. The service there is impeccable and the gentlemen on the counter really know their stuff. Tell them I said hello!

Phew. So there we have it. Well done if you made it this far. This post was a real labour of love, not to mention the fact that my colleagues think I’m insane for taking photos of myself every morning (the light in my office is excellent). This post is dedicated to everyone who I have bored senseless about my collection, or maybe enabled into buying certain items along the way. Any comments welcome….

Helen