NARS Orgasm Blush Swatches and Review

So finally … the famous NARS Orgasm has gotten into my hands. I’m lucky I bought it in London, where there is a different currency and my math is too hopeless to convert; because I’m sure this little thing cost a bomb. Ignorance is bliss, right? Here’s what they say:

NARS Orgasm makes cheeks blush a perfect pinky-peach flush and subtly highlights with accents of golden shimmer. The perennially pleasing, universally flattering shade is again and again a makeup artist and beauty editor favorite.

Anyway, before I start, I would like to give major props to the girls that swatch on every product review. This is hard work! It’s my first time so I didn’t really know what I was doing – if you’re a pro and reading this, please do give me tips on how to make my swatches better, I’d be extremely grateful! And for readers, I hope this satisfies your curiosity on the cult favorite blush. So, let’s begin!

1. Packaging. The packaging is fantastic. It looks classy, sleek and it feels like a very sturdy compact! Love the way it adds to my makeup bag, that’s for sure. I heard that it shouldn’t get too ‘hot’ as it will melt! Point taken – keep it in your makeup bag far away from the sun, ladies.

When you open the compact, it comes with a little mirror – which, to be very honest, I never really use mirrors from compacts. I find them way too small, I like a giant mirror! However, I tried it out and you can definitely see your whole face in it, it’s not one of those crazy magnifying mirrors that you can’t see anything out of! I tried applying with the mirror and it was fine, though personally I like my larger one.

2. The product. The blush itself is very pigmented, so all you need is VERY little product. I thought that the gold sparkles will annoy me, but they are very light and after awhile they seem to disappear. I looked at Super Orgasm and the gold sparkles were very obvious, didn’t really like that to be honest – less is more for me! As you can see, when you apply it straight on, it seems very pink. After awhile it will settle into a nice peachy pink – more on that later!

Here’s another shot, in artificial light. The above photos were all taken in broad daylight, at my balcony because I hope that shows the true color! This is a little hard to see but I wanted to show how it would look like ‘dull’ and how sheer it was compared to my very pale skin!

3. The shade. The shade is described as a ‘peachy-pink’ and I would say that is very accurate. It looks very pink here and goes on very pink initially, but becomes a warmer color after awhile.

And here is a complete swatch of it in broad daylight, on the balcony. As you can see, very sheer and light. Gold sparkles just give a nice sheen so it’s not very obvious, in real life, though in the pan it is quite obvious:

4. The peach! So, from the photos above you can see that Orgasm pretty much looks like a pink blush with gold sparkles. To be honest when I first tried it at the store I did not like it, because I am scared of anything pink (tomboy speaking!) and I don’t feel it’s very “me”, honestly.

However, after awhile it settled into a warm peachy pink that I adore – the only reason why I ever wanted to try Orgasm because I wanted something feminine (pinkish) but still not too much (does that even make sense?!). Plus, I love peachy shades, so Orgasm turned out great for me. This photo is the true color of Orgasm when it settles into your skin. It really looks like a natural flush, especially on lighter to medium skin tones. Looked so natural and beautiful:

So here is the ‘true’ color on my arm, and then I thought to put it on white paper so you could really see the color properly – pretty obvious that it changes on the skin, which I really like:

So, to sum up NARS Orgasm; I like it. At first I was weary, and every time I look at it it looks very overwhelming and pink, but it goes on very natural and warmer than expected. I really believe the whole ‘universally flattering’, so far I’ve seen many girls wear it and it looks great on everyone!

This is pretty much my ‘first’ proper blush (only ever used taupe in the past) so I’m definitely still experimenting and I think Orgasm is great for a ‘beginner’ like me. (If you’re a beginner to blush, you might find my post Make up 101: How to Apply Blush helpful!) So, I’ll conclude by summing up everything in this post:

• Don’t fret if you, like me, are a bit hesitant to pink blushes. It looks very bright and clownish in the pan, but once it’s on it’s very natural!
• Don’t pick up too much color, a little goes a long way. Apply it with a very big fluffy brush and a very light hand.
• It looks great on medium and dark skin tones as well. I have a friend who’s medium in skin tone and it looks just as stunning on her.
• The gold sparkles are not obvious or overwhelming – doesn’t look like a 12 year old’s glitter makeup at all! Very subtle and sheer.
• Try it out at the store first, walk around for 10 minutes, then look in the mirror. The color seems to change once it has settled into your skin. That is why I’ve decided to apply it first when I do my makeup, then by the time I’m finished it looks great!
• Pretty expensive; but worth it. I’ve used it 4 times and it still looks brand new. Since I’m using so little at a time, I can honestly say to finish this whole pan, I’ll take 20 years. I mean it! (I don’t wear it everyday, though). I read on another blog that a lady used it for 5 full years every single day before she had to buy a new one. Very worth it, I think!
• Definitely see the hype on NARS blushes: beautiful packaging, easy application, very pigmented colors, lasts a long time, tons of color choices … the list goes on.

Basically, I am one satisfied customer! :)

So ladies, tell me your thoughts on Orgasm, whether you’ve tried it or not. Is it worth the hype, or just too much hype? Are you dying to try it out? Let me know! I also hope my photos were OK, if anyone has suggestions or would like specific images, just tell me! :)

Images: By me! Please give me credit if you use these images!