Ya know, I can’t handle spicy hot food. A little chili pepper — no problem, but no can do if my tongue’s sweating bullets. El Hub, on the other hand, can drink hot sauce from the bottle! And if he’s not gripping the side of the table, rocking back and forth after each bite, he’s just not happy.
Now, as for me and spicy makeup? I’m there! 
This summer NARS attempts to bring the heat with their new Cayenne Cream Shadow ($22), a rich, creamy brown from the NARS Summer 2010 collection.
When I held the wee compact in my hand, visions of layered bronze and gold shadows danced in my head. NARS rarely lets me down, so I looked forward to adding this cutie to my summer makeup stash.
Hot stuff!
Immediately, I can tell that creamy Cayenne wants to BRING IT. After prepping my eyes with Urban Decay Eden base, I alternate between a brush and fingers to apply it to my lid and crease (the texture feels similar to a MAC Paint Pot). Mostly matte with a hint of glossy shine, it blends seamlessly and layers without streaking; the finish just looks fantastic.
Wearing NARS Cayenne on the lid and crease
Then, an unexpected surprise…
Where’d ya go?
Within 10 minutes, the color had already begun to disappear. 
I kept my fingers crossed, hoping that would be the extent of it, but by two hours, barely a whisper of color remained, and that which did was chilling out in my fine lines (so unattractive…).
Swatches from left: Cayenne Cream Shadow, Coup de Coueur gloss, Versailles polish (all from the NARS summer 2010 collection)
If the color disappears this quickly when it’s still cool outside, I can’t imagine how it’ll handle triple digits in the summer (when I’m sweating like a mo’ fo’).
I’m always looking for an excuse to feed my NARS addiction, and while Cayenne’s color brings the heat, its lack of staying power leaves me kinda cold. Makeup and Beauty Blog Rating: C+
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
P.S. Before you jet, beauty lover, check out the home page for more makeup reviews.
These eyeshadows don’t have good staying power. What I learned to do was use them as a base and put eyeshadow over the top and they’ll stay a little longer, but still crease within a few hours.
=-.
.-= Katie’s last blog post… Happy Friday
I tried setting it with a powder and that didn’t seem to make much of a difference. Maybe he designed these to slip away?
Sadly I am discovering that NARS has been disappointing a lot of people with his recent collections. That’s just sad – I guess that just means I’m still sticking to the permanent colors. I heard in the past that the cream shadows haven’t been the greatest compared to Benefits, per se….
It’s really hard to top Benefit’s cream shadows, right?
Speaking of NARS permanent colors, do you have Night Star eyeshadow (it’s a shimmery peachy gold)? I keep hearing about it and wondering if I should just break down and buy a pan already, LOL!
FOR REALS! I am wearing Birthday Suit as my base, btw…
I still haven’t bought Night Star – that’s another shade that I have been MEANING to buy. I did take advantage of Saks’ 10%off beauty/fragrance sale. I bought all from NARS
glosses:
Easy Lover
Babe (thought I was getting Ophelia but the SA got the colors mixed up, she’s lucky that I liked this orange gloss on me!)
Albatross highlighting powder
**and GWP (with any NARS purchase) a full sized multiple in Cap Verte** I’ll probably just use this as an eyeshadow base because it maybe too light for me to use as a contour or bronzer**
LOL, I have Birthday Suit sitting on my desk — I just found it in my desk drawer (still have no idea how it ended up there).
BTW, nice haul! I can’t believe I blanked and forgot to pick up Easy Lover during the Sephora sale. DOH!
I love it and now I’m singing the song! hahahha I hope you are too now!
Ooh.. Hopefully the multiple works out on your eyelids! In my experience they crease almost instantly (although that was without setting with powder)
Good luck!
ok so it’s NOT just me! i was so bummed when this formula didn’t work out for me either (because honestly, how CUTE is that little compact?!) but NARS’ cream shadows really don’t have the best staying power
.-= Erica’s last blog post… Weekend Prep =-.
It’s SO cute. I was so hoping to love this, just so I could have an excuse to collect the tiny little things!!
I have huge problems with NARS cream eyeshadows. I have purchased several over the years because I keep falling in love with the colors and hope that each new purchase will be different than the last, but they never are. The look great for about 10-15 minutes and then the color is gone. I totally love NARS powder eyeshadows, I just wish NARS cream eyeshadows were as good.
Oh, how disappointing, because I really love this color!
The Color is absolutely BEAUTIFUL, its such a shame that the color doesn’t last as long
Maybe you could use Benefits Busy Signal as a brown cream eyeshadow that has long staying power!
thanks for the review Karen, yours never let me down. I’m gonna skip Cayenne then. The Nars fiend that I am I don’t wanna accept they make crappy products sometimes too, but hey, every company does sometimes.
.-= Shadowy lady’s last blog post… I’ve Been a Baaaaaad Girl! =-.
Oh no! Bummer, have you tried the cream blush from the collection yet? I’m really curious about it. Benefit cream shadows are the bomb–but you probably already knew that
.-= Cindy (Prime Beauty)’s last blog post… NARS Summer 2010 Collection =-.
That’s weird, even with a base? Awww
That’s not good at all. I’d prefer a Paint Pot!
.-= Marce’s last blog post… Review: Of Hypnotic Lashes + Natural FOTD =-.
Aww man, how sad! It looked awesome while it lasted though…
.-= Catherine’s last blog post… Fake Mascara from eBay =/ =-.
Oh wow. What a pity that it doesnt last….. the gloss is pretty tho!!!
Come to think about it, would it be ridiculous to use it as a cream bronzer? haha
aw man that’s disappointing. It’s such a yummy looking cream shadow too, reminds me of nutella
.-= makeup morsels’s last blog post… Lumene Lineup Part 2: Sensitive Touch Removers =-.
oh that sucks that it didn’t workout for ya. It is a yummy shade of hot chocolate brown though.
.-= amy’s last blog post… Once and Again NOTD with American Apparel Nail Lacquer in Office =-.