I am still very much in Pat McGrath Mode when it comes to eyeshadows but every now and again I see a shadow that I ‘kinda’ need for my makeup repertoire. Sultan from NARS is one of these. I picked it up at a Brown Beauty event at the NARS store on the Kings Road.
What Colour is Sultan?
As a purple connoisseur, NARS describe Sultan as purple. I would describe Sultan as pink. Beautiful, cool toned pink. There is a bit of blue in it, which means that depending on the base that I have use and the other colours that are on my eyes, it may appear purple. However, in the pan and when swatched as you will see from the photo it is pink. It has a light dusting of fuchsia reflex in it which is more obvious to the naked eye when layered over a dark cream base.
How I Use Sultan
As you know I am obsessed with the colour purple. so intrinsic is it to my daily makeup life that even when I attempt to do a non-purple eyeshadow look, ie a deep shimmery brown for work, I look at the end result and decide that there is something missing, each and every time. When that happens, I reach for a purple shadow to just give the whole look a bit of a lift. It works every single time. Sometimes I need it for the outer corner. at other times it is on the lower lash line. If I am doing a three shade look I might use it between the shimmer and the matte shade the addition of a touch of a shade like Sultan as an intermediate colour is perfect.
The other use for this shade is a light sweep over my blush and or highlight. I love cool toned looks but the majority of my blush shades are warm and sometimes the overall look would benefit from a slightly cooler cheek, a light sweep of sultan over the cheek helps to cool down the look.
Final Thoughts
The shadow is pressed quite hard in in the pan. It feels a little old fashioned, like the MAC shadows of ten years ago. The texture is described as semi matte but for me the first thing that i notice is that the intensity of the colour is semi sheer. it is a shadow that benefits from being built up which means that it is perfect for adding a pop of colour to a look. Sultan is part of the pro range from NARS. it can be popped out of the black case and put into a magnetic palette. If you are going to buy it, it would be better to pick it up as a refill if that is possible rather than in the black case as it is quick chunky.
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