Nars Luster blush

Nars Luster is an interesting one - is it a blush? Is it a highlighter? On me its somewhere between the two. The colour is quite intense on - more-so than it looks in the pan. It is very pretty though and quite unique.

Nars describes Luster as a sheer golden apricot. I kind of agree with this but I don't actually find it that sheer compared to Nars matt blushers. I definitely find Nars shimmer blushers less easy to blend than their matt counterparts too.

I'm wearing Luster with Nars Barbarella lipstick in these shots.

I think I just need to figure out the best way to wear this blusher and would like to try it in the summer, over a tinted moisturiser and a bronzer. I do like it and am glad its in my collection but I don't find myself reaching for it very often at the moment - I'm sure that will change come spring / summer.

Do you have Luster? How do you wear it?

Nars Gina blush

I'm head over heels with this blush. Over the past year I've become increasingly obsessed with peaches as I've realised they just suit my skintone more, and Gina has instantly been elevated to top five status.

I adore the texture of Nars matt blushes - they are so soft and silky on and never leave me feeling too made up as they sit so naturally on the skin. They somehow manage to be highly pigmented yet quite sheer and are easily buildable.

I'd describe Gina as a medium peach (Nars describes it as 'tangerine' which sounds a little more alarming!).

Here it is applied in natural light. I've applied it quite heavily to ensure I could get an decent representation of the colour (the perils of taking blog photos on grey winter mornings!).

And here I've photographed it with flash. The shots were actually take at the same time though they look wildly different!

Just a beautiful shade and works with a variety of looks. I am not wearing anything on my lips in these pictures but I like this colour with Nars Dolce Vita and Barbarella lipsticks. I'm really looking forward to getting lots of wear out of Gina this spring and summer.

I was especially happy when I discovered Gina as its the closest Nars blush in shade to the old Amour, which was a lovely, soft, light peach. The new Amour is a louder reddish peach and is a little bright for my skin tone - I love that Gina is quite subdued and doesn't scream blusher.

What peach blushers would you recommend?

Nars Deep Throat blush

I do kind of object to the name - not that I'm a prude but I don't want seedy traffic coming to my blog - never mind! I love this blush - much more-so than Orgasm (fighting a losing battle here really) which is a bit more sparkly than this. It does have shimmer, but not too OTT for daytime. This gives a very pretty flush to the cheeks and as with pretty much all my other Nars blushes is great at highlighting the cheekbones. 

I can't get enough of Nars at the minute especially their blushes - I don't love Deep Throat as much as Amour - yet, but give it time and who knows. I'm loving this shade with my new red hair and I especially love this with my new Bangkok Pure Matte lipstick, which I'm also wearing in these pics.

What are your favourite Nars products? I love Dolce Vita and Pigalle lipsticks, Amour, Zen and Douceur blushes and Rebel Yell nail polish. I'm ashamed to say I've never tried one of the famed Multiples. I'd also like to try Sheer Glow foundation, but I'm going to use up my tube of Diorskin Nude first, which I do really love and may well repurchase.

Nars Douceur blush

My lovely friends at work bought me Nars Douceur blush for my birthday recently, after hearing me banging out about it for long enough I expect! I don't normally fall into new product hype / obsession - guess this is what happens if you are immersed in the world of beauty blogging and twittering for long enough! - but this is I think an obsession-worthy blush.

It's not an easy colour to describe - my boyfriend's opinion was that it looks terracotta. I see where he's coming from as it has kind of a baked, clayish look about it - I think I'm going to opt for baked rosy brick! I definitely see pink, as opposed to orange, tones, and I think I would also class this as a warm blush.

This is quite a matt blush but perhaps a little chalkier than some other Nars blushes - as such application is not quite so soft and smooth as my beloved Amour (blogged about here) or Mata Hari. I don't find it quite as easy to apply as these blushes either, and it may be my imagination but I don't think it's quite as long lasting. When I tried to swatch this on my wrist, I couldn't get it to show up without swatching quite heavily - nor could I capture it on film easily without layering it on a bit - so perhaps not quite as pigmented as some Nars blushes and perhaps not a great one for darker ladies.

Douceur heavily swatched on wrist

However my criticism ends there.This gives a pretty, flushed look to my skin - almost sun-baked, but could also pass for windswept (albeit a desert wind!). In fact I think I'm going to call it "windbaked" (I hereby trademark that term!). The only blush I own that gives a similar effect to this is Laura Mercier Face Tint in Filtered Brown. Although the Laura Mercier blush is darker and more brick-coloured than Douceur, the effect is quite similar, if that makes sense.

Douceur applied

So, I'm liking this blush so far. I think it could become a staple this winter... and time will tell if it reaches elusive HG status! I haven't experimented with it too much as yet, so if anyone owns this and would like to suggest any eye-lip combos that work particularly well, I'd appreciate your suggestions. I'm thinking it will look nice over my Becca cream blush in Turkish Rose, and also that it will look nice with a smoky eye and medium pink lip.

And for those who haven't yet read it elsewhere (or don't speak French), Douceur means 'sweetness' in French.

Have you been tempted by Douceur?

In love with Nars Amour blush

Just had to blog about Nars Amour blush which I have, excuse the pun, fell in love with this summer.

Despite it's rather bright appearance (it's the top blush in the Lust for Life palette pictured below - the bottom one is Mata Hari) it is incredibly natural on - in fact it doesn't even resemble powder blush once applied. It looks so soft and peachy on the cheeks and lasts all day.

I like to pair Amour with a peach lip - in the photo I'm wearing Bobbi  creamy lip colour in Nectar.

Amour gives a perfect summery look, but I love this shade so much I'm thinking about how I can work it in winter as well. Really though, Mata Hari is a better winter blush - it gives the perfect 'in from the cold' flush.

As I mentioned on Twitter, my lovely friends at work bought me Douceur for my birthday - I like it, thought it's not quite as easy to work with. Expect a post on that shortly!