Review: MAC Nocturnelle Eyeshadow

I braved the IMAT crowds to go get this little gem. IMAT was held like right next to my MAC store, so it took me half an hour just to find parking. Grrrr. But I was dying for a deep purple shadow, so I had to do it. You know, for blog research. Anyways, here are the pics of Nocturnelle with no flash. I think the middle pic gets it the best. It's a little cooler than on the left and a little lighter than on the right.



MAC describes Nocturnelle as a pinked up chrome purple, which is spot on. It's a deep, very pink purple with pink shimmer and a bit of a frost. It sounds ridiculously unwearable, but trust me, it's not. The texture and application are the same as all the other MAC shadows I've tried: it's very finely milled, applies evenly, and has minimal fallout. I'm running out of stuff to say about my MAC shadows because I love them so much! I really wanted this to do a dark, purple, smokey eye and blend it with Shale. I haven't even gotten around to doing that yet, and I still love this shadow. I work from 8-6 during the summer as a camp counselor (so if these posts seem tired, that's why), and I can't wear intense eye makeup to work. All I've done with Nocturnelle so far is apply in the outer corner of the lid after a light wash of Romp to contour the eye, and it works very nicely. It's not super-dark, so the effect is subtle, and since it's such a warm shadow, it looks natural with all my gold/bronzey/brown shadows. It would also be lovely with grey! Nocturnelle is dark enough to be used as a liner, could work in the crease with some serious blending, and adds a great warmth to any smokey eye. I'm so in love with the idea of a jewel-toned eye. It's such a change from my usual grey/brown, and flatters any eye color, I swear. Plus, how awesome is the name? It so belongs in like Twilight or some comparable trashy vampire movie.

This is unrelated, but I have a mini-confession to make. I bought my first eyeshadow nine months ago. Yes. Less than a year ago. I know. But I was naive, I thought that all I needed to make my eyes stand out was liner, and I was too lazy to deal with anything that involved brushes. Sigh. And now, only a few months later, I own practically 20 shadows. So if I seem like an eyeshadow newbie, it's because I am. But I'm trying, I promise!

Image Sources:
Swatch: moiheartsmakeup.blogspot.com